August 15, 2025 I posted this story in last year’s Virtual Vacation blog. I hope you enjoy this inspiring story. Today we left our beautiful, peaceful resort on the shores of the Indian Ocean and drove to Ubud for the middle section of our trip, which focuses on seeing local healers, experiencing traditional purification rituals, […]
Putu’s Impossible Dream Read More »
August 14, 2025 One of the first things you notice in Bali is that many so people share the same name. Your driver is named Wayan but so is your waitress and so is the clerk who sells you a sarong in a shop. Or over the course of a couple of days you may
August 13, 2025 After a rich and emotional writing class this morning and some time to rest, we set out to visit one of my favorite sites in eastern Bali, a place I never get tired of: Tirta Ganga, a magnificent water palace built in 1946 by the last Raja of Karangasem. Tirta Ganga is
August 12, 2025 After we spent the morning floating on the surface of the Indian Ocean with masks and flippers, watching lots of colorful fish, our group returned for lunch and a lecture on customs and manners in Bali. We learned why you never touch a Balinese person on the head, why you never point
The Writing Circle Opens Read More »
“The beginning of human knowledge is through the senses, and the fiction writer begins where human perception begins. He appeals through the senses, and you cannot appeal through the senses with abstraction.” —Flannery O’Connor, Mysteries and Manners Describe a morning in your life primarily through your sense of smell. Repeat, describing the same morning, primarily
Following the Senses Read More »
August 11, 2025 When I realized that more than half the group would be arriving at our first hotel early, before the official arrival date for our retreat, I set up an optional class for this morning on the making of Balinese daily offerings, known as Canang Sari. These offerings are one of the first
Blessings on Our Retreat Read More »
August 10, 2025 Joanie and I went to Ubud today to meet with Surya and visit the two healers that our group will be meeting for treatments midway through our retreat. One focuses more on physical problems of the muscles and bones and the other more with spiritual/energetic blockages. I’ve been treated by both of
What I Saw, What I Felt Read More »
August 9, 2025 When Joanie was still up in the air, somewhere between San Francisco and Taipei on the first leg of her journey, I texted her and told her I was buying her a spa package the morning after she arrived in Bali. This is a description of what I booked for her: AROMATIC
August 8, 2025 Today was my first day since I’ve come to Bali that I had a to-do list: I spent a few hours procrastinating before I got to the top two items on my list. I’m engrossed in a gripping novel (Tilt by Emma Patee) and I kept having to just read a few
August 7, 2025 Today, I gave myself a day off from creating a “meaningful” blog post. Today is a transition day for me—from Sidemen back to Candidasa. From being on my own, creating my own vacation, day by day, moment by moment, to preparing to be a group leader. I didn’t know what I wanted
From Sideman Back to Candidasa Read More »
I just had such a moving experience. The woman who runs the hotel where I have been staying in Sidemen, Subak Taba Villa, is an amazing humanitarian and a deeply spiritual woman. 13 years ago, Mama Ati began a foundation to support the children of Sidemen by offering a free afterschool program for children from
Mama Ati and the Children of Sideman Read More »
August 6, 2025 Today, I arranged to go on a three-hour trek through the rice fields on the other side of Sidemen. My guide, Gus Tanggi, says that at 43, he’s the youngest farmer around. He works his plot of land part-time when he’s not being a guide for people like me. He knew the
A Trek Through the Rice Fields Read More »
August 6, 2025 I’ve been up for an hour. This seems to be the time that I have not quite gotten over my jetlag. I’ve been waking up at this time every night, and I usually take something to help edge me back into sleep. And then by seven or eight in the evening, I’m
“If you don’t face the dangerous in your writing, you won’t change other people, because you’re not changing you.” —Naomi Wolf Brainstorm a list of things that would be dangerous to face in your writing. Then write about one of them.
August 4, 2025 For me, the day’s highlight was being able to witness the most important life cycle passage in Balinese culture: cremation. It’s considered a deeply spiritual ritual to prepare the soul for its journey into the afterlife—and reincarnation. Cremations in Bali are celebratory, even joyful occasions, seen as the last step before the
