When I first went to Bali, Indonesia I had no idea what to expect. Something exotic, hot, amazing landscapes? What I came away with, is so much more.
Landing in Denpasar it hits you smack dab in the face, you understand now you're in for an adventure.....one you'll never forget.
I sat and watched the travelers arriving, all of their long journeys showed on their faces. Glad to be on the ground finally, and still with an air of excitement. I met Kandy our guide there, and his daughter and as we went careening thru the night I knew I was going to love it here when he said, "Welcome Home to Bali". Laughing, the music blasted, the windows down blowing nights sweet breezes as we talked. We ended up chanting a Hindi mantra we all knew, his daughter loved singing kirtan too!. I knew right off we would be fast friends.
A Craftours experience always includes a fantastic hotel room, and I was not disappointed, arriving to rose pedals in my dream of a bathtub after traveling for over 22 hrs. I was in the town of Ubud, in the uplands of Bali, Indonesia, is known as a center for traditional crafts and dance. The surrounding Ubud District’s rainforest and terraced rice paddies, dotted with Hindu temples and shrines, are among Bali’s most famous landscapes. .Ubud is one of those places where a holiday of a few days can easily turn into a stay of weeks, months or even years. The size of the town's expat community attests to this, and so do the many novels and films that have been set here, creative responses to the seductive nature of this most cultured of all Balinese towns. This is a place where traditional Balinese culture imbues every waking moment, where colourful offerings adorn the streets and where the hypnotic strains of gamelan (Gamelan is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments) are an ever-present soundtrack to everyday life. It's also somewhere that is relentlessly on trend – a showcase of sustainable design, mindfulness, culinary inventiveness and the very best that global tourism has to offer. Come here for relaxation, for rejuvenation and to have what may well be the most magical holiday of your life. I could actually live here, the vibrancy of life is intoxicating.
Here's a few pages from my sketchbook, Ubud and all of Bali really draws me in. I LOVE it so much. XXX Deb
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