« Bali 'Art Attack « ARMA Art Gallery ~ The Agung Rai Museum of Art in Ubud: Traditional, Contemporary & Modern Balinese Paintings
Ubud's ARMA Gallery – the Agung Rai Museum of Art – is home to over 200 modern, traditional and contemporary paintings that draw Bali's story in ways you've only dreamed of.
File under 'Rare Left Field'.
Take a leisurely stroll around the grounds after you've drunk your fill of the art – numerous mature trees and a rare litter-free environment make for a leafy, cool afternoon's walk. And you'll notice, as you begin to saunter rather than march, that Ubud can be that little oasis of calm you've always pitched in your mind's eye.
Give your legs a break – let your eyes do the wandering.
Ubud High wishes to extend its thanks to Bapak Agung Rai for permission to photograph and display ARMA's works of art at ubudhigh.com.
Matur suksema.
These paintings are not for sale.
I Wayan Asta
b. Taman, Ubud, 1955 –
'The Forest Scene' c.1995
'The Forest Scene' at the ARMA Art Gallery, Ubud, by I Wayan Asta.
Fierce tigers, a lost lizard, grazing deer, relaxed rabbits and mischevious monkeys make up an atypical, dreamlike jungle scene.
Courtesy of the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), Ubud, Bali.
Photograph by Ubud High.
These dudes mean serious business. Tigers corner a lizard in Wayan Asta's 'The Forest Scene'.
Courtesy of the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), Ubud, Bali.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Monkeys swoop and tease the tiger gang in Wayan Asta's 'The Forest Scene'.
Like many of his contemporaries, Asta began his career painting scenes from Balinese life and Hindu mythology before touching on
his mother-subject: monkeys. Later works show a mischevious sense of humour at play, with his furry friends playing basketball and
shooting pool.
Courtesy of the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), Ubud, Bali.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Wayan Turun
b. Tebesaya, Peliatan, 1935 – d.1986
'Arjuna Wiwaha' 1974
'Arjuna Wiwaha' at the ARMA Art Gallery, Ubud, by I Wayan Turun of Tebesaya, Peliatan, Bali.
After killing Natakwaca, Lord Arjuna the archer sits side-by-side with Dewi Supraba as they are escorted to heaven by angels.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Arjuna Wiwaha' by I Wayan Turun. Lord Arjuna sits side-by-side with Dewi Supraba in their divine sedan as they are escorted to heaven by angels.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Arjuna Wiwaha' by I Wayan Turun. An angel escorts Lord Arjuna and Dewi Supraba to heaven.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Ketut Kasta
b. Peliatan, Ubud, 1945 –
'The Barong Dance' c.1993
'The Barong Dance' by I Ketut Kasta.
A masked monkey-man teases the barong while a young devotee stabs at himself with a kris while in a trance.
Courtesy of the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), Ubud, Bali.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'The Barong Dance' by I Ketut Kasta.
Courtesy of the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), Ubud, Bali.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Dewa Putu Mokoh
b. Pengosekan, Ubud, c.1935 – d. 2010
'The Butterflies'
'The Butterflies' at the ARMA Art Gallery, Ubud, by I. Dewa Putu Mokoh.
Courtesy of the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), Ubud, Bali.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'The Butterflies' by I. Dewa Putu Mokoh.
Courtesy of the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), Ubud, Bali.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Mangku I Gusti Made Baret
b. Pengosekan, Ubud, 1920 – d.2012
'Dewi Saraswati', Balinese-Hindu Goddess of Knowledge and The Arts
'Dewi Saraswati' – the Balinese-Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning – by Mangku I. Gusti Made Baret.
Courtesy of the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), Ubud, Bali.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Dewi Saraswati', the Balinese-Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning.
Courtesy of the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), Ubud, Bali.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Dewi Saraswati', the Balinese-Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning.
Courtesy of the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), Ubud, Bali.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Made Tubuh
b. Batuan, Bali, 1941 –
'Sexual Hell'
'Sexual Hell' at the ARMA Art Gallery, Ubud, by I Made Tubuh of Batuan, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), Ubud, Bali.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Sexual Hell' by I Made Tubuh of Batuan, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), Ubud, Bali.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Sexual Hell' by I Made Tubuh of Batuan, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), Ubud, Bali.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Sexual Hell' by I Made Tubuh of Batuan, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), Ubud, Bali.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Wayan Bendi
b. Batuan, Bali, 1950 –
'The Island of Bali'
'The Island of Bali' by the Batuan artist I Wayan Bendi of Batuan, Bali, Indonesia.
West and East meet, jar and swiftly part ways in this wry, dry contemporary take on Themepark Bali.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Surfers and surfboards in 'The Island of Bali' by I Wayan Bendi of Batuan, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'The Island of Bali' at the ARMA Art Gallery in Ubud by I Wayan Bendi of Batuan, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'The Island of Bali' by I Wayan Bendi of Batuan, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Wayan Kaler
b. Penestanan, Ubud, 1960 –
'Ayung River Landscape' c.1990
Tourists and the Hindu faithful vie for space in the painting 'Ayung River Landscape' by Balinese artist I Wayan Kaler of Penestanan, Ubud, Bali.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Balinese Hindus conduct a temple ceremony as tourists enjoy rafting adventures on the nearby Ayung River in 'Ayung River Landscape' by the Balinese artist I Wayan Kaler of Ubud, Bali.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Dewa Nyoman Sugi
b. Pengosekan, Mas, 1970 –
'Circle of Life'
'Circle of Life' at the ARMA Art Gallery by the Balinese artist I Dewa Nyoman Sugi of Mas, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Circle of Life' at the ARMA Art Gallery by the Balinese artist I Dewa Nyoman Sugi of Mas, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Circle of Life' at the ARMA Art Gallery by the Balinese artist I Dewa Nyoman Sugi of Mas, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Circle of Life' at the ARMA Art Gallery by the Balinese artist I Dewa Nyoman Sugi of Mas, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Ketut Liyer
b. Pengosekan, Ubud, c.1924 – d. 2016
'The Ten Directions' c.1970
The painting of 'The Ten Directions' by the Balinese artist I Ketut Liyer of 'Eat, Pray, Love' fame at the ARMA Art Gallery, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
'The Ten Directions' by the Balinese painter I Ketut Liyer of 'Eat, Pray, Love' fame at the ARMA Art Gallery, Ubud, Bali.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Nyoman Kayun
b. Peliatan, Ubud, 1948 –
'Temple Festival With Barong Performance' c.1980
'Temple Festival With Barong Performance' at the ARMA Art Gallery, Ubud, by the Balinese artist I Nyoman Kayun.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Temple Festival With Barong Performance' by I Nyoman Kayun of Peliatan, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Temple Festival With Barong Performance' by I Nyoman Kayun.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Anak Agung Gede Raka Turas
b. Padangtegal, Ubud, 1917 – d. 1992
'Durma And The Hermit' c.1960
'Durma And The Hermit' at the ARMA Art Gallery, Ubud, by the Balinese artist Anak Agung Gede Raka Turas of Padangtegal, Ubud, Bali.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Durma And The Hermit' by Anak Agung Gede Raka Turas of Padangtegal, Ubud, Bali.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Gusti Made Kwandji
b. Peliatan, Ubud, 1936 – d. 2013
The story of 'Rajapala' and the divine naked nymphs
The painting 'Rajapala' by the Balinese artist I Gusti Made Kwandji at the ARMA Art Gallery in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
The often-painted tale of the hunter Rajapala who comes across the secret bathing place of heavenly nymphs –
cheekily stealing the sarong of Ken Sulasih and thereby condemning her to a mortal life on earth.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Rajapala' by the Balinese artist I Gusti Made Kwandji at the ARMA Art Gallery in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Rajapala' by the Balinese artist I Gusti Made Kwandji at the ARMA Art Gallery in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Ida Bagus Nyoman Rai
b. Anggarkasih, Sanur, Bali, 1915 – d. 1998
The tale of 'Rajapala' the hunter and his heavenly bathing maidens
The painting 'Rajapala' in black-and-white at the ARMA Art Gallery in Ubud by the Balinese artist Ida Bagus Nyoman Rai of Sanur, Bali, Indonesia
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: The painting 'Rajapala' in black-and-white at the ARMA Art Gallery in Ubud by the Balinese artist Ida Bagus Nyoman Rai of Sanur, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Nyoman Meja
b. Ubud, 1950 –
'Children's Kecak Dance' c.1990
'Children's Kecak Dance' at the ARMA Art Gallery, Ubud, by I Nyoman Meja of Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Children's Kecak Dance' by I Nyoman Meja of Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Dewa Putu Sugi
b. Pengosekan, Mas, 1931 –
'Pounding Rice' c.1980
'Pounding Rice' at the ARMA Art Gallery, Ubud, by the Balinese artist I Dewa Putu Sugi of Pengosekan, Mas, Bali.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
'Pounding Rice' by the Balinese artist I Dewa Putu Sugi of Pengosekan, Mas, Bali.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Dewa Wayan Kandel
b. Batuan, Bali, 1926 –
'Subali and Sugriwa' c.1960s
The tale of the monkey-brothers 'Subali and Sugriwa' fighting for the hand of Dewi Tara whom they both wish to marry.
By I Dewa Wayan Kandel of Batuan, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: The monkeys 'Subali and Sugriwa' fighting over Dewi Tara at the ARMA Art Gallery in Ubud, by the Balinese artist I Dewa Wayan Kandel of Batuan, Bali.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Subali and Sugriwa' at the ARMA Art Gallery in Ubud, by the Balinese artist I Dewa Wayan Kandel of Batuan, Bali.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Nyoman Londo
b. Penestanan, Ubud, 1948 –
Untitled
I Nyoman Londo was a pupil of Dutch artist Arie Smit's 'Young Artists School of Painting'. Arie Smit was a Dutch soldier
who stayed on in Bali after the Second World War, and who encouraged young children in Penestanan to paint. Smit was one of a long line
of homosexual painters who took up residence on Bali – known locally as 'The Group', it included artists such as Walter Spies,
Rudolf Bonnet and Donald Friend.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
A typically over-colourful, naive painting by I Nyoman Londo – pupil of Dutch artist Ari Smit and 'The Young Artists School of Painting' on Bali.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Ketut Tagen
b. Penestanan, Ubud, 1946 –
'Sabung Ayam' (Cock-fighting) 1990
'Sabung Ayam' (Cock-fighting) by the Balinese painter I Ketut Tagen – another young pupil snatched from the cradle
by Dutch artist Arie Smit to form his stable of 'Young Artists' in Penestanan, Ubud.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
'Sabung Ayam' (Cock-fighting) by the Balinese painter I Ketut Tagen of 'The Young Artists School of Painting', Penestanan, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Ketut Regig
b. Tebesaya, Peliatan, Bali, 1919 – d. 2002
'The Frog Dance'
The painting 'The Frog Dance' in the ARMA Art Gallery, Ubud, by the Balinese artist I Ketut Regig of Peliatan, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'The Frog Dance' in the ARMA Art Gallery by the Balinese artist I Ketut Regig of Peliatan, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Ketut Regig
b. Tebesaya, Peliatan, Bali, 1919 – d. 2002
'The Frog and the Owl'
The painting 'The Frog and the Owl' in the ARMA Art Gallery, Ubud, by the Balinese artist I Ketut Regig of Peliatan, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'The Frog and the Owl' in the ARMA Art Gallery by the Balinese artist I Ketut Regig of Peliatan, Bali.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Ketut Regig
b. Tebesaya, Peliatan, Bali, 1919 – d. 2002
'The Frog Fishermen'
The painting 'The Frog Fishermen' in the ARMA Art Gallery, Ubud, by the Balinese artist I Ketut Regig of Peliatan, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'The Frog Fishermen' in the ARMA Art Gallery by the Balinese artist I Ketut Regig of Peliatan, Bali.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Ketut Budiana
b. Padangtegal, Ubud, 1950 –
'The Dance Of The Witches' c. 1986
'The Dance Of The Witches' at the ARMA Art Gallery, Ubud, by I Ketut Budiana of Padangtegal, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
A night scene where leyak – sorcerers – perform a ritual dance attended by the Queen of the Witches (right).
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'The Dance Of The Witches' by I Ketut Budiana of Ubud.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Nyoman Meja
b. Ubud, 1950 –
'Harvesting Rice' c. 1990
Male and female farmers harvest rice with special knives called ani-ani by the Balinese painter Nyoman Meja of Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Harvesting Rice' at the ARMA Art Gallery by Nyoman Meja of Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Ketut Kasta
b. Peliatan, Ubud, 1945 –
Untitled
An untitled painting by the Balinese artist I Ketut Kasta of Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: Untitled painting by the Balinese artist I Ketut Kasta of Ubud, Bali.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Ketut Djodjol
b. Tebesaya, Bali 1940 – d. 1965
'Arya Dancers Preparing for a Performance' c.1960
'Arya Dancers Preparing for a Performance' at the ARMA Art Gallery, Ubud, by the Balinese painter I Ketut Djodjol of Tebesaya, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Arya Dancers Preparing for a Performance' by the Balinese painter I Ketut Djodjol of Tebesaya, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Dewa Putu Mokoh
b. Pengosekan, Ubud, c.1935 – d. 2010
'Belajar Berenang' (Learning to Swim) c.1996
'Belajar Berenang' (Learning to Swim) by the Balinese painter I Dewa Putu Mokoh at the ARMA Art Gallery in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Belajar Berenang' (Learning to Swim) by the Balinese painter I Dewa Putu Mokoh at the ARMA Art Gallery in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
I Wayan Pendet
b. Peliatan, Ubud, 1936 –
'The Naked Elephant'
Painting of 'The Naked Elephant' by the Balinese artist I Wayan Pendet of Peliatan, Ubud, Bali at the ARMA Art Gallery.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail of 'The Naked Elephant' by the Balinese artist I Wayan Pendet of Peliatan, Bali at the ARMA Art Gallery, Ubud.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Ida Bagus Made Pugug
b. Ketewel, Bali, 1919 – d. 2006
'Ngaben' (Cremation Ceremony)
Painting of a 'Ngaben' (Cremation Ceremony) by the Balinese artist Ida Bagus Made Pugug of Ketewel, Bali at the ARMA Art Gallery in Ubud.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
Detail: 'Ngaben' (Cremation Ceremony) by the Balinese artist Ida Bagus Made Pugug of Ketewel, Bali at the ARMA Art Gallery in Ubud.
Courtesy of the ARMA Foundation.
Photograph by Ubud High.
☬ Location of the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), Ubud
Jalan Raya Pengosekan, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
↻ Back to A Bali 'Art Attack
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The Ubud Handbook
THE UBUD HANDBOOK ~ Your free guide to living in Ubud and Bali in an online nutshell.
Religion Matters
∞ The Tale of Ganesha the Globetrotter ~ Bali's Elephant-Headed Hindu God
‘First stop on Shree Ganesha's round-Asia tour was a spell in Buddhist Tibet with its strong tantric leanings – a convenient spot to re-invent himself as Vinãyaka, and then as the dancing red Nritta Ganapati – before a full-blown alter-ego revamp as the scarlet, twelve-armed Maharakta Ganapati. Now, Maharakta Ganapati was unusually fond of skullcaps filled with human flesh and blood – and this we might charitably put down to a bad trip.
After all, what happens in Tibet stays in Tibet...’
∞ An American Calonarang ~ Trance & Possession on Bali
‘To cut an all-night story short, the mask was donned by a dancer who fell into a deep trance. But instead of staying in the temple, he began to run. And run. He became violent and uncontrollable. He ran for four kilometers down the road – the crowd scrambled after him. He ended up in a cemetery just past my house, and in the dead of night began to do frenzied battle with unseen foes...’
∞ 'Nyepi' ~ Bali's Hindu New Year, and the Day of Silence ~ Melasti, Ngerupuk, Ogoh-Ogoh & Manis Nyepi
‘If previous New Years' Days have seen you waking up with a crippling hangover trying to remember what you did the night before, maybe it's time you headed to Bali in March. Nyepi – the Balinese Day of Silence, and the start of the Hindu Saka New Year – is a day, a night and a day you'll never forget....’
∞ 'Kajeng Kliwon' ~ A Very Bad-Hair Day on Bali
‘Kajeng Kliwon is the kind of day when anything that can happen will happen. It invariably does.
You have been seriously warned...’
Personal Stories
∞ Diary of a Market Girl
“When I had my sixth and seventh babies at the hospital – my twin girls – the doctor ordered me to have a Caesarian. And without asking me, he tied my tubes off as well.
I think he thought I'd had enough babies...”
Food Talk
∞ Durian ~ The King of Stink
“On the third bite,” says one hater, “it was as though I'd just eaten a diseased, parasite-infested animal with a bad case of rabies. I prayed I wouldn't be sick because I really didn't want to taste it again on the way back up...”
Culture Bites
∞ Cinema Paradiso ~ Bali's Seat in the History of Indonesian Cinema
‘Boobs and political censorship have never been far from the Silver Screen – in Indonesia, they're its bedrock. The silent flicks of Thirties' Bali sucked hungrily on the island's bare-breasted cabinet-postcard image that encouraged so many gilded tourists – and dodgy film-stars like Charlie Chaplin – to visit its sultry, forbidden shores...’
Getting Around ~ Bali 'Biking
∞ Surviving Bali on a 'Bike
“For me, some of the most dangerous people on the road are white people. I avoid them like the plague. You can tell the ones who are going to hurt others – the fixed grins, the hunched over the handle-bars, the wobbling around corners and shouts of indignation when they finally hit someone – because they have absolutely no idea how life and the road works around here...”
∞ It's Silly Season Again ~ Renting a Scooter, and Crashing it, on Bali
‘She tears into the traffic. She can't stop. She narrowly misses hitting a car head-on, swerves past a mum on a 'bike and slaloms across the road. Before she hits anyone – it's a miracle she doesn't – she falls in a bad-sounding heap of bent metal and smashing plastic. A group of Balinese rush to pick her up before the cops see her...’
∞ The Other Side of the Coin ~ Just Another Motorbike Accident on Bali
‘She starts sweeping and I notice that she's limping. There's a spreading bruise and an angry graze running past her knee and down her calf. She wants to carry on cleaning – I sit her down and ask her what happened.
She's shy; I press...’
Health Matters
∞ Let's Get Wet ~ The Rainy Season on Bali
‘Rule number one on a monsoon day? Don't get wet.
You may not realise that getting caught in a cloudburst or shower on Bali – particularly if you're on a motorbike – is the tropical equivalent of walking naked outside during a Prague Winter after a lukewarm bath.
It'll really slow you down. The shivers, hot-and-cold flushes, a chesty cough, diarrhoea, sneezing, stomach pains, a belting headache and aching bones are all at the top of the list...’
∞ Bali's Scorpions, Hornets, Mosquitoes, Poisonous Caterpillars... And Other Strange Tails
‘Nowhere is free from the tax of life. We all have to pay for our slice of Bali paradise – and this often comes in the shape of our biting, stinging, crawling, flying insect-cousins.
It's the downside of environment-sharing...’
Holidays from the Jungle
∞ The Heads of Trunyan
‘Agricultural, and unpractised in the dark art of handling international tourists, the aristocratic farmer-people of Trunyan have acquired a damaging reputation for aggression. Their unique tourist draw – a jungle-cemetery where bodies are left in the open to disintegrate underneath a magical banyan tree – is regularly shunned by travellers on the time-sensitive tourist circuit...’
∞ Lombok ~ A Line in the Sand
‘Ten meters away and the young man finally looks up – an inane, animal-like grin taped across his face as his girlfriend grips his porcelain butt and grimaces towards the empty blue sky. They disengage like street dogs, utter an invective in Russian, and stare...’
Tourism & Self-Enrichment
∞ Eat, Pray, Self-Love
‘My concentration's shot to pieces. The spaghetti keeps falling off my fork. She's on her third large beer now. She starts to say 'facking' even more, and is speaking so loudly that people passing on the street have begun to look her way, and she's spitting bits of ciabatta bread and tomato and fish into her friend's dinner...’
∞ From Ubud With Love
‘I'm staying at a cute, family-run bed-and-breakfast – a homestay – on Ubud's trendy Jalan Goutama. A young member of the homestay's family tours her compound, blessing it with incense and rice and flower-petal offerings in little hand-made palm-leaf boxes.
All is well in Bali's spiritual capital...’
∞ A Dutchman Goes to a Gypsy Fortune-Teller
‘A Dutch boy in Holland goes to a gypsy fortune-teller who tells him that he is, in fact, Balinese. Afterwards, his uncle visits the Island of the Gods and brings him back a wooden carving of a bare-breasted lady.
Lucky for him it wasn't one of those funny-shaped wooden bottle-openers that looks like a cock...’
∞ The Land of Self-Healing and Snake Oil
‘Shake out those Kundalini Awakenings with some HoopYogini™ and Bhakti Boogie® at the Yoga Barn. Celebrate The Divine Feminine with a splash of Shakti Dance. Puff up your lungs in a Sacred Breathwork Immersion Workshop®, insert a Jade Egg for luck at The Womb Temple™ and polish it off with some tantalising Manifesting And Abundance.
You know you're worth it...’
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Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruptions in Bali & Indonesia Today
Gunung Anak Krakatau – the infamous 'Child of Krakatoa' volcano – erupting in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, Indonesia.
And finally, the weather
