
"Life, religion and art all converge in Bali. They have no word
in their language for 'artist' or 'art.' Everyone is an artist."
~ Anais Nin
This is how Bali struck me when I went there aged twenty one: visiting a land where spirituality and creativity live at the heart of life had a formative and transformative effect on me. (That journey was one in which I ended up shipwrecked on a small island in the Indian Ocean…but that’s another story :)
This time round, I was going for a month with my betrothed, in the faith that he would feel this unique, vibrant spirit too.
“Baliiiiiii!” is how someone in security at gargantuan Jakarta airport pronounced it; playfully, but with the feel of a mythical, sacred place. And we were enchanted from the very first morning, when a stroll along a Kuta beach, minutes from the airport, revealed a multitude of wildlife…including a very handsome pair of snakes we filmed from up close, only discovering later that they were sea snakes with a lethal venom.

We’ve arrived back inspired to move forward with our various works, so I won’t turn this into too epic a post…but just share a few snapshots into Bali life as we experienced it:

jungle temples...

sacred monkeys...

horse-washing at dawn...

loving daily offerings...
(this one by Ketut Sumiarti, our homestay hostess. Here's the link if you ever want to stay with a lovely family high in Bali's mountains :)

shrines by every doorway...

a cats-only island...

painting with Mada, Ketut, Wili & Putu...

...and misty mountains beneath us as we flew North again.
Sometimes, the inner truth of a journey unfolds after returning home once more...and, with dreams of flying turtles and extravagantly coloured butterflies, Bali is still working its magic on us as we walk by Rennaldburn's clear waters and frosted swathes of snowdrops. Now is time to get creating again :)

Mada swinging on a vine at sunset