I’ve been rushing around trying to attend as many sessions of the 2011 Ubud Writers and Readers Festival so that you, dear reader, don’t have to. Here are some highlights from my favourite sessions so far. Life’s But a Roll of the Dice Yesterday, Australian-British author and Booker Prize winner DBC Pierre talked about his … read the full post

Today’s session at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival called ‘The Cycle of Rice‘ was about living simply, consuming less and sharing more, and how it all related to rice farming in Bali. The panel’s host, Gouri Mirpuri the author of Eco-Heroes of Indonesia, introduced the panelist Steve Lansing by saying, “You can’t talk about … read the full post

Rob Lilwall is the author of Cycling Home from Siberia, a book about his expedition across Asia, Australia and Europe by bicycle. When he was 27 he decided to fly to the furthest, most remote place he could think of and try and make his way home from there. He spent the next three years … read the full post

The 2011 Ubud Writers and Readers Festival has started with a bang in Bali, and the streets of Ubud are teeming with readers, writers, and, as usual, taxi drivers, hopefully searching for fares. Authors from more than 20 countries are here, as well as countless readers — with Australia well represented. (Although during his session, … read the full post

Congratulations to Gabriela for winning our competition giving away a full four-day pass to the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival. The competition was simple. Tell us in 25 words what “Bali” means to you. This was Gabriela’s entry: “Pacifying bad spirits, fearing ricefield rats. Feeling adrenaline in left-hand traffic. Happy ducks. Why is so much … read the full post

A friend recently mentioned offhand Gaya’s Gelato and my ears pricked up as I often take the Sayan ridge route to get to Ubud from Sanur. This takes you past the large Gaya Fusion, an art space with an attached restaurant and villas, but I hadn’t noticed any ice creamery … What was I missing?! … read the full post

Let’s be honest: attending a writers festival is hard work, and the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival is no different. If you’re not pouring over your schedule trying to juggle your panels with your lunches, you’re busy actually attending a session, sitting in a possibly plastic chair for hours on end, listening, pondering, asking questions, … read the full post

Maybe I’m just getting older, but while I used to find Thai and Cambodian traditional dance dull when I lived in the countries that produced the style, I find myself these days enjoying the slightly less staid Balinese dance. While Balinese dances can be incredibly intricate and slow moving, there’s an element of almost slapstick … read the full post

The Ubud Writers Festival takes place at an array of venues across Ubud, several of them overseen by Festival organiser Janet De Neefe: Indus, Casa Luna and Bar Luna, for instance. Being restaurants, however, these are venues that you can visit even when an author isn’t holding court. And at Bar Luna on Tuesdays and … read the full post

The clock is ticking in Bali’s Ubud: the 2011 Writers and Readers Festival is just three months’ away. Janet De Neefe, founder of the festival — also author, restaurateur, hotelier and cooking teacher — sat down for half an hour over a glass of wine last week to tell Travelfish.org just how loudly that clock … read the full post