Time Travel: A Taste of Heaven

With a population of just under 4,000,000 people, Bali is an Indonesian island nestled between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. With its emerald green scenery, pristine beauty, exotic temples and friendly locals, it is the most magical and heavenly place in South-east Asia that I have had the pleasure of visiting.

I have always been fascinated by architecture. Architecture was the reason why I visited the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur years ago, and it is the reason why I want to visit Barcelona, Cambodia and Turkey. I thought the Hindu temples in Bali were exquisite, mysterious and exceptionally beautiful.

Black and white checkered cloth is ubiquitous in Bali. You will see this cloth adorning just about everything on the island, from sculptures and shrines to big rocks and tree trunks. The chessboard pattern of black, white and grey squares is an important motif to the Balinese, who call it Poleng and have made it their official colour. Hence, it also decorates people. The black and white squares signify the Balinese concept of Rwa Bhineda, a view of mutual dualism. It is about relativity - black and white, day and night, high and low, etc. The Balinese believe that the balance of this mutual dualism will bring peace and prosperity to mankind, and hence, the number of black and white squares is always equal.

In Kuta, on the other hand, these offensive black and white stickers are everywhere.

Another thing that you will see absolutely all over the island are the stray dogs. There have been troubles with rabies in Bali in the past, but thankfully I never encountered any problems. None of the dogs were bad tempered, in fact they were all as friendly and relaxed as the Balinese locals. And I certainly don't think that Bali is going to the dogs, as some news reports would have you believe.

Marissa and I enjoyed the beaches of Kuta, but the pristine, heavenly and magical beaches of Uluwatu and Sanur would soon take our breath away.

I enjoyed the graffiti covering Poppies Lane 1 and 2 in Kuta, too.

One of the coolest and cleanest places we stayed at in Kuta was the Fat Yogi.

Need I say more?

Everyone in Bali is relaxed, carefree and chilled, that goes for the tourists and the locals. There are no bad vibes here and everyone is friends. This was a Javanese guy we met named Johnny. He wanted nothing from us and never made us feel uncomfortable. He merely wanted to speak English and relax with us on the beach. Which is what we did, often.

We met Evan one night at Alleycats in Kuta. Evan is from California and has been living in Bali for a couple of months. He moved here to open his own furniture making factory. He showed us around the island and took us to amazing places we otherwise would never have found. So we were really lucky to meet him.

One day, Evan took us to Bali's largest traditional village and first beach resort, the fishing village of Sanur. It is stunningly beautiful.

Sanur is home to the 11-story Grand Bali Beach Hotel, which was a war-reparation gift from the Japanese, and holds the mysterious story of the holy shrine of room 327. In January 1993, a fire ravaged the hotel but it left one room completely untouched - the presidential suite for Bali's first president Pres. Soekarno. The room is now a holy shrine, with an altar for praying. It cannot be entered without permission from the hotel management and unless you are accompanied by a hotel security officer.

We tried to get permission at short notice that day, but were unfortunately denied. So we could only take photos of it instead.

As we exited the hotel, I was reminded of home when I saw this poster advertising a Zakumi cocktail.

Our next stop was Nusa Dua Turtle Island, just south of Sanur. In the taxi, Choi offered us an Engkalak, which is also called a butter fruit because of its soft, rich innards. It has the texture of butter and I thought it was quite tasty.

The turtles at the Turtle Island resort are captured and kept for a few months, but then returned to the wild. Turtles are heavily protected in most parts of Bali because of their dwindling numbers.

It was fun being able to interact with the turtles in their sea-water sanctuary, as well as with all the other wildlife.

I especially liked this turtle kiss.

I absolutely love fruit bats. The one I'm holding is a female.

I think they look like little puppies with wings.

And this little critter is the Asian Palm civet.

He and his little civet friends give us the most expensive coffee in the world, called Kopi Luwak. But before you rush out to buy the aromatic coffee, remember that this coffee is made after the civet passes the beans through its digestive tract. Yup, that's right: the world's most expensive coffee is literally civet shit.

Next, it was time to play with a Burmese python whose mouth was taped shut. The Muslim ladies around us were completely freaked out by the snake.

They were all too terrified to hold it, so they took a million photos of me holding it, instead.

Later that day, we went to Wonderland Beach and Uluwatu.

We found a beautiful cove, where we relaxed, swam and indulged in foot massages on the beach, courtesy of these local ladies.

Just like there are dogs, stickers and pelong cloth all over Bali, there is also always a surfing competition happening somewhere. Usually in Uluwatu.

You can't see them so clearly in this photo, but loads of surfers are carving into the waves here.

Choi, Evan, Marissa and I had lunch before heading down to enjoy the surf, sun and sea.

Having found my piece of heaven here in Uluwatu, I stayed in the luxurious water for at least an hour. It was very very hard to leave.

Next, Marissa and I went to see a 45-minute Kecak Dance, also called a Monkey Dance, for sunset. The dance took place at Pura Luhur Ulu Watu, a temple up on a cliff at the most southern part of the island where monkeys roam free and occasionally steal tourists' belongings.

The Kecak Dance, told in a series of vocal chants by a choir of about fifty men, tells the story of Ramayana. Warrior and rightful throne to Ayodya, Rama is exiled with his wife Sita to a faraway desert. In the barren desert, an evil king notices Sita and falls in love with her. He sends a golden deer to lure Rama away so that he can capture Sita. The rest of the story shows how Rama rounds up his armies to defeat those of the evil king and rescue his beloved.

As you can see, the singer / actors are clad in poleng cloth.

After the show, we drove into Ubud, located near the center of Bali. This fascinating artistic village is where we would spend the night. We had dinner at a great Cuban restaurant called Fidels.

Ubud is a major art and culture center, far away from the maddening crowds and drunken cacophony that is Kuta. Its cooler temperature and emerald forests are also a welcome relief. We really enjoyed browsing the market place for trinkets and presents for our family and friends.

A unique budget accommodation option in Bali is the "home stay", where you can rent a room in a traditional Balinese home for much cheaper than the hotels, motels and bungalows. It also gives you great insight into how the locals live.

Ubud is a great place to rent a scooter and drive amongst the undulating rice paddies.

So that's exactly what we did.

We visited Petulu village, a few kilometers north of Ubud to see the infamous white herons. The birds first appeared in this small village in large numbers after one of the worst massacres of suspected communists in 1965. According to local legend,  the birds are the souls of those who died.

Later, we enjoyed a delicious lunch overlooking a terraced rice paddy.

And after lunch, Evan took us on a secret mission to enjoy palm wine with some Ubud locals.

After a short walk into a dense, cool forest, we arrived at a house where they cut, tap, collect and ferment wine each day.

 

We drank the toddy right out of a coconut palm.

I'm not a huge fan of palm wine, but it was a very unique experience and definitely one of the highlights of my trip to Ubud.

Interestingly, this man is of Dutch-Javanese heritage. He could understand my Afrikaans somewhat, but thought it sounded really funny and bastardised. He was a fascinating old man, who told me that he enjoyed reading science-fiction. We had a great conversation about Isaac Asimov and a few of our other favourite authors. I suggested that he read Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and I wonder now if he has.

Wandering around the art stalls and yoga shops of Ubud, I was reminded of my friends back in South Africa when I saw "Sisi and Nanan" printed on a shop window. How I wished my friends and family were in Bali to enjoy it with me. My sister would have loved the markets of Ubud, and my mom would have enjoyed the massages that are readily available everywhere.

I wish that technology was sophisticated enough for you to be able to smell the aromas and fragrances of Bali. Bali is without a doubt the most fragrant place I've been to, and it's mostly thanks to these offering baskets called canang sari.

As you walk along the sidewalks of most areas of the island, you will undoubtedly step on a basket like this, filled with rice, flowers and other offerings. The Balinese Hindus offer these baskets to the gods three times a day. Balinese Hinduism is strongly influenced by animism and naturalism, where the power of spirits exists in all objects and elements of life.

Another site that caught my eye was the penjor. A penjor is a long, curved bamboo pole decorated in coconut leaves and other offerings like fruit, cereal, rice, traditional cakes and coins. Drooping over the sidewalks, they seem to be natural street lamps.

During the festival of Galungan, Balinese Hindus erect a penjor in front of their houses to symbolise the victory of good over evil, as well as to show their gratitude to God. A small triangular bamboo cage, called a sanggah cucuk, is attached about halfway down the pole. It is considered to be a temporary “throne” for the Gods when they come down to Earth for Galungan.

I found Bali to be a magical piece of heaven, with a rich culture and exquisite sites. I wish I could have stayed there longer, but it captured my heart and imagination, so I have vowed to visit there again. I've already made plans to celebrate my 30ieth birthday in Sanur, Ubud and Uluwatu, with my mother, my sister and other loved ones this time.