Eat Surf and Love in BALI – part III

Fictional, this Place is Fictional. Bali packs a lot into a little island

<GILI ISLANDS>

After a rollercoaster ride with the speed boat Miriam and I arrived seasick on Trawangan. The search for a nice bungalow was easy and next was finding a good place to eat… what else ;-)

Bu’de where the locals eat, at the square on the left side street, offers good Indonesian food. try it!

We looked for a place with rental boards, but to be honest the waves sucked on Gili. As we pulled down to the beach side of the island we were unimpressed saying that the surf was not good but still disagreed, the water was crystal clear, aqua blue, and with little barrelling waves rolling in.

counting all the money… and it’s just a few hundred Euros… the zeros will make you dizzy.

The Indian food was quiet good but toooo expensive and the kitty was annoying.

Time for snorkelling, swimming with turtles, sunbathing, sun greeting …

After lunch … and no, I’m not pregnant, that’s just my jelly belly.

Last dinner together and last shower…

Saying good bye to our beautiful Gili home

on Gili you’ll see hungry kitties everywhere

last beach day and last belly sunburn…

last breakfast in bed…

On the way back to Kuta, Bali I again saw a Swastika (Hakenkreuz) tangling from the mirror in the taxi car. The word "swastika" comes from the Sanskrit svastika - "su" meaning "good," "asti" meaning "to be," and "ka" as a suffix. Until the Nazis used this symbol, the swastika was used by many cultures throughout the past 3,000 years to represent life, sun, power, strength, and good luck. There is a great debate as to what the swastika means now. These conflicting meanings are causing problems in today's society. But for Buddhists and Hindus, the swastika is a very religious symbol that is commonly used. Unfortunately I didn’t take a picture.

After this quiet chilly drive, I checked out Kutas surf shops but eventually didn’t find myself a suitable and affordable board in the right size. Not this time but hopefully soon!

My last lunch in Kuta/Bali at Poppies Warung, and last cheese cake…

GOOD BYE BALI – It’s no matter if you stay on a surfer budget or willing to leave the bills to the little people, a day of delights in Bali won’t have you singing the blues when you go home. Rather, you might just find yourself humming a gamelan tune, remembering your days in PARADISE.

 

Thanks for the fun company with Miriam and Ninke.

Thanks for bringing my big backpack to the airport and not filling it up with drugs, Andre.

Thanks Andre, for >hello I am it > how horny is that then > later André puts on his sleep-on-train > later the dog gets in the pan > I only understand train station > my dear Mr. singing club… what a laugh I had with the Germans.

Thanks for all the good luck and daily surprises during my travelling.

Thanks for being such a felicitously and blessed person going on this big journey of my life.

Thanks for making me so happy and fortunate, Bali.

Thanks for all the gado gado, mie goreng, pisang goreng, sate, pancakes, brownies and fruit shakes.

Thank you Balinese doggies for making my wishes come true (beside the wealth and world peace) 

Jumpa lagi!

Eat Surf and Love in Bali – part II

‘One cannot live well, love well or sleep well unless one has dined well’ - Virginia Woolf

<UBUD>

In Ubud I discovered the real Bali. When you think about what really sets Bali apart from other beachy destinations, it is the culture, the rice fields,the inherent charm of these lovely people, and of course Ubud’s delicious food!

Ketut’s place, home sweet home.

 

Every six months after the day of Galungan, the little boys of Ubud banjars, roam the streets with their mini barongs to collect money for their banjar. The streets are filled with the happy sight of cute boys in their pakaian adat and the sound of symbols as they go from shop to shop.

Time for breakfast in our ‘Stammcafe Kafe’:

There we go on our bikes, discovering the verdurous rice fields, the monkey forest and hidden neighbourhoods.

The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary:

The Monkeys that live in this sanctuary are called Balinese macaques. Their scientific name is macaca fascicularis and aside from humans, macaques are the most widespread and successful of all primates.

Tri Hita Karana Doctrine:

In accordance with Balinese Hindu philosophy, peace and liberty are obtainable in our lives only when we respect and observe the three harmonious relationships known as the Tri Hita Karana Doctrine:

1. The Gods blessed life and created nature and all of its contents

2. Nature offers sustenance to support the needs and activities of human beings.

3. Human beings have an obligation to establish a traditional village structure, to build temples in which worship, to hold carious ceremonies, to make daily offering, to preserve nature and to solve problem together.

This doctrine can be seen in practise during many special ceremonies.

As we arrived at the River Valley on guy told us about the people bathing in the river to prepare for the next ceremony. Because the distance to the sea was too far for some people living in Ubud, they would bring the ashes of their dead family members to the river and celebrate the good bye there.

Time to rest after one of many delicious meals

‘We did it!’ … all the way up the stairs with our bikes.

And at night filling up with energy

Again breakfast at our stammcafe Kafe, a place everybody would love and enjoy

Our visit wouldn’t be complete without catching a quality dance performance enjoying the purely Balinese form of art. Balinese love a blend of seriousness and slapstick, and this shows in their dances. Every movement of wrist, hand and fingers is charged with meaning, while facial expressions are carefully choreographed to convey the character of the dance. We saw one of the probably best known dances, the Kecak, which tells a tale from the Ramayana, one of the great Hindu holy books, about Prince Rama and Princess Sita. Throughout the dancing and chanting they synchronized with an eerily exciting coordinating. The performance was followed with the most graceful of Balinese dances, the Legong, performed by two young girls. In Balinese culture it is important that in old age a classical dancer will be remembered as a ‘great Legong’. In the end we saw one of the performers showing a fire dance, leaving us back in excitement.

 

A lot of people come to Bali for many reasons, what people may not know is that you can nourish your body, mind and soul. If you are stressed and tired you come to Bali to be refreshed. Miriam, Ninke and I finally found our own Guru at the Atman Yoga studio. Yoga Barn was to crowded and not really individual. But as we arrived for our planned private lesson the guru was throwing up and we had to change our schedule. So no Tantra Yoga that day, hopefully soon.

Back for dinner at our Stammcafe Kafe

From the sublime to the surreal to downright super, Ubud is filled with exciting stuff to buy and it is all located within the central area, too easy for shopping. Little boutiques are filled with treasures and quirky creations. I found one special among all those many shops, which spends most income of their sold bags on the BAWA Animal Welfare. This foundation treats street dogs for skin and internal parasites, other diseases, wounds and starvation. There are sooo many dogs on Bali, where ever you look you’ll see them. So of course I donated some money by buying a beautiful Bali ‘doggy bag’. Being a friend of dogs, surrounded by them on this island wherever you go, I started to ask/beg/plead them for luck/love/wealth/peace/friends/love/harmony/… whenever I passed them and that was very often! Hope my wishes will come true.

What a great day we had when participating at a Bali cooking class:

 

to say it in 3 words, yum yum yum!

After the cooking class Miriam, Ninke and I went on a long hike in the rice fields.

My care bear making friends with the Balinese Panda. Soon there’ll be a meeting of Care Bear, Balinese Panda, Koala from Japan and Tokyo fishi.

Getting ready for the next and last trip> Gili Islands with Miriam and Ninke.