Happy Nyepi!
They weren't kidding when they said the place would shut down for Balinese New Year. By Wednesday afternoon most people had shut up shop and were heading for the centre of town. The football field by early evening was filled with festivity and Ogoh Ogoh - demons or monsters made out of paper mache and mounted on bamboo platforms. Each village tends to chip in and make one so that they can take part in the parade of Ogoh Ogohs which snakes around the main streets of Ubud with much banging of drums, cheering, singing & shouting. Quite a sight. Most of the Ogoh Ogoh stand 20 feet high or more. The parade had its finale at the village cemetary where all good demons are laid to rest. Then Nyepi began in full force - 24 hours of stillness & silence. This day belonged to the animals - their chance to be heard. I woke to a cacophony of crowing which sounded, quite literally, like a stadium full of cheering people. The cicadas chirped so loud I had to check to see if I had inadvertantly left my air con on and the dogs howled and sang in full voice. Actually the bulk of the day was eerily calm and quiet. No one left their house, ate or spoke. Nyepi is a day for reflection. The quiet is required so that when the devil descends to cause trouble he finds the place empty and boring and therefore leaves it alone for another year.
I spent the day watching soppy movies that made me miss my husband and children even more, eating & reading. Being a rainy day, it was perfect for cozying down under the covers & lolling about doing very little. Got a bit of reflecting done myself. Seeing how other people live makes you appreciate home.
Out & About - Part II
Another busy couple of days seeing the sights. Found a driver to take us to Sangeh Monkey forest & temple...the monkeys were very mild mannered and I was able to feed them without getting my hand ripped of or contracting rabies. One even climbed me and sat on my shoulder to enjoy some tasty treats. I was a little apprehensive about this and for some reason started thinking about Van Gogh and got a little concerned about my ears being shredded...but lived to tell the tale intact. The next stop was Taman Ayun - another temple set in very peaceful gardens with waterways running down both sides. The final stop for the day was Pura Tanah Lot - a spectacular temple carved into a very large rock, sitting just out from the shore of a south Bali Beach - what an amazing piece of "architecture"...I'd live there myself. The surf was crashing around the rocks but you could still walk across to view the lower part of the temple in knee deep water...probably the most amazing sight in Bali I reckon. Yesterday we did something a little off the wall and went for a bit of a tikki tour around the outskirts of Ubud. Donning our umbrellas to protect us from the blazing sun we set out through the monkey forest, into surrounding villages (very primative), straight through the middle of a very large rice field and then through some mildly dodgy slums, back on to the road and through rural farmland back to Ubud...wow what a trip. You can't believe that people just live that way every day...one of the villages we walked through had women that were so poor they couldn't even afford clothes to cover their chests...we were a bit of a cause of amusement and I dont doubt derision with our umbrellas and nicer clothes etc...many people were friendly and said hello in English...but as soon as we walked by they would laugh and talk to each other in Balinese...I can only imagine what they said but hey - we had a great time. Today I had an unexpected trip to one of the south Bali beaches. I stayed well clear of Kuta but went to a lovely beach in Sanur - sand, some mild surf, deck chairs and very warm water. Anyone who has been swimming with me will tell you it takes me forever to get in....I reckon I broke a personal record today and was in within a minute or two at the most....it was gorgeous...and so nice to be submerged in water....clean! (ish). I am about to set off for a "last supper" with my friends who head off tomorrow. The place will be pretty boring without them I reckon, especially as the whole of Bali is about to shut down for Nyepi (Balinese New Year). I have arranged to wall my self up with cable tv, swimming pool and a good book during this time as apparently its like a ghost town - you cant even get food!!!! Stop the world! So I wont be posting again until at least the 31st...infact I think only one more post in Bali. I am booked on a flight to Kuala Lumpur on the 3rd April where I will no doubt get to experience the luxury of yet another airport floor for 12 hours until my connecting flight. Cant wait for that!
Out & About
Feeling much more at ease with my surroundings now - practice makes perfect as they say. I have become a little more adventurous with each new day. With the basic necessities firmly in hand, I purchased a ticket to go and see some traditional Balinese dancing - very colorful and precise, well worth the investment. On a whim, having discovered that my skin was flaking off in the heat, I decided to pamper myself at one of the many Spas along Monkey Forest Road. I have to say that it felt more like I was being prepared for the oven than recieving a beauty treatment: After the initial pummelling and kneading, I was thoroughly basted with a turmeric (think curry) based exfoliant, lathed in yoghurt and then left to marinate for a while before being hosed off and submerged in a rose & frangipani flower bath. Actually the whole experience was quite relaxing. I felt very clean for a short while, until the heat rendered me a sticky mess once more.Had a reasonably quiet day on Friday taking care of 'housekeeping' matters, found a good book as I am starting to bounce off the walls of my room a bit in the evenings now that the initial shock of the place has worn off. Was quietly reading said book on Friday evening when all of a sudden my gut started cramping and lurching - Oh No! thought I - 5 days isn't much of a record for good health. Thankfully I managed to get myself off to sleep but woke the next morning still feeling off. Too bad as I had already planned a day excursion with my Yankee friends. Trying not to think about the possibility of an emergency toilet stop along the way we set off to a couple of ancient sites: Goa Gojah Elephant Caves (no elephants in sight by the way) and Gunung Kawi temple - both well worth the look but hard going as we had to scale an number of stairs in sweltering heat to get back to our van (and air con!).After that we traipsed through various villages and settlements winding up to Gunung Batur, one of Bali's highest and most spectacular active volcanoes. Looking down on the crater lake and lava was a picture postcard moment and would have been a thoroughly enjoyable experience if not for the (more desperate than usual) hawkers right up in our face with their wares. You expect a certain amount of this, understanding that people rely on the tourist dollar to survive, but there is a point at which it gets over the top and offensive. I confess to getting bamboozeled not once but twice by a harmless looking old lady. She bought us over a temple offering and proceeded to bless us with the rituals which made us feel quite honoured...until she thrust out her hand demanding a hefty donation for her efforts! We saw her again further down the path grinding rice the traditional way. She offered to pose for a photo and once we had snapped away happily thrust her hand out again! Didnt get conned a third time. The final straw for us was at the Gunung Batur temple, by far the most spectacular we had seen to date (from the outside that is). Our guide told us that we need only don a free sarong and scarf from the stand outside, make a donation and enter...but when we got there we were swarmed by a fierce bunch of women demanding we hire the sarongs and pay big money for entering. They did so with such attitude that we thought "stuff you" and left. Silly really because we were happy enough to pay a reasonable price. We travelled home via a different route, through Tegullalang, stopping to view some amazing rice terraces along the way.The plan for today (weather permitting as it honked down yesterday) is to go in the opposite direction for a sunset tour of Pura Tanah Lot, supposedly Bali's most popular tourist destination (apart from the beaches that is). After that I feel I will have seen pretty much all that Bali has to offer, though I am still here for another week! I guess the New Year festivities will keep me entertained for the duration. Doesn't look like I will be able to post any pictures until I hit Thailand - the connection here is painfully slow. Stay tuned.
Culture Shock - Bali!
Holy cats! (they are here actually). What a place! Bali is like nothing I have ever seen or could ever have imagined. After sweating big time that I might end up doing a "Schapelle Corby", the Bali customs officer couldn't have been more friendly. I managed to share a taxi with some other folks and did so much rubbernecking between the airport and Ubud village that I no longer have a double chin. How to describe Bali? Decrepid, ancient, exotic, ornate and utterly foreign. The whole place looks like a secret garden. Mile upon mile of stone and wood carvings, crumbling balinese style buildings, lush vegetation, palms, terraced rice fields and food carts all mixed together with no rhyme or reason. Thin wiry souls squatting alongside sleeping dogs next to the roadside, watching the chaotic stream of honking, swerving cars, bemos and scooters. My initial reaction was awe and wonder at the craftsmanship and dedication to detail these people show. Such a rich culture. I also felt a bit ashamed of my own culture (or the lack thereof) we are such a bland, expressionless, homogenous mass. I am seeing first hand the effects of western modernisation on the 3rd world. This is a country that has suppled luxuries to the west which has, in turn, raped and exploited its resources for advancement. I have always know this in theory but am now seeing it firsthand.
Securing accomodation was an interesting experience but I seem to have fallen on my feet. At first my room felt akin to a dark clammy cell but I have come to view it as a familiar retreat from the heat and the daily chaos of the village. I have very quickly realised that life here is consumed with seemingly minor concerns such as water, food, shelter and clean undies. It is such a mission securing these basic things and quite exhausting trying to assimilate and aclimatise to the way of life here. I confess to having a melt down after my first day. I strongly considered jumping back on a plane and canning the whole trip. As I am getting the hang of things though, I think I will do ok as long as I take it slowly in first gear. Consequently I have decided to spend my entire Indonesia leg in Bali, rather than travelling through Java & Sumatra. Negotiating travel is a logistical nightmare for a single woman travelling alone...a great deal of care is required and it takes some time to stumble across the "best price".
My breakfast companions are monkeys - the guest house is near the monkey forest sanctuary and first thing every morning they come in search of coconuts that grow right next to my room. Rather disconcerting (nay terrifying) at first but they are harmless enough. I am becoming accustomed to a whole host of random looking insects and animals with which I seem to co-habitate. Photos will have to wait as the internet connection here is slow and it takes forever to download them - but there are plenty and I will post them as soon as I am able.
One Very Long Night in Bangkok!
After all of the sweat and tears Im finally doing it! The first thing that struck me was the colorful interior of my Thai Airway plane - purple, crimson and orange seats! My prayers were answered and I didn't end up sitting next to a smelly old fat man - rather an agreeable young pom. Although the flight was bumpy for most of the way and the seats didn't fold back enough to count as lying down, I was comfortable enough and spent most of my time watching music and listening to albums - all provided by the entertainment system on the plane - very technomological. Only took me half the flight to work out how to use the 
remote control! I arrived in Bangers at 9pm (2am our time argh!). Walking into Bangkok airport is like entering a timewarp back to the 70s in terms of architecture but is interspersed with randomn incidences of technology - such as this overpriced internet cafe! The floor is a fantastic bamboo greeny yellow colour which gives the place a radioactive glow. I tried to get some kip but failed miserably - the best I could manage is a few hours in a horizontal position in the childrens playground. I have also just discovered that my 
flight leaves an additional 2 hours later because it is the "summer season" I suspect that there is going to be a few of these surprises as I go along. It is now 6.30 in the morning. I have been up since 4 pacing around with my kiwi bodyclock registering it as time to get up...so just killing time now until the flight to Denpassar, Bali. I will travel for about 2 hours from there to Ubud where, god willing, I will indulge in a shower and a good 100 hour sleep! The picture above and the one below were taken from my makeshift bed...which looked rather like a mass grave with at least 30 souls dossing down together - very cozy!
3 More Sleeps!
I still haven't wrapped my head around the idea of getting on a plane on Sunday, but its going to happen. I am all ready to go and currently enjoying the hospitality of good friends in Auckland for a few days before I fly out. My first stop will be Bangkok, where I will have to loiter around in the airport for about 12 hours until my connecting flight for Bali leaves - I am sure that will be a whole barrel of fun. From there, after a few days adjusting to the climate in central Bali, I will travel to Java and Sumatra, stopping for a few days in each major port to have a look around - unless of course I like Bali too much and decide to spend my entire Indonesia leg there! About 2 weeks after that I hit Thailand and meander my way through for a month or so...then its off to Kolkata, India. My general intention is to hang around in Kolkata for a week or so, pretending to be Mother Theresa and then wind my way down the coastline of India, mostly be train, stopping here and there along the way. At Chennai (Madras), I will head inland to Bangalore & Mysore and contort myself for a week or two at a yoga ashram and then follow the coastline down south to Kerala State. Following that I will hop over to Sri Lanka for a 2 week long flying loop tour and then back to Bangalore to fly home again...
I am sure the time will pass swiftly and there is an awful lot I want to see and do in that time. I have a sneaking suspicion that I won't end up doing half of what I planned, simply because in real time, things just take longer than theory dictates. Just making my way through Auckland city yesterday woke me up to just how exhausting it is going to be negotiating my way around with a pack. Despite my best intentions the damn thing still weighs about 15 kilo! Add to that searing temperatures, traffic and hawkers and I am sure I will be in for a dandy old time. I will certainly need to acquire a bit more muscle power and fitness quickly and am looking forward to being quite buff and trim by the time I get back home.
