Our second stop on the Around the World journey was the island of Bali, one of the 17,508 islands of the Indonesian archipelago populated by 238 million people. Bali is a cultural center and vacation destination, with volcanoes, lush jungle, fertile rice fields, endless beaches, deep river gorges, ancient palaces, sacred temples, and, most importantly, a great heritage of arts, music and crafts.
The people of Bali are warm and welcoming, low key and oriented to their villages and ancient customs. We were able to experience this culture at a spectacular dinner show based on traditional legong dance and gamelan music, set in an outdoor theater that was a cross between King Kong and Indiana Jones. Dale and I had the fun experience of an elephant ride through the jungle and were able to spend an afternoon in Ubud, the artistic center of Bali, soaking in the temples, gates, carvings, crafts, and native people. We also travelled to the studio of a mask artist and purchased a wooden ceremonial mask.
Our group’s stayed at the Royal Pita Maha resort, with incredible spaces and architecture, in private villas with a personal swimming pool! Intricately carved volcanic stone adorned every space, and there were fresh daily offerings of flowers and food placed throughout, as is the Bali custom. The spiritual side of society is omnipresent, and is an exotic mix of animistic beliefs, ancient cults, Hinduism, Buddhism, as well as Islam and Christianity. Spectacular costumes give visual splendor to the various secular and religious dances and rituals.
All in all, a place of things exotic and beautiful.
