I’m back! After an amazing trip to Bali I’m home in London and hoping to be on some shoots this week and then I’ve got an internship at a magazine coming up for the summer which should be exciting, but for now back to Indonesia with a few impressions and some photos.
It’s a pretty long journey to get there: 12 hours to Singapore and a connecting flight of 2 hrs 30 on to Bali. The island is a wonderful picturesque mix of beautiful beaches, lakes, mountains, lush paddy fields with a few volcanoes added in. One of the most interesting things is that in a majority Islamic country this particular island has a mostly Hindu population and because the gods of the Hindu religion are so diverse the statues and temples are all very different and individually beautiful. I especially liked that they wrap their gods in lengths of cloth to show respect and I think the chequered material and the draping in one of the pictures below looks very Alexander McQueen! Everyone drives a moped and I do mean everyone, whole families managing to travel around on them weaving in and out of some of the most dangerous traffic I’ve ever known. I have never seen so many mopeds, not even in Rome.
Probably the most depressing thing I discovered there was that most villages had Croc shops! How that phenomenon has strayed as far as this idyllic island I do not know, but it’s a shame because there are amazing local flip flops and sandals, far cheaper and in more original styles. Thank god it’s too hot for Uggs out there!
I stayed in a really good mix of places, from popular beachside resorts with tiny alleys full of things to buy, to tranquil hotels overlooking the greenish paddy fields that changed colour in the light, to deserted black sand beaches with no tourists for miles. It was a wonderful trip and I wish I could have brought some of the sunshine back with me!
A woman on Kuta beach surrounded by locals offering massages, pedicures, jewellery and clothes
Offerings left out everyday for the gods
Refreshing drinks after a 3 hour walk through the paddy fields
Into the monkey forest
avogueidea 