Travel

Bali: Farmers’ Market and Cooking Our Own Balinese Lunch

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Today we were picked up early and taken to a Farmers’ Market in the north of the island.

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We got there around 9:00 but the market opens at 5:00 am. Most of the locals do their shopping before the kids get up for school.

Our guide (Sang De) walked us through the stalls stopping to tell us about the ingredients we were going to use to make our meal: tumeric, ginger, shallots, garlic, small hot peppers, large red chili, coriander seeds, kafir limes…

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The market had flowers (both edible and for offerings), spices, rice, feed for chickens and pigs, even a dry goods section:

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From the market we were taken to Sang De’s family compound where he has facilities for a cooking “school”. First he explained the layout of a Balinese family compound – a Balinese home is a multi-generational affair – including a family temple, a place for family ceremonies, as well as individual “houses” for the family groupings, a kitchen, bathroom facilities (which are communal, not part of the individual houses), and a grazing area for chickens and other small livestock.

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The kitchen was large enough that all 9 of us were involved in the meal preparation: first chopping the “spice” ingredients very finely so the mixture could be ground in a pestle. Next we cooked it in a pot, adding chicken stock, bay leaf and a leaf of kafir lime. This mixture was used to make the unripe mango soup as well as the curried chicken. It was also added to the puréed chicken thigh to make satay. We spent over an hour and a half getting the meal ready.

Before eating, Sang De explained how offerings to the gods are made as part of each meal. Balinese lives are tightly interwoven with their religious beliefs.
Offerings everywhere on the streets, on the ground in front of shops, on shrines along the streets, in lots of other locations. They consist of small woven palm leaf dishes filled with flowers and topped with a burning incense stick; beneath the flowers is an offering of the meal about to be eaten (I assume the offerings on the street are the same).

The meal was delicious (more than twice what I was able to eat), if a bit under spiced – I like.hot spicy food, but the other gals asked for mild, so while I found the food flavorful, it was lacking in heat.

We left with copies of the recipes we’d made so we’ll be able to make them when we get home.

Bali: Rice Paddy Walk and Visit to a Spa

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We started the day early by driving a distance toward the northern mountains from Ubud to the start of a trail through a series of rice paddies back to town – something like a six km walk downhill.

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The paddies were of various sizes – some smaller ones obviously intended to feed a family; some of the harvest from the larger ones probably would be sold.

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The path was narrow, we needed to walk single file; nevertheless there was quite a bit of motorcycle traffic going in both directions. When a motorcycle came into view we had to step to the edge of the ditch beside the paddy to let it pass – not always easy to do.

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Some of the families have been enterprising by building small shops on the path – they sell art, trinkets, food items, gifts, you name it. However a majority of the shops were closed for the day due to a big religious festival where thousands of people get dressed in their going-to-temple white outfits and walk from Ubud to the ocean – a bit of a hike. In the afternoon we saw the procession returning in 100 trucks all decorated and carrying a load of people and large religious statues.

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What became obvious as we got closer to Ubud, was just how much construction is going on (much of it resorts being built) which in 5 years will likely obliterate much of the rice paddies. If tourism remains stable or grows that will mean income for Bali, but I couldn’t help wondering how the poor will be able to afford imported rice – the essential in the Balinese diet.

Later in the afternoon I visited a spa not far from the Rama Phala Resort where we’re staying. I had chosen a traditional Balinese massage. The masseuse began by loosening every joint starting with my feet – I go for a massage regularly at home – this was unlike anything I’ve experienced before. When the gal was done, I was so relaxed I could barely move. Quite wonderful – to be recommended to anyone visiting Bali. There are spas everywhere so I know for sure I’m not the only visitor to take advantage of the service. I hope to be able to have another massage before I leave.

Bali: Fire Dance

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Two evenings ago we attended a performance of a “Fire Dance”. The Balinese name for the dance is “Sekaa Kecak”. It’s a dance not accompanied by instruments but by a 100 member male chorus.

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It’s an old ritual dance based on an ancient Indian epic. It involves gods and princesses and other important persons in a series of abductions, rescues, deaths… All very convoluted.

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Can’t say I understood much of what went on. The finale involved a rather large bonfire in the midst of the square and a dragon character who dashed through the fire scattering the burning cocoanut husks repeatedly. The performance was in the round so those scattering ashes came very close to the audience! Unfortunately, I didn’t capture any photos of the dragon and the fire – the fire was too bright.

Bali: Silk Painting

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Today the group split up – half taking a “walk” (more like a hike) through a rice paddy. The rest of us went to Sanggingan, not far from Ubud, to do silk painting with two wonderful silk painting artists: Aguso and Renee. We got to see a collection of their works – predominantly used for making silk garments and scarves as well as wall hangings.

The process begins with a drawing on parchment which gets transferred to a length of silk charmeuse. Next the silk is stretched and pinned to a frame so a fine line of beeswax can be applied. The process is the same as that used for doing pysanky – Ukrainian Easter eggs – applying a fine line of heated beeswax with a stylus. The wax protects the base colour of the fabric from the dyes that are applied, in this case, using a “brush” (a 8″ length of wood with a tip that looks like an overgrown Q-tip).

We were given silk squares which had already been waxed (although we did get to try our hand to applying it ourselves – it felt very like doing pysanky and my control of the stylus quickly improved as I used it). We were shown how to apply the dye, then turned lose on our prepared design.

I had selected an image of a Strelitzia (bird of paradise flower). The challenge when applying the dyes is to do it in such a way that you get subtle shadings – much more difficult than it at first appears. Dyes get shaded with the help of a bit of water carefully applied to move one dye into the next while both are still wet, not unlike the way colour is blended in a watercolour painting.

We had a limited number of brushes to work with, none really small enough to apply the dye in small spaces so it was inevitable that dye did occasionally end up outside the waxed outline. Nevertheless, in a couple of hours I had a finished flower. Applying the background colour also required learning about how the silk absorbed the dye when enough was applied – I didn’t need to bring the brush right up to the waxed line – if enough dye was applied it travelled to the wax line but no further.

We didn’t do this ourselves, but the pieces are finished by being dipped in some goop to fix the dye, rinsed thoroughly, placed in boiling water, swished around until the wax outline is completely melted, then hung to dry. Our pieces will be finished and delivered to us by the end of the week.

I still have all my supplies for doing pysanky. I must dig them out when I get home and see what I can create.

Bali: Contrasts

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I’ve tried and tried but can’t get photos to upload! (It’s the slow wi-fi connection that’s the problem.) I’ve tried on my iPhone and on my iPad. No luck on either device. But I want to record my impressions – so here goes without benefit of images.

This morning after a lavish breakfast buffet, I walked to the pool and the beach just beyond. Its what you’d imagine Bali to be – lovely sunshine on a sandy beach with waves lapping the shore and breakers in the distance, great for surfing. The pool and the grounds with lush tropical foliage (both trees and gardens) typical of a South Pacific island setting.

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Early this afternoon we went by taxi into Kuta – a gazillion motor bikes weaving in and out of the dense traffic narrowly being missed by the cars – some carrying cargo, some with passengers, all traveling at high speed. I’m a courageous driver but you couldn’t pay me to drive here!

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Then there are the streets lined with small shops – their owners persistently trying to entice us into their particular establishment.

We were in two groups – we had planned to meet at Tommy’s Cafe. Our taxi driver had no clue where the cafe was located. He dropped us off at least two kilometers from our destination! Cheryl our guide didn’t have the actual address with her; the four of us stopped frequently to ask directions – nobody knew what we were looking for. Finally Cheryl phoned her Balinese friend, had her explain how to find Tommy’s to a shop owner who had never heard of the place. Cheryl did this twice more before we were able to see the Cafe sign in the distance. Once there, four very hot and tired women were in need of what was billed as the “best iced coffee in Bali”. I have to say, not being a coffee drinker, that the milkshake consistency drink hit the spot.

After lunch at Tommy’s, we went a few doors down the street to shop for rayon batik fabric. A wonderful, colorful selection. It was frantic in the small shop as each of us made selections, had the fabric cut to length, wrapped and paid for it. Great fun! I ended up with 2 1/2 yds of a deep teal with a lighter design in shades of pale blue – it should be enough for a dress or loose shirt.

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We returned to the resort in rush hour traffic. If we thought traffic has been bad earlier, it was simply hair-raising on the return trip. I bet though all those people made it to their destination.

It was still hot so a number of us went to the pool for a relaxing dunk! That followed by dinner – I ended up at the Japanese restaurant in the hotel with two other of the gals (both from the Boston area). The rest ended up at the pizza place in the hotel.

The adventure continues tomorrow!

Bali: I arrived

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The amazing thing is all flights were on time – the flight from Bangkok actually arrived in Denpasar a wee bit early. Made it through visa and immigration without terribly long line-ups. Finding my luggage was a bit of a challenge – the baggage carousels aren’t well marked. But eventually I did find my large bag. Got a taxi without any fuss and arrived at the Patra Jasa Bali Resort which is about an eight minute drive from the airport.

The resort has been around a while, but it’s still reasonably elegant. My room is pleasant but with some serious hums – it took some playing with light switches to finally be able to turn off the loud rattling fan in the bathroom and still keep the wall sockets active so I can charge my iPhone and iPad.

Not long after I arrived I was able to track down the other four gals who were arriving yesterday. After unpacking and a quick shower, we had a golf cart come pick us up (the grounds are huge – have no idea where our rooms are in relation to the lobby – you call for a cart to come pick you up – today, I expect we’ll actually walk at least once) take us to the Italian restaurant that was actually opening that evening.

There were lots of tasty Italian hor d’oevures to snack on and some very attractive desserts. None of us was terribly hungry so we made our meal nibbling as guests of the hotel. The photo, above, was the food sculpture in the middle of the dessert table. Chatted with staff attending the party. While they “speak” English, there’s lots of miscommunication happening. I asked for some “bottled” water, but instead got a large wine glass filled with hot water. (Since you don’t drink the water, I waited until I got back to my room to have a glass of bottled water.)

Then I simply crashed! I just wanted to put my head on the table and pass out. We were all tired so we rather quickly got a golf cart to take us back to our rooms which are adjacent one another. I brushed my teeth and climbed into bed.

It’s now nearly 1:00 am and I’m wide awake, so I’ll take some melatonin and try to fall back to sleep.

I didn’t think much about taking pictures of the crowds at the various airports but I will be more conscientious today – the resort grounds are lovely, right on Kuta Beach. And we’re scheduled to spend the afternoon visiting a large shopping market in Denpasar in the afternoon.

‘Till later today.

Bali here I come…

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This looks orderly – you should have seen it yesterday—that room was a MESS! It took me the whole day to organize stuff: following the rule – lay out all the stuff, then pack half the stuff and twice the money!

I’d already looked after the “twice the money” thing with a visit to the bank a couple of days ago. Yesterday was the day for sorting out “half the stuff.”

Notice the post it notes? I’ve been leaving messages to myself so I will remember a few last minute items I’m still using. I hope to finish up the pair of socks I’m working on tonight which will let me begin the pair I will work on while I travel (hence the small knitting bag with the fish mola).

I leave Wednesday afternoon. I’m travelling Toronto/Frankfurt/
Bangkok/Denpasar (takes three calendar days – about 35 hours travel time).

I’ve managed to get everything into the one suitcase (which is half filled with “gifts” – (which are heavy) that is the custom in Bali, apparently) – so there will be lots of room to bring back batik fabric. The bag weighs only 35 lbs – well below the 50 lb limit so I’m good to go (the bag will open another 2″ wider if I unzip that second zipper). On the way back the bag will likely be well over 50 lbs – I’ll simply pay the charges – or I guess I can jettison the clothing and other stuff I’m bringing to keep the weight within the limit – none of that is of concern at this point.

I have my small Japanese style backpack which I made a couple of months ago and a carry on bag which I made a couple of years ago to carry stuff to sewing classes – it’s not too big—just the right size for my pillow, a change of clothing, the liquids/meds/supplements that you don’t want to get lost on the trip. It’s not too heavy to carry across my body (I added some strap padding last evening for that very purpose).

Tomorrow and Tuesday I have things to catch up on—I will be able to attend to those tasks without feeling any panic about having to pack.

And Wednesday—the adventure begins. I’ve made contact with three women who are coming via Taipei, arriving in Denpasar about half an hour after I am (that’s if everybody’s connections actually happen as the itineraries say!). We’re planning to meet up in the Denpasar airport and travel together by cab to the first hotel we’re staying at. I’ll be looking for the chartreuse luggage tags we’ve all made.

 

Luggage Tags

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The women on the Bali trip have been talking about how to recognize one another in the Denpasar airport when we arrive. We’re coming from both the east and west coasts and from locations in between. Some travelling west, I’m traveling east. Several of us are arriving at about the same time in Denpasar. Since most of us don’t know anyone else on the trip, the suggestion was made to create luggage tags in a lime green so we can identify another trip member at the luggage pick up.

Seemed like a good idea. So yesterday I whipped up a couple of luggage tags – one for my suitcase, and one for my backpack (which I will be wearing). Very easy to do.

  • Cut 4 pieces of 3.5″ x 5″ fabric as well as 2 pieces of 3.5″ x 5″ heavy weight interfacing, two 6″ lengths of grosgrain ribbon and two  3.5″ x 5″ pieces of plastic.
  • Fuse the interfacing to two of the pieces of fabric.
  • Place the other two pieces of fabric on the right side of the fabric/interfacing piece and sew on three sides.
  • Turn inside out, press.
  • Insert the folded grosgrain ribbon (cut ends) into the open end which has been folded  inward. Stitch the open end closed.
  • Take a business card (or a card with your ID on it) and lay it in the middle of one side. Place the plastic piece on top and stitch around the outside, then stitch around the edge of the card. Trim the plastic as close to the seam as possible.

And there you have it – a personal luggage tag – won’t look like anybody else’s!