Bali overview

sometimes during a trip you capture an image that just doesn't fit within the blog text, yet it says so much about the country or the people that you have been visiting that it should be included for sheer pleasure. so, for our Bali escapade, these are my picks. Enjoy!

Jimbaran, Bali

Jimbaran turned out to be unlike anything I had imagined. We set off to walk the beach, cut through and walk into town. A short discussion with someone in the know however soon changed our minds. Other than a few resorts along the beach front and a cluster of beach front shack styled restaurants, there is not much to Jimbaran at all. Not within walking distance at any rate. Apparently as a starting point for day trips, or to set out on day trips to water ski, fish, snorkel etc it is world famous, but for self made exploration there is little to discover. So, we returned to our villa via Sundarra, the new beachfront restaurant which is part of the Four Seasons complex. We stopped to sit and relax, have a cold drink and just chill for a while, then headed back and spent the rest of the morning swimming and just being lazy. Quite perfect really. We had some excellent seafood at the bar by the resort pool, then again headed back for a swim and relaxing afternoon. Mid afternoon I wandered down to the resort temple which is the practice venue for local girls learning Balinese dance. With only five girls, and an audience of one, there was much giggling and smiling. Eventually the oldest girl came to talk to me so we had a convoluted conversation where she translated for the others and we all tried to understand each other. We exchanged names and they told me they ranged in age from 8 - 11, with the older girl being approx 15. By the end of it all I had made some new friends and thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon. 31.5.13

Balinese dancing

Jimbaran is on the coast, and overlooks the Bali airport across the bay. Planes come and go frequently. My expectation is that the culture of Jimbaran will be more aligned with that of Koh Samui. Still lots of shops and food outlets, but with the addition of more bars. Shops too I expect will be newer and with more European labels and styling rather than the traditional art and crafts seen in Sayan, wood and stone carving and the like. We will find out more later this morning as we explore Jimbaran further. Last night we saw traditional Balinese dancers and a Gamalan band. My favourite musicians were the two guys who each had a set of drums, similar to those we saw in one of the temples. These guys really rocked a rhythm and the sounds they produced, in unison, were amazing. Quite eerie, and unlike the sing song sounds of the rest of the performers instruments. The dancers were very interesting. Luckily we had a translation sheet to the story behind each dance. Due to this I could basically follow the story line, and still enjoy the movement and colour. A bit like opera really. You have no idea what they are saying, but the emotion comes through....and you either love it, or hate it. The highlight of the dances for me last night was the one where two girls were interpreting the courtship rituals of male birds of paradise. I could see the connection following the research I have been doing of late. An unexpected bonus really and much less scary than the old man in the first dance. I was glad though that we took the time to watch the performance as it was quite different to the Thai dancing we saw in Chiang Mai in January. 30.5.13

Rijsttafel dinner

Monday evening we joined other guests at the restaurant to participate in a traditional Indonesian Rijsttafel Dinner. Funny thing was everyone else watched the Legong dancers and Gamalan orchestra upstairs on the terrace, while we decided to eat as waiting for the performance to finish would have meant eating too late, so we ended up with the restaurant to ourselves, and we could still hear the music. The Rijsttafel, which translates literally as "rice table dinner" dates back 350 years to the peak period of Dutch rule in Indonesia. The idea developed from local culture where rice is the meal staple, and you add small amounts of meat or seafood or poultry and vegetables. The Dutch however liked larger meals, so they developed the idea into a feast with rice and 8 or more accompanying dishes, with associated pickles and sauces. The meal we had comprised 13 different courses, although luckily some were presented simultaneously, more like tasting plates. Even with the rice there were three different varieties - white, black and yellow. While I was still very full by the time we finished it was not quite the ordeal it sounds. The food was beautiful and the spices used are certainly different to those used in other Asian foods I regularly eat at home. 27.5.13

Sayan, Bali

Located in the Ayang River Valley we are staying at a resort in Sayan, a mountainous area of Bali. We have the Ayang River passing by our door, the water tumbling over rocks sounding like torrential rain day and night. Quite a relaxing sound once you become accustomed to it, but I can imagine the American tourists dialling reception to have the noise of the river "turned down". Being set within a natural area of vegetation we have seen lots of birds, butterflies and insects in addition to our squirrel friends who delight with their arboreal acrobatics each morning. It really has been a beautiful place to stay for a few days and I have enjoyed it. This afternoon we relocate to Jimbaran and the beach. Should be quite a contrast. 29.5.13

Bali adventure

Incredible though it is to believe we awoke in Brisbane, then bedded down for the night in Bali.  Ubud in the mountains to be precise.  So off on another adventure and I am yet to be disappointed.

Airport etiquette hasn't changed much since we last travelled.  There is always someone queue jumping, using their gold card status.  I must admit I was pleased to watch them then go to their seats in Row 23.  How spoilt am I?

Arrival at the airport in Denpasar was chaotic to say the least.  There is major redevelopment of the site going on and it seems to impact on everything.  The new airport should be finished by October and it seems that it really is needed.  We heard the arrival of over half a dozen flights announced just in the period we were waiting for our bags to come out.  This took the longest time.  Even our allocated guy was on his walky talky trying to see what the delay was.

I can highly recommend the express airport process.  You pay a fee, then you are allocated a staff member from the airport to walk you through the visa process, the bag collection and customs.  Then we were passed on to a Four Seasons guy, who took our luggage and escorted us to the vehicle (quite a hike given the redevelopment process) then yet another guy was our chauffeur.  Seems complicated but it worked.

We are staying about  an hour and a quarter from Denpasar, in the mountain area of Ubud.  Watching the frenetic activity from the safety of the car was an eye opener.  The place is crazy.  There seem to be more vehicles than Thailand, certainly more cars and an equal number of motor scooters.  It wasn't long before we saw the usual tally of multiple people, children (including babies and toddlers), overloaded cargo - from bamboo cages, to bundles of stuff, armfuls of pipes, vegetation etc.  the sight of the afternoon however was the girl riding pillion who had a bright orange swim tube around her stomach as she clutched on to her friend and zipped past us in the traffic.  If you get bored with watching the world pass by, the car has its own wifi hot spot!

Roadside stalls sell everything from car tyres, to food.  Bali is known for its artisans and so far it is a toss up between stone carving and wood carving for the ultimate position.  They are everywhere.  Apparently the teak now comes from another island and a lot of the timber pieces we saw were a much lighter timber than teak - both in weight and colour.  Everyone proclaims items are "made to order" but I have my doubts.  Why Balinese artisans would carve giraffes is beyond me, especially given the 1000's we have seen.  Can't help but think they come in from China, then are finished off on site.

Arrival at our destination went smoothly.  After we passed through the security check point and had a bomb check of the under carriage of our vehicle carried out.  Another first, it seems this is standard practice on entering the resort.

We went through check in, did the intro to our suite, then decided to eat dinner.  Bali time is two hours behind Australia.  So, for us, arrival was 6.30 or dinner time, where for locals it was late afternoon.  Dinner was not served until 7.00 pm so we compromised with a drink and snack at the bar first.

Dinner Saturday night is a  traditional Ubud feast.  Made up of numerous courses the food was great.  The meal started with a selection of salads, then duck soup, followed by a range of choices from the  wok station fried rice, beef, chicken etc, then the grill station with chicken, prawns, fish followed by suckling pig roasted on the spit and a range of deserts.

Dog count for the afternoon was a respectable 32.  Not bad given we had limited time on the ground.  The dogs here are all very similar to those in Thailand.  A specific colour and look to them, they are a typically generic dog.  

As our friends in Thailand would say "same same but different".  It's hard not to compare Bali with Thailand, but for me so far  I think Thailand is winning.

25 May 2013