In which Laura leads 12 writers on a creative journey to explore the healing heart of Bali. Click here to sign up to receive the Virtual Vacation to Bali digest in your inbox twice a week.
I can’t believe I’m leaving for Bali in less than a week, but the piles on my office floor, my plane ticket from San Francisco to Taipei to Denpasar, and the stack of little lined notebooks I’m bringing as welcome gifts for my writing students are all proof that this trip is really about to […]
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July 30, 2025 I take people all over the world but am afraid to travel alone. It’s a bit strange to start a travel blog by telling you I’m scared to travel, but here I am, the morning of my departure, with my suitcase and backpack packed, and that’s what’s going on. Don’t get me
I take people all over the world but am afraid to travel alone. Read More »
I’m writing this next installment of my companionship saga at the San Francisco airport. My daughter dropped me off here an hour ago. I whizzed through check-in and security and am currently waiting for my first flight, a 12-hour overnight flight to Taipei. The fact that I’m flying to Asia tonight is just starting to
Will She Make It or Won’t She? Read More »
August 2, 2025 I landed in Candidasa, Bali last night and am spending my first two nights at The Lotus Bungalows, a place I’m very familiar with. It’s the first hotel my writers will stay in when they fly in nine days from now. I decided to stay here my first two nights to get
First Full Day in Bali Read More »
August 3, 2025 At 5 AM, in the dark, I hopped on the back of Toto’s scooter, and we took off to the village of Bungaya, Bali to watch the morning market unfold. When we got there, men and women were arriving on motorcycles and on foot, heads stacked high with goods to sell. As
Early Morning Market Read More »
August 4, 2025 On the tour I led in Bali last year, one of my students spent time in Sideman and loved it. When she saw on Facebook that I was going, she texted me the name of a local guide she loved, Gede Darya, so I wrote to him on Whatsapp and hired him
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
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
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
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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
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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 »
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 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 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 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 »
