View of Bali from boat going to the Gili Islands off of Lombok (East of Bali).


My favorite restaurant in Ubud, the cultural center of Bali. This is considered an expensive restaurant at $2-5 per main dish. I used to eat an amazing pasta dish with a fresh fruit shake followed by a latte for only $6. for the meal (the cost of one night sleeping in Ubud), hence expensive. The owner is an American woman and her husband is a Balinese architect who does contracts for 5 star hotels. Great atmosphere, and the other view to the left of my table was of rice paddies that are adjacent to the restaurant's property -- they even put out torches at night!


This is a typical morning offering to the gods that is left at a sacred location (near a house's small shrine or on a street corner, etc. I am sure each of the colors signify something, but I never learned what...accompanying the offering is always incense that carries the offering to the gods.


Another beautiful offering that I saw on top of a pillar that leads into someone's courtyard.


In Bali, even the statues of gods wear sarongs and are adorned daily with fresh flowers in the ears!


Kuta is near the Denpasar airport and is considered the epicenter of Bali's tourism industry. They happen to have some of Bali's best surfing, and also the best sunsets!


This is the place where I stay in Ubud that is $8-12 a night, depending on the room you choose. This particular one is $10-12, and most couples stay in it. I usually take the one next to it for $8. a night that is less ornate, but just as amazing nonetheless.


This is my favorite island and beach called Gili Air, located off of Lombok in Indonesia. December-March is the rainy season, so there is a lot of rain and daily debris that washes up on the beach. The aqua you see marks the beginning of the reef that is about 1000 ft. long and has hundreds of tropical fish!


The typical islands houses of the Gili Air Sasak people. They graze their cattle under the palm trees, and I can't help but imagine Polynesia when I walk around this island.


From my favorite beach on Gili Air you can see Lombok, the larger neighboring island. In the morning, the volcano's peak is even visible. This is a typical boat that the local Sasak people use.


I went to Lombok for the day to interview an Ashoka Fellows (ashoka.org). There are hundreds of these monkeys on the island that beg for food, and can get quite aggressive when hungry (I kept my distance).


This is Ratna Refida, a Lombok-based Ashoka Fellow who I interviewed that won an award from the Indonesian president for planning and developing the first rural community housing project for one of Lombok's most impoverished farming communities to live in more sanitary conditions.


One of the two most important Buddhist temples in the world -- Borobudur. It's located an hour outside of Yogyakarta on Java (West of Bali).


Sunrise at Borobudur.


Borobudur's stuppas that house the buddhas.


Borobudur's etched stories that follow the history of Buddhism.