Bali Hi
Mood:  spacey
Now Playing: 32 to 80 in 7 hours
Fri. Jan. 28th
Osaka to Denpasar, Bali

Flight time 7 hours.
It's freezing in Nishinomiya and a balmy maybe 80 degrees in Bali.
Once i strip off the layers of winter clothes as i disembark it's pretty comfy and not so humid. Didik has rented a car to pick me up at the airport and drive me to my hotel in Kuta Beach (about a 20 minute drive). We are so excited to see each other. It's like a dream that we are finally here, and he can show me his gorgeous island, and i can finally meet his Mom and visit his home.

Didik's Japanese girlfriend and her girlfriend will fly in tomorrow. They will also stay at the Vilarisi Hotel. What a great trip this is going to be.

Kuta Beach is for us economical touristas. There are lots of Australian and Japanese surfers and middle class visitors here. No Hiltons in this part of the island. My hotel is very nice. I have a king size bed, air conditioning, and a small fridg. There is a nice swimming pool and continental breakfast is served for free every morning with mainly Japanese fare. Hotel rate is a reasonable $20/night. Exchange is approximately 10,000 rupees/$1 US. I exchange 30,000 yen (roughly $300) and end up a millionaire with 2,632,500 rupees. Boy, that's a mind shift.

Sat. Jan. 29th
Bali Tour

Didik has set me up with a personal guide for the day. Nyoma is a Hindu and is very knowledgeable about the religious beliefs, culture, plant life, history...of this island. He is very patient answering my unending string of questions. Our driver's name is Katut and he waits patiently in the car while we tour around. We spend the whole day sightseeing. Here are some of the highlights:
? Barong dance performance with full gamelan orchestra. (Photos coming soon). This dance/play represents an eternal fight between Barong (a mythological animal) who represents a good spirit and Rangda (a monster) who represents an evil one. Amazingly some of the costumes are much like ones i saw in Zimbabwe - same kind of plant material and design. Also a man dressed as a woman in a knitted costume with colorful horizontal stripes and exaggerated breasts looked also African - too weird.
? Suluk - Silversmith village - wish i needed more jewelry. The announcement that everything is 50% off today gives me a hint that there is lots of room for bargaining.
? Batuan village - Balinese Artist studio tempts me with some extraordinary artwork of paintings that range from tropical rainforest scenes to traditional Balinese dancers to intricate depictions of Hindu Gods and even some wild Picasso-like modern Balinese paintings. High quality works of art would look nice in my home if I thought I was going to settle down any time soon - fat chance!
? Volcano view is shrouded in a torrential downpour but i get a little cultural lesson from the friendly restaurant staff while i'm waiting to glimpse a view.
? Spice Farm view and taste sensation. Vanilla vines, pineapple, jackfruit, mangostine, rambutan, snake skin fruit and of course, Balinese coffee and chocolate.
? Hindu Mother Temple consisting of three levels. Tourists can circumnavigate the temple sight but are not allowed inside the holy sanctums. It feels like i could be in Cambodia or Vietnam. Ya gotta see the photos or, better yet, visit yourself one day.

Sun. Jan. 30th
Gayatri

The highlight of this day is the evening spent at an exclusive villa called Gayatri in the middle of nowhere overlooking terraced rice paddies. Brilliant red banana tree blossoms and coconut trees surround us. We have our own private, secluded pool and full kitchen with three deluxe bedroom suites each with it's own full bathroom. Fragrant frangipani blossoms are delicately placed on each pillow, sill, and sink. Sanae's girlfriend has quit her job in Japan and is spending a month in Bali. She bought some kind of lottery ticket and has won a free night's stay at this romantic hideaway. We buy the food, Sanae whips up a dynamite dinner, and we all enjoy a relaxing evening of swimming, dining and just lounging like the rich and famous. Ah.

Mon. Jan. 31st
Kecak and Fire Dance

After a fun day of sight seeing, snorkeling, riding in a glass bottom boat, and visiting Turtle Island we race ahead of the rain on our motorbikes to get to this magnificent sight just before sunset. We are too late for viewing the temple that sits atop a rock right in the ocean. Women in short skirts and pants are issued a sarong to wrap around their waist. I only have time for a few photos of the temple monkeys on the way to the performance sight. It is a flat amphitheater overlooking the ocean. Kecak is the most unique Balinese dance that is NOT accompanied by a gamelan orchestra. Instead it has a choir of 70 men. It's origins come from an old ritual "Trance" dance. The rhythmic "cheka, cheka" sounds of the chorus are mesmerizing. The men, supposedly in trance, are said to communicate with the deities and ancestors. Using the dancers as a medium the deities and ancestors in turn convey their wishes. In the 1930's the old Indian epic, the Ramayana was included in this dance. The colorful dancers include familiar Indian figures like Prince Ayodya Rama, his wife, Sita, his younger brother, Laksamana, and the demon king, Rahwana as well as a colorful, dramatic and funny white monkey deity called Hanoman. As the dance drama unfolds the dancers weave through the male chorus seated in a circle on the ground. The sun begins to set and, as darkness sets in, the climax of the dance is reached. The monkey god is tied and bound and left lying on the ground. Piles of detritus are scattered all around him and lit. As the flames grow the monkey frees himself and rages kicking the piles of flaming material everywhere. Way cool. And we're off racing again to dodge the raindrops that are beginning to fall. Great timing. We make it to a seaside restaurant and savor white snapper, gargantuan prawns, squid, clams and more under a protective canopy while raging winds and rain create an exhilarating atmosphere. The rains never last long and we have a fun motorbike ride back to the hotel charging through flooded streets trying to keep the mud and water off our feet to no avail. What fun.



Balinese Trivia

? Bali has four different languages distinguishing the four sects that are the same as the Hindu caste system in India (Brahmin intellectual, religious/ craftsman/butchers, farmers,....) everyone can speak the common Indonesian language as well. Most people can speak English fairly well. The tourist guys can speak a little Japanese, German, Spanish, French and who knows what else.

? Bali is 90% Hindu
? Average daily temperature year round is about 30 C?
? Bintang is the popular beer of Bali - price 8,766 Rp + 1,000 Rp deposit ( about $1) - and that's a big bottle


Basic Indonesian Vocabulary
Please - Tolong
Thank you - Terima Kasih
How much is it? - Berapa ini?
Hello - Halo
Good morning - Selamat pagi