| Page 2 Bali | The Residence | Temples |
| In April 2001 our friends Lani and Roger joined us for ten days in Bali, Indonesia. This small island, east of Java, is unique in that the religion is predominately Hinduism, whereas the rest of Indonesia is Islamic. The cultural differences are tremendous and the population of Bali have made great efforts to maintain and continue their heritage with special temples, lots of carvings in wood and stone, plus a friendly outlook towards tourism. Besides that, the island offers several places with beautiful scenery, lush tropical forests and mountain sides covered with bright green rice paddies. |
Jay had made the arrangements. It had been decided that for the first five days we would stay at one of the resorts at Nusa Dua and the next five days at a private villa near the beach. We picked the Nusa Dua Beach Hotel and found that a two bedroom suite was about the same price as two separate rooms. However, when we arrived we were in for a shock. Our suite had been given to some others and we had to be upgraded to "The Residence", a whole building by itself. The hotel is owned by the Sultan of Brunei. The Residence is his suite when he visits, but it is also available to rich visitors (typical rate: $2000 plus per night). Many celebrities have slept in our beds, including President and Nancy Reagan. But now I am bragging. So let me leave the description of the Residence for another page. (click here for details) |
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There were certain quirks and perks that came with being the occupants of "room 5000". We were always treated royally. For example: our personal manager suggested that for our first evening we might want to have dinner and watch the special performance of a Legong dance. He arranged for us to have a table in front of the stage where we had a wonderful experience watching this show. |
| We learned that the Legong dance is a highly stylized dance performed primarily by young girls in their teens. The movements are choreographed to the finest detail with no improvisations allowed. The Tjondong (the dancers) and the gamelan orchestra looked and sounded as if they were one. We were enthralled with the gorgeous batik costumes and the eye, shoulder, hand, head, hip and foot movements of the dancers. This particular version was the age-old story of boy sees girl, woos her and gets her at the end. But then, even among the Balinese, no one really watches the Legong for the plot. |
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| Click here to return to the Windsurf ship. |  |
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To see Bali, hire a chauffeur and car. For $30 to $40 a day (including gas) you can have a driver and a guide (who hopefully speaks English) and see the country sights. We took several trips like that and at one point Jay told us about "durian", this most foul-smelling fruit that is supposed to taste like heaven. He had smelled it in Thailand, but never had the courage to try it. Here, along the road, we tried the pods of durian, and it wasn't all that bad (or good for that matter). |
| We have had the road blocked by cows in California, sheep in New Zealand, bison in Yellowstone Park, frogs and chickens on Kauai, and now ducks on Bali. |  |
It was time to visit some of the local artisans. In Celuk we saw young women making batik. This is a tedious process of painting wax on fabric, dyeing the whole thing in one color, boiling the cloth to remove the wax, and then repeating it all by adding the next color, etc. The results were fabulous. But what a job! |
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| There is no doubt that the Bali craftsmen are superb when it comes to carving wood. As a wood-worker, Jay was impressed with the patience, skill and, yet, crude tools used to make some beautiful carvings. Logs of ebony, mahogany and others, are imported from the other islands and then, in Bali, are turned into pieces of art. The style, design, and depictions are gorgeous. We brought home two pieces, one of which is mounted on our living room wall, the second is in my office. (click to see) |
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| Further north, in Ubud, we walked through the monkey forest. The wild monkeys here seem tame and are always looking for a hand-out, but: be aware, they can and will attack when antagonized. |
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| The scenery higher up the mountain becomes fantastic. Mount Batur is a dormant volcano with a beautiful lake at its base. We did not have time to visit the little village across the lake with its unique Balinese customs and history. It is only reachable by boat. In a way that may be good; it is one place a bit more isolated from the tourists and commercialism. |
| Rice is the main staple of Asia and in Bali rice paddies can be seen everywhere. One day we visited an ancient temple and strolled along the rice fields to get there. |
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