Selmat datang

Selamat datang. Welcome to Indonesia...

We arrive in Bali a few days following Nyepi, the Balinese New Year. In preparation for this day, villages across the island create massive ogoh-ogohs, scary looking demons from the underworld. They are paper mached, painted devil reds and ogre greens and then don with hairy wigs, buggy eyes, razor teeth and talon like claws. On New Year's Eve, the ogoh-ogohs are paraded around town in a loud procession, to drive their evil spirits off the island. The gamelan ensemble is called baleganjur and is made up of gongs, cymbals and drums. Following the raucus, all is silent come midnight on New Year's Day. Nyepi is a day of fasting and reflection for the Balinese. It is to be spent in silence. Streets are empty. No fires are lit. Tourists are not allowed out of their hotel compounds. Even the airport is closed. Upon arrival, we soon discover there's an endless list of Auspicious Days on the Balinese Calendar. Take March for example. The best days to cut your hair is on the 16th or 29th. Lucky days for proposing to your girl are the 3rd and 27th. If you want to dig a well, it's the 1st, 4th or 18th. The list goes on. The Balinese calendar uses the Wuku sytem, based on the week. There are 30 weeks in one cycle, known as an oton. 2 otons make a year so a Balinese year is 420 days. It is the Saka year 1933.
We also get aquainted with the Indonesian Rupiah. One Canadian dollar is about 8 000 rupiah. A fresh fruit lassi is about 18 000 rupiah. A plate of nasi goreng is about 20 000 rupiah. A decent hotel room runs for about 200 000 rupiah. We rent a jeep for 125 000 a day. A sarong cost as low as 10 000 rupiah to the fancy 500 000 batik cloths. The money is colourful like ours. The coins are very light weight.
Our adventures here begin in the family friendly beach town of Sanur on the east coast. We stay at a guest house called Segara Agung on the recommendation of Nico's(Bella's schoolmate) grandmother. It has a beautiful garden and most importantly, a swimming pool. The blanket of heat here reminds us of our beginnings in Singapore. We are sticky once again. Before long, Bella meets Axel, a 4 year old from France. They spend the afternoons playing Marco Polo and Follow the Leader. Before the heat of the day, we enjoy morning strolls on the beach. Wooden boats with curious eyes and smiles give the shores a happy feeling. Mount Agung majestically rises in the backdrop and we can see Nusa Lembongan in the near distance. Seaweed collectors wade in the shallow waters and fishermen cast their lines. The ladies all want to braid Bella's hair. The beaches of the grander hotels are being neatly raked and umbrellas open as comfy lounge chairs are set up. There is an earthquake north of Denpasar the evening we arrive. It is very deep and we do not feel any tremors in Sanur. The earthquake in Japan hits 24 hours later. Tsunami warnings are issued in Indonesia. We are nervous being so close to the sea. We lug Bella's lifejacket around town. We are on edge for the night. The tsunami alert is over the next morning. We still head for higher ground in Ubud for peace of mind.
The drive up north to Ubud is lined with villages specializing in various crafts- basketweaving, batik, ceramics, beadwork, painting, silver, wood and stone. Mark is fond of the many stone Buddhas lining the streets of Batubulan, known for its stone sculptures. We see a few remaining ogoh-ogohs standing in the village squares. Our driver tells us not to be afraid as their spirits have already left the island. We find a room down a quiet alley in Ubud, off the busy and commercial Monkey Forest Road. It borders the rice paddies where we spot some colourful kingfishers and a procession of ducks. At night, the frogs croak loudly and we count the gec-ko chorus. I believe 7, 9 and 10 gec-ko chants are lucky. Our first outing takes us towards Ubud Palace. A procession is taking place along the streets. We see a giant toy tiger and a clamber of drums are followed by a clan of well dressed women and men in checkered sarongs. Bella is excited to follow them. We head up a big hill and then over the old suspension bridge. The procession now packs into a caravan of trucks and are off. We wave goodbye. Our stay in Ubud centers around the local library Pondok Pekak. It means 'Grandfather's little resting house in the rice field.' I try to imagine the Ubud in Grandfather's time. The rice field is now lined with fancy boutiques, internet cafes, art galleries, fine dining, spas and hotels. Of the fancy places, we love Kou, which specializes in jams, salt and soaps. Every day, we head in for a taste of the Milk Caramel and the Passionfruit tangerine jam. We buy small blocks of rose petal soap to spice up our backpacks. There's the occasional monkey that wanders across the road along with the many stray dogs. At Pondok Pekak, there are great classes to learn about the Balinese culture. They hire local villagers. Bella takes gamelan lessons with daddy. They bang away with their mallets and finish the lesson with a great duet. I try some Legong dancing with Bella. Happy, our teacher, rides up in her motorbike with her daughter and a friend. We are impressed with her flexible fingers and facial expressions. The girls, Bella and I learn the dance to the Welcome song. The music plays. Bella gets grovin' and mama, I'm afraid, is not so graceful but has fun nonetheless. We meet Wayan the fruit carver. I like him right away and arrange to have him as a guide. He takes us to some of the popular sites on the outskirts of Ubud. At Goa Gajah, the Elephant Cave, we put on our sarongs and selandongs (sashes) before entering. We are early and it is quiet. Bella enters the musky ancient cave by herself. Inside rests the trinity of the Hindu faith- Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. At Gunung Kawi, we hike down a steep stone stairway to another ancient temple. Lush green rice terraces border the path along with many shops hoping to sell sarongs, carved coconuts and crochet purses. At the Tirta Empih we watch a family bath in the holy waters. Wayan tells us that if children have illness, bad dreams or other such ailments, their parents would often take them here and standing beneath the spouting fountains. Bella is intrigued. She had a bad dream the night before and decides to get wet too. Along the way, we sip samples of lemongrass and rosella tea along with bali coffee with its residue of grinds. We see a paradoxurus also known as a luwak. It's a small civit mammal that eats the ripe coffee cherry. Then a unique fermentation happens in its tummy and it poops out the pea berries intact. Luwak coffee is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. It supposedly has a caramel rich taste but I have neither the money nor the digestion to sample it. We then venture up the road to Danau Batur, a volcanic lake. Gunung Batur, at 1717 m, rises on its western banks. The view is spectacular. The tourist trap buffet lunch is horrible with soggy noodles and greasy fried bananas. We end the day at Wayan's home. We meet his family and his beloved pig. He teaches me how to carve watermelon into a nice rose design. Bella learns the art of carrot and turnip carving. She creates a pretty veggie bouquet. We spend a few more days in Ubud enjoying the cultural offerings. We watch a shadow puppet play known as wayang kulit and go backstage to see how the puppet master does his craft. The kerosene lamp burns brightly and lights up the stage for the show. I find a kindred spirit in my daughter as we wake up early to check out the local markets. We purchase a sampling of fruits in season- snakefruit, rambutan, mangosteen, plantains and starfruit for our still life drawings. We see the pail of eels and baskets of fresh fish. We visit the lady with the palm leaf boxes filled with pretty flower petals. Bella buys some lotus blossoms. We head to Pura Taman Saraswati, the Ubud Water Palace. The waters from the temple feed the lovely lotus pond, all in honour of Dewi Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom and the arts. We bring our watercolours and get a table at The Lotus Cafe. The waiter asks for a painting. Bella is thrilled to give her sketch away. We enjoy the organic yoghurt and wholesome tempeh curries at Bali Buddha. It doesn't have Wi Fi like the other restaurants, wanting its customers to engage in conversation. I like that. On the community board outside, I see an ads for Green Camp- a family weekend with an environmental conscience. It is to happen at an alternative school with structures made entirely out of bamboo near Ubud. I am excited and sign us up. It is a little pricey. Unfortunately, we are the only family signed up and the camp is cancelled. Hopefully, the green movement will keep moving forward. Luckily, I meet Dewa at the guesthouse. He has a nice aura. We share yoga poses. He cannot afford the Western yoga classes here and goes to the holy men instead. We decide to rent his jeep for a week and tour the island. Our next adventure is about to begin on the crazy roads of Bali. Time to find to map.