Bali Photo of the Day ~ Balinese woman during ceremony at Tempak Siring Temple

Hello!

For today's Bali Photo of the Day we have a portrait of a woman shielding herself from the sun during a ceremony at Tempak Siring Temple in Bali.

A Balinese woman during a ceremony at Tempak Siring TempleTempak Siring Temple is home to the holy springs of Tirta Empul which devout Balinese Hindus make pilgramage to ceremoniously bathe in the healing waters. Legend of the wellness providing effects of the natural spring goes back over a thousand years.

Bali Photo of the Day ~ Cat Napping Dog

Todays photo of the day comes from The Bali Aga Village of Penglipuran.  Penglipuran is known for its main walkway that is lined with traditional houses that lead up to the village temple. Each home along the way features traditional elements, chief among them being the front gates.

Here we have a dog asleep on his watchdog duties.

Penglipuran Village, one of Bali's ancient civilizations.

A dog naps infront of a Bali Aga gateway in BaliFor more about Penglipuran click here and for more about The Bali Aga, please click here. If you would like to learn about and view photographs of one of The Bali Aga's rituals, click here for a photo essay on The Human Blood Sacrifice ritual of The Bali Aga of Tenganan.

Have a wonderful day!

Balifornian Photo of the Day ~ Two Beautiful Girls Share a Hammock on the Beach

Hello Balifornians!

Today's photo of the day comes to us from Bali's neighboring island of Lombok. We were there recently to visit our family and we visited beautiful Kuta Beach. For those of you that do not know, this is nothing like Kuta's doppelganger in Bali. Bali's Kuta Beach is beautiful but overrun with tourists and hawkers. The litter can be off putting as well. But Lombok's Kuta is unspoiled white sand beach with clean water and interesting rock out-croppings. The surfing might not be quite as good as Bali's Kuta but it does make for a more relaxing and relatively more private beach day.

Beautiful girls relax in a hammock on Kuta Beach, LombokThis photo is getting quite a bit of exposure on Facebook and other social media so I thought I should put it in its rightful place as well as our Balifornian Photo of the Day.

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If you would like to submit your Bali photo to be included in the photo of the day, just email the photograph and description to us here.

Happy Travels!

Your Bali Pics of the Day ~ High Priest in Trance ~ Balifornian Villas and Tours

The high priest or Pendanda in Balinese Hinduism performs a cleansing ritual during a cremation ceremony or Ngaben in Sangeh Village in Bali's Southwestern province.
A Pendanda performs a cleansing ritual at a cremation ceremony in Bali ~ Balifornian Villas and ToursShe sits on a raised platform after her husband carefully prepared her spiritual implements or Upakara. These include a sacred prayer bell also know as a Gantha, rings and other special jewelry, trays with many varied flowers, gold and silver vessels containing rice and sandalwood powder, a holy-water container or Siwamba with a silver sprinkler (Sesirat) and a longhandled ladle called a Tjanting, an incenseburner (Pasepan) , and a bronze oil lamp ( Pedamaran).

A Balinese Hindu High Priest goes into Trance at a Cremation Ceremony ~ Balifornian Villas and Tours
She will light incense and begin chanting to cleanse herself and then fall into trance as she removes special flowers one by one, recites a prayer and tosses them away. Pranayama, a special type of breathing, will enable her to fall into a trance in order to carry out the prayers and rituals necessary for the deceased's journey to the after life.

A Balinese Hindu High Priest enters into a trance in Sangeh, Bali ~ Balifornian Villas and Tours

Photo of the Day ~ Mt. Agung from Amed Beach ~ Balifornian Tours and Travel Blog

Here is our photo of the day...

This is the view from our hotel in Amed called three Brothers.  There are several 3 Brothers so you need to choose the right one (see our blog post on Amed) as the others are not quite as good.  Formerly know as a sleepy fishing village, Amed has blossomed into a great beach town with an actual nightlife, amazing scuba diving and snorkling and retains a great authentic Bali feel.  There are some wonderful restaurants and lots to do but just chilling on the beach or by the hotel pool is a great way to pass the time.

Mt Agung as seen from Amed beach. Bali, Indonesia. Balifornian Villas and Tours.

Gunung Agung volcano rises dramatically in the background as the sun sets on another perfect day in paradise.

Do you have some photos from Bali that you would like to share?  Enter them in the Balifornian Villa and Tour photo of the day.  Just send them in to photo@balifornina.com along with a description and we will post the winners for you to see.

Happy travels!