Road to Bali sans Bob Hope - My Bali Diary

Back home at "Riverbend"

2011-08-07T11:14:00.000+07:00

As I shiver through an early morning here at wintry "Riverbend", my thoughts go back to Bali and the expats I met there who chose to make it their home.

I am reminded of Louis Becke who once wrote about life in the South Seas, "Return? not they! Why should they go back? Here they had all things which are wont to satisfy man here below. A paradise of Eden-like beauty, amid they wandered day by day all unheading of the tomorrow. Why - why, indeed, should they leave the land of magical delights for cold climate and still more glacial moral atmosphere of their native land, miscalled home?"

Life in Bali is gentle and cheap: $500 A MONTH affords you a comfortable Western lifestyle. Compare that to the $1000 A WEEK in Australia as suggested in this article.

Are you interested in living in Bali? Read this ebook, published by www.baliexpat.com, to get you started.

Bali's best hotel manager is now Bali's best General Manager

2011-08-06T11:26:00.000+07:00

Bali's best hotel manager, our personal friend Hengky Tambayong, is now General Manager of the four HARRIS hotel properties in Bali. Congratulations, Hengky!

He arranged a late 5 p.m. check-out for us as our flight was not until 11 p.m. and he saw us off in his usual friendly style. We look forward to seeing you again next year, Hengky!

Batik Keris Discovery Shopping Mall Bali

2011-08-04T11:16:00.001+07:00

You could, of course, go shopping for batik in any of the thousands of shops but we always go straight to the best, Batik Keris, who have shops all over Indonesia, three of which are in Bali.

Our favourite is the one in the Discovery Shopping Mall, an easy walk down the road from our hotel HARRIS in Tuban.

Tucked away in a corner of the large shop, and barely visible, was a Reflexology Massage Parlour and so, while Padma was trying on expensive batik-dresses, I indulged in a relaxing foot massage.

As I was the only customer, I asked the young girl if she had been busy, "No", she said, "you are only my second customer." She was only paid 10% of the takings which meant that on this day she had so far earned Rp.8,000 - that's not even ONE DOLLAR! On days when there are no customers at all, she goes home with nothing! And yet she smiled and performed her work enthusiastically and with dignity.

Of course, I tipped her very handsomely as I reflected on the tens (hundreds?) of thousands of Australia's so-called 'unemployeds' who have been spoilt by our generous social security system.

Kupu-Kupu Butterfly Park

2011-08-03T11:27:00.002+07:00

At first glance, the Bali Butterfly Park, with its Rp.50,000 per person admission seemed to be another tourist rip-off as there were few butterflies in sight.

However, once we had entered the 'hatchery' - or whatever they call the place where the pupae change into butterflies - , we were enchanted by all the colour around us.

Thanks a lot, Tanah Lot

2011-08-03T11:25:00.001+07:00

The brilliantly located Tanah Lot, perched on a little rocky islet, is possibly the best-known and most photographed temple on Bali. It's an obligatory stop on many tours and a well-organised tourist trap, starting with its huge car park and ticket collectors, after which one walks past (or through) a sort of sideshow alley with dozens (hundreds?) of souvenir shops before reaching the sea.

Not for me, so thanks a lot, Tanah Lot!

Bali's best personalised transport service

2011-08-03T11:24:00.000+07:00

We met Ketut Yadnya at the Banjar Hills warung of Ibu Kade. We were immediately taken by his genuine friendliness. When we booked his car to take us back to the airport several days later, his honesty of asking for a modest price instead of 'trying it on' further impressed us.

As it turned out, he not just took us straight to the airport but made detours via Munduk and the lakes and made stops for us to take plenty of pictures, to feed the roadside monkeys, to visit several temples, and visit the Butterfly Park as well as Tanah Lot.

Of course, we tipped him handsomely and so will you, if you come to Bali and book him for a trip around the island. His name is Ketut Yadnya and his mobile number is 081 353 344 370. What he lacks in English language skills, he makes more than up for with his genuine desire to please you and show you his island.

We recommend him highly!

The biggest smile at HARRIS Tuban

2011-08-03T11:23:00.000+07:00

Suwalo at HARRIS Tuban is a jolly fellow, always happy and always with a big smile!

Our trip back to Denpasar

2011-08-03T11:20:00.000+07:00

Click on map to enlarge

Rather than going back to Singaraja and then south through the centre of the island, our driver, Ketut Yadnya, agreed to take us west to the small town of Seririt from where we headed up into the hills to Mayong, then east to Munduk, and the twin-lakes Tamblingan and Buyan, before joining the major north-south road again.

After saying 'good-bye' to Padma's favourite gym in the village of Banjar, we headed into the hills.

Our first stop was at the Bali Panorama View Point Restaurant.

Then came enchanting Munduk, probably the nearest thing to the New Guinea Highlands I have ever seen.

The area around the twin-lakes Tamblingan and Buyan is a hiker's paradise and I want to come back here one day.

But why do they sell boomerangs in the local souvenir shop???

Then came a lot of monkeying-about before we joined the main road again.

Of course, no picture collection of Bali is complete without the ubiquitous water buffalo. This one even talked to me. I think he said, "I'm a lot of bull."

We say "Selamat Tinggal" to Banjar Hills

2011-08-03T11:19:00.000+07:00

A Bali Bathroom

2011-08-01T11:18:00.000+07:00

Despite my many visits to Bali, in the "Sturm und Drang" of renovating the bathroom at "Riverbend", I had totally forgotten how beautifully functional and simple a Bali bathroom can be: slate-covered walls which, with their natural unevenness, any fool can do himself, with just the odd piece of slate positioned horizontally to serve as a "shelf" for the soap and the odd flowerpot; a concreted shower run-off covered in smooth river pebbles, with a few concrete squares below the showerhead to stand on; and a perspex-covered roof to let the sunshine in.

Instead, I bought expensive tiles, engaged an even more expensive tiler, spent a small fortune on a freestanding glass-screen for the shower, even more on a spa bath and vanity unit, and all up parted with $25,000 to finish up with a bathroom which has none of the 'natural' feel of a Bali bathroom.

Perhaps next time I bring back this toilet roll holder for "Riverbend" 's toilet.

Bathroom at Riverbend

Made Tanu

2011-07-30T11:10:00.000+07:00

Made Tanu, compleat with unicycle sticking out of his backpack, about to leave the temple
The whole world meets at Ibu Kade's warung which is where we met 'Made Tanu' (not his real name but an honorific given to him by the Balinese), a charming 24-year old Austrian 'Taugenichts' who seems to live on a dollar a day - and possibly less. He sleeps in the nearby Brahma Vihara Arama Buddhist Temple's dormitory (no set price but a donation is appreciated), picks his own vegetables from the surrounding fields and has them cooked by Ibu Kade for a nominal charge.

In this manner, he has lived and extensively travelled through Burma and India, and is now already in his second month in Bali.

Keep it up, Made Tanu! As Mark Twain wrote, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did."

P.S. Made Tanu (or whatever your real name is), if you read this, email us as we would like to hear how the rest of your trip went.

EXOTIC MULTIMEDIA

2011-07-29T11:09:00.000+07:00

The internet reception at Banjar Hills is VERY slow, so I was pleased to discover this internet café almost hidden away in the village of Tegeha.

The enterprising owner, Ketut Wahyuda, and I became good friends. Being a long-retired and frustrated accountant and management consultant, I discussed with him his business which has only been running for some eight months.

It turned out that he wasn't even covering his costs as he hadn't allowed for the amortisation of his eight computer stations and various other costs. I convinced him that based on a three-year life cycle of his computer equipment, and in order to make what he considered to be an acceptable profit margin of Rp.1,000,000 a month (a mere $100), his daily takings would have to be at least Rp.100,000. Based on an estimated 20 visits a day, he would have to charge at least Rp.5,000 a visit instead of the current Rp.3,000 for unlimited use.

To attract more visitors (all of whom are local boys and girls), I suggested he should run free introductory internet classes. However, we both agreed that foreign tourists are the best source of income. Hundreds drive past his shop every day on their way to the Buddhist Temple at the top of the hill; however, none stop as his internet café is barely visible, and even if they wanted to stop, they couldn't park their cars as the lane is too narrow. Solution? Open a 'branch office' of his internet café in a warung next to the Temple! He's thinking about it.

Anyway, I was happy to be the first customer to pay the new fee of Rp.5,000.

Ketut Wahyuda and his charming wife

... and their lovely children

Visit Ketut's blog at EXOTIC MULTIMEDIA.

Warung Bu Pilih

2011-07-28T11:08:00.000+07:00

The whole world seems to meet at Ibu Kade's WARUNG BU PILIH where we spent many hours whiling the time away, chatting and watching the tourists who came to visit the Buddhist Temple nearby.

Ibu Kade sells just about anything that can earn her a few dollars a day.

The Bakso Man arrives late in the afternoon to sell his delicious meatball soup.

And then there is my friend Guntur who is in charge of the nearby Temple's carpark.

HP 085 737 715 675
He only earns Rp.450,000 a month (about $50) which, however, doesn't stop him from indulging his fetish for shoes of which he possesses three highly polished pairs.

Lively and charming Nana, full of laughter and mischief, attended the Temple's "Sunday School" ...

HP 081 558 512 559
... while the village schoolkids were practising for the forthcoming Independence Day Marching Competition.

Villa for sale

2011-07-27T11:06:00.000+07:00

This FOR SALE sign was displayed near the Buddhist Temple at Banjar Hills when I visited in 2010. Balinese friends had taken me down into the hot and windless valley to look at this "villa" which was owned by a Dutchman who came out once a year to live in it.

There was no path to get to it; instead, we had to cross a river by jumping from bolder to bolder and trudging through muddy rice paddies.

Anyway, it has now been sold. I don't envy the new owner living in this remote and hard-to-get-to location.

Lion King

2011-07-26T11:05:00.000+07:00

Singaraja (which means 'Lion King') is a fairly good-sized city (which is a good way of saying that I'm not sure what the population actually is) and Bali's second-largest, but it's orderly - even quiet - compared with Denpasar. With its pleasant tree-lined streets, Dutch colonial buidings and charmingly decrepit waterfront area, it's worth wandering around for a few hours.

It was the centre of Dutch power on Bali and remained the administrative centre for the Lesser Sunda Islands (Bali through to Timor) until 1953. It is one of the few places on Bali where there are visible reminders of the Dutch period, but there are also Chinese and Muslim influences. The port of Singaraja was for years the usual arrival point for visitors to Bali but is no longer used as a harbour because it offers little protection from bad weather - shipping for the north coast now uses the port of Celukanbawang, while visiting cruise ships anchor at Padang Bai.

They have been repairing things in Singaraja over the past few years and it definitely has a clean, open feel to it. The main shopping area is on Jalan Diponegoro and Jalan A. Yani. There is not much here in the way of tourist goods (masks, paintings, jewelry) but you can buy supplies for your stay in the north here - juice, boxed milk, diapers, toilet paper, cigarettes and beer are much cheaper than if you buy them in the tourist area to the west.

What is it that is unique about this place, or what is it that draws me to it? Maybe it's because Singaraja isn't really all that unique - just another friendly town in Indonesia where you can bop around, find some things that you need, meet some fine folks and live your life the way you want without interference from people that are convinced that they know how you should live your life.

I could live in Singaraja which reminds me a little of my old stamping-grounds in Malaysia, Penang and Port Dickson, with just a touch of Malacca. A friend, the well-known art photographer Tan Sioe Lay, lives in Singaraja.

He has his previous house in upmarket Jimbaran, south of Denpasar, for sale. At just R.1,250,000,000 (about AUS$140,000) is seems like a bargain but I prefer the wide streets and friendly folks of Singaraja.

Tan Sioe Lay's house for sale in Jimbaran

A walk through the village of Tegeha

2011-07-25T11:05:00.000+07:00

Lost Horizon à la Banjar Hills

2011-07-17T10:52:00.000+07:00

Reading FALSE ECONOMY by Alan Beattie

P.S. ... and if you haven't read Lost Horizon yet, do yourself a big favour and read it here and now.

Back at Banjar Hills

2011-07-17T09:54:00.000+07:00

My first swim at Banjar
Back at Banjar Hills Retreat, my favourite place in Bali!

With only four bungalows, two of which I had booked for Padma's parents and Padma and myself, it was very much a family affair. The only other resident was Martin from Germany with whom I had an all-night discussion about everything.

Martin Diwischek
Martin left next morning to be replaced by John Penrose who had Adam and Andrew with him on a guided tour through Bali. We all hit if off well togoether.

left-to-right: Padma's mother and father, Andrew, Adam, Ibu Made, John Penrose, myself (with Padma taken the photo)

Arrived back in Bali ...

2011-07-17T08:56:00.000+07:00

... and Sana met me at the airport.

He made me feel quite at home with the 'talisman' dangling from his car's rear-vision mirror.

A family lunch

2011-07-15T10:58:00.000+07:00

l-to-r: Padma's parents, yours truly, Padma, Padma's sister Rina, her son Timmy, her husband Hengky

"Centra Reflexy" Pasar Atom in Surabaya

2011-07-15T09:59:00.000+07:00

A visit to Surabaya's Pasar Atom shopping centre included a reflexology head and foot massage. Yuli, Agust Taryono, and Imam went out of their way to keep the customers happy.

Eugene Berecsky

2011-07-14T11:00:00.000+07:00

Good ol' Eugene keeps trying to sell me some Bali property but he always shows me some overpriced rubbish and gives me the impression that's all there is. Only after I have gone, does he seem to go into 'overdrive' and bombard me with listings from his webpage which I didn't even know existed: http://bali-living.web44.net/.

I wonder if his approach works with other people. It doesn't with me!

Dokter Gigi

2011-07-13T11:01:00.000+07:00

"Gigi" means tooth - so a Dokter Gigi is a Tooth Doctor aka Dentist!

I went to one in Surabaya, Drg. Erwin S. Djuarsa. He gave me a filling and then cleaned and fluorised my teeth - all for Rp.300,000 (about AUS$33).

But the best part was that he didn't use any ugly needle; he simply applied a numbing anesthetic cream to my gums and I didn't feel a thing.

Which reminds me of the joke about the man and woman who meet at a bar. They get along so well that they decide to go to the girl's place. A few drinks later, the guy takes off his shirt and then washes his hands. He then takes off his trousers and again washes his hands.

The girl has been watching him and says: "You must be a dentist."
The guy, surprised, says: "Yes. How did you figure that out?"
"Easy," she replies, "you keep washing your hands."

One thing leads to another and they make love. After it's over the girl says: "You must be a good dentist."
The guy, now with an inflated ego, says: "Sure - I'm a good dentist. How did you figure that out?"

The girl replies: "I didn't feel a thing."

Arrived!

2011-07-10T11:02:00.000+07:00

Straight to HARRIS Tuban for a big welcome from all the staff ...

... and especially Sami, the hotel's very efficient front office manager.

Bali hell! I have to buy a kindle ...

2010-12-28T03:41:00.002+07:00

... to be able to read this book as it comes in a "Kindle Edition" only!

It's a fast-paced romp about the day-to-day experiences and adventures of On-Site Hotel Rep. Mo Swindlehurst. Our heroine works at the Bali Batik five star hotel on trendy Sanur Beach on the ‘Island of the Gods’ – Bali – caring for visitors from all parts of the world.

Mo mainly looks after the more ‘senior’ guests from the North of England (as she is) most of whom are visiting the property for at least the fifth time – insisting on having the same rooms, eating in the same restaurants, sitting on the same pool-side loungers and drinking in the same bars as last year – and the years before that.

Add a few Aussies and Continental Europeans and you have a gathering of people and carryings-on to keep the reader smiling for a very long time.

The characters are warm, fun and friendly … from the singing Flower Sisters who perform in the nearby Laughing Komodo Dragon Pub with great regularity to twins Beano and Dandy (named after their father’s favourite comics) who finish off each others sentences.

Then there’s the recently widowed Queenie who brings her husband’s ashes along for a burial at sea – during which he refuses to go…and newly-wed gay boys Romeo & Julian (who insist on a balcony with their honeymoon suite) whose wedding reception on Blackpool sands was very ‘moving’ – as they had to keep moving the sandwiches when the tide came in to save them from getting soggy.

The two Blackpool sculptors have Mo’s not-keen-on-her-at-all and ‘common as muck’ aunty with her new toy-boy husband as honeymoon block neighbours – he being a past fiancé of Mo’s! The atmospherics are somewhat cool during a peace-talks lunch Mo arranges and are followed by the newly-weds being rushed to the Intensive Care Unit of a local hospital and Mo being placed under an ‘Attempted Murder’ charge.

Missing Zimmer frames and a missing member of the Warrington Widows group cause confusion around the hotel as the Fleetwood Formation Dance team waltz into the place in sensible ‘Come Dancing’ travel refinery. They are quickly followed by the Macclesfield Morris Dancing squad – with bells on their fingers, nose and toes.

In the midst of the Attempted Murder enquiry Mo has to organize the Hotel Sports Day…and cope with the arrival of ‘supporting’ family members from Manchester, not all of whom are on her side.

Meet the Aussie Cozzie boys Ludo and Roo (in their sixties) who click with two sisters from Eccles and it’s a riot as the ‘girls’ (of similar vintage as the ‘boys’) go out in a surfboat and encounter a deep-sea rescue that doesn’t require the kiss of life, more like the kiss of death!

Then there’s the hotel resident pianist Noel Coward (not his real name but this one could catch on in time, he feels) who is pursued initially by Russian Cosmonaut In-flight Entertainment boys ‘Da’ and ‘Niet’ and then by an Arab Prince willing to trade in his favourite camel for the ivory tickler, and it’s a minefield of mirth just waiting for the reader to set the jokes on each page off.

Take a holiday with ‘Bali & Chips’, it’s good old English Humour at its best…a little risqué here and there, big on double meaning delights and all in all a fun read that comes with a guarantee to make you smile…till your next holiday read!

Some of Tanto's music to bring back memories ...

2010-09-25T13:55:00.008+07:00

Tantowi Yahya's music brings back memories of Bali and Indonesia every time I feel like heading north again.

Aryati Dikau mawar asuhan rembulan
Aryati Dikau gemilang seni pujaan
Dosakah hamba mimpi
berkasih dengam tuan
Ujung jarimu kucium mesra tadi malam
Dosakah hamba memuja dikau dalam mimpi
Hanya dalam mimpi .
Aryati Dikau mawar ditaman khayalku
Tak mungkin tuan terpetik daku
Walaupun demiklan nasibku
Namun aku bahagia seribu satu malam

STOP PRESS

2010-09-21T05:06:00.005+07:00

Here's a "Strategic" move to escape the post-Bali blues: book yourself onto one of the recently introduced flights with Strategic from Brisbane via Townsville to Bali from around $300 one way!

Happy Birthday to me!

2010-09-16T14:48:00.022+07:00

Back at "Riverbend" just in time to blow out the candle! And back to cleaning up the property which took a blow during the storm that hit it just a couple of days after I had left for Bali. The cleaning-up of the grey-green leaves of Australian gum trees after the stunningly bright colours of Bali is a fitting metaphor to describe my "Bali Blues".

Travelling is as much about leaving one place as it is about going to another, perhaps even more so. Leaving a place means not only to leave behind a lot of physical clutter but also freeing oneself from a lot of mental clutter. For twenty years, from 1965 to 1985, I relocated regularly from one place to another, from one country to the next, allowing no clutter, physical or mental, to accumulate.

Since 1985 I have lived in just two places, Canberra and "Riverbend", and it shows as I seem to have lost my physical and mental agility to the clutter and repetitiveness of this existence. Twenty years in fifteen countries - and now this!

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

Some more interesting quotes on travel.

For more photos go to ...

2010-09-15T23:17:00.008+07:00

www.nelligennet.com/bali/bali2010pictures.html

And here are some more photos by the "short chubby Greek":

http://hellas60.blogspot.com

Goodbye, HARRIS Hotel!

2010-09-15T18:49:00.018+07:00

On our last night in Bali, we were going to 'go Greek' and dine at the seriously apostrophe-challenged Mykonos Greek Taverna in Seminyak. After an hour of being stuck in Kuta's traffic jam - it's Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, and everyone is on holidays -, we told the driver to turn back to HARRIS where we said "Καλὴ ὄρεξη!" to some beer and chips!

Next day, not wanting to get stuck in another traffic jam on our last day before the late-night flight back to Australia, we made use of HARRIS's 2 o'clock late check-out after which we hung about the pool, at HARRIS and the adjoining Bali Prani Hotel which is under the same management. The Prani is actually a much nicer hotel - at about half the HARRIS-rate! - and it seems such a pity that it will be pulled down in a few months' time to make room for a much bigger HARRIS hotel.

How much is that doggie's life worth in the tiny birdcage?

2010-09-15T08:41:00.024+07:00

Just walked past that poor little dog again. He's still there! HE'S ALWAYS THERE! And this morning he's sitting in his tiny cage right under the broiling sun!!! It was too hot for me to walk out there; how much hotter it must be in his tiny cage at pavement level and exposed to the exhaust gases of those thousands of cars roaring by all day and night!!!

He is imprisoned in his tiny cage outside the door of a small suburban hotel, a 'homestay' by the name of nu'Pondok2A - see here - ; their email address is info@ayubagiatours.com. Perhaps if we all email them, they will do something to make the little dog's life a little easier?

I thank you and so would the little dog if he could talk with more than his sad little eyes!

Last night ...

2010-09-15T07:44:00.009+07:00

... I became very upset! I walked up to the little Circle-K shop to the left of HARRIS and there, just one house before Circle-K, is a house that has a puppy dog inside a wire BIRDCAGE!!! That little dog is the most traumatised dog you will ever see!!! It is crouched in a corner of the tiny cage, shivers with fright, and cringes at everything that moves past him (which is thousands of vehicles every day!) He's almost too big already to get outside the door of the cage and certainly hasn't been outside for a long time.

He can't walk as there is no walking space and he just exists! Death would be a release for him! The owner came out to see me and said, "You like dog?" I said, "Yes, but not in a birdcage" and I told him that in Australia he would have to answer for his cruelty to the police. He just said, "Yes, boss", and walked inside again. I felt like killing him!!! (On reflection, killing him would be too kind to him: put him inside a tiny birdcage and slowly cook him under the tropical sun!)

I didn't take a photo of the little dog as it would remind me even more of his tragic existence! Having to cope with it in my memory is bad enough!

P.S. I just spoke to Evi, the hotel's F&B Manager, and she knows about the puppy who's been there in his tiny cage for quite some time. Other hotel-guests have complained, too, but there is nothing anybody can do.

At home at HARRIS

2010-09-14T09:17:00.045+07:00

We're back at HARRIS Tuban. It's just on 10 o'clock in the morning and check-in time is not until 2 pm.

We drove past the LORIN at Saba Bai which has been closed down since 2006 and now looks completely neglected. Nick is quite impressed by it and can see its potential if it were re-opened. We have got the telephone number of the local contact person in Denpasar who in turn knows the owner(s) in Jakarta. Maybe we talk to him before we go. It all depends on how keen Nick really is!

This very exclusive luxury hotel, where Padma and I stayed in 2000, closed its doors in 2006, and has since then greatly deteriorated. It is on a beachfront block of land of 4.2 hecatres (10.5 acres or 420 are) and consists of two presidential villas, sixteen two-bedroom villas, sixteen executive suites, and sixteen junior suites. Somebody should rescue this wonderful property and restore it to its former glory! Why not us, Nick? Are you reading this, Stylianos Koureas?

(On second thoughts, since the property is rumoured to have belonged to Tommy Suharto, the ex-president's son, who may not have had all the legal documents for the land, it may be a political "hot potato".)

I also met the old lady at the warung who seemed to remember me. Anyway, she hasn't aged at all and her warung has prospered and is much bigger now, built with brick and a proper roof and tables and chairs inside.

View Larger Map

A cold Kuda Putih for this dark horse!

2010-09-12T10:41:00.005+07:00

We went whitewater rafting; then we hired pushbikes and cycled through the ricefields; later we went elephant-trekking!

Well, almost! We read about all these activities in a tourist brochure while we sat down for a typical Indonesian meal of Pizza Napolitane and a Greek salad.

The owner had two little dogs who were the spitting images of Malty and Rover. I took pictures of them which I will upload later.

Monday is our last day in Ubud. On Tuesday we drive back to Denpasar for one more night at HARRIS Tuban before boarding the Red-Eye Special on Wednesday night. Arrival in Sydney Thursday morning 6.30. Padma will be waiting for me at "Riverbend" with my birthday cake!!!

So what does one do in Ubud on a Saturday night?

2010-09-12T06:32:00.006+07:00

One goes to the Lebong Café in Monkey Forest Road and watches the All Blacks beating the shit out of the Wallabies, that's what!

Followed by Everton vs. Manchester United with Manchester leading 3:1 for most of the time with a dramatic final effort by Everton to finish the game 3:3.

This morning we are walking up Jalan Kajeng to check into the Arjana Bungalows for two nights from where I shall reconvene the Arjana Ool Club - there is no p in it; please keep it that way!

The last night we will spend at HARRIS Tuban again before catching the Midnight Express back to Australia. If Nick had his way, he'd catch it today as all he wants to do is go home again!

Shop 'til you drop!

2010-09-11T15:40:00.014+07:00

Buying DVDs in Bali is as addictive as Balinese massages!

I bought several more DVDs which sell for Rp.10,000 each (approx. AUS$1.10):

Samson & Delilah
The Road
The People Speak
The Pursuit of Happyness [sic]
Goodbye Bafana
Faith Like Potatoes
Osama
Eyes Wide Shut
Letters to God
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Gran Torino
What Lies Beneath
The Last Station
Meet Joe Black
Tenure
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (as a spare for our "Riverbend" guest cottage)
Pope Joan (as suggested by Nick; never knew there had been a female pope!!!)

Also bought several cup cakes, a dozen chocolate-and-apple buns, and a chocolate-coated vanilla icecream, all for Rp.15,000 (less than AUS$2).

I think I skip the fancy hotel-dinner tonight which is all appearance and no substance and just read one of my books!

On the subject of exchange rates, cash is much better than travellers' cheques; however, the best rate yet is via the ATM as Nick demonstrated when he drew on his Australian bank account and received Rp.8,330. In Indonesia, a mere AUS$120 makes you an instant millionaire.

Australian banknotes give you a mere Rp.8,000 for each dollar, and travellers' cheques come a poor last at Rp.7,700. I thought I just mention this for the benefit of anyone who wants to make their cheap Bali holiday even cheaper!

Back in Arjana Number 3

2010-09-11T14:08:00.002+07:00

High above Ubud and far away from the noisy crowds, Arjana No. 3 is, at Rp.150,000 a night incl. breakfast, still the best value in town!

Saturday morning in beautiful Ubud

2010-09-11T07:55:00.017+07:00

After waiting for some time for the dining room to open - jam karet! - we had a large continental breakfast of telur mata sapi, fruits, and Bali kopi. Two cow's eyes later, we are ready to explore the town.

I had some Balinese Duck last night which may not have agreed with me as I am suffering from frequent 'buang air'. Nick seems to have got over his; now it's my turn!

I have convinced Nick to move into the Arjana Bungalows Nr. 3 for the rest of our stay here and we will move up Jalan Kajeng tomorrow to our spacious bungalows amongst the ricefields.

In the meantime, we are wandering through the shops. I am happy to report to Padma that in addition to "Country Breeze", "Friends", and "Livin' With Dreams", I have found another three CDs by Tantowi Yahya . They are "The Best of TY" with Jangan Pernah Berkata Benci, Anggrek Bulan, and Selamat Tinggal; "Southern Dreams", and "Country Manado" which has Malam Minggu, Polo Pa Kita, and many more on it.

For myself I found the music video "Golden Hits Lobo" (which takes me right back to Burma and my time there in 1975!) and the movies "Slumdog Millionaire", "The Men who Stare at Goats", "Is Anybody There?" with Michael Caine, "The Motorcycle Diaries", "The Kite Runner", and - by Nick's recommendation - "The Bucket List" with Jack Nicholson.

Ubud also has a couple of good bookshops. I have never been known to pass a bookshop without going in and buying something, and today was no exception! I found Joseph Conrad's The Return and A Smile of Fortune, Gombrich's A Little History of the World, and The Sultan and the Mermain Queen by Paul Spencer Sochaczewski.

Nick and I also bought matching sunhats and shirts and now look as debonair as Tweedledum and Tweedledee While I am walking around with my 'I LOVE BALI' shoulder-bag, Nick is still trying to find one that says, 'BALI TRAUMATISED ME'!

Found a 'bis serat' to mail the few postcards I've written to friends and am now back at the hotel for a rest.

If it's Friday it must be Ubud!

2010-09-10T18:08:00.009+07:00

Our driver picked us up from Lovina and drove us all the way around the top of the island via Amed to Padang Bai, one of my favourite spots. The Puri Rai hotel where I had meant to stay was full and two other hotels we tried weren't quite what we wanted. Anyway, Nick is suffering a bit from the heat; so perhaps we should head back to the hills (although I absolutely love the heat and the humidity!)

Never mind! We jumped back in the car and told the driver to take us straight through to Ubud where we are now checked into the Pradha which is just down Jalan Kajeng from my old "home", the Arjana Bungalows.

Arjana Bungalows will have two vacant rooms tomorrow so perhaps we will move there. Nick needs television - the more wide-screen, the better - as he wants to watch his favourite football team but maybe he can tear himself away from it long enough to enjoy the peace and quiet of the Arjana Bungalows high above Ubud amongst the ricefields.

Thursday afternoon

2010-09-09T14:18:00.012+07:00

Nick got sick of being asked, "Where are you from?" and bought himself a pair of thongs to strut his nationality
Having overpaid on his first pair, Nick spend the rest of the trip checking on the prices of thongs
I nearly bought this hotel for Padma
My favourite restaurant!
Checking in or out, there are always big smiles
Nick felt at home

We're still at Lovina but have phoned our driver in Denpasar to pick us up tomorrow around 10 o'clock to drive us all the way around the top of the island down to Padang Bai where we will stay for another two nights until Sunday.

Then we'll stay until Tuesday in Ubud, before returning to Kuta for our last night at HARRIS Tuban before catching the flight back to Australia on Wednesday.

I'll add photos to this blog but this will have to wait until I get back to "Riverbend" as the local internet connections are far too slow here to upload any pictures.

Nick bought a pair of thongs for what he thought was a song: Rp.100,000. That's the equivalent of six delicious apple crumble with lashings of cream and a cherry on top! Now he carries them in his hand most of the time. Maybe he dislikes the idea of walking on six apple crumble! He also introduced me to the addictive world of SODUKO. I am still working on my first puzzle! I am also still trying to find a KUDA PUTIH beer; instead, I have discovered STORM, another Bali beer.

Checked the messages from "Riverbend" where everything seems to have quietened down again after the big storm on Monday. Sent my own holorimic message home, signed "Isle of View". Let Padma make of it what she will!

I'm staying!

2010-09-09T08:26:00.013+07:00

I'm now the self-appointed business manager for the "Eternal Accoustic Music"!

They play on the beach at the Sea Breeze Cottages every night. Last night I asked them if they could play any of Tantowi Yahya's songs. They gave a beautiful rendition of Aryati, after which I requested Rinduku Padamu to be sung for someone I left behind at "Riverbend", and followed it up with Kasihmu Kasihku.

At the end of the evening the bandleader, Made, asked me how I knew about Tantowi Yahya. I told him that I am married to somebody who is absolutely mad about Tantowi and that we play his CD every time we drive from "Riverbend" to Batemans Bay.

So the band formed a small circle around me and kept playing and singing until well after the security guards had locked the place and dimmed the lights.

We talked about how they earned their money and I asked if they had a website and whether they had recorded their own CD.

- No website!
- Okay, I'll build you one!

- Yes, one CD!
- Okay, why don't you promote it during your performance?

And why not make it more apparent to the Western guests who think that the hotel pays them that they also depend on donations?

I suggested that they make up a nicely-carved Balinese box with the words "Donations welcomed" in gold-lettering on the front, and put it on their bandstand. Of course, they would also have to "seed" it with a few initial "donations" of a couple of Rp.50,000 and Rp.100,000 banknotes to suggest to guests what sort of denominations are most welcomed

And what about getting a 'proper' name, I asked. Who or what is "Eternal Accoustic Music"? I suggested they call themselves "Made and the Music Makers", and print up leaflets to be handed out to all the guests during their performance, which would read,

Made and the Music Makers welcome you to their concert and invite your requests for songs. You may wish to show your appreciation by buying our CD for Rp.100,000 or by making a donation. Thank you and enjoy your evening!
Made - Leadsinger
Gede - Percussions
Katut - Guitar
www.nelligennet.com/mmm

Watch out, Tantowi! Here come Made and the Music Makers! (and their new business manager Peter)

Coffee break

2010-09-08T08:49:00.003+07:00

We've just come down the hills to the beach again and are now staying at the Sea Breeze, surrounded by restaurants, bars, money-changers, souvenir shops, and internet cafés.

Breakfast Bali-style

2010-09-07T08:46:00.003+07:00

Just couldn't resist this piece of persuasive advertising and so it's bread-and-butter-pudding for breakfast today!

We are at the Banjar Hills Retreat. Made, Komang, and Nyoman made us feel welcome and we were the only two guests, taking two of the four bungalows.

The very aptly-named "Gede Boy" - he seems to be a good friend of the owners, nudge, nudge, wink, wink - turned up to give us a highly overcharged massage. He told us that the retreat may be up for sale. The price he quoted seemed very low so I told him to find out more.

Well, he did come back with a text-message from Jeremy who is one of the owners, Rp.5.8 Billion! What was Darryl Kerrigan's repeated line in "The Castle"? "Tell 'em they're dreamin'"? Exactly!

Touchdown Bali

2010-09-04T06:05:00.008+07:00

We are at HARRIS Tuban! It was an almost seven-hour flight, most of it across Australia. Every time I looked at the in-flight overhead monitor, it told me that we were still 40,000 feet above the Great Sandy Desert - hour after interminable hour!

First beer on Kuta Beach
Checking for mail from home
Time out at Prani's pool next door
Home at HARRIS

Electronic fixes

2010-09-01T06:22:00.006+07:00

If you are into Electronic Gadgets, you might think that a holiday destination like Bali is not the right place to buy or bargain for the latest toys. Tech hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok dominate this area in Asia.

In general, you are better off purchasing your new Laptop or Android Smartphone in one of those places. But thankfully, things are changing fast and the population of Bali (and its Expat Community) are getting more and more into the tech stuff. This provides new opportunities to sell IT and gadget gear here also and suppliers make increasingly use of it.

Bali has currently between 4-5 Million residents, depending on whom you ask and what season you come here. While most of its population is still working in agriculture or is employed in the tourism industry, electronic helpers like laptops, smartphones and even iPads can increasingly be seen in public. If you think that most of this stuff is imported, you are only partially right, as more and more options are available locally for desperate tech geeks.

So where are the places to go and get your fix, if you have a gadget addiction?

Bangkok has its Panthip Plaza or Powerbuy Shops, Kuala Lumpur its Low Yat Plaza, Singapore is blessed with a Funan IT Mall or Sim Lim Tower/Square and Electronic Supermarkets like Challenger, Harvey Norman, Best Denki or Courts. Here you can find great bargains and products with Asia- or even Worldwide warranty. The equivalent to go to in Bali (sans international warranty) is Rimo Center in Denpasar’s Jalan Deponegoro.

While housed in a 3-stories high building with around 100 shops all under one roof, it’s nowhere near as big as its big brethren in the former Asian capitols. Still it has its charm.

Some good bargains can be had here also, if you do your homework and know the standard prices for the stuff you want. The vendors there would have no shame to sell you any electronics for a multiple of what its worth, but if you know its value, you can negotiate your hearts out and leave home with a great deal and without spending time and money on a return flight to an Electronic Haven elsewhere in Asia.

Laptops of Acer, Asus, Toshiba and MSI seem to be the popular Laptop/Notebook brands here, but there are also some Chinese or cheaper local brands.

For nerds, modders or people just looking for the latest software title for bargain prices: In Rimo you can find the full spectrum of PC products and accessories; be it complete PC’s, Laptops, Netbooks, desktop cases, graphic cards, power supplies, hard drives, printers, coolers, cartridges, speakers, mice, joysticks, memory cards, camera and what else.

Bali Hai

2010-08-26T05:10:00.000+07:00

It's back to Bali next month!

I'll be accompanied by my Greek friend Nick who hasn't sampled the delights of the Island of the Gods yet.

We'll stay the first two nights, as usual, at my favourite HARRIS Hotel to chill out after the long flight.

Then, for the sheer fun of it, onto the PERAMA Shuttle

Two days and nights in Ubud at the Arjana Bungalows to reconvene the Arjana Pool Club, followed by another two (or three) days at Padang Bai in the lap of luxury at the Puri Rai.

Then north to Lovina to meet my old friends Gus and Sandy at Villa Agung, before heading up into the hills for a few more days and nights in my favourite place at Banjar Hills.

At the end of it all, back to HARRIS Tuban for another good night's sleep before boarding Jetstar back to Sydney.

Last day at HARRIS Tuban

2009-11-08T12:53:00.002+07:00

Heading back to Tuban for my last night in Bali

2009-11-07T16:20:00.001+07:00

My last day at Banjar Hills

2009-11-06T06:24:00.001+07:00

This about sums up Bali time:

2009-10-31T12:48:00.004+07:00

Arrival some day!

Bali Hai

2009-10-30T14:30:00.003+07:00

I've safely arrived back in Bali and am on my way up to Banjar Hills for another relaxed week by the poolside.

Recrossing the Wallace Line

2009-10-29T06:56:00.008+07:00

Stories of exploration make for fascinating reading and they impress on the mind that exploration is a joint venture even though often the name of a single person is attached to a given account. Alfred Russell Wallace (1823-1913), the great English naturalist and traveller, has a sharper eye for others than himself in his exploits. A good example is a wonderful sentence from his "The Malay Archipelago" (1869):

'It was on the 13th of June, 1856, after a twenty days' passage from Singapore in the "Kembang Djepon" (Rose of Japan), a schooner belonging to a Chinese merchant, manned by a Javanese crew, and commanded by an English captain, that we cast anchor in the dangerous roadstead of Bileling on the north side of the island of Bali.'

In the book, Wallace gives a marvellous description of the geography, the natural world and the great variety of human culture of the Malaysian and Indonesian islands. But he is not only a describer; he also theorises about what he sees. On the basis of his observations he put forward the theory of the Wallace Line. This is an imaginary boundary running through the Lombok Strait (between the islands of Bali and Lombok) which separates the zoogeographical areas of Asia from Australia.

Although the Strait is rather narrow - only about 22 miles across - it is extremely deep and was a barrier that in theory kept the flora and fauna of Asia divided from those of the Australian region.

This idea has today basically been abandoned. But the fact of the difference between the various species of plants and animals of those continental areas helped Charles Darwin conceptualise his theory of the origin of species.

This photo shows a plantation of palm trees, a thatched beach hut, and the blue waters leading to the Lombok Strait. My back is to magnificent Mount Rinjani, and from this spot in clear weather you can see to the east the outlines of Bali's Mount Agung.

'Leaving Bileling,' writes Russell a few pages on, 'a pleasant sail of two days brought us to ... the island of Lombock...' And he continues: 'We enjoyed superb views of the twin volcanoes of Bali and Lombock, each about eight thousand feet high, which form magnificent objects at sunrise and sunset, when they rise out of the mists and clouds that surround their bases, glowing with the rich and changing tints of these the most charming moments in a tropical day'.

With a book on my knee, a gin-and-tonic at hand, and this view: what more could one wish to enjoy!

28.10. Returning to Senggigi

2009-10-28T19:55:00.002+07:00

Day 5 aboard ship

2009-10-28T15:02:00.004+07:00

Official itinerary: (08.00) Arrive in MOYO. After breakfast, get ashore and walk past Labuhan Haji Village to a water fall. Along the way see the local people’s daily activities. Laze out and swim on the fresh-water pool of the water fall .

(12.00) Leave Moyo, have lunch on board while sailing westward to Keramat Island. Upon arrival, jump for the brave or use the speed boat to cross to Keramat Island for snorkeling or swimming.

This is the last activity of the HUNTING KOMODO BY CAMERA program. After the program the boat sails back to Labuhan Lombok. Upon arrival at Labuan Lombok harbor, have a farewell dinner on board, then leave the boat for a bus transfer to MATARAM or SENGGIGI.

Day 4 aboard ship

2009-10-27T15:01:00.005+07:00

Official itinerary: (05.00) Depart from Labuan Bajo to RINCA ISLAND. At 06.00 you can enjoy the beautiful sunrise view from the boat. Breakfast on board.

Rinca is the second-biggest island of the Komodo National Park. This place is not only home to Varanus Komodoensis but also home to wild animals such as Sunda deer, wild buffalo, wild boar, the macaque monkey, wild horses and snakes. It also offers a more natural situation.

From Rinca the trip continues to GILI LABA for swimming and snorkelling. Then, sail west to MOYO Island – a nature reserve.

On the way we stop for dinner on board at WERA.

Day 3 aboard ship

2009-10-26T15:00:00.002+07:00

Official itinerary: (08.00) Arrive in Komodo Island – the main highlight of the program. Have breakfast, then go ashore for HUNTING KOMODO by CAMERA.

Led by two rangers walk through the jungle to find the Komodo dragons as well as enjoy the island’s mesmerizing flora & fauna.

(11.30) Leave Komodo Island to Red Beach – an exotic white sandy beach with beautiful underwater world best for snorkeling. Have lunch on board, then sail to Labuan Bajo.

(16.00) Arrive at Labuan Bajo for some extra programs such as walk around the town, see sunset and get other interesting activities.

(19.00) Get on board for a lively FAREWELL PARTY with activities like dinner, entertainment by the crew and share experience .

(23.00) The party ends and the west-east guests (HKC 01) leave the boat with a thousand memories of the happy ending trip.

Day 2 aboard ship

2009-10-25T14:59:00.006+07:00

Official itinerary: (07.00) Arrive in Satonda island - a beautiful small island with a salt water lake inside. Go ashore, then led by the guide do a morning exercise.

Afterwards, go sightseeing around the island, hiking, bird watching and swimming on the lake. Back to the boat, then have breakfast while sailing to Tanjung Batu Besar for snorkeling and other activities.

(17.30) Leave Donggo on night sailing to Komodo Island. Dinner on board.

Day 1 aboard ship

2009-10-24T15:04:00.003+07:00

Official itinerary: Depart from SENGGIGI (09.00), from MATARAM (10.00) by PERAMA bus to Labuhan Lombok.

On the way make some stops to visit traditional villages to see people’s daily life and traditional markets. MAS BAGIK is one of Lombok’s main pottery – producing village with old traditional Lombok design, PERAMA DOCKING - see how people build a traditional phinisi boat and enjoy banana fritter served by Haji Materu.

On the way to Kayangan Harbor we pass KAMPUNG PADAK, a fisherman village which is developed to become a tourist object by Perama Center.

Take a walk along a short trail to see the panorama of fisherman village with their daily life, outrigger boats, traditional docking, old harbor, and view of the top of Mt.Rinjani.

Get on board, have lunch, then sail to Perama Resort – a small island with white sandy beach, turquoise water with coral reefs & colorful fishes completed with a spectacular view of Mt. Rinjani. On the way see traditional fishing boats along Lab. Lombok harbor .

(15.00) Arrive at Perama Resort for such activities as swimming, snorkeling, playing volley ball, seeing sunset. Perama invites you all to be involved in the coral replantation activity. Enjoy fish barbeque dinner and dancing/ singing together around bonfire.

(21.00) Leave PERAMA Resort with nice memories on night sailing to Satonda Island.

24.10. Leaving Senggigi to board TALA 114 at Labuhan Lombok

2009-10-24T08:51:00.003+07:00

[Here] are the boat's details!

23.10. Senggigi BATU BOLONG COTTAGES

2009-10-23T14:50:00.004+07:00

I'm doing it tough at the Batu Bolong Cottages in a top-of-the-range beachside bungalow. What a hard life!

22.10. Padang Bai PURI RAI Hotel

2009-10-22T14:49:00.005+07:00

The latest news from Bali!

2009-10-21T16:02:00.001+07:00

Are the cows of North Bali so attractive that their beauty outshines the charms of local maidens? Or is it something in the water?

In any case, front-page news in several Bali newspapers carries the shocking revelation that a 33 year-old farmer, I Made Widiana, from Kebutambahan on Bali's north shore, has been caught in flagrante delicto with a local cow on October 13, 2009, just as Bali began its Galungan celebrations marking the victory of good over evil.

Although Widiana's unnatural act was witnessed by a neighbour, it was the perpetrator himself who admitted his act to local community leaders. Freely admitting that he had sinned and put him community at risk by defying the natural order of things, Widiana claims in mitigation that the cow cast some sort of spell over him causing him to see a beautiful woman instead of a cow. It was only when his neighbour scolded him for his behaviour, that he awoke from his smitten stupor and became aware of his act.

Widiana, married and the father of four, must now wait for a meeting of village elders to be convened and a course of action laid out that will restore order to the cosmos which is now off-kilter because of his transgression.

This is second time such an incident has occurred in that otherwise quiet corner of Bali. On August 17, 2008, a 70 year-old man, Sutarya, who lives only a few kilometers from Widiana, committed a similar act that demanded elaborate ritual cleansing and the sacrificial drowning of the pregnant cow in the nearby ocean.

Both Widiana and his "contented" cow await the decision of local religious leaders as to what must be done to restore good order to the Universe.

Last-minute dashes

2009-10-21T11:34:00.005+07:00

This morning it's just a quick dash "up the road" to collect my tickets from the PERAMA office in Jalang Legian and to buy some food stuffs from the Discovery Shopping Mall in Tuban. Who knows what they will feed me aboard their boat? In any case, I like a bit of a midnight snack, so here we go!

20.10. Arriving in Denpasar HARRIS Tuban

2009-10-20T21:48:00.004+07:00

Before leaving Australia, my favourite hotel in Bali had sent me this email ...

HELLO,,,,HELLO…..ALL WE'RE PREPARE AND WE WILL PICK YOU UP AT AIRPORT…it really nice to welcome you again in Harris Hotel Tuban BALI…see you tomorrow Mr.Peter and we will upgrade your room to suite room
Regards,
Sami

... and, true to their word, they picked me up at the airport and whisked me away to a beautiful suite room in the HARRIS Hotel Tuban.

Another beautiful start to another beautiful Bali holiday!

"I'm leaving on a jet plane"

2009-10-20T06:46:00.006+07:00

RIP: Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary

"All my bags are packed,
I'm ready to go.
I'm standing here outside your door.
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye.

"But dawn is breakin',
It's early morn'.
The taxi's waitin',
He's blowin' his horn. . .

"I'm leavin' on a jet plane.
Don't know when I'll be back again.
Oh Babe, I hate to go."

Mary Travers has gone on her final journey. We know that she won't be back again, but her music is her legacy. We'll miss her broad smile, her creative talent, her stage presence, her straight blond hair, her distinctive voice that harmonised so well with Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stuckey, her idealism. The whole package. Listen to Peter, Paul & Mary's rendition of what I think of as the most poignant travel song.

I'm leaving on a jet plane to Bali but my destination is merely a by-product of the journey. Travel is the act of leaving familiarity behind, of seeking new horizons, meeting new people, and gaining new insights.

P.S. While on the road, I can be reached via riverbend@live.com.au

My bag is packed!

2009-10-17T11:09:00.010+07:00

Well, just two days to go and my rucksack is packed - all 5 kg of it! I will carry only the most essential items. One change of clothing will be enough as, apart from the cruise, I will always stay in hotels that have a swimming pool.

For somebody travelling as light as me, a pool is just one giant washing-machine: jump in fully clothed and do a few breaststrokes to remove whatever stains are on the front; a vigorous dog-paddle works wonders on the old jocks; and backstrokes remove all those sweatstains from under the armpits!

As a last-minute item, I've added a bright-red inflatable buoyancy jacket. If the old PERAMA boat should suddenly spring a leak, I will not only stay afloat but also be seen to have stayed afloat!

That just leaves the selection of suitable reading-material for those long hours on the plane and for those long, tropical nights under a starry sky. I've settled for Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" and, for a bit of thoughtful and slow reading, I've packed Hermann Hesse's The Glass Bead Game.

I couldn't find anything in the local bookshop written by my old Greek "mate" Ἐπίκουρος, so he will have to wait until my next trip. Travelling is the perfect time for a bit of "heavy reading", quite apart from the fact that if something should happen to me, it's good if they find me clutching an intelligent book in my rigor mortis hand. It will make them think that I was somebody important enough to be stuffed into the body-bag with a litte more reverence.

When I'm finished with my books, I usually pass them on to fellow-travellers. In this way, I have introduced others to the thoughts of Joseph Conrad, Ernest Hemingway, Somerset W. Maugham, Patrick White, et al, which has resulted in the odd email, received long after the trip was over, saying "Thank you for having enriched my life."

Some light reading for those seemingly endless hours on the plane!

2009-10-09T14:36:00.004+07:00

There has always been a cloak of mystery over the Knights Templar and, what are supposed to be their modern-day successors, the Freemasons.

The American author Dan Brown, best known for his book "The Da Vinci Code", has just published a book, "The Lost Symbol", which is doing for the Freemasons what its predecessor, "The Da Vinci Code", did for the Catholic Church's Opus Dei — showering new fame, and new fictions, on an age-old brotherhood which has been accused of everything from conspiring with extraterrestrials to practicing sexual deviancy to engaging in occult rituals to running the world — or trying to end it.

I've bought this book for those seemingly endless hours on the plane and as bedtime reading during my forthcoming travels in Indonesia.

Only a few more days to go to my Bali trip ...

2009-10-07T06:27:00.011+07:00

... and I need to bed down my share investments so I can forget about them while I am away, espcially since we're into October which is one of the most peculiarly dangerous months in the stockmarket (the other are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August, and February).

As I sat here, twiddling my cufflinks, I came up with this brilliant idea ...

Totally off-the-cuff, as it were!

Just a few more weeks and I'm back on a REAL holiday!

2009-09-21T17:27:00.004+07:00

Whetting my appetite!

2009-08-29T16:40:00.006+07:00

Click on above icon for full screen

It's still some time before I set out on my next tropical adventure but pleasures are always greatest in anticipation, aren't they?

This time I'll cross the Wallace Line as I hope to travel from Bali to nearby Lombok and the tiny Gilis, and then on to Komodo and Flores. Nothing is booked and nothing is planned - except for my first night in Bali with my old friends at HARRIS Tuban - as I want to take each day as it comes and live entirely in the moment. However, I may have to prebook the 5-day PERAMA-cruise as I am getting a bit long in the tooth for deck passage and would prefer a cabin to myself.

Click on map to enlarge

Bali here I come ...

2009-08-19T04:51:00.003+07:00

Yes, I'll be JETSTARring away again in October 2009. This time it'll be Bali and Lombok and the Gili Islands.

Stay tuned for more on this travel diary!

PADMA ANTE PORTAS

2009-07-24T07:58:00.003+07:00

(The clip is in German but otherwise universal)

Next Tuesday Padma will be back from Indonesia and things should be back to 'normal' again!

Land below the wind

2009-07-22T13:10:00.005+07:00

Padma has just sent an email from Borneo, or what's now known as Kalimantan. She's right now at Tenggarong, half an hour from Samarinda, and two-and-a-half from Balikpapan. Tomorrow she and her parents will visit her grandparents' graves; early on Tuesday morning they will drive by car to Balikpapan to catch the early-morning Batavia flight to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, where she was born.

The tremendous spread of jungle and wilderness on the world's second-largest island is comparable to that of a continent alone. Exploited for its rich natural resources such as timber, gas, oil and coal, the "Land below the Wind" of the time of the white raj is quickly disappearing.

Focal point for most visitors is the mighty Mahakam river which, from its headwaters near the centre of the island, meanders thousands of kilometres through one of the world's largest tropical rainforests. The twenty main Dayak tribes - once feared as headhunters - have their homes in this riverbasin. A remarkable variety of plant and animal life, including the famous freshwater dolphins which often accompany boats along the river, make a visit to Kalimantan an enthralling venture to a different world. In years to come, the Mahakam rivertrips, at the moment still only for the vigorous and adventurous, are most likely to have a more modern outlook with modern crafts and all possible amenities. Unfortunately, by that time the Dayak villages will have lost their primitive charm, and a cliché scene of souvenir shops will cluster along the riverside.

Borneo and Sumatra are the only places left in the world where Orang Utans (the 'People of the Forest') still survive in their natural habitat. However, their survival is threatened and I actively support the Borneo Orangutan Survial (BOS) Australia Foundation with regular donations and the adoption of an orphaned orang utan baby. Are you primate enough to help another primate? Or why not take a life-changing holiday, meeting orang utans 'in person' without losing too much of the comforts you are accustomed to and yet knowing that 80% of your ticket-price will be spent on rescueing more orang utans?

While you're thinking about this, I'm surfing the internet for another cheap airfare to Bali. As soon as Padma is back at "Riverbend", I'll be off again to spend the last few weeks of the Australian winter by the side of a Balinese swimming-pool.

Bali's disturbing secrets

2009-07-18T15:44:00.004+07:00

Not far from the beauty spots, Bali's villages hide disturbing secrets. The mentally ill are left untreated and possibly hundreds are held in makeshift shackles. This video clip shows a man who's been restrained since the '90s. He hasn't been let out at all since 1990. A villager points to an elderly man chained up next to his own excrement. Such shocking sights are not unique in Bali. Helplessness and ignorance makes parents of mentally ill patients resort to confinement. Komang's father kept him locked in a cage for eight years before he met Dr Suryani. Bali's leading psychiatrist, she's campaigned tirelessly to improve the islands mental health but the Health Minister is reluctant to help: 'We have a limited budget for drugs. Those drugs are expensive.' So she pays them out of her own pocket. Her blend of Western and Balinese methods produces great results; thanks to her treatment, Komang is now recovered and even married.

http://www.youtube.com

If you like to help, visit http://www.suryani-institute.com.

"Where the Bali hell have you been?"

2009-04-25T19:31:00.006+07:00

"There and back. Just there and back. And now I'm back. And this is the end. Or the start. Or whatever. Take your pick. Blog off!"

--- but not before having viewed some last impressions of Bali:

Click here for larger image

Last rites

2009-04-24T09:05:00.012+07:00

Well, I've booked my wake-up call for 5 a.m. and my airport shuttle-bus pick-up for 6 a.m. One more sleep and I'm homeward bound!

Judging by all the single mothers sitting in the cafés along Mitchell Street and sipping their Pina Coladas (don't even know how to spell the stuff let alone waste $10 a pop on it!), yesterday must've been "Pension Day". Darwin has a "Canberra-ish" sort of feel to it as, being the seat of the Territory government, it has at the bottom of every highrise building housing the myriad of government departments a constant cluster of so-called "public servants" taking their 'smokos'. My theory is that even non-smokers in the "public service" become habitual smokers so as to be able to cut down on their present-at-work hours (in other occupations known as 'working hours') from the required 7-and-a-bit to probably less than 4 or 5.

Q: Why have public servants stopped looking out of the window in the morning?
A: Because otherwise they'd have nothing to do in the afternoon ...

I have no idea what it would be like to walk around in this hot weather (or, for that matter, in any weather) with hemaroids (hemorrhoids?) up one's butt but I'm convinced it couldn't be much worse than having a heatrash up one's groin. And so I spent the afternoon in an air-conditioned arcade just outside a COLES supermarket, sitting in one of those coin-operated massage-chairs. Except this one was out of order which kind of summed up everything as I sat there with this large sign stuck on the wall above my head which read, "OUT OF ORDER".

Putting Descartes before the source

2009-04-22T15:56:00.006+07:00

I've been away! Have I been away? Or have I just been dreaming or hallucinating?

There was a a chap in the seventeenth century, René Descartes, who opted for reason over a divine source of knowledge. He probably wishes he'd never said, "Cogito ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am"), because it's all anybody remembers about him.

He arrived at the cogito through an experiment in radical doubt to discover if there was anything he could be certain of; that is, anything that he could not doubt away.

He started out by doubting the existence of the external world. That was easy enough. I do it all the time! Then he tried doubting his own existence. But doubt as he would, he kept coming up against the fact that there was a doubter. Must be himself! He could not doubt his own doubting.

Maybe he should have said, "Dubito ergo sum."

There can be no doubt that I've been to Bali! I've got the sunburn to prove it. And the prickly heatrash in the groin. And an empty wallet.

"I'm sunburnt and heatrashed and without money, therefore I must have been to Bali."

I Still Call Australia Home

2009-04-21T08:26:00.011+07:00

I've been to cities that never close down,
from New York to Rio and old London town,
but no matter how far or how wide I roam,
I still call Australia home.

I'm always travelIing, I love being free,
and so I keep leaving the sun and the sea,
but my heart lies waiting over the foam,
I still call Australia home.

All the sons and daughters spinning 'round the world,
away from their family and friends,
but as the world gets older and colder,
it's good to know where your journey ends.
Someday we'll all be together once more,
when all of the ships come back to the shore,
I’ll realise something I've always known,
I still call Australia home.

Click here for larger image

I will always call Australia home! Bloody oath!

Touch-down

2009-04-21T03:16:00.030+07:00

Leaving Bali just before midnight and arriving in Darwin at 3 o'clock in the morning is murder. I had a spot of bother getting my bag's of apostrophe's through Custom's. As they told me, "We've got heap's of apostrophe's in the country already; we don't wan't any more import's." However, after consulting various regulation's, two senior Custom's official's allowed all my apostrophe's in. But they did suggest that in future it would help if I didn't enter on my arrival card under "Occupation" the words "Apostrophe-NAZI".

Never arrive anywhere in the dead of night and expect a welcome! Darwin Central was booked out. The night porters John Dada and Umit were most apologetic but full is full! So were all the other 24-hour reception places as there are a couple of conventions in town. Anyway, they were all around $200 a night and more!

(Actually, there was a "backpacker-ish" sort of place that had a single, self-contained room for $75, and while the reception-guy's dreadlocks didn't inspire confidence, I was prepared to take a punt but blew my fuse when he wanted to inspect and photocopy my passport as part of the registration process! Inspect my passport? And photocopy it? In my own country? I realised later that this seemed standard procedure in the Top End to catch out illegal immigrants but at the time I considered it an affront to my civil liberties.)

Took a taxi back out to the airport and was determined to catch the first flight down to Sydney. What stopped me was that the next flight out was only on Wednesday. And it would have cost me another $427 on top of what I had already paid. Took the shuttle bus for the second time into town and found a room at the inn - the Poinciana Inn on the corner of McLachlan and Mitchell Streets, to be precise - where Esther, the night-porter - from Kalimantan!!! - even allowed me a very early check-in at 6 am so that I could go to sleep immediately. It's right in the centre of town at the top-end of Mitchell Street which is the entertainment strip of Darwin with wall-to-wall bars, restaurants, and discoes from one end to the other. It's a slightly ageing but spotlessly clean place of the kind that reminds me of hotels in the 60s except that this one must have been built at least ten years later as Cyclone Tracy wiped out all of Darwin at Christmas 1974. At $125 a night it's just a very ordinary hotel. Compare that to the $15 a night I paid at the exquisitely appointed and rather exclusive Banjar Hills Retreat! Saying 'good-bye' to Bali meant saying 'good-bye' to low prices, to immediate eye-contact and friendly smiles!

I have a sneaking suspicion that the owner of the hotel is a German. Although I have not actually seen the word "VERBOTEN", the place has sticky-taped signs everywhere: 'NIGHT-SWIMMING PROHIBITED", 'NO SMOKING IN ROOM - PENALTIES APPLY", "NO UNATTENDED CHILDREN IN LIFT", "NO SPITTING OFF BALCONY", and "PUT LITTER IN BIN PROVIDED".

It's now midday and I'm almost rested and sitting in an internet café called Cheap AZ Travel in Knuckey Street next to SUBWAYS which is half the price of any other internet place in town and where half the world seems to meet as there are people of all shapes and shades living in their own parallel universes.

I've had some Chinese food, or, as the Chinese call it, food. I've also been into Woolworths and bought Swiss cheese, sliced ham, crunchy breadrolls and apple juice, and some traditional soft licorice - all the sorts of things I couldn't get in Bali.

I am now ready to explore the city. First impressions: it's hot, hot, and hot! And it's a huge concrete jungle! No real feel of an outback town or what the Darwin of old used to be.

I was going to visit the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets on Fannie Bay tonight but was told that it won't start again until the 30th of April. I'll be on the morning-flight to Sydney on the 25th, then the bus, then the old CAMRY up to Riverbend - and I'm ready for a long, long holiday at "Riverbend"! Home sweet home? You bet!

Hengky Tambayong, Bali's best hotel manager

2009-04-20T09:29:00.004+07:00

TIME

Bali's
Best Hotel Manager

When in Bali, stay at the HARRIS TUBAN and be looked after by their friendly staff under the leadership of Hengky Tambayong. Anybody who's made it to the cover of TIME Magazine must be good!

It's 'Selamat tinggal' to Bali ...

2009-04-19T20:17:00.006+07:00

... and quite soon 'Hello' to "Riverbend" again - which isn't all bad as I remind myself of what the Mole said to the Rat in "The Wind in the Willows":

"And you really live by the river? What a jolly life!", to which the Rat replied, "By it and with it and on it and in it. It's my world, and I don't want any other. What it hasn't got is not worth having, and what it doesn't know is not worth knowing. "

Well, this rat is going back to its home at "Riverbend" - with a five-day detour to check out the rat-race in Darwin!

I'm staying for one more night in the lap of luxury at the Harris Hotel in Tuban before being seen off by their friendly staff. Killed a couple of hours in the Buglis Bar across the road. My recommendation? Don't!!! It's a rip-off joint! And a totally depressing experience - unless you consider it an uplifting experience to meet in one place all the down-and-out Bali expats ranging from run-away husbands to worse!

On the shuttle bus from Hell

2009-04-19T10:32:00.012+07:00

The driver of the shuttle bus from Ubud to Kuta ran every red traffic light in a particularly Indonesian way: as he approached a red light, he immediately changed to the left-turning lane (which here can always turn left, even on a red light), sped up the sidestreet for a hundred metres or so, did a sharp U-turn almost without slowing down, and dashed back to the intersection whence he'd come, and turned left again, beating the whole red-light queue he had refused to join!

Try doing the same in Australia and you'd be collecting traffic infringement notices for jumping lanes, crossing white lines, doing U-turns, and for dangerous driving - not to mention for speeding, as all this was done at breakneck-speed! And with a commuter bus full of frightened passengers!

Reminds me of a joke:

Pat: "Mike, I'm calling you from the freeway on my new cell phone."
Mike:"Be careful, Pat. They just said on the radio that there's a nut driving the wrong way on the freeway."
Pat: "One nut? Hell, there are hundreds of them!"

A message from the President of the ARJANA Ool Club!

2009-04-19T07:10:00.058+07:00

(Motto: We've kept the p out of our ool; please keep it that way!)

With my impending departure from Bali, I hereby officially dissolve the ARJANA Ool Club! Would all past and present members - be they back in the U.K. (or West Indies) or Belgium or Holland or still in Bali - please tender their official resignation by email to riverbend@batemansbay.com. Subject to sufficient interest, a meeting may be held twelve months from now at the Nomad Restaurant in Jalan Raya to renew past memberships. Members who resided in "Rathole Number 1" will be exempt from paying membership fees. (And don't think for one moment that this is too much of a long shot: you've been touched by the big wide world and I don't expect that you will meekly settle back into domesticity in Holland or Belgium so here's to a reunion in 2010 in Bali!!!)

I hope you have enjoyed as much as I our many and long conversations even if they were, in the words of Longfellow, as between ships that pass in the night. "Terima Kasih" and it's "Selamat Tinggal" from me (who's leaving) and "Selamat Jalan" from you (who are staying), and may you keep fond memories of our hours by the oolside! Further news may be gleaned from the blog athomeatriverbend.blogspot.com.

Peter Goerman
(Self-appointed) President of the ARJANA Ool Club
Jalan Kajeng
Ubud, Bali

P.S. Pictures to follow (after they've been released by the Censors) but it may take some time. After all, I'm still on Bali-time so why procrastinate when you can perendinate?

P.P.S. Have just checked out the Darwin Backpacker Job Centre for you. Quite a number of suitable jobs. See Emily Tyler at the Backpacker Job Centre at Shop 20, 69 Mitchell Street (that's in the centre of town), and start pulling beer or serving hamburgers the next day!!!

Other backpacking jobs are at

http://www.workaboutaustralia.com.au
http://www.gruntlabour.com/jobseekeratwork/
http://www.thejobshop.com.au/
http://jobsearch.gov.au/harvesttrail/default.aspx

The Club premises and some of its members:

Sonnet: " Lift not the painted veil . . ."
by Percy Shelley 1818

Lift not the painted veil which those who live
Call Life: though unreal shapes be pictured there,
And it but mimic all we would believe
With colours idly spread, --- behind, lurk Fear
And Hope, twin Destinies; who ever weave
Their shadows, o'er the chasm, sightless and drear.
I knew one who had lifted it --- he sought,
For his lost heart was tender, things to love,
But found them not, alas ! nor was there aught
The world contains, the which he could approve.
Through the unheeding many he did move,
A splendour among shadows, a bright blot
Upon this gloomy scene, a Spirit that strove
For truth, and like the Preacher found it not.

An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog

Good people all, of every sort,
Give ear unto my song;
And if you find it wondrous short,
It cannot hold you long.

In Islington there was a man,
Of whom the world might say
That still a godly race he ran,
Whene'er he went to pray.

A kind and gentle heart he had,
To comfort friends and foes;
The naked every day he clad,
When he put on his clothes.

And in that town a dog was found,
As many dogs there be,
Both mongrel, puppy, whelp and hound,
And curs of low degree.

This dog and man at first were friends;
But when a pique began,
The dog, to gain some private ends,
Went mad and bit the man.

Around from all the neighbouring streets
The wondering neighbours ran,
And swore the dog had lost his wits,
To bite so good a man.

The wound it seemed both sore and sad
To every Christian eye;
And while they swore the dog was mad,
They swore the man would die.

But soon a wonder came to light,
That showed the rogues they lied:
The man recovered of the bite,
The dog it was that died.

-- Oliver Goldsmith

Click here for larger image

And here are three more short stories by Somerset W. Maugham: "The Lotus Eater", "German Harry", and "The Outstation".

“There is so much weariness and disappointment in travel that people have to open up — in railway trains, over a fire, on the decks of steamers, and in the palm courts of hotels on a rainy day. They have to pass the time somehow, and they can pass it only with themselves. Like the characters in Chekhov, they have no reserves — you learn the most intimate secrets. You get an impression of a world peopled by eccentrics, of odd professions, almost incredible stupidities, and, to balance them, amazing endurances.”
—Graham Greene, The Lawless Roads, 1939

Bali Goes Bust

2009-04-17T15:17:00.003+07:00

Bali is in crisis. Tourism has dried up since the terrorist attacks and now Jakarta might introduce a strict pornography law that would ban bikinis. Locals worry it could be the final straw for the tourist trade.

"Things are very hard right now. There are no tourists", despairs one beach seller. Now, there's a new threat to Bali's reputation as a tourist paradise. In Jakarta, politicians are considering a new law which would prevent people going to the beach scantily dressed. "It could kill tourism totally."

Watch this video clip.

Always go before you leave home!

2009-04-16T16:13:00.009+07:00

A Balinese ‘dunny’ is a traveller’s worst nightmare – and the worst of the worst is probably one you’ll be asked to pay for! I’ve frequently seen stalwart companions-in-need get just inside the door (often just an opening in the wall really), do a U-turn and exit without perceptible pause, looking pallid and strained.

Never approach them in bare feet or with only thongs or flip-flops on. Can you use a toilet with only one hand? You will have to because your other hand will be needed to hold your nose. And don't ever contemplate sitting (on those that are of Western design)

Don’t think for one minute that nice shops, department stores, or even hotels at times, will have anything other than DUNNIES! Above all, don’t expect toilet paper. ALWAYS take your own toilet paper for emergencies. It’s as important as money as soon as you leave your hotel. And remember your dear old mother’s advice, "Always go before you leave home!"

East or West, Home is Best!

2009-04-16T12:45:00.005+07:00

Picture of myself,
looking all sweaty
and homesick,
to follow

I'm into my third week, and am beginning to think of home. As they say, "The best part of travelling is coming home again", and I'm reaching that stage. There's no place like home! Sleeping in one's own bed, waking up to familiar sounds, being surrounded by everything one holds dear - and surprise, surprise for one who constantly daydreams of once again living in the tropics, going for a walk without breaking out into a sweat within the first thirty seconds!

"Riverbend", here I come!

DVDs

2009-04-16T09:19:00.010+07:00

Bali is also a Paradise for movie lovers as DVDs are very cheap: Rp.15,000 each (that's less than AUS$2 !!!), and if you buy five, you get a sixth one for free! I bought:

THE READER
ROMULUS, MY FATHER
EINSTEIN AND EDDINGTON
THE LIVES OF OTHERS (Das Leben der Anderen)
TEN CANOES
WE WERE SOLDIERS
THE PAINTED VEIL
TURTLES CAN FLY
THE VALLEY OF LIGHT
KOKODA
THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB
THE PIANIST
AUSTRALIA
VALKYRIE
HOTEL RWANDA
LOST IN TRANSLATION
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
MY BOY JACK
BORAT!

By contrast, some other things are expensive: discovered on a restaurant menu a bottle of very ordinary Jacob's Creek Chardonay for Rp.450,000. That's a cool AUS$60 for what in Australia costs less than AUS$10. Not that I was interested as I was already into my second glass of local rice wine!!!

The Dolphin Story

2009-04-16T09:05:00.008+07:00

Pictures
to follow

Today was a very full and tiring day: a 3-hour bus ride to Lovina with kids in their wheelchairs, then a beautiful lunch at the poolside of the Melka Excelsior Hotel, followed by a swim with the two dolphins by each of the ten disabled kids.

You should have seen the joy in their eyes! It made the whole day so worthwhile!

Our thanks to Carl Meyer, the owner of the Melka Excelsior, his wife, and all the staff who were so helpful!

The Bali Difference

2009-04-15T15:04:00.003+07:00

It’s funny to watch and compare the two genders dance around each other in Thailand and Bali. While in Thailand, mainly in Bangkok, Pattaya or Phuket; most of the sex tourists are usually the old, saggy type of men in their late 50s up, it’s almost unheard of that women travel to Thailand for Sex.

The show is completely different in Bali: Here you usually see a younger crowd of men, but most of them bring ‘beer to Munich’ or ‘owls to Athens’, as they travel with girlfriend or wife. Rarely you see typical male sex tourists (in the classical sense) flock to Indonesia.

Instead, there is the other species of single or lonely older women (40+ onwards), sometimes heavily nipped-tucked, which seem to make the main bunch of the female tourist crowds here (apart from the drunken Aussies Gals in the bars, of course).

These middle-aged singlets are usually taken care of by the so-called Bali Boys or ‘Kuta Cowboys’. As one Bali expat observed:

“Now when I say Balinese men flirt in the bars you need to understand this is a euphemism. The world hasn’t seen such heavy-handed, obvious advances since the Third Reich marched into Leningrad.

To sit in a place like the Putra Bar and watch the Bali Boys in action is a joy to behold. And highly entertaining. Kuta, the beach area to the south, is even more notorious for this. In fact, they have a nickname for them down there: Kuta Cowboys.

Their body language is obvious. After all, no one has ever had to ask a vulture why it’s circling its prey. And even though their English is usually pretty good - since they’ve obviously heard the phrase “Know thy enemy” - sometimes it can be difficult to be certain you know exactly what they mean.

For example, when they say “You have beautiful hair”, it’s not that simple. What they really mean is, “Let’s have sex.” In case you’re a female who’s planning on visiting Bali - or a male, since the Cowboys couldn’t care less if a boyfriend or husband is standing next to their target - here’s a Kuta Cowboy-English Dictionary to help you out:

What they say	What they mean
Where do you come from?	Let’s have sex.
Where are you going?	Let’s have sex.
Are you married?	Let’s have sex.
How old are you?	Let’s have sex.
You have charisma.	Let’s have sex.
You make my hati (liver) quiver.	Let’s have sex.
Can I buy you a drink?	Let’s have sex.
I forgot my wallet, can you buy me a drink?	Let’s have sex.
Why don’t you ride on the back of my motorbike?	Let’s have sex.
I’ve never done anything like this before.	Let’s have sex.
You like Balinese paintings?	You sure you don’t want to have sex?

A Patch of Paradise

2009-04-14T08:53:00.004+07:00

The author of this book, Gaia Grant, was becoming increasingly unsatisfying and stressed out in Sydney. She wasn’t getting as much as she wanted out of her relationship, her child or her work. A nameless urban ennui was setting in.

Professionally and emotionally unfulfilled, the dream of taking off work and escaping for a year kept her sane in an increasingly insane city environment where people were bombarded by "on average, 3000 TV, radio, newspaper and magazine ads in the course of a day."

So she dared to start a new life with her family on the breath-stoppingly beautiful but feudal island of Bali which was the deductive result of her need to find a tropical, idyllic and affordable beach environment. To keep her husband happy, it also had to have good surf.

This is not a travel book. There are no high adventures at sea, no hair-raising surfing stories, no visits to remote tribal territories. It does contain the sensitivity, wisdom and perspective of a woman’s efforts to start a new life; also practical and amusing advice on how to drive a car on Bali, and how to recognize moneychangers’ ruses. And she reveals how she found her patch of paradise.

A Doris Lessing or Anais Nin she is not, but Gaia Grant’s verve for life is inextinguishable. She’s a keen observer of Balinese compounds, temples, ceremonies, all wrought in overwhelming detail.

When your life is over, you do not regret that you had not spent enough time at the office. You regret that you did not spend nearly enough time with the people you loved. The writer understands this. For instance, she made a pact with her young daughter, Zoe. At least once a day she will go to the beach with her, no matter what, even if it was for just 10 minutes.

In the last pages of the book, Gaia Grant warns her readers not to expect too much of Bali, not to choose the "geographical cure." People searching for their own patch of paradise may end up taking their unhappiness with them no matter where they go. Those seekers must first be prepared to search for and deal with their unhappiness at its source.

Perhaps the book’s most important raison d’etre is to convince people how easy it is to start a new life. It’s sub-subtitle could almost be "You can do it, too!" Bali, Gaia writes, is "for people with an open mind and an accepting spirit who can reap the treasures of a tropical, community-oriented lifestyle."

Bali 1910, 1932, 1946 and today

2009-04-13T10:59:00.007+07:00

Bali 1910

Bali circa 1946

Bali 1932

and today!

ARJANA Bungalows in Ubud

2009-04-13T09:14:00.009+07:00

I slept beautifully in my big ARJANA bungalow amongst the rice fields just a short walk up Jalan Kajeng outside Ubud. And it's a mere Rp. 125,000 a day - that's about AUS$15 in real money! It has a beautiful swimming pool. Went out for a chicken-curry and BIR BINTANG last night. Slept right through a hugh thunderstorm and now it's very hot and humid. I think I stay here for rest of my time in Bali with just a day-trip on the 15th to Lovina to swim with the kids from the Kupu-Kupu Foundation in the dolphin pool at the Melka Excelsior Hotel.

Bali Candy

2009-04-12T13:08:00.008+07:00

In Indonesia there is a widely accepted practice in stores country-wide, that instead of small change they give you candy. That means for every Rp 100 they owe you, you will get a piece of candy. Sweet or annoying? A welcomed treat for sweet tooths - annoying for some; as some Aussie smart pants tried in reversal to pay his purchases with the same coin.

In what is believed to be the first case of its kind in Bali, an Australian expatriate attempted to pay for purchases at a Kuta supermarket with a wallet-full of candy, shop management said. The 32-year-old, who accumulated his bulging wallet of cheap individually wrapped confectionery during months of supermarket spending, failed in his endeavor.

Putu, who was on checkout number 3 on Tuesday lunchtime, was surprised that he proffered a fist-full of candy to pay for his items, which included a head of broccoli, three cans of beer and a chocolate bar, and a pack of condoms.

She demanded cash. The man, identified as Stuart Longhorn, a civil engineer, said he had accumulated his stockpile of candy as part of the store’s policy of giving candy as change and saw “no reason” why he couldn’t use the unusual-yet-accepted candy currency to pay for goods.

Did Hitler ever go to Bali?

2009-04-11T02:53:00.009+07:00

"Om Swasti Astu". With this mystical greeting, guests are welcomed to the island of Bali, a Hindu enclave in the Indonesian archipelago, home to volcanoes, reefs and pristine beaches, gamelan orchestras and temples protected by troops of monkeys. The visitor is offered everything from surf, nightlife, markets and Bintang beer.

Bali is nothing short of paradise, an island of grandeur and mysticism. Beyond the pure tourist attractions however, the traveller with an interest in military history and militaria could not but be struck by the abundance of swastikas throughout the island. To the unknowing, the immediate reaction is to somehow try to relate the island's symbology with the Third Reich, or some resurgent neo-nazism movement, but unfortunately Hitler's adoption of the symbol has perhaps forever tarnished the swastika's ancient significance.

Hotels, restaurants and businesses on Bali bear the name 'Swastika', while almost everywhere else on the island the swastika appears on statues, tiles, banners and temple friezes. The actual word 'swastika' is derived from Sanskrit, the language of ancient India, meaning 'well-being', partly reiterated in the Balinese greeting "Om Swasti Astu". The swastika itself, in various forms, has been a Hindu symbol for thousands of years -- a sunwheel representing the continuous progression of life, death and reincarnation, optimistically interpreted as prosperity and good fortune.

Where the Bali hell are you?

2009-04-10T15:33:00.019+07:00

Where the bloody hell are you? Apparently not in Bali.

In the wake of two bombings and bad press surrounding the high-profile Schapelle Corby, Bali Nine and Michelle Leslie drug trials, Australians are shunning Bali big time.

The number of Australians heading to the tourist island has dropped from about 224,000 to just 95,000 - a 57 per cent slump that has had a devastating impact on the island's economy. During the same period, the number of European tourists heading to Bali has fallen far less - by about 15 to 20 per cent.

It's a contrast Australian businessman Brett Morgan has played up in an online viral marketing campaign he has launched to spark a resurgence in Australians packing their bags for Bali. The campaign features a tongue-in-cheek video that shamelessly twists the controversial Tourism Australia tagline, "Where the bloody hell are you?" to "Where the Bali hell are you?"

It stars a smiling Balinese guide who highlights how Bali's delights are now being lapped up by tourists from other parts of the world while Australians miss out. "Hey look, the Japanese are surfing your bloody waves," the guide says as a group of surfers runs along a beach. "The Russians are in your bloody spas. The Dutch are wearing your bloody thongs. The Americans are doing your bloody shopping. The Italians are drinking your bloody beer. The French are eating in your bloody restaurants. The Germans are laughing in your bloody pool bars."

At the end of the clip, the guide asks: "Aussie ... where the Bali hell are you?"

Click here for larger image

Sidoarjo on the way to Trawas

2009-04-10T11:11:00.005+07:00

On the way to Trawas we drove past what is probably one of the biggest disasters affecting tens of thousands of people. Here's the story:

A leading Indonesian environmental group has sued an energy firm and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over a mud volcano that has displaced more than 10,000 people in Java, its chairman said on Tuesday.

The torrent of hot mud has been flowing since an oil drilling accident in May and has inundated entire villages in Sidoarjo, an industrial suburb of East Java's Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city.

Numerous attempts to cap or curb the flow have failed and it has become a political and environmental issue, with the government under fire from critics for what they say were lax safety standards behind the accident and for not doing enough to resolve the situation.

Environmental watchdog Walhi filed the suit in a Jakarta court on Monday and named the company blamed for the mudflow, PT Lapindo Brantas, its partners, Yudhoyono and other local officials as defendants, said the group's chairman, Chalid Muhammad.

"The mud flow has damaged the local ecosystem and removed residents from their villages. The current effort is not effective and its funding is controlled by Lapindo," he told Reuters.

The suit demanded that Yudhoyono require Lapindo and its partners to bear all the costs for stopping the mud flow, compensating victims and restoring the environment.

Lapindo and PT Energi Mega Persada Tbk, which indirectly controls it, dispute whether the mud flow was caused by the drilling and also whether Lapindo alone should shoulder the cost.

Energi is owned by the Bakrie Group, controlled by the family of Indonesia's chief social welfare minister, Aburizal Bakrie. Lapindo holds a 50-percent stake in the Brantas block from where the mud is gushing.

Energi International Tbk holds 32 percent and Australia-based Santos Ltd the remaining 18 percent.

Yudhoyono said in December that Lapindo would have to pay US$420 million to victims and for efforts to stop the mud. Lapindo has agreed to pay 2.5 million rupiah (US$276.5) per square metre for swamped land and damaged buildings, and 120,000 rupiah per square metre for inundated rice fields.

The suit also demanded the president set up a team with more powers to investigate the disaster and mobilise expertise to stop it, the environment group said. The court has not set a date for the first hearing.

... for more information on the disaster.

'Hello' to Chris in the Canadian arctic wastes!

2009-04-10T08:16:00.005+07:00

I notice you're following my blog. I'm now in Surabaya. Plenty of misplaced apostrophes here! Being a confirmed apostrophe-Nazi, next time I leave home it'll be with a paintbrush and a pot of paint and I'll overpaint all those misplaced apostrophes wherever I can find them. Maybe I can turn it into a tax-deductible trip, freeing the world of misplaced apostrophes!?

Surabaya

2009-04-09T09:25:00.031+07:00

I'm flying across to Java today with GARUDA (which stands for "good and reliable under Dutch administration")to visit my parents-in-law in Surabaya and to meet "Professor Timmy" and little Cecil (who's just made it onto the cover of TIME Magazine). It's a short 40-minute flight on a 737-400.

Tomorrow the whole family will drive to Trawas, a mountain resort an hour's drive away from Surabaya, where we'll say at the Blessing Hills Hotel for the night.

Will probably stay for four days and return to Bali on the 14th.

Hello to Paul and Sarah in Brunei!

2009-04-09T06:36:00.007+07:00

Selamat Pagi, Paul and Sarah!

I've just noticed you're reading my blog. I enjoyed my meeting you at Villa Agung. Keep in touch!

My email is riverbend@batemansbay.com

My webpage is www.riverbendnelligen.com and my other blog is www.athomeatriverbend.blogspot.com.

Garden of Eden

2009-04-08T21:32:00.013+07:00

I feel like I've woken up in the Garden of Eden! I had better leave that apple (or whatever it is) untouched!

Like in the original Garden of Eden, many things have turned sour here for unsuspecting foreigners. After I had told the Balinese lady who looks after the Banjar Hills bungalows that I had almost bought the place myself back in 2006, she asked, "You want to buy house? I show you!", and off we went down a slippery track only fit for a mountain-goat, skipped from boulder to boulder in a fast-running stream, and balanced across slippery logs over deep irrigation channels. We finally arrived at what is a typically Balinese walled compound built at the far end of a deep valley where not a single breeze stirred the oppressive heat. A (mad?) Dutchman had built it; two small houses, a kitchen/bathroom annexe, and the usual wooden shadehouse platform.

Evidence of some long-ago human habitation was strewn across the bird-cropping covered floors: old copies of the Dutch version of Reader's Digest, some Dutch magazines, and in a corner a mildewed pair of wooden shoes! Jungle- or gum-boots would have been more appropriate as this place is really hard to get to.

What possessed the Dutchman to build a house where everything had to be brought in on foot single-file? And if I had thought that we had come via some shortcut and the way out would be any easier, I was in for a shock as we had to struggle our way up steep and slippery hills on an hardly definable track. What would it be like during the rainy season?

I seem to remember having seen the place advertised for sale on a website which, however, made no mention of its "Heart of Darkness" location.

Another Bali Dream gone sour, just as for the Australian family who arrived last night to stay for a week. The woman, with a haughty and supercilious Penny-Penfold look on her face which made me suspect she was a school mistress, stated grandly, "We're here on business", whereas her husband, Keith, was a little more self-effacing when he confided that they had committed a lot of money to having a villa built at Lovina for their retirement but things weren't going too well. He's a school teacher which became apparent when he talked about 'pentatonic scales' after he had inspected my newly acquired kecapi. "Well, yes, indeed, and how different from the heptatonic scales we're used to," I couldn't stop myself from replying. Bloody show-off!

He pointed out the location from the vantage point of the hotel's restaurant: three tall palmtrees next to a terracotta-tiled roof. The builder, he said, was an Australian expat living in Bali which gave him some hope. Hardly a recommendation in my opinion as most of the expats I've met here so far are the sort of people I'd cross the road to avoid.

Next day, and after meetings with several Balinese people, the result was out: no building, no builder, no money! They're checking out already as it pains him to look down to the coast and see those three palmtrees mockingly waving at him!

When I jokingly ask him, "How's Bob the Builder? - or should I say Shaun?" (that being the real name of the Australian builder), he replied, "He's gone into hiding." Well, being a school teacher, he's just learned a lesson rather than giving one: never trust a builder, especially one who's left Australia to live in Bali!

Some pictures of the Banjar Hills Resort:

Some pictures of the "mad Dutchman's house":