Last time I blogged about Mr. Weda, the world-renowned Balinese fan painter of Indonesia.  While visiting his cottage studio we had an extra treat!

As Mr. Weda was showing us his stunning traditionally painted fans, I noticed another beautiful subject emerging in the background.  His little daughter—getting ready to participate in a traditional Hindu Balinese dance.

First she emerges in her white dress accented by a yellow shawl.

 Ubud in central Bali is the art Mecca of the Hindu Balinese of Indonesia.  Painters, wood carvers, stone cutters all congregate around Ubud.  In the past you could find them making their masterpieces in cottages along the streets of Ubud.  But with the huge influx of tourists in recent decades, few of those places still exist with nearly all of them supplanted by shops selling mostly generic handcraft wares, but without the artists on site.

For some time we've been telling you about an amazing photo tour opportunity that's coming up--and sharing images from the stunning locations & people we'll see on this journey. We're pleased to tell you that this trip is now open for registration.  

NW Bali is a mostly undiscovered treasure.  Where the southern third of Bali is sinking under the weight of Australian tourists & all the bars & souvenir shops catering to them, NW Bali has only recently emerged on the tourist radar.

A few months ago my wife & I had opportunity to visit world-famous Mount Ijen crater in East Java, Indonesia.  This volcano has been featured on many documentaries & special TV broadcasts.  This is the place where famous French volcanologists Katia & Maurice Krafft dared to float on a highly acidic sulfur crater lake in a rubber raft. 

The Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park is like the Grand Canyon of Indonesia-in East Java. 

In pre-history there was an enormous volcano here. At some point it erupted leaving a massive crater 14 kilometers across.   In the middle of this ancient mega-crater are three newer volcanic craters—Mounts Bromo—still very active,  Batok & Kursi.  These triplet craters are surrounded by sea of sand that’s covered most mornings by a mysterious feeling blanket of fog. 

Every significant town in Java has a bird market.  This is because just about every self-respecting Javanese, Sundanese or Madurese man (the three major ethnic groups of Java) owns at least one pet bird—unless he’s destitute. 

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