There is just something about Bali – Photos from our time in and around Ubud

There is just something about Bali – Photos from our time in and around Ubud

There is just something about Bali that touches my spirit like no other country I have ever been to. Bali is a feast for the senses but there is is an energy here that arouses more than just the eyes, the nose, taste, touch and the ears. There is an energy here that touches the soul. You wont find this at a nightclub in Kuta or in a hotel chain resort. No you need to head out of the tourist traps and into Bali itself.

When I asked our taxi driver about this, he simply said “In Bali the people give offerings and thanks to the gods many times a day, and when there is so much gratitude there is good energy.”

This really made me think.

Can you imagine how many more smiles there would be in this world if we all gave thanks many times a day?

Here are some photos from our time in Ubud. Click here to the absolutely gorgeous villa we stayed in the rice paddies in Pejeng.

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Our first few days in Balangaan Bali

Our first few days in Balangaan Bali

I am sitting on our villa’s stoep listening to an orchestra of Christmas beetles, frogs and geckos, the air is balmy and I am sipping on a glass of wine which was left by our hosts. I keep pinching myself that this is all real because it’s hard to imagine that I was in South Africa stressing my head off in a total tizz trying my utmost to get all of my work done before leaving on a two month sabbatical just 8 nights ago.

Travel is an incredible thing! To be flung through the air in a big metal object and wake up in another reality is certainly one of the most phenomenal things that has been made available to us humans in this past century. I have been planning this trip to Bali in my heart for many years. I visited this magical land in 2008 with my family and I cried on the day I flew out because I just didn’t want to leave. There is just something about Bali, it has a spirit, people and a feeling that is quite indescribable to those who haven’t been here. I knew I would come back eventually, and here I am, in Ubud, in a cute little villa with two very special friends listening to the frogs and tapping away on this keyboard.

My travel buddies for the month are two very talented wedding photographers from Cape Town called Monica Dart and Charlene Schreuder.The three of us arrived in heaps, exhausted from a crazy wedding season, a long flight and a very long immigration queue. We went straight to Balangaan Beach to get over our jetlag and rest and stayed at a gorgeous little place called “Flower Bud Bunglaows” . I cannot recommend them enough. Our bungalow had three comfy double beds which were perfect for long lazy lie ins and a bean shaped pool just designed for afternoon naps. We spent many hours chatting on our verandah overlooking the waves whilst listening to cow bells tinkling away and roosters crowing at all the wrong times. Before we knew it it was time to leave for the Fearless Wedding Photographers conference in Kuta. Kuta is pretty much the opposite to Balangaan it’s tourist central on steroids and really not my favorite place in the world but the conference was one of the best things I have ever done for myself and my business. But I will be writing a full blog post about that another day.

For now I will leave you with a few snap shots from our first few days. I haven’t really taken many photographs or tried very hard to get any good photographs, my modus operandi has been to relax and get into the swing of things.

This will definitely change as my photography finger is itching!!!!

 

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