Making the town of Ubud our base, we spent
4 weeks in Bali in August.
The trip was an experiment in trying to
live simply in another overseas culture – to find out how we cope health-wise
and also to try to get a better understanding of living without TV, newspapers
and other ‘western’ trappings and to appreciate the challenges facing people in
Bali as well as their religious, political and other perspectives.
Our accommodation was in a family compound
(Rumah Roda)a few hundred metres from the main street (Jl Raya) of Ubud. We stayed in one
of 5 guest rooms. The compound also has a Warrung (Restaurant). While some were
not able to speak English, we spent time interacting with members of the
household and their staff.
http://rumahroda.com/roda/darts.html
Most of our time was taken up with lots of
walking, massages, eating, sleeping/reading, cooking classes, shopping, interacting
with locals and other tourists, a couple of tours and more eating.
Sounds of Waking – About 5 am the roosters
start their crowing competition; 6am Wayan is sweeping outside the rooms,
swish, swish; followed by the tinkle of cups and saucers on our glass table and
then the plonk of the thermos of hot water; next the sounds of our next door neighbours opening their doors
and stepping outside. “Good morning”, says Wayan, “ ready for Makan (food)?”
Other sounds to remember – the whirring of kites high up in the sky; people singing as they
worked; a gamelan and drums practicing in a nearby compound; the clicking of
geckos.
There are some great walks around Ubud –
you need a good map, a bit of luck or an initial guide to find and get started
on the walks. In 5 minutes we could leave the hustle and bustle of Ubud and walk
through the rice paddies – listen to the gurgling water in the many channels;
the click clack of the “bird scarers”; feel
the soft cooling breeze and lose ourselves in the lush scenery. While nearby
the rice farmers went about their work – planting, hoeing, harvesting. We tried
to go on the walks as early as possible or in the evening when it is cooler and
they usually ended with a meal or drink in a local Warrung.
The massages were really special. Our
favourite was a 1 ½ hour head and foot massage at ‘Lily’s‘in Jl. Bisma. (Rp
75,000 or $9.00). We also had a number of full body Balinese massages at ‘Nur’
and ‘Beji Ayu’. Several Reflexology treatments were appreciated after a day of
walking. On one occasion we had the full works – full body massage, exfoliate,
rub down with yoghurt and ending with sipping slowly on some aromatic ginger
tea while languishing in a warm flower bath. They were all good and very cheap!
Participating in 2 half day ‘Casa Luna’ cooking
classes really whet our appetites for Indonesian/Balinese food. We prepared a
range of dishes and are looking forward to hunting down the ingredients and
trying them out in Adelaide.
The food in Ubud is something to
experience. You can get almost anything and the foods in some restaurants are
of a very high standard. Our favorite places were:
Igilanca Warrung Jl Raya – good basic Balinese
food and cheap
Café Tegal Jl. Hanoman –Excellent Balinese
fare.
Café Ja Juice – Juices and fresh food. (Two
drinks of interest: turmeric root with honey and lemon and juice of the Soursop)
Organic Café – In the middle of the rice
paddies. Salads & juices (especially, fresh avocado).
Bali Yoga Warrung Jl Kajeng
Casa Luna Jl Raya – fusion food; Iced
cappuccino is divine and best coffee and cakes.
Babi Guling Warung – suckling pig. Claimed
to be best in the world. Peter ate there 3 times.
And our own restaurant at Rumah Roda
especially their ‘Megibung’ (Balinese buffet) and Bubuk Tutu (smoked duck)
Toward the end of the 4 weeks and much to
the delight of the locals and with no tourist in sight, we tried a traditional
(chili hot!) Balinese breakfast from the women in the market. Their cakes were
also very tasty.
Some Other Unusual and Addictive Tastes –
Comfort tea (milk, fresh ginger and nutmeg); the
mango lassie at Organic; ginger, lime and lemongrass drink; frogs legs;
dalumen (a green tonic mixture made fresh each morning by a wonderful woman in
the market); mangosteens and jack fruit and of course black rice pudding.
We visited a small family cottage industry
making palm sugar. This was an eye-opening experience. The family member shimmies
up an extremely tall coconut palm (about 10 trees before breakfast) and using a
complicated and dangerous maneuver, harvests nectar from the metre long coconut
palm flower. This happens twice a day for a month. The harvested nectar is
boiled in a large wok over a hot fire for 3 hours until it is reduced by more
than half and thickens. The family receives about $3.00 for half a kilo of palm
sugar at the local market. We were given a sample to bring back and fortunately it cleared customs ok.
We also observed the harvesting of sea salt
and on another occasion sea weed. It is hard, grinding and very hot work. We
were intrigued that a lot of the heavy building work or in the rice paddies is
performed by women – often older women.
We made contact with an organization called
‘Threads of Life’ that works with farmers and producers on Indonesian Islands
and East Timor where they produce beautiful textiles and weaving. We hope to
have ongoing contact with Cecelia from East Timor who is promoting Textiles and
weaving from East Timor.
Some memorable scenes and experiences -
- Swimming
in the holy waters of Tirta Gangga , a water palace and source of sacred
springs
- Walking through
the local market in Denpasar., 3 floors of produce.
- Watching
the magnificent ‘Gunung Sari’ in the village of Pelliatan - a world famous
gamelan equal to the best symphony orchestra and the exquisite dancers.
Spine tingling as we watched a woman’s fingers flutter like leaves in the
wind.
- Fire flies
in the rice paddies – fairies do exist!
- Watching a
stonemason carving a wall frieze from beginning to end – intricate and
beautiful.
- Old women
walking stately through the market carrying their low tables on their
heads.
- Bali dogs
– relaxed, disinterested but knowingly alert.
- The meditative
calm of the daily offerings.
Great People and Kind Deeds
- Sharing
ideas and meals with Henry and Margo from the Netherlands
- Lift from
Jim the paraglider from Melbourne
- Lift from
2 German sisters driving around Bali (escaping family)
- Tony,
Barbara and Helen from Brisbane
- The many
Balinese taxi drivers – kind and caring especially Made and Ida
Did the experiment work? Apart from a mild
tummy upset and Peter experiencing bouts of hay fever, from a health point of
view we emerged unscathed. We enjoyed living a more ‘simple’ life but at the
same time having massages and good food, lived richly.
Although Ubud is a tourist town, full of people
from all over the world, it is still clear that the Balinese themselves
maintain their own traditional culture – it flows through, under and over the “busy-
ness” of tourism. In tune with Balinese philosophy there is a balance. Just like
the mangy Balinese dogs (maligned by some) which are necessary to keep the
balance, we need the good and bad, the ups and downs in life otherwise there
would be chaos.
We certainly appreciated the challenges and
the joys of the Balinese culture and religious life.
Peter hopes to write a perspective on this
over the next few weeks and will post it as a blog item as soon as it is ready.
