April 5th, 2005
Wow, I've spent a week trying to figure out the best way to show you Bali, Indonesia. We have so many pix, and saw so much in the way of art, culture, people, food and countryside, that I'm at a loss for how to show you all of it in a cohesive way. Added to the fact that many of the pix were removed from a daily format, to a list of events, so I'm not even sure which pix would go where if I posted by day. So, I think the best way to show you all Bali, in what will be the easiest way for me, is to break it down by the broader headings of Art, Culture, People, Food and Countryside. There will of course be some overlap, but I just don't know how else to start. Who knows I may change how I show it as I go on...

There are many pages so if you want a menu bar for them click here.

So, here goes,

Bali, Indonesia, so far, the most beautiful place we've ever been to.



Bali is underlined in RED as it is a specialty coffee producer. Sumatra is also underlined in red, and in the last week has had a few earthquakes and some of it's volcanos are beginning to come to life! Singapore has felt the tremors of some of the recent quakes happening in Sumatra. We personally have not felt any tremors though and missed another quake as we were in Bali when it happened. Indonesia has about 130 active volcanos (about 80 or so which are being watched much more closely now as they are becoming more active) and there are big ones on the island of Bali which makes it dangerous, but also extremely fertile at the same time.



First let me start by saying that now is a great time to visit Bali, besides seismic activity in other areas of Indonesia, the island is trying hard to recover after the Bali bombings of 2002 which happened in Kuta (in the South). Because of the decline in tourist visitors, the economy has been suffering, and if you go now, you will be getting great deals. As well, from late April, early May-October/November, is considered the low season, so again, great deals abound if you just look around. The rainy season also comes to an end by early May, so while it may be hot, it is much less humid and the temps are very pleasant and tolerable.

On our day of arrival, we had bright beautiful sunshine a light breeze and while it was hot, it was cooler and less humid than Singapore. Our first images of Bali were artisic in nature, and we had only just arrived at the airport in Denpasar.


Excitment increases as we begin to view the island.



As we disembarked from the plane and followed the tunnel to the main terminal, this is what we saw!


Fountains entering to customs.


A wooden carving on the wall.

We didn't know it when we stepped off the plane, but not long after seeing the many details of the way the Balinese live, we coined our phrase, "where there is one, there is one hundred!" Keep this in mind as you begin to see all that we saw!

Enjoy Bali!

Stone Art Carvings

We had hired a driver to take us around, and his name was Nyoman Whiskey. ("Nyoman"= he is the 3rd son in the family) He met us at the airport holding a sign in hand, reading "Brodhead". He walked us out to his car (offered us cold beers at the car) and this is the last thing we saw as we entered the parking lot. I thought, interesting, it's wearing a sarong. Little did I know how important sarongs would be.


Sarong clad statue.

As we left the airport, we were visually accosted by enormous statues at street centers and intersections. They were massive and incredibly intricate! And also donning sarongs!









We learned from Whiskey that each town had a statue, and each town tended to be insular in what they offered. We experienced this as our discussion with Whiskey brought us to what did we want to see?

Whiskey asked us what we wanted to see, (on our way up to Padang Bai, and we all agreed that we wanted to experience the Art of Bali. So, he took us to see stone carvings. (and more...)



Remember as you look ahead, "where there's one, there's one hundred!" As we left Denpasar the towns became one main art form after another. An entire town would be dedicated to stone carvings for example. Or wood carvings, gold and silver, bamboo, kites, batiks, or furniture. It seemed very strange to us, but Whiskey said that it made perfect sense, it was much easier to find what you were looking for if it was all in the same place. Pasar means "market" in Balinese, and Denpasar was once the great market area.




We were just blown away by the sheer numbers of carvings AND that they were all carved by hand. Each carving of a specific design looked almost identical to the one next to it, but none were cast, it's all Hand Carved.



Shop owner beginning the work on a 'Barong'. This stone is sandstone. But there are a few types of stone that you will see in later pix. The sandstone is harvested from riverbeds, so it's very wet when they start work on a piece, making it a bit softer. But, as it dries out, it not only becomes lighter, but also much much harder.



A completed Barong. The owner said that it woud take 15 men to move this statue to it's new home.


Mossy Budduh face.


Smooth Shadow Face.



This is a Hindu Elephant statue. In this culture, of which it's mostly Balinese Hinduism (which is very different from Hindu practices in India), Balinese believe in making offerings to spirits which they believe to be everywhere, hence, you will find colorful offering plates or flowers just about everywhere you look. The offerings are to pay homage to the good spirits and to placate the bad ones and are placed EVERYDAY, morning, lunch and dinnertime. Bali really was a beautiful place to be!


Another floral offering on this statue.


I call it, "Mossy Balls". And yes, it's exactly what you think it is! We weren't quite sure why penis's seemed to be so prominant, as the female counterpart really wasn't in view at all, but as we explored the art of Bali, we saw more and more of this erect organ.


Oh yes, a pair of them.


I liked the contrast of the dark stone, in the shadow, and the light on the purple and green. He seemed to be peeking out from behind and was happy to have visitors.


This was Sherry's favorite statue, the green faced fisherman.


As you looked around you, you were in a sea of statues. Sherry and I are in the middle.


This is our baby! We didn't buy him yet, but since we are going back, (anyone want to join us?) we'll get him on the next trip. Now we know better how to haggle prices and we know exactly where he is.


This was an amusing line up; Joseph, Mary and a dancing Barong!


Mossy woman.


A Barong in the making. Notice the offering on top of his head.


And if you turned another corner, you found that there were yet more statues to be seen...


There was a temple next door, and it offered us a glimpse of how decorative the temples would be.


Carvings in action.


Making stone parts.


Bali's little elves. : )


Woodcarving

We were pretty overloaded by how many stone carvings we saw, but really wanted to get a feel for the rest of the art that Bali offered. We headed next to see Woodcarving. Unfortunatly, we ended up at an outlet that was more for tourists. We also quickly learned that many of the places we were about to see were for tourists, so after visiting a few of them, we made a family decision to be more clear with Whiskey about getting us out and off the beaten track. Never the less, what we saw was still beautiful just not necessarily what I might want in my house. (Can you imagine beautiful wooden carvings in 'The Doghouse'? Can you say 'Chew Toy'?


An elaborate woodcarved door.


A carving that wasn't quite finished.



The place that we visited was more like a complex. It had separate bdgs that housed different kinds of woodcarvings. This is a separate bdg that held smaller pieces, more like tabletop statues, and carvings for the walls. The stonework was again, extroidinary.


A close up of the center of the bdg.


One of the carvings.


Another carving.


This is a monkey that I'm guessing is from the Barong and Keris Dance.


Elaborate Carving.


Gives the illusion of blowin' in the wind.


Some of the carvings were painted.


Fancy steps on the second bdg.


This was actually a carving we encountered while walking in Ubud but it was so striking in the details, that we thought we should add it to the list.

Ok, since I think this one's long enough I'm going to end it, and start the second one, but still, other art forms.

Enjoy!

An offering.

© September 6, 2008