Friday, March 31, 2017

Beautiful Indonesia: Melasti Ceremony


The Melasti Ceremony occures a few days before the Balinese New Year Nyepi and is a purification ritual. This ceremony is marked with the devout Balinese Hindus wearing white and making a pilgrimage to a body of water, usually the sea, in a self-cleansing process to rid the body and the universe of all bad things. It is a gorgeous ceremony to watch with the white cloths and the colorful items used in the ceremony as well as the music that is played along the way. Balinese culture truly is a beautiful thing to witness.






















Saturday, March 18, 2017

Beautiful Indonesia: Nusa Penida Adventures


Nusa Penida is the largest island in the group of islands to the east of southern Bali. Nusa Penida is famous for its rugged landscape, unreal cliffs, stunning vistas, blue water, huge pelagic marine life and coral reefs, and authentic Balinese culture.

The Travel Lush gives a good run down on this gorgeous island, however a few not to miss attractions include the gorgeous beach Crystal Bay, not only is this beautiful for swimming and sunset, it is a dive site famous for Mola-Mola sightings. You can also see Manta Point another dive site famous for the Manta Rays that frequent the area for feeding. From the cliff top you can see the manta rays swimming around close to the surface.

Penida has so many amazing activities it could take you days to cover all the beautiful water falls, beaches, hikes, vistas and cultural hot spots on this island. It is definitely worth a trip! You can explore with an organized tour, or rent a motorbike and explore on your own. The tourism here is not as busy as the surrounding islands so you really feel like you are on an authentic Indonesian island adventure.

Check out more photos and details on Penida's smaller neighbor, Nusa Lembongan from the past post Beautiful Indonesia: Nusa Lembongan Island Side.

For some stunning photos check out the previous Beautiful Indonesia: Lembongan and Penida From Below to get the underwater perspectives of these beautiful islands.






The view of Bali's Mt. Agung in the distance.



Crystal Bay has this stunning temple and equally stunning beach and sunset view.










Monday, March 6, 2017

Umah Nyepi Part 2: Endless Land for a Jungle Stroll


Last October Heather Holt Photography Bali posted one of the past shoots of a Umah Nyepi, a stunning villa set back in the jungle of Ubud.

Umah Nyepi Part 1: A Peaceful Villa in the Jungle of Ubud

She has since gone back to do a few updated photos of the grounds. The property owner added some lovely totem wood carving statues that greet you upon entering the serene villa, and also he converted the plot of land next to the villa from jungle, to a large lawn with a cobblestone walkway circumventing the open space. With a fountain in the center, you are surrounded by bamboo, lush greenery, rice fields and mountains in the distance. This multi-use open space can be used to just get away and take a quiet walk, or it can be rented for weddings or parties. 

Heather Holt Photography Bali does properties for marketing, advertising and sales, or just because you have a killer pad!

Check out all her whole property portfolio here.