Garuda Wisnu Kencana or affectionately known as GWK, is a cultural park carved out of limestone in Bukit Ungasan, Jimbaran, south of Bali (it's about 40 KM from Denpasar).

It is devoted to the Hindu god Vishnu, the source of wisdom, who rides on the back of Garuda, the mythical bird, heading towards Amerta, the symbol of perennial virtue.

Garuda Wisnu Kencana made from more than 4.000 tons of giant slabs of copper and brass, the statue of Vishnu is 23 meters high although the original plan was for a 146 meter gold plated Vishnu riding Garuda on top of an 11-storey entertainment complex.

But further construction now proceeds at a snail's pace due to the crisis of 1998 and later the bombings in Bali, which must have discouraged investors.

The statue and its pedestal are surrounded by more than 240 hectares of cultural park, which was once an abandoned and unproductive limestone quarry.

The cultural park provides attraction with supporting facilities such as Lotus Pond, which can accommodate some 7.000 people, the Festival Park, a 800-seat amphitheater with first class accoustics, street theater and an exhibition hall.

At present, the statue of Vishnu, the statue of Garuda and the hands of Vishnu are placed temporarily in three different plazas within the park. They were made in Bandung, West Java, and transported by sea piece by piece.

Republic of Indonesia is a country composed of 17,508 islands, about 6,000 of which are inhabited, with a population of over 200 million (wikipedia: population in July 2008 is 237,512,352).

At 1,919,440 square kilometers (741,050 sq mile), Indonesia is the world's 16th-largest country in terms of land area. Its average population density is 134 people per square kilometer (347 per sq mile), 79th in the world, although Java, the world's most populous island, has a population density of 940 people per square kilometer (2,435 per sq mile).
A tropical climate with an average annual temperature from 18 until 27 degree Celcius with a high humidity. The rainy season lasts from November to April, when the dry season begins. Indonesia has a three zona time, that is divided in west zona (the time is GMT plus 7 hours), middle zona (the time is GMT plus 8 hours) and east zona (the time is GMT plus 9 hours).
Indonesia is located between two continental (Asia and Australia) and between two ocean (Hindia Ocean and Pacific Ocean).
Comprising more than 300 ethnic groups speaking 200 distinct languages and dialects, the Indonesian population exhibits incredible diversity in its linguistic, cultural and religious traditions. The Republic of Indonesia administration is divided into 33 provinces.

If you visit no other place on the island than Ubud, you will be amply rewarded, for this is the most Balinese of towns and is so different from all the others.

This is due to The Tjokorde Gde Putra Sukawati, Ubud's royal prince. Fearing the dilution of Balinese values and attitudes seen elsewhere on the island, he's done his very best to keep such toxic influences out of Ubud.
You won't find billboards here, nor a night-market, cinema, sidewalk sellers, wheeled food stalls, or dodgy cafes, bar and massege parlours. It's a real breath of fresh air after to the over-the-top "anything goes" commercialism found elsewhere on the island.
Ubud has always been uniquely special. Little more than a village 70 or 80 years ago, nevertheless it was a center of fine art - painting, sculpture, carving and the other decorative arts.

In the 1920's and 1930's noted artists from overseas came and visited. Many stayed and influenced local artists. These days Ubud is still known as the island's artists colony, but it is much more than that.

You'll find the cream of design here - in paintings and handcratfs, in fashion, in jewellery, glassware, photography, batik, the list goes on. It's also the acknowledged yoga, meditation and new age center. Ubud is the special town for Elizabeth Gilberth, the author of Eat, Pray, Love get her love. At 32 years old, Gilbert was educated, had a home and a husband, and a successful career as a writer. However, she was unhappy in her marriage and often spent the night crying on her bathroom floor. She separated from her husband and initiated a divorce, which her husband contested. She entered into a relationship with another man, but this relationship did not work out either. While writing an article on yoga vacations in Indonesia, she met a seventh-generation medicine man who told her she would come back and study with him. After finalizing her difficult divorce, she spent the next year traveling around the world. She spent four months in Italy, eating and enjoying life (Eat). She spent four months in India, finding her spirituality (Pray). She ended the year in Bali, Indonesia, looking for "balance" of the two and found love (Love). And this story has produce a film and the is staring Julia Robert. This film is take a picture in Bali, expecially at Ubud.