Gallivanting Grandma

Monday – August 24, 2015

Ubud is a town in the center of the island of Bali which, over the last decade, has become a prime tourist destination with many shops, traffic, restaurants, construction, hotels, spas, etc., etc. It wasn’t quite the tropical paradise we all had expected.

The Sacred Monkey Forest was located near our hotel in Ubud, so we stopped to visit the nature reserve and Hindu temple complex. The macaque monkeys roam freely and are protected because the reserve is sacred.

We were on our way to the northern coast of Bali to the village of Lovina located on the Java Sea. The distance isn’t far in miles, but takes several hours due to the narrow mountainous roads.  I watched fields of rice, corn, and other vegetables pass outside my bus window. The dense tropical forests were full of trees and plants which were unfamiliar to me.

Jumena broke up the long trip with a stop at a fruit stand along the road which was brimming with every imaginable tropical fruit: mango, papaya, pineapple, bananas, salak (also called snake fruit), jack fruit, durian, oranges, coconut, melons, mangosteen, rambutan, soursop, and others which I didn’t get a chance to try.

The terrain became more mountainous and we learned that the region is recognized for cooler temperatures due to higher altitudes and the possibility of growing different varieties of crops.

Our next stop was the beautiful Ulun Danu Bratan Temple, located on Lake Bratan.  The temple was built in 1663 for people to give offerings to the Balinese water, lake, and river goddess Dewi Danu. Lake Bratan is important as a main source of irrigation in central Bali. The grounds were beautiful and peaceful despite many tourists.

Of course, the light was wrong and the season was not right and there were too many people, so I couldn’t take the perfect photo of the temple! However, I tried. Classic pictures have been taken during the ‘rainy’ season when the temple is flooded and access is only by boat.

We had a tasty Chinese lunch overlooking the lake then we continued driving north. Everyone seems to own motorbikes like the one pictured below carrying an entire family.

The bus parked again and we hiked down along a narrow paved path along lush green vegetation, to see Gitgit Waterfalls.

Youngsters swam in the pool or cooled off under the falling waters. It was very peaceful and an idyllic setting. Close by was our destination of the Lovina Bali Resort. We checked in and I explored the property as the sun set across the black lava beach.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

We had a free morning so I decided to go shopping with a small group of fellow travelers! Bali is world famous for craftsmanship in wood carving, weaving, silver jewelry, painting, batik, and puppet making, therefore shopping becomes wandering among current artists and craftsman to admire their work and, perhaps, make a little purchase….

There were numerous wood carving shops which created incredible pieces. After browsing through several, we found a master mask-maker whose work was amazing.

We found the shop of a man who painted beautiful designs on real ostrich eggs. He also offered less fragile versions made of carved wood. His children watched as he worked and his mother sold the eggs.

Later we visited several silver jewelry shops, all with many stunning pieces. We watched a silversmith demonstrate his art in the workshop.  Notice his foot pedal operating the flame of his torch in the first photo.

Batik shops were numerous and are always interesting to watch the hot-wax procedure.

Balinese markets are bright noisy colorful bazaars which were everywhere selling everything imaginable for tourists and local people.

We had hired a driver and his car for half the day – he was excellent: spoke good English, was patient with us, and was very accommodating. On the way back to the hotel, we saw a smoky area and the driver explained that a ‘mass cremation ceremony’ was underway. After yesterday’s experiences, we all quietly peered out of the window.

In the evening, we were fortunate to be able to visit the compound – home and theater – of a master shadow-puppet maker. Called wayang kulit, the tradition began a thousand years ago. UNESCO designated the art as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity and requires its preservation for future generations. I had been introduced to Indonesian shadow-puppets at the NY Museum of Natural History during the 1970’s when my sons were young. What a treat to see a real demonstration!

This was also a unique experience because we were finally able to enter one of the Balinese compounds that I had been observing from the bus since we arrived, and I was very curious about what was inside.  The compound contained everything a multi-generational family needed for existence: work space, living space, and places to pray and give offerings to the deities and pay homage to ancestors.

The fifth-generation puppet master’s eyes twinkled as he explained how his puppets were made and the stories of the Hindu epics he performed. He graciously answered our questions about his home and family.

Today, the Master’s sons assist to make the shadow puppets out of carefully chiseled leather. We saw one son demonstrating the process, and another son painted bright-colored details, while several grandchildren quietly watched.

The short performance was magical! The puppet master provided exciting percussion sounds with his foot and dramatically changed his voice with each character while a musician played gamelan music. Great fun!!

We left the compound and returned to Ubud after dark to have dinner at the renowned Cafe Wayan & Bakery which was featured in the memoir and movie, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Saturday August 22, 2015

Here is a view from my hotel window of a rice field this morning:
Along the road to a remote village in the mountainous interior of Bali our tour leader, Jumena, saw flags flying and asked the bus driver to stop. Jumena said the people were preparing for a “mass cremation ceremony.” He got off the bus to ask permission to bring tourists into the compound to see the preparations.

Villagers bury dead relatives for a period of time then exhume the bodies and cremate all the bodies in a mass ceremony. This one was for forty-two people who had died during the last two years.  Cremations are very expensive so mass ceremonies are more practical because the costs are shared among villagers. Family members, friends, and neighbors gather to make preparations.

We walked into the compound and looked into a large open-air covered area. More than fifty women were gathered in separate groups making ornaments or preparing offerings or weaving small palm baskets. Woven palm cubicles lined two walls with the names of the deceased. Inside were empty mats and offerings of food and flowers.

Several men were together in a separate area along with the Hindu priest of the village.

Outside, men were building scaffolding and other wooden objects. Then we crossed the road to see more men building gigantic ‘coffins’ which were built in the shape of horses and bulls and would be burned during the ceremony. What an incredible experience to see the preparations!

Afterwards, we continued into the mountainous regions of northern Bali. The small village of Trunyan is squeezed between Lake Batur and the steep sides of the crater rim of the volcano known as Mount Batur. The village is only accessible by boat.

The drive took almost two hours along mountainous twisting roads to reach the Kintamani region near the active volcano. We continued to the lake and boarded narrow steel boats which took us across to isolated Trunyan Village.

The villagers are descendants of the original Balinese people who predate the arrival of Hinduism in the 16th century. Approximately 250 people live in the tiny village.

The villagers generally don’t welcome outsiders, however, with prior arrangements access is possible since visitors provide their only source of income. We were shown around by one of the village leaders. The people we passed were friendly and greeted our group. An older woman even invited me to have tea with her.

After we walked around the village, we boarded the boats again and rode a short distance from the village to their unusual cemetery. Trunyan villagers do not bury or cremate their dead. Instead they lay the bodies in bamboo cages under the taru menyan tree. The tree is a type of sandlewood and the bodies do not produce a bad smell because of the perfumed scents of the huge tree growing nearby.

The site wasn’t gruesome. A dozen cages were in a row under the tree and family offerings littered the ground. The offerings included everything needed in the afterlife: clothes, dishes, soap, food, water, utensils, coins, personal effects, etc.

We left the Trunyan villagers’ cemetery and drove back toward a tourist area of restaurants and shops. We were restored by a Chinese/Balinese buffet luncheon in a restaurant high on a hill overlooking Mount Batur.

After lunch, we were driven to a specialized coffee plantation where Balinese Luwak Coffee is produced. Arabica coffee plants are grown on the mountainous slopes of this region. Luwak Coffee is produced from the partially digested and defecated coffee cherries by the Asian palm civet, a small mammal which resembles the otter or mongoose. Arabica coffee cherries are pictured below:

The woman in the photo below was roasting coffee beans as the young woman in the foreground was pounding coffee beans to a coarse consistency. Luwak is made by adding a teaspoon of it to boiling water, similar to ‘instant coffee’.

The plantation claimed that their civets were wild but kept several in large cages for tourists to see what they looked like. They offered us small cups of Luwak and other teas and flavored coffees. I have to admit I tried it but prefer other types.

It was another long twisting road back to Ubud and I watched the small villages, tropical forests, and rice fields pass by outside my coach window like the scenery in a movie.

Later in the evening, I went down to the restaurant in the lobby of the hotel to have a taste of home: gelato. A trio of young musicians were playing modern Indonesian music. They were quite good, so I listened for a while and enjoyed my tasty cool gelato and then went to bed. It had been a long but interesting day!

Friday August 21, 2015

Today was a travel day from Yogyakarta, Java to Denpassar, Bali. We flew from the small overcrowded airport in Yogyakarta to a big bright modern cream-colored-marble airport in Bali. We were in tourist heaven!

Patriotic flags were flying and the streets were still decorated for Indonesian Independence Day.

We stopped at the Sudi Dance School which teaches traditional Balinese dances to children ages six through thirteen.  The director of the school, explained facial, hand, and body gestures and related the history and legends of the dances.

The stage was brightly decorated and a full ensemble of Gamelan instruments played Balinese music during several short performances.  The director of the school also explained how particular instruments express moods and augment specific dances.

The visitors posed with the dancers at the end of the performance. It was a wonderful visual and auditory learning experience!

Then we drove to the interior of Bali to the tourist city of Ubud and checked into the modern Plataran Ubud Resort & Spa, located between the main street and a rice field:

The Lobby:

View from the back of the hotel:

Ubud was a real surprise. It suspended all my illusions of Bali. Instead of a lush tropical paradise, Ubud was a sprawling town full of vehicles, vendors, wall-to-wall shops, western restaurants, money changers, and tourists. My first impression of Bali is there seems to be a stark contrast between contemporary commercialism and traditional, historic values and culture.

Thursday 20 August 2015

Today was our day to visit the 9th century Borobudur Temple, the largest buddhist temple in the world, which UNESCO calls “one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world.”

The monument consists of nine stacked platforms topped by a central dome.  Borobudur is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 statues of Buddha.  I climbed up to the top level, the realm of Nirvana, to walk among the  72 bell-shaped stupas each with a statue of Buddha inside.

There were beautiful views of the green tropical plains and Javanese mountains surrounding Borobudur Temple. After spending time at the top, it was a steep descent back to ground level.

The group walked to a station and we boarded small horse-drawn carriages for a ride through a local village to visit several ‘cottage industry’ businesses.

The first place we stopped was a rice cakes business owned by an older woman who employed several local women and family members. The entire operation took place in her tiny facility and she sold the packaged cakes to a retailer in Jakarta.

The second home industry we visited was an artificial eyelash business. The proprietor and his wife were present as we watched several young women knot human hair on tiny threads.

We went to the Sekar Kedhaton Restaurant for lunch and afterwards visited their shop and silversmiths.

We returned to the lovely modern Santika Premiere Hotel to rest up for our ‘Farewell to Java’ dinner. Later we walked to the Dowa Honje Mangkubumi Restaurant.  Crossing streets in Java are a real challenge because there are few traffic lights and the traffic does not stop for pedestrians.

Near the major intersection of the hotel, we passed the Tugu Yogyakarta monument and saw it brightly illuminated against a dark night. The stark white obelisk was built in 1755 by the Sultan I as a symbol of unity between the people and the authorities in their fight against invaders. The monument was rebuilt in 1889 after the original was destroyed in an earthquake. People believe that a visit to Yogyakarta is not complete without a stop at the monument.  We bid our fond farewells to our excellent local tour leader, Josh, and then prepared for our morning flight to Bali tomorrow.  Thank you, Josh!