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2024 BALI  TRIP HIGHLIGHTS
Planned with the Bali Institute
Ryan Feinstein, Director 
Beni  Sanjaya, Logistics Tour Director
baliinstitute.com
SEE BELOW
ITINERARY , PICTURES AND VIDEOS
REASONS  TO VISIT BALI
&
REASONS WHY I WILL NOT BE OFFERING A GROUP TOUR IN 2025
 

ITINERARY
May 31- June 3  
Arrive Singapore; Visit Gardens by the Bay; Cloud Forest: Supertree Grove; Botanic Gardens; Art/Science Museum

June 3-5
Arrive Bali; Stay in Kuta and spend time at the beach

June 5
Travel to Ubud; stay in the center of downtown

June 6
Water purification rite at Gunung Kawi Sebatu
Lunch in Kintamani overlooking Lake Batur no pix
Tea with Made and tour of her herbal gardens

June 7
Tour of Arma Museum in Ubud
Cantika Spa  no pix

June 8
Ubud Cooking Class
Lunch at the Class
Meeting with Traditional Healer  no pix
Tour of Wood Carving Gallery in Mas
Balinese Dance performance at ARMA

June 9
Visit Temples Samuan Tiga and Goa Gajah with scholar and temple caretaker, Garrett Kam
Visit Bali Institute and meet the staff  no pix
Tour the Royal Palace and meet the Royal Family; see the King's private meditation center and garden

June 10
Rafting trip cancelled in order to catch the once in a lifetime Royal Family Cremation Ceremony! WATCH THIS!  There are pix and video of the parade from the Royal Palace in Ubud down to the Royal cremation grounds. Would the bull fall over??  What a nail biter!! The Royal Family depart in the parade; the casket it raised on a high structure; later it will be transferred to inside the 12 foot high bull and burned.  The drama and pageantry are quite amazing.  After the parade, we entered the Ubud Royal Palace (different from the Royal Palace we toured) and I took photos of the decorations.

June 11
A second healer session scheduled but I decided to cut it short as the energy of the healer left alot to desired
Lunched on the go and then a visit to Pura Taman Ayun, another large temple

June 12
A visit to the superb Taman Usada Wellness Center and a deep connection with the healer Jro Komang; tour of his herbal gardens and water purification area; deep healing energy exchange
Visit the beautiful Ulun Danu Beratan Temple site
Continue to drive to the town of Pemuteran on the west coast to the Taman Sari Resort

June 13
Visit Biorock Coral Restoration Project at Taman Sari Resort; presentation and then snorkel the site

June 14
Free  NO PICTURES

June 15
Drive to east Bali to the Siddhartha Resort and stop on the way to check out the Ommunity retreat Center and chat with the founder, Zanzan

June 16
Siddhartha Resort
Visit Countryside
Visit Tirta Gangga Palace
Visit the most sacred temple Besakih Temple on the sacred mountain Mount Agung


June 17-18
Rest at Siddhartha Resort and then travel back to Jro Komang's private meditation place at Taman Usada and then onto the  aiport hotel to leave Bali on the 19th
 

What are the positive benefits of visiting Bali?

  • ​If you go with the Bali Institute, you will be guaranteed a genuine cross cultural immersive and access to people and places that are off limits to tourists; with them you can design your schedule highlighting your various interests
  • ​Bali has fabulous food and there are exquisite vegan and vegetarian restaurants; healthy options abound
  • ​Bali has some of the most interesting and friendliest people who are eager to engage and dialogue with you, particularly about their Hindu heritage and customs
  • ​It is truly a fascinating culture with a day to day life steeped in spirituality; Bali is Hindu and every home has its own temple compound where daily rituals are performed
  • There are high level artisan and craft shops; wood carvings are truly a site to behold
  • There are some beautiful temple complexes and lovely beaches
  • The dance performances re-enacting Hindu god antics are truly amazing and come complete with dancers who move into trance and become infused with godly energy while dancing
  • There are wonderful retreat places and centers that sponsor meditation and yoga retreats both in and outside of Ubud the cultural capital
  • The Arma museum is world class and located in Bali
  • The tradition of healers and their methods of palm reading and doing purifications is fascinating
  • THE PEOPLE, THE PEOPLE, THE PEOPLE!!

There will be no planned  trip or tour  in 2025
WHY?

While there are many reasons for this decision, here are a few of the primary ones:
  • Primarily, I like to go places with compelling energy; pull over in the van and take the group to work with on site energies; the logistics of doing that in Bali just don't work
  • Outside of temple ceremonies, the temples do not have compelling energy to visit
  • To go during the time of temple ceremonies, would be exhausting, taxing and wearing with the heat and sheer numbers of people there (hundreds to thousands) intermingled shoulder to shoulder for hours on end; the logistics of taking a group during ceremony are actually quite overwhelming to consider
  • I did not find the energy in the landscapes compelling or accessible
  • There is a great deal of lower dimensional energy pervading alot of the country (not the rice terraces which have lovely energy)
  • Heat and humidity make it very difficult and taxing physically even for younger folk; it is so taxing that by and large 1 to maybe 2 events per day are max; alot of downtime is needed
  • Poor city infrastructure and staggering number of steps also make it taxing and hard to maneuver physically
  • ​Last but not least, I no longer feel called to go there; I feel my purpose in going was completed on this trip

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