Giant statue taking shape on a hill in Bali

Text and photos by Pandaya

JIMBARAN, Bali (JP): As the taxi from Denpasar dropped me off at a hotel in Kuta, I suddenly remembered the giant multimillion dollar statue built somewhere in the general area some four years ago.

The next morning, when I asked the taxi driver to take me to Garuda Wisnu Kencana on Ungasan hill, he clarified in his heavy Balinese accent what I meant: "Oh, GWK in Uluwatu?"

Apparently, the statue is better known by its acronym among people in the street.

When we passed Ngurah Rai International Airport and the hill standing tall on the horizon, the statue billed as the Indonesian version of the Statue of Liberty was nowhere in sight, even though its founders once boasted that it would be visible from a distance of 20 kilometers.

"The statue is only 15 percent finished," came a quick reply from an employee of the 230-hectare cultural park, about 30 minutes drive to the north of Kuta. It, like so many other grandiose schemes of the mid-1990s, has been cut down to size by the crisis.

Sitting on the top of the lime hill is a giant bronze bust of Vishnu, the god that takes care of the universe in Hinduism. The "garuda", the mythical bird in the Mahabarata epic that Vishnu rides, is still under construction in Bandung and will be flown in for assembly some time in the middle of the year.

The Rp 30 billion statue is the creation of Nyoman Nuarta, a Bandung-based Balinese artist known for his love of making immense works.

Nyoman is building the figure of the bird, which will be 11 meters tall, 10 meters wide and 20 meters long for its perch 283 meters above sea level. The next stage will be to build the wings.

Although it represents only 15 percent of the planned whole body, the grandeur can already be felt with Vishnu. The tall grayish bust, with its eyes closed and its arms lopped off at the elbows, leans forward on its pedestal.

Except on the crowded weekends, sightseeing at the complex is what the visitor can largely enjoy. Cultural events, such as Bali dances, are organized on holidays at the amphitheater designed to accommodate 10,000 people.

There have been few activities at other facilities like the museum, exhibition hall and boutique. Of course, the restaurants are the busiest during the day.

Although it is a widely advertised tourist attraction, there is not much yet you can enjoy there on the hill under the scorching sun of Bali, aside from admiring the unfinished Vishnu bust and the panorama of Kuta and Denpasar below and beyond. The view of the city lights is even more beautiful at night.

Visitors will probably have to wait a few years before the park is completed, more attractions created, the whole area fully developed and a better transportation system made available.

"In fact, we want the visitors to go there and see the statue in the making process," says Anita Kastubi, the business development manager of GWK Foundation based in Jakarta. She claims between 300 and 400 people come to the park every day.

Anita acknowledged that the financial crisis hampered the project, which is owned by the government-owned Bali Tourism Development Corporation and several private concerns.

The government recently injected Rp 1 billion to keep the project going.

While the spirit to accomplish the masterpiece keeps aflame, GWK cherishes its ambition to develop the World Cultural Forum where every participating country would have its own pavilion in the park.

Although GWK is well-located, transportation is a problem for visitors traveling individually because there is no regular bus shuttle. Bus services from nearby places like Kuta, Denpasar, Pecatu and Jimbaran drop passengers at the park's entrance, which means a 10-minute walk up the hill. The easiest, but expensive, way to go is by taxi, which sometimes insist on payment in U.S. dollars.