Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park

This guide to Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park in Bali follows sculptor Nyoman Nuarta's decades-long attempt to build a giant statue of Vishnu riding the mythical bird Garuda, an idea he first dreamed up in 1989. You'll hear how the Asian financial crisis left the half-finished statue abandoned on this clifftop for sixteen years, and about the Balinese priests who argued the design broke sacred rules about height and cosmic direction. It's a story of one stubborn artist's argument with tradition and circumstance.