To Change Or Not To Change This Was The Question? I had to make the most serious decision of my life, did I desire change, to have a complete break from my tired repetitive life cycles, to abide by newer clearer freer ways of being, to rid myself of old boring pain which had developed a convincing lovable personality of its own. Did I wish to be victor or victim within my rapidly changeable world? I know I needed to remember to slow breathe, to calm my chattering mind, to really feel, relax and enjoy the rest of my precious life and the special people in it. When destiny stood firmly in front of my stubbornness, unavoidable changes came into full force. I thought back and realised that I actually had little choice in this matter, ... read more

I had finally reached that turning point in my journey where cultural saturation levels had peaked, my brain weighted with worldly experiences, my entire being felt drained of packing backpacks, moving on and sleeping in a different bed every night. I'd had enough of bus rides, tedious train journeys, bilious boat trips, treacherous taxis, taxing tuk tuks even moto experience that had resulted in a seriously impressive leg burn worthy of pub stories to dine out on for ever had lost its appeal. A brutal session of Hanoi acupuncture could not revive my flagging system long term as it was all back, even a rare promise of being confined to a sleep chamber for 100 years with handsome prince waiting for me at the end did not get me tickled. Simply put, I was knackered. I ... read more

MONDAYI was told by the more experienced travellers that Kuta is the arm pit of Indonesia and to save international travellers face, we needed to get our bearings and move on. Today I went to the beach of Kuta to have a long rest in perfect sunshine. I laid down, creamed up, headphones on. Closed my eyes, 45 seconds later the sun went in, it stayed in for a silly long time, felt something brush my thigh then my arm then laughter could be heard. I opened my eyes to find seven Korean men crouching around my shy body. Chief Korean photographer aged around 55 wore backward NY peak cap, white socks, brown sandals. He directed his motley crew on how to stand, crouch or kneel for optimum holiday voyeur snap shot, all without my consent. ... read more

Strange as it seems, it is in their cremation ceremonies that the Balinese have their greatest fun. A cremation is an occasion for gaiety and not for mourning, since it represents the accomplishment of their most sacred duty: the ceremonial burning of the corpses of the dead to liberate their souls so that they can thus attain the higher worlds and be free for reincarnation into better beings" Miguel Covarrubias Bali means Island of the Gods, its religion is 93% Hindu which expresses itself through the many hourly, daily, monthly, bi-monthly, yearly, twice yearly, decade, end of century, beginning of century, summer, autumn, winter, spring, birth, 3 month of age, 6 months of age, reaching 17 and adulthood (teeth filing ritual), promotions, demotions, weddings and death, the final cremation ritual that lasts for days even years ... read more

To fully experience Bali I was told I must attend a Balinese family cremation as the Balinese send their dead to the Nirvana realms with such a passionate show of love and creativity, so this was one thing I could not miss. Within 24 hours of arriving into Bali I found myself stood in front of a grieving family home, in a strange village called Sangeh, which is north of Kuta and East of Ubud. I wondered who had died to give me this ultimate Balinese experience as no one would say. I was lucky to be invited into a fairly wealthy family home which was made up of many smaller apartments within one big courtyard, each family member lived in their own apartment and there was a series of temples in a sacred spot somewhere ... read more