Today is our last day in Bali, thought I'd share some photos of our favorite Balinese people. Bali is the most social place I've ever been. The whole basis of Balinese culture is a tightly knit social network. They each have their place in the whole, each knows their place and accepts it. The absolute worst thing for a Balinese is not be a part of the community, unthinkable. "Seeking alone time" is not known here. "Going tramping" about the country alone is also unheard of. How can you know who you are if you're not a part of something bigger? [View Full Entry]

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Bali's Ceremonial Pollution These photos speak for themselves...Bali's beautiful beaches can go from breathtakingly gorgeous to grossly polluted...from one ceremony performed on our local Echo Beach in Canguu. And this will have occurred on every beach in Bali since it was a part of one of their biggest holidays; Nyepi or Balinese New Year. Most of what you see in these photos is plastic bags used to carry their bamboo, flower and rice offerings, called “canang sari”. The plant based offerings will break down in the waves but the plastic bags will not. The “canang sari&r [View Full Entry]

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The Making of Bali Statues Bali is rich in statues, carved mostly from wood and stone. Even though most Bali statues are carved in Java, where labor is even cheaper, master carvers can still be found throughout the Island, mostly in the Ubud area. I'll be heading to Ubud, the cultural center of Bali, next week, so this is Part One on my search for The Making of Bali Statues. Since I've made my own Goddess Statue from Hyper Tufa (a cement compound with vegetation) I'm trying to find cement statue makers. This is not that easy since almost all statues [View Full Entry]

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Bali- Dengue Fever This weeks Bali Advertiser, warns of a Dengue Fever Pandemic. Dengue Fever can be lethal but is mostly a flu like fever that comes and goes without serious damage. However, Bali is famous for “If you don't mention it, it doesn't exist” attitude. No travel warnings exist about Dengue Fever, so bring your big dope as Dengue Fever is passed through mosquitoes. Don't be fooled by the tiny mosquitoes here in Bali. Compared to the bird like mosquitoes in The Pacific Northwest of BC, they look harmless. But they'll bite you and be gone before you can swipe [View Full Entry]

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Ulu Watu Ulu Watu, a famous surfing area on the southwest tip of Bali, is an area we heard about upon arrival as a “must see” for its big waves. On the map of Bali, the Ulu Watu Temple is a prominent tourist land mark. So, yesterday being Sunday, we decided to leave out computers behind and go tramping in Ulu Watu, about an hours ride from Canguu. We stopped near the airport to take photos of Bali's most famous sculpture. I'm posting pictures here, which tell a far more accurate story than mere words. It's by far the largest, most [View Full Entry]

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As we leave Nyepi here in Bali, we have a renewed appreciation for our home in Rosswood BC. Bali only experiences true silence once a year, whereas we can live that everyday. The Bali sky was intensely blue yesterday as ALL traffic was completely forbidden. We're blessed to have true blue skys everyday in Northern BC. And the stars at night are so present, vibrant and clear, like our northern skys every night of the year, well...when its not cloudy. Well, back to work, check out our new website; http://www.nutritionarticlesonline.com and enjoy more Ogoh Ogoh photos, Stephanie and Harreson ib [View Full Entry]

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Ogoh Ogoh and Nyepi were amazing. Wild Monster filled parades one day, complete and blessed silence the next day. We made much noise the day before Nyepi to drive the evil spirits from our homes, then sunk into a peaceful Nyepi. Bali needs Nyepi to remind itself of who it really is...beauty, quiet, peace and relaxation. [View Full Entry]

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Nyepi Nyepi, Balinese Day of Silence, is just around the corner, Mar 7th. We feel blessed to be apart of this unique holiday, a holiday that should be adopted by every country in the world. On Nyepi, EVERYTHING shut down, electricity, commerce, pedestrians, traffic etc., everything except essential emergency services. The Balinese celebrate their New year in a way that resembles a Jewish Sabbath and Burning Man. The Burning Man part happens the night before when they burn their individually made Ogo Ogos. Every community that we've driven through, has created their own Ogo Ogo to [View Full Entry]

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Bali Being in Bali is somewhat like being in Northern Canada, there's some parts I love dearly, other parts I'm not so crazy about. Like both countries, it all depends on the time of year. Smart snow birds leave Canada in winter. Not so smart snow birds to go Bali in winter. It's unbelievably hot and muggy here in the wet season. Even the locals sweat and complain about the heat, until we tell them Canada is colder than their freezers. We're typical tourists, surviving the tropics in our air conditioned villa, dodging the gecko pooh, which likes to land on [View Full Entry]

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This what Stephanie and Harreson left behind in Beautiful British Columbia, Canada, Rosswood BC in Dec 07! [View Full Entry]

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