Bali

BALI

MAY 2008

MATT'S VERSION:

Bali was a very cultural experience. The people are ultra nice. The first 3 days we lived with a Balinese family. There were four generations living under one roof, well really 5 different roofs. They have a compound that has been in their family for hundreds of years which consists of several different small buildings each about the size of one of our standard bedrooms. The kitchen and bath and communal areas are all separate buildings. Every family is big into rice farming and everywhere you go you see a rice field. Almost everybody is either a past, present or future rice farmer. It was great to begin our trip living with a family and learning so much about their way of life. We did feel a bit guilty spending the rest of our time in luxury, but we got over it pretty quickly.

Above is part of the family rice field. They can grow rice 3 times a year. During this cycle they tried to grow an organic blend of rice and it didn't quite work out for them so they didn't get a harvest out of it. But they seemed to laugh at themselves about their lack of farming knowledge and it didn't seem to bother them too much. The attitudes we encountered among the people all along our way was very optimistic and they all seemed to have a general feeling of being very blessed for what they have.

In the foreground of the photo above is one of the small shrines that house the offerings the Balinese make to the gods each day--in this case to show their gratitude for the rice they grow. These shrines and offerings are everywhere, even on dashboards. We learned a lot more about the Hindu religion and about the people who practice it. I didn't realize that there is a pretty big difference between the Hindu of the Balinese and that of the Indians (people from India, not the Sioux or Cherokee). But they all seemed really grateful for what they had and if trouble came upon them they thanked God that the hard time they were encountering wasn't worse than it was. The very sad part to me about the Hindu religion is how works based everything is and the ever present lack of unearned grace from God. They are constantly, I mean constantly, making offerings to their gods trying to appease them so that nothing bad will happen. They have an underlying feeling that they are never good enough and never worthy enough of Gods presence. Its a bit sad for me to see people live their whole life this way since I see things a bit differently believing what I believe. But all in all, it seems to me that they believe there are many paths to an eternal afterlife with God and they are a very loving and nice group of people, that and all their actions are predicated on not being reincarnated as a dog.

This is the family shrine right outside our room. The grandma would make offerings every half hour it seemed. Her day consisted pretty much of taking care of the family's offering quota. Interesting note: every home is set up the same, with the shrine located closest to the nearest mountain (since they believe their deity resides in the mountain), the housing just south of that and the fields further south. All the beds face so you sleep with your head towards the mountain, unless you are the grandpa who sleeps with his head toward the sunrise for some reason. They can be very superstitious people. But the grandpa (Paka) was funny and knew about 30 words of English that he kept repeating at inopportune moments.

After our time with the family we headed to the town of Ubud. It is known as the art and cultural center of Bali. It is full of shops and spas and restaurants and markets. It was really cool to see a place so full of commerce and activity without the starbucks or mcdonalds. Much of the Bali we encountered seemed true to its roots and hundreds of years in the past. And then around the corner you'd find people on cell phones and in internet cafes. The record number of people we saw on a single moped by the way was 6. I was pretty impressed.

We took lots of time to just sit around and observe. But we were quite active as well. Some of our favorite things were taking a bike ride down the mountain through small villages and rice fields, Climbing Mount Batur in the dark to catch the sunrise, and renting our own moped to wander around.

This is from a scenic overlook of Mt. Batur before we went on our bike ride. Little did we know that in two days time we would be getting up at 3 am to climb up that sucker. We had pretty good weather the whole trip, but it did rain almost every day for about 10-15 minutes despite this being the beginning of the dry season.

This is Mt. Batur at sunrise. Off to the right out of frame we could see the peaks of the nearby island of Lombok. I wanted to go there, but maybe next time. The only thing we didn't do was the thing most people go to Bali to do, and that was surf. The water and beaches aren't that pristine, I think Guam's are prettier even, but I think we may plan a trip back at some point just to be on the coast and to be in the water.

This was our little bungalow for the week. It was quite nice and had hot water, which was a welcome change from the home that we were staying in. You can get really good deals on hotels and pretty much everything in Bali. This place cost us around $35 a night which included breakfast served right to our door. The other thing you can do really cheep is get a massage. And I'm man enough to admit that we got one almost every day, and for 5 bucks for an hour long experience its hard to say no.

Proof that Cardinal Nation truly spans the globe. At first we thought she was just camera shy, but after talking to her we realized that she wasn't smiling because she just found out that we traded Edmonds. I think the look on her face reflects how we all feel.

Above is one of my favorite pictures of the trip, its taken right outside the front door to our family's residence. I don't know why, but I like taking pictures of people in their natural environment when they don't know they are being photographed.

Below are other pictures of various things we saw or did.

Wayan (a different Wayan--all oldest sons are Wayan), our guide up Batur.

VICKI'S VERSION:


Hi Guys! Thanks for reading our blog!



Bali is an incredible place, and we were so lucky to get to spend such a long time there. We were there so long I was having trouble remembering if we had moved to Guam or Bali. It was the first trip where I didn't feel like we were rushed, like we had the time to actually soak up the environment and the culture.




The homestay program Matt talked about was definitely the highlight of this trip, for me anyway. Walking down the alley towards their family compound when we first arrived, I looked up and saw strange rooftops and a sky full of stars and palm trees, and I could already tell it was going to be a cool experience. At times it was strange (on his way to the bathroom one night, Matt learned that great grandma preferred to go topless after 2 am), and uncomfortable (I got Bali belly and lost 8 lb.; also, the cold shower was not something I was accustomed to, nor do I want to), and we didn't get a lot of sleep (dogs and roosters making a racket starting at 4 am each morning--earplugs were no match). But getting to live upclose and personal with a family from a completely different country and culture for 3 days is such a priceless experience. And on top of the gift of allowing us to be spectators in their home for several days, all seven of them were genuinely kind and welcoming to us. Even the grandpa, Paka, who hardly spoke any English, greeted me with the warmest smile and head nod every morning as I made the short trek to the bathroom in the early morning light. Beyond their culture, they were equally generous in sharing about themselves and their personal lives. On the last night we were there, Wayan said to me, "I'm going to tell you my life story." And then he actually told me his life story. I think he's posted it online somewhere if you're interested. Anyway, here is this Balinese man, around my age, a stranger until 3 days ago, telling me the story of his life, and I thought--awesome, this is exactly what I was hoping for when we signed up for this visit. It's funny what unexpected opportunities come your way--I wasn't even looking for this program when I found it, I was online looking for cottages in Ubud and just happend to notice a little advertisement for a homestay program on the edge of my screen.





This is me and Wayan (pronounced Why-ann, in case you have not yet read Eat, Pray, Love). The family was fully committed to giving us a taste of their culture, which included arts and crafts. First, Wayan taught me how to make these little woven pillows of torn coconut leaf that are stuffed with rice, boiled and eaten or offered to the gods, and then eaten. You can't make it out too well in the picture, but they are really quite beautiful and kind of cool--like those paper balls we made when we were kids that you would fold in a certain way and then blow into it at just the right spot to make a ball. Only this was much, much more intricate. I was TERRIBLE. Wayan or Nyoman, his wife, could whip one of these suckers out in less than 5 minutes. It took me 40. Wayan hid his frustration well. Later he attempted to teach Matt the gamelan, a sort of wooden zylaphone, which didn't really catch on for him either. Between my sad attempt at weaving and Matt's unfortunate gamelan "playing" (think of Kevin Bacon trying to teach Willard how to keep the beat in Footloose), I started to realize how much I had taken these kinds of skills and arts for granted. I hadn't recognized the ability and artfullness and the time it takes to nurture these skills, not really. Also I suddenly felt sort of pathetic and boring coming from a culture where most people don't really practice these sorts of arts as part of their everyday life. Before, I would have looked at one of those woven pillows and thought, oh, that's kinda neat, but would never have appreciated how much went into making it.

Other thumps to my hard, pampered forehead: every hot shower is a priviledge; work for many people means spending the day just trying to find food to feed their family; much of the world is infinitely more cultured than I am; there's no reason you shouldn't be able to purchase gym equipment along with your head of lettuce (Balinese supermarkets sell both); saying "I like to cook", like it's a hobby, is a priviledge (during my cooking lesson I commented on Nyoman's skill with a knife, to which she replied, "Two times a day every day."--for 15 years...plus the next 20); Matt looks hot dressed up in traditional Balinese wedding attire.



Counterclockwise from front left: Rama, Khrisna (son-8), Khrisna's cousin, Wayan (husband), Matt, Nyoman (wife), Riska (daughter-12), Paka (grandpa), Nyoman (aunt), and me.

Riska (right) and a friend.

We tried buying their kids' affection with a candy-filled Spongebob
for Khrisna and a sparkly compact for Riska.

Wayan and Nyoman's living room/dining room.

Me and Nyoman.

The homestay is definitely something I learned from and will always remember, but I'm not gonna lie, I was more than ready to get back to hot showers and sleeping in. The bungalow in Ubud was like our own little treehouse--we had a great time taking a few day trips (pic below)from Ubud and exploring, but I loved just sitting on the porch reading with that awesome view of gardens and rice paddies, listening to the frogs.

Pura Ulun Danu Bratan--along with one other temple, the most
important irrigation temple in Bali.

Offerings (flowers,rice, and incense) were left outside our bungalow in Ubud every day--offerings on the ground are meant to placate demons.




This is the end of Matt and Vicki's Bali adventure page.

Thanks for reading!