Bali, Province of Indonesia, Day 1

So exciting to arrive at the Bali Port of Benoa, which is a province of Indonesia. The entrance to the bay felt magical!

Bali is an island of approximately 4.3 million people, about 80% Hindu, and is known as the island of 50,000 temples (at least!). Religion is inextricably woven throughout every aspect of daily life - morning, noon., and night. Homes have elaborate micro-temples that inspire daily offerings, ensuring dharmic (right) action in thoughts and actions. Likewise, the small businesses in each community have little alters with incense burning to remind all of the sacredness of life. Each community features larger temples that function as the center of life where devotion. prayer and celebrations happen all the time. Temples everywhere!

On day one, we took a city excursion, visiting the Pasar Badung Market - four stories of exotic fruits & vegetables, meats, clothing, eggs, goods for offerings, etc. The market was bustling.

We landed in this area during the Galungan, very big festival /parade going on nearby. Galungan is a major Hindu holiday celebrated by the Balinese community every six months to honor the creator of the universe, celebrate the victory of good over evil, and remind people to live a virtuous life.

During the festival, all across Bali, homes and temples display tall bamboo poles (Penjor) in front of their places decorated with flowers and fruits as offerings to the Gods. We jostled through a sea of Balinese participating in the festival which included a noisy parade where the men shouldered giant depictions of Hindu gods. People dressed up in traditional Balinese costumes.

Their next celebration is Kuningan on March 10 and Nyepi - March 11 - which is a day of fasting, silence and meditation – everything stops, including traffic lights, music and noise for 24 hrs.; everyone stays home or at hotels, even the tourists).

After the market, we went to the Ngiring Ke Museum Bali museum. Here, we saw beautiful, traditional Balinese clothing for men and women. Our guide explained the significance of each outfit.

In the evening, we took an excursion to the 5-star Bali Hyatt resort in the Sanur section of Bali. Sanur attracts many AUS, Russian, Turkish and other retirees from different parts of the world; very westernized and upscale. At the Bali Hyatt, we had a lovely buffet dinner and were treated to a wonderful Balinese theatrical performance. Wonderful evening.Read more