Bali, Indonesia
February 26, 2007
I LOVE Bali! I love the people of Bali! I love the temples of Bali! I love the smells of Bali! I love the temples of Bali! I love the food of Bali! I love the temples of Bali! Oh, did I mention the temples of Bali? What a great place.
Since the depths at the dock aren’t deep enough for large ships we had a rather long tender ride….and apparently, for some, a rather rough one, thus we were a bit late for our “VW Safari of Exotic Bali and Mt. Batur” tour. I know, it sounds hokey…but trust me it wasn’t!!! This tour had been billed as an “open-air” ride on local transportation so we were all very surprised when we finally cleared the tenders to find 40…count ‘em!...40 open-air VW Jeep-like vehicles (some called them “things”) awaiting us. Each car had a driver and guide in the front and only two passengers in the back….our own private guide for 8 hours of touring over this exotic island….what fun!
Whisked off to travel through the back roads we passed small living compounds one after another. Since there are some two million people on the small island of Bali and 230 million in all of Indonesia living conditions are fairly dense. It is apparently very common for children to marry and return to the family home with their new partner thus conserving space and being there to assist the elders.
Our enthusiastic guide explained to us that although most of Indonesia is Muslim, Bali is predominately Hindu…particularly Bali-Hindu. Thus each village has at least three large temples. With the wind, the traffic noise, the speed of our driver and after I embarrassingly asked three times for him to explain why three, I finally gave up…assuming they just are covering all bases. He further explained how each family compound had at least one temple…sometimes more….in honor of the spirits departed. Thus as you pass through the crowded streets you see thousands…no hundreds of thousands! …of temples with fancy top pieces, carvings of every imaginable god and deity many draped with sarong like fabric…many in black and white which apparently represents good and evil…the ying and yang of life. Many alters? or temples areas are “protected” with fading small brightly colored and fringed umbrellas. It is all so very colorful and magical and confusing. Although our guide did his best to explain this complex philosophy it was very hard to comprehend and I am sure that most of my explanation is flawed … regardless I found the imagery, the color, and the overall feeling of these dramatic buildings memorable. Couple this dramatic architecture with the varying smells you encounter like the strong sickly sweet smell of the “dorian” fruit (a heavily textured…spiked…café au lait colored fruit) with diesel fumes and other “city” smells and you have an experience that every sense remembers! Equally memorable were the plethora of rice fields….terrace after terrace after terrace. One greener and lusher than the last. What a beautiful crop! Gentle breezes blowing the tall grasses like a slow moving ballet coupled with the creative “scarecrow-like” bamboo poles slightly bent with kite-like colored fabrics and streamers blowing…all of these sounds and sights and smells made for lasting memories
Our first stop was in the gong region. It seems that craftsmen that deal in one area all live in the same part of the city….the gong makers live in the same area…the silversmiths live in the same area…the wood workers congregate, the furniture makers, the horn carvers…area and region after another. My car-mate related it to how our car dealers all seem to be on the same street. The concept must work or they wouldn’t continue to live like this. We watched as these highly skilled craftspeople using the most primitive of tools and conditions were producing beautiful looking (and sounding!) gongs. These gongs are used throughout the country for ceremonial purposes. As much fun as seeing this beautiful work are my memories of visiting this facility are a little more basic. As fate would have it, I needed the toilet! Oh my! Why do I always have to go in the most inopportune places? When I approached the guide asking him if there was a facility available, I could tell by the look on his face that I was in for an experience. Let me just say this about that…listen to your mother and go before you leave the ship or hotel! The other memory is less colorful, but in an almost silly and superficial way summaries the difference in cultures….the family dog greeted the crowd at the door of the compound and like most dogs was aggressively territorial. He started barking and snarling with all his might….to the point that we all backed off and refused to enter….not that he was going to allow us to enter. Finally the elderly craftsman reluctantly tied the aggressive animal to a tether but did nothing to control his barking. The poor animal barked and barked and barked and barked…so loudly and so vivaciously that it made it most uncomfortable for all of us trying to absorb this special place.
We eventually made our way to a very large and obviously important temple where, after we climbed several flights of very tall and uneven steps, we came to the main “courtyard” (since I don’t know the real term for the area) where individual families had erected small temple like structures within the larger context. Again the guide did his best to explain all the intricacies of his cherished belief system. It was curious to see how one family had decorated their temple vastly different from the other and reminded me of our country cemeteries with those plastic flowers…only this time the Indonesians used faded draped fabrics..
As our driver rapidly whisked us through the tight back roads of this colorful place, I soon realized why that type of vehicle had been chosen…a bus would have just never made it. But it certainly gave us a close-up wind-blown (and sun-burned!) experience. Eventually we found our way high up on the mountain ridge overlooking the picturesque Mt. Batur. Still an active volcano, the lava fields from the last major eruption (1970’s???) and the huge crater lake dotted with small villages all made for a most enjoyable vista as we dined on a delicious buffet of Indonesian delicacies.
Sadly, the afternoon was spent going from one craftsman location to the other with the mandatory “shopping” experience. I endured this part of the tour because it was interesting to see how the various craftsmen worked We visited the silversmiths, the wood carvers…amazing!....and the painting factory…oh! The painting factory….the worst example of bad painting I have ever seen….only one step up from a factory that produces those paintings on black velvet. Just terrible! But I did it and I will not let this unfortunate experience damper my enthusiasm for this exciting and exotic place.
I will definitely return to Bali…such a beautiful place so full of rich color and friendly hard-working people! I know there is much more for me to see…to explore and to absorb and I can’t wait to return!
February 26, 2007
I LOVE Bali! I love the people of Bali! I love the temples of Bali! I love the smells of Bali! I love the temples of Bali! I love the food of Bali! I love the temples of Bali! Oh, did I mention the temples of Bali? What a great place.
Since the depths at the dock aren’t deep enough for large ships we had a rather long tender ride….and apparently, for some, a rather rough one, thus we were a bit late for our “VW Safari of Exotic Bali and Mt. Batur” tour. I know, it sounds hokey…but trust me it wasn’t!!! This tour had been billed as an “open-air” ride on local transportation so we were all very surprised when we finally cleared the tenders to find 40…count ‘em!...40 open-air VW Jeep-like vehicles (some called them “things”) awaiting us. Each car had a driver and guide in the front and only two passengers in the back….our own private guide for 8 hours of touring over this exotic island….what fun!
Whisked off to travel through the back roads we passed small living compounds one after another. Since there are some two million people on the small island of Bali and 230 million in all of Indonesia living conditions are fairly dense. It is apparently very common for children to marry and return to the family home with their new partner thus conserving space and being there to assist the elders.
Our enthusiastic guide explained to us that although most of Indonesia is Muslim, Bali is predominately Hindu…particularly Bali-Hindu. Thus each village has at least three large temples. With the wind, the traffic noise, the speed of our driver and after I embarrassingly asked three times for him to explain why three, I finally gave up…assuming they just are covering all bases. He further explained how each family compound had at least one temple…sometimes more….in honor of the spirits departed. Thus as you pass through the crowded streets you see thousands…no hundreds of thousands! …of temples with fancy top pieces, carvings of every imaginable god and deity many draped with sarong like fabric…many in black and white which apparently represents good and evil…the ying and yang of life. Many alters? or temples areas are “protected” with fading small brightly colored and fringed umbrellas. It is all so very colorful and magical and confusing. Although our guide did his best to explain this complex philosophy it was very hard to comprehend and I am sure that most of my explanation is flawed … regardless I found the imagery, the color, and the overall feeling of these dramatic buildings memorable. Couple this dramatic architecture with the varying smells you encounter like the strong sickly sweet smell of the “dorian” fruit (a heavily textured…spiked…café au lait colored fruit) with diesel fumes and other “city” smells and you have an experience that every sense remembers! Equally memorable were the plethora of rice fields….terrace after terrace after terrace. One greener and lusher than the last. What a beautiful crop! Gentle breezes blowing the tall grasses like a slow moving ballet coupled with the creative “scarecrow-like” bamboo poles slightly bent with kite-like colored fabrics and streamers blowing…all of these sounds and sights and smells made for lasting memories
Our first stop was in the gong region. It seems that craftsmen that deal in one area all live in the same part of the city….the gong makers live in the same area…the silversmiths live in the same area…the wood workers congregate, the furniture makers, the horn carvers…area and region after another. My car-mate related it to how our car dealers all seem to be on the same street. The concept must work or they wouldn’t continue to live like this. We watched as these highly skilled craftspeople using the most primitive of tools and conditions were producing beautiful looking (and sounding!) gongs. These gongs are used throughout the country for ceremonial purposes. As much fun as seeing this beautiful work are my memories of visiting this facility are a little more basic. As fate would have it, I needed the toilet! Oh my! Why do I always have to go in the most inopportune places? When I approached the guide asking him if there was a facility available, I could tell by the look on his face that I was in for an experience. Let me just say this about that…listen to your mother and go before you leave the ship or hotel! The other memory is less colorful, but in an almost silly and superficial way summaries the difference in cultures….the family dog greeted the crowd at the door of the compound and like most dogs was aggressively territorial. He started barking and snarling with all his might….to the point that we all backed off and refused to enter….not that he was going to allow us to enter. Finally the elderly craftsman reluctantly tied the aggressive animal to a tether but did nothing to control his barking. The poor animal barked and barked and barked and barked…so loudly and so vivaciously that it made it most uncomfortable for all of us trying to absorb this special place.
We eventually made our way to a very large and obviously important temple where, after we climbed several flights of very tall and uneven steps, we came to the main “courtyard” (since I don’t know the real term for the area) where individual families had erected small temple like structures within the larger context. Again the guide did his best to explain all the intricacies of his cherished belief system. It was curious to see how one family had decorated their temple vastly different from the other and reminded me of our country cemeteries with those plastic flowers…only this time the Indonesians used faded draped fabrics..
As our driver rapidly whisked us through the tight back roads of this colorful place, I soon realized why that type of vehicle had been chosen…a bus would have just never made it. But it certainly gave us a close-up wind-blown (and sun-burned!) experience. Eventually we found our way high up on the mountain ridge overlooking the picturesque Mt. Batur. Still an active volcano, the lava fields from the last major eruption (1970’s???) and the huge crater lake dotted with small villages all made for a most enjoyable vista as we dined on a delicious buffet of Indonesian delicacies.
Sadly, the afternoon was spent going from one craftsman location to the other with the mandatory “shopping” experience. I endured this part of the tour because it was interesting to see how the various craftsmen worked We visited the silversmiths, the wood carvers…amazing!....and the painting factory…oh! The painting factory….the worst example of bad painting I have ever seen….only one step up from a factory that produces those paintings on black velvet. Just terrible! But I did it and I will not let this unfortunate experience damper my enthusiasm for this exciting and exotic place.
I will definitely return to Bali…such a beautiful place so full of rich color and friendly hard-working people! I know there is much more for me to see…to explore and to absorb and I can’t wait to return!
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