NEWS
January 4, 2012 | By Mary Forgione, Los Angeles Times Daily Travel & Deal blogger
Researchers have been studying orangutans, proboscis monkeys, gibbons and other Indonesian wildlife for more than four decades at Camp Leakey in the Tanjung Puting National Park in Borneo. Now an eight-day trip combines a luxury stay in Bali with wildlife viewing and a visit to the camp. The trip starts with three nights in Bali at the Pita Maha Resort and Spa in Ubud and then takes off to Yogyakarta on the island of Java for two nights at the Rimba Lodge inside the national park.
ENTERTAINMENT
May 22, 2011 | By Michael J. Ybarra, Special to the Los Angeles Times
In 1930, Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias and his wife, Rose, traveled to the island of Bali in Indonesia and promptly fell in love with what they saw. They stayed nine months, soaking up the natural beauty and distinct culture. Covarrubias later wrote a classic book called "Island of Bali," which somewhat overshadowed the art he made on the trip. One of those paintings is a stylized map of Bali, showing the diamond-shaped island dominated by smoking volcanoes towering over lush valleys and hillsides terraced into rice fields.
TRAVEL
August 8, 2010 | By Kevin Brass, Special to the Los Angeles Times
On a steamy, drizzly morning, my friend Alejandra Cisneros leads us on a narrow dirt path through the flooded rice fields. A few yards away, a dozen ducks march single file across a dirt berm, tails twitching, looking very businesslike. Local farmers hire the trained ducks to eat pests and clean the recently harvested fields, Cisneros explains, as we settle on the bamboo deck of Sari Organik, an organic restaurant. These carefully terraced rice fields and the surrounding rivers are sacred grounds for the Balinese, an integral part of the spiritual soup that attracts mystics, seekers and legions of yoga teachers to Ubud.
NEWS
July 10, 2011
On her first trip to Bali in April, Clodagh Smith visited a Hindu temple in the village of Tampaksiring. Inside, she came across a group of boys and men bathing in a sacred pool. Intrigued by this glimpse of everyday life, Smith took this photo. "What made this special for me was the opportunity to witness a ritual that was not designed for tourists but was an authentic expression of village religious life in contemporary Bali," the Sacramento resident said. View past photos we've featured . To upload your own, visit our reader travel photo gallery . When you upload your photo, tell us where it was taken and when.
TRAVEL
March 21, 2010 | By Avital Binshtock
MEDITERRANEAN Sites of holy, secular past Sail away on a weeklong Mediterranean cruise that charts a course to ancient towns, historical ruins and important shrines, including a Turkish site reputed to be the former home of the Virgin Mary. In Istanbul, see the imposing Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace. Accommodations are aboard the 500-cabin Costa Serena, which has five restaurants, 13 bars and four swimming pools. Itinerary: Venice, to Bari, Italy, Olympia, Greece; Izmir and Istanbul in Turkey; Dubrovnik, Croatia; and back to Venice.
TRAVEL
August 11, 1985
I have been twice to Bali, 20 years ago when it was perfect, and 10 years ago when tourism had changed it greatly. I am scheduled to go back this fall, but that fine article on Lombok Island near Bali, by Jack Hanley (July 14), convinced me that I should cut Bali short and go over to Lombok. Thanks, Hanley, for the good advice. DON SMITH Hermosa Beach