Sept 13-18
Hi All,
We made it to Lovina around 4:00pm……it was a pretty good run but we lost that nice, calm trawler like conditions for the first half…..blew 15-20kts on the beam and seas 2-3’….whoa……hadn’t seen that in a while. But, as we got on the north side of Bali the wind and seas calmed but then we fought a 1-1.5 kt adverse current. The run was 76 nm and took us about 10 hours so a 7.5kt avg…..we were hoping for 8.0!!! Lovina’s anchorage is a wide open roadstead so we anchored out from the pack in about 65′. It was a little rolly so we had anchor down, flopper out and passage beers opened by 4:30….LIG!!!!
Bali……yep……had to pinch ourselves that we are really here!!! Some people said it was the best yet, but I don’t like to use qualifiers like that as we have had a lot of outstanding experiences in Indonesia so far. I can say it was very different, unique, lovely, sometimes serene, sometimes maddeningly crowded. Bali has over 4 million people, and is about half the size of the Big Island in Hawaii…..so pretty small…….but what we saw in the south, central and north it is very developed with lot’s of buildings, agriculture and many, many traffic jams……and trash, OMG…….it was pretty depressing to see these gorgeous sites marred by all the trash!!! The tourist industry is alive and doing extremely well in Bali….mainly tourists from SE Asia and Europe……well, these were the Dutch East Indies……and Holland makes it very easy to travel to these islands!!!
Food: The food is traditional Indonesian…lot’s of rice, noodles, greens, chicken and fish…..very tasty…..but it is served very, very spicy…..they say it is mild but my mouth would still be on fire several hours later:))))
Weather: It has turned hot and humid…..the winds blow in from the north….like from the Equator……air temps in the low 90’s and humidity high 80’s…….oweeeee!!! We are still running the AC at night to cool down the stateroom before bedtime!!!!
About 90% of the population is Hindu. We have not been exposed to much Hindu culture so this was a wonderful, intriguing learning experience for us……and we really just scratched the surface but are now motivated to gain more education about this religion. It seems to be a very personal, individual religion……each person seeking peace and harmony in their lives……no massive churches, no organized religious service…..but they pray individually 3 times per day in their family temple and sometimes on the religious holidays in the village temple. We were most impressed with the Balinese Hindu architecture. Every home had a private temple and every village had a village temple. We were fortunate to be here during one of the Hindu religious holidays…..Galungan……
“Galungan is a Balinese holiday celebrating the victory of dharma over adharma. It marks the time when the ancestral spirits visit the Earth. The last day of the celebration is Kuningan, when they return. The date is calculated according to the 210-day Balinese calendar. Galungan marks the beginning of the most important recurring religious ceremonies. The spirits of deceased relatives who have died and been cremated return to visit their former homes, and the current inhabitants have a responsibility to be hospitable through prayers and offerings. The most obvious sign of the celebrations are the penjor – bamboo poles with offerings suspended at the end. These are installed by the side of roads.”
We arrived with 2 days left of the Rally events. The last day featured Balinese dancers….wow….very different, exotic, elegant and precision dancing accompanied by the Balinese gamelan music……”predominantly percussive instruments. The most common instruments used are metallophones played by mallets and a set of hand-played drums called kendhang which register the beat. Other instruments include xylophones, bamboo flutes, a bowed instrument called a rebab, and even vocalists called sindhen.” We also saw over 200 dancers on the beach act out the Rama Sita story…..fascinating and very well done!!!
We next did 2 days of touring sandwiched around a day of diving……3 very full days of activities and yes, today, we are very worn out. It was definitely sensory overload and we need a day to rest and process all we saw and learned!! On the tours we went to a coffee plantation, Ubud, a cultural art and tourist destination; jewelry factory; painting co-op and shop; wood carving co-op and shop, and the sacred monkey forest. The second day we went to a waterfall, Hindu temple, and the UNESCO world heritage rice paddy fields. For the dive we went west to Menjangan island.
Coffee factory: We were fortunate to taste the Luwak coffee…..or “civet coffee, refers to the coffee that includes part-digested coffee cherries eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet!!! Producers of the coffee beans argue that the process may improve coffee through two mechanisms, selection and digestion. Selection occurs if the civets choose to eat cherries. Digestive mechanisms may improve the flavor profile of the coffee beans that have been eaten. The civet eats the cherries for the fleshy pulp, then in the digestive tract, fermentation occurs. The civet’s protease enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a civet’s intestines the cherries are then defecated with other fecal matter and collected.”
Yep……shit coffee……and it is $200/lb!!!!! But, it has been on my bucket list since I learned about it in Panama….and maybe from the movie, “Bucket List”!!! It actually was quite good…..certainly not worth the price…..it had a light roast and we prefer a darker roast so that might have been part of the rich, mild flavor……nevertheless we bought a bag of 50grams….enough to make 4-5 cups for our family or friends who can bribe us:))))
Ubud: we saw the full compliment of Bali’s tourist industry…..art, clothes, furniture, shop, after shop, after shop…….and more people we have seen since the harbor in Sydney on NYE:))))
Jewelry factory: It is a factory where they make gold and silver jewelry, all by hand…..maybe 70 craftsman and family run. They import all the metals…..copper, silver and gold from Borneo, and only sell at the factory. They said they have no online site, but we suspect they sell to brokers who sell elsewhere. Kathy bought a ring and bracelet…..it was quite an experience seeing all the wonderful pieces and then doing a 5 minute negotiating spin!!!
Painting: wow oh wow…..this might have been my favorite spot, but unfortunately they did not allow pictures inside. Again, maybe 100 artists. And, most of the paintings we liked were huge…..like half to a full size wall…..mostly of various Bali landscapes….we particularly liked the paintings of the rice fields……very tranquil and peaceful with vivid green or yellow/brown colors.
Wood Carvings: This was a co-op and most carvers worked at home. The wood is ebony and mahogany (imported) and crocodile wood (from Bali). Again, some very large pieces. We bought a a Rama Sita carving……it’s a love story…..like Romeo/Juliet but with a happier ending. We liked the carving in part because it was made from crocodile wood….the bark resembles the skin of a crocodile!! Here is the story: http://hinduism.about.com/od/epics/a/ramayana_story.htm
Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary: Wow…..are these guys aggressive!! Over 600 Macaques monkeys live in this forest. The rangers feed them 3 times/day…..sweet potatoes, leaves and the tourists feed them bananas and other fruits. But, the monkeys are very aggressive and we watched “Darwin” in action as many people allowed them to climb up their bodies and feed out of their hands…..and yes, one guy got scratched…..and yes, they do carry quite a few diseases, including rabies….yikes!! The Forest is also home to three Hindu temples dating from 1350 with some very unique sculptures…..whoa!!
Git Git Waterfall: A very nice and cool waterfall. At about 150′ high, it is the tallest waterfall in Bali!! Set in a rather small canyon, the base of the waterfall is lush and green, with a cool breeze blowing off of it. The water is spring-fed, so it runs all year long and is cool and refreshing!
Pura Ulun Danu Batur Temple: “….is the second most important temple in Bali, after Pura Besakih. Built in 1926, the temple is dedicated to Dewi Danu, goddess of lakes and rivers. “Ulun Danu” literally translates as “head of the lake”. Originally, Pura Batur and the village of Batur were located down in the caldera at the foot of Mount Batur, an active volcano. A violent eruption in 1926 destroyed both the village and the temple, except for the most important shrine, an 11-tiered meru dedicated to Dewi Danu. The villagers moved to the highest and oldest rim of the caldera, where they rebuilt their village and the temple. Pura Batur comprises nine different temples, containing in total 285 shrines and pavilions dedicated to the gods and goddesses of water, agriculture, holy springs, art, crafts, and more. Pura Penataran Agung Batur, the principal temple, has five main courtyards. Its most dominant shrines are the 11-tiered meru situated in the inner and most sacred courtyard, three 9-tiered merus dedicated to Mount Batur, Mount Abang, and Ida Batara Dalem Waturenggong, the deified king of the Gelgel dynasty who ruled from 1460 to 1550. The eight other temples are Penataran Pura Jati, Pura Tirta Bungkah, Pura Taman Sari, Pura Tirta Mas Mampeh, Pura Sampian Wangi, Pura Gunarali, Pura Padang Sila, and Pura Tuluk Biyu.”
As I said we don’t know a lot about Hindu or their temples. We did not have a guide for this tour so we were pretty confused on what we were seeing and the significance. But, it was still very impressive, especially the local people dressed in their holiday costumes. We watched several “personal ceremonies” where they knelt and prayed with their hands using different colored flowers, each with a special significance.
Jatiluwih Rice Terraces: “This is a World Heritage site in Bali famous for the beautiful and immense rice terraces unfolding from the foot of mountain until the coastal side. It is one of places to visit in Bali with the beautiful view as according to its name from Jati and luwih, where Jati means really and Luwih meaning special, good, and beautiful or the equivalent. The local paddies planted in this place are typically of the high relative size plant if it is compared with other pre-eminent paddies planted by most farmers in Bali. Jatiluwih is also famous for its organic agriculture system due to its location in the plateau of Watukaru Mount which is suitable for the agriculture development.
Jatiluwih is one of the place of interest in the area of Penebel, Tabanan. Jatiluwih famous for its natural beauty with terraced rice fields which neatly. in this place also in the beautiful mountain scenery named Batukaru mountain, because the location of this Jatiluwih right at the foot of the Batukaru mountain.
Jatiluwih rice cultivation has an area of approximately 636 ha. And this Jatiluwih rice field located at an altitude of 700 meters above sea level. This area is a suitable place to visit for the one who missed the Mountain fresh air and the natural panorama as a place to soothe the mind, because of the beautiful place that is still natural with fresh air.
JATILUWIH RICE TERRACE VIEWJatiluwih is surrounded by cool atmosphere because it is located in the height of 700 meters above sea level. Besides its nature potency, Jatiluwih is also saving the cultural potency, especially history of the Petali Temple existence that is related to the power of Ida Dalem Waturenggong King in Keraton Gelgel (1460 – 1552).”
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1194
We also heard this was around in the 8th and 9th centuries. It really blew us away……very peaceful, tranquil but yet you know how much hard work it took to build this system and to plant, grow and harvest the rice. They now allow tourists to walk amongst the paddies and we had lunch overlooking the fields…..just breathtaking!!! They grow red, black and white rice. Black rice tasted like a pudding, red was the most flavorful and the white……well, tasted like white rice:)))) I had a plate of fried red rice and it was delicious. We bought a bag of red rice and will let you know how it is!!!
Diving Menjangan Island: Just another great diving day in Indonesia…..very healthy reefs, great diversity of small reef fish but again nothing large. These were wall dives full of large coral fans……some of the biggest we have seen since Fiji. It was another long day…..you first take a 1.5 hour bus ride, then a 30 min boat ride…..dive, lunch, dive and then boat and bus ride…..we left at 8 and got back after 5pm!!!!
Boat stuff: Yeah…..our boat paddle started to work again after 3 attempts to clean it!!!! Bad news, one of our Headhunter Xcaliber fresh water pumps just quite working. We have a redundant system so just switched to the other pump…..yep, another item to fix when we get a chance!!!
So there you have it……one week in Bali……utterly awesome!!!!!
Tomorrow, Monday Sept 19, we will take off NE for Palau Saebus close to Kangean Island, about 77nm away…..it will be a day trip….leaving around 6am at sunrise and getting in hopefully around 4pm. We don’t think there will be any cell or internet service so we will be using the Sat phone. We will spend a few days then go on to Bawean, an over night run of 190nm, then onto Kumai, another overnight run of 200nm. Kumai is in the Kalimantan region and is where we will leave Mystic for 2 days to take a river boat to see the orangutans!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
GO MYSTIC GO!!!!
PS: Pictures in a Gallery on the website: https://www.mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/Bali
clivet coffe??? Do you know what defecated means???? 🙂