Bali had always been a favorite place of ours to visit because of the rich culture and very hospitable people. We stayed at Sri Sunari Guesthouse located in the middle of rice fields in Ubud, the cultural center of Bali. Mr. Nyoman, the manager of the guesthouse, was already a friend since a previous visit we made to Bali a few years back. Our visit this time was very brief, but Nyoman took us around to see quite a bit of things.

    We came at an extremely good time because there were ceremonies and processions everywhere we went. The approaching independence day brought a spirit of celebration all across the island. Perhaps, the most intriguing one we encountered was the traditional Balinese cremation ceremony, Ngaben. Our plan for the day changed as we passed a Ngaben ceremony on the road. In the many years that Rina had visited Bali, it was her very first time witnessing Ngaben. So being the photography nuts that we are, we crashed the procession and met a friendly Balinese family who welcomed us. Later on, Nyoman explained the symbolism of Ngaben, which is also explained in Bali For You.

    Everywhere we went that day, we continued to pass other Ngaben processions. However, the rest of our time was spent going around and looking at villages, a traditional salt farm, and crafts. The Balinese have a very high aesthetic sense and we always seem to haul many handicrafts back to the US.

    We have yet to try diving in Bali, though we seriously considered it prior to this trip. There seems to be some nice dive sites worth checking out someday. However, as we have been told, diving in Bali is simply not one of the best you could find in Indonesia. Because we just made friends with a Balinese woman who works for a dive operator in Tulamben, we will probably contact her one of these days to do a couple of days worth of dives.

resort & nature • ngaben • salt & crafts

Where have you dove? We'd love to read your story in our guestbook!

If you are looking to stay in Bali, please consider our friend Nyoman Astawa, the manager of Sri Sunari Guesthouse

Sri Sunari Guesthouse
Jl. Gunung Sari, Ambengan
Peliatan, Ubud
Phone: (0361) 970542 or (0361) 978460
Email: sunari@dps.centrin.net.id