BALI: Part 1

BALI

History

Bali is a small and oddly shaped island in Indonesia. Though not far from the equator, it is in the Southern Hemisphere and so grants such nighttime splendours as the Southern Cross. The culture is one of genuine friendliness which the vast majority of the population followers of Indonesian Hinduism. The four elements play strong roles in the culture, but water is of particular importance. The complex irrigation systems used for their wet-field cultivation of rice was developed around 900 C.E.

Bali has had contact with Europeans since the 16th Century when the Portuguese first came into contact with it. Then in the early 17th Century it came under the control of the Dutch East India Company. Balie wasn't free until 29th December 1949 when the Netherlands recognised its independence.

During the twenty-odd years of the Vietnam War, there was a big cultural backlash. There was a strong anti-war movement and the rise of what we fondly call the Hippies. A lot of attention was put on Asia and largely in the 70s there was a big hippie presence in Bali. This was partly due to the fact that shrooms were legal in Bali(they have only recently been made illegal, but are apparently still widely accessible). Weed may have also been legal then. It was for hundreds of years during the great naval age of the Dutch East India Company and often smoked by sailors. It's very possible that it was part of the cultural exchange in Bali. They were the first to truly make the town of Ubud a tourist location.

My Trip

There was a reason why my girlfriend and I travelled to Bali. It was the same reason that around ten other friends travelled there as well as people we had never met before, but now will never forget, from all of the globe. Two of our friends, Dave and Leanne, were getting married. Bali had not been chosed on a whim. Leanne is a well-seasoned traveller and Bali is one of hers and Dave's favourite destinations. They planned a meticulous timetable, just shy of a month, and invited their friends and family to join them for as little or as much of it as they could.

Our trip begins in Sidemen (see-da-mun).

Having taken a flight from Taiwan at 1 AM, we arrived on Bali at 6 AM having little more than a few snatches of sleep on the plane. In Bali it's good to organise transport with your guesthouse and so we had.  Our driver met us at the airport. We got in the car and promptly fell asleep for most of the drive. I retained anough consciousness to snap this picture while crossing a bridge:

 

What awaited us in Sidemen was a paradise unto itself.

This was our guesthouse.

From afar it had a slightly different look.

 

The place consists of guest rooms on different levels, an infinity swimming pool (many of the pools in Bali seem to be infinity pools) next door to a dining area and then another room where guests can book massages.

 

View from in the valley looking back up at the guesthouse.

 

View from the top looking down into the valley.

 

Same view, looking more to the right and  including the room of the dining area.

The next two pictures are the same picture. I had trouble getting my camera to accept the light as it was to human viewing, so I had to take two pictures with alternating light levels to show what I saw.

 

This is the view from the same spot as the ones looking down at the pool, but it's aimed higher and to the left looking out across fields which were once rice, but now are kept to ensure good views for the guesthouses in the surrounding  area.

 

This is the same picture, but with the light filtered so the horizon and sky become visible. In the background can clearly be seen Mt. Agung, the tallest point on Bali and an active volcano. It last erupted in 1963 causing great devastation.

Here is another picture I took of Mt. Agung from a slightly different point and with elaborate display of clouds. The clouds here are fantastic. At times the mountain is completely covered over.

The balcony area from which these photos were taken. In the middle behind the plant is the room in which we stayed. To the left and right are rooms taken by friends of ours.

 

This was our room. The mosquito net was unnecessary, possibly because we were there in Winter, though the temperature averaged 26 degrees. Attached was another room with shower and loo. There is a strong sense of space. The ceilings are high and in the bathroom there are open areas high up. Unfortunately there are also gaps high up in the ceiling between some rooms, which means conversations can be overheard.

Also, we found that the gas-heater for the water had a temperamental relationship with the shower, so the hot tap in the sink needed to be turned on to ensure the flame stayed lit while showering.

 

 

I have not yet identified this flower (or plant), but in the third area we stayed at on Bali I finally found one that was opening. That picture to come.

While we were in Sidemen one of our friends suggested hiring a guide to learn a bit about the area. I opted in, as did another friend, so the three of us set out. The guide started by leading us through some of the fields between the houses. He told us that when it came time to plant, all of one family's planting was done in one day. As it was clearly too much work for one family to possibly accomplish, the family would also their neighbours to help them. They in turn would help their neighbours when it came time for them to plant. There is a very real sense of community in Sidemen and a genuine friendliness that stretches across the island, even if it does become a little strained in the more touristy parts of Bali.

Our guide pointing out how dried grass is laid over the strips where seeds have been planted. This stops weeds taking root and growing, while the crop will simply push through from below and grow normally.

Bali has been drier than usual of late and because of this some farmers have turned from growing rice to growing chillies and other cash crops. Rice is not normally grown all year round in this area, anyway. Often to revitalise the ground for half the year other crops are grown like chillies, onions and peanuts.

 

Our guide showed us these leaves. They grow everywhere in the region. He recalled how, in his childhood, he would pick hundreds of these and take them to sell at the market to stall owners. They would fold them in a careful way to make a pouch to hold things like a bag. Then the top was folded over and a stick pressed through to close the bag.

He lemented the fact that the practice has died out and now plastic bags are used everywhere. It leads to more pollution.

 

Another effect of people not using the leaves as bags is that there isn't the abundance of compost that used to exist. He showed us this field of mixed crops. Instead of having a field dedicated to a single crop, various crops are grown together. They support each other and offer variety. In his childhood, the guide told us that children would be constantly bringing down compost to spread in the fields. Today they use chemical fertilizer. It works, but not everything has to be washed before being eaten.

 

 

This pool is one of the last remnants of a once grand hotel that existed in Sidemen. The old owner, a westerner (Canadian/American?), was forced to sell it to locals and with a fall in tourism the place went bankrupt and fell to ruin. Surprisingly this pool (the largest in Sidemen) is still clean. Perhaps the people living in farms around the area still use it.

 

A scooter ride around Sidemen brought us to this temple which had a surprise hiding in its depths.

 

Some puppies were using it as a place of safety. Being small they could slip through the bars of the gate and enter the temple grounds. Only one of them was brave and curious enough to say hi.

 

This odd looking tip box is a nod to their religion. This is Garuda (present in both the Hindu and Buddhist religion). He is the king of the birds and the appointed mount of Vishnu.

So I have a hobby, bordering on compulsion, for folding paper cranes. Leanne took a liking to them, so I took it upon myself to make some for her wedding as additional decoration. I made these in my spare time over two days.

 

For those interested in the technical side of things, this is what Balinese plugs look like. They are round. The white plug is an international adapter which works so-so.