Here’s a short video of a Kuningan procession passing by our villa in Ubud, Bali.
Galungan-Kuningan: A feast for the eyes in Bali
BALI, INDONESIA – Galungan gets underway this week here in Bali.
A major holiday celebrated by Balinese Hindu people, Galungan marks the victory of dharma (righteousness) over adharma (unrighteousness). It’s a time when the spirits of the ancestors return to the Earth and are present among the living.
The ancestral spirits will return to the afterlife on Kuningan day, at the end of the 10-day holiday period.
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Passport Photos and So Much More
BALI, INDONESIA – Last week Melanie and I went to a local photo studio to get ‘mugshots’ for our new visa application. The required package included four photos in three different sizes – 12 photos in all – for each of us.
I can only guess why they need so many photos. One of the smaller ones will go on our new ID cards. Another one could be incorporated into the new visa sticker that goes inside our passports.
As for the other 10 pictures, I suppose they will be attached to terribly important paperwork and filed away in various official government archives. How could we survive without bureaucracy?
What to wear to a temple in Bali
BALI, INDONESIA – Whether going out for a nice dinner, attending a festive celebration or meeting the in-laws for the first time, who hasn’t wondered, “What should I wear?”
I must confess, fashion is not my strong suit. Most of the time I dress strictly for comfort. Shorts and sandals, a favorite T-shirt (worn so thin it’s almost transparent) and I’m good to go.
If I need to be more dressy I’ll switch out my battered Tee for a real shirt with buttons and a pocket.
But when we travel, local rules of etiquette sometimes require me to venture outside my sartorial comfort zone.
It’s rice harvest time in northern Laos (new video)
XIENG KHOUANG, LAOS – It’s Fall in northern Laos, time to harvest the annual rice crop.
Laos’ beautiful mountainous countryside is filled with terraced rice fields, forming a patchwork mosaic of colorful polygons as far as the eye can see.
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