We took a day off yesterday. I could tell you about the infinity pool overlooking the beach, the balmy breezes, the delicious meals, the waking up late and going to bed early… but there's not really a positive point to that (for you). So we skipped a day of blogging as well. On this 8th day we got restless. We tried to arrange a driver via WhatsApp - text and call. The instant gratification American in me got a little irritated when I didn't hear anything for ...

Galungan is a 3-day period during which Hindus celebrate the victory of goodness over evil. It is also seen as a new beginning, an opportunity to forgive and put behind you any negative feelings you may be holding towards anyone, to move forward with only the positive. There is a lot of visible preparation with a clear distinction of male vs female responsibilities. Males are responsible for creating the penjor. This is a tall bamboo stick that is curved at the ...

8AM. We meet Gusti, our guide for the day. Quickly the conversation turns to colors, and he talks about how central colors are to his believe system. Colors are used to express yourself at occasions like celebrations, ceremonies and funerals. Not fashionably and randomly, but specific. Each color has a meaning. For example, black stands for sad, the bad in the world. White stands for happiness and goodness. Outside, you can sometimes see or experience only black,...

Today we gently awoke in the serene environment of the Ubud Tropical Garden hotel to the sounds of monkeys chattering away, talking about who knows what. As we overlook the rice paddy while breakfast is being served at the pool, we slowly soak in this (to about half of us) new world of Bali. Slowly getting everyone's game on for the day, we decide to start with a walk through the monkey forest. It is, after all, next door. No, really, we're looking at it, on the ...

A quick day today, as we fly to Bali at 5:30pm. We decided to visit the S.E.A. Aquarium and then the observation deck at the boat suspended over the three towers. So we packed our bags, dropped 'm off at the front desk and took a taxi to go on our way. When we entered the taxi, our first clue should have been the driver asking us 3 times "Aquarium??" You never really know if they can't understand you, or you can't understand them, they don't know what you're talk...