About KasiBali

The island of Bali captured a place in my heart some time ago. The weird sensation of a gamelan orchestra, their operas and shadow plays, the primeval splendor of that part of the world, where creation seems to have left a back door open, or the unusual beauty of the Balinese people, all of these things, yet none of them really, but something harder to associate with words or concepts, something that partakes in part of a nostalgic glimpse of our true state of being, this is what has captured my heart.So much so that the dream of living there one day has never quite let go of my soul.


First published in 1937, Island of Bali by Miguel Covarrubias has become a classic work on Bali and its civilization. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1: “The Malay Archipelago lies directly on the volcanic belt of the world. Like the backbone of some restless, formidable antediluvian monster, more than three hundred volcanoes rise from the sea in a great chain of islands- perhaps all that remains of a continent broken up in prehistoric cataclysms- forming a continuous land bridge that links Asia with Australia. Because of its peculiar and fantastic nature, its complex variety of peoples, and its fabulous richness, the archipelago is one of the most fascinating regions of the earth. It includes famous islands like Java, Borneo, Sumatra, New Guinea, the Philippines, and the hysterical island-volcano of Krakatao. Such freaks of nature as the giant ‘dragon’ lizards of Komodo, the coloured lakes of Flores, the orangutans, the rafflesia (a flower over three feet in diameter), and the birds of paradise are to be found nowhere else… One of the smallest, but perhaps the most extraordinary, of the islands, is the recently famous Bali- a cluster of high volcanoes, their craters studded with serene lakes set in dark forests filled with screaming monkeys.”


This site is a testament of sorts to my love for Bali and the idea of Bali. Paul Gauguin when he left for Tahiti wasn’t the first to look for another way of life, Tahiti was a paradise on earth to him; still it wasn’t that after all. Any more- or less- than Bali. But perhaps there is a secret here, a secret residing in our hearts, and Bali but its outer garment. In looking into Bali we will be looking into that secret place in ourselves, where desire and truth come together. Join me in the adventure. It will be time well-spent.