Travelling around Bali is like traversing separate but borderless worlds, each possessing a distinct character of its own.

It is remarkable how landscape, people and architecture change seamlessly in just a day's journey in the south-western reaches of the island.

The sparse traffic and vast expanse of water-logged rice fields in Canggu are juxtaposed with the burgeoning, fashionable arts hub of Seminyak.

Thatched utilitarian Balinese huts housing extended families, or used for rice havesting or roadside Warung (local eatery) contrast with the purposeful standalone two-storeyed art houses and buildings.

The route from Seminyak to Canggu is usually through Kuta, which has transformed from being a sleepy surfers' paradise to a popular touristy destination, especially popular with backpackers and those on shoe-string budgets. Here, shopping centres, restaurants and boutique surf shops, packed cheek-by-jowl, bustle with activity day and night.

Competing for tourists' attention further down to the south is a small stretch of beach, flanked by craggy cliff faces and lined with warungs and resorts. Crowned the New Kuta at Jimbaran, this beach is fast shaping up as a prime surfing destination.

To reach New Kuta however, one needs to pass through the 650-hectare Graha Pecatu real estate, which is slowly taking shape as a premier hotel and golfing resort after initial construction work was abandoned earlier.

The entrance to this estate is guarded by a massive statue of the Vishnu god on a Garuda bird, and leads to some half-developed structures, with wide tarmac roads winding around grassy knolls that are dotted by tractors and cement mixers.

The transition from one place to another is fascinating - seemingly disparate scenes come into view, but in quick time all form a cohesive world, a oneness in diversity.

Even in a single place like the popular tourist site Tanah Lot, located at the village of Beraban in the Tabanan Regency, the boundaries between "worlds" are blurred.

The famous temple stands majestic on an offshore rock with its black towers, its awesome silhouette against the crashing waves and weathered ground on which it stands, a metaphorical testament to the enduring nature of religion here.

The areas surrounding Tanah Lot however, are clustered with home-grown shops pedalling arts and crafts, clothes and accessories, and yet they are not out of place with boutique stores like a Billabong-fronted surf shop and Polo.

Under a ceremonial Persaman house, locals beckon visitors to have their pictures taken with 6-foot-long pythons, while others outside try to sell their well-packaged sets of postcards of the place to tourists.

If a procession of devotees did not descend on the grounds to make their offerings to the sea god, which took place while I was there, it would have been difficult to reconcile the religious settings with the commercial ventures there.

A 20-strong group of locals decked out in white garb, with the men in their turban-like uden headgear streamed down the steps leading to the Tanah Lot temple, carrying high above their shoulders their colourful offerings.

In Bali, the religious and secular are closely intertwined - the people's daily lives consist of sacred activities and rituals which are open for all to observe, local or foreigner alike.

However, to the casual eye of the visitor, the intricate ceremonies and offerings are merely aesthetically pleasing, and the interpretations often only speak of the beauty and creativity of the people.

But to the Balinese, the majority of whom are Hindus, the sacred rituals delve deep into the cosmic forces of good and evil, god and devil.

Every morning and afternoon, offerings of Balinese flowers, pandan leave shavings, crackers, cigarettes and incense are offered to the gods in rectangular-shaped boxes weaved from young coconut leaves.

This is said to ward off the evil spirits, and the unyielding consistency with which a pair of these are placed outside every other shop at Tanah Lot testifies to the devotees' deep-seated beliefs.

The general atmosphere in Bali is palpably welcoming. However, the feeling that there is so much more to know and comprehend is both humbling and strangely liberating.

It is a truly remarkable place.

� Read about Jaymee's exclusive experience at Bali here.

The writer's trip is courtesy of DBS,Launchpad Asia and Motorola.