Blogs from Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, Asia - page 41

Hello! I left my hotel yesterday to explore. I already wrote about how great they were. When I came back after having dinner to finish organizing for the taxi to the airport, he told me my room was still empty so if I wanted, I could go have a shower. When I thanked him for all his help, he replied with the Indonesian version of "same same"....thank you too! Even the taxi driver was a hustler! I got hustled by a man on the street desperate to sell a bracelet. Silly me, I stopped and looked at it! He wanted Rp. 200,000 for it. I'm sure it cost less than 10 cents to make. I said thank you and walked away. He came after me. "How much? How much you pay?" Since I wasn't shopping and ... read more

That was quite a few months ago I happened to witness the rare occassion which is the cremation of Ubud's King in Bali. I just have a chance to write a little about it now and upload a few pictures. I enjoyed so much this gala ceremony although I didnt understand that much the meaning of each step of the ceremonies. The Ubud people have been doing lots of rituals for months for the preparation of this gala event. This ceremony was one of the biggest cremation for decades. Sorry that I can't write much about this from the culture perspective due to my limited knowledge, i'd just like to share some pictures taken on that glorious day. Hope you enjoy it, because I did!... read more

The past years have been tough. Health issues caused a severe mental blow. Personal problems with my business partner led to a stalemate that could have been fatal to the company that we had built in the previous 20 years. A Solomon’s judgment was needed to prevent the company from going bankrupt and approximately fifty employees from losing their jobs. During the long Ascension weekend of 2007, I decided to sell my 50% share in the company. On July 7, 2007, I was unemployed for the first time in 30 years. So what!? I would take a Sabbatical. It’s trendy and it sounds good to say, in a casual way: “I am on a Sabbatical…” Meditate, do some reading, some gardening, do long-postponed chores, a little cycling, great! Right? The first weeks: sure. A long holiday. ... read more

My short journey through Bali extended as far out into the world as it did within me; I was moved by the people, by exquisite landscape and by the intangible energy of this region. Wayan Our wonderful driver I Wayan Suriadi, whom we found at the airport in Denpasar, Bali, was not only a knowledgeable guide for the area but one of the kindest people we met by far. We liked him so much that we immediately booked him for our 4-day stay to be our driver and guide as we explored Bali. He was only too thrilled! I promised Wayan that would write about him in my blog and encourage anyone visiting Bali to contact him and use his services: +62 81 2465 4207 and 0361 8471939. A Cottage in a Forest We stayed in ... read more

Geo: -8.51927, 115.263Salut tout le mondeNous allons bien.Nous avons une grande journee de visite. Nous etions avec notre voisine de perron.Nous avons debutee notre visite par un temple. Une sculture d'un visage immense. Nous pouvions entree par la bouche pour se rendre dans une caverne. Un temple pour Ganasha. De beau bassin avec des statues environnant le temple.Le deuxieme etait des scultures de personnage sur la pierre a meme la montagne, avec une pretresse agee qui nous lancait de l'eau en chemin et qui voulait quelques roupies pour un don. Elle n'etait pas tres contente de notre don. Nous esperons qu'elle nous enverra pas un mauvais sort.Troisieme temple etait plein de sculture encore dans la pierre mais gigantesque dans un lieu special puisqu'il y avais une riviere au centre. Les sculptures etaient comme des genres de ... read more