Bali Tour Guide

This is Richard from US. He told me that he liked to collect gemstone. In every country he visited, he usually bought a gemstone ring for collection. But it has to be cheap, because it is just for collection, he told me. In one of the visit in Bali, we got to visit a house in north Bali. It happened that the host also sold gemstone rings. So, he tried to put them all, just for fun. I took his video, and asked him if I could use this video in my blog. He said yes. So, here it is.. The video where he tried all the rings. In Indonesia, and including Bali, there are gemstone fever at the moment. All important people, artists, and many people collect gemstone. So, it is quite a special moment to find one of my traveler is also interested in gemstone. Do you collect gemstone?

At some point in their life, a Balinese would do a spiritual cleansing ritual. It's the ritual for cleansing their body, mind and spirit. Why do we need a spiritual cleansing? We believe in balance between physical and spiritual. When the physical body is dirty, we can wash it by water and soap. When the spiritual body is dirty, we do it by purification ritual. One of the place for this is the temple of Pura Tirta Sudamala in Bangli. Located by the river with a spring, it is an ideal place for such ritual. The spring temple of Pura Tirta Sudamala. To do this, first we pray to the God or universe for blessing and guidance at the temple. The prayer is lead by a Pemangku or priest. Next we will go to the river, wash our face and body, and then go to each of the water sprout available close to the temple. The water sprouts.  The river just in front of the temple. Some people were cleansing themselves there. The end of the ritual of cleansing is the blessing b...

One of the village you can visit in Bali is called Trunyan village.  Head to Kintamani, and drive down to Lake Batur. There is a pier by the lake where you can take a boat and ride for about half an hour crossing the lake to reach the other end of the lake, where Trunyan village is located. Arriving at Trunyan Village by boat. You will arrive in the village of Trunyan, You can visit the village. You will see a village that's a bit different from the rest of Bali village. Their farming is limited because they don't have enough resources. But many locals would say they worked as farmer and fishermen.  The path among the houses in Trunyan village. You can finish your mini trekking around the village in about fifteen minutes. From the village to the cemetery of Trunyan, you can go on the boat again. It will take about 5 minutes ride. The entrance of Trunyan cemetery. There are some locals in the graveyard who sit behind desk waiting for visitors....

Wayan Muka is a mask maker who live in Mas Village, Bali. I went there with a groups of travelers and a friend of mine, Emanuel. Wayan showed us some masks. He put on those masks and then danced according to the masks he wore. When he wore king mask, he would become a king and danced as a noble person. An old mask would turn him into an old man. And when he put on a princess mask, he would dance like a lady. He is mask maker and also a dancer. Now, that's really a good combination. He can perform the masks by himself and no need for him to ask other dancer to perform. A mask or masks are really important part for temple ceremony in Bali. There is a special mask called Sidakarya, which would be performed as a dance at the end of every festival. It is believed that without this ritual, a festival would never be completed. In this video, my friend tried to put on some several masks. And he instantly become funny and make some the travelers laugh. It would also surely at l...

Here is a short video that I made for the trip I took with French speaking clients. I don't speak French. Not one word. But it's not a problem. Sometimes I work for local travel agent in Bali who have French clients. But this time they also assigned one of their staff, a French girl, named Orianne to go tour with me. She translated what I explained to the clients. I think she also added some of her own stories. I think that's great.

Here is my my adventure as local guide in Bali with a friend of mine who acted as trip leader, Emanuel. Emanuel is from Java (or Jawa as he likes to pronounce it). He had been with the travelers (who appeared in this video) in Java. And when in Bali, I took over his job in guiding them for Bali portion. In this video, you will find snapshots of some activities the travelers do in Bali. Some days were quite busy with many activities including dolphin watching in Lovina, or learning Balinese dancing. Some days were more loose with free and easy activities like walking around Ubud market and doing cooking lesson.  Well, for me cooking is not my strong point. Watch the video to get some inspiration for your next trip in Bali.

In the past, people can only enjoy the view of rice terraces at Ceking village. Nowadays, beside the view, people can walk on the rice field paths leading to the hill top. If you decide to walk, here is what you can do. From the main street where you get down from your car, there is a way to get down to the field.  There are many ways to get down to the path, one of them, is through a restaurant named Rice Terrace Cafe. Pass the restaurant, you will get path going down. Don't expect well constructed pavement here, just soil path. It can get muddy and slippery when wet. It is okay on the dry season. Once you get to the bottom, you will see a bridge that will lead you to the main hill where you can start walking up to the top of the hill. It takes about 20 minutes more or less to reach the top. You can rest any time if you are tired. And there is a lady who sells coconut somewhere on the path. You can rest there and buy young coconut to drink, So, there it is. Start ...