Secret Bali

One of Bali’s most iconic ceremonies is the Mapeed – or sometimes mepeed – where lines of Balinese women walk together as ritual. Our contributor Ayu Sekar shares more: Out of the squalor and chaos of the market, a stream of waving long bamboo flagpoles or penjors start to appear. Accompanied by the sound of […]

Even while the Holy mountain rumbles, life in Bali goes on. The Balinese tend to take life as it comes, living in the moment, rather than fretting about what may or may not happen sometime in the future.  Here, people from all different walks of life – farmers, tourist people and old folk working in […]

When speaking about Tandjung Sari, its founding father WijaWawo-Runtu always said “my hotel is my living room, my guests are my friends”, but it was also their beloved home at BatuJimbar, that Wija and Tatie opened up to people from all over the world, and the ever-growing clan of Wawo-Runtu children. This is Part 3 […]

Bali’s beautiful glistening green rice fields are no accident. They are the result of a rice culture that has been handed down for centuries. A carefully integrated system of planting and irrigation through the UNESCO World Heritage recognised Subak system means that for centuries, rice farmers all over the island have received water to irrigate […]

While Bali’s holy mountain Gunung Agung rumbles threateningly, keeping everyone on their toes, life in the villages continues unabated. Here in a tiny hamlet, within shouting distance of Gunung Agung, the villagers celebrate their temple celebration or Odalan without turning a hair. Even though this little village of Yeh Poh – water of the heavenly […]

Balinese ceremonies will always provide a little something. Something visual, something surprising, something out of the ordinary. People come together at their village temple, primarily to pray to their gods, yet at the same time it keeps each community strong and connected. It is this regular procession of temple festivals or Odalan, which happen in […]

On an island that can now feel overrun with hotels and resorts, few can rival the history of Tandjung Sari hotel in Sanur. One of the first resorts in Sanur, Tandjung Sari was at the forefront of the influx of tourists to the island and has remained one of the ‘seminal boutique hotels of tropical […]

Anyone who thinks that Bali’s culture is dying just needs out head out of town. I am guessing that many of the southerners busy with business and the pursuits of pleasure care less but that doesn’t stop Bali’s vibrant culture being nurtured by their profits. It is surely a win win situation for everyone! Kastala, […]

Every year the Bali Aga (original Balinese) villages around Karangasem celebrate the coming of age of their young folk with a procession of rites and rituals. Part of the celebration is the famed Parang Pandan – fights with spiny pandanus leaves designed to draw blood from their opponents to spill on the ground and thus […]

Snuggling under the holy Lempuyung mountain, one of Bali’s most iconic holy places, is Bangle. While it is close to fast forward Amed, when you take the turn off the main Amed track and head into the hills, a different world is there. A long a deep valet lie pristine rice fields, that remain green […]