I’m sure that most of the Balinese I encountered thought I was just a little nuts. (OK, maybe they thought I was more than a little nuts.) But I took a whole lot of pictures of rice paddies while I was there. There was just something about the shifting colors and light and shadows that I found really beautiful. Rice is extremely important to the Balinese. In addition to being a food staple, it is central to their culture and their religion. You will see many women, and some men, with grains of rice pressed into their foreheads, or at the base of their throats. One woman explained it to me like this: “The two things most important and most holy to Bali people are water and rice. Without water there is no life. Rice is ... read more

Several of the restaurants in Ubud offer cooking classes. The weather had been kind of crummy, so I figured what the heck. At least you get to eat everything you cook. There were eleven of us from five different countries who met with Chef Nyoman at the Bumi Bali Restaurant. A genial man, he managed to take us through some of the intricacies of Indonesian cooking without anyone drawing blood. Our first stop was Ubud Pasar, the local market. Ubud Pasar is not for the claustrophobic or easily intimidated. This is a three story building that takes up about half a city block. It is absolutely crammed with tiny stalls selling fruit, meat, fish, laundry detergent, cloth, flowers, spices, oil, jewelry, vegetables, and probably a whole bunch of other stuff. And each of these vendors is ... read more

Ubud in Bali is a center for the arts. Many of the artists and artisans are happy to have you visit them in their studios, and a number of them also hold classes. One of these is the batik artist I Nyoman Suradnya. His Nirvana Batik studio is, by happy coincidence, located on Jalan Gautama. (Gautama being the name of the Buddha.) He runs classes that range from one to five days in length, and even the one day class will give you a great deal of experience. A note about Balinese naming conventions: All Balinese, male and female, are given a birth order name. The first born is Wayan, the second child is Made, the third is named Nyoman, and the fourth is Ketut. If there is a fifth child, the names start over again ... read more

The Monkey Forest in Ubud is mentioned in just about every travel book or article about Bali. It wasn’t far from where I was staying, the entrance fee was modest, and monkeys are cute, right? I’d been warned to not bring anything with me into the park. Some things, like plastic bags, might be harmful to the monkeys. Other things, like backpacks, water bottles, and hats, the monkeys might steal from you. I left my hat at the hotel, my water bottle at the gate, and kept my camera firmly clutched in my hot little hand. Shortly inside the gate I came across a German woman who had not heeded the warnings. A young monkey had grabbed onto the hanging strap from her backpack and quickly scampered up her back onto her shoulder. That was all ... read more

The beach in Sanur is nowhere near as pristine as are beaches in the Caribbean, however, they are arguably more lively. There is a paved foot-path the runs the three-mile length of the beach, and along this path you can see the free-enterprise system at its finest. There are little cafes and food stalls, some catering to Westerners, some to locals. There are little stalls, some no more than a few shelves set against the wall, with wood carvings, batik sarongs, paintings, kites, shell work, jewelry. You can rent a kayak, a canoe, a bicycle, go parasailing, arrange a tour. One young man even offered to arrange a long-stay visa for me. (What is it about me that makes people want to help get a visa?) This time, though, I declined the offer. I’m usually pretty ... read more