I flew from Singapore to Jakarta, Indonesia, but stayed in the city only long enough to catch a train to Yogyakarta. From Yogyakarta I took a train to Banyuwangi where I caught a ferry to Gilimanuk on Bali. From there it was a bus to Ubud.
Ritual sacrifice of a chicken before a dance performance. Many villages on Bali raise money by putting on dance performances for tourists. This one was held in a small village about a half hour's walk north of Ubud. There were only a handful of spectators but the performance was quite well done with a cast of dozens.
The pre-dance ceremony continues. I believe this was in Kedewatan Village.
I believe the characters are from the Barong Dance. The Barong is a lion or bear-like creature who represents good.
That's all I know.
Gamelan orchestra accompanying the dance.
By 1977 Candri had become a Bali legend. She had one of the first and best home stay establishments in Ubud. I stayed there a couple of weeks and always enjoyed the evening meal followed by some Bali Brem (rice wine).
Pura Gunung Kawi - 11th century temple northeast of Ubud
Pura Gunung Kawi is located in this rice terraced valleu
Pura Gunung Kawi
Kintamani Market on the way to Mount Batur
Hiking to Mount Batur
Lake Batur
Active volcano - Mount Batur
No idea. Saw this chicken pinned to a road cut.
Bali rice field with scarecrows.
Bathing spot in Ubud. Note the bamboo pipes with water flowing out.
Bamboo trail in Ubud
Bamboo bridge in Ubud
Daemon - Maybe Kali?
Another Ubud temple. No idea which one.
Me, looking very uncool in my sarong and temple scarf.
From Ubud I went down to Kuta for some time on the beach. I happened to run into this cremation. In this case, two people are being cremated. One is an old woman who had been buried for some time waiting until the family could afford a cremation ceremony. The other is a young girl who died in a vehicle accident.
The bodies are paraded through the village in a random path in an attempt to fool evil spirits.
It looks heavy, doesn't it?
The funeral pyre is made of banana stems.
A holy person performs a brief ritual over the bodies.
Once the fire is lit, everyone leaves.
I ended up staying in Legian, a short distance from Kuta. My second day there I ended up with Dengue Fever. It was awful. In spite of the tropical heat, I was freezing and wore Levis and a down jacket all day. I spent most of my time drinking iced smoothies. I was too ill to explore or take photos, but I did get this sunset. Too bad time has spoiled the negative.
| Introduction | England | Scotland | Europe |
| Turkey | Iran | Afghanistan | Pakistan |
| India 1 | India 2 | Nepal | Burma |
| Thailand | Malaysia/Singapore | Indonesia 1 | Indonesia 2 |
| Hong Kong | Macau | Japan | Korea |
Photographs and text copyright Michael Newman and William Garsden: 2024