Protect yourself from evil spirits.....gallery

Hi, thanks for coming.

Bali is 90% Hindu. The Balinese, as part of their Hinduism, have a close connection to animism. People go to Ubud to learn how to paint, how to sculpture and also how to practise black and white magic. It is all part of their understanding that Chaos and Order have to be balanced and that is the ultimate quest. Not the defeat and removal of Evil or Chaos but the perfect balance between Evil and Good or Chaos and Order. Penis power is big in Bali as are grotesque statues to help protect you from black magic and evil spirits. Trance and dance go together and these are common practices in the villages. Our driver who took us to the airpot told us he had danced (a Kris dance with Kris knives) in his village until 3 a.m. and 'woken' to find all his clothes torn. We were a bit worried about his ability to take us safely to the airport!!!! Even though Bali is moving with the times and has embraced tourism, their lives and the fabric of their society is firmly woven into their religious traditions.

A few pictures for you to give you a sense of the grotesque statues and the penis power that are clearly not just the remains of a lost tradition.

We are leaving for London on Tuesday 13 June. We are away for 3 weeks. So there won't be an update until I get back. I have some photos of traditional Balinese dance and some of the temples in Ubud. That will be the next posting and will conclude the Bali edition.

We are so looking forward to seeing friends and family.

Take care....until July

Love

Alan

Bali: The beach

A warm welcome to my blog if this is the first time you have visited and a very warm welcome back to my regular visitors. Thanks for coming.

I have returned from Turkey. A truly memorable trip and I will enjoy sharing it with you at a later date. I do have lots more pics of China but to avoid getting too behind I thought I'd move on to Bali.

We went there to relax by the sea and we did that for 5 days before going to Ubud the cultural centre of Bali. We stayed in a resort called "La Taverna" on Sanur beach. Owned by an Italian it had the first wood-fired pizza oven in Bali.....I wonder if that had anything to do with our choice!

Bali reminded us a lot of Fiji. There is definitely a Polynesian feel. The peope are very warm, smiling, and fun loving, despite the financial difficulties that many of them are having to deal with.

It was very, very quiet. True it wasn't the high season but everybody we talked to said that the main reason is the drop in Australian tourism since the bombs. Although it was good not to be crowded out by tourists it was sad to see so many beautiful hotels with so few guests. Also sad to see the people who depend on tourism for their livelihoods really quite desperate. Locals wear T shirts with the message "F*** the terrorists!" written in big letters across the front.

But we never went to Kuta and I heard that there it was busier.

I will leave with you the photos. We did very little except walk and swim. Objective achieved! There will be more to tell in the next edition when we experienced the fascintating and delightful Balinese culture.

I will do a short special post called "the Bali ugly mug gallery" next weekend before Daniela and I go to the UK for a 3 week visit to see family and friends. When I get back I will post the last part of Bali.

Take care.

Love

Alan