Sacred Monkey Forest, Mr. Ketut, and Holy Snakes

Bali may be small in size – you can drive around the entire coast in one long day – but its prominence as a destination is huge, and rightfully so. Ask travelers what Bali means to them and you’ll get as many answers as there are flowers on a frangipani tree. Beautiful rice terraces, pulse-pounding surf, enchanting temple ceremonies, mesmerizing dance performances and ribbons of beaches are just some of the images people cherish. Small obviously doesn’t mean limited. The manic whirl of Kuta segues into the luxury of Seminyak. The artistic swirl of Ubud is a counterpoint to misty treks amid the volcanoes. Mellow beach towns like Amed, Lovina and Pemuteran can be found right round the coast and just offshore is the laid-back idyll of Nusa Lembongan. As you stumble upon the exquisite little offerings left all over the island that materialize as if by magic, you’ll see that the tiny tapestry of colors and textures is a metaphor for Bali itself. And those are just some of the more obvious qualities. A visit to Bali means that you are in the most visitor-friendly island of Indonesia. There are pleasures of the body, whether a massage on the beach or a hedonistic interlude in a sybaritic spa. Shopping that will put ‘extra bag’ at the top of your list. Food and drink ranging from the freshest local cuisine bursting with the flavors of the markets to food from around the globe, often prepared by chefs and served in restaurants that are world class. From a cold Bin-tang at sunset to an epic night clubbing in Kuta, your social whirl is limited only by your own fortitude, which for me no longer includes all-night clubbing but endless energy for exploring Bali's beaches, temples, and forests.

Monkey family

If you hold a banana over your head, a  monkey will climb up you to get it! The small guy was okay, but I did NOT want the big daddy on me!

Another amazing visit to Ubud, which is by far,, my favorite place so far in Bali. Ubud is the cultural hub of Bali's art world, featuring awesome paintings, batik, exquisite sculptures of wood and stone, and handcrafted artifacts. Ubud is also a spiritual mecca, offering yoga retreats, energy healing s, writers workshops ,cooking classes, sacred tours, alchemy, magic, and the sacred monkey forest.

This is the guy I did NOT want to climb on me.

They loved the bananas

It was okay to interact with the monkeys as long as you had food, however, I touched an unsuspecting monkey tail and the reaction was scary, as he snarled and threatened to bite me! In fact, a girl got bit while we were in the park because she did the same thing....I was lucky.

There was a river below me and jungle forest all around. The place was beautiful. The Dragons are stone but next week, Ron and i are going to Komodo to experience the real thing!

There is a holy man here in Ubud named Mr. Ketut Liyer; Palm Reader, Healer, Balinese Astrologer, Painter, Woodcarver, and Medicine man.Mr. Ketut is 99 years old and still able to sit in the lotus position while he reads for you. Ron and I paid him a visit and he told us some interesting things. You might have seen Mr. Ketut in the movie Eat, Love, Pray, as he is the very same holy man that told Elizabeth Gilbert she would lose all her money but get it back again. Which she did by writing her successful book, which became a popular film staring Julie Roberts. Mr. Ketut also read for Julia but he keeps everything confidential. Many of Mr. Ketut's visitors are local and want to have answers to their medical problems as well as love life problems. Mr. Ketut is a very vital and interesting character, who told me among other things, that I will live to be 100,  am good at many things, and will be rich from my writing! He told Ron that he is already rich, good at many things, and that we should not lose each other. He said some other personal things to remain personal! I snapped a few photos with him.

Stone bridge in the monkey forest

Mr. Ketut

 Tanna Lot Temple is the temple shown in most of the travel brochures for Bali. It is a breath taking structure that covers a huge portion of the coastline on west Bali. The main temple can only be reached at low tide. There is a huge lovely park surrounding the hillside and several nice restaurants with spectacular views. Just before you cross over to the temple at low tide there is a cave on the beach where lives a holy snake. What makes him holy, I have no idea, but I suspect it is because all of the ground here is considered holy ground and since the snake lives in the cave, that makes him holy! If you touch the snake you will have good luck so I opted to give him a stroke or two.

Tanna Lot Temple

Tanna Lot near low tide.

Enter the cave here

I had to pull him out of his hole in the rock to stroke him.

The holy snake in his hole.

Floating flowers at the restaurant near the temple.

Looks like Indonesia will require alot of posts to the blog. Capturing the true beauty on camera seems impossible but I will try. Next stop, Komodo Island to take a guided safari on foot, through the land of the Dragons! We will see thousands of them and perhaps catch them with a fresh kill, I hope so. Kamodo Island was once a place where Indonesia sent their criminals; much like Australia. The current villagers live in harmony with the Dragons and consider them sacred thus never killing them. Therefore, the Dragons live in abundance whereas they became extinct in other parts of Asia because they were killed off. Dragons can actually recognize specific people and at one time the local people would leave parts of the deer they killed for the Dragons to eat. The deer and water buffalo population is large enough on the island to feed all the dragons that eat only once a month. After a meal, they bask in the sun to aid in digestion. WOW. can't wait to see the dragons, a once in a lifetime experience. Stay Tuned.

Rice, Chocolate, Butterflys, and Stick Insects

Jatiluwih Rice terraces

It's like a dream: a volcanic island of terraced, emerald rice fields, tropical forests of  fragrant cinnamon and clove trees, and beautiful flowers everywhere. Daily rituals and exotic temples all surrounded by blue azure sea. The islands greatest treasure is it's people-charming, gracious, and able to balance the modern world of internet cafe's, motorcycles, ancient traditions and a unique spirituality. Kind gentle souls.

 I traveled north toward the mountains up narrow winding roads leading to the rice fields that have been cultivated on terraces for hundreds of years. On the way my driver stopped at a beautiful natural hot springs, where the water has been harnessed into relaxing pools and a small resort offers modest accommodations. It was nice to break up the day and relax in the waters. It was also good exercise to have a long swim afterwards in the large pool overlooking the mineral spa.  I felt a bit odd in my bathing suit as most of the people there were local's wearing tee shirts and shorts in the water and there were some Muslim women who wore their full Berka into the pools. Everyone was very friendly and wanted to make conversation. We stopped for lunch at a small restaurant overlooking the rice fields, where the food was marginal but the view stunning.

Rice growing in the water ways.

Lovely little flowers keeping the rice company!

Below is the finished product. A red rice completely dry and ready to take out of the husks. The mountainous region of Jatiluwih, is also where Bali coffee is grown and you can find many Coco trees growing there as well. Also grown in the upland region are small sweet pineapples, which were served after lunch with fresh coconut. After our meal, we hiked up the hill for a sampling of coffee and tea. I bought bags of the hot chocolate, lemon grass tea, ginger tea, and ginseng coffee to bring back to the boat.

Butterfly Heaven

Rice field

Hot Springs

The water was hot and therapeutic

There were two hot pools and this was the larger pool. There was also a large swimming pool of fresh water overlooking the hot pools and it was great to take a swim after soaking in the mineral waters.

Chocolate in it's raw form before being transformed into that dark delicious substance we all know and love!

These ladies were roasting the coffee over a charcoal fire.

Road up the mountain.

We stopped at an enchanting park called Butterfly Heaven, where the most incredible butterfly's inhabit the gardens. There was an enclosed area where they displayed ugly caterpillars making their way to chrysalis pupa, hanging in rows clipped with clothes pins. Some of the butterfly's were already coming out of their cocoon. Their wings are white and as they flap them they turn into amazing colors. These butterfly's were HUGE and the attendant loved to place them on your hair, fingers, and clothes. While walking around the gardens we came upon another attendant who introduced us to leaf bugs, stick bugs, and giant beetles. The stick bugs were the ones used in the Indiana Jones movie Temple of Doom. I thought those big ugly things were computer generated-now I know they are for real. 

Butterfly coming out

They were large and beautiful

Isi loved the butterfly's but NOT the bugs

BUGS!

This was crawling on me. looks just like a stick.

This guy was crawling on me as well. He looks exactly like the leaves.

I said NO to this one.

We headed further north of Marga into the hills for 10 miles along little used roads to Pura Luhur Batukau, the chief temple of the rajadom of Tabanan, beautifully set amid lush forest. The appearance of the temple is ancient and covers acres of land. There was a lake in the midst of the grounds where a small temple was built on a little island. We arrived just as a group of worshipers were leaving. There were colorful lady's carrying baskets on their heads that had been filled with offerings, now left on the temple steps. We had some good conversation with these lovely people.

Thats me with a group of worshipers leaving the temple.

Bali, Island Of Enchantment

With a population recorded as 3,891,428 in the 2010 census, Bali  island is home to most of Indonesia's Hindu minority. In the 2000 census about 92.29% of Bali's population adhered to Balinese Hinduism,  while most of the remainder follow Islam. There are Temples everywhere. It is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including traditional dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music.. The creativity is endless and if you had a house here you could fill it with one unusual item after another. I wanted everything! This place is magical and the people are beautiful and friendly. I met a lovely Danish couple traveling with their two children on their yacht in the slip next to Slow Dance at the Bali Marina. They invited Isi and I to join them for an adventurous day out. It was our second day in Bali just off the sea, so we were happy to go along. They had a driver named Mr. Suedarma, and we went to his home before getting started, to met his wife and two children. Mrs. Suedarma has been an accountant at the same resort for 20 years. She fed us orange juice and strange little bamboo packets filled with rice cooked in coconut milk. You had to use a scissor to cut away the bamboo wrapping and each rice ball included a surprise inside such as peanuts or banana. Very delicious.

Yummy little bamboo rice treats!

Mr Suedarma's temple outside. Five temples inside and outside of the home.

Mr. Suedarma's son took the photo. Thats me and Isi with the danish family and the Suedarm's

The Suedarma's wedding photo.

The island of Bali lies 3.2 km (2 mi) east of Java, and is approximately 8 degrees south of the equator. .Bali's central mountains include several peaks over 3,000 metres in elevation. The highest is Mount Agung (3,031 m), known as the "mother mountain" which is an active volcano. Mountains range from centre to the eastern side, with Mount Agung the easternmost peak. Bali's volcanic nature has contributed to its exceptional fertility and its tall mountain ranges provide the high rainfall that supports the highly productive agriculture sector. The market is beyond amazing. South of the mountains is a broad, steadily descending area where most of Bali's large rice crop is grown. The northern side of the mountains slopes more steeply to the sea and is the main coffee producing area of the island, along with rice, vegetables and cattle. The longest river, Ayung river, flows approximately 75 km. The island is surrounded by coral reefs, much like Fiji. Beaches in the south tend to have white sand while those in the north and west have black sand. Bali has no major waterways, although the Ho River is navigable by small boats. Black sand beaches between Pasut and Klatingdukuh are being developed for tourism, but apart from the seaside temple of Tana Lot they are not yet used for significant tourism. You could circumvent the island in a day but that's without stopping and believe me you want to stop, as there is so much to see!

Tana lot Temple. You walk through the ocean at low tide to get to this temple.

The largest city is the provincial capital, Denpasar, near the southern coast and this is where Slow Dance is located at the Bali Marina. The old market is here and the largest most amazing market I have ever seen. The crazy thing about this market is that cars and motor bikes drive through the narrow thoroughfare when it's packed with people. You have to be careful not to get your foot run over. There are thousands of motorbikes in Bali because there is no public transportation so the people must have a means for getting around. It is not uncommon to see an entire family on one bike. Dad, Mom, and up to 3 kids. Adults are required to wear helmets but not the kids (go figure) and the police do not really enforce the rule for the grownups. I would NEVER want to try and drive in Bali, as the cars cross the lines in the road and the motorbikes drive wherever they want including on your side of the road! Everyone constantly honks their horn; and I thought New York was bad.
Here are some images from the market, but they do not do it justice.

Although fresh kills, after all day in the sun I opted NOT to buy these chickens!

Kuta is the most touristy beach lined with hotels, shops, and backpackers. Kuta is practically part of Denpasar's urban area. Ubud, is situated at the north of Denpasar, and is the island's cultural center. I love Ubud, as it is a hip place with a beautiful river running through the town and a monkey forest you can hike in. This is where they shot the Bali part in the film Eat Love Pray. Julia Roberts stayed in Ubud and the wise old toothless fortune teller is a real guy who lives here. In fact, you can make an appointment to have him read your fortune and apparently the film has made him quite famous.

View of the rice field from our table at the restaurant in Ubud

Main street in Ubud. The river runs under the bridge here.

Monkey Business

 Bali was once connected to Java, Sumatra and to the mainland of Asia and shared the Asian fauna, but the deep water of the Lombok Strait continued to keep Lombok and the Lesser Sunda archipelago isolated. Bali, however, has its own techniques and styles, including kekack, a form of singing that imitates the sound of monkey's. In addition, the island is home to several unique kinds of music. Modern popular styles include gamelan gong kebyar, dance music which developed during the Dutch occupation and 1950s era jogged bum-bong, a popular dance style. In Balinese music you can also hear metallophones, gongs and xylophones. Balinese dances are a very ancient dance tradition that is a part of the religious and artistic expression among the Balinese people. Mr. Suedarma took Isi and I to an early morning performance that was the best representation of Balinese music and dance that we had seen thus far. It was beautiful, funny, and extremely entertaining. The story included the eternal struggle between good and evil, witches, trickery, death, immortality, and of course, a happy ending. The dance featured all the Hindu Balinese deities, from Rama to Honuman the monkey god. There were also a couple of dwarfs thrown in for comic relief.  

Bali dancers learn the craft as children from their mothers as soon as they are born, in the womb they are played the Balinese music and are taught to dance with their hands before they can walk. Official training as a Bali dancer starts as young as 7 . In Balinese dance the movement is closely associated with the rhythms produced by the gamelan a musical ensemble specific to Java and Bali.

So beautiful.

 Multiple levels of articulations in the face, eyes, hands, arms, hips, and feet are coordinated to reflect layers of percussive sounds.

These guys were hilarious and flirtatious!

The monsoon is about to begin and the days are hot and humid. We have had a few mornings of intense rain. Most things are very inexpensive, like food and taxi's. I have a driver that will drive me from 8AM until 8PM sightseeing, to the spa, get my hair cut, etc, and the fee is $40.00! I went to a very exclusive hair spa to get a hair cut yesterday and ended up getting a pedicure, manicure, eyebrow and lip wax, haircut and 1/2 hour hair treatment all for less then $100.00. I was there for 3 hours and was served endless cups of this fabulous ginger tea with cookies. The chairs with hair dryer and chairs for pedicure are outside overlooking rice fields! It was beautiful and right in the middle of town! The salon is owned and operated by a famous Dutch hairdresser to the rich and famous. My stylist Vincent, was from Amsterdam.  I went to another spa in Ubud yesterday and had a 1 1/2 hour message that included a steam, papaya body scrub, Balinese message that ended with a mineral bath of floating fragrant multi colored flowers and a cup of that wonderful ginger tea. All for $38.00.
There are some five star resorts that make the Four Seasons look like motel 6. I plan on visiting a few and will report in, complete with photos.

We visited an amazing silver jewelry palace where they create original designs with precious stones. There were two floors of the most exquisite bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and rings, displayed on glass sculptures.  No pictures allowed. The building outside housed 50-100 silversmiths and you could go inside to see them working their craft. I bought a moonstone ring and a toe ring.

The building was surrounded by these dancing statues. The steps to the front door were made of green blown glass.

Not certain about the significance of the frog,  but the seat was a welcome resting spot.

Monkey with an ear of corn at the temple in the sky.

We visited a Balinese Hindu temple in the sky, as it is built high on the cliffs on the north part of the island. The jungle trail leading to the temple was full of monkeys and very mischievous one's at that. If you wore bright colors, earrings, or sunglasses the monkeys would rush down and take these items from you. Isi was very frightened of the monkeys which I thought was funny.

It reminded me of point Dume in Malibu and I was bit homesick.

Trail along the cliffs to the temple in the sky

Isi and I on the trail to the temple. Everyone had to wear a purple sarong. Once we were at the top there was a fire dance depicting the story of Rama and his wife Sita who gets kidnapped in the forest.

I had the Tuna plate with Balinese Vegetables It was awesome. I plan on taking a Balinese cooking class while I am here.

The Satay is served on these little charcoal cookers. I want to find some for the boat. The Satay was delicious and the peanut sauce even more delicious!

This was a vegetarian plate with Tofu. Mr. Suedarma let me have a few bites and it was also delicious.

Now here's a fascinating fact. Magic Mushrooms are sold here and our cab driver stated they were legal, however, the internet say's they are illegal in Bali but sold everywhere as the police simply do not care. It should be noted that if any eateries offer to add in some mushrooms into your food, they’re not really talking about ye olde regular mushrooms. Eat with caution!

Magic Mushroom of Bali

There is so much to experience in Bali that I will post again later this month.