Settling into Bali

Classic Rice field view

Well, we have been in Bali nearly three weeks now and i am just getting to this blog entry. My apologies to all my expectant readers(I can dream cant I?). Either we have been staying very busy with lots of engaging fun or we have been bored to tears and ther is nothing to say about it. I choose option one. First let me express how easy it is to be in Bali,specifically Ubud where our home base is. Ubud is the kind of magical place with its own cultural identity plus a healthy dose of visitors who appreciate it and the amenities that go with them. There is a vibrant yoga,dance art music,spa, food  culture here. Did I miss any of my own personal favorite things to do? So with only a little effort Bali is wonderful. One intention of ours when traveling is as much as possible to try to engage in some culturally enriching activities which help us appreciate the people we are visiting. Lysa being the ever intrepid planner and researcher found out about the local library and the community events board there. We made it one of our first stops in Ubud and it definitely set us in the right path for finding things to do. Lysa found an amazing batik painting class taught by a family of artists in there home compound. Imagine nearly one on one attention from a master artist in his home for about $7.00 an hour. Needless to say Lysa was in heaven and stayed enroled for 4 days and created some amazing works. She even convinced me and Anika to go one time. The help from the artist was just what you would want,helpful suggestions,but not too intrusive. Plenty of instruction in use of tools and supplies and time to work at your own pace. Another enriching class I enjoyed was wood carving. Again the instructor who was about my age was amazingly skilled and encouraging. He gave me just enough help to make sure I was engaged and challenged but not overwhelmed. I have worked with wood before but have always wanted to learn carving but was too intimidated. Nyoman was the carvers name and he came from a family of carvers. He was using tools his grandfather had made and his 22 year old son is also a carver. Again for $7.00 an hour I was working with a master. I told him I wanted to carve a Buddha mask and showed him a pendant as an example. We started with a round chunk of wood with the bark still on and took it from there. He also lent me tools so I could work at home. I have gone 3 times over the past 2 weeks and will go at least once more.

Lysa creating

Buddha emerging

       One thing about being in Ubud is that it is so easy it can be hard to motivate to see other parts of the island. Days can go by going to yoga class, eating lunch or dinner out ,carving, reading etc. We do have our driver Rhadde who not so subtly lets us know how much he needs the work and with Lysa's enthusiasm we have managed to see a bit of the surrounding countryside. On one excursion we visited the"Mother temple" of Bali up near the volcano Arung.( Bali has 4 active volcanoes). The Balinise people, being hindus have an interesting relationship to their temples. Rhadde told us there are 4 kinds of temples in bali each with there own ceremonies and responsibilities. There is the home temple, the village temple ,regional sacred temples and the mother temple. Everyone in bali is expected to visit the mother temple at least once a year. And of course every tourist is expected to visit it as well and leave a very generous donation. Not only is there a modest entrance fee, after paying at least twice for parking, there is an expected donation to the village, and also to the temple itself. I should say that it is actually a number of temples perched on the side of the volcano. The expectation to pay at every opportunity and the various vendors in your space can take some of the spirituality out of it but that is the bali way as our driver says. The views are beautiful but at the end of the day we left with a bit of unease about the experience.

Blessing the dead

    On Sun. we went on a rafting excursion. We called the tour company directly expecting the best price that way(no middle man). I tried to negotiate with very little sucess,we arived a a price and organized the trip. We were picked up in Ubud, drove about an hour and were given the usual gear and instruction. The walk down to the river was a marvel in concrete stairway engineering. The drop was at least 500 ft down a narrow gorge to the river. I was thinking at least I wont have to walk up that at the end(wrong).  The scenery was fantastic tho the river was a bit tame with not a lot of recent rainfall. Picture a deep narrow river gorge with lush jungle vegetation and the occasional terraced rice farm thrown in for decorative contrast. Drop in a few monkeys and some Aussie yahoo types and you get the picture. Not too cultural but plenty of fun. Even Anika seemed to enjoy herself. I was told later by Raddhe that we paid too much and that he can always get us a better price and make a little himself. The Bali Way.

Me waiting for the Burn

   Something I was able to experience on my own was a huge cremation ceremony. Lysa was a bit under the weather and Anika was inclined toward a death ritual. I was there on the street for over 3 hours. I watched them put the finishing touches on a huge movable tower which carried the emains of the person. The local holy man did an elaborate blessing. The whole village seemed to be involved in one way or the other. A local gamelon music group provided the lyrical sound track and large paper mache puppets were also part of the mix. Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention the 25 foot long bull that eventually became part of the  procesion that worked its way down the street to the temple where it was joined by several other towers and animal figures which were all eventually burned! It became a carnival like atmosphere of competing gamelon groups from different villages and their entourage of animals and towers. Not one but 6 people's remains were burned on that day, a once every few years event. WOW.
Well, I haven't described the half of it but my brain is fried and it will have to wait. Please see Lysa's blog for her take on things esp. our visit to the "Green school"and possibly culinary adventures. And if you want to know what goes on in the mind of a 13 year old girl visit Anika's blog. I am having fun learning about myself, reading and missing you all. Love,Dave aka H2ot

Thailand to Cambodia to Bali

Cambodian Dancer

 Last impressions of Thailand... The 4 pillars of Thai culture at least from my perspective are 1. the Temple, 2. the cuisine, 3.massage!, and 4.the Royal family. The Royal family attain almost sacred status amongst the people. Although we have our biases based on our democratic background I must say that the monarchy has done pretty well by the people. The Thai people were never colonized, and they managed to stay out of the major strife we created in the region, nosmall feat considering the influence of the US and China being so close. I have extoled on the cuisine ,massage, and the temple in earlier blogs so now to describe our exit from Thailand. One can only spend so much time languishing on the island of Ko Chang esp. considering the rainy weather. Almost on a whim, we checked out a tour package offer to Angkor Wat. I am not much for the arranged tour thing but seeing the ruins was appealing and getting there on our own seemed beyond our personal talents. Angkor Wat is a massive temple ruins that should be on any travelers must see list. The tour was pricy but it included everything;4 days and 3 nights travel, border crossing(no small feat), hotel accomodations, meals and our guide. Travel there took most of a day and as in many travel situations you have to sometimes accept that things are not always in your control and to have faith that they will work out. This day was a perfect example. From one stop and transport exchange to the next it seemed as if by magic the next person would show themselves and lead us to our destination. Having no decisions to make takes a little getting used to, but all along the chain of events we made it across Thailand, the border into Cambodia and finally to Siem Reap, the city nearest the ruins.  Please read Lysa's blog at Lysasbigtrip.blogspot.com for more details and pictures.
       One thing I have discovered is that having a knowledgeable guide can enrich the tour experience profoundly. Our tour guide Art was an exceptional example of this. Without him our tour would have been overwhelming but not nearly as enriching. Art had a true Love for his culture which he shared with us in many ways. His knowledge of the ruins was vast but he also brought his own perspective into his descriptions of the people the environment and the place. The Cambodian people have a complex and often painful history. Art was able to explain it and also share his emotions around it. The reign of Pol Pot and the legacy of the killing fields is still a fresh scar on the psyche of their country. An entire generation of inteligent people was wiped out in a fashion similar to the attrocities of WW2. The US contribution to the pain inflicted here is also very troubling. Given their recent history it is impressive how kind and willing to share the people are.

A Family rooted in history

    Well ,we spent one whole day touring the ruins. One thing I hadn't known is that Angkor Wat is actually a series of temples covering an area approx. 2x1.5 kilometers. It's HUGE. The ruins tell many stories of the Hindu religion but they also reflect the transition to Buddhism that happened there. Cambodia like Thailand is predominantly now Buddhist.

Apsara, Hindu Dance Deity

That evening we were treated to a meal and a dance performance at a nearby restaurant. The dancers did a series of performances in various costumes reflecting the rituals of everyday life as well as more stylized routines.
 The next day Art took us out to the lake where we were able to experience a fishing village floating on its banks. Each year this massive lake swells and recedes with the rain and the village is in movement with it. The lake is responsible for much of the fish eaten throughout Cambodia. The lifestyle of the people here is much unchanged over the generations(save for the boat motors).

Another pretty face

After the village we went to visit an art center where the local crafts of painting, metalwork, and carving are taught to the next generation of artisans. The workmanship was amazing. I now regret not buying anything but our capacity to schlep is limited. Throw in lunch and the cultural museum and we experienced near overload. I almost forgot to mention that we were on this tour with 2 others, a man from Australia and a charming youngish woman from England,on her first holiday away from home. We especially hit it off with Erin and when Anika discovered she is a Doctor Who fan we knew we had a friend.
  It is getting late and I am getting the signal to wrap this one up. So to conclude,yes you must go!  Cambodia was the best part of Thailand.
    After a couple days back in Bangkok we are now on the Indonesian island of Bali! Wow! is all I can express for now. Hindu culture, very dense. We are settled into a house for a month in Ubud, known for its rich cultural offerings. From here we will take day trips with our new best friend and driver Radde. Radde helped us find our house and also rented us a small scooter to get around on(just around town, dont worry Mom). We have already seen a beautiful Kecak dance performance as well as being accosted by monkeys at the sacred monkey forest temple. One aggresive fellow mistook Lysa's camera bag for food, jumped onto her snatched the bag and took off down the hill with me in pursuit. Not sure what I was thinking I would do when i caught up to him. Fortunately one of the locals gave me a cucumber and we negotiated a trade. Dont turn your back on a hungry monkey! More to come. PS Welcome back to the default world to all my friends returning from Burningman. Obey the Awe!  H2ot