Bali Arts & Adventure – Bold Earth’s most inspirational adventure program is a balance of beauty, exploration and culture which attracts a special group of teenagers on an everlasting adventure.
$5,288.00
PRICE INCLUDES:
Two CPR and Wilderness First Responder leaders and all ground costs, all ground transportation including airport pickup and drop-off; all activities and gear required for the above itinerary; all meals; local gratuities to wait-staff and all hotels or hostels.
PRICE DOESN’T INCLUDE:
Flights to/from Denpasar Bali, Indonesia; entry or exit taxes, baggage fees, optional gratuities, extra snacks and souvenirs. A Visa is required at the airport in Bali when you arrive, the process is simple. Visitor Visa is valid for 30 days and cost U.S. $25. cash.
SURFING, YOGA & BALINESE ARTS & CULTURE
Are you ready for surfing, yoga and artistic exploration? Are you ready for a destination like none other? Our home base is a culture and adventure center called Green Camp, a completely safe and stunning 20 acre property spanning Bali’s Ayung River, just 20 minutes southwest of Ubud, the cultural capital of Bali, Indonesia. The foundation of Epic Bali Arts is a 21 day cultural and adventure exploration designed to awaken the body and mind.
BAMBOO PLANTING, BIKING, SWIMMING, WHITEWATER RAFTING & MORE
Breathtaking activities including yoga, performance, instruction in rice & bamboo planting, traditional Bali cooking classes, mountain biking, drumming, swimming, bamboo raft building, white water rafting, mask making, Indonesian language class, ropes course, organic chocolate making, sailing trip to Lembongan Island, Mount Batur sunrise trek, team sports such as soccer, capture the flag & basketball, snorkeling, kite making, Balinese dance and a four day surf camp expedition to Bali’s best surf beach.
WILDLIFE, MOUNTAINS & WAVES: BALI IS THE PLACE TO SPEND THE SUMMER
Epic Bali Arts is for the experienced adventure traveler ready to leap off the beaten path to a truly magical place filled with art, culture, mountains, waves, orange-banded thrush, lizards, monkeys and discovery.
Pack your bags and get ready to fly to the other side of the world! Before leaving, you’ll have access to a packing list, flight roster and important contact information. We’ll also send you a Bold Earth T-shirt so you can easily find other students at your departure gate. Students fly and arrive together from Los Angeles (LAX). Our second day is lost as we cross the international dateline, but we get this day back on the return trip! Students arrive together in Denpasar, Bali airport and are met by your experienced BOLD EARTH expedition leaders. Families are called to confirm arrival. Once all together, we travel to the Nyuh Kuning resort to begin our adjustment to Balinese life.
We awake at the Nyuh Kuning resort, where we will get to know each other and learn what to expect in the days ahead. Our routine, trip safety, expected responsibilities and all trip logistics are explained. The process of growing together as a group begins! We meet our homestay families and spend our first night immersed in authentic Balinese family life. Homestay families are carefully screened. All families participate in a rigorous risk management assessment program, and are chosen based on their proven ability to work with students.
The first several days on the island can be viewed as an extended orientation, where participants will get to know one another, while being introduced to the myriad of art forms Bali has to offer. Most days will begin with an optional Yoga session to stimulate movement and inner reflection. Today will be an introduction to the incredible temples of Bali and the distinct style of home compounds in which the students reside. We’ll spend the evening watching a Kecak Ramayana dance and drama performance after enjoying a traditional Balinese meal!
Our day will start bright and early with a trek through the monkey forest, where long-tailed macaques reign supreme! Today we’ll also explore and participate in shadow puppetry workshops. Tonight’s performance will be a Jegong dance!
Today is all about performance art, as participants will spend the day in workshops of gamelan music and Balinese dance and drama performance!
Following in the footsteps of generations of Balinese, we’ll trek up the sacred (and biggest) volcano of Mt. Agung! This is an EARLY adventure, as we’ll make trail at 3 am, reaching the top just as the sun is rising! It is here where we’ll learn why this volcano is so sacred in Balinese lore! Bamboo Seedling Preparation, Planting and education: Utilizing the knowledge of The Meranggi Foundation – An onsite Bamboo Community Program – we will gain a deeper understanding of the benefits and properties of the many different species of bamboo. Get your hands dirty with seedling preparation and learn how to plant correctly. Bamboo Raft Building: A design team building challenge on the Subak! Participants are split into two teams that must design and construct a raft from bamboo and bamboo string. Teams will then race each other down the Subak to test raft design, strength and buoyancy. A wet and wild challenge supervised by our highly qualified instructors. Bold Earth Prayer Flag: Each student will be given a flag section to paint with a word/picture/wish/prayer. This will be added to our ever growing prayer flags hung in the yurt area. This area will be a living and ever extending gallery of all past participants.
Our final day on the first leg of our journey will be an in-depth introduction to the art of mask making and batik painting. After today, participants will have been presented with a wealth of art forms integral to contemporary and traditional Balinese culture. Batik is an ancient art form that predates written records in Indonesia. We get incredible insight into this indelible art form by working with natives whose families have practice Batik for centuries.
We’ll travel north to the village of Sudaji for a genuine immersion into village life. Following our orientation, we’ll explore the village and get to know some of the local flavor through a football match – probably not as seen on TV! Meals are taken as a group in our central meeting place at the heart of the village.
There is no better place to explore the culinary delights of Bali than in the village. Students will work in teams to prepare various dishes – including desserts! Everything will be prepared in the traditional way, cooked in the traditional way and eaten in the traditional way!
In between cooking assignments, students will be given challenging solos to undertake. These will involve alone time, specifically created for personal reflection.
After dinner students will participate in the local competitive phenomenon of spinning tops! This is a highly skilled and entertaining activity played with huge wooden spinning tops, where the goal is to seek and destroy.
Market visit: life starts early in the village! Students will visit the local market at dawn and then proceed to the rice paddies for an introduction to the traditional agricultural industry that sustains life in Asia. During this super-fun, super-muddy day, students will learn how to plough a field with an ox and plant rice seedlings. Straight lines are not as easy as they look! Students will also be introduced to the ancient water irrigation system that sustains this agricultural industry. The ‘subak’ is a sophisticated piece of engineering, indeed. We top off the day with another traditional Balinese meal, taken as a group in the village, before retiring to the houses of our host families.
The hills around Sudaji are some of the most fertile and spectacular in Bali. A nearby valley contains no less than six waterfalls, some of which drop more than 100 meters. Following a hike to the waterfalls, students will take local trails up a hillside to a lunch spot in the forest.
Time to head to the West Bali National Park and to the remotest, most pristine beaches in Bali. This will be our base for 5 days of wilderness exploration!
After setting up camp, we’ll explore the local habitats, snorkeling over coral reefs, sea grass meadows and even spooky mangrove forests.
Tonight we go into the wild! Leaving our beachside campfire, we’ll go exploring the surrounding forests on foot!
Today we’ll boat over to the pristine reefs of Menjangan Island, where we’ll spend the day snorkeling amidst vibrant coral and exploring an eel garden! A campfire fish cookout on the remote northern peninsular will make for a truly unforgettable experience!
Today students will be given an epic challenge! Working in small teams, we’ll work to maintain a specific area of coastline, which will include beachfront and mangrove forest. They will be asked to remove garbage from that area and use it as creatively as possible to produce their creative conservation campaign. This could take the form of a short film, a photo essay, a fashion show, creation of musical instruments and a song, etc. The possibilities are endless!
Today’s adventure takes us through the last stronghold of montaine rainforest in Bali. Following an early start in our boats, we take a trail to a nearby summit before beginning our daylong descent through the forest back down to the coast.
We’ll spend our final in night In style, breaking out the instruments, and having a bonfire beach party!
The last four days of our journey are dedicated to personal exploration of the arts. This is a chance for participants to delve into an art that they’re most interested in and, through mentorship and intensive study, create a presentation of their understanding and accomplishments.
Participants will spend the bulk of the next few days working with local artisans, in their work space, creating masterpieces of self expression to be shared with the rest of the team on the final day!
Today we’ll share all we’ve been working on for the last several days, and we’ll do so in the stunning setting of Five Elements resort on the outskirts of Ubud.