Many of you will have already seen these when I sent them to you shortly after our trip in 2011. To make it a bit more interesting, I've added some more photos -- I can be a lot less ruthless in a blog than in an e-mail! -- and some additional commentary.
We had a great time in Bali and the Balinese couldn't
have been more hospitable -- they even had a small earthquake while we were
there just so I can say I've experienced one!
We went to Bali for the annual conference of the IMTA (International Military Testing Association) which is my favourite of all the conferences I've been to with Vic. I like it because it's small -- only a couple hundred people -- and I see the same people each time so have gotten to know some of them pretty well. One of the things that made this trip even more interesting than usual is that we were the guests of the Indonesian Army, and as such got some serious VIP treatment.
Our first taste of this was the Welcome Meet and Greet reception. The venue was a good hour's drive from the hotel complex where the conference was located and our convoy of five busses never even slowed down, let alone stopped during the trip There were soldiers at every intersection stopping traffic to allow us to pass. Much the same thing happened at the conference banquet. Our busses arrived and six lanes of traffic were stopped while we all piled out of busses and lined up as part of a parade that included musicians, dancers and torch bearers. It was astonishing and strange.
Kuta, where the conference was held, is the biggest city on Bali and is very densely populated and touristy. The Meet and Greet, as I mentioned, was held a fair distance away at a coastal resort famous for having the world's most beautiful sunsets. I can't attest to that, but I can say that the one we saw was pretty spectacular and included scenic fishing boats.
There are a few you things you notice right
away when you arrive in Bali: It’s very warm, very humid, and very
green. Shortly thereafter, you notice that there are temples,
shrines, statues, and offerings
everywhere. Really. Everywhere.
The sculptures are amazing. At shrines, in temples, along the road, in front of houses, …everywhere. This dragon is one of my favourites. He (or she) adorned a bridge and is a good example of the elaborate, complex style of most of the stonework
The sculptures are amazing. At shrines, in temples, along the road, in front of houses, …everywhere. This dragon is one of my favourites. He (or she) adorned a bridge and is a good example of the elaborate, complex style of most of the stonework
Every home, every shop, every desk, every counter has an offering,
renewed daily. They’re very small and pretty, and you see them
everywhere. Offerings are little woven baskets made of (I think)
palm fronds and filed with flowers, herbs, food and other things.
We went to Bali for the annual conference of the IMTA (International Military Testing Association) which is my favourite of all the conferences I've been to with Vic. I like it because it's small -- only a couple hundred people -- and I see the same people each time so have gotten to know some of them pretty well. One of the things that made this trip even more interesting than usual is that we were the guests of the Indonesian Army, and as such got some serious VIP treatment.
Our first taste of this was the Welcome Meet and Greet reception. The venue was a good hour's drive from the hotel complex where the conference was located and our convoy of five busses never even slowed down, let alone stopped during the trip There were soldiers at every intersection stopping traffic to allow us to pass. Much the same thing happened at the conference banquet. Our busses arrived and six lanes of traffic were stopped while we all piled out of busses and lined up as part of a parade that included musicians, dancers and torch bearers. It was astonishing and strange.
Kuta, where the conference was held, is the biggest city on Bali and is very densely populated and touristy. The Meet and Greet, as I mentioned, was held a fair distance away at a coastal resort famous for having the world's most beautiful sunsets. I can't attest to that, but I can say that the one we saw was pretty spectacular and included scenic fishing boats.
The entertainment at the reception came in two parts: first an Indonesian General doing a surprising good job of singing Frank Sinatra's greatest hits (when you're a general, I guess no one can really tell you not to sing!) and spectacular Balinese traditional fire dancers.
Another reason that I enjoy the IMTA conferences is that they do a really good job of organizing things for the "accompanying persons" to do while the conference goers are working. One of these excursions was to a resort in Ubud. Those of you who have read Eat, Pray, Love might recognize Ubud as the town where Elizabeth Gilbert spent her sojourn in Bali.
We were in Bali during the rainy season, which most days meant that it was hot and sunny, except for a brief, heavy rain at some point in the afternoon. However, the day of our trip to Ubud was rainy and misty -- very atmospheric for a trek into the jungle, which is what the drive felt like. Once we arrived, though, it was to a perfectly manicured, serene mountaintop surrounded by forest. The grounds were spotted with tiny, perfect little gazebos, as well as rooms for guests. None of the buildings had windows -- because Bali is on the equator, the temperatures swing from 90F to 95F so windows really aren't necessary. The roof overhangs to keep the rain out.
We had a tour of the gardens (the resort grows it's own organic fruits and vegetables), a cooking lesson (at which helpful -- and skilled -- cooks did most of the work),
a luncheon (for eating the results of the cooking class),
a massage (for which we all had to don batik bikinis. No photos of that, I promise!) and a sojourn in a hot tub (from which we had a view of monkeys playing on the lawn). Sadly, I did not have my camera in the hot tub.
As was the case everywhere in Bali, the resort grounds were well-supplied with statuary, my favourite of which was this happy pig.
Another reason that I enjoy the IMTA conferences is that they do a really good job of organizing things for the "accompanying persons" to do while the conference goers are working. One of these excursions was to a resort in Ubud. Those of you who have read Eat, Pray, Love might recognize Ubud as the town where Elizabeth Gilbert spent her sojourn in Bali.
We were in Bali during the rainy season, which most days meant that it was hot and sunny, except for a brief, heavy rain at some point in the afternoon. However, the day of our trip to Ubud was rainy and misty -- very atmospheric for a trek into the jungle, which is what the drive felt like. Once we arrived, though, it was to a perfectly manicured, serene mountaintop surrounded by forest. The grounds were spotted with tiny, perfect little gazebos, as well as rooms for guests. None of the buildings had windows -- because Bali is on the equator, the temperatures swing from 90F to 95F so windows really aren't necessary. The roof overhangs to keep the rain out.
We had a tour of the gardens (the resort grows it's own organic fruits and vegetables), a cooking lesson (at which helpful -- and skilled -- cooks did most of the work),
a luncheon (for eating the results of the cooking class),
a massage (for which we all had to don batik bikinis. No photos of that, I promise!) and a sojourn in a hot tub (from which we had a view of monkeys playing on the lawn). Sadly, I did not have my camera in the hot tub.
As was the case everywhere in Bali, the resort grounds were well-supplied with statuary, my favourite of which was this happy pig.
Driving to and from Ubud, we saw a lot of Balinese landscape, which was lovely and verdant. I was especially taken with the rice paddies, which came in two styles: flat
And the much less common, terraced:
Besides the landscape we saw a lot of animals in Bali, most but not all, native to Indonesia. We visited a wildlife park where we saw:
A quite cheery
looking Komodo dragon (They are, as advertised, quite large and dinosaur
like. This one was safely behind glass.);
A tiger (cooling off on a very hot day);
A sleepy lion;
And finally, a very well-trained, well-behaved elephant.
We also visited the Sacred Monkey Forest, near Ubud. It's a fascinating place -- a beautiful jungle where hundreds of monkeys run free. They are cared for and fed twice a day by caretakers so they aren't hungry or aggressive. The caretaker jobs are hereditary and the same families have been looking after the monkeys for generations. Here, they're chopping up sweet potatoes for the monkeys' dinner.
The monkeys are definitely wild animals -- they won't let you touch them, for example, and will snarl if you try -- but they aren't afraid of people and don't seem to mind being photographed.
This thoughtful guy seems to be contemplating
something very deep.
As a bonus, here's a sarong-clad Vic in front of the Elephant cave. Because it is a sacred site, everyone's knees have to
be covered. Vic (and several of the other guys in our party) were wearing
shorts and so were given a jaunty sarong to wear.
There was a complicated, exotic and beautiful dance illustrating parts of the Ramayana:
And finally, the banquet itself, which was held in a 12th century Hindu water temple. If you look closely, you can see my shadow intruding in the bottom left of the shot.
Bali is far away -- the trip there took 38 hours, though to be fair, 12 of them were a layover in NYC where we at least got to have lunch with Victor and Kim -- but in the end well worth it. I wish you all the chance to visit yourself someday!
Jan
We also visited the Sacred Monkey Forest, near Ubud. It's a fascinating place -- a beautiful jungle where hundreds of monkeys run free. They are cared for and fed twice a day by caretakers so they aren't hungry or aggressive. The caretaker jobs are hereditary and the same families have been looking after the monkeys for generations. Here, they're chopping up sweet potatoes for the monkeys' dinner.
The monkeys are definitely wild animals -- they won't let you touch them, for example, and will snarl if you try -- but they aren't afraid of people and don't seem to mind being photographed.
This is the first photo I took in the Monkey Forest and I think it's
my favourite. I love the tuft on his head that looks like a third ear and
I really think he was posing for me!
This monkey is chowing down on his sweet potato supper.
Having been a nursing mother myself, I can empathize with trying to
nurse twins! There were many monkey babies in the forest, but like human
babies, they were very squirmy and only this shot and the next were even sort
of in focus.
Whether monkey or human, babies are hard to keep
clean!
One of the places we visited which involved both sculpture and
offerings was the Elephant Cave. This is an archaeological site which was
buried centuries ago in an earthquake and was excavated mostly in the 1950s,
which accounts for it's excellent state of preservation. It is sacred to
both Buddhists and Hindus, which I gathered from our guide's commentary, is
unusual. We entered the cave through the open mouth -- I love the way the
guardian is looking to the side. It was surprisingly roomy -- no where
near as claustrophobic as, for example, Newgrange in Ireland. And it's
not named the "Elephant Cave" because the sculpture around the cave
mouth is of an elephant --it's not. It's because the nearby river is the
Elephant River.
There was a complicated, exotic and beautiful dance illustrating parts of the Ramayana:
And finally, the banquet itself, which was held in a 12th century Hindu water temple. If you look closely, you can see my shadow intruding in the bottom left of the shot.
Bali is far away -- the trip there took 38 hours, though to be fair, 12 of them were a layover in NYC where we at least got to have lunch with Victor and Kim -- but in the end well worth it. I wish you all the chance to visit yourself someday!
Jan
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