BALI-LICIOUS

Thursday, September 3rd at 11:27

Kevin

Take all of the images, ideas and concepts that you have about Bali and throw them away, because nothing could even come close to the true beauty, magic and mystique of this little island stuck in the middle of the vast Indonesian archipelago. Amongst the Muslim majority (97%) of Indonesia, Bali stands alone as an island inhabited by incredibly proud and incredibly hospitable Hindus. As an anomaly, Bali exists as the artistic, cultural, party and surf capital of Indonesia. Striking beauty looms around every corner in the shape of emerald colored rice terraces, lush tropical vegetation, brilliant beaches, turquoise waters, volcanic landscapes and heavy surf. The architectural style of the thousand or so temples is complimented by the unique, stylish and striking designs of many private residences and resorts, which have inspired designers the world over. Bali life is slow and easy with strong tones of spirituality and superstition, commitment to family, form food and function and a great reverence for the natural world.

LOVINA

Our arrival into Bali was on an overnight bus from Gunung Bromo, Java, which included a one hour ferry ride. Considering the adjustment of a one hour time difference between Java and Bali, we were deposited on Jalan Raya Lovina, the main road of Lovina Beach, at four in the morning. Tired, disoriented and discombobulated, we manage to pull ourselves together and wander into the Garden of Eden otherwise known as Manik Sari. After waking up poor Putu, one of the staff, we were led to a large bungalow, beautifully decorated with an outdoor shower, patio and garden where we agreed to pay the meager sum of twelve US dollars for one of the most well appointed, comfortable and tasteful accommodations we have yet to experience. After a mid night bath, with hot water and in a real tub, we retired for a few hours only to wake up and find that our Eden was even more impressive in the daylight. Our morning began with the free breakfast and then a walk to the beach, where we were a little less than impressed. Though a strikingly beautiful volcanic black sand beach with stunning views and a brick paved beach walk, the heavy volume of touts really diminished the experience. Still reeling from previous years of terrorism (2002 and 2005 bombings), at the hands of the Javanese according to the Balinese that we spoke to, tourism on the island is still struggling to bounce back to the status of its glory days. This has left a gaping hole in the economy and being amongst just a few last tourist to be wandering around at the end of the two month season, attention on us was high and the pressure to succumb to purchasing anything from overpriced ice cream to factory produced landscape paintings was extremely high. Yet another sad situation in a poor country suffering from radical religious idealism.

We succeeded at not letting this detract from our ability to find beauty and enjoy the local culture. As is now fully expected, we spent a good portion of our first day staking out the best eateries. Much to our delight, a small series of street stalls and a smattering of warungs (small restaurants located in people's homes) would prove to be our staple. Local home made dishes arranged in both appetizing displays and ingenious take away packaging would comprise our daily intake.




A walk down the beach would result in an invitation to sit with three local men and one local woman in a tobacco field and sip home made palm wine as we discuss the beauty of Bali. On the day of Idalis' birthday, we rented a scooter and visited two temples (Pura Baji and Meduwe Karang), one waterfall (GitGit), a failed attempt to locate a Buddhist Monestary, a long windy road to the top of a mountain with stunning views and a sunset at a small local beach, devoid of touts.
















Already a successful day, we decided to “guild the lily” by finding a small gourmet market and purchasing a cask of local made red wine, a jar of Spanish olives, a mushroom and sausage pizza, a strip of garlic bread, 100 grams of chorizo, a tomato, and some spreadable ginger and walnut cheese. We paid a small fortune for the imported specialties, but the reward of sitting in our private garden, outside our comfy little bungalow and dining on such delicacies was priceless. We would round out our five day stay at Lovina with an early morning trip, on a traditional outrigger boat, with Captain Mardi to an offshore reef where we would blissfully float around for two hours admiring the dance of colorful reef fish, the ornate coral arrangements and the crystal clear waters of the Bali Sea.

UBUD

A short two and one half hour express shuttle bus ride would deposit us (in the middle of the day!) smack dab in the middle of the mountain side town of Ubud. Once a sleepy little village surrounded by terraced rice fields, Ubud is now known as the beating heart of Bali's thriving cultural scene. Hoping to have the same luck with accommodations as we did in Lovina, we finally settled for a musty upstairs room at the Mekar Suci after about an hour of searching. We were able to negotiate the price down to the same that we paid in Lovina, which included a macking breakfast of omellet, toast, fresh fruit and a bottomless cup of hot tea, which was alright with us, because unlike Lovina, Ubud would find us spending much more time out of the room than in it. Ubud is essentially defined by two main roads, Hanuman and Monkey Forest, with several little cross streets intersecting the two. All are lined with impressively designed little boutiques and restaurants, with jaw droppingly beautiful temples scattered in at almost every corner.



Ubud would serve as another five days entertainment loaded with surprises. The first stop was the magical and mystical Monkey Forest Sanctuary and Temple where we were treated to three ancient temples dedicated to fire, water and earth all the while being the muses of inquisitive, charming and down right cheeky monkeys who would steal our water bottle and feel Idalis up before retiring for their afternoon grooming session and nap.





That same evening, we would be absolutely enchanted by a Balinese dance troupe that would perform the traditional Legong dance. A series of eight separate dances, each telling a story through subtle yet articulate moves accompanied by the dramatic sounds of gamalong music and reinforced by the inspiring costumes of the characters.





The next day, Idalis would attend an all day cooking class, graduating with a new Balinese cook book, apron and belly full of carefully prepared local dishes as I would visit a museum displaying the works of contemporary Balinese artists and take a long, slow walk along a high ridge admiring the lush tropical vegetation, rice fields and massive homes of the ex-pat community. Our best day and biggest surprise would come from an impromptu, and statistically impossible, visit with our great friend Noah who we met in Pai, Thailand. After a tasty lunch at a local warung, we would check our email only to find a reply from Noah with a phone number and a reference to being in Ubud, visiting his parents, for the weekend. Being as it was Sunday, we immediately made the phone call to find that Noah was wandering the streets mere meters from where we made the call. We met up, shared dinner and a few drinks and committed to a day together renting motor bikes and exploring the local scenery. Even better than the Buddhist hermitage at Goa Gaja (the elephant cave), the ancient bas reliefs of Yeh Pulu and our accidental run in with a volcano (Mount and Lake Batur), was getting to spend some unexpected time with Noah. Later that night, we would round out a perfect day sharing stories and experiences over a few beers, a cask of rose wine and an impromptu meal of local favorites with Noah and his amazing parents in their incredible little Ubud villa.







We have hesitatingly left paradise (Bali) for a short while to visit the neighboring islands of Lombok and the even smaller island of Gili Air (devoid of vehicles) where we hope to see another live volcano, swim with fish, get some much needed sun and, if time permits, enjoy some relaxation before returning to Bali for round two of our Indo exploration. This time, it will be off to the popular beaches of the south where I hope to survive a few rounds of pounding reef surf and Idalis hopes to survive hours of relaxation by the seaside with a good book!





(P.S. Thanks to Cristine for the title idea!)
(P.P.S. Not long before posting this blog entry we would learn of a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that rocked Java, not far from Yogyakarta, where we were just mere weeks ago. Our hearts and prayers go out to those who were affected, especially Mr. Gandhi and his wonderful wife, Mrs. Anastasia)