Feb. 27, 2016 Ubud, Bali … It was a dark and stormy night. Nadya’s Balinese driver dropped me off at Villa Beji Indah after an hour and a half ride from the Denpasar airport following a 41-hour journey half way around the world from Florida—22......
Feb. 28, 2016 Ubud, Bali… When I awoke in the morning, crawled out from under the mosquito netting and opened the curtains, I found a breathtaking site. My suite with two walled glass windows and a patio lined with Greek-looking stone columns was set in......
Feb. 28, 2016 Mt. Batur, Bali … Laura is a smart Jewish woman from Bala Cynwyd outside of Philly who lived in Hindu Bali for several years when she was single. Upon returning to the U.S., she married a “lansman” she met coincidentally through a......
Feb. 29, 2016 Ubud, Bali… Alit drove me down a hidden, narrow, rocky road that led to the entrance of a coffee and tea plantation. It’s owned by the Bebek Teba Sari Resto, a restaurant that looks like a romantic, traditional culinary escape bordered by......
Hari Raya Nyepi…March 7, 8, 9 2016… Being in Bali at the beginning of March is a special treat! It’s the time of New Year’s festivities leading up to the Balinese Day of Silence (Nyepi), the holy New Year’s Day, commemorated on the first new......
March 8, 2016 Seseh, Bali… The arrival of Spring is the time of year when “spring cleaning” includes purifying the island of spiritual pollutants emitted from humans –the malicious nature or negative karma and characteristics of living beings (mainly humans). Evil spirits, created by villages......
March 9, 2016 Seseh, Bali… After the Balinese Hindu Melasti beach ritual two days ago, and Ogoh-Ogoh festivals last night, Nyepi (Silent) Day is anti-climactic as a New Year’s Day goes. On this Balinese Hindu Day of Silence–New Year’s Day–the entire island shuts down for......
Feb/March 2016, Ubud, Bali… Luckily my American expat friends live in Ubud, the center for traditional crafts and dance in Bali. Beauty and art are integrated into the Balinese Hindu religion and culture. Expressions of beauty are seen everywhere: in smaller handmade items created from......
Feb/March 2016… Restaurants in Bali serve delicious food at inexpensive prices ($6 can buy a full meal) in lush settings with excellent service, and they include WiFi. The most expensive, trendy restaurant I experienced was with Nadya and friends was Hujan in downtown Ubud with......
Feb./March 2016 Ubud, Bali… THE NADYA COLLECTION (since 1984) Limited edition artistic, reversible clothing designed by Nadya, handmade in Bali… Nadya is an expat from Chicago who found her way to Bali in the late 1970s and loved it enough to stay. Here she built......
