Blogs from Bali, Indonesia, Asia - page 7

Sometimes I can’t help thinking we in the west have gone just that little bit mad. We're determined to live our lives at a thousand miles an hour, each day a constant rush to get ahead, simply in order to buy even more shit we don’t really need. Stuck on a hamster-wheel, we/re trapped in the high-pressure jobs we need to somehow eek out enough to afford a house, the cost of which is, of course, astronomical. What’s more, in some insanity, the fortunate few are still tempted to borrow way above their means for a home much grander than they actually deserve, forking out yet more in loans for fancy cars to park in the driveway. The truly delusional then end up actually hiring staff, being way too knackered after all that overtime to bother ... read more

YOU CAN CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE IT - RECOMMENDED - THEN GO BACK TO THE BLOG OR GO THROUGH THE 67 PHOTOS - CLICK ON NEXT OR PREVIOUS IN THAT ENLARGED FORMAT. I PUT LOTS OF INFORMATION IN THE PHOTO CAPTIONS SO YOU CAN SKIP THE NARRATIVE, JUST LOOK AT THE ENLARGED PHOTOS AND CAPTIONS AND YOU'LL STILL GET MORE INFORMATION THAN YOU EVER WANTED. TO RETURN TO THE BLOG ENTRY, CLICK YOUR BACK BUTTON OR ON THE NAME OF THE BLOG - BELOW THE NUMBERS ON THE LEFT. As you have probably figured out, these travel blogs are a way for Bernard and me to keep track of our adventures. I can't tell you how many times we've referred to one of our over 70 travel blogs looking for various details, maps, dates, ... read more

Bali’s New Year’s Eve day, as determined by the Balinese Saka calendar, is a Hindu holiday mainly celebrated in Bali, Indonesia. This year the celebration takes place on March 25th. It is also known as Nyepe Day, or the Day of Silence. On this day, the entire island of Bali turns off all power, stops all traffic, abandons all global activities, including the internet, and remains in silence. Streets are literally empty of all traffic, as only emergency vehicles are allowed, and people are expected to remain in their homes or their yards, but cannot venture on any public streets. All businesses are closed, including the international airport in Denpasar. The intention is multifaceted: to spend quiet time connecting alone or with family; to rest and meditate upon the year, resolving to practice forgiveness for any ... read more

In the search of the traditional side of Bali, we have been quite succesful by visiting Sudaji in the North and staying in the ricefields in Tampaksiring. So our last stop in Bali was planned in the south, well, in the south-east that means. Because the south-west (being the centre of the mass tourism industry) was a no-go area for us. For whatever reason we found the widespread village of Seraya on the rocky coast in the very east. We had a private driver (the owner of "our" treehouse in Tampaksiring) who took us to Seraya. It was a beautiful drive across the countryside from Tampaksiring via Gianyar, Sideman and Amlapura. We passed very nice villages. Our driver was supernervous as it was extremly windy that day. So a lot of branches from coconut trees fell ... read more

You realise that you are off the beaten track when your destination is not listed in travelblog :-D - just joking....... After a terrible start in Bali we hoped for better. To be honest, we had spent long hours at home looking for some remote places to find a Bali how it was many, many years ago. This is definitely impossible and you realise that the minute you have arrived in a remote village which already has a 5G antenna. But, I guess, we came as close to the real Bali as it is still possible. We definitely lucked out. We stayed at Omunity and were greeted very warmly by Zanzan, the owner, and his wife Putu. Omunity was founded by Zanzan in 2010. Its highest goal is to make it a green sustainable place for ... read more