Eat Pray And Love Bali

[Anush Faigley]

Istopped in the neat bookstore Iconoclast while in Ketchum, Idaho, this summer and picked up two paperbacks for the plane ride home: Travels with Herodotus by the late Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski and Eat, Pray, Love, the best-selling memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Luckily for fans like me, Gilbert has made it easy to follow in her footsteps: She set up a FAQ on EPL section of her website, elizabethgilbert.com/faq. She reveals where to find Liyer as well as the location of her friend Wayan's traditional Balinese healing shop, the best spot for roast suckling pig, and how to contact an expert teacher offering yoga tours of the island.

I jotted the details down, but hadn't contended with the all-encompassing nature of an Indian wedding, my reason for being in Bali in the first place. Like the hundreds of other guests, I stayed in Nusa Dua, a sandy hotel strip about an hour and a half from Ubud, which is set further inland amid hills and rice patties. There were just too many traditional ceremonies, buffet dinners, and dance parties to make it that far.

One afternoon I did slip out to explore Kuta, the laid-back beach town where ex-pats and surfers have been hanging out since the '60s. (A memorial commemorates the terrorist bombing of a nightclub in 2002; guards with dogs now inspect cars at major hotels and other checkpoints around the island).

If I return to Bali someday, I know where I'm heading first: Ubud. If you're mulling over a trip, our story Secret Hotels of Bali can point you towards affordable, friendly places to stay in Ubud and beyond. You'll also want to keep an eye on our Real Deals section, which currently touts an air/hotel/tour package for Bali starting at $1,299.

Wherever you're traveling next, there's likely to be a writer who's tried to put his or her own inspired stamp on the place. The website Literary Traveler posts essays devoted to the association between such writers and their places, among them Ian Fleming's London, George Sand's Majorca, and Hunter S. Thompson's Puerto Rico.

Eid al-Fitr is the Festival of Fast-Breaking that followers of Islam are celebrating right now. Rick Steves has just blogged a post from Turkey about how this is a great time to be traveling. Here's one of his key points:Ramadan is, in balance, a great time to travel. You don't realize it, but most people are not eating or even drinking all day. I offered my waiter a suck of my hookah water pipe. He put his hand to his heart and explained he'd love to but he was fasting for Ramadan.If you sleep lightly, you'll wake to the sound of a prayer and meal just before dawn. Sun rises and the day-long fast begins. Then, at about 7p.m. the food comes out, and the festival begins. Mohammad broke his fast with dried date or olive—so that's usually the fast breaker to this day. Saying, "Allah Kabul etsin" (may God accept...your fast today)," the staff at a restaurant where I was just having a drink welcomed me to photo them and then offered to share.Every time I witness the breaking of the fast, people offered to share their food. At the restaurant I said no, but they set me up anyway—figs, lentil soup, bread, Coke, and baklava. I thought the Coke was a bit odd...but my guide said it's not considered American any more. It's truly global.This Real Deal offers a sweeping two-week tour highlighting the varied aspects of Turkish history and culture, from Istanbul to otherworldly Cappadocia to sun-kissed coastal towns like Kusadasi, from $1,649 per person—plus taxes of about $116. It's a great deal because as a BudgetTravel.com reader, you get access to the $150 special discount. (But, alas, Rick Steves is not associated in any way with this tour.)Today Gadling has a roundup of Eid celebrations.The L.A. Times recently ran an excellent story on how the workers at Egyptian resorts feel about Western tourists when they have to serve them, especially during the fasting period of Ramadan.Despite being five years old, a World Hum essay by Rolf Potts is one of the best travel pieces to have been written about how American travelers view Islam. (Note, his essay begins with a story about Eid al-Adha, a different festival.) Link, here.Photo of the Mosque domes in Istanbul, Turkey, by Andrew Ward/Life File/Photodisc .

It's our Question of the Week!Travel is one of those things where if you did it all the time you'd get really good at it. Unfortunately, few people get to do it all the time—including the staff of Budget Travel. So we thought it would be smart to pool our knowledge. We ask you a question, you share your advice, and then we spotlight the most helpful tips in a future magazine issue. This week's question comes from me, the senior editor of BudgetTravel.com: "I'm going to Rome on vacation in mid-November. A tip on a good walking tour or wine bar would be appreciated!"EARLIER: See reader answers to the question "What's there to do in Burlington, Vermont?"DEALS: New Italy packages from $599.RELATED: 14 top questions about Italy, answered.The fabulous photo is by Beachy via Flickr and Creative Commons.

No other airline chief has ever had a week like this.Richard Branson, whom you know well as the top backer of Virgin America and Virgin Atlantic, was seemingly everywhere.He jumped off a building in Las Vegas. But the stunt was botched by a snag. He suffered a cut hand and bruises when he dropped from the top of a 120m (390ft) tower and crashed into a wall.But he was still smiling. He reported that Virgin America is making scads of money, and he expects it to be profitable much faster than expected.He kissed Kyla Ebbert, the woman known in our previous blog posts as the Southwest woman who revealed too much.He also rang the bell to open the New York Stock exchange. And he threw a celebrity-filled party in Las Vegas. Details at Jaunted.And Budget Travel awarded his company an Extra Mile Award last night at a fabulous reception in New York. (He flew his team on his private jet so that they could attend the event while he rested up.)

I've just returned from spending the weekend at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which runs through October 14. Now in its 36th year and touted as the "world's most photographed event," the fiesta is expected to draw some 100,000 people per day this year. My cab driver was not exaggerating when he warned us that traffic would be heinous. Even though our hotel was only 10 miles from the launch site, it took us nearly two hours to reach the balloon field. As we sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Saturday, we could see the first balloons lift off at 6:45 a.m., glowing and flickering like Christmas lights. By the time we actually made it onto the field just before 7:30 a.m., the sky was already dotted with dozens of hot air balloons. Each time a balloon inflated, the crowd cheered as if it were the first of the day. Darth Vader—one of this year's new balloons—drew some of the biggest applause, although my favorite was the pink elephant. (The flying pig was a close second.)Due to the high winds on Saturday, only about 350 of the 700 balloons ended up flying during the mass ascension. [On Monday, after I had left for home, one of the balloons in flight tipped after snagging a utility line, sending a woman plummeting to her death, according to this AP story. An investigation to the crash has begun. As the article points out, accidents are rare. The last fatality at the Fiesta was in 1998. Before that was in 1993. In all three cases, power lines and unexpected wind played roles.]As it turns out, my friends and I chose not to ride in a balloon this time around. Instead, we hopped on the Sandia Peak Tramway ($17.50 a ticket), which offers panoramic views of the city from the comfort of a glass-enclosed gondola.More infoFor a schedule of Balloon Festival events and a list of Park & Ride locations, visit balloonfiesta.com ($6 adults, $10 parking). If you can't make it to New Mexico this year, the website also streams live webcam images and YouTube clips.If you want to try a balloon ride at another time of year, know that non-Fiesta rates start at about $170 per person with the balloon operator Rainbow Ryders. Photo of Darth Vader by Amy Chen. Photo of Pink Elephant by Laertes via Flickr and Creative Commons.

Elizabeth 'Liz' Gilbert has been married for 8 years, owns a house, and has a successful career. However, despite her seemingly stable life, she feels lost and confused, longing for something more meaningful. Liz decides to ask for a divorce from her husband, Stephen, which he struggles to accept. During this period, she has a brief affair with David, a young actor. Newly divorced and facing uncertainty, Liz embarks on a transformative journey to Italy, India, and Bali, seeking self-discovery.

During her travels, Liz discovers the joy of Italian cuisine, indulging in pasta and gelato for four months. She meets a new Swedish friend who introduces her to a private Italian tutor, and they share a Thanksgiving celebration before Liz heads to India. In India, Liz stays at an ashram where she delves into the power of prayer and is tasked with humbling chores like scrubbing floors. 'Texas Richard' becomes both a challenge and a support system for her. As her time at the ashram comes to an end, Liz moves on to Bali, Indonesia.

In Bali, Indonesia, Liz reunited with Ketut, a local healer, and takes on various tasks he assigns her. While cycling, she has a run-in with Felipe, a Brazilian, and seeks treatment for an injury from Wayan, a village healer. During her recovery, she meets Armenia, who encourages her to join in village festivities. There, Felipe apologizes for the accident, and they strike up a conversation. Despite Armenia's attempt to set her up with someone else, Liz finds herself drawn to Felipe. They spend time together, and Liz organizes a fundraiser for Wayan's house, raising over $18,000 USD.

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