Thailand's cultural and social roots are firmly set in the countryside, in fact, when Mahatma Gandhi said of his home country "... the real India is in the villages". He could just as easily have been referring to Thailand, a country whose political and cultural birth was in the "million rice fields" of the ancient Lanna Thai Kingdom.

The Marovo Lagoon is the largest saltwater lagoon in the world. The waters are calm and the sea-life abundant. Turtles, dolphins, rays and the occasional whale, magnificent coral gardens and prolific tropical and pelagic fish life abound, all surrounded by magnificent beaches and rainforest. Sea kayaking is an ideal way to get back to nature, to discover this stunning environment, while also sampling genuine Pacific Island hospitality and culture whilst staying in Eco-lodges within villages dotted around the lagoon.

For centuries European artists, especially painters, have been coming to Bali to soak in the heady air of complete artistic dedication that is the unique character of the Balinese people. Nowhere else will you find such a diversity of creative skills expressed by so few -- and the "Island of the Gods" could not be a more conducive location.

The Art & Culture of Bali is a journey of artistic discovery into an island society where aesthetism and religion are so inseparable and all pervading that nothing in Balinese life is celebrated without a fusion of art and worship.