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<!--Generated by Squarespace V5 Site Server v5.13.158 (http://www.squarespace.com) on Wed, 22 May 2013 01:16:54 GMT--><feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"><title>Wellness Retreats</title><subtitle>Wellness Retreats</subtitle><id>http://www.balifornian.com/wellness-retreats/</id><link rel="alternate" type="application/xhtml+xml" href="http://www.balifornian.com/wellness-retreats/"/><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.balifornian.com/wellness-retreats/atom.xml"/><updated>2013-01-15T19:05:37Z</updated><generator uri="http://five.squarespace.com/" version="Squarespace V5 Site Server v5.13.158 (http://www.squarespace.com)">Squarespace</generator><entry><title>How's that New Years resolution working out? Here is a great idea...</title><category term="BALI TRAVEL"/><category term="adventure travel"/><category term="boat tour"/><category term="borneo"/><category term="ecotourism"/><category term="kalimantan"/><category term="lombok"/><category term="papua"/><category term="rituals"/><category term="toraja"/><category term="yogya"/><category term="yogyakarta in  adventure"/><id>http://www.balifornian.com/wellness-retreats/2011/1/10/hows-that-new-years-resolution-working-out-here-is-a-great-i.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.balifornian.com/wellness-retreats/2011/1/10/hows-that-new-years-resolution-working-out-here-is-a-great-i.html"/><author><name>Michael Doliveck</name></author><published>2011-01-10T22:47:00Z</published><updated>2011-01-10T22:47:00Z</updated><content type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[<p><strong>Making a New Year's resolution?&nbsp; </strong></p>
<p><strong>Do something lifechanging,  enriching, educational and relaxing all the while in tropical paradise.</strong>&nbsp;  Check out Balifornian's new tours to Bali and Indonesia.&nbsp; The focus is  on health and wellness retreats.&nbsp; Learn to eat healthy, stay active and  reconnect with yourself all while touring amazing Bali.&nbsp; We will visit  temples and sacred sites while learning about the culture and arts of  traditional Bali.&nbsp; Of course there will be plenty of time just relaxing  on the beach, poolside and getting massages and spa treatments.&nbsp; Other  possibilities include yoga, painting classes, shopping excursions,  meeting with healers, cooking classes, museums, learning about specific  cultural aspects that interest you, etc.&nbsp; The itinerary is really up to  you.&nbsp; With your input we will help you design a tour that fulfills your  passions, interests and sense of adventure, all the while in luxurious  setting.</p>
<p>Our Yoga and wellness retreats are run in conjunction with <a href="http://balifloatingleaf.com/" target="_blank">Floating Leaf Eco-Retreat</a>. More information can be found <a href="http://balifloatingleaf.com/yoga/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p><span class="full-image-block ssNonEditable"><span><a href="http://balifloatingleaf.com/" target="_blank"><img style="width: 888px;" src="http://www.balifornian.com/storage/Bali-retreat-yoga-banner-villas.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1358276586497" alt="" /></a></span><span class="thumbnail-caption" style="width: 888px;">The best in yoga and wellness retreats</span></span></p>
<p><span class="full-image-block ssNonEditable"><span><img src="http://www.balifornian.com/picture/Just%20Another%20Day%20in%20Paradise?pictureId=6587306&amp;asGalleryImage=true&amp;__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1294700035581" alt="" /></span></span></p>
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<h3><strong>Balifornian Tours announces amazing new tours that compliment our yoga and wellness retreats...</strong></h3>
<p>Exciting new tours  announced from Balifornian Tours- Go to  <a href="http://www.balifornian.com/destinations/">http://www.balifornian.com/destinations/</a>&nbsp; for more information. The new  tours include...</p>
<p><strong>Kalimantan and Borneo</strong>- Including the Orangutans!Discover Central  Kalimantan, visit the Orangutan National Park / Tanjung Puting National  Park. See the Orang Utan ( Pongo pygmeus ) and other wildlife; agile  gibbons, black handed gibbons (hylobates agilis), gray gibbons,  proboscis monkeys, crab-eating macagues, larges dragonflies, a several  large birds such as hornbilis, eagles &amp; kingfishers</p>
<p><strong>Tana Toraja</strong> -  Experience increadible culture and mindblowing rituals.&nbsp; This unique  tour to one of Indonesia most mysterious places can also be combined  with any Bali tour.&nbsp; Bright green rice terraces, tall limestone outcrops  and bamboo graves are set against a backdrop of blue misty mountains.  Traditional Tongkonan houses stand proudly in this setting. These  intricately decorated houses with upward-sloping roofs are the center of  all Aluktodolo ( Torajan religion before the coming of missionaries;  the ancestors belief ) rites; from storing the harvest in the carved  rice barns, "alang", to slaughtering sacred water buffaloes at a week or  more-funeral ceremonies. Tana Toraja's beauty is also reflected in its  people. Although they are devoutly Christian ( there are small number of  Moslems especially in the southern area), they combine this religious  belief with magic and mysticism. Secure in their ethnic identity, they  welcome visitors to witness their ceremonies.The land of the Toraja  people, many notionally Christian but most in practice animist, is above  all famed for their spectacular (and rather gruesome) burial rites.  After a person's death, the body is kept &mdash; often for several years &mdash;  while money is saved to pay for the actual funeral ceremony, known as  tomate. During the festival, which may last up to a week, ritual dances  and buffalo fights are held, and buffaloes and pigs are slaughtered to  ferry the soul of the deceased to the afterlife (puya). The deceased is  then finally buried either in a small cave, often with a tau-tau effigy  placed in front, inside a hollow tree or even left exposed to the  elements in a bamboo frame hanging from a cliff.Tana Toraja has unique  culture set in stunning scenery. Globalisation and tourism may have  impact, but if you venture away from the tarmac roads you will find soon  a way of life that has not changed much in the last 100  years.(Wiki)</p>
<p><strong>Komodo</strong>- This boat tours stops at some remote islands with  great opportunities for snorkling and diving and culminates with an up  close and personal trek with The Komodo Dragons.&nbsp; The tour starts from  Lombok with a half-day tour to visit traditional Lombok villages and  it&rsquo;s peoples&rsquo; daily life.&nbsp; We will also stop in Lombok&rsquo;s main pottery  making village on the way to the harbor. With a newly designed boat, we  will explore the beauty of The amazing Sumbawa coast with its beautiful  small islands including the well known Komodo Island.&nbsp; Then we are off  to Labuan Bajo in Flores. On the way back, we will have a chance to  visit Rinca, Moyo, and Keramat Island. We will then make our return to  Lombok.</p>
<p><strong>Yogyakarta</strong>- Yogyakarta is one of the last intact Javanese Empires  in all of Indonesia, with the Sultanate still holds jurisdiction. The  Sultan's Palace is the hub of Yogyakarta's traditional life and, despite  the advance of modernity, still emanates the spirit of refinement,  which has been the hallmark of Yogya's culture for centuries. Yogya is  center of Javanese arts and culture, as well as a historically rich and  important city.Yogyakarta is the gateway to reach the world famous  "Borobudur" Buddhist temple, which is considered as one of the Seven  Wonders of the World. Borobudur was built by Sanmaratungga in the 8th  century, and was revealed by Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles in 1814. The  temple was found in ruined condition and was buried. After the  independent (1945), the Indonesian Government gave the restoration of  Borobudur high priority, invited archaeological mission and in 1955  requested UNESCO's assistance.</p>
<p><strong>Papua New Guinea (formely Irian Jaya)</strong>-&nbsp; Papua  New Guinea or Irian Jaya is one of the world's most remote regions and  contains some of the most interesting and protected cultures one can  find.&nbsp; Balifornian Tours unique access to this region will make your  trip infinitely easier and more rewarding.﻿West Papua Package Tours  (Formerly Irian Jaya)The cultures of the Papua tribes are fascinating.  The island's terrain is rough, mountainous, and covered by rain forest.  Communications between villages are by narrow foot paths.&nbsp; Nowadays  Irian Jaya is divided into 2 Provinces: Papua Barat and Papua Timur.  Sorong is the capital city of Papua Barat, while Jayapura, the capital  of East Papua province, is five hours by plane from Bali. Daily flights  connect these two cities via Ujungpandang or Biak. From Jayapura or  Sentani, a tour to the hinterland is possible. A police permit is  required in order to visit Irian Jaya. We can arrange this for you in  Jayapura.Other tours include Sulawesi, Lombok, Sumatra and many other  exotic locations. Balifornian Tours and Travel Blog run tours to Bali, Komodo, Toraja,  Lombok and all of Indonesia as well as other parts of Asia.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Balifornian tours and travel blog offers  customized tours to Bali, Indonesia and Asia. The best travel option for  relaxation, adventure and authentic culture. Let them help plan your  next vacation to make it the best experience it can be.  http://www.balifornian.com and for more on our <strong><a href="http://balifloatingleaf.com/" target="_blank">Yoga and Wellness Retreats in Bali </a></strong>please ckick <a href="http://balifloatingleaf.com/yoga/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
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