The ups and downs of village life (27 April 2010)

Seseh, where the villa is is a small Balinese village. It seems relatively prosperous, all the houses are the Balinese compounds and there are also a few villas spread about, including one really huge white monstrosity called Mahatma House. The narrow village roads are clean and tidy and there are a few more little shops (just water, veg, sweets that sort of thing). There are, of course, dogs everywhere as well as free running chickens and chickens caged in large domed straw cages lining the road.

These chickens are very loud and start their ”cock a doodle doo’s” at some terrible hour in the middle of the night. At the edge of the village there is a stream where women were doing the laundry on the stones and also taking a bath. The water looked a bit grubby to me, but it obviously works, the people and their clothes look clean and sparkling. But in the middle there is a huge temple complex. I need to find out a bit more but apparently the beach is a sacred site for the nearby town of Mengwi, and the huge temple complex supports that I suppose. By the temple is a small school where I could hear the kids playing. As I wandered down to the beach this morning there was a ceremony happening. The people were really nice and invited me to watch saying I could take pictures. I felt a bit guilty but did take just the one. Luckily I had my sarong with me, and had tied it around me as soon as I saw something was going on, perhaps that helped. Apparently it was a post cremation ceremony and people were all sitting around facing out to sea and singing quietly with temple umbrellas and ordinary umbrellas to keep off the sun. The main group seemed to be mainly women and further back were older women on one side and men, all in traditional dress on the other. Small children, also in traditional dress, were running around playing, going from one group to another The women offered me water, indicating that the sun was strong, but luckily I was able to show my own so didn’t have to partake of theirs, but it was a very generous gesture.

Everyone says hello, and those who speak a bit of English shake your hand and ask where you are from. I spent a while watching the mobile threshing machine where locals bring their harvested rice for removal of the husk. A really nice man with limited English took the time to explain it to me. And I have been the centre of some good hearted amusement as I ask for 2 bottles of water in the ant ridden shop in my Bhahasa Indonesian – I think they were pleased I had made a little effort, even if it was amusing!


There is apparently a big ceremony here tomorrow, one that happens every six months and gives thanks. The preparations started today and amount so far to rather loud singing, talking and music going on, via a set of powerful speakers. A man’s voice, full of expression, like a Shakesperian actor speaks for a while and then a woman’s wailing/singing voice seems to reply – all to a background of Balinese musical instruments. I am told the preparation goes on for 24 hours – I just hope the noise doesn’t nice as it is.... But at least I know it’s a real village ceremony, not for tourists.......

And by the way, I saw my fourth snake today.......

Third time lucy (26 April 2010)

Well at least as far as snakes are concerned. I came across my third one today, but at least this was a dead one – in the road in the village and well squashed by the motorbikes going over it. Let’s hope that’s the last one.... But there’s still lots of other beasties around – in the villa in the evening it’s the frogs who come a visiting, one even leapt on to the cushion on the sofa and caused me to leap even higher! And I know they sometimes call Bali the Island of the Gods, but I think on occasion they get their spelling wrong and it really should be Island of the Dogs. I have never seen so many. Even the ones with collars on (and these have been vaccinated apparently) look in bad shape so you can guess what the ones without collars look like. There are quite a few dog sanctuaries around the place so I assume they are trying to do something about it, they are just everywhere and all of them have very loud barks. Interestingly in my travels, I have also noticed quite a few pooch parlours for grooming and all selling a selection of doggie clothes, but I have yet to see a pampered pooch wearing any of the designs!

Lie low in Seminyak (25 April 2010)

Today I explore Seminyak, a relatively new, upscale area just north of Kuta. It’s full of nice little shops and restaurants as well as lots of posh villas. Villas seem to be taking over a lot here and the taxi driver was telling me about all the rice fields that are being built on to accommodate them. At least the villa I am in was built on non agricultural land, not suitable for rice or anything else apparently, so I don’t feel too guilty. It’s amazing, there are rice fields everywhere, and some beautiful, really heavily tiered ones on the way to Seminyak, yet they still have to import rice. But I suppose the tourist dollar produces more than the back breaking rice fields. Seminyak is further north than Kuta and Legian so I think it’s a sort of resort “spread”. The next place in Canguu and Echo Beach near here, which are growing apace. Not sure that resorts will get here though, whilst the beach is wide and impressive, the sand is black volcanic with huge waves, neither attractive for sunbathing or safe for swimming. There was a power cut whilst I was there so the posh place I stopped at couldn’t do coffee (nor could I use the free wifi....) so unfortunately I had to have a cocktail – well it might be an upmarket place but they know how to charge – a simple Mojito at £7... But I discover as I go to the supermarket for a few bits and pieces that alcohol is really expensive here. But one of the things I really wanted was a lilo for the pool, Carole and I had such fun with one last year in Thailand. All I wanted was a bucket and spade shop and all I could find were very nice clothes, art and antique shops – not a naff shop in sight, I’ll have to try Kuta.


It was obviously a day for power cuts today, the villa (and whole village) went dark for a couple of hours this evening, but power is a big issue in Bali and it’s not uncommon.


And today, I got picked up! A rather attractive 40 something man in Seminyak asked me if I was looking for money exchange, when I was actually looking for the ATM. We got chatting, his name was Raphael and he was from Tenerife, but spends part of the year in Bali. He said it would be good if we got together for coffee or something(!) and whilst he had to get away then, he gave me his phone number. Sadly, am too much of a wimp to call. Julia Roberts has just left Bali (Ubud actually) where she was filming “Eat, Love, Pray” and even though I thought I would have more of a chance of her coming back to do the film of the blog if I went for such an adventure, I still couldn’t! I’ve certainly done the “eat” bit, some yoga perhaps takes care of the “pray” – perhaps this could have filled the “love”..... Such is life....

Villa -age life (22 April 2010)

So it’s goodbye to Ubud as I travel south towards the coast to Canggu, a small Balinese village, to a villa at Tamu Seseh, near Tanah Lot on the South West Coast. And the good news is the sun has reappeared. For the last two days in Ubud it has been very wet, with rain all day, and actually chilly (well chilly

It was a nice drive of about an hour through yet more rice fields at various stages of development, and some fields turned over to peanuts. I understand that often they do three rice crops, followed by a peanut crop before going back to rice – suppose it’s needed for all that satay!

I arrive at the villa and it’s fab – nice aircon bedroom, living pavilion, decent size private pool and a two storey “bale”, like a little wooden two storey terrace with day beds and chairs.

There are four villas in the complex, two 1 beds, 1 2 bed and 1 3 bed. At the moment, I am the only person here, but from Monday there are people in the other villas most nights. It’s not one of the ultra modern minimalist ones you see here such a lot, it was apparently designed based on a Balinese family compound and in keeping with the village. I am still not too sure about the open air bathroom – you have to time your shower to avoid mozzie time. It’s in a village called Seseh. It’s about 200 metres from a beach, but not a resort type one. It’s black sand with surf type waves and more a home to fishermen than sun worshippers. The village itself is tiny – one street of Balinese compounds, the usual temple and village meeting place and one rather scruffy little shop, with chickens everywhere and rice laid out to dry in the sun.

 The shop had water but everything else was crawling in ants so at least I wasn’t tempted by the chocolate.... The nearest resort area is Seminyak a newer development since I was last here and the most fashionable one. I’ll go in and have a look one day. But in the meantime I will relax into my villa, take a dip in the pool and be waited on by the staff of eight.... In this luxury and privacy, I feel a bit like a footballer’s wife, (without the footballer of course), but do you think if I kiss the frog that was resident in my open air bath this morning, it may turn into a prince?

Bali Beasties (21 April 2010)

I thought I had got used to the various Bali beasties around – geeko’s everywhere in the room, moths the size of eagles (well perhaps that’s a bit of an exaggeration....), snails any Frenchman could make a meal for six out of and frogs huge and loud. But nothing prepared me for the snakes. I know I saw one being caught at the pool the other day, but as I was sitting minding my own business on the terrace, I looked up into the roof bit and saw what I thought was an earth wire – you know one of those green and yellow ones. But I didn’t remember seeing it before and my relaxed holiday mind was working slowly.... then I thought to look a bit closer and the odd end was sticking out and then moved. “s**t” it’s a “f*****g” snake in the rafters. Actually I think I was quite calm really, rushed into the room, closed the door (although with the gaps round it I’m not sure it helped) and straight on the phone. Very politely I tell them, I think there’s a snake on my terrace..... It would have been quite embarrassing if actually it was an earth cable and not a snake after all... So lots of young men arrived (actually a good wheeze I may use again.....) armed with sticks and long pincers. I was not reassured when even they looked nervous when it moved.... Lots of prodding later it snaked away and they never actually caught it..... So for the shock of course it was straight to the hotel restaurant for a glass of wine and then to the shop for a Toblerone – well alcohol and sugar surely is good for shock? Am glad I am checking out tomorrow....


But I have enjoyed my time in Ubud, it’s been very relaxing and have enjoyed the wanderings and the lattes. But I do feel I may have missed something. Last night in the restaurant where the wifi is, there was a British Woman of a certain age. She was Skype-ing her friend. Poor friend, she didn’t get a word in edgeways. But I am pleased for the lady – she had “found herself” and returned to her spiritual name. She had refined her goals – now she wants “wisdom and love” to be her mantra’s and she hopes that Richard back in the UK can cope with it all. She has realised that he needs to accept her and commit otherwise it’s no-go. Frankly, I feel sorry for the bloke! She had been on a course with 1,000 other people (personal attention then....) the info for which is as follows:

Details: PEAT uses energy psychology techniques to quickly and easily find the basic energies that drive our behavior. Learn how to handle traumas, phobias, negative unwanted states, depression, stress, and overcome fears. PEAT uses a combination of acupressure points and verbal techniques to unlock our problems deepest roots. It is a quick, yet effective therapy that can be done on your own after you receive your certificate (3 days required).


On the 4th day Patryk offers an Advanced Workshop of advanced PEAT techniques to learn additional methods that have been developed throughout recent years and have proved very efficient in healing. What does PEAT stand for? PRIMORDIAL ENERGY ACTIVATION AND TRANSCENDENCE.


Kings new clothes come to mind, especially at about £300per day, but hey ho perhaps I’m just lucky. I haven’t lost myself yet so don’t need to go to Ubud to find myself again.


Whilst she was eating her veggie tea though, I was at least taking care of my five a day. Wine (grapes?), and a huge serving of banana fritters (at least two servings) and I’m sure the vanilla (well it is veggie) in the ice cream added another one.....


But tomorrow is another day as they say in Gone with the Wind, and I leave Ubud to find, if not myself, a hopefully, rather nice, villa with private pool – my sort of therapy!

Cat poo chino (20 April 2010)

Today I tried an Indonesian speciality, a very expensive coffee, and one that’s not available at your local Starbuck’s. I’m not that keen on Balinese coffee anyway, it’s a bit muddy as they leave all the grounds in the cup, but this one goes that bit further.... The local civet cat type animal has a penchant for the tastiest and ripest coffee beans which it pops out each night to eat. Having eaten them, and it has gone the full length of its digestive system and come out the other end, it leaves the remains including the semi digested beans on the forest floor. Next morning, out come the locals and pick it up, give it a bit of a wash to find the remains of the beans which have semi fermented, roast it, grind it, add a bit of hot water and drink it. It is meant to have a deeper musky flavour than the usual stuff and is much prized. You know me, always up for a challenge, so I say hang the cost and I try it. All I can say, it’s not worth the expense and I have the cipro’s ready..... It made me laugh it was so gross, so let’s hope it’s worth a chilled bottle of bubbly.....

Bali life (20 April 2010)

As it turned out, I chose a good day to take a trip around Bali with Wayan’s Cultural Tours. Wayan is an interesting character, a Balinese who worked in Australia for six years before returning to do his tour work. His parents still manage some rice fields in the east of Ubud and he lives there with the rest of the extended family. He tells me how hard it is for his parents, his dad has a bad back and his mum is bent over with the years of carrying heavy weights. There are no social security benefits here, he and the rest of the family have to take care of them if they can’t work so they battle on. But he says they are better off than a lot of people here. Outside of Denpasar, Kuta and Ubud many people are still very poor and short of food, it’s a side of Bali tourists don’t get to see. He also tells me that the tourists still haven’t come back in the same numbers as before the Bali bomb – in his words “the bomb broke their trust with us” which was a very sad comment.


It was overcast but at least mainly dry and not too hot. I started taking in a bit of dance culture with the Barong and Kris Dance, a one hour dance performance of which I managed to get the basic idea but the nuances escaped me. It was some sort of a morality dance about good versus evil. The costumes were really good but there was a rather pantomime element to it with monsters and tigers and monkeys. At one point the man in the monkey costume made two V signs with his hands just like all the Japanese tourists do for photos – not sure if it was his attempt at humour or he was taking the p**s out of the largely Japanese audience! Although whilst I’m not sure how relevant it was, I did enjoy the last bit when a number of bare chested men danced around in their black and white sarongs whilst clutching sharp knives to their manly, tattooed chests....

The day then became a bit of a memory jogger through places I had visited before but largely forgotten until now. Mas, the woodcarving village, Celuk for gold and silver. I resisted a lovely gold bracelet to match my Bali ring, but at £750 it was a little too much for a souvenir – gold prices have changed along with lots of other things since I was last here! Then on to Tampak Siring and the Gunung Kawi Temple. This is close to the Tirta Empul temple that I now remember visiting before, but Wayan tells me the one we will see is much better and older. One of the reasons not many people go is that tour guides are lazy and this one is 300 long steps down (and of course 300 even longer ones back up....), so is much harder to get to. It was worth it. Set amidst vibrant green narrow terraced rice paddies, streams and waterfalls, with little stalls here and there on the steep paths, it was deserted. It was rediscovered in the 11th century, no one knows how much earlier it was actually built.

After slowly ascending the steps, we then head up to Penelokan where there is a spectacular view of Mt Batur, Bali’s most active volcano and Mt Agung, a spiritual mountain that influences all aspects of Balinese life. Mt Batur last erupted in 1993 and you can still see the black lava flow, although the fast growing vegetation here is slowly reclaiming the slopes.

We then take the lesser used roads back down towards Ubud, through the small lanes and villages with little farms either side growing coffee, mandarins, cabbages. No rice at this point as it is too high. We stop and take a look at a traditional village where the small compounds where the extended families live are the norm. Each one has its own temple as well as the three that they also have in each village. One little wayang or shop selling the basic necessities and kids running around. They only go to school for 4 hours each day in the morning. But it’s all a bit grim – seems very basic and even though the land is very fertile – for example they get three rice harvests and two mandarin harvests each year it still all looks a bit of a hand to mouth existence. Apparently they’re not really cash crops they are growing, just enough for consumption for the village itself.


As we descend further towards sea level, the agriculture changes to the ubiquitous rice and I am learning more about it. I always thought that crops grew at the same rate everywhere in a given area, so for example when your tomatoes are ready in England, they are all ready at about the same time. Not so here with rice. The fields all seem to be at different stages of development everywhere, some just planted, some bright green, some being harvested and some paddies just cleared for burning prior to the next planting. Suppose it makes some sense as the temperatures here are similar year round, it’s all to do with the supply of water. This valuable commodity is in “common ownership” and the irrigation channels are controlled by a central committee to ensure it goes where and when it is needed. I am lucky that one of the most spectacular rice terraces at Tegallalang is in its bright green phase, but the view is somewhat spoiled by the ribbon of shops and stalls that have sprung up at this photo opportunity stop. Doesn’t stop me taking a picture of course! These are apparently quite “new” terraces, built only about 300 years ago..... The irrigation systems have been in place much longer.....

And so to our last stop before returning to Ubud, a visit to a real Bali home compound. Just happens to be the compound of an artist in Kelaki, also the name of the style of painting done here, and surprise, surprise, I was shown some examples that were for sale.... Beautiful art, just not my style. But it was a real family compound with the little rooms and temples. I was offered and had to accept a glass of fresh lemongrass tea and a sticky rice dry pancake that looked a bit like a prawn cracker. On the way out, Grandma appeared from a very dark and grubby looking side room – a very old lady, deeply brown and deeply wrinkled with a toothless grin, a sarong around her waist and completely topless..... I asked Wayan her age as we got back in the car. His reply – “she is very old, maybe 58 or 60”.......