Dressing Up, Balinese Style

I have always admired traditional dresses. Especially the ones from Indonesia. They are always full of colors and panache. They have unique symbols and designs. Colors often denote functions and status in society, the same also can be said about the accessories.

Last May, my best friend and I thought that perhaps it'd be nice to dress up, Balinese style. We went to a photo studio specializing in this kind of thing. IIRC we had to pay IDR 350,000 for one person. Each will get five printed pictures in postcard size and a CD of raw pictures (they normally take about 3 pictures in one pose). The price includes make up and costume rental fee.

We were amazed to see their collection of costumes and headdresses. So many colors! I let them choose the colors and style. They told us they'd dress us in Putri style. They picked some long cloth and wrapped it around me. You really need to have someone else around to help, when you want to get dressed in this way!

One thing for sure, the headdress is very heavy! It left some marks on my forehead. Surprisingly, it didn't take very long for them to put on the clothes, accessories and make up. Maybe around 20 minutes or so. We took the pictures some time in the afternoon. We got the results at night.

You can see one of the results here. Gosh, we look so different! But it was certainly fun.

Once upon a time, it was always nice to play dressing up as princesses. And one day, looking back, memories will flood your senses and you'll sigh, "Oh, those good ol' days."

Thank you, Nina Higa, for taking the time to make some memories with me that day.

Sunset in Kuta

Bali has been a special place for me. Especially for my best friend, Nina. When she was still in university, she went to Kuta with her friends. Last May, after picking her up from the airport, we decided to go to Kuta.

There we were, two ladies of different backgrounds and nationalities. With different thoughts and dreams. Watching the sunset together made us smile. It made us dream. And yearn. And hope.

Happiness comes in many forms. Blessings come and go, and we might not realize our lives are brimming with them until we take some time to reflect and remember.

And when we do, we will realize that life might take us to a straight or roundabout route, but God will always shower us with blessings, sometimes when we least expect it.

I believe so.