Useful to know before or at Flametree Bali retreat

Flametree retreat · Pondok Pisang, Candidasa · Monday 7 to Sunday 13 September 2026 · updated 5 Sept 2026

This is everything in one place, so you are not hunting back through emails the night before you fly.

You do not need to read all of it. The short version below covers the things that actually matter, and the contents list will take you straight to anything else you want. Most of it is the pleasant kind of detail — what the week looks like, what a massage costs, where to walk.

The short version, if you read nothing else

Six things to do before you fly

1. Buy travel insurance if you have not already. It is a condition of coming. Check your overseas medical cover is unlimited, or capped in the millions — either is fine.
2. Send back the retreat information form. It is the one document Chris Lalor needs if anything goes wrong. We send it to you before the retreat.
3. Send us your flight details if you have not — we will record who is landing when, so you can share a taxi if you want.
4. Check your passport has at least six months left on it from the day you arrive.
5. Join the WhatsApp group. It is how everything runs in Bali, and lets you share memories
6. Do the three Indonesian entry steps — visa, arrival card and the Bali tourist levy. There is a section below explaining each one.

Five things to know, including WIFI

• Arrive by about 5pm on Monday 7 September. Restorative opening class at 5pm, welcome dinner at 6.30pm.
• We finish after lunch on Sunday 13 September.
• Please do not ride a scooter, not even on the back. You cannot buy insurance cover for it at any price.
• Almost everything is already paid for. You only need cash for extras — a second massage, a tour, a drink.
• free WIFI. Each resort has free Wifi. Ask for the password at reception.

Getting there, and settling in

When it starts and finishes

The retreat runs Monday 7 September to Sunday 13 September — six nights, seven days.

Please aim to arrive by around 5pm on the Monday, in time for the gentle opening restorative class and the welcome dinner.

If you land in the small hours — 3, 4 or 5 in the morning — the two venues work differently, and this catches people out.

At Pondok Pisang you can usually go straight to your room and sleep, at no extra charge, because it is very likely sitting empty waiting for the retreat. Please confirm it rather than assume it — message Mr Yande on WhatsApp, +62 812-3959-4427.

At Sea Breeze you will most likely need to book and pay for the night before, otherwise there is no room to check into at that hour. Message Luh De on WhatsApp, +62 853-3781-1031 and sort it out before you fly.

Any breakfast or lunch before the retreat officially begins is à la carte and goes on your room bill. (Same for after the retreat).

We finish after lunch on the Sunday. If you need to leave very early, if you ask, the kitchen will pack breakfast and lunch for you. (Left in fridge in dining room).

Getting into Bali: the visa, the arrival card and the levy

There are 3 separate things to do, and people often muddle them into one. None is difficult, and together they cost about $65.

1. The All Indonesia arrival card. Free, and compulsory for everyone. It rolls the old paper arrival card, the customs form and the health declaration into a single QR code.

The important bit: you can only lodge it within 72 hours of your flight. So it cannot be done early, however organised you are. Put a reminder in your phone for three days before you leave.

Do it at allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id, or through the All Indonesia app.

2. Your visa. About $50 (IDR 500,000). You can buy it online before you fly, as an e-VOA, or queue for it at the airport.

We think buying it beforehand is better, and not for the reason people assume. It lets you use the automatic passport gates, which take about thirty seconds. Without it you join the visa desk queue, which at busy arrival times has been running an hour or more — and JQ83 lands in the middle of the afternoon rush.

Do it at evisa.imigrasi.go.id, between 48 hours and 14 days before you fly. If you have trouble with it, just do it when you arrive.

3. The Bali tourist levy. About $15 (IDR 150,000) per person. Pay it online before you go, or at a counter when you land. Beforehand is quicker.

Do it at lovebali.baliprov.go.id.

Quite a few, including Chris, think you should just do Step One above, before you go. Then do the others when you arrive. But it also depends on when you access the online system, and when you arrive. In other words, depends on how busy the systems are, & airport is, when you are using them.

The one thing to be careful about

There are a great many copycat websites that look official and charge two or three times the real price. Some take your money and give you nothing, which is where the stories come from about people arriving and finding their paperwork does not exist.

Use only the three addresses above. All three end in an Indonesian government domain. If a site asks for more than the amounts listed here, it is not the official one.

Screenshot every QR code as you go, rather than relying on the airport wifi to open your email.

The drive from the airport

It is about two hours from Denpasar airport to the retreat.

We warmly recommend Wayan, the driver Chris has used for years. He is reliable, unfailingly cheerful, and he will meet you whatever time of day or night you land.

• WhatsApp him directly on +62 878-6314-6433
• Pay him in rupiah, directly — we do not handle the money
• Roughly AUD $45 per car, not per person, so sharing brings it right down
• Three people per car, including luggage
• He is also the easiest way to get about during the week, around AUD $10 an hour including fuel
• Extra cars are easy. Wayan works in a co-operative of around 40 cars in his village, so if a group needs two or three cars he simply arranges them. Just tell him how many people and what time
• Ignore the drivers who approach you at the airport. They will charge you up to three times what Wayan does. Meet at the downstairs door of the airport — the taxi stand where Wayan waits is directly across the road. If you want, ask him to have a sign with your name, or Pondok Pisang retreat.
• If you’re sharing a ride, stay in touch at the airport or coming through customs. (We’ve had to go back and pick up someone who didn’t).

You are welcome to arrange your own transport. Others often charge more.

Sharing a taxi

We facilitate, we do not organise — which is a slightly pompous way of saying we will tell you who else is on your plane and then leave you to it. Get in touch with them via the retreat WhatsApp group list, or their mobile.

Send us your flight number and arrival time, and we will circulate a simple list of who is landing when. From there you sort it out between yourselves and book Wayan directly. (There’s a space to include it in the form we ask you to fill in).

If your flight home is very early

Some leave on the 7.00am flight out of Denpasar. That means checking in around 4am, which means leaving Candidasa about 2.30am!

There is a gentler way to do it. Travel down after lunch on the last day, in daylight, and spend the night near the airport.

Please book these yourselves, direct with the hotel — we do not make these hotel bookings. And do ring or email to confirm the shuttle times before you book. A shuttle that starts at 6am is no use for a 7am flight.

Novotel Bali Ngurah Rai Airport — the easy one, because there is no shuttle to catch. You walk to either terminal in five to ten minutes on the hotel’s own path. Phone +62 361 936 0200, email [email protected]. It does fill up, so ask early.

Hilton Garden Inn Bali Ngurah Rai Airport — about a kilometre away. Phone +62 361 897 6100. Guests often mention a free shuttle, but Hilton’s own website currently says the airport shuttle is not available, so please ask them directly what the position is and what time it starts.

HARRIS Hotel Kuta Tuban — about five minutes away and cheaper than the other two. To book the room and lock in your transit schedule, you can use the HARRIS Hotel Kuta Tuban Booking Page or contact the hotel’s front desk directly via their official WhatsApp at +62 858 0000 3331 or phone at +62 361 936 5255. Free airport shuttle, widely described as running around the clock. Worth confirming the earliest run.

Or you can simply do the early run. Wayan is genuinely happy to meet people late at night or set off very, very early in the morning — he has been doing it for Flametree guests for years and does not think 3am is unusual. WhatsApp him on +62 878-6314-6433 and tell him the time. So there is no need to book a hotel at all if you would rather sleep in your own room and go straight to the airport.

Where you are staying

Pondok Pisang

Right on the waterfront, immediately beside the village of Sengkidu and a little along the coast from Candidasa. The dining room and the yoga room upstairs both look straight out at the sea, and there are steps down to a small private white-sand beach beside the dining room, which you can use at medium and low tide.

It is quiet, green and unhurried. Most people are surprised by how quickly they stop checking their phone.

Your room

If you would like extra nights before or after the retreat, contact the venue directly and mention you are with the Flametree retreat:

• Mr Yande at Pondok Pisang — WhatsApp +62 812-3959-4427
• Luh De at Sea Breeze — WhatsApp +62 853-3781-1031

They are on Perth time, so please stick to their business hours. Room rates outside the retreat dates are a little higher than the group rate we secure for the week itself.

If you are at Sea Breeze

A few of you are at Sea Breeze, a short and pleasant walk away. All your meals are still at Pondok Pisang and they are included — you do not pay separately for them. But it has an a la carte restaurant if you wish. Your non-yogic partner, if they attend, can stay there, in your room, at no extra charge. Then they can choose where they eat, or ask us, and they can be included in the meal package at Pondok Pisang.

How the week runs

It is relaxed, but it has a lovely shape to it. You do as much or as little as you like, and nobody counts.

On the last day lunch comes forward to 12 noon. See the separate full daily timetable if you need it.

What is different on which day

• Monday 7th — arrival. Opening restorative class at 5pm, welcome dinner at 6.30pm.
• Wednesday 9th — the first of Chris’s talks, mid-afternoon.
• Thursday 10th — your afternoon off. Morning classes as usual, then the free group tour.
• Friday 11th — the free Balinese cooking class, and the second talk.
• Saturday 12th — final dinner together.
• Sunday 13th — pranayama, breakfast, a final active class at 9.30am, then lunch.

Your afternoon off

On the Thursday afternoon there is a free half-day cultural tour, chauffeur-driven, usually several cars heading in different directions depending on what each group fancies.

Rice paddies, ancient temples, a former royal palace, or simply a look at Balinese daily life. Chris will talk through the options during the week and you choose.

There is a separate page for this with the eight places you could visit, four ready-made afternoons with times, entry fees and what to wear: Your free afternoon — where to go. Have a read before the day and talk it over with the others, so the car-loads sort themselves out easily.

What to expect

Sessions are paced around the experience of the group, and differentiated where that helps. There are always people at their first retreat and people who have done many. Chris is expert at providing variations to suit each person.

The yoga space is yours whenever classes are not running.

No alcohol during the retreat, please. All meals are vegetarian and almost always vegan. If you would like more vegan options, just ask and we will make sure they are there.

If you have any concerns about Bali belly, eat only at Pondok Pisang and take a packed lunch on the day you leave. In over ten years of retreats we have never had a case from this resort’s food.

Your free time is your own. Read, snorkel, swim, sleep, have a massage, walk to the local village, or nothing at all. Check with Wayan about any local ceremonies, such as at the temple that’s only a few hundred metres past the Seabreeze resort.

Meals, including vegan benefits

Three plant-based meals a day, overseen by an Austrian cook (Desa) working with a team of local Balinese cooks she has trained herself. (Desa is also the resort owner, and has lived in Bali for 40 years.)

• The first meal in your package is dinner on Monday 7 September
• The last is lunch on Sunday 13 September
• Eighteen meals in total
• If you miss one there is no credit or make-up, and anything outside those is à la carte on your own room bill to settle when you leave.

Tea, coffee and water refills are free from the dining room all week. The coffee is Balinese coffee. If you would rather have percolated coffee, you can buy it and charge it to your room bill.

In the vegan meals, look to ensure you try plenty of the plant based protein that will be included. Sufficient protein ensures you don’t get hunger pangs. Ask Chris about the many options you’ll get in the buffet style meals.

Use the vegan week as an opportunity to see and feel how a vegan diet makes you feel. Flametree’s view is that trying out good quality, delicious vegan is a way to see new ways to build wellness, and easier digestion.

Remember the dishes you liked best. Some of these can be included in the cooking class… just ask Chris. Many of them are already in the Flametree recipe page.

Water, and not getting sick

Do not drink the tap water in Bali. Every good guide will tell you the same, and we agree.

The resort provides unlimited bottled water from a large stand in the dining room. Get your own bottle and keep refilling it.

That includes cleaning your teeth and rinsing your mouth. Use bottled water for both. And if you buy a drink anywhere else in Bali, make sure it has no ice or other tap water in it.

We have never had a case of Bali belly at Pondok Pisang in over ten years. People do occasionally pick something up elsewhere though — and, oddly, most often at the airport on the way home. Just take a little care eating away from the retreat.

What is free, and what costs extra

Already paid for

• Six nights’ accommodation and eighteen meals
• All classes — around thirty hours with Chris
• One free one-hour massage each, booked at the front office, or with the on-site masseur, whenever suits you. (Either pay it yourself in rupiah …150,000IDR…, or get this from Chris in cash before massage).
• A free Balinese cooking class, six dishes, with the recipes we will update for you — including the ones already on the recipe page of the Flametree website
• A free half-day cultural tour
• All yoga props, and the yoga room whenever you want your own practice
• Beach access, snorkelling gear to borrow, and wifi

Paid locally, in rupiah, if you want them

Please settle your personal bills with the front office before you leave.

Travel insurance

This sits high up the page on purpose. It is the one thing we are firm about.

The short version

Travel insurance is a condition of coming. Medicare covers nothing in Indonesia — Australia has no reciprocal health agreement there — so your policy is the entire safety net.

An uninsured serious event needing evacuation costs somewhere between $50,000 and $150,000, before hospital bills. A good policy for nine days costs most people $13 to $30 a day.

If you already have a policy, you almost certainly do not need to change it. Just look at the overseas medical figure on your certificate.

If it is unlimited, or capped in the millions, you are well covered. A policy capped at, say, ten million covers any realistic situation here many times over.

If it is in the hundreds of thousands, take a closer look. Some cheaper policies, and some credit-card cover, cap overseas medical at around $250,000. That is thin once you add a hospital stay, a specialist transfer and a flight home with a medical escort. Worth a quick call to your insurer if that is where you sit.

The three things that actually void cover

1. Not declaring a condition. Even the routine ones — blood pressure, cholesterol, a replaced knee. Leaving something out can void the whole policy, not just that claim.
2. Riding a scooter. Your Australian licence is not enough in Indonesia, and if it has no motorcycle endorsement an International Driving Permit does not create one. Riding as a passenger counts.
3. Arranging your own evacuation. Ring your insurer’s 24-hour line before agreeing to any treatment. They will tell you which hospital and pay them directly.

About the volcano

There is a volcano active east of Bali — Mount Lewotobi, on Flores. It has been erupting on and off for over a year and flights to Bali have mostly been unaffected in recent months.

Here is the honest position. Because it has been in the news so long, insurers now treat it as a known event, which means a policy bought today generally will not pay out for a delay or cancellation caused by it. Your medical cover is completely unaffected — and medical cover is why insurance is compulsory here.

If Denpasar ever did close, airlines normally rebook you at no charge, so the exposure is a hotel night or two rather than a whole new airfare. Worth knowing, so it is not a surprise.

One thing nobody expects

No Australian policy will fly you home by private jet to a city of your choosing. What they promise is transport their own doctors judge appropriate — which for serious cases often means Singapore first.

The form we need back

Please fill in the Confidential Retreat Information Form and send it back. It asks for:

• Your passport name and expiry — Bali requires at least six months’ validity
• Any pre-existing conditions and medications
• Your emergency contact and their relationship to you
• Your insurer, policy number and their 24-hour phone number
• Your flight number, arrival time and date
• Any dietary needs.

Only two people ever see it — Chris, who leads the retreat, and Stuart, who does the organising. It is not shared with the venue or with other guests, and we delete it entirely once the retreat is over.

This is the document Chris carries with her. It is the one that matters at 2am, in the unlikely event of an accident.

What to bring — the full packing list

Pondok Pisang has a well-stocked yoga room, so there is no need to lug much. They have around 20 bolsters, 50-plus blankets, 20-plus blocks, 30-plus mats, chairs, swings and a rope wall. We leave more props there every time we go, and their supply has grown over the years.

Even so, we suggest bringing the following if you can.

Yoga props

• If you have one, a lightweight shoulderstand pad (also useful as a head prop)
• At least 2–3 sets of yoga clothes you like — shorts, tops, leggings and so on
• A bandage, of the kind we use for some pranayama headwraps and relaxation pose.

Everything else

• Favourite swimmers. Snorkel gear is at the resort
• A sarong, or get one there — useful if we happen to attend a ceremony at the local temple
• Other casual clothes, including at least one set of long-sleeved top and long pants, for easy insect protection
• Phone charger and a Bali conversion plug with two round prongs. Wifi is available
• Mosquito repellent. They are not a big deal, but just in case, and for when you are outside in the early evening
• Shawl or light jumper, especially for dry-season retreats from May through September — and September is one
• Shoes, a floppy hat and sun cream for any local walking you may do
• Your own water bottle, or buy a disposable one at the Pondok Pisang dining room
• Your own ground coffee, or good coffee bags, and maybe a small three-cup plunger, if you do not happen to like the Balinese style of coffee. Australian-style percolated coffee is also sold by the dining room for a small fee
• Your own “designer” herbal tea bags — Pukka or whatever you especially like
• Any snacks you want in your room, such as nuts. Bring them through Customs unopened
• Sealed containers to store any opened food. Some rooms may occasionally have nocturnal visitors like tiny squirrel creatures
• Any medications, and your own travel first aid — headache tablets, antiseptic ointment such as Betadine
• Band-Aids in assorted sizes, and antiseptic wipes
• An elastic bandage or two, of the kind you would use for a sprain
• Just in case, muscle relaxing cream such as Voltaren (ideally the 12 hour apply type)
• A small pair of scissors, in your checked luggage
• Extra batteries for any devices that need them, also in checked baggage
• Extension lead and a double adaptor
• A smaller bag or two for carrying things while you are there, including a money belt and a small bag for your passport and valuables
• Books you are reading
• Washing powder — though very low cost clothes washing is also available daily at the resort
• COVID test kits, and perhaps a mask for the long flight.

Money

Your package is already settled obviously, into the Flametree bank account before you travel.

Once you are there, the only things you pay for are extras — a follow-up massage, the sauna, tours, drinks, à la carte food. All paid locally in Indonesian rupiah.

Bring some cash and use ATMs as you go. It is worth having rupiah handy for Wayan, for the masseuse and for tips.

Changing money

There is a money changer in Candidasa that we suggest. Its rates are as good as anything we have found either in Australia or elsewhere in Bali, and it is a professional outfit — also recommended by Wayan, who is a fairly senior figure in the local village and not inclined to send people somewhere dubious.

If you need to change money while you are there, just ask Wayan to take you.

Mini-marts, and credit cards

There are mini-marts within easy walking distance of the retreat. Use them for anything you forget or particularly want — washing powder, soy milk, extra fruit to snack on, a sim card, and so on. If you use plant-based milk, this is where to get your own supply. (The meals will also have it).

As in many less developed countries, we suggest that unless you are at an established hotel or resort, you pay in local currency rather than with your credit card.

The local area

Both venues sit on the waterfront, immediately beside the village of Sengkidu, a little along the coast from Candidasa town and about halfway up the east coast of Bali.

The official addresses, useful for a taxi driver or a map app:

Pondok Pisang — Banjar Mendira, Desa Sengkidu, Manggis, Karangasem, Bali. The turn-off is Jalan Mendira, beside the large Kantor Perbekel Sengkidu building on the main Candidasa road.

Sea Breeze Candidasa — Mendira Beach, Banjar Mendira, Desa Sengkidu, Manggis, Karangasem, Bali 80871.

Both are in the same small hamlet, Banjar Mendira, which is why the walk between them is short. (Wayan, and his drivers, know where they are.)

From the road about 100 metres from the retreat:

• Turn right for the village shops. It is one to two kilometres into Candidasa — cafes, shops, and a local tailor where a good number of people get something made while they are there.
• Turn left along the seafront to reach a lovely temple.

The local tailors

Quite a few people get something made while they are there, and it is one of the small pleasures of the week.

There are at least two tailors in Candidasa that we have used across several retreats. Ask Wayan — he knows exactly where they are, he will run you into town, and he speaks to them in the local language, which makes the whole thing far easier. He can also help if something needs altering or delivering back to the retreat before you fly home.

If you want something made in Australian-style material, you need to bring your own. Buy it before you go — Spotlight is the obvious place. Chris does this every retreat. What is on the shelves in Candidasa is Balinese fabric, lovely in its own right but not the same thing, so taking your own is the only way to get precisely what you had in mind.

One tip: avoid stretchy material. The local tailors find it much harder to work with, and you are less likely to end up with what you had in mind. Woven cottons, linens and rayons are the safe choices.

Do also ask the people who have been before — several attend each retreat, and they will have better opinions than ours.

Tailors in Sanur, on the way through

The Candidasa tailors are the handy ones during the retreat week. But the tailors below are not in Candidasa. They are in Sanur, and we mention them because a lot of people break their trip there, either coming up from the airport or on the way back down at the end. If you are stopping in Sanur anyway, it is worth knowing.

Miriam, one of our September 2026 group, went looking for shirts and passed these two on. We checked both.

Wayan Tailor, Jl. Bumi Ayu No.56, Sanur. Phone and WhatsApp +62 812-3999-8184. Open until 8pm. She speaks very good English and the reviews are about as good as they get. One customer called in first to ask how much material he needed, went and bought the cloth, then came back with it. Three shirts, on time, perfect.

Ritz Tailor, Jl. Cemara No.70, Sanur. Phone +62 819-3977-9321. Open until 10pm, and handier if you are staying towards the southern end of the Sanur beachfront.

Jalan Bumi Ayu is the tailoring street in Sanur, so there is more than one shop along it. Have a look at the work before you commit.

The best tip of the lot: take a garment you already love. Something that fits you beautifully. Ask them to copy the fit rather than work from measurements, and you will get a far better result. Then say what you want in plain terms: cotton, or a linen and cotton mix, the collar, long or short sleeves, pocket or no pocket, closer fitting or loose.

Leave yourself a few days if you can, and expect to go back for a fitting. That is the part that makes the difference.

Cheap yoga props, if you want them

You do not need to bring or buy any props — Pondok Pisang has bolsters, blankets, blocks, mats, chairs, swings and a rope wall. This is only for anyone who fancies picking up cheap props for practice at home.

Unique Yoga Shop Bali in Denpasar is the cheap one, and it is where a lot of Bali studios buy theirs. Basic mats start around IDR 99,000 (about $10) and blocks are well under IDR 200,000. Quality is fine for practice — good value rather than luxury.

The main shop is at Jl. Hayam Wuruk No. 326, Renon, Denpasar, next to the US Consulate. There is a second branch at Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai No. 290A, Sanur, opposite Serenity Resto — which is roughly on the road east out of the airport, so you could ask Wayan to stop on the way through. WhatsApp +62 878-6288-8688. Open Monday to Friday 9am to 5.30pm, Saturday 9am to 3pm.

They do not ship to Australia, so buy in person and pack it in your luggage. Prices were checked in 2025, so treat them as a guide.

If you happen to be in Ubud, Bali Yoga Shop on Jalan Hanoman is the other one worth knowing — dearer, but ethical and locally made. WhatsApp +62 813-3887-9797.

Balinese ceremonies while we are there

Bali has something on somewhere every single day. There are more than ten thousand temples, and most hold their anniversary festival every 210 days, so in any given week there is a ceremony within walking distance of wherever you happen to be standing.

Here is what the Balinese calendar shows for our week.

Ours is a quiet week, and that has its own pleasures. The two big full moons sit either side of us — one was 27 August, the next is 26 September, which is the largest East Bali temple day of the year. We are in the gap between them. So expect village life rather than crowds.

Four days worth knowing about:

• Saturday 5 September — Tumpek Kandang, two days before we start. The day the animals are blessed. Cattle, pigs, dogs and chickens are decorated and given offerings. If you arrive early you may well catch it.
• Wednesday 9 September — Buda Cemeng Menail. A small day. Extra offerings, nothing dramatic.
• Thursday 10 September — Kajeng Kliwon. This one comes round every fifteen days and it is the one you will actually notice. Extra offerings appear at gateways, crossroads and family shrines, usually at dusk. Worth a short walk before dinner just to look.
• Friday 11 September — Tilem, the new moon. A proper temple day. Families dress in traditional clothes and carry offerings to the village temple. It is also the darkest night of our week, so the stars over the water should be worth staying up for.

If you are staying on afterwards, there is a great deal more: Usaba Kapat at Timbrah on 21 September, Usaba Kaja at Seraya on 26 September, and Gebug Seraya on 30 September, which is a rattan-duel rain ritual and exactly as startling as it sounds. Usaba Gumang at Bugbug, five kilometres from us, is the big five-village festival and falls around the full moon on 26 September.

And then there is the one that is never on any calendar. Village ceremonies — a cremation, a tooth filing, a family temple anniversary — are not published anywhere at all. On one earlier retreat a ceremony came up at the local temple near Sea Breeze and happened to land on the free afternoon, so we simply walked down and watched the dancing. Ask Mr Yande or Wayan each day. If something worth seeing is on, we can move the schedule around it.

If we do go to one

• Sarong and sash, both usually lent at the bigger temples for a small donation. Shoulders and upper arms covered. A long loose shirt over a sarong is right.
• Women who are menstruating do not enter a temple. The idea is called cuntaka, and it is not a judgement about women — it applies equally to anyone with an open wound, and to a whole household in mourning. Nobody checks, and standing outside the gate attracts no comment at all. You can still walk the beach and watch a procession from the road.
• No flash, ever. Never stand or climb higher than a priest, an offering or a group at prayer. Never step into the path of a procession — stand aside and let it go by.
• Watch for the first ten minutes before taking a single photograph. Then decide whether a camera is welcome at all.
• Go with Wayan or with someone local rather than twenty Australians arriving at once. Ask first, and you will almost always be made very welcome.

Staying in touch

The WhatsApp group

Please join the retreat WhatsApp group — the link and a QR code have been emailed to you. We use it in the lead-up and right through the week, for schedules, photos, and for sorting out who is sharing a taxi with whom.

In Bali, WhatsApp is simply how everyone communicates. If you are not already set up on it, it is well worth doing before you go.

Wifi

Free at both venues. We will circulate the network name and password on arrival.

Questions we get asked a lot

Do I need to be experienced? No. Chris teaches to the room, and there are always several people at their first retreat.

What if I cannot do a pose? Then you do the version that suits you, with a prop, or you rest. Nobody is watching, and Chris will offer alternatives before you have to ask.

Is it a silent retreat? No. There are short quiet periods each morning before breakfast, and that is all.

Can I bring my partner? Partners are welcome to share your room at Sea Breeze, but they are not in the meal plan or the classes unless that has been arranged. They can also eat à la carte at Pondok Pisang, or Sea Breeze, meal by meal, and put it on the room bill.

Can I stay extra nights? Yes — contact the venue directly, details above.

What is the weather like in September? Dry season, which is the good half of the year. Warm days, usually high twenties to low thirties, cooler in the evening, and not much rain. Bring something light with sleeves for the evening classes.

Do I need vaccinations? Nothing is compulsory for Australians, but have a word with your GP, and Smartraveller is the sensible place to check before you go.

A walk through the place, in pictures

Everything above tells you how the week works. This bit tells you what it actually feels like.

All of these were taken by people on earlier retreats — mostly at Easter this year — and they are here with their blessing. Nothing is a stock photograph. This is the place you are coming to.

The people you will be with

Here is the thing nobody quite believes until they get there. You arrive not knowing most of the group, and by about Wednesday you are all sitting at the same long table telling each other things you would not tell your friends at home.

Eighteen people, three meals a day, six days. It does something.

The village side of it

You are not in Seminyak. Candidasa and the villages around it are ordinary working places — rice, salt, fishing, weaving — and they are ten minutes from your room.

Tenganan, the old walled village, is the easiest one to reach, and it is a place people come back from rather quiet.

What you will actually be looking at

The front of Pondok Pisang faces east across the water to Lombok. Which means the sun comes up out of the sea in front of you at about half past six, roughly when pranayama starts.

Nobody has ever complained about this.

The Balinese side of things

Bali is not scenery with a temple in it. It is a working religious culture, and you are staying inside it for a week.

There are shrines in the garden you are walking through. There is an offering on the step outside your room most mornings. And if a ceremony happens while we are there — and something usually does — you will hear it before you see it.

And the small things nobody photographs on purpose

Ask anyone who has been, and the things they tell you about are never the ones on the brochure.

Who to contact

Before you go

• Stuart McGill — [email protected], +61 468 362 641
• Chris Lalor — 0448 112 251

In Bali — try us on WhatsApp, or:

• Mr Yande, Pondok Pisang — WhatsApp +62 812-3959-4427
• Luh De, Sea Breeze — WhatsApp +62 853-3781-1031
• Wayan, transfers and tours — WhatsApp +62 878-6314-6433

See you in Candidasa.