An entry in the TFS Travel Journal
We had to get up by 7:30 to meet Wayan, but by the time we actually got up and out, we didn’t have time for breakfast. (normally, if we’re late it’s no big deal, but this morning, being part of the Hindu full moon festival, we had to get to a sacred dance performance) We drove the 40 minutes or so, then climbed into the bamboo-padded bleachers and watched the 45-minute Barong-Kris Dance. It was an entertaining spectacle, in 6 acts, with wonderful costumes and masks, and a large group of musicians pounding and twanging away. (though after a while, it all began to sound like The Beatles’ “Within You and Without You”) It is the age-old story of the Barong and Rangda (good and evil), with many spirits, killings and reincarnations. (the Rangda, though, looked and sounded a bit too much like Cousin It in a colorful costume) We then boarded the van for the drive to Kintani, with several stops to see the various crafts along the way.
Bali is certainly its own world in many ways. The island is mostly Hindu, as opposed to the rest of Indonesia which is mostly Moslem. They are also obviously into statuary, as most major intersections have enormous stone statues of mythological beasts or local heroes. We also saw many women - often older - walking along the roadside carrying full baskets atop their heads; according to Wayan, most can support loads of over 130lbs and walk several kilometers! There are also swastikas adorning signs and homes (and a sign for “Swastika Cargo Services”), as it is an old Hindu symbol of balance and equilibrium. We asked (as one of our repertoir of standard questions in each area we visit) about burial or cremation here, and were told that if you’re rich enough, you can get cremated, but otherwise you are buried and if your family eventually has enough money, you’re dug up and what’s left is then cremated.
We stopped at a batik workshop, a carving studio and a jewelry place. As these were basically tourist places, the prices were not the fabulous bargains we’d been hearing about (a good tip-off was when their prices are in dollars!), nor was the quality so wonderful, so we’ll do shopping and browsing on our own tomorrow in Ubud. We did marvel, however, at some of the carved wood panels. They were usually rectangular and ranged from 1′ x 2′ to much larger, were actually 3-dimensional (several inches of depth) and had detail of design that was incredible. They are made from mahogany, ebony, sandlewood, teak, and others, and it can take many months just to make one.
As we drove further north, we also loved looking at the doors and frames of many of the otherwise plain homes. They were elaborately carved and painted, and could have been from a grand palace. We finally arrived at the small village of Kintamani and had lunch. It was another Alexander experience — a bountiful buffet of mediocre food. (and the service was a little too, almost eerily, attentive) The setting was quite nice, though, as we could see the 1,700meter Mt. Batur (an active volcano with white smoke rising) and the 3,000meter Mt. Agung across a small valley with the large Lake Batur in between. It was also appreciably cooler, as we had ascended to over 1,000meters. We finished eating, snapped our pictures, got beseiged by swarms of sellers of various local drek, and headed back on a different road.
We got to see first hand the famed Bali rice terraces, as they rose steeply and greenly up the wavy hillsides, and we can now confidently say that this island (and Java too, to be fair) has more depth and shades of green than we ever knew were possible. We stopped at the Spring Water Temple, so named for the holy water believed to emanate from that area. The temple was built in the 9th century, but only a few segments from then remain, and it now has several smaller pagoda-like structures from the 15th and 16th century. There were also three different large stone bathing pools, one for men, one for women, and one for children. It was quite the tranquil place. As we headed back to the hotel, we saw an absolutely unbelievable quantity of small shops selling carved stone and wood creations. We also passed the flower district, containing many shops with various painted wood flowers — nice, but no Pucon. Then one final stop, at a painting cooperative where we saw some beautiful paintings, of acrylic on some sort of fabric; we’ll be on the lookout for some tomorrow.
As we drove all about, we were struck by the contrast with our time in Vietnam. Though the former certainly had many sights and experiences we’re glad to have seen and done, the mood of many of the people rarely seemed to be a relaxed one, nor one of happiness. In Java and Bali, however, the people we’ve seen just seem to be more readily smiling, and a friendlier, more laid-back atmosphere seems to prevail. Surely living in a near-constant state of war for decades has heavily affected the Vietnamese, and a great many factors (good geographic features, very high literacy rates) should help them to move forward quickly. Still, we appreciated this environment of natural beauty and abundant local crafts and artistry all that much more.
We returned back to our duplex suite, and took a few moments to admire the many decorative touches. Set into the staircase wall are two lovely (and illuminated) wood carvings; the floor is a light stone border, with a center portion of wood of different colors looking almost 3-dimensional; the windows are the full length of both floors with teak blinds; the bathroom (and we appreciate large bathrooms) is big, with a glass shower and a tub and floor of stone containing some sort of mother-of-pearl looking inlaid flecks.
We should here also mention some of the interesting insect life we’ve seen lately. In Amanjiwo, we found a grasshopper of at least 4″ in length which we brushed out onto the patio, as well as some moths the size of large butterflies, and here we’ve found a few spiders, one that had some pattern that just didn’t look to comforting, then during lunch today, a small spider dropped into the back of Milton’s shirt, but was quickly removed. And lizards are so ubiquitous that they’re almost not even noteworthy anymore. Life in the tropics . . .
Milton had a workout in their excercise room (which also needs its air conditioning fixed) while Wendy relaxed in the room reading the book of Bali Bedtime Stories. We enjoyed more room service (caesar salad, chicken sandwich, and a great thin crust pizza) and called it a night.