After Borneo we went to Bali for a week: relaxing, enjoying the landscape and the good food, yoga for Luisa and a reunion with Nina and Antonio. For Luisa it was the first time; I had been here several times before, and my enthusiasm had been limited – too touristy, too crowded, I thought, and plastic waste on the beaches.
Bali surprised me
We found two beautiful hotels near Ubud and Canggu, and the week went far too fast. The food was amazing, and riding a scooter through the landscape was as much of a joy as ever. Right in the south, on the Bukit peninsula, Uluwatu Temple stands on the edge of a 70-metre cliff above the sea; it is one of Bali’s nine directional temples.
See you next time, Bali
Bali surprised me – and it wasn’t the last time, that much is certain. Next time we’ll come as three.
A volcanic cone with a plume of cloud rising out of a sea of clouds – arriving in Bali.A red kite in the evening light, people on the wet beach.Blue outrigger boats in rows on the dark beach.Two anglers silhouetted on the beach, palms on the right.A fisherman casts his net into the surf.A single footprint in the fine, dark sand.A treehouse under palms and the coast in the evening light.The silhouette of the temple on the cliff in the sunset glow.Sandy beach, river mouth and breaking waves.A surfer beneath a breaking wave.A long white line of foam, a few surfers in the dark water.White spray above a dark reef.An outrigger boat alone on a deep green sea.Palms on green rice terraces near Ubud.Several waterfalls plunge into a dark gorge.A waterfall in dense forest, small roofs on the cliff edge above.Two slender waterfalls in front of a green rock wall.Water over mossy rock, up close.A gorge with a thin waterfall, a mountain in the haze behind.A mossy stone figure with a jug among large leaves.A wooden hut with red parasols and hats behind colourful foliage.Orange flowers as an offering and a red heliconia.Two monkeys on the railing, one grooming the other.A thatched pavilion and a carved temple gate in the forest.A stone bridge beneath aerial roots.A stone dragon's head with open jaws.The photographer in the window glass, lights behind.A mossy stone shrine and a carved dancer on the door.A grinning stone face behind red-and-green leaves.A temple gate with a golden door between bare trees.An orange three-wheeler with cracked paint and a stone hand on a ceremonial robe.A seated Buddha in a glowing orange niche.A grimacing relief and three figures pouring water into a pool.A stone statue on a tall dark plinth in a palm garden.Temple gate and thatched roofs, dogs dozing in the courtyard.Yellow parasols at the shrine and bathers at the water spouts.Gilded shrines with thatched roofs along the temple path.People in white praying before their offerings.A flower offering in a basket and a woman at the shrine beneath yellow parasols.A basket full of red chillies and small tomatoes – the food was amazing.A market stall beneath colourful umbrellas, pineapples and melons.Uluwatu Temple on its 70-metre cliff, the surf far below.A long line of surfers beside the edge of the foam.A broad breaking wave, surfers in the green water.Two heads in the silvery, glittering sea.A surfer with a white board standing in the shallow waves.The sun sinks over the sea, surfers as tiny dots in the waves – until next time, Bali.
