There are a lot a bemos available in the town of Tabanan, and some of these will be useful in getting you to interesting sights in the region. Taxis and private vehicles for hire are thin on the ground here though. Most visitors arrive with a car and driver, in their own hired vehicle or by motorbike, and get around the region in that way.
So who was Ngurah Rai?
You have seen his name. Of course you have. The airport is named after him. But just who was he?
The Balinese effort in the Indonesian fight for independence from the Dutch after World World War II was led by a feisty young officer called Gusti Ngurah Rai. The most famous battle of this campaign resulted in his death along with 96 of his soldiers in a ritual puputan fight to the death in the village of Marga.
This heroic act and every Balinese individual who died in the independence struggle is commemorated in the Margarana Memorial Park. This very pleasant park is open daily from 8AM and exhibits many statues, houses a graveyard for the war-dead and has a shrine to Ngurah Rai which includes his photograph. Marga is about 15 minutes north from Mengwi and all Balinese drivers will know how to find it. Few tourists make it here but it is worth the effort.
