The Yak #38 by The Yak Magazine

Sarong InSpIratIonS the debut cookbook from the defInItIve new voIce In South eaSt aSIan cuISIne, wIll meyrIck.

“…one of the beSt bookS on food I’ve Seen for Some tIme” “…a portable pIece of Sarong to take home wIth you”

TO DOWNLOAD A FREE PREVIEW INCLUDING THE FIRST CHAPTER OF RECIPES HEAD TO WWW.WILLMEYRICK.COM Sarong, Jl Petitenget No. 19X Kerobokan, Bali, Indonesia +62 361 4737 809 or info@sarongbali.com www.sarongbali.com

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Lu xur y

I n

P r i n t

Volume Thirty eight marCH/aprIL/may 2013

The Yak Magazine Sophie Digby, Agustina Ardie, Nigel Simmonds

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#38: Madonna, Nicholson, De Niro, by Alec Monopoly for W Hotel Seminyak. You know the drill. No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced electronically or otherwise without prior permission from the Publisher. Opinions expressed within this publication are those of the authors not the Publisher. The Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not comply with the magazine's design criteria. The Yak will not be held responsible for copyright infringements on images supplied directly by advertisers and/or contributors.

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contents P: 96 Omnibus: UNDER THE GUN

Top Table

Van Damme

Do It

34 38

Yakety yak

archives

wherearetheynow?

ever inquisitive, robert wolf asks: Whatever Happened to . . . Jean-Claude Van Damme?

Ah, ‘the muscles from Brussels’. Where would action movies of the late '80s and early '90s have been without our friend the famous Flemish bodybuilder and martial artist? Remember such classics as Universal Soldier, Timecop, and Hard Target? Yeah, we’re a bit hazy, too, but they were pretty successful at the time. Apparently, he’s not keen on the nickname; he reputedly once claimed that, "it’s like I’m known as a shellfish." Well, English isn’t his first language. The young Jean-Claude was hardly an obvious candidate for Hollywood stardom. Born in 1960 to Eugène and Eliana Van Varenberg, he was a scrawny kid whose father was an accountant and flower salesman. Noting his son’s lack of physical strength, however, Eugène steered him into martial arts at age 10 or 11 (depending upon which biography you read). By age 16, Van Varenberg junior had also taken up ballet, and claimed that, "if you can survive a ballet workout, you can survive a workout in any other sport". His record in full-contact karate and kickboxing is impressive, if contested. No one disputes, however, that he can do the splits on chairs. It’s doubtful we would have heard of him at all if not for the name change. Would you go and watch a film starring a martial artist named Jean-Claude Van Varenberg? Armed with his new bulletproof moniker and the companionship of his childhood friend Michael Qissi, though, Van Damme relocated to Hollywood and assumed such illustrious roles as ‘Gay Karate Man’ in the obscure Monaco Forever. Eventually, after years as a carpet layer, bouncer, and pizza delivery man, the big breakthrough came. Bloodsport, shot on a budget of $1.5 million in Hong Kong and only recut and released at Van Damme’s insistence, hit the (relatively) big time and made Van Damme a star. The rest is mainly testosterone-fuelled history, until Van Damme faded into obscurity in the mid-'90s. Struggling with the fractious ending of a failing marriage and an addiction to cocaine, he starred in a succession of stinkers. The Quest, anyone? Derailed? Yeah, it’s probably for the best. In 1996, he checked into the Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital in Los Angeles to undertake a 30-day substance abuse treatment. He relapsed after leaving the programme within a week. How surprising. Of course, his profile in Bali has been lifted by his association with white water rafting on the island, but he’s long been in the Hollywood doldrums. Besides, he’s more

than 50 years old now; a bit over the hill for an action film star (don’t tell Arnie or Sly we said that). How, then, has one of the inevitable answers to the famous "name three famous Belgians" conundrum been occupying himself since he slid off the A-list? Naturally, there was an ill-advised clothing line. Launched in 2001, Dammage7 might as well have been pitched straight into the Bermuda Triangle for all the evidence that can still be found of its existence. It was initially sold at Harrods, but has long since vanished from the shelves of … well, everywhere. Even the website that was originally set up to promote it has now disappeared. After at least a dozen years in the wilderness, he finally made a bona fide return to form in 2008. Far from being a formulaic ass-kicking flick, however, JCVD stars Van Damme as a beleaguered action film star who finds himself entangled in a post-office heist in Brussels. It seems that his time away from the spotlight has bred a more ironic, selfreflective side to his character, which he showcases to great effect. Time magazine rated his performance as the second best of the year, and the film was an indie hit. He’s followed it up by playing the voice of ‘Master Croc’ in Kung Fu Panda 2, and returned to more familiar territory in The Expendables 2. A trifle bizarrely, he also seems keen on a return to the ring. He’s been doggedly pursuing a bout with Thailand’s first ever Olympic gold medallist, Somluck Kamsing, since 2009. The fight, slated to take place under modified Muay Thai rules (no elbows that might bruise J-C’s expensive face) has shifted prospective venue more times than we’ve shifted from Potato Head to Ku De Ta. First it was taking place in Las Vegas, then Bangkok, and now, potentially, Dubai, Moscow, or Grozny. In between fighting and filming, he’s even found time to offend campaigners by partying with Chechnya’s president Ramzan Kadyrov, a man linked to multiple human rights abuses. Like that other '80s darling Mickey Rourke, everyone’s highlight of the low countries looked to have hit the canvas for a while there. He took some serious body blows, and it began to seem that he was out for the count. With another Universal Soldier on the way, though, and a possible role in The Expendables 3, if it ever comes to fruition, Van Damme is doing what every action star does best; coming back for a sequel.

calendar

datesWITHDESTINY April 1 — Lunes de Agua (Salamanca, Spain): A bizarre festival dating back to medieval times, Lunes de Agua (Water Monday) was originally a grand celebration welcoming prostitutes back to the city of Salamanca after a prolonged period of exile. At one time, Salamanca housed a large population of prostitutes who catered to the university crowd. During the 16th century, devout Catholic King Felipe II banned all prostitutes from the city during Lent, when the townspeople were meant to abstain from extravagances. After a period of 40 days spent on the opposite side of the River Tormes, the prostitutes were welcomed back with open arms and boisterous festivities. These days, city dwellers in Salamanca celebrate Lunes de Agua with picnics and parties on the banks of the Rio Tormes. IF YOU’RE IN NEW ZEALAND. . . February 22 to March 24 — World of WearableArt (Auckland Museum): In a celebration of the merger of art and fashion, the World of WearableArt & Car Museum in Nelson is now touring New Zealand with the very best from their dramatic and innovative garment collection. The designs in the collection are spectacularly unique, as each artist reinterprets the materials available to create abstract, intricate and sublime pieces of wearable art. Be prepared to see garments fashioned from plastic, leather, corrugated iron, wood, recycled wool, and even stuffed birds.

May 2 to 6 — Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival: Mark Twain once said, “Too much of anything is bad, but too much of good whisky is barely enough." Find out why Speyside Single Malt Whiskies are some of the world’s finest at this festival devoted to the favourite drink of smugglers of yore. Join in one of the 250-plus events taking place this week, including distillery tours to more than 50 distilleries, including many usually closed to the public, whisky tastings, wildlife walks, golf games, dance parties and food fairs. Learn about how whisky is made, why location really does matter in terms of taste, and meet master distillers to discuss all things whisky.

IF YOU’RE IN THE UK. . . April 21 — Virgin London Marathon: Join the world’s largest marathon and the biggest annual fundraising event on the planet, as over 35,000 amateur and professional runners sprint their way around the River Thames, competing for first place and the opportunity to raise money for charities. This year, millions of spectators are expected to cheer on their favourite runners along the route, which winds its way past iconic London landmarks such as the O2 Arena, Tower Bridge, the newly restored Cutty Sark, and The London Eye, before ending at The Mall beside St. James’ Palace. This year the official charities of the Virgin London Marathon are YouthNet and Age UK.

April 3 to 7 — Balloons Over Waikato (Hamilton): Hot air balloonists and enthusiasts can enjoy five full days of events geared around this eclectic sport. The Balloons Over Waikato festival kicks off with a dawn mass ascension, where hot air balloons in six different parks will lift off at the same time, filling the air with a spectacle of colours against the backdrop of the rising sun. Throughout the week, there will be balloon rides, pilot talks and demonstrations at schools, and a cash grab, where balloonists compete to snatch $1,000 from the top of a pole. The event will end with the grand finale of a mesmerising fireworks display.

April 27 to 28 — Vogue Festival (London): For a behindthe-scenes look at the fashion industry, head to the Vogue Festival at the Queen Elizabeth Hall at Southbank Centre. Here you can take part in a series of workshops, talks, debates and makeovers with leading fashion experts, including designers, models, photographers and writers. After the overwhelming success of the inaugural event last year, Vogue aims to recreate this fun and engaging fashion extravaganza on a much larger scale. Guests can expect to see a stellar line-up of well-known fashion insiders.

May 25 — Bluff Oyster and Food Festival: Seafood is king at this annual event that showcases the wild and wonderful bounty from New Zealand’s waters and forests. Sample impossibly fresh oysters, crayfish, abalone, salmon, blue cod, scallops and mussels, as well as wild game and delicacies such as muttonbird, Kiwi sausage, and venison. In addition, there will be live music, oyster shucking competitions, and the famous Oyster Sack Creativity Awards, an event where participants compete for prizes for the best seafood-themed costume. The festival is decidedly low-key and open to locals and visitors alike.

May 10 to 12 — All Tomorrow’s Parties (Camber Sands Holiday Centre): Created as an alternative to megacorporate music festivals that lack soul and personality, All Tomorrow’s Parties are unique events in intimate locations. The best part is, each and every event features a guest curator who chooses their personal picks for the music line-up. Take a peek into the playlist of TV on the Radio, as they present you a weekend of rocking artists such as De La Soul, Spank Rock and Dragons of Zynth at Tomorrow’s Parties Spring/Summer festival at Camber Sands. Pop in for the day or grab some friends and pitch in for a shared chalet so you don’t miss out on a single act.

IF YOU’RE IN MALAYSIA. . . March 22 to 24 — F1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix: Round 2 of the FIA Formula One World Championship hits Sepang International Circuit this March, with top racecar drivers from around the world putting the pedal to the metal in an effort to secure top spots in this exhilarating race. More than 90,000 spectators are expected to crowd the stands during the three-day event, and event organisers have an action-packed weekend planned, which will include concerts, street parties, a world-class auto show and the much anticipated F1 gala dinner. March 30 to 31 — Penang World Music Festival: Enjoy two full nights of global music and culture under the stars in the Penang Botanic Gardens Quarry Park. Performers for this year’s line-up include Malaysia’s own ASHAKA, with their unique blend of Malay, Chinese and Indian rhythms, Inka Marka, bringing ethnic South American beats with a contemporary twist, and multi-talented Indonesian-based group Saharadja, who use an eclectic mix of instruments to create a fusion of Western and Eastern melodies. The festival will also feature art and music workshops and a festival bazaar offering food and drink, souvenirs, handicrafts and music CDs. May 18 — Colours of Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur): One day a year, Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur floods with over 7,000 people from around the country decked out in ornate costumes, performing elaborate dances, and riding on colourful floats. This is Malaysia’s biggest cultural extravaganza, and chance for the country to showcase the unique arts and diverse cultures of the different regions of Malaysia. With over 100,000 spectators expected, you can be sure that the atmosphere will be lively and there will be plenty to see and do. Take in vibrant traditional performances, sample exotic Malaysian cuisine, and shop for unique handicrafts at this exciting annual event in Malaysia’s capital city.

Kurt Russell

Mike Pohorly witnesses the controlled rage of an onscreen master.

university and had crazy hair like his famous Ed Grimley character and he used to claim in class that the character was based on him. My teacher’s name was Ed Grimwood. At least Martin remembered him. Martin then repeated what Jeanne had told me: “When Kurt arrives can you let him know that Jeanne is really eager to meet him and just make sure there’s a bit Late in the fall of 2002 with the potential of the second of time where they can say hello.” invasion of Iraq looming and with 9-11 still fresh in The day was underway, and we were onto our last everyone’s minds, I was working my way up the ranks setup of the first scene, and then we were moving on to in the Director’s Guild, taking a position as a trainee Kurt’s bit. I took the elevator down to meet Kurt and saw assistant director on a Martin Short movie, Jiminy Glick him sitting in the distance at the Four Seasons café with goes to Lalawood. Goldie Hawn who he had been together with for two It was just another day and another 6am start as decades. I arrived for work at our Base Camp – the parking lot I walked over, wearing my headset and with circus where all the hair, make-up, wardrobe and cast extra walkie-talkie batteries on my belt and carrying trailers are parked and the illusions begin. Martin Short production notes – unmistakably a trainee AD. As I had already been there an hour getting on his prosthetic approached, Kurt remarked enthusiastically, “Oh look make-up for the role. Jiminy Glick had evolved from Goldie! Our first autograph seeker of the day!” Short’s TV show which involved him disguising himself in My look may have said, “Ha, ha, nice one,” or it may a 300-pound fat suit and interviewing celebrities. For this have said, “You really need some better material,” but film everyone from his Second City “Ed Grimley” days to either way I introduced myself and let the talent know Steve Martin, Sharon Stone and Forest Whitaker showed we were ready for him. Goldie said goodbye and went up for cameos. to wander around the hotel shops with the same kind of I took the Teamster shuttle to set, which this ditzy loveable zeal of her onscreen characters. particular day was the 8th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel As we walked towards the elevator, Martin appeared in Vancouver. Today’s first scene was going to be Short from out of the doors and then went directly to Kurt to with New York comedienne Jeanne Garfolo and then thank him for coming to the film, and the three of us interviewing Kurt Russell. Garfolo had been quite vocal squeezed in the elevator. Kurt’s no small man himself about being anti-war in the last few months and she had and the whole experience was now getting a little too added peace buttons and peace pins to her wardrobe. close to armpit. Martin let Kurt know again that Jeanne I brought Garfolo up to set, showed her the location was a big fan and that she was excited to meet him – of the craft service so she could help herself to a tea or mentioning that Jeanne had been at The Banger Sisters coffee, which she declined, and then took her to the Premiere and she was disappointed that she never got a Green Room. She eagerly asked me if I had seen Kurt yet, chance to say hi to them then. and when I said no she mentioned to let her know when I exited the elevator and went to find Jeanne to link he arrived. I then heard over my ear piece that Martin them up. When I told her she smiled and jumped up to Short had “travelled.” He was on his way from base. follow. As Jeanne saw Kurt, her smile grew and she held I went down to the first floor to “meet and greet” out her hand and I got the impression she was about to Martin at this new location. After the usual short start gushing over him. It didn’t quite happen that way. morning pleasantries we literally squeezed in the Out of nowhere, and without warning, Kurt Russell elevator together, my not inconsiderable frame wedged flew into a rage and began pointing his fingers at alongside his prosthetic girth. I didn’t have much to Jeanne. “What are you going to do about the 4,000? say, already having used my one “try to relate to the What are you going to do about the 4,000 already dead? actor” story a previous week about how my highschool What are you going to do about that?” geography teacher had been a friend of Martin’s at He was referring to the people who had died in

the Twin Towers. As he was yelling he kept pointing his finger at her. I had seen actors fly into rage many times before in my young career, sometimes at me – and each time it happens I just can’t help myself from noticing how crisp the performance is. Not too many people can be that angry yet so contained as actors can. It’s a pleasure to watch. While this was going on, I just kept thinking and hoping that Jeanne was going to throw it right back at him, going to somehow laugh it off, make a joke or throw it back in his face, at least assume that he was joking. She is a comedienne after all. But that day she disappointed her audience of one. It was as if the air was sucked out of her and she entered into some kind of weird state of frozen shock. A few seconds prior she had been so eager to kiss the ass of an idol of hers, and now getting torn a new one by said idol. Then Kurt just stopped as suddenly as he started. A window opened where she could have said something . . . she didn’t. Kurt smiled, laughed, and tapped the shoulder of her crumpled figure. “Ahhh, I’m just kidding. I’m just trying to push some of those peace buttons of yours.” To drive home the point he poked one of her actual peace buttons, twice. At that moment over my earpiece I heard set calling for Kurt. I took a step towards him, . . . “We’re ready for you.” “Great!” he responded and bounced off to our set down the hall, straight into character. I looked at Jeanne, who was still in shock. “Do you want to have a seat in the Green Room?” She nodded. I walked her there and opened the door and she sat down. “I’m going to get you a cup of tea.” She nodded. When I returned with the tea, I put it down in front of her. Her hands made their way to it, but then they stopped. Her hands were shaking and she looked genuinely shook up. She then opened her mouth. “That guy is an asshole! What a fucking asshole! I can’t fucking believe that!” I haven’t had the opportunity to work with Kurt but the other stories on set, say that he’s respected highly, coming across as fun, no BS kind of guy. Sure he’ll call people out on things, maybe press a button or two but do it straight up to their face. Isn’t that what we need a little more of in this world, especially in the fake world of Lalawood?

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giving back

oneworld The Sumba Foundation In 1988, Claude and Petra Graves stumbled across Nihiwatu Beach on the southwest coast of the small island of Sumba. They had been trekking for two-anda-half weeks, scouting out ideal seaside locations for their dream resort, and Nihiwatu Beach was the perfect spot. The Graves wanted to build a resort that would not only allow travellers to experience the natural beauty of the island and the unique culture and traditions of the Sumbanese people, but a venture that would also benefit the local people living in the area. In the years that followed, they lived as their Sumbanese neighbours did, with little or no access to clean water, electricity, or health care. They immersed themselves in the community, learned about traditional Sumbanese customs, and taught English, cooking and building skills, and basic hygiene to their employees. Their years of experience working and living here led to the formation of the Sumba Foundation. The Sumba Foundation is committed to lessening poverty on the island of Sumba. Although the island is one of the most culturally rich in the Indonesian archipelago, it is also one of the poorest. Many towns here lack access to basic necessities like clean water, basic health care and education. Malnutrition is rampant, and the rates of infant mortality are some of the highest in the world. The Sumba Foundation aims to alleviate these problems by implementing small, cost-efficient projects to provide better healthcare, education, water resources, and income generation for local people. To date, the Sumba Foundation has built and staffed five health clinics, provided 48 wells, 191 water stations, and 15 primary schools, and facilitated in over 500 life-saving surgeries for those in need in West Sumba. The philosophy behind the Sumba Foundation is that we are all part of the human family, and therefore, have a responsibility to use our resources to help others realise a better life and a better future. One of the main goals of the Sumba Foundation is not only to alleviate poverty, but also to preserve the unique culture and traditions here and empower the local Sumbanese people. Creating gainful employment is a large part of the Sumba Foundation’s strategy, which is why they support agrobusiness programs and provide university scholarships for future doctors, nurses, educators, and agronomists who go on to work for the Sumba Foundation and beyond. www.sumbafoundation.org The Harapan Project When high-powered lawyer and avid surfer Carlos Ferrandiz planned his first trip to Indonesia, he never

community, communication, coalition . . . worlds collide. imagined that the experience would drastically alter the course of his life. Four years ago, Ferrandiz set off from the Basque Country with a group of friends for what they thought would be a laid-back surf trip to Bali. They were immediately taken by the vibrant culture of the island and the superb waves offshore, however, they were not impressed with the overwhelming numbers of tourists and fellow surfers that crowded the beaches and the waters. As a result, they planned an impromptu excursion to the island of Sumbawa, also known for its great surf. Despite the great beauty of the island and the warm and welcoming nature of the local people, Ferrandiz and his crew found Sumbawa to be starkly different than Bali, with few tourists, little infrastructure, and glaring poverty in the small villages they came across. While taking a break from surfing at Lakey Peak, a local boy approached Ferrandiz on the beach. After discovering that the boy could not speak a single word of English, Ferrandiz offered to meet the boy and his friends the following day for a basic English lesson. To his surprise and delight, not only did the boy and his friends show up, but so did 150 other people from the village, ranging from small children to elderly grandparents. Their enthusiasm to learn touched Ferrandiz, and prompted him to form The Harapan Project. The project began as a simple plan to build a school for disadvantaged youths in Sumbawa. However, over the years, the project has expanded to include not only education, but also health care, infrastructure and basic survival needs for communities on the islands of Sumbawa and Bali. Carlos Ferrandiz, recently made the difficult decision to quit his fast-paced job at his law firm and move to Indonesia so that he can devote his time and energy to the Harapan project. Today, he manages the foundation with developmental help from the Desarrollo Compatible NGO and his partner in Euskadi, Irazuegi Nagore. Together, they work tirelessly to raise funds and collaborate with local orphanages, schools and the Indonesian government. The Harapan Project’s main focus is building a socio-educational centre in Hu’u on Sumbawa, where young people can study languages, math, history, and sciences in conjunction with classes at the local Indonesian school. The centre will also offer technical and professional workshops and courses for adults, sports activities, daily nutritious meals for 250 school children, and medical monitoring, treatments and vaccinations for the people of Hu’u. http://proyectoharapan.org JED Like any other popular tourist destination, Bali sees its fair

share of problems that result from mass tourism. Perhaps the most obvious of these issues is the environmental impact on the island. The construction of hotels, villas, shops, and tourist attractions puts unnecessary strain on limited water resources, land available for agriculture, and waste disposal centres. Not so obvious, but no less important, are the social, cultural and economic problems that the local Balinese people face. Few Balinese play an active role in tourism development on their own island, and instead become tourist attractions themselves. Traditions and rituals lose meaning as they are commodified, and social obligations are often neglected in pursuit of financial gain. Meanwhile, much of the profit that is made from tourism ventures goes to wealthy developers or foreigners, and little trickles down to the local people who provide the backbone of the workforce. Jaringan Ekowisata Desa (JED - the Village Ecotourism Network), was created as a response to these tourism trends in Bali. JED was designed and is owned and managed by the communities of four villages in Bali: Kiadan Pelaga, Dukuh Sibetan, Tenganan Pegring Singan and Ceningan Island. With administrative help from the Wisnu Foundation, one of the oldest environmental NGOs in Bali, each village has created tourism activities that are aligned with their vision of what will best benefit the local people, the culture, and the environment. Guests can visit the villages, explore the natural surroundings, and speak with the local people to learn more about the unique ecology of the area and Balinese culture. All profits from the tourism activities go directly to the communities, and there is minimal impact on the local environment. In addition, the community has the chance to raise funds for community development and conservation efforts, and foster cross-cultural understanding. Guests who book JED trips can choose from a wide range of activities from each village in the ecotourism network. Typical activities include visiting sacred areas and temples, learning about agriculture and touring plantations, trekking in the countryside and the jungle, making traditional handicrafts, and participating in local ceremonies. Many of the trips include a night in a homestay with a local family, and Balinese meals, which are prepared by the villagers. Unique packages include the Women’s Only Invitation in Dukuh Sibetan, where visiting women can spend a day with one of the local women to gain insight into a typical day for a Balinese Ibu, or the trip to Peranack, where guests can learn about sea turtle conservation and release baby turtles into the sea. www.jed.or.id

mua mua dolls, green gadgets and red booties shelve our ways. yew!

Brush off the dollhouse we know you still have â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we're regressing back to childhood after spotting Mua Mua's fashion and celebrity dolls, hand-knitted in Bali and featuring the mugs (and outfits) of some of our favorite style stars. Available at Giftlab. com.

this page: Envirofit Biomass Cooking System, a cleaner energy, biomass cookstove that Reduces smoke and harmful gasses by up to 80%; Reduces biomass fuel use by up to 60% & Reduces cooking time by up to 50% www.kopernik.info Facing page: clockwise from top left: hand-made art toys by our good friend spencer, www.blamotoys.com; Books by Bueno Books, a small specialist Japanese editor by sks, www.sksbali. com; AdSpecs â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Self-Adjustable Lenses allow thirld world recipients to correct their own vision, www. kopernik.info; YMC moon Print boots in red from eleven at Potato Head Bali, www.ptthead.com

LE MERIDIEN BALI Le Meridien has added a new hotel with 118 generously sized, sleek rooms à la francaise. Set by the shore and the white sands of Jimbaran Bay, the rooms, suites, penthouses and villas all have modern Balinese décor, chic touches and indulgent amenities, creating a refined and inviting ambiance. Set nearby popular seafood beachside restaurants, Le Meridian and its sophisticated style are a welcome addition to the once sleepy enclave. Tel: 0361 8466888 www.lemeridien.com/balijimbaran

REGAL REGENT SET TO RULE Situated in the exclusive Sanur district, the long established luxury brand Regent Bali has just opened on the shores of Sanur. "Snore" you say? . . . Yes indeedie, sweet sleepy, palm-tree swaying and glam sashaying all on the pretty white beach with tempting turquoise water . . . what’s not to adore? Explore the four-acre estate preciously protected by those cute little coral reefs that make for calm waters and a relaxed residence in which to indulge in the simple act of snoozing by the sea. Tel: 0361 270222 www.regenthotels.com

PEACE, LOVE AND JEWELLERY ROCKS A jewellery brand based in Bali, Jewel Rocks are funky, tribal, whimsical, ethnic and eccentric. A company mission to “promote peace, love and friendship” around the globe these jewels are obviously geared to the free spirited fashion forward indie gals. Mixed elements of beads, silk, stones, leather and quirky objects of nature make for one off pieces that are a gorgeous keepsake or a lovely gift. Tel: 0361 735499 www.jewelrocks.com Yak Map.N.8

AHOY LANDLUBBERS Want exclusive charters around Bali’s waterways and surrounding islands? Pulau Dive and Charters can accommodate, with its deluxe fleet of vessels. Accommodating two to 30 passengers, Pulau’s indulgent options include overnight fishing trips, dive charters, or leisurely family day-cruises to Pulau's private moorings on Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan. Take your pick from a 56ft motorised yacht, 42ft fast boat, 1942-restored English sailing ship, or 50ft catamaran. And you can always combine your cruising adventure with a sojourn at all-new Pulau Villas, in Umalas, for that ultimate island experience. Tel: 0361 728 688 www.pulaugroup.co.id

FIRED-UP For fans of Kevala Ceramics, no more forays out to the depths of Denpasar in pursuit of their highly original, funky ceramics, hand-crafted in Bali. Now just totter along to new retail store Kevala Home, on Kerobokan’s Jalan Batubelig, where you’ll find fab contemporary and traditional hand-made ceramic collections which have redefined Bali’s ceramic industry. Kevala Home retails tableware, bathroom and spa amenities, as well as decorative selections, great for one-of-a-kind gifts and homeware. Unique collections from Kevala’s in-residence artists are also available. Tel: 0361 720718 www.kevalaceramics.com

SUMPTUOUS SOLEIL Set to impress the Mulia’s new top drawer Soleil restaurant is open for biz, and it’s creating quite the buzz. Mediterranean and pan-Asian cuisine is served poolside with an ocean view so fab you would be forgiven for thinking you are in the Med . . . wait was that Beyonce and Jay Z flashing by with Blue Ivy and a bucket?. Draw your attention away for the people peeping and prepare for some tantalising treats with light fresh seafood and the classic Mediterranean gastronomic trio of olive oil, wheat and the vine… dee-vine. Tel: 0361 3027777 www.themulia.com

GET A ROOM A collaborative design masterpiece by environmentalist architect Popo Danes and former Super Potato Tokyo’s designer Nobuyuki Narabayashi, Fontana Hotel Bali – on Kuta’s Dewi Sri Street – provides uber-contemporary urban accommodation in Bali. If you’re stressed out and need a quick-fix work/life balance, this stylish 136-room boutique is offering a three-night, “worry-free” getaway package (from US$250++), inclusive of meals and pampering at their Suma Spa – which incorporates pre-treatment Balinese Zen rituals. Just the job. Tel: 0361 8947100 www.fontanahotelbali.com MOON RISE Along “eat street” Jalan Oberoi, comes Ginger Moon – a modern Asian canteen dishing-up seriously tasty Oriental flavours in relaxed, contemporary surrounds. Chef Dean Keddell’s menu presents a playful, quality spin on Indonesian, Balinese and Chinese fare, and, as this is Asia, dishes come designed for sharing and feasting. Chopsticks at the ready for rice paper rolls, dumplings, wok-fried, steamed buns, noodle soups and more. These washed down with locally-inspired cocktails (alcoholic and mocks’), Asian beers, a diverse wine list and fresh tropical juices. Selamat Menikmati! Tel: 0361 734533 Yak Map.Q.8 www.gingermoonbali.com UNSTRUCTURED TAILORING Biasa does what Biasa does, and nobody does it better. Their Spring 2013 collection pits stripes against a bold yet natureinspired colour palette. Soft, hand-woven, naturally dyed fabrics with subtle details known only to those with Biasa in their armoire. And who has Biasa in their closet? Well-traveled, well-heeled men and women who breeze through the tropics and wander through cities, effortlessly elegant on all shores. Comfortable with a dash of city-slicker for him and for her, a casual lightness of being with a generous spritz of femininity. The 'extraordinary simplicity' of Biasa cuts through generations, always delivering ageless, timeless fashion of the best quality. Find Biasa's retail outlets in Seminyak, Sanur, Ubud and Jakarta. Tel: 0361730308 Yak Map.V.12 www.biasabali.com

Serenity, sacredness rule supreme Recently rebranded, The Sungu Resort, in the beautiful village of Penestanan on the outskirts of bustling Ubud offers cultural travelers a blend of luxury and design with Balinese genteelness. Water, wood and stone blend with offerings, niches and flowers. A fabulous spa, a generously-sized pool alongside bedrooms built for romance and comfort make The Sungu a memorable place to stay. And just as the resort respects the Tri Hita Karana – the interplay of balance between God, Man and Earth - guests staying at The Sungu will feel revived, cleansed and serene. Tel. 0361 975719 www.thesunguresort.com TAPAS HITS KUTA Tapeo is yet another cool addition to Beachwalk (Kuta’s new lifestyle-retail complex), a new hip bar/restaurant, specialising in that scrumptious Spanish culinary tradition, tapas. An authentic tapas menu, with small plates ideal for casual sharing, plus à la carte Spanish menu fusing traditional and modern cuisine comes courtesy of Barcelona executive chef, Victor Taboda . . . all explained by superfriendly staff. Wines mainly originate from Spain, but also Chile, Argentina, South Africa and France, plus there’s Euro beers and jugs of Sangria! Up on Beachwalk’s first floor, Tapeo presents Spanish-style interiors and ambience with open kitchen and bar, leading out to an alfresco terrace with squashy daybeds facing Kuta Beach and the world famous sunset. Tel: 0361 8465645 Yak Map.Y.12

PAPER THIN Recognising Bali struggles with ever-increasing environmental challenges, Kali Sari founded Saraswati Papers in 1995. From a cottage industry to a niche boutique business providing bespoke designs and products, Saraswati’s exceptional hand-crafted papers are created from 100 per cent post-consumer recycled papers, coloured using natural organic dyes, and textured with sustainable plant fibres, such as bamboo and petals. Saraswati also incorporates silkscreened and laminated cotton papers and other hand-crafted materials derived from the archipelago. No chemicals are used, and all paper products are crafted entirely by hand by local women in a garden studio – preserving time-honoured traditions, while creating unusual earth-friendly products. www.saraswatipapers.com Yak Map.P.2

BUBBLY THERAPY Ayana Resort and Spa launch Freeflow Bubbles Package – not a reference to unlimited champagne, but just as fun (and without the hangovers) – but with unlimited daily access to the world’s largest Aquatonic seawater therapy pool, at AYANA’s acclaimed Thermes Marins Thalasso Spa. Containing water supplied from the underlying Indian Ocean, warmed to optimum temperatures and 12 hydro-massage stations with individual therapeutic jet streams, micro-bubbles and geysers, thalassotherapy sessions at the Aquatonic pool increase blood circulation and restore vital minerals lost from stress, pollution and poor diet/lifestyle. Other marvelous health benefits include muscle toning, tension relief, anti-ageing and detoxification – all while looking out over Jimbaran Bay. Freeflow Bubbles Package covers three-day (Rp1.350.000++), five-day (Rp.2.125.000++) and seven-day (Rp.2.800.000++) “passports” valid until June 30. Tel: 0361 702222 www.ayanaresort.com BEST OF INDONESIA Another culinary gem for Jalan Petitenget, Merah Putih celebrates Indonesia’s finest cuisine, culture, craftsmanship and peoples, promising a unique Indonesian dining experience. Set in sumptuous surroundings, Bali-based Inspiral Design Studios and Australian interior designer Justine Missen create a striking balance of visual design, eco-sustainability and functional working spaces. Head first to the bar – a sophisticated destination in its own right – then the mezzanine level’s teak pod seating, inspired by traditional ceremonial baskets. From Indonesian and Australian chefs (Kieran Morland, ex KuDeTa), Merah Putih presents authentic Indonesian cuisine highlighting simple regional dishes and locally sourced produce, or innovative dishes experimenting with traditional flavours from across the archipelago. Tel: 0361 8465950 Yak Map.O.4 www.merahputihbali.com

We’re not just horsing around Wine & horses sharing roofs in Bali? Brilliant idea, and one that comes from the ideator of Bali’s iconic fashion brand Body & Soul. The next brain wave? The Bali Equestrian Centre, Aravina Restaurant and Cellar Door. Genius! Heading up the kitchen is Chef Agus Hariadi, of Ku De Ta and COMO resorts fame, and then heading up the Cellar Door is the Aravina Estate Winery, owned by entrepreneur Steve Tobin. Bringing the passion of horses and the passion of wine into a world-class venue is setting Canggu and Bali on yet another trail of excellence. Yak Map.N.1 Tel: 0361 8446541/33 www.baliequestriancentre.com

SET IN MOTION Established 2005 in Bandung by Ary Aditya, Revolta Motion has expanded into a renowned music and multimedia company – for innovative concept, design and motion. From directing indie video clips in Java and major labels and national artists in Indonesia Revolta also now fries even bigger fish, such as TV commercials, video docos of events, company profiles and weddings and DJ collaborations for audio-visual performances. Deliberately maintained as a small, highly creative company, Revolta operates in Jakarta, Bandung and Bali for a more personalised, quality client service and product. Out-ofthe-box services include videography, graphic design, visual art design, film and experimental projects. Tel: 08122443869 www.revoltamotion.tv

HEAD EAST, YOUNG MAN Along with other savvy folk, Bali's premier luxury property group, Elite Havens, is heading east. Expanding its market, sales offices will open 2013 in Lombok's south (Kuta Lombok) and northwest (Gili Air) coasts, with head office remaining in Seminyak. Like the parent company, Elite Havens Lombok focuses on the luxury end of the residential villa market. Premier beachfront, hillside and clifftop land suitable for high-end villa developments form the focus of listed properties, besides a commercial niche for boutique hotel developers seeking private beaches and islands. The Lombok branch also offers consultancy services including pre-purchase reviews, property maintenance and investment strategy. Tel: 0361 738 747 www.elitehavens.com Yak Map.P.8

THE SPIRIT OF BALI From humble 2008 beginnings, Ubud’s Bali Spirit Festival has blossomed into a leading festival for yoga, dance and global music, focusing on healing, peace and positive change. So get ready for the sixth annual Bali Spirit Festival, hosted in Ubud, March 20-24. BSF offers more than 100 dynamic daytime workshops, featuring internationally renowned maestros of yoga, dance and movement, music and healing. Daytime events also include meditation, self-development and wellness workshops, eco-conscious market (Dharma Fair) and Hari Cinta Keluarga (Love Your Family Day). One World Stage Evening Concert Series, on ARMA’s outdoor stage, showcases headlining global acts as well as traditional and modern Balinese music and dance. This year’s theme celebrates the "spiritual rebel" in us all – understanding that real change begins within. Festival passes and packages available online. Tel: 0361 972490 www.balispiritfestival.com

MANTRA NUSA DUA Gorgeous Gary Rosen is back with a bang and this time he is at the helm of the popular Australian brand Mantra Hotel and Resort’s first hotel in Asia located in Bali’s famous resort enclave Nusa Dua. 172 guest rooms including 24 suites, a spa & wellness facility and extensive conference space the hotel also has an exclusive onsite spa & wellness facility, an outdoor pool with poolside bar & lounge plus separate children’s pool, a restaurant serving Asian and western cuisine and Cue Bar a sports bar that is sure to be a hit with the Aussie clientele with Nintendo Wii stations, foosball tables, pool tables, and dart games. Open from 3pm till late mate... Tel: 0361 8465750 www.mantranusadua.com

It’s a first! The first of its kind in Bali and in fact in Indonesia, Cocoon Medical Spa opens its doors with a very different approach to health and beauty, offering the latest innovations in non-invasive treatments. Cocoon seamlessly blends an experienced medical team (Australian and British trained), top-notch equipment with unique holistic and cosmetic treatments and products. Bespoke “packages” catering for everyone, think Acne Away for peer-pressured teenagers, through to men who may wish for hair re-growth and anti acne all the way through to a pre wedding package or even a “hair of the dog” – a hangover cure package like no other – to get you back into sorts for your big day. N.B. Book this preferably before the Stag night!! Cutera is one of Cocoon’s unique wonder-tools. Used by over 4’000 cosmeticians globally, Cutera is the answer to many girl’s dreams due the variety of Cutera’s laser and light-based aesthetic systems. Head on down to their immaculately designed (by Balinese architect company Hc2) medical spa to find out more about their treatments, which include: Cutera laser, Botox & fillers, chemical peels, skin rejuvenation, permanent hair removal, slimming, fat and cellulite removal, no-needle mesotherapy (phew!), diamond microdermabrasion, PRP, PDT, colon hydrotherapy, infrared sauna and vitamin IV. Corner of Sunset Rd & Nakula II. Tel. +62 (0) 812 37205980 www.cocoonmedicalspa.com Yak Map.E.10

Take me to the river Kumala Group’s Ayung Resort Ubud comes dramatically perched alongside Ubud’s Ayung River. Within an eight-hectare private estate, surrounded by tropical jungle, Ayung Resort Ubud offers an idyllic hideaway with peaceful surrounds, cultural heritage, relaxed luxury and Balinese hospitality excellence. Ayung’s signature art collection displayed throughout originates from a collector’s lifetime of personally sourced rare artifacts, carvings artworks and objets from Asia and beyond. Exceptional fine dining with impeccable service is all yours at intimate Wijaya Kusuma Restaurant, providing breathtaking views across the Ayung River valley from its cool terrace. Tel: 0361 9001333 www.ayungresortubud.com

A good old yarn Credit cards at the max! Ubud’s shopping scene got even better, with new store, DYPT, presenting contemporary collectible textiles created with traditional age-old techniques from skilled artisans. Textiles feature hand-woven mulberry silk, khadi, camel and more; naturally dyed yarns are woven into lustrous, swathing items and fine gossamer weaves are printed using hand-carved wooden blocks. Artisans with techniques honed over the generations originate from Bali but also India and Indonesia; DYPT’s stage is set, with Indian-style, rustic ambience. Check out gorgeous cushions, scarves and sarong wraps, plus FAGULOUS by TABRA jewellery range. Tel: 081 338 301013 www.dyptemporium.com

THE ART OF LIVING Armed with seriously sound pedigree (including The Yak’s “Best Villas” winner), luxurious Villa Bali Asri Seminyak launches Villa Bali Asri Batubelig – with its novel “living with art, art of living” concept. Located in up-and-coming Batubelig, Villa Bali Asri Batubelig offers guests an upscale residential experience dedicated to art and exceptional art works exhibited in a “gallery-villas” concept. Villas are graced with works celebrating Balinese art, paintings, sculptures, photography, engravings and decorative objects, from renowned Indonesian and Western artists. Artists’ works on display include Europeans who were bewitched by the Island of Gods such as Willem Gerard Hofker and Donald Friend, and major Balinese artists. Young French artists, lithographers and photographers, and impressive tribal and primitive artifacts from Sulawesi, Borneo, Sumatra, and Iran Jaya are also showcased. All works are catalogued and for sale, for that superior island souvenir. Tel: 0361 8475376 Yak Map.O.10 www.vbabatubelig.com

SOHO UPDATES Established for a decade in downtown Seminyak, diehard devotees swear by unmistakable SoHo “Warung Burger and Co:” 24-hour diner, serving up classic American fare – think, burgers, hot dogs and Tex-Mex. But like all good Seminyak residents, SoHo has had a facelift – reopened in January, SoHo now offers a more contemporary, open-style design blended with timbered warung charm, a new bar, plus live music thrice weekly. Upgraded menus feature a redefined menu with healthy (yep, that’s right) salads and sandwiches, yummy hot dog/burger varieties and Asian Corner, with tasty laksas, beef rendangs, etc, plus a second menu (11pm to 6am) covering naughty SoHo originals, like cheesy fries with gravy and chili con carne, tasting even better in the wee hours. Tel: 0361 737280 Yak Map.R.8

PROFILE

PROFILE fa' out

“They’re not everyday sunglasses for everyone.” The tone is set quickly but don't take it the wrong way – Cast wasn’t launched on sinful pride. With its bold shapes and unique styles – at the crossroads between futurism and vintage inspiration, Cast’s motto is: “Wear it loud and proud”. The idea was born in Sydney, during an afternoon conversation between model Fahrani Empel and graphic designer Miles Pitt over a beer. “We’re both sunglass addicts and wanted to offer something never seen before . . . different designs that are unique,” Fahrani says. The business model and logistics were organised soon after the original brainstorm, and in August 2011 the first collection arrived on the scene in Bali. “We only had three styles available in two different colours at the beginning – just a small range to test the market,” Fahrani says. Two catchily named spec collections later, Cast has built a strong image for its handmade eyewear label. You and I are in Love and Goodnight Flamingo quickly gained favour with Hollywood celebrities and underground fashionistas. “We created very strong editorial products and I believe that is why people love our stuff. We were very lucky as we quickly received a positive response from the style magazines,” Fahrani says. “But we are still a young company and I don’t want to talk about success yet.” For those who already know Fa’, it might be no surprise. At 180cm tall, short blue hair, rebellious eyes, piercings, and a body covered with tattoos, the beautiful 28-year-old Indonesian, former international model, isn’t the shy kind. Her designs are at one with her image – sexy, elegant, with a dash of punk, provocative and eccentric . . . somehow wild. She prefers to describe herself as a determined, self-made woman. “What is wild?” she asks. “I just carried on the free life I had since I was really young. My parents were never there, nobody was telling me ‘you can't do this, you can’t do that'. I have always figured out things by myself. And because this is the way I live, people assume that it I'm wild. But I've just had the freedom to choose how to live my life.” Fahrani’s journey began in Jakarta, when she left her bitter-sweet family home to live on her own at the age of 15 in the dynamic Kemang district of the capital. Modelling as early as 13, she managed her money and quickly grew to be independent. Her career lead her to Hong Kong, where she worked hard for several years before heading to Japan. Two years and a divorce later, she landed in Bali and made the island her home. Fa’ became the second model to make it out of Indonesia, seen in fashion shows and ad campaigns from Europe to Australia. “The model with the tattoos,” she stresses – she got her first ink at 16 and countless ones since. She even bought her own gun and, with a laugh, she shows her “party arm” signed by her friends, forever. The more tatts she adds, the wilder her hairstyles become. “You can be as crazy as you are and be successful. You don’t have to follow the rules to make it . . . some people tell me they miss the old me. I don’t.” In the world of modelling, Fa’ got bored quickly and felt she wasn’t learning anymore, and was getting “too old for this” (she was turning 25), so she ran away from the runways and stopped modelling full-time. She needed to challenge herself and push her limits further.

“I like to hit rock bottom and then climb up alone. It has become part of my personality. Sometimes I know I’m wrong, but when people try to correct me, I can’t help saying ‘just let me do it’. You have to make mistakes in life.” Fa' is the kind of girl who is into everything, a successful meddler. As she started an acting career, she quickly won Best Actress Award at the 2008 Indonesian Film Festival for her role in movie “Radit and Jani” from director Upi Avianto. “These days I’m becoming very selective. The scripts that are offered to me are always for the same kind of role, I guess because of the way I look now. I wish to embody someone totally different, like a full Muslim girl, for example,” she says. She likes to play with paradoxes. Fa’ is a woman of the world, travelling from Berlin to Brooklyn, jumping from one project to another. One day eco-warrior acting against the deforestation in Borneo – and for the record, shaving her hair by herself in the middle of the jungle – another day recording hip-hop music in Los Angeles. She knows how to let her multiple passions grow, step by step. Music started in her teenage tomboy years, her first steps on stage were during graduation at school, then singing on the track Cewek Rusak (broken girl) with her rap music friends at 16. She now works with Californian producer Cpen a.k.a. Magnum Larry. “Music, live concerts, it is the biggest high you can get. It's instant.” Using her notoriety in the fashion industry and surrounded by a creative network of friends, Fa’ launched a clothing and accessories label three years ago – her first business experience. “I was really enjoying it but it was taking so much of my time, of my life!” she says. “I spent eight months in an office, trying to create a full range. I felt like I had no life anymore!” After an investor fall-out, she decided to focus on eyewear design. “At the time, I really thought I was done. I could have had new investors, but I didn’t want to repeat another year, if this was all I could get at the end.” Disillusioned. “But I still wanted to be creative and use my crazy designs – a few sunglasses samples were already there. I got Miles involved.” Her energy and confidence, she gets from everything and everyone around her. “Honestly, my confidence comes from training. It isn’t a natural thing. Being in front of a camera is easy for me, as I started really young. But confidence in the sense of being around people, well, it took me a while. “I listen more than I speak, I like to read the situation before I say anything. I don’t want to be one of those people who is ignorant about their surroundings. It took me almost 29 years to really feel secure with myself.” So what’s next? Well, Fahrani’s future is here and now, and another busy year is on the way: she acted in a new movie to be launched in April; the Borneo DeforestAction documentary will also go out this year; she is planning to release her first E.P. record; and, of course, developing Cast over the next years. “My philosophy in life? Follow your truth, follow your heart. Follow your guts. This is where the truth is, right? It is all inside of you. I live my life with my heart, not with my head. You have to follow your dreams.”

QUESTIONS QUESTIONS

Photography by Anthony Dodds.

volcom surf rider ozzy wright is the colourful and outspoken leader of the hipster pack. My parents were... Great. They were very encouraging toward me and my art and surfing. Dad drove me all the way to Bells Beach for a competition once and about a million other places as well. He was also an amazing Beat poet and played the Bush bass in a rocking Sydney jug band during the ’60s. Mum is a colour freak and loves plants, gardens, flowers, running her own shop called Cherry Blossom and putting bright things all over the place. The house/flat I grew up in... Was a little fibro house in a northern beaches town called Narrabeen. It was full of possums in the roof, trees in the garden and friends around the dinner table. When I was a child I wanted to be... An artist. That was always the job I wanted. I always loved drawing and painting and stuff. I was surf crazy too. Still am. If I could change one thing about myself... My looks. I hate looking like such a burnout already. You wouldn't know it but I'm very good at… Making banana cakes. You may not know it but I'm no good at... Taking criticism. At night I dream of... Skate boarding like a legend. I wish I'd never... Been too lazy to brush my teeth as a teenager. What I see when I look in the mirror... The grim reaper. My favourite item of clothing is... I love leather jackets. I drive... A rusty Beep Beep Barina. Car surfing is the future! My house is... A swinging pad. I can see the surf from my couch. My favourite work of art is... My ‘Anti Bad Vibe Shield God’s Eye’ that I made out of wool and wood. It's a big God’s Eye, if anyone knows what they are*. It took me 10 hours non-stop to make it, and then I couldn't walk for a week because I did like a 1,000 squats in the process. My favourite possession is... My brain. Although I can't control it. Well I guess it’s there to control me, but I'm out of control. Maybe it's damaged. A book that changed me was… A book of paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat that I got when I was 19. Psyched. My greatest regret is... Damaging my brain. What's the point? Do it for the kids, it's all for them. My life in six words... Love, eat, surf, draw, rock'n'roll, sleep. *A God's Eye is a yarn weaving and a Huichol spiritual object. The Ojo de Dios or God's Eye is a ritual tool, magical object, and cultural symbol evoking the weaving motif and its spiritual associations.

interview photography by Diva Abrahamian.

bali baby yasmin suteja sings, shoots and styles.

Name, rank and serial number please. . . Yasmin Suteja. Rookie. 10121991. Where are you from? Bali was my first home. My dad is from Mengwitani. My mum is Greek/Australian. I moved to Sydney when I was eight years old, and have been living there ever since. We often see you in Bali. Sometimes on the stage, sometimes behind a camera. . . I’ve been making short one-month trips back to Bali since I moved to Sydney. These trips have become opportunities for me to develop creatively. Bali is fast becoming a melting pot of creative talent. Singing was always something I did in my spare time, but I never took it seriously. Bali helped revive my love of performance. I was given the opportunity to sing at the Yak Awards in 2011 and since then, I’ve been jamming with some talented musicians on the island, and I’ve started collaborating on some original tracks. My best performances are improvised, feeding off the energy of other musicians and the audience. The experience of live music in Bali is highly communal. People actually dance and respond viscerally to music here, and I love that. I developed a strong interest in filmmaking towards the end of high school, following the career trajectory of one very talented New Zealand filmmaker, Levi Beamish. I then went on to study filmmaking and media production at the University of Technology in Sydney. In late 2011 I shot a documentary in Bali called, Dinner for Expats, which is currently in post-production. I’m fortunate to have a number of amazing mentors here in Bali, who also happen to be really good friends. They’ve given me the opportunity to collaborate, experiment and develop, both personally and creatively. Kids today . . . you're so multi-tasking! I’m the product of what you would call the ‘Slashie Generation’. Modern technology, (and the everexpanding database of knowledge, fun and frivolity that is the Internet) has meant that the ‘kids’ of today can do pretty much anything. The digital revolution has generated a democratisation of knowledge. DSLRs and non-linear video editing systems like Final

Cut Pro have made filmmaking more accessible than ever before, resulting to in an explosion of amateur content. In addition to the sheer fortune that we were born on the cusp of a digital revolution, my generation has been raised by parents who told us to ‘do what you love’, so we’ve followed through with this mantra and pursued financially unstable careers in the arts… Where do you see your focus, creatively? My focus is in media production, especially for online platforms. I’ve always wanted to work for myself, and I’d like to one day become the creative director of my own media production company. In my second year of university, I started a creative collective called [Dais Productions], which basically consisted of my best friend and I bringing our ideas to life. We launched a monthly online interview series, The >> Series, which profiled young creative minds between Sydney and Bali. This is something I want to continue to build on. Do you think you'll ever work in a bank? Unlikely. I’ve never been interested in the corporate life, and I’m terrible with numbers. How about behind a bar? Working behind a bar could be a lot of fun, especially in Bali. It would be interesting to see people ‘from the other side’. What gets you going in the morning? Vegemite and cheese on toast. When are you happiest? When I find myself connecting with someone on a new level. Where, for at least a brief moment, we are completely in tune with each other. In that instant, there’s a tangible exchange of energy. It’s incredibly powerful. What makes you sad? Loss. Losing someone is one of the hardest things you’ll ever have to experience. If you could choose one thing to change about this world it would be. . . Huge question! I don’t want to give you a generic pageant girl answer. So I’m going go with something I picked up from an Arj Barker stand-up show: AQUA – always question unwarranted authority.

You're driving along a deserted road in a canyon at night. There's a large wounded animal in the middle of the road. You can't move it and you can't turn around. What do you do? In classic Yasmin style, I’d recognise that there was a problem ahead, and pretend it wasn’t there. . . I’d wind up the windows, lock the doors, turn off engine and play some tunes. I’d sit there silently until morning, when it would be safe to get out of the car. If I found that the animal hadn’t made it through the night, at least I would be content in knowing that it had spent the last moments of its life on earth listening to Bon Iver playing through my car speakers… What’s your view of celebrity? To me, celebrity necessitates a duality of identity, a separation between private and public. And I think anyone who has to negotiate between their public self and their private self is bound to find themselves confused and dissatisfied. I think it’s natural to desire recognition for whatever it is that you do, but celebrity takes it to the next level, where it becomes a kind of worship. What's your idea of a good time? Good music, good people and a whole lot of spontaneity. You will never. . . Take a flying leap. I’m terrified of heights. The biggest influence on my life has been. . . My childhood. I had the most incredible childhood in Bali. I remember exploring the rice fields near my house, picking star fruit from the trees behind our family pura, being read my favourite Dr Seuss book by my pembantu Iluh, and staging musicals on the kitchen steps with my little brother. I was surrounded by so much love. Your Top 3 all time best films: 1. All About My Mother: (Todo Sobre Mi Madre) – Pedro Almodovar 2. The Five Obstructions – Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth 3. Caché – Michael Haneke Describe yourself in six words. Coming to a cinema near you.

passions

Faz Khashani blends influence and experience to shoot images that defy the cookie cutter. He talked to Drew Corridore.

BLUE.

PASSIONS

joker ii.

Ghost in the Machine is a photographic exhibition adorning the walls of Toast gallery in Bali – a minimalist monument to modernity and art space close to a more sinister monument in the heart of Kerobokan. The images evoke a strange disquiet, a lack of certainty, even a sense of the ethereal, as blurred images of femininity assert themselves on the viewer. Faz says he created the images to challenge our understanding about what photography might be... Born in Iran, Faz moved with his family to London aged eight and did his growing up there. He picked up the camera at an early age and started shooting weddings and other events while in his teens. He studied at the London College of Printing, and from there moved into the world of fashion and advertising. Faz has shot for such cultural icons as Cosmopolitan and Esquire – and other titles in the National Magazines stable. For about a decade, home was London and New York, and 30-thousand-feet or so above The Pond. “Around 2006 I decided I wanted something different and came to Bali on the advice of a friend,” he says. “I started surfing and fell in love with it... spent the next couple of years just being a beach bum.” The beautiful faces and smiles of Bali were alluring, as was the relaxed pace of the place compared to the frenetic big-city existence, so Faz “shut up shop” in Europe and decided to ride a new wave of experience. As a Bali bonus, he met and married Natalie – who runs Bali’s only pole dancing school, which is located above Toast – and they now have a three-year-old son. Change is sometimes better than a holiday. “It had been a dream of mine to set up a gallery but I thought it would only happen in my later years,” Faz says. “So it’s come a bit earlier than I anticipated . . . but having a wife and child often changes things.” Another thing that has changed over time is the nature of photography. “In the last 10 or 15 years there has been the biggest change in modern photography as we know it,” Faz says. “It’s become accessible to a whole new market. .

. it’s become a (lot) busier marketplace than it ever was. “For people like me involved in photography before the digital era it’s a change we kind of fought along the way against people in the industry who wanted to push towards digital. “...because it was more than just technique – we had to know our craft, know our materials and films and how the chemicals worked ... how everything worked together to bring about the desired result. “And that result required considerable forethought before we even picked up our cameras.” It is the way of thinking about images and creating them that is very much a part of the ethos of Toast. The un-retouched photographs in Ghost in the Machine ask questions of the viewer in terms of the relationship between the images themselves and, for instance, the aluminium sheets they are printed on. “All the pieces in this exhibition come straight from the camera,” Faz says, “so I had to think about what I was trying to achieve long before I started shooting them.” There’s a quote – Faz can’t remember who by, so we’ll just put it with him: “There’s nothing worse than a sharp image of an out-of-focus concept”. This allegory is very much a part of the “Toast” project – that of a collective space where photographic artists can gather as a creative collective to workshop ideas and keep the evolution heading in a direction that stimulates imaginations, and does not stagnate into something that is simply driven by technological innovation and trickery. “Ghost in the Machine was created to show that photography can be much more that just sharp digital images of Indonesians with wrinkly faces,” Faz says.

“It’s not just a matter of capturing something that exists, but going beyond.” So why Toast you might ask? For Faz the name is a salute to his past, which has shaped him and his artistic endeavour, and the raising of a glass to a future hitherto unrevealed. www.fazkashani.com

artsake Economic crashes, healthcare in crisis and a world where helplessness feels like your only companion. Welcome to America. Street artist Alec Monopoly â&#x20AC;&#x201C; brought to Bali by W Resort Seminyak to celebrate its second anniversary â&#x20AC;&#x201C; reaches into the collective childhood memory to build a witty social commentary on our times.

jacked off.

bob.

artsake

Mr Monopoly, you are something of an international man of mystery are you not? What's your story? There is always mystery surrounding street art, it adds to the allure of it. I love travelling and checking out different scenes and cultures, not only does it influence and inspire me but it also gives me the opportunity to get up wherever I'm at. Get Up? Is that street artist lingo? Getting up or tagging or bombing â&#x20AC;Ś Just hitting the streets and painting. Why the secrecy over your identity? Are you a wanted man? Depends which country we're talking about. Better safe than sorry, right? Does your mother know you are Alec Monopoly? She knows that I inherited my love for painting from her. We love your work. It's exciting, vibrant and now. What's the big message? Each painting and image I use has a different emotional and artistic meaning to me. I think art executed properly allows the viewer to find their own message that speaks directly to them. As a whole, materialism, excess and greed continue to be a major underlying theme in my works, but it really changes from one day to the next depending how I feel. What are your influences, artistically? My mother. Obviously artists like Warhol and Basquiat have a big influence in my work as well, I generally find myself using a bright and energetic color palette and drawing from big, powerful iconic imagery and characters. What are your favourite tools of the trade? Cans and cans and cans of spray paint. Wheat paste, ladders and a bandana to cover my face! What's the difference between street art and graffiti? Nothing and everything.

What's the most instantly visible venue you've ever, erm, decorated? 199 Bowery in NYC for EMM Group was a big look for me since it was right in the heart of NoLita, and of course The W Bali Murals! How did the collaboration with W Hotels come about? I've always been a big fan of W Hotels, so when they approached me about a collaboration it seemed like a great fit. So far the collaboration has been dope, being able to come to a destination like Bali and leave my artistic mark on a space without having to worry about cops chasing me down is as good as it gets in my world. Are there any outstanding warrants for your arrest? No clue. I hope not. Did you start out doing street art, or is it something you grew into? Back at the height of the financial crisis and right around the time Bernie Madoff was going down, I was surrounded by so much economic despair and news of hardship that I wanted to find a way to channel that through my art. The iconic Monopoly Man characters became an extension of that emotion for me, and I started tagging them anywhere and everywhere I could. From that it's grown and the different Monopoly Men characters I create, continue to reflect my moods, interests and interactions at any given point. Will you be tearing up the walls at the W Seminyak? I try to tear up every wall my paintbrush touches, W Seminyak should be a lot of fun to work on. The island is bright and beautiful, and I've already got some ideas for the murals! Can you spray paint our MacBook if I bring it along to W's second anniversary party? Maybe . . . if you promise not to sell it on eBay after I leave. Alec, thanks for your time.

young guns

clockwise from centre: georgina, arthur, ongga, georgia, katie, will, luigi, helen, and closest to camera, songwriter and performing artist jack ker, www.soundcloud.com/sufficewords

David John Schaap (23), Indonesian, filmmaker. "I’m passionate about filmmaking and photography – expressing myself through visual imagery, and sharing a unique perspective of this country and this island. I love seeing new lives, cultures and landscapes. Bali to me is like a strong magnet . . . it has attracted much creativity over the years and I have been blessed to know some of these extraordinary people that live on the island."

Ongga Pratama (34), Indonesian, jewellry designer. www.onggajewelry.com/www.nipplesrevolt.com "I’m into heavy metals – shiny, sharp, bold, and pointy metallic jewellery. I am the designer for The Ongga Jewelry (formerly known as Nipples Revolt Jewelry). Bali means living in my dream . . . it's somewhere with painted skies raining watercolor."

Helen Lily Milne), Zimbabwean, fashion designer. www.missmilne.co.uk. "I have a passion for fashion, photography, and music. It’s the challenge of interweaving communication skills, pro-activeness, problem solving, and translating that to your perception of culture, taking risks and being outrageously curious. Bali has been a place that has enabled me to achieve some reckless childhood dreams – live on an island making beautiful things, creating employment and developing my career.

Malakai HOM, American, multi disciplinary artist. www.houseofmalakai.com "My passion is bespoke design, artistic direction, performance and DJ-ing. Living on Bali means magic, synchronicity, pleasure, and pain."

Arthur Perrin (28), French, brand manager at Deus Ex Machina. www.deuscustoms.com "I arrived in Bali after a few years traveling around the globe, fell in love with the good vibe and decided to stick around. I like being able to surf before heading to work or having a sweet ride in the paddies. Bali to me is the opportunity to enjoy your life differently." Arthur Brotolaras (26), Canadian, actor. www.artbrothel.tumblr.com "I’ve been an actor in Indonesia, but I'd rather see myself behind the lens or dangling off a cliff. Bali is all about respecting the locals. Respecting Balinese culture. Smiling at elders. Giving way to those who have been here longer . . . most of all keeping my Indo roots alive as a mixed kid born on the island."

Will Lovejoy (36), Australian, restaurant founder. www.lacalacabali.com "I love creating food, drinks and ambiance for people to enjoy; to relax, have a good time with friends or let their hair down and dance on the tables, if they so desire. I could answer the “what does Bali mean to you” question differently every day largely due to the crazy, orderly disorder surrounding us … which I love. It's a great platform to create whatever you feel."

Luigi Ferrara (30), Italian, restaurant and bar developer La Plancha Bali and La Favela Bali. www.facebook.com/LaPlanchaBali "I love my family and friends, food, drinks, women, animals and surf. Bali for me is an organised chaos and I totally fit in it."

Georgina amanda solomon, (aka Lasskaa), (28), Australian, fashion designer and stylist. www.lasskaa.com "I love to design and create shoes, and sometimes style sneaky fashion shoots.. Bali means watching magical sunsets over crashing waves, under palm trees, drinking coconuts, rapping Biggy Smalls’ It Was All a Dream . . . in nothing less than in impeccable style."

Georgia Hall (34), Australian, fashion designer, State of Georgia. www.stateofgeorgia.com.au "I am passionate about my boy and cooking. Living in Bali to me is truly living."

Katie Allan (29), Kiwi, runs Revolver Cafe, Seminyak. "I love coffee! I love that there's a place where people can come and feel relaxed and have a good coffee and giggle. Living on Bali means having some of the world's best waves and beaches on your doorstep – I can do what I love (surfing) more often. Being amongst so much culture and energy is so beautiful and such a blessing to be a part of!"

model: helene from fauve models hair & make up: anastasia shot on location at latitude bali, karang kembar www.latitudebali.com

photography: heal by photo stylist: ozlem esen

FASHION

Leather top by Miss Milne Jewelry and bikini bottom by Ozlem Esen Boots by Jessie Hill Gun from Revolver cafe.

Leather jacket by Shakuhachi One piece by T.I.A.L.S basics available at This is a love song Hat / Shoes by YSL available at prisoners of st petersburg Bracelet by Ozlem Esen.

FASHION

One piece by Minimale Animale available at maidenlove Sunglasses by Cast eyewear available at This is a love song Shoes by Ozlem Esen.

82 One piece by Crawford available at Maidenlove Shoes from prisoners of St Petersburg cast eyewear available at This is a love song knecklace by Ozlem Esen.

FASHION

One piece by Crawford available at Maidenlove Shoes from prisoners of St Petersburg cast eyewear available at This is a love song knecklace by Ozlem Esen Ring by Jungle tribe.

FASHION

Swimsuit stylist own Jewelry by Ozlem Esen.

Bikini by Shakuhachi Cape by La Douche.

FASHION

One piece by Zimmerman available at Maidenlove rings by Mania Mania earrings and shoes by Ozlem Esen cape stylist own.

FASHION

Vintage Lacoste one piece sunglasses by House Of Holland available at The prisoners of St Petersburg Phone from The prisoners of St Petersburg rings by Mania Mania.

Shoes By Ozlem Esen

Hat from Maidenlove

One piece by Bettina Liano

Jl. Kayu Aya (Oberoi) Seminyak (Near Ku de Ta) +62 361 739 146 www.goddessofbabylon.net

Ric O’Barry – featured in award-winning documentary The Cove - is working to free Bali's performing dolphins. More power to him.

Off the coast of Karimunjawa, Java, there is a sea pen that is a temporary home for more than 40 dolphins – they are being rehabilitated so that they might, once again, take their place in the wild. These sentient mammals have all spent much of their lives in captivity, objects of amusement for crowds of another kind of sentient mammal. And if Ric O’Barry has his way, the Karimunjawa dolphins will be joined by more of their fellows when a certain travelling dolphin show (that has frequented various venues on Bali) is shut down by the Indonesian government. Financed by Ric’s Dolphin Project foundation, Karimunjawa and its land base, Camp Lumba-Lumba, is the only permanent dolphin rehabilitation facility in the world. “There are no strings attached, we don’t want to be reimbursed (the more than $200,000 invested) . . . we did it because I got a Skype call from someone in the (Indonesian) forestry ministry about two years ago,” Ric says. “This person said there were 54 illegally captured dolphins – taken from a national park – that needed to be returned to the wild.” Many of those have been held in bondage by the “only remaining travelling dolphin circus in the world”, to be brought out only when required to perform. “Once we get them out of the trucks and tanks they can, once again, experience the natural rhythms of the sea, the tide and the currents, and the healing properties of salt water . . . they can be healed,” Ric says. “Then they can be released . . . and their family is still there – this is the very area they were taken from in the first place. “Why this hasn’t been done before now is hard for me to understand.” It hasn’t always been this way for Ric O’Barry, however. In the early 1960s he was the one who captured and trained the dolphins that appeared as Flipper in the TV show of the same name – there were five of them. Ric’s favourite, Kathy, died in his arms. “She was extremely depressed,” he says. “Dolphins are not automatic air breathers like you and me . . . each breath for them is a conscious effort. They can stop their life at any time by not taking that next breath. “Kathy was in my arms, she looked me right in the eye, took a breath . . . and I knew she wasn’t going to take another one.” Ric says he has seen this happen time and again, especially in a place called Taiji in Japan – the site of a yearly dolphin slaughter that has been depicted in The Cove. Ironically, Taiji is also home to a popular marine amusement park whose stars are the very dolphins captured in a small bay on the town’s coast. The town’s

buses are dressed as dolphins. Shiny, happy people walk around in dolphin paraphernalia. And every year dolphins are herded into the cove where some of the mammals are selected for export to marine parks around the globe (at $150K-plus each) . . . and the rest – up to 2,000 – are slaughtered for their meat. Meat that is highly contaminated with heavy metals like mercury. “I saw it there just last week (at the time of our chat) . . . they get driven in and (they know) they are doomed,” Ric says. “They’re watching their children in front of them being brutally killed, and some of them just stop breathing and sink to the bottom . . . self-inflicted asphyxiation.” Ric says he believes this is happening with the dolphins at the travelling circus that has set up in a number of popular shopping malls on Bali. “There is no way they can survive in a truck in this kind of heat,” he says. “These people set up their tent in a car park and throw the animals out to do their stupid dolphin tricks – including jumping through hoops of fire . . . they are dying along the way, dumped, and simply replaced with others by the syndicate (that runs the show).” He says the syndicate has applied various forms of pressure on the Dolphin Project and its supporters to prevent the travelling circus being closed down. But there are moves afoot on Bali to put a “no dolphins on display” policy in place. “We’re trying to achieve the same outcome that happened on (the Hawaiian island of) Maui . . . they passed a law there banning dolphin shows,” Ric says. “Other places, like India, have done the same thing. It would be very hard to do on Java, but on Bali it is possible – people are greener here . . . I think the tourists would respect it. “If people stop buying tickets to the dolphin circus it will go out of business; if people stop eating dolphin meat from Taiji, those people will go out of business. It’s supply and demand and people can vote with their feet and with their wallets.” Ric says, however, that there is no point in trying to save dolphins or any other creature without, at the same time, trying to save their habitat/s. “In America . . . every lake, every pond, every stream is contaminated with mercury largely because of our voracious appetite for electricity which generates from coal-fired plants that are heavy polluters. So it’s not just Japan or the cove – in China a new coal-fired plant comes on line every day – but the cove stands as a reference point for our relationship with nature as a whole.” We ask Ric what, conceivably, would be his happiest day . . . “The day I don’t have to think about this stuff any more,” he says.

ISSUES Arak – Bali’s once iconic and once much-loved alcoholic drink – is being poisoned by middlemen. When 45-year old Nyoman Laka accepted a drink from his employer on a cool morning in Ubud, he never imagined he would end up fighting for his life and spending the next two months in and out of hospitals. For many Balinese farmers and labourers, it is common practice to start the day with a shot of arak, the local spirit made from coconut sap, palm sap or fermented rice. Many believe it warms the body and is good preparation for a long day’s work. Nyoman digs wells for a living, a job that can be especially taxing on the body. On many occasions, his employer would offer arak to the workers before they started to give them a boost of energy. Little did any of them know that the arak he had picked up that day contained the lethal toxin methanol. “After I drank it, I went to the rice field to work, but I didn’t feel well at all, so I went home,” Nyoman says. “Shortly after, I began throw up blood, and then I passed out. I woke up one day later in Sanglah Hospital and could not see properly. One of the guys that I worked with was there as well with similar symptoms, but he died the next day.” Nyoman was in the hospital for 14 days with methanol poisoning, a potentially lethal affliction that affects the body in a number of different ways. Symptoms include dizziness, disorientation, loss of consciousness, blindness, and convulsions. High levels of the toxin can cause the vital organs to cease working, which can and often does result in death. Nyoman eventually gained back his vision and escaped with his life, but others have not been so lucky. On New Year’s Eve, 19-year-old Liam Davies ordered what he thought was a vodka cocktail at a bar on the Gilis. It was discovered later that the cocktail was actually made with methanol-laced arak. After becoming violently ill, Davies was airlifted to a hospital in Perth, where he was declared brain dead. His family later made the heart-wrenching decision to cut off his life support. Similar stories of holidaymakers in Bali and Indonesia suffering blindness or dying from methanol-laced drinks have sparked a flurry of newspaper headlines and government travel warnings about the dangers of drinking bootleg alcohol in Indonesia. Arak is particularly vilified as a deadly drink that should be avoided at all costs. While there is no denying that methanol-laced arak has been responsible for many tragic deaths, arak is also very much a part of the history and culture of Bali. Many Balinese use it in ceremonies – where it is sprinkled on 94

the ground to ward off evil spirits; for medicinal purposes as a remedy for headaches; and in boreh, a traditional body scrub for sore muscles. Arak is the social lubricant of many gatherings and supports the livelihood of many villagers. The biggest production centre in Bali is in Sideman, Karangasem, where more than 300 farmers depend on the local spirit for their monthly income. Local arak producer, Ketut Mertika says, “I learned how to make arak from my grandfather, who learned how to make it from his grandfather. It is a village tradition.” Every day at 4am, Ketut heads into the forest to collect sap from the leafy shoots that grow on the palm trees on his land. The sap starts out as a mildly alcoholic, cloudy beverage called . “Tuak only tastes good for one day”, says Ketut. “After that it goes bad, so it’s better to make arak with the tuak.” To make arak, the producers in Sideman distil tuak in metal stills over a low burning fire, and collect the clear spirit in plastic containers. It takes Ketut about four days to make 28 litres of arak, which he then sells to distributors from the surrounding areas and the cities for about Rp.200K. The higher the alcohol content, the more expensive the arak is. “We never add anything to the arak that we produce here,” Ketut says. “Maybe other people want to make more money, so they water down the arak or add things like methanol to make it taste stronger. If our arak made people sick, nobody would buy it and the government would crack down hard on us. Why would we want to lose our business?” Ida Bagus Rai Budarsa, founder of Hatten Wines and owner of Arak Bali and Dewi Sri Brem, agrees with Ketut. He says, “The people in Karangasem never seem to have problems with methanol poisoning, so why does it always happen so far from the source? I think the problem is not the arak, it’s the middlemen who tamper with it.” Budarsa’s family has been producing brem – Balinese rice wine – since 1968, and later expanded to include arak in 1992, followed by (grape-based) wine in 1994. The company sells about 1,000 bottles of arak a month, mainly to hotels and shops in Bali. The arak produced at the Brem Dewi Sri production facility is not only government regulated, but also distilled in copper stills imported from Spain, and then undergoes a series of tests in the Hatten Wines laboratory to ensure that it meets international spirit

standards. The company then bottles and seals the arak on site. Although Arak Bali is made from white rice, which is fermented, pressed and then distilled, Budarsa sees the value in the traditional palm wine that comes from Karangasem. “In the past, I’ve suggested working with the producers in that area,” he says. “If they created a cooperative that only certain people could register and join, they could possibly make more money. They could supply us with the tuak, and we could produce the arak in our facilities. But they opted to continue producing and selling the arak themselves.” While it goes without saying that the arak producers are proud of their product and traditions, once it goes out of the hands of the producers, it can be very difficult to predict what will happen to the product. Unless you buy straight from the producer or a trusted vendor with trusted sources, you can never be sure what goes into the mix. “I understand that people have concerns about drinking arak in Bali”, says Budarsa. “Of course, even for me, I would not want to drink something that might make me sick. But if you want to drink arak, there are things you can do to be safe.” Budarsa suggests sticking to a trusted brand, because they have a responsibility to keep the quality high. He also recommends being selective about where you drink. Then there are the taxes. In 2010, the Indonesian government increased the excise taxes on alcohol to a staggering 100 to 214 percent, depending on the alcohol content. This effectively created a boom in black market production and sales. While the tax increase certainly may have limited alcohol consumption for a large percentage of the population who cannot afford the inflated prices, it has also led others to find imaginative and sometimes deadly ways to cut costs. In light of this, it should come as no surprise that unethical bar and restaurant owners replace quality spirits with bootleg alcohol, while shady distributors and vendors water down perfectly good arak and add dangerous substances to make it taste stronger. Since his terrifying ordeal, Nyoman Laka has made the decision never to drink arak again. “I’m so angry and confused,” he says. S.M.

omnibus

It's time the killing stopped - andrew e. hall on the madness of gun laws in america.

“I will give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.” - a slogan popularised the America’s National Rifle Association (NRA). “At times it feels like only yesterday, and at others it feels like many years have passed. I expect him to crawl into bed beside me for early morning cuddles before school. It’s so hard to believe he’s gone.” - Sandy Hook Elementary School mother on the son she lost in a mass killing at his school on December 14th, 2012.

omnibus

I’ve just watched three recently released Hollywood movies, Quentin

police reports his weapon of choice was a semi-automatic Bushmaster assault rifle,

Tarantino’s Django Unchained, the new Bond flick, Skyfall, and Bruce

which he used to blast his way into the school through its secured main entrance.

Willis’ latest offering, Looper. All three were, in their own way, entertaining, even enthralling, despite various plot and continuity glitches. Each dealt

America, once again, expressed shock and outrage that such a crime could occur.

with different subjects in interesting ways – Django being an oblique look at the issue of slavery in America; Skyfall, the new-age threat posed

And when newly re-elected president Barack Obama voiced his grief, and

by cyber-terrorism; and Looper, time travel and organised crime.

made a commitment to reform gun ownership laws, the sales of assaultstyle and other firearms skyrocketed. The Cheshire grin on the faces of arms

But the best of my movie watching this year has been Zero Dark Thirty, which

manufacturers and gun retailers grew at the same rate as their profit margins.

is a three-hour epic about the search for Osama bin Laden. It is a psychological thriller that portrays the processes – some quite brutal, when it comes to scenes

The rest of the world – similarly shocked and disgusted –

of torture – involved in tracking down, and ultimately killing, the terrorist tzar.

scratched its head and wondered if U.S. citizens suffer from some form of collective amnesia, delusion, and denial.

Of these, and strangely enough, the latter relied least on the starring role of firearms. Just as a reminder, here are some statistics from the past dozen years But all three of the former, when the credits roll, should say: “Starring

or so compiled by the Mother Jones organisation . . . and these are

Gun, Gun, and Gun” . . . oh, and by the way, Daniel Craig, etcetera.

just the shootings where the loss of life topped double figures:

A friend of mine suggested that the buckets-of-blood approach to violence taken

1999: Columbine High School, Colorado – 15 dead.

by Tarantino is “cavalier”. Perhaps so. Django and Tarantino’s other offerings turn

2005: Red Lake, Minnesota – 10 dead.

violence – and gun-related violence in particular – into a theatre of the absurd.

2007: Virginia Tech, Virginia – 33 dead. 2009: Binghamton, New York – 14 dead.

Skyfall and Looper portray the requisite weaponry as a conflict resolution normalcy.

2009: Fort Hood, Texas – 13 dead.

As do so many other filmic escapades in the “action” genre – the Hollywood staple.

2012: Aurora Theatre, Colorado – 12 dead . . . and, of course, Sandy Hook (28).

Does this speak to us in any other way than simply “entertainment”?

There were plenty more mass killings during this period; they simply didn’t crack double figure death rates.

Does it speak to the killing of kids at an elementary school in Connecticut and how such horrors can come to pass?

Outside of the U.S. we witnessed, in July 2011, the aftermath of Danish conservative militiaman, Anders Behring Breivik’s, rampage at an island

Does it speak to the current “conversation” in the U.S.

holiday camp for youths who didn’t happen to share Breivik’s brand of

about introspection and reforming gun laws?

politics. He used his assault rifle to murder 69 kids in a couple of hours.

There is not one shred of evidence (that I could find, and I looked quite hard)

Back in the U.S., despite the fact that domestic gun-related deaths from the

to suggest that a love of guns is related to the size of the male appendage and

beginning of the 20th century to the present far surpasses U.S. military personnel

sexual adequacy, and only slim anecdotal musings about a link between screen

deaths in all wars during the same period, Americans cling to a form of words

violence and the real kind. This is disappointing to me because I thought I had

that enshrine their “right” to own and carry firearms. The Second Amendment,

a perfect plan that I was going to send to the United States vice-president, Joe

which was passed by the first Congress on September 25, 1789, reads:

Biden, who is in charge of looking at ways to reform gun ownership laws. “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, The Shlong Test:

the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Zip . . . plonk . . . yes sir, a bit small (too much risk that compensation behavior will

It was later ratified by the states and authenticated by

raise its ugly head at some point in the future) here’s your single shot Derringer; a

Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, as:

bit further up the scale and you might get a six-round, single-action revolver; further

“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state,

still and you may qualify for a double barreled shotgun – like the one that (then)

the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

U.S. vice-president, Dick Cheney, shot his mate in the face with – and so on. Note the semiotic toning-down in Jefferson’s version. No civilian will get an assault rifle – they just don’t make ‘em that big. Since it was adopted in the late 18th century and enshrined in the U.S. But what to do about the women “doomsday prepping” noddies who stockpile

Bill of Rights, this amendment has never been amended. Unlike, for

weapons so they can shoot their neighbours when Armageddon arrives?

instance, legislation pertaining to the evolving automobile industry, particularly with regard to safety and emissions-control issues.

Such a woman was the first fatal casualty, at the hands of her son, Adam Lanza, before he proceeded to the elementary school in Newtown and murdered 20 young children and six educators . . . before ending his own life. According to

So let’s do a little Back to the Future exercise . . .

THE PULLER.

omnibus THE PULLED.

100

At the time when the Second Amendment was adopted the standard-issue infantry

tracer rounds). But I can assure you it was next to useless (in its factory form) as a

weapon was the musket. This firearm was loaded through the muzzle with black

target shooting rifle . . . or even game shooting for that matter, not that there was

powder, a spherical projectile, and a piece of wadding to stop the ball rolling out

much of that to speak of there. What it does very well is kill people at close range.

of the barrel, and tamped down with a long poker. The rifle was then primed with black powder, the trigger pulled, and then the whole loading process began again.

The (and listen to the language here) “best” rifle I ever fired was a WWII Lee

A dexterous and skilled rifleman might be able to get off two or three rounds a

Enfield, because it was “superbly” accurate and “beautifully” balanced.

minute. Maximum effective (i.e. killing) range was somewhere around 150 metres. I now need to enroll myself in a 12-step programme for the misuse of adjectives. The standard infantry formation and tactic at the time was for riflemen on both sides to line up, shoulder-to-shoulder, and start

I used to kill things with guns – various animals and birds – when

pinging off at each other, finishing in a bayonet charge.

I was a lot younger. I was very good at it. It gave me some kind of personal utility. I had little appreciation of the preciousness of life

Sitting in Marty Fly’s seat of our DeLorean is a pimply youth from present

in all its forms. Now I can barely bring myself to go fishing.

times who has spent most of his life playing war games on the Internet. He is armed with an AR15-style assault rifle (the “civilian” version of the U.S.

But I can understand the appeal that guns (especially bigger,

military’s M16A1/2 and M4) and half a dozen clips of 5.56mm ammunition.

badder, “sexier” guns) have for some people.

The DeLorean screams to a halt on a battlefield in 18th century America – about

The U.S. federal government under Bill Clinton signed into law a ban

200 metres from a line of riflemen who resent this mysterious intrusion. They

on sales of all assault weapons in 1994, but the legislation had a built-

start loading their muskets while our pimply youth gets out and slams a 30-round

in “sunset clause” whereby it had to be re-ratified after 10 years.

magazine into his weapon and cocks it. The red-coated riflemen fire a volley, which

Unfortunately in 2004 George W. Bush was the U.S. president . . .

falls woefully short. Our pimply youth’s weapon is a semi-automatic, and sighting through his scope he starts squeezing off rounds – his weapon has an “effective”

In the Australian state of Tasmania there is a tourist attraction called

range of about 350-plus metres so he can afford to backtrack a bit while still firing.

Port Arthur – one of the original prisons for convicts transported from England in the 18th and 19th centuries. In a dark coincidence

After about a minute and a half all 100 historical riflemen are dead

of nomenclature a young man from New Town, Tasmania, packed

(or severely wounded because the 5.56 is a very nasty bullet),

his bag one April day in 1996, and headed for the historic site.

our pimply youth hops back into the DeLorean and ponders his next adventure . . . at the school he used to attend . . .

Martin Bryant (28) took his bag and a video camera into the site’s tourist café and bought a meal – which he ate on the deck outside. He

Old NRA saying: “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people”.

then unpacked a Colt AR15 rifle with a 30-round magazine and began shooting indiscriminately in the café and adjoining gift shop. Afterwards

Disingenuous nonsense: people with sophisticated modern weapons

he hunted down men, women, and children on the grounds around the

kill people a lot more easily and quickly, and in greater numbers

café, murdering them in cold blood. When he had finished – and had been

than someone armed with a musket . . . or not at all.

apprehended by police – 35 people lay dead, with 23 seriously injured.

One policy option open to vice-president Biden might be to enforce the

My mother ate her lunch in the very same café exactly one

letter and spirit of the un-amended Second Amendment (as written,

week earlier . . . I congratulated her on her timing.

and intended at the time of writing) allowing his countrymen and women to own and “bear” as many black powder weapons as they like.

The Australian people were shocked and outraged, as was the federal government.

American journalist, Robert Parry, writes in an article

Top gun of the NRA, Charlton Heston, (an obscenely short time after

reprinted on the Truthout website:

the shootings) made a trip to the Australian state of Queensland and delivered a predictable speech about arming the population against such

“The American Right is fond of putting itself inside the minds of America’s Founders

loonies as Bryant (that ended with the “cold, dead hand” bollocks). Most

and intuiting what was their ‘original intent’ in writing the U.S. Constitution and

Australians, however, reckoned it was Heston who was the real loony.

its early additions, like the Second Amendment’s ‘right to bear arms’. But, surely, James Madison and the others weren’t envisioning people with modern weapons

Such was the national outrage that the federal government simply could not

mowing down children in a movie theater or a shopping mall or now a kindergarten.”

let the massacre slide into the pages of history. Sweeping (retrospective) legislation was hastily passed through both houses of parliament that would

The so-called assault rifle was developed for one purpose only – to kill

outlaw (not merely ban) sales and civilian ownership of assault-style weapons;

human beings more efficiently, and in greater numbers on the battlefield.

semi-automatic weapons of all kinds (with stringently enforced exceptions for professional shooters and gun club members); and pump-action shotguns.

I used to have a fairly intimate acquaintance with the “iconic” AK47 rifle because I worked in a part of the world where every Tom, Dick and Ahmed carried one. It was

Part of the move to eliminate such weapons from Australian households involved

“fun” to blat off a mag on full auto (especially if the magazine was interspersed with

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a non-voluntary federal government buy-back (at the market price of the time,

perfectly natural (and beautiful) act of sexual intercourse, than to images

and attached to an amnesty period) of all weapons that had been made illegal.

of people killing each other in more and more graphic detail?

Gun control and licensing was, however, a state matter, and several states resisted adopting the new legislation, including, strangely enough, Tasmania.

Little actual research exists to either support, or debunk, the anecdotal evidence that on-screen violence has the effect of desensitizing

The federal government’s response was to apply extreme federal funding

people to the point that they are more able to commit it.

pressure until the recalcitrant states capitulated and got with the programme. In the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre Barack Obama has called for the All of the weapons bought back in the $350-plus million scheme were destroyed

Centre for Disease Control to conduct such research . . . better late than never.

by the Australian Federal Police and other law enforcement agencies. Perhaps, though, there is another place we can look to establish a link between Last month the (then) Australian prime minister, John Howard, spoke on

popular culture’s repetitive portrayals of violence in general, and gun-related

America's CNN, and wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times titled,

violence in particular, and the effects these images might have on (some) people

I Went after Guns, Obama Can Too. In this he mentioned (amongst other

. . . the advertising industry. Another multi-billion dollar industry, advertising

things) that the banning of many firearms had the side-effect of drastically

(and “public relations”, for that matter) firms pay their people large amounts to

reducing the young, male suicide rate (particularly in rural areas) - for

influence public psychology. Repetition and the “sexing up” of whatever these

which Australia (before the ban) held a sinister statistical record.

companies are trying to flog (whether they be products or messages) is obviously very effective . . . otherwise the industries wouldn’t exist. This being the case

Martin Bryant will never be released from prison. Charlton Heston is dead,

why is it such a stretch to draw the same conclusions about a film industry that

but has been replaced by equally idiotic and irresponsible types, up to and

is obsessed with violence, and a gaming industry that reaches out to younger

including the NRA’s current nutjob blowhard, Wayne LaPierre. Australia

and younger minds, encouraging them to shoot-to-kill as a mere pastime?

has a yearly gun-related death toll that can be counted on the fingers and toes of two or three people . . . probably with a few of toes left over. On

Where does parental responsibility lay when it comes to allowing

a per capita basis if the U.S. had a similar annual death rate by gunfire it

children’s access to depictions of violence in all its forms?

would take 25 or so people doing the finger/toe count . . . not 500-plus. On the small screens’ so-called “natural history” channels you can’t escape the Of course the rabid Right of American politics would point the finger

relationships people have with their guns. Programmes like Future Weapons, One

and bleat that the Australian federal government’s intervention

Man Army, and the preposterous nonsense of Doomsday Preppers (to name but a

(and coercion of the states) on gun reform was exactly why the

few) consistently reinforce the pride of place guns (and other weapons) take in the

Second Amendment was created. They would be wrong.

psyche of some people (a large number of them if we’re talking about Americans). That these shows are simply (relatively) inexpensive vehicles for broadcast

Australia still has very successful world-class competition shooters. Farmers

companies is a moot point. They would say that where there is demand there will

may still own firearms – just not the ones that have been banned. Sporting

always be supply. But demand can be, and is, manufactured and manipulated.

shooters still shoot things. Gun club members may still own weapons – but depending on what kind of weapons, they may not be permitted to take

It is highly unlikely that the Second Amendment will be tampered with any time

them home from the gun club (which, it might be said, saves potentially tragic

soon – especially while Republicans hold a majority in Congress. Them good ol’

accidents when children find, and mess about with, daddy or mummy’s gun).

boys and gals just love their guns. So do many Democrats. But it would not be unconstitutional for laws to be made, as they were in Australia, restricting, severely,

Australians still have the ability to own arms, subject to stringent

the types of weapons that can be owned and carried. Mitigating something so close

licensing conditions and background checks. They are just not

to the hearts and minds of so many people is fraught with political, and sometimes

allowed to “bear” them in inappropriate places . . . like schools.

personal, danger – no matter how righteous and sensible such mitigation might be.

Australians (in general) aren’t big on militias. They live in

America’s first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, had to face up to

the 21st century and are quite happy there.

such issues in his bid to end slavery, as depicted in Stephen Spielberg’s

The NRA is often referred to as the most powerful lobby group in the U.S. and sees

the hands of one of America’s earlier nutters, John Wilkes-Booth, but the

itself, alternately, as a group of gun “enthusiasts”, and a protector of the Constitution.

13th Amendment stands today in the same spirit in which it was written

majestic film, Lincoln. Okay, so Abe eventually paid the ultimate price at

and, eventually, ratified. Gun control in our time is equally important. What it really is, is the mouthpiece for the multi-billion-dollar arms industry. As Robert F. Kennedy put it after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. : Much has been said about the relationship between popular culture and its “sexy”

“Whenever any American's life is taken by another American unnecessarily –

representation of gun violence. Think of any Steven Segal movie you like. Think of

whether it is done in the name of the law or in the defiance of the law, by one man

any shoot-‘em-up video game your kid is playing on her/his tablet device right now.

or a gang, in cold blood or in passion, in an attack of violence or in response to

A consistent message is sent by Hollywood and gaming developers: Guns are good.

violence – whenever we tear at the fabric of the life which another man has painfully and clumsily woven for himself and his children, the whole nation is degraded.”

Isn’t it odd that in the movie industry a far more rigid censorship is applied to films containing nude images of the human body, and the

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. . . and then someone shot him . . .

SHOOTING UP POP CULTURE.

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travel

A Renai ssance for Venice

The tropical Christmas is never quite the same if you are a Brit, and after a few years of silly hats in hot weather I started to pine for something a bit closer to home. After all it’s about family and I don’t have any here, so time to get off the island. Last year it was Margaret River (Australia) – myself, brother and 80-year-old dad – which certainly ticked all the boxes as far as eating and drinking went, but it’s a long way and a big commitment for all concerned. So this year it was to be Europe, easier for everyone and a chance for me to catch up with old friends over the break. But where to go?

words by michael harvey images by d. hump

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costly but cruisy.

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flight of fancy.

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nun of the above.

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italian classic.

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Not the home in London, that’s for sure. No snow to trudge through or even just look at, not a lot to do apart from moan about the bone-numbing damp, and complain about the dreadful shite that’s on the tele. Not worth travelling half the way around the world for. So what about the countryside? Makes a lot of sense if you live there but we don’t, so might as well go abroad and avoid the M25 altogether. A skiing resort would be perfect, maybe Lech in Arlberg, Austria or Vald’isere in France. Perfect except that my dad doesn’t ski and bad things can happen to older people on ice. Okay then, a city break . . . how about Barcelona? Better in the summer. Munich? Been there done that, lived there for 10 years. Berlin? Not really Christmassy. Rome? Too Catholic, too many mangers everywhere. What about Venice? One of my favourite cities but full of busloads of tourists (literally) stamping the place into the ground and Americans who can’t believe it really is older than 200 years – loudly comparing its authenticity to The Bellagio in Vegas. Plus it’s a tourist rip off with some of the worst restaurants in the world (easy to tell which ones though, sporting six menus in different languages in the window with lurid pictures of pizza. Crap.) But out of season it could be a different ballgame entirely. What about the weather? Will anything be open? Where to go for Christmas lunch? How to get around? Where to stay? Cheap to get to? Out of season, off the beaten track, that’s always been the best way to travel I have found. Searching for suitable accommodation, we tried the North Bank – less popular with tourists but still close to the sights. Venice is, after all, quite tiny. With 16 million tourists a year the population is still only 60,000. We found the Palazzo Barbarigo, an old converted palace on the corner of the Grand Canal and Rio San Polo. Accessible either by water taxi to the front door or via a labyrinth of unsigned tiny alleys only a metre wide to the back door. No fat American is accidently going to stumble upon this by foot, they wouldn’t even fit down the alley. Off the beaten track it is. Getting to Venice off-season is no problem, no more expensive than a drive from London to Cornwall. A water taxi is the most impressive way to transfer from Marco Polo airport – only 20 minutes door to door – and although expensive at 150 euros it is way better value for money and a lot more comfortable than a ridiculously priced gondola ride. The hotel has 18 rooms decorated in art deco style, a lot of red and black and textured wallpaper. The rooms look out to one of the two canals and the accommodation is centered around a lounge/bar area running along most of the first floor with a balcony overlooking the Grand Canal. Spectacular. The library at the back of the property still has the original 15th century crafted wooden ceiling. Although serving breakfast and snacks, the hotel doesn’t have a restaurant which means a major objective every day is to find somewhere for lunch. And dinner. We are up for the challenge. Getting around is easy. Getting lost in the maze of alleys is part of the fun, it’s as if they were designed to confuse pirates. We are happy to discover that most of the people thronging the small squares close to the hotel seem to be locals. Turning right, the charming winding alleys lead eventually to the Rialto bridge. There is some of the most exquisite shopping I have seen in a long time – mainly pieces of Venetian craft, and only the occasional carnival mask. With no high streets to attract international brands, most of the shops, restaurants and hotels are still in the hands of owner families. This means that they display an attractive individuality linked with a personal service that has long been absent in other European cities. There is a shop selling nothing but gloves in fine Italian leather. My father decides he needs some to match his purple scarf, they have every hue of purple available . . . ”suits you sir!” Next stop the Rialto market with its spectacular array of freshly landed fish and seafood. Of note are the slightly alien looking spider crabs, extremely popular here but actually exported from Cornwall where there is little demand. The Rialto in Venice was the primary European centre for commercial exchange from the 12th century, right through the middle ages, benefitting from the Venetian dominance of

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maritime trade, including silks and other exotica from the Far East. The Rialto was mentioned several times by Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice. The earliest of the banks was the Banco Giro, from which the current term Giro derives. Its present day guise is a restaurant enoteca standing on the same site as the original bank, preserving much of the early architecture. We ask if it is open on Christmas day and book a table for dinner. First problem solved. Crossing Venice’s second most famous landmark, the Rialto bridge (incidentally covered in appallingly unimaginative graffiti, and also about to accept billboards to fund a renovation project) I am reminded of Kuta beach with the amount of hawkers and tourist tat available. Or maybe not. The views are still iconic. There are a lot of shops selling eye wateringly expensive Murano glass pieces that look hideously kitsch to the untrained eye, or maybe this is where kitsch was invented. It’s a ten-minute walk or 20 minutes browsing to St Mark's square, which only a month ago was seriously underwater. The Venetians, however, do not make a drama out of a crisis. Their city, like Jakarta, has been sinking right from the start, but unlike Jakarta they have planned for it and so most residences and certainly all palaces and museums have their living and communal spaces on the first floors and above, with the ground floor often quite open to the elements. They could certainly afford the weather resistant marble. If you want one of the most expensive coffees or ice creams in the world, St Mark’s square is certainly a good contender, but then again you are not paying just for the victuals themselves. It is still hugely impressive and just fantastic to be there without the madding crowds that infest it throughout most of the rest of the year. Up until now the day has been fairly misty, very atmospheric actually, with mist roiling along the canals as if blown from a massive dry ice machine. As we walk along to the gondola stands giving on to the lagoon, the sun breaks through the mist and it feels quite surreal, like being on a film set, which I suppose is exactly what it is. Running down one side of the square is the Doges palace, another of Venice’s essential landmarks. The detailing on the outside of the building and arches is stunning, much of it not even accessible to the human eye. Various bits of the building date back past the 14th century, but it has been restructured and restored countless times due to fires, structural failures, infiltrations and organisational requirements. Ancient Venice was the end of the Silk Road and was therefore all about trade and politics, The Doge was the top dog who not only lived at the palace, but also presided over the institutional chambers that received foreign ambassadors and delegations. Normally there would be a Disneylandesque queue taking hours before you reached the entrance, but at this time of year we breezed straight in. The ostentatious wealth on display, art on walls and ceilings, statues, fireplaces, armouries, chambers, ante-chambers, must have certainly given pause for thought as the delegations of old waited for an audience. And then there is the Bridge Of Sighs, the name referring to the sighs of prisoners as they paused for a final glimpse of freedom across the lagoon and San Giorgio before they were escorted over the canal to the dungeons. The dungeons are pretty scary. There aren't many in the world that attract as much of a hoo-ha as Harry’s Bar, opened in 1931 by Giuseppe Cipriani on the waterfront in St Mark’s Bay. In 1948 he invented the Bellini, a mixture of white peach juice and sparkling prosecco, named after the 15th-century Venetian painter Giovanni Bellini. Not content with just the one iconic concoction he then created the Carpaccio – slivers of raw beef with fresh lemon and a spray of mayonnaise, naming it after another painter, Vittore Carpaccio. Harry’s bar boomed as it became a must-visit destination for Americans wishing to dine out on stories that they had once sat in

the same place as the likes of Ernest Hemmingway and Orson Welles. Obviously not at the same time though. Unsurprisingly, they don't give it away in Harry’s Bar – 25 euros for a cocktail and twice that for a burger – to the horror of those who contribute to the ongoing slating it receives on Tripadvisor. (Why would you order a burger?). It's a sign of the times, however, that everything is not so rosy at Harry’s bar as its success is directly proportional to the state of the Italian economy. After years of raking it in, the 80 or so bar staff were asked to take a pay cut in line with reduced revenues, but in true Italian style they refused, leaving 80-year-old Giuseppe Ciprani Junior to wait on the tables himself. Instead we hopped on a Vaparetto, the local waterbus which, aside from walking, is the most economical way to navigate Venice's labyrinthine waterways. There are two circular lines plying the grand canal with boats every 10 minutes and stops every few hundred metres. They are crowded with locals, and are surely one of the most enjoyable forms of public transport any city has to offer. The mist adds a fourth dimension to the priceless views as yet another monumentally impressive piece of ancient architecture hoves into view . . . it's like a time warp back to the days of the Silk Road, and one can only imagine how it must have seemed for ye olde mariners arriving by ship for the first time . . . some kind of Atlantis looming out of the murk. We jumped off after 10 minutes and four stops back down the Grand Canal at Academie bridge, just past the Penny Guggenheim Collection. The pedestrian bridge is only one of two spanning the Grand Canal and dates back eons – its ornate railings are covered in padlocks, more than a couple of hundred of them and in bigger clusters near the apex. Couples make a pilgrimage here to seal their vows for each other, locking a padlock as a symbol of their love. Early the next morning I noticed the padlocks had mostly gone – realising it must be a daily cycle ending with some chap and a pair of bolt-cutters making space for next days influx of lovers. Having successfully, thus far, eschewed the touristy establishments, we were back in the small alleys and squares populated mostly by Italian speakers and it was time for lunch. We fell upon the Ristorante Cantinone Storico, a seemingly understated establishment blending into locale, just by a bridge on a small canal, as in fact are most places in Venice! Main course was sea bass baked in salt accompanied by a 2006 Brunello di Montalcino from Bioni Santi which followed a couple of bottles of a crisp and slightly spritzy Gavi. Our waiter, Constantin (a Romanian), it transpires, is the boyfriend of Viola (Russian), our bartender at the Palazzio Barbarigo. Suitably impressed by our alcohol intake, Constantin dispatches himself to retrieve a bottle of 1963 Italian brandy he has been saving for just such a Christmas occasion. We get a little noisy, much to the disapproval of the two middle aged women (Welsh) on the next table who appear to be trying to understand the age gap between myself and my fiancé. They are obviously dykes who should have stayed in the valleys drinking warm beer. Invigorated and refreshed we decide on one last piece of sightseeing for the day, diving headlong into a maze of alleys trying to find La Fenice, which rivals La Scala for the top spot of Italian opera houses. Verdi's Rigoletto and La Traviata were first performed here, and Maria Callas sang here frequently. For such a famous place it is inordinately difficult to find, but that is part of the charm of Venice – always something surprising round the corner. Staggering back to the hotel we reflect on our first day in Venice and congratulate ourselves on beating the tourist traps. Out of season and off the beaten track, that's us. Tomorrow it's Christmas and we still have two more days left, plenty of time to buy handbags, shoes and anything made out of leather including some very aromatic wild boar sausages.

pole vault.

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layover KOMUNE'S OVERCOME PURIST SURF DREAMSCAPES TO BECOME A GREAT VENUE AT THE WORLD CLASS BREAK OF KERAMAS

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Once you’ve eaten your way around Seminyak, partied ‘til the wee hours and shopped ‘til you’ve dropped, you may be looking for somewhere more secluded to unwind and relax. Located on Bali’s beautiful south-east coast, just 20 minutes north of Sanur, and overlooking the famous Keramas right-hand break, Komune offers a chilled-out island experience. Modern, fresh and funky, the resort and beach club caters for in-house guests and day visitors, with a breathtaking bar, restaurant and pool just metres from the waves. While lazing in the pool and sipping on a mojito or Bintang you could easily think you’re drifting off to sea, with Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida beckoning in the distance. But don’t worry, the friendly staff will ensure you don’t get stranded – on hand and ready to ply you with goodness from the kitchen. There’s an extensive menu of Western and Balinese munchies, with something to suit all tastes – from the hungry surfer to the ravenous rug-rat. When it comes to resting your head, Komune offers resort-style rooms with the simple luxuries you expect of a tropical Balinese getaway. With polished concrete floors, white linens, large flat-screen TV, walk-in rain shower and the choice of air-conditioning or ceiling fan to keep you cool at night, you’re guaranteed to awake refreshed and ready to take on the new day. For those craving a little more indulgence, in 2014 guests will get to choose from the self-contained bungalows and

private villas with their own plunge pool. As we all know nothing beats knocking back a martini on your own private deck as the sun goes down. Which, of course, leads to the question of just what does happen when the sun dips below the horizon? Well, the good news is that at Komune the surfing action continues. Under custom-built lights, expression sessions take place on the waves in front of the Beach Club, putting on a night surfing spectacular. On competition nights a DJ spins and a seafood barbeque cranks. Komune keeps things clean and green with its organic vegetable garden, solar panels, LED lighting, cross-flow ventilation, a recycling system, and river channel and beach cleaning. A stay is that much sweeter knowing the local community is engaged in these sustainability measures in a bid to set a precedent for developments that may follow. All in all Komune is the kool choice for those seeking something out-of-town and to escape the pace after pounding the pavement. It’s also a fab spot to tie the knot or celebrate a birthday or two. It’s safe to say you won’t be disappointed. www.komuneresorts.com/bali

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over the edge alexa by talika oazia cruise line.

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Katie Truman GETS HIGH ON BALI'S pristine SEAS.

HISTORY and geographic beauty drive us to take to Indonesian seas. We know the facts: 17,000-plus islands in an archipelago that overs are fifth of the world's gift. The climate suits us . . . it's hot + windy and the seas not too high. And so to cast off . . . The four new nautical stars featured here take liveaboard sailing experiences up a whole new high-end notch, resembling a floating five star hotel. They operate practically year-round, following two spectacular nautical routes and Indonesia’s best weather patterns. Sandwiched between Sumbawa and Flores, UNESCO World Heritage Site Komodo National Park is part of Indonesia’s “coral triangle,” regarded as one of the world’s finest dive sites and home to the largest marine diversity. Further north in West Papua, extensive Raja Ampat boasts one of the healthiest, greatest coral reefs for its size on earth and an amazingly diverse underwater world – around 70 per cent of the world’s total coral species are located here as well as some of the most pristine dives sites. ALEXA BY TALIKA OAZIA CRUISE LINE TRANSFORMED from a working Phinisi-style cargo boat into a sleek, all-white, charter sailing boat, Alexa is surely one of the most canoodle-friendly sails on the seven seas. This 31-metre vessel features just one guest cabin and round-the-clock pampering for two (maximum four) passengers (but that’s pushing it and definitely a crowd). Apart from the crew of seven – including cruise director, master chef, dive instructor and butler, discreetly

attending to guests’ every whim – you’re totally on your own with Alexa all to yourself! Beside the ample en-suite master cabin with balcony, there’s expansive lounge-dining areas and ultra-modern chef’s kitchen, and two deck levels, providing breezy openair dining and love-fest chilling. As you’d expect from opulent OAZIA, the well-stocked bar features premier wines and gourmet cuisine exquisitely prepared, focusing on succulent fresh seafood – think lobster, caviar and oysters, served grilled, cerviche or carpaccio style. Sensuous pursuits run to lobster barbecues on dazzling white sand coves, swimming au naturel with turtles, sleeping out on deck in a canopied bed under the stars, or diving hand-in-hand off uninhabited islands – premium diving equipment is provided – reached by private speedboat. Alexa itself is rejuvenating enough, but part of a joint venture with high-end French cosmetics brand Talika, customised treatments with Talika spa products and exclusively trained spa therapist are available. info@talikaoaziacruiseline.com / www.talikaoaziacruiseline. com AMANIKAN IF kicking back on a luxury yacht and sailing the turquoise waters of Indonesia’s island chains is your thing, Aman Resorts can offer you the holiday of a lifetime. Amanwana is an upscale, tented hideaway on nature

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reserve Moyo Island, that is home to the custom-built, 32-metre Phinisi schooner, Amanikan – the star of Amanwana’s fleet. Exemplifying Aman Resorts’ signature service and flair, Amanikan fuses spice-trading-vessel-romance with deluxe modern amenities (from iPod docking stations to an outdoor cinema). Three above-deck en-suite cabins feature two-metre vaulted ceilings, and the master cabin provides 270-degree views from wrap-around windows and a private sun deck. Built into the vessel’s bow, the lounge space is the guest epicentre for sunbathing, pre-dinner sun-downers, and sleeping out under the stars, while the foredeck offers breezy al fresco dining (seating 10) and outdoor bar. Up to three couples or a family can be accommodated, supported by a crew of 10, including dive instructor and private chef – whose culinary tasks cover barbeques on starlit beaches and simple but refined on-board dining. A fully equipped dive centre offers guided tours and novice-toadvanced PADI courses, while ocean-going kayaks, dinghies and fishing gear are all part of the package. Amanikan can be chartered for private cruises around Moyo’s surrounding islands for day trips or longer, but in keeping with the group’s other boats, Amanikan offers two fixed-date island-hopping adventures. Seven-night Komodo Expedition (March-October) explores the pristine waters of Komodo National Park, cruising through the Nusa Tenggara island chain to some of the world’s most biologically diverse dive sites, and stopping off at Rinca and Komodo – the only two islands in the world where Komodo dragons live in their natural habitats. This magical journey includes a two-night tent stay at Amanwana – complete with off-beach wall dives, trekking to jungle waterfalls, and indigenous spa treatments. reservations@amanresorts.com / www.amanresorts.com ALILA PURNAMA FOLLOWING its December 2012 inaugural sailing, Alila Purnama (Full Moon) also emerges as one of the most luxurious live-aboard Phinisi boats in the region, offering exclusive voyages of discovery, exploration and diving – what you’d expect from the prestigious Alila Hotels and Resorts stable. The 46-metre, three-deck Alila Purnama is hand-crafted luxury, built in traditional Phinisi style. Interiors are beautifully custom-made from teak, rattan and other archipelago-sourced materials and guests are spoilt by an experienced crew of 16 – including cruise director, chef and dive instructor. Accommodating 10 passengers, there are four well-appointed en-suite cabins, plus an expansive master suite, with vast wraparound windows revealing 270-degree ocean views, and a large sundeck providing private relaxation space. Also onboard are an air-conditioned dining area, lounge and bar strewn with comfy sofas, and a main outdoor deck with oversized daybeds, and glorious al fresco living-dining space.

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Purnama’s main indulgence is diving, providing a fully licensed and equipped PADI dive centre, catering for qualified divers, or onboard development courses ranging from Advanced Open Water Diver to specialist options. Other blissful pursuits include surfing, fishing, throwing a picnic with chilled bubbly on secluded beaches, exploring tropical islands, or melting away with a signature massage, courtesy of their Alila-trained spa therapist. purnama@alilahotels.com / www.alilahotels.com/purnama WAOW WAOW stands for “Water Adventure Ocean Wide” but “WOW” is apt, for this 61-metre, three-masted sailing vessel which is arguably the largest, most hi-tech Phinisi-style boat currently operating dive charters in Indonesian waters. The highly-trained crew – a whopping 22 – includes multi-lingual cruise directors, spa therapist and resident chef. A vision of WAOW’s Swiss owner, Michel Deville, this impressive vessel incorporates Phinisi techniques favoured by Sulawesi shipwrights dating back to the 14th century, merged with adaptations from American schooners of the 1800s, and goes 21st century with the highest standards of modern boat-building, incorporating advanced maritime and communications technology from state-of-the-art satellite and navigational gadgetry to dive suits kitted out with GPS safety devices. “A dream project, WAOW combines the latest yachting technology with old school nautical charm, keeping as environmentally-conscious as possible,” project director Andrew Laughlin says. “Our goal was to take liveaboard dive boats up to the next luxury level, keeping apace with change as clients expectations become increasingly discerning.” As a charter sailing vessel, WAOW offers hard-to-beat extravagance of space and privacy: nine luxuriously appointed en-suite guest cabins include a 45 square metre upper deck master cabin with private sundeck; two superior cabins on the main deck with private sun decks; and six deluxe cabins below deck. Each cabin contains private bathrooms with separate shower and WC; LED lighting; and in-cabin entertainment featuring multi-media TV screen, Wi-Fi Internet and on-demand movies. There’s also an expansive air-conditioned lounge and dining area (seating 26), fully-stocked bar, outdoor entertainment deck area, and three sundecks for serious sunset views. WAOW offers sailing itineraries from April to September within the Komodo National Park, heading up north in October via the Banda Sea (another stupendous dive site, with a 4,000 metre volcanic drop-off ), and Raja Ampat. info@waowcharters.com. / www.waowcharters.com

Alila Purnama - Komodo Island.

waow - master cabin.

alila purnama - suite.

waow - sailing.

Amanwana - Amanikan Amanwana - Amanikan.

Cabin Three.

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feet o left w t 's e e anie m bali. steph ors of o l f e nc the da

It’s Monday night, and unlike most bars in town, this one is packed. People of all nationalities (admittedly more women than men), are laughing, flirting and dancing to upbeat Latin rhythms. As a slow, sultry song comes on, the men make the rounds of the room, picking out women to join them on the dance floor. A good-looking man catches my eye and heads my way. He’s clean-cut, dressed all in black, and has a body most women would throw themselves at in a second, but the only thing I can think is, “Shit. Don’t, pick me. Pick anyone but me”. He extends his hand and asks me to dance. “Sorry, but I don’t know how”, I say. “No problem. I’ll teach you”, he says. And thus begins another round of awkward movements, fumbled steps and mild humiliation on my part. Welcome to Salsa night, a craze that has been sweeping through Bali like wildfire over the past few years. It’s easy to see why people are attracted to Salsa dancing. First of all, it’s an incredibly animated and dynamic form of dance. Simply watching the dancers move, seductively shaking their hips and twirling gracefully around the dance floor is entertaining in itself. Then there is the social aspect. Salsa is primarily a partner dance, so dancers have the opportunity to meet other enthusiasts and learn new moves by choosing different partners. As long as you know the basic steps, you can dance to pretty much any song that comes on, with any partner you can find. Unless, of course, you have two left feet and cannot carry a beat to save your life. Like me. Salsa has it’s roots in Latin and Afro-Caribbean rhythms, although the style has been influenced by many different cultures and traditions. When the French fled Haiti, they brought the Danzon Contra (country dance) to Cuba, which then mixed with African rhumbas, and the Cuban Son. As Afro-Cuban and Latin music evolved, so too did Salsa, and it eventually spread throughout the Caribbean, Mexico and the

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United States, taking on different forms in each place. At the heart of the dance is the music - which might be a mix of different styles, including rhumba, guaracha, mambo, cha cha cha, bomba and merengue, but the basic dance steps always follow the beat of the wooden claves in a pattern of six steps per eight beats of music. In an effort to join the ranks of the rhythmically gifted, I enlist the help of Made Alfa, dance instructor extraordinaire, and one of the first people to bring salsa dancing to Bali. “There are many different styles of Salsa,” Made says. “The most popular is the Cuban casino style, but other styles include the Colombian Cali, New York, Miami and Los Angeles styles. Let’s start with the Cuban style.” Made walks me through the basic Mambo steps, which seem simple enough at first. The woman starts by stepping back with the right foot on the first beat, as the man steps forward with his left foot. The dancers alternate feet for eight beats, pausing on the fourth and eighth beats and stepping in place. Already I’ve screwed up. I keep wanting to step forward on the pauses, and I quickly lose the rhythm. Fortunately, Made has the patience of a saint. “You have to feel the rhythm in Salsa dancing,” Made says. “You need to feel the music to be able to dance. You learn the steps to follow the pattern, but after that, it’s all about the music.” Fortunately for me, the man leads in salsa, so I let Made guide me as best he can. Salsa is all about reading your partner and following subtle cues for when to spin, side-step and shake what you’ve got. The name Salsa came from Cuban composer Ignacio Pinerio’s song Echale Salsita. He coined the term as a protest against what he considered bland food that lacked Cuban spices. The word quickly caught on, and people began to

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use the term for any type of Latin music that you could dance to. Just like Latin food, Salsa is meant to be fiery, vibrant and bold. Unlike the subtle and elegant movements of Balinese dance, Salsa is in your face, interactive, and fast-paced. “When I learned Salsa in 2001, no one else in Bali was doing it,” Made says. “I was working at the Intercon Hotel, and the owner there liked Latin music, so he wanted to start up Salsa nights and have the staff perform Salsa and teach the guests. “In the beginning it was difficult, because we only had a video to learn from. “It took about six months to get the hang of it.” Since then, Made has become one of the forerunners in the Salsa scene in Bali. Over the years, he has taught hundreds of dancers and watched the scene grow from just a few enthusiasts to entire nightclubs packed with dancers in Seminyak, Sanur and Ubud. He is also one of the main organisers of the Bali Salsa Festival, an annual event that takes place in Kuta every March. “Most students are expats, and mainly women, but now I’m seeing more and more Balinese people joining the classes,” he says. “In Seminyak especially, more men want to learn salsa. Maybe they have girlfriends who dance, or maybe they see people doing it in the clubs and they want to try. ”This is good news for the ladies, as men are few and far between at Salsa nights in Bali. Usually, there are just two professional male dancers at the events, and a slew of women waiting in line for a chance to dance. Some women even pool their resources to hire a male dancer for the evening, and patiently wait their turn for a spin on the dance floor.” Made says in Sydney there are a lot of men dancing Salsa; many more compared to Bali. “Maybe we need to look there for inspiration and market Salsa as a masculine dance.” He says that Salsa will continue to be popular in Bali and abroad, but that: “You can never predict what will catch on. Global trends in dance are always changing. For example, right now, Zoop from Brazil is quite popular, as is Bachata from the Dominican Republic. I’m not the type of guy who just sticks to one form of dance, but Salsa is my favorite.” With Made’s handy hints, and the Salsa steps fresh in my mind, I hit another Salsa night, determined to use my newly gained knowledge to rip up the dance floor. My first request to dance is from an elderly

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Canadian man who looks like he knows what he’s doing. As the music starts, I silently count the beats in my head, “1, 2, 3, pause, 5, 6, 7, pause. As I focus all my attention on my feet, I’m pleased to see that they are actually following the rhythm. Maybe I can actually do this. “You’re too stiff!”, says my dance partner. “You’ve got to move your hips! Feel the rhythm. It’s like I’m dancing with a wooden board!” I try to take his advice, but my mind gets muddled trying to keep in step, follow the music, and shake my hips at the same time. I fall completely and hopelessly off beat. “Well, maybe you should take a lesson”, says my dance partner kindly. Pfft – I give up. Parceling my wounded pride up into a tight little ball, and shoving it back into the recesses of my mind, I decide to move on to something new. Maybe what I need is something a little more liberating, something that will build my confidence and maybe something with a bit of sex appeal. Pole dancing seems like it will fit the bill nicely. Just a few months ago, Natalie Kashani opened the first pole dancing studio in Indonesia. “I knew that it was somewhat of a daring move to open a pole dancing studio in Indonesia, because pole dancing is notorious for being a very sexy form of dance,” she says. “However, it’s also very athletic and gymnastic – a great way to get fit and build self-confidence, and an art form in itself. I thought that people might be hesitant to try it at first, but the response has been great, and everyone who tries it seems to love it.” Although pole dancing may be better known as an exotic dance that takes place mainly in cabarets and strip clubs, the art form originally began as a form of acrobatics that can be traced back to Asia over 2,000 years ago. The Indian mallakhamb is a centuries-old traditional sport where gymnasts (primarily men) perform mesmerising moves on a wooden pole or a rope. China too has a long-running pole tradition that dates back to the 12th century. Reserved for male circus professionals, performers climb, slide, hold poses, flip and jump off the pole, very much like today’s Cirque du Soleil performers do. During the 1980s, pole dancing began to appear in strip clubs in North America, which is where it gained its less than salubrious reputation. However, the fitness benefits of pole dancing soon caught on with the mainstream. In 1994, Fawnia Dietrich opened the first pole dancing school, where people could learn the art form in a safe and supportive environment.

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People took to the pole immediately for its ability to build strength, increase flexibility and test endurance. Today, there are many amateur and professional pole dancing competitions around the world, and the International Pole Dancing Federation is pushing to have competitive pole dancing included in the 2016 Olympics. Natalie has only a few rules when it comes to her pole dancing classes. First of all, participants must wear short shorts and tight shirts. It may sound like a bizarre guideline designed with aesthetics in mind, but it is actually safer to have more skin exposed in a pole dancing class, as it prevents slipping. Which leads to the next rule; no lotions, oils or sunblock and no jewelry. Natalie’s final rule is no judgement of any kind, including being hard on yourself. "I try to create a totally non-judgemental environment here," she says. "So many of us live in our heads, and students always want to look in the mirror to see the moves. I encourage people to delete the internal dialogue and stop worrying about how it looks. Just move and feel the music. You don’t have to be sexy or outgoing to do this, in fact, everything comes from within, and that’s what I try to inspire in my students." After just one session at The Art of Body, it is clear that pole dancing is so much more than just a sexy dance. Natalie starts the class with a warm-up session with lively music, and instructs the students (two girls and one guy) to hold onto their poles and roll the shoulders and neck, bend the knees and circle the hips. To get into the groove, students move around their poles using big steps, stopping every so often to bend at the waist, and undulate back up the pole. Seems easy enough. But that’s just the beginning. The first move involves grabbing the pole with both hands, walking around the pole to build up momentum, and then lifting the legs off the ground and swinging the body around the pole. This requires serious upper arm and core strength, something my daily regimen of sitting in front of the computer and occasionally going out to practice some beerlifting bicep curls has definitely not prepared me for. Luckily, I’ve decided to sit this one out. The next move is even more challenging, as it requires students to grab the pole above the head, swing the legs around and up into the air in a fan kick, and bring the body around to the other side of the pole. Those with a knack for it make it look graceful, but the move is actually incredibly difficult.

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“I really encourage beginners to start with the fundamental classes and the workshops,” Natalie says. “This is where you can learn the basics, simple things like how to walk around the pole, and pole safety. The Level Two and Polenastics classes are more for people who already have experience pole dancing or who come from an athletics or gymnastics background.” The majority of the classes here are made up of women, especially those looking for something different than simply lifting weights or doing cardio. Many are also looking for a confidence boost, and a way to tap into their sexuality. Natalie says: “I see all types of people joining the classes, from confident 70-year-old women to shy 18-year-olds who have never had a boyfriend before. The most beautiful thing is seeing these women of all ages and backgrounds come together and celebrate their sensuality. ” As for men, Natalie has no problem with men joining in, as long as they truly want to learn. “Sure, I’ve had random guys call up and ask to hire some of our ‘girls’ or ask to watch a class, but that’s not what we’re about. I never let outside people watch the classes, and, so far, I haven’t had any problems with the people in the class. We’re open to anybody of age who wants to try pole dancing for the right reasons.” Pole dancing is definitely not easy, but it helps that the classes are laid-back and designed so that students can progress at their own pace. There is a lot of laughter, and by the end of the class, even the students who started out with awkward, clunky, moves seem to be getting into the groove and executing seductive steps and spins in time with the music. As renowned modern dancer and choreographer Martha Graham once said: “Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion.” As I’ve come to learn, dancing is not only about rhythm, confidence and sex appeal, but also about loving what you do. Will I ever be a star Salsa dancer or win a pole dancing competition? Not bloody likely. But for those who truly enjoy dancing, it’s not about being the best. It’s about getting out there and expressing yourself through movement. As for me, I think I’ll stick to words. www.facebook.com/groups/salsainbali/ www.theartofbody.com

eat drink read lounge

Breakfast at Biku... Open 8am-11pm Daily Ph. 0361 8570 888

Jl.Raya Petitenget no.888 www.bikubali.com

Kerobokan Kelod info@bikubali.com

Katie Truman shows up at bali's latest wine and eat beats (And gets on the vino at amy's). hic.

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KITCHENETTE at beachwalk.

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ORAL PLEASURES the wINEHOUSE.

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WINEHOUSE @ kerobokan Kerobokan’s Winehouse labels itself as ‘shop, bar and school,’ but as any selfrespecting wine connoisseur knows, Winehouse – AKA “Amy’s” – is a veritable wine emporium, unique to the island and beyond: premium wine shop importer, wholesaler and retailer (established 13 years), with a taste bud-tingling 7,000 bottles and 350 wines on-site, and Bali’s sole professional wine school. The air-conditioned, glass fronted “bottle shop” is unfussy contemporary and wine-for-dummies friendly, with blonde wood wine rack displays organised by weight – lightest body white wines to full- bodied heavier reds – check-out their monthly promotions. Since late 2012, an intimate tasting bar is a new addition at the rear. Likeminded wine lovers seeking superior wines by the glass can be found perched-up at the lengthy wood counter, especially post-lunch and dinner, seeking just ‘one more glass!’ or try-before-you-buy tasters. Winehouse promises the finest wines by the glass on the island, the Enamatic dispenser maintaining wines in tip-top taste. You’ll likely find here Winehouse visionary Katrina Valkenburg, long-time PR and events specialist, and food and wine pairing expert with 30 years in the wine industry, pouring out sound advice. Up on the mezzanine level, the glass-encased meeting room, dominated by a buff polished teak wood dining table (actually a recycled railway line sleeper) seats 20, just the job for Katrina’s wine school sessions (two hours weekly for three weeks), food and wine pairing courses and corporate and wine consulting meets. This opens out to a divine little Mediterranean-style open-air terrazzo, simple in white stone with extendable sun-roof and faux overhanging vines; post dusk, prettily lit-up with Moroccan lanterns and ideal for a chat over a choice bottle, or sunset soirees and private wine tastings. A Chef’s kitchen coming soon will provide tasting plates of tapas, cold cuts and cheese platters, superbly complimenting the wines. Appropriate mood-setting music runs from opera to smooth jazz, plus valet parking and villa delivery. Daily 10am-10pm. 66 Jalan Kerobokan, Kerobokan, tel: 0361 737217/ info@winehousebali.com / www. winehousebali.com KITCHENETTE @ beachwalk bali THE design of Kitchenette – part of Kuta's beachfront sexing-up – reflects the heart and soul of a family or friends kitchen, with a country-style, kitchen scene infused with structured messiness: pantry-style glass cabinets filled with food storage jars and tins, centre-stage dining tables adorned with baskets of produce and counters displaying kitchen implements, such as vintage food processors. Daily promotions (including ‘TKIF,’ Thank Kitchenette its Friday) and F+B highlights are scrawled on giant blackboards, while huge mirrors scream insightful captions, like “Keep calm and have a cup cake.” Alongside Kuta’s beachside promenade, seating runs from air-conditioned inner dining area, semi-open outer terrace and pavement terrace with daybeds directly facing the beach. A multi-functional restaurant catering for different hours and tastes, Kitchenette offers all-day breakfasts, brunch, lunch and afternoon tea to sunset cocktails, dinner and late night one-for-the-roads. With a Spanish chef at the helm, the diverse menu focuses on freshly cooked, home-made goodness and kitchen comfort foods – à la carte salads, sandwiches

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on focaccia and sourdough, etc – many, playfully labeled with his n’her names (Uncle Raul Spanish tapas and Grandpa Luigi’s rustic pastas and so on). Signatures are savoury galettes from organic buck wheat flour with savoury toppings, such as “Gusteau” (mozzarella cheese, rosemary, bacon and roast potatoes) and outrageously OTT sweet crêpés – “Isabelle” (cheesecake with Oreo cookie crumble with chocolate sauce) a prime artery-blocking example. From the pavement-side wine bar out-front, overhung with blackboard listing, drinks feature Italian sodas and frozen frappes, wellpriced wines and barista-brewed Illy coffee. Sample signatures served in jam-jar glasses: Little Amelia’s Home-made Old-fashioned Lemonade and Wicked Elixir Cocktails (allegedly biggest in town), like Wimbledon Jet Fuel (fresh kiwi and strawberry fruit with, gin and rum) – then sit back and enjoy the view. Sunday - Thursday (10am - 11pm) / Friday - Saturday (10am- 1am) Beachwalk Grd Flr, 22-23 Jalan Pantai Kuta, Kuta, tel: 0361 8464937/ www. ismaya.com/kitchenette THE LONG RICE TABLE Following the late 2012 opening of The Stones Legian Bali comes their signature restaurant, The Long Rice Table. For those uninspired by Legian’s culinary options and seeking authentic Indonesian home cooking in upmarket safety, The Long Rice Table was worth the wait. And if you’re fans of Rijstaffel – a Dutch invention, during Indonesia’s colonial period, the sharing of indigenous sample dishes from Java, Bali, Sumatra and other islands – you’ll be mighty impressed, as it’s hard to find a good Rijstaffel, in terms of rustic flavoursome and presentation. Meaning “Rice Table”, Rijstaffel is the house specialty here, with the Australian Executive Chef researching authentic Indonesian recipes, with input from his young chef team's families and villages. Although traditional recipes and age-old dining styles are kept alive, dishes are updated with modern twists, freshly prepared with locally sourced ingredients, accompanied by home-made sambals (hot to hotter) – best cooled down with refreshing Farmers Punch from ‘Balinese Inventions’ drinks. Following a welcome drink of warmed ginger, honey and lemongrass and bowl of Soto Ayam, staff bring forth a large modern-style serving tray packed with small ceramic bowls filled with an array of mouth-watering island dishes: crunchy Gado-Gado, succulent Ikan Bakar and Ayam Rujak, ceremonial-style fragrant yellow rice and more. This delicious feast should cover two diners (Rp.580,000) or even three, further supplemented from the a la carte menu, bearing more traditional treats; there’s also an alternative Seafood Rijstaffel (Rp.650,000) focusing on seafood dishes, like Sambal Gorang Udang. Impeccable serving staff impart clear explanations of dishes and traditions – although a giant blackboard chalked-up with culinary details and anecdotes also helps. Open solely for dinner, TLRT is a sectioned-off part of Stones Kitchen, the resort’s main all-day dining area; at night evoking an intimate wooden-

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walled warung, but with five-star hygiene and service. As Indonesian cuisine and Rijstaffel is all-about communal, family-style sharing, seating is a series of sleek bench-style canteen tables (albeit individual tables are also provided for those preferring privacy). Interiors are Indonesian-inspired design, contemporary with stylish urban chic, as elsewhere amid this hotel; note the traditional references, including bamboo lanterns resembling bird cages, hand-painted, hand-crafted ceramic plates and the steady gaze of an elderly Javanese couple in traditional attire, from a centre-stage oil painting portrait. Daily 6-10.30pm. The Stones Legian Bali, Jalan Raya Pantai Kuta, Legian, tel: 0361 3025888/ www.stoneshotelbali.com SUNDARA @ four seasons, Jimbaran Still crying into your Bolly over the demise of PJs, at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay? Well stop, as its newly-launched replacement, Sundara restaurant has arrived – and then some. In Sanskrit, Sundara means “beautiful” (apt, as well as sexy, stylish and sensational), but also pays homage to the sun-drenching Jimbaran’s – and for that matter, Bali’s – hottest new hotel beachfront restaurant-bar. Hugging Jimbaran Beach, with sweeping crescent bay views, Sundara’s dedicated entrance sets the palatial scene, with high granite walls and imposing steps through water features, leading out to an expansive bar-restaurant setting with various indoor/ outdoor settings. The open-air patio area, slinky yet relaxed for all-day drinking and grazing, reveals smooth granite slabs over water pools, edged by an infinity-edge lap pool above the sands. At opposite ends, a contemporary lounge-meets-colonial style bar – note the 950kg carved teak “chandelier” hanging over the central bar station (where resident DJs play), and other side, spectacular semi-open restaurant, dominated by an open buzzy kitchen with four wood-fired ovens. The upper Mezzanine level features two private dining rooms sandwiched between a dining area, leading out to a refined deck with bar and bay views to kill for. Sundara is chilled beach club mixed with five-star flair and luxe (hire an ocean-facing daybed, from Rp.600,000, covering minimum F+B and exclusive pool use) but comes into its glamorous own, sunset-time – the restaurant section aglow with amber-hues and main deck dramatically ablaze with cauldrons of fire. Designer Koichi Yasuhiro, of Tokyo’s Design Studio SPIN, cleverly creates an uber- contemporary beachside playground, still paying homage to Balinese traditional heritage with natural, earthy materials: soaring roofs of alang alang-thatch, palimanan stone walls, granites and woods – check-out coconut wood doors featuring elaborate lattice work. Cocktails come designed by one of the world’s leading cocktail gurus, mixologist Javier de las Muelas (owner of Barcelona’s brilliant DRY MARTINI); try the Mojito Collection (including Kumquat), or Signatures featuring new G+T twist, Jim-Let Fox-Trot. Cuisine is simplistically light and fresh, celebrating seasonal locally-sourced produce and high quality

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: sundara at four seasons; the cafe at the mulia; winehouse; long rice table at the stones; kitchenette; sundara.

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ABOVE AND RIGHT: the cafe at THE MULIA.

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ingredients. All-day grazing menu covers Wagyu beef burgers to wood-fired pizzas, while restaurant dining focuses on a grill-house concept with prime cuts and seafood highlights – think Wagyu strip loin, Cold Bar oysters and Charcuterie corner, enticing with Spanish cured jamons, chorizos and more. Daily, 11.30am-1am Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay, Jimbaran, Kuta Selatan, tel: 0361 701010 / www.fourseasons.com/jimbaranbay The Cafe @ The mulia when they launched, The Mulia promised they would introduce a 'new brand of luxury' to Bali, and their ambitions appear to have succeeded, even down to their all-day brasserie, The Cafe. Situated on the lower level of the resort's sprawling lobby, The Cafe presents the usual sun-filled expansive restaurant, with an outdoor terrace facing a succession of pools. But that’s where hotel generics end. Throughout the eclectic, casual seating arrangements – from comfy sofas and intimate corners to refined armchairs and functional group tables – six themed buffet stations with state-of-the-art live kitchens stand, where teams of chefs whipup dishes freshly prepared and made to order (with only small amounts displayed out front on serving trays). With more than 24 experienced expat chefs on the Mulia payroll, authenticity and diversity of dishes are of a high standard, with fresh, quality ingredients and options rotated daily. Indian curries, tandooris, etc come with home-made rotis, chutneys and naan breads, Indonesian warung and padang fare is accompanied by multiple freshlypounded sambals and the Chinese station offers hanging juicy ducks, noodles thrown as theatrics and instant wok stir-fries. Over at the Japanese section, an ice-bar is stacked with luscious oysters, sushi and premium seafood, while quirky touches include the Western station’s wall of balsamic vinegars and olive oil droppers for fresh salads. Any room left (this is, after all, “all you can eat”), sneak-off to the sin-room-cum- Euro-style patisserie, dripping with chocolate fountain fondue, home-made gelatos and blow-the-diet pastries. All washed down with signature Mocktails (we recommend the green mango with fresh vanilla pod). The Cafe also nourishes the eyes: like elsewhere in The Mulia, focus is on high-end residential style and owner’s exhibits of personally sourced Orientalthemed art works and vintage-antique collector pieces; here, stunning displays range from shelves of old painted Chinese rice baskets and silk brocade antique footwear to cabinets stacked with silver-plated elephants. Playing on colours and textures, playful decor touches include dim sumshaped ceramic wall adornments and a large painting of an aged Mandarin jacket superimposed with a sexy bikini beneath. Like other Mulia F+B venues, The Cafe markets as a destination restaurant, offering premium global cuisine, and affordable luxury (Lunch, Rp.199.000++; Dinner, Rp.229,000++ and Sunday Lunch, Rp.279,000++ inclusive free-flow juices and soft drinks). The Mulia, Mulia Resort & Villas - Nusa Dua, Jalan Raya Nusa Dua Selatan, Kawasan Sawangan, tel: 0361 3017777/ www.themulia.com

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motel mexicola.

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Heading south to Mexico ... colourful times arrive at Bali's tropical shores, writes Salvador Bali.

La Libre TaQeria 820 Jl. Raya Semer, Anyar. Tel: 0821-9929-6321 La Libre is a small, casual, funky Los Angeles-style eatery seating 42 people. Dine inside and out in the midst of casual pop-art décor supplemented by a mix of ‘60s to ‘80s music. Making a showing without anyone knowing – no ad campaigns, just a word-of-mouth following – La Libre has flourished into a happening spot for the surfer crowd. Boasting quality ingredients, goodly portions, and friendly prices, La Libre is an all around good vibes place to relax and repast. Tacos are home made and the Big Burritos and Nachos are a definite favourite. Everything is made in-house: tortilla’s, refried beans, guacamole, salsa, hot sauces, and even the sour cream is made fresh. All vegetable and salad produce is from Bedugul and is as organic as possible. Almost all ingredients are sourced locally, promoting local farmers and producers. This may be another reason why so many Mexican restaurants have popped up; everything is available here to make Mexican food. Taco Beach Jalan Kunti #6, Seminyak . Tel: 854-6262 www.tacobeachgrill.com Small place, but in a big way, inside dining, seating capacity 30, décor – Mexican ghetto-chic meets upscale Tijuana. Gayle lighting, painted in orange and pink, fiesta style with Latin music and Mexican videos. Constant turn-around of clientele, with queues-in-waiting. Main ingredient: “if you don’t love it, you don’t pay for it”. Taco Beach offers a personalised menu, which means three months of recipe development. House favourites are nachos with six different seasoned fresh salsas; freshly fried corn chips; roasted sweet corn; house Batestella salsa; roasted chili and guacamole. Chili Poppers, local chilies stuffed with imported mozzarella, in a corn batter, then deep fried and served with a fresh ranch dressing which is made with fresh herbs and sour cream, mixed with homemade mayonnaise. Babi Guling Tacos – with a marinade made in a mysterious and secret way containing 16 different spices, and slowly, slowly cooked. The chef is Mexican. Presentation is first-class, gourmet style. All in all an impressive menu with many surprises, and shockingly low prices. Let’s not forget the desserts – how about this folks . . . margarita cheesecake. This is a Mexican restaurant with passion-plus and definitely striving to be the best.

motel mexicola: dame unas gambas hombre.

Poco Loco Jalan Padma, Utara, Legian. Tel: 735 100/200/300 This Mexican restaurant is a family institution 21 years in the making. With a reputation for quality and consistency, locals and tourists alike have been coming back again and again. Poco Loco seats up to 250 on a three-tiered deck – inside and outside dining, with ample parking. Décor is in the Latin tradition with a long saloon bar sporting the biggest selection of tequilas on the island, and to encourage the fiesta feel, music 135

oral pleasures fajita's porfavor.

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on Tuesdays with The Latin Tropical band; Thursdays, flamenco guitar and Latin DJ; Fridays, Latin music with salsa dancing review. And, of course, little Madé, tequila-meister extraordinaire – 21 years on the job carrying his gun belt of tequila shots that hit you right between the eyes. His specialty is the jumbo margarita. As for menu presentation, nothing fancy, but mouthwatering and finger-lickin’-good. Selections include Cowboy Steak, Tapas Selections shared at table, Fiesta Platter, Monster Ribs, and California Tex Mex. Favourites are: Tuna Tatar – raw tuna, salsa, and guacamole mixed with olive oil, served with Salsa Rosa, guacamole, pico de gallo and crispy tortilla; Chimichanga – a flour tortilla with shredded chicken or beef, cheese, and chili sauces, deep fried, and served with Mexican rice, salsa guacamole and mixed vegetables; Sizzling Fajitas – chopped onion, green peppers, red pepper, sautéed beef filet, garlic butter, fajitas seasoning, salt and pepper poured onto a hotplate, and served with mixed green vegetable, homemade tortillas, salsa and sour cream. Desert specials include Mud Pie and Mexican coffee. Laca Laca No.1 Jalan Drupadi, Seminyak Tel: 736-733 www.lacalacabali.com Open seven days a week 11am -12pm Local delivery Laca Laca is anything but a traditional Mexican restaurant. It has style all of its own. Seating capacity is 70. Post-modern décor provides indoor an outdoor diners with a warm, friendly, and cozily rustic feel. Laca Laca is renowned for its modern approach to traditional dishes. The bar, of course, serves tequila-based cocktails with a twist, including the house specialty, Laca Laca Margarita. Every Wednesday and Saturday margarita mixed drinks are only Rp.50K from 10pm onwards. Menu favorites include: Chilaquiles – mixed chilies – poblano, guajillo, pasilla, chicken stock, lime, onions, shredded chicken, and corn chips, tossed through sauce and topped with avocado, spring onions and sour cream coriander; Cornitas – very slow braised pork shoulder (the sweetest part), onions, bay leaves, carrots, orange, pineapple salsa, red onions, and lime coriander; Quesedilla – two flour tortillas, slowbraised beef brisket, tomato salsa, onion, lime coriander, and jack cheese roasted on both sides, with classic wine. La Favela Jl. Oberoi # 177x, Seminyak. La Favela décor is based on the shantytowns of Brazil, whereby you enter a maze of overhanging tree-lined dining areas on the first floor of a three-level complex, with artistically rustic furniture . . . including a five-metre fiberglass statue of Jesus. Opening in early April and (initially on the first floor – seating 80) the Latin, Mediterranean and South American menu is something distinctly different. Chefs are from Peru, France and Italy. Starting with sunset tapas, the menu will quickly grow to encompass much of what discerning foodies expect of the Latina experience. Specialities: Ceviche – a typical Peruvian dish; raw fish, shallots and citrus; Ron Don – octopus, mahi-mahi, tuna, coriander, corn, mixed spices bisque, prepared two days in advance; Carpaccio – octopus, olive oil and ocean salt . . . very Italian. barred up.

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big six

Sarah Douglas digs out coffee shopS that do justice to the magic bean – and beyond.

Described as being small and elegant, Bali’s coffee shops are multiplying, and the addictive and fragrant beverage is being imbibed in all manner of buildings and all sorts of cups. The latte glass reigns supreme, often with an embellished foam top, but, as with all things food and beverage, atmosphere counts. Revolver Australians love their coffee and will go miles out of their way to visit their barista of choice, and they know their beans from, well, their beans. From the temperature of the milk to the blend and the roasting time to the exact measure of crème, coffee has taken on a personality much as bread has done. Revolver is like a little slice of Sydney or Melbourne. Tucked away in a lane off Jalan Oberoi, this is where the fashionistas meet to parade, to bury themselves in their laptops – when not nudging their local stylist, and naturally they sell vegemite on sourdough toast . . . in fact it’s de rigeur, but for those who haven’t grown up with the decidedly salty treat, avocado with a squeeze of lime comes a close second. It’s dark and cool and the coffee is imported and roasted to order. Best of all you can buy Revolver coffee and take it home, for those who simply can’t leave the house before the caffeine levels are peaking. Tel: 788 4968 www.revolverbali.com Yak Map. P.8 Drop Enter the Russians, who have adopted a distinctly European take on their coffee at Drop. Monsieur Dennis has spoken, and coffee is the beverage of choice – he’s very serious about it. His coffee de jour is the Italian brand, Segafredo, and the crowd – which is best described as towering modelsmeet-musos and DJs – absolutely love it. With a fridge full of pastries and cakes and homemade quiches and focaccias on the menu, Drop is committed to serving simple things, which go very well with coffee.

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With bar stools and terrace tables on the street front in Petitenget, Drop is cool in blue and white. With a mix of stylish Russian and English publications on hand, Wi-Fi available to all, and scooters parked out front, Drop is intimate, sweet and delicious. Aperitif in the late afternoon and cool tunes opens up another chapter in the life of this little gem. Tel: 081236786859 Yak Map. N.6 Zucchini To qualify to be Bijoux, the coffee shop in question must be small and elegant . . . Zuchini is small and has an elegance that combines homespun eccentricities with a fashionable edge. A combination coffee shop and boutique, Zuchini is very cosy – with bench seating to share and little tables tucked away in corners. The menu is simple as well, with a host of daily salads, delicious bread, homemade muesli for breakfast and lunch, and two winning sandwiches featuring chicken schnitzel or steak with that most Australian of ingredients, beetroot. Gorgeous things imbibing excellent coffee alongside fresh juices and healthy selections populate the roadside café from morning to late afternoon. Irresistible homemade cakes and cookies are also on show for those who aren’t counting the calories. Tel: 081246760747 Yak Map. S.8 Jemme Jemme is elegant in the extreme – a beautifully appointed jewellery shop with a gallery-style café next door. Ladies who do lunch favour Jemme, yet it is also an elegant pitstop for a fine cup of Java, and a perfectly presented snack, or full meal. Jemme makes the Sunday roast look adorable. Think chandeliers and brocade sofas, ornate mirrors, and sublime lighting. Surrounded by delicate showcases filled with glittering jewels, overlooking brilliant rice paddies, and with an impressive wine list to follow up your coffees,

temptation is everywhere at Jemme. Tel: 473 2392 www.jemmebali.com

Yak Map. R.3

Bhineka Jaya One of the original coffee houses on Bali, Bhineka Jaya is the home of Bali coffee, Java blends, Sumatran coffee, Toraja beans, and even kopi luwak, - the “bucket list” coffee squirted from the bottoms of furry animals and prized by connoisseurs. This is a working coffee house with just two small tables and a scattering of stools from which to sample the excellent house blends. A little espresso machine, fresh milk and sugar pots, are all you will find in the way of beverages. But it is a fascinating insight into the local coffee world. It’s also the office, the roasting house, the grinding and blending house, but best of all . . . trapped in Denpasar . . . it is an oasis for worn-out shoppers who have expended their energy at the adjacent Kumbasari market or the fabric shops in Jalan Sulawesi. There is something very old-world about Bhineka Jaya, but it is a powerhouse of local blends and it is definitely bijoux. Tel: 224 016, 225 134 Kreol Kitchen Like walking into someone’s house, Kreol Kitchen in Jalan Drupadi is a very personal place. Overlooking rice fields which afford a much needed breeze, Kreol is the sort of place where you will receive a warm welcome any time of the day and displays of home-made goodies will tempt you to order more than simply an excellent coffee. Sausage rolls and spinach pies, cookies and chocolate crackles, Kreol-inspired plates, pies and salads all have the wonderful feeling like you’ve just dropped by your best friend’s mum’s place and she’s been cooking up a storm. Family photos decorate the walls and personal touches everywhere set the Kreol Kitchen apart from the slicker joints around town. It’s comforting and comfortable and inviting. Tel: 738 514

constant wining

IN VINO VERITAS Katrina Valkenburg gives us the good oil on righteous imbibING.

I am constantly being harangued by friends, relatives and customers of Winehouse about how expensive it is to drink wine in Bali. In response, I point out that while wine may cost more here than in wine growing regions around the world, the prices are actually not so different to those paid by consumers in neighbouring and other countries where high import taxes are imposed. I’m not whinging, it’s just that it was not so long ago that the choice was woeful and the quality, dubious, and I’m not just talking about the last 20 years in Bali. The fact that we are now able to choose from thousands of labels stocked in restaurants, bars and shops, including supermarkets, seems to go pretty much unappreciated. Palatable, and in fact potable wine, as we know it today is a relatively new phenomenon. For much of history wine was vile stuff and people drank it because they had no other choice. All other beverages, like water and milk, were disease-ridden and although the wine may have tasted disgusting, the alcohol acted as a natural disinfectant. In an effort to compensate for sour, vinegary flavours, the ancient vintners added all sorts of things like spices and herbs along with, I’m afraid to say, pitch and ash and even lead and lye. If an ancient wine scribe of 3000BC had scribbled down a tasting note, it may well have read “vinegary, acrid, foul and unpalatable”, and, had I written a tasting note of a wine I consumed on my first trip to Bali in the late 1980s, I may well have written the same thing. Modern wine, as we know it, only really began with the mass-production of glass. Up until then, vessels made of clay or wood were used to hold large quantities of wine and as soon as you drew from the top, the wine was subjected to air, along with its microbial companions which became its ruination. This is what we refer to when we say a wine is oxidised. There is nothing unhealthy about drinking oxidised wine, it’s just that it is fairly repellent. You might as well down a bottle of white or red vinegar. Similarly, the old vessels used to transport wine in the days of yore were fairly porous and thus easily heat damaged. Up until quite recently, most of the wines destined for Bali came through Singapore where they were stored in hot warehouses at best or at worst, on the docks, where they would bake in 30-plusdegree heat for 10 weeks or more awaiting delivery to the archipelago. These wines became what we term "heat damaged". Thankfully, damaged wine in all its guises is no longer the issue thanks in part to the glass bottle, improvements in transportation and, of course, refrigeration. The choice no longer comes down to whether the wine will be palatable or pour-down-the-sinkable. The choice of which wine to drink and when is now purely a decision based on intellect, emotion or fiscal restraints.

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I have long held the view that very few wine drinkers are loyal to a particular brand. Generally speaking, the average wine buyer will find the price point they feel comfortable with, followed by how attractive or authoritative the label looks, and lastly country of origin, grape variety or brand. However, marketing hype (read dollars supporting the brand by way of advertising and/or public relations) which surrounds some brands of wine or champagne, or indeed, regions, can sway the wine-buying public enormously. Take for example wines from Bordeaux – a region of France which enjoys such an illustrious reputation for heritage and continuity that many wealthy investors choose to speculate on future vintages. But how many know (or care) that the region was once owned by the English and that it was they who built towering chateau in the 19th Century in older architectural styles in an effort to convey this sense of legacy? The vast majority of the 700 million bottles produced annually from Bordeaux are ‘table wines’. It is only a handful of vineyards that are deemed First Growth and sell for $1000-plus per bottle but the trickle-down effect of the term Bordeaux is enough to satisfy the average punter into believing that s/he is buying a great wine with superior pedigree. And so, I eventually come to the point in explaining the high cost of wine in Bali. It has nothing to do with the historical, traditional or practical aspects of wine production we have been discussing. The cost is a direct result of the Indonesian taxation system. When drinking wine in Bali you need to accept that it is heavily taxed. The first tax applied to a bottle of wine in Indonesia is based on the fact that it has over five per cent alcohol and is therefore the same amount for a $5 wine as it is for a $50 wine. Without boring you, it simply means that an entry point a lowend wine has the same number of rupiah applied as a high-end wine. Hence, you are better off spending slightly more and getting better quality wine. And there are other imposts applied from there. But rather than branch off into a talk about taxation I think I can do better and give you advice bred from many years of experience consuming and selling wine in Bali. Here are a few tips: 1. Know your budget. 2. Know what is to accompany the wine - fish, chicken, beef, Asian spicy flavours, dessert etc. 3. Find a wine that is slightly sweeter than the dish you are serving, otherwise you run the risk of the wine tasting bitter. 4. Talk to a wine-savvy friend or better still, drop in to Winehouse for some excellent advice. Wine On! Katrina Valkenburg is a wine consultant and educator. All correspondence to katrina@winehousebali.com

constant wining

Mike Pohorly shares a glass with George Riedel,

whose family has been defining the way we drink for and a half centuries.

GEORG, referred to a wine glass as a tool, an instrument, a messenger and a tastemaker. Why is the glass so significant for wine? The wine glass is the final link from the terroir and the vine to the palate. With wine, three senses are involved - aroma, taste and touch. Different glasses produce a different gravitational flow and a unique impact on these senses, creating a distinct flavour picture. This means that the individual will have different perceptions of the same wine, consumed from different shaped glasses. The right shape of glass can be used as an instrument to improve your enjoyment and lift your emotional response to the wine. Your father’s 1958 Burgundy glass is held at MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art) in New York, what is your feeling of the relationship between art and wine glasses? When my father Claus started showing his unadorned thin stemmed glasses in the 1950s, you could consider

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this a new architecture and new expression of wine glasses. This was also the very first glass to taper in at the top. All prior glasses throughout history were either straight or flared. This egg shape, closing in at the top, captures and accumulates aroma molecules on the surface of the wine, allowing you smell the wine with a much greater intensity than flared or straight glasses. In 1958 the World Exposition was in Brussels and this glass received a gold medal in design and then the collection was purchased that same year by the Modern Museum of Art in New York, who saw it as a perfect expression of those times. Your family business began 250 years ago, and now your son is the 11th generation. What are the joys and limitations of being part of a family business handed down from one generation to the next? This family tradition comes with a great enjoyment but also fear. The fear is that everyone who carries the helm of the company is not allowed to be the last. The goal of a family business is that you are in charge of the business for only a certain time and you need to prepare the handover of a perfectly intact company so that the next generation can build on the success that you’ve created. I heard through contacts in Canada that when you created the Icewine Glass in 2000, the winemaker of Inniskillin, Karl Kaiser, commented, "This is how I always dreamed my Icewine should taste." What is your connection with winemakers? This is the process we specialise in. We can never change the wine quality of course, that is always determined, but we can fine-tune the aroma and flavour component that the winemaker wants to emphasise. We start with comparing the expression of the wine in standard glasses, and through trial and error, we are able to extract the concept and profile that the wine maker has been looking for. One thing you stressed for Bali F&B was to make sure that red wine is served at the appropriate temperature, which means chilling it before consuming. Many people aren’t aware that red wine needs to be chilled, what is the advantage? Bali has a beautiful climate with high outside temperature which means that, quickly, the red wine can start to cook

and lose its presentation. Beyond having a different flavour contributor which is the skin, red wine does not really differ from white wine. Wines, generally speaking, should be served at the same temperature you enjoy drinking cool water. You don’t drink lukewarm water as it doesn’t taste good. The chilling of red wine gives satisfaction in that you are able to enjoy the structure of the wine and also de-emphasise the volatile components of the red wine, which is the alcohol, the yeast or some hint of oxidisation, or sulphur. These are the kinds of aromas which develop at higher temperatures that you are able to reduce by cooling the red wine to 16 to 18 degrees Celsius. The art is to preserve this serving temperature for the lifespan of the 750 ml bottle of wine, which means that you should keep the wine in an icebucket with just a handful of ice in the water to regulate the temperature to the very last drop. How was your experience of Bali? It was my very first time in Bali, and I enjoyed the character of the mountain regions very much. Of the restaurants I went to, there were fabulous wine lists and the wine service is extremely friendly. The staff I met was also very understanding when I asked them to chill my red wine . . . so I can say that all these people were extremely helpful and knowledgeable and it will be a pleasure to return here. What’s next for Riedel? We are always keen to look towards what’s next, like when we introduced our Stemless glasses, which was a completely new concept and extremely successful, but we are always hesitant to introduce a new glass just for the sake of introducing a new glass. This year we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of our Sommelier Series and we will be using promotional pictures of famous winemaking families whose next generation is younger than the glass, to show that the instruments we are producing have enormous life spans. Wine critic Robert Parker wrote, "The effect Riedel glasses have on fine wine is profound." Is there any particular wine variety that suffers most from an illsuited wine glass? Every one. Every fine wine variety is sensitive to its glass.

taken not stirred

benwanefield Salvador bali meets the man behind bali's new cider, albens (hic).

What’s the story? Ben Wanefield, from the Guernsey Islands, age 34 and single. Some background formula as to how Albens Cider came about? Actually I started off as an alertest, tree surgeon and then I got into orchard management doing lots of tree climbing and then got more into the biology and oxygens and things, then started into apple orchards. From that I got offered a job in Malang managing orchards there to make this drink. But the apples in Malang didn’t actually make a good cider, so we had to import, but we use the Malang apples for flavouring, so cider making, and wine making. So you are the man with the cider here in Bali? Yes and no, the truth is there are myself and a few partners from Singapore who, own the trademark, the brand, and recipe license to this Indonesian company which produces the cider. Where is the factory? Negara, Jembranna, West Bali. How long has Albens Cider been on the market? It was anchored last September. Wow, this here cider has one hell of kick. It’s weird you say that, it looks like a bottle of beer and has the same percentage of alcohol, but the process is totally different, it’s more of a wine making process . . . it’s atmospheric fermentations. So you can actually get drunk on this, actually very drunk . . . To be honest, 4.9 percent alcohol drawn from fruit, it’s very different from alcohol from grain. If you drink enough beer you can get sort of a heavy bad head, the fruit alcohol lifts you up and a little bit more. So if anyone seeing you says you look kind of fruity. Yeah, exactly What about the health aspect? That’s another thing, the drink itself; the main

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ingredient is apple juice. We pour apple juice for the fermentations, and then sweetener afterwards which blends in more apple juice. I just see a lot of veggies wobbling down the street. Where's your distribution? Outlets, lets see, quite a few in Jakarta, in Bali around the Seminyak area there’s Biku, Mantra, Ku De Ta, quite a few actually in Seminyak, plus malls and supermarkets. We’re using a small distributor here at the moment and they're just finding their feet. What was your biggest obstacle to be founding in the making of Albens? The government, with delays and registration and the like, from a production point of view, the hardest thing is chilling, getting the juice cold enough because cider is traditionally made in England and Europe. The apples are harvested at the end of autumn and then pressed and fermented over winter. Imagine all those tanks in the U.K., the temperature, three or four degrees, here the ambient temperature

is thirty or forty degrees. So we’ve got this constant chilling going on through all the tanks to get a consistent product. You’ve got to chill it very cold to absorb the carbon dioxide. That’s been the biggie. How has the response been? All positive, a lot of women like to drink it. One of the main reasons for Albens, because when you look at the drinks that are available, you’ve got beer, which everybody drinks, and then there’s a huge gap before you get to wine and cocktails. You can’t be sexist about it, but a lot of women do not prefer beer or like it, they would rather have something else. Actually the drink is developed for the Indonesian market. From the research that we did there’s something about Indonesian taste buds, they like things sweeter, even orange juice, which is loaded with sugar. Indonesian market and not the tourist market? Tourist market as well, but the development of the brand. Looking at the Jakarta market it is the biggest in the country. I don’t say trends flow through Jakarta, but developing a brand, that’s the place to do it. Selling alcohol, that’s what Bali is good for. Bringing it back home, how long have you been in Bali? As a base, three years now, but I’ve been coming to Bali since 1996, surfing for three months at a time. I love Bali, so when I got this job opportunity, I jumped on it. You must be very proud of yourself? It’s been interesting and quite enjoyable work as well, so yes . . . What is your philosophy? I guess, that’s a tricky question. I just do things I enjoy. What do you have to say to your new found fans out there? Keep enjoying and hope you appreciate the time and effort that’s gone into this product as nice and fresh as it is.

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fashion freestyle

SATU is available at beachwalk Level 1, Jalan Pantai Kuta, Kuta Bali. Tel: 8465001

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GODDESSOFBABYLON.com.au

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www.farahkhan.com

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www.milos-bali.com

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www.quarzia.it

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www.deuscustoms.com

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www.paulropp.com

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www.bodyandsoulclothing.com

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www.bytheseatropical.com

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Bamboo Blonde Tel. 3640060

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www.biasabali.com

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www.sksbali.com

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around sounds

The Yak meets a legend who knew a legend who wrote a song called

Feeling You. Omar Lye-Fook.

So Omar, first impressions of Bali? It was an amazing experience, everything’s kind of built and built up to this tour and when we first got to Bali we first stayed at the Villa Lumbung which was lovely in itself, very simple and charming, and then we got to The W, which is…amazing. And to get to sing on the beach side there at sunset, was a pretty good impression… How did you first get introduced to music? My dad was a session drummer, he played with people like Doris Troy, Bob Andy, Marcia Griffiths and people who were involved with Bob Marley at the time, so I think it was in my blood already, but I didn’t live with my dad when I was growing up, I lived with my mum and she would always have music going on. The first thing I got into was the cornet – you know what that is? Yeah, the short little fat trumpet, and the only reason I did that was the old woman next door had one in her shed, and it was beat up, rusty, dented, and all the other kids were bringing in their ones in brand new cases, nice and shiny, and I had mine in a shopping bag and that was that. Then I went from the cornet to the baritone to the tuba, and a little bit of guitar also. Then I started going to Saturday morning music school, and then got into a youth orchestra, which toured in Brazil and America, and a percussion ensemble. I became the principal percussionist of that orchestra, and then when I was 16 I got a scholarship to attend the Chetham’s Music School in Manchester, and I spent a few years there. During that time – learning all these instruments – who would you say were your strongest influences? Well…I guess Stevie Wonder would be a big one. He had an album called The Secret Life of Plants, and I knew all the other songs like from In the Key of Life and so on, but I really got hooked on this lesser – known one, because it was telling a story and it

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was a more thematic, big production piece – the way he manipulated sounds, the harmonies – just kind of blew me away. Another one was Mark King, the bass player from Level42, cause it was kind of a teenage boy’s dream to be able to play bass that fast, and I didn’t have a bass for like two years so I would end up going to the music shop down the road, and I knew the guy there, and we would jam for hours all the time, on the drums and the bass and sometimes guitar, and we’d just be there funkin’ – never really bought anything – but that’s the way I learned to play the bass. Do you remember the first concert you went to? Um, I think it was Hot Chocolate – yes I think it was – because where we were in Cantebury was a stone’s throw from the local theatre, which was a cinema at one end and then a rock venue at the other end. My step-dad knew one of the guys in the band and got us in. So how did your collaboration with Stevie Wonder come about? That was through my manager at the time, who was also Stevie’s manager in the UK and Europe – and he passed on my album to Stevie who said

he’d like to write a song for me; so if Stevie says he’d like to write for you, you know, you listen. Especially when he’s your idol. But the first time I actually tried to work with him was in ’93, but it was so late that he was falling asleep all over the place, so we didn’t get it done. And then we didn’t really see each other until I got a phone call in 2000, when he was in London, and for two weeks I was like a Stevie Wonder ambassador, taking him around to clubs and restaurants and stuff, and people would feel like they would have to ask me if it’s okay to say "Hi" to Stevie. So that was cool – and Then we went to the studio – and he was exactly like you would want your idol to be – playing the drums, keys, singing of course, and we hung out for six hours. And then he called me the next day, and said I got another song! Let’s go, let’s go! And it’s that second one that I used on my album which is a track called Feeling You. What’s your dream? My dream? To do what I’m doing, man. I am living the dream, basically because I’m blessed enough to be able to turn my art into a job which pays the bills and looks after my family, you know? To be able to be secure, that’s the next thing after making the music, there’s a purpose there, so I’m building on it right now, so as long as things keep going this way I’ll be cool. Favorite footwear? Hahaha, that’s awful! You mean what style? What person? Well, you know what I’m wearing here (Spiderman-looking sneakers) is made by a company called TerraPlano and I’ve got another pair by them, and they’re just kind of different, and they’re ecologically sound, you know, rubber and whatever, and if there is leather involved, it’s from a cow that died of a heart attack, you know? Thanks so much for your time, O! www.omarmusic.co.uk

! h t l a e H r u C her ish yo

256 Slice CT Scan

1.5T MRI

Cath Lab

Siloam Hospitals now open in Bali! We are proud to announce the Siloam Hospitals Group are now open in Kuta, Bali. Siloam Hospitals provide international quality healthcare with state-of-the-art technology, including 1.5 Tesla MRI and 256 slice CT Scan. Trust Siloam to keep you well. Siloam Hospitals Bali Jl. Sunset Road 818 Kuta, Bali. phone: +62 361 779-900 email: info@siloamhospitals.com www.siloamhospitals.com

raver's review 162

Artist: Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (TEED) Album: Trouble Label: Polydor / Xenon

Bringing some well-needed freshness to the Electronic music scene, a gifted young-gun by the name of Orlando Higginbottom has risen to the top of the crop with his delicious debut of ambient Breakbeat, Electro-Pop and lusciously loose House. The son of a choir-professor and travel-mate of Gorillaz front-man Damon Albarn, this boy-wonder has an eye (and ear) for details. Whether in the studio or performing live, there is a theatrical fashion at play both in his music and penchant for head-dresses. Already a trusted re-mixer for the likes of popdivas Gaga and Perry, this music teacher of sorts has pushed the limits of imagination and musicality to fuse his quirky vocals with a rich tapestry of melodic Electro-grooves The opening track, Promises, begins with delicate keys and warms up to a tasty crescendo of stratospheric strings before bursting into syncopated playful Asian-style chords and ethereal vocals. The drums and bass-lines have just enough attitude to let the dreamy vocal ride along carefree. The title track Trouble is an instant classic and could well end up on a BMW commercial, it’s that slick. Swirling tech-filters abound on Shimmer and once again the vocals soar above tribalrhythms while the meandering electro-bass burbles along. Household Goods seems laid back at first until the synth-filters kick in as TEED muses “I could be your bone…or something?” there’s a whimsical nature to it all but at the same time very

sophisticated and cheeky. Things turn House-ish on Your Love which leads to lovely interplay between male and female chorus along with a basstrack that pulls your dancing shoes on in a heartbeat. While some have derided TEED’s vocals as sleepwalk-ish, that’s part of what creates the cool combo. It’s these blends of contrasts that entices each time, because at some level we all want to feel relaxed and impressive at the same time. The vibe turns down-tempo for a moment on You Need Me on My Own reminiscent of Orbital’s mellower days before things pump up again with Panpipes. It would seem Orlando learned a lot in the Congo, while he was there doing a group album for Damon Albarn for OxFam called Kinshasa One Two. Corralled away with some of the best beat-makers and producers in the business, they set about creating rhythms from found sounds, and this feel is ever-present on this track. There is a tribal infectiousness often at play on this album that gives the songs a proper heartbeat to feed the melodies. A little bit of Plej, a dash of Chicane, some Deep Forest sprinkled on top; it’s ALL good cooking. The sheer range of styles, depth of mixing and playful production prowess here is indeed impressive and one can only hope for more, as soon as possible. www.totallyenormousextinctdinosaurs.com

Artist: Donald Fagen Album: Sunken Condos Label: Reprise

Back from the mists of the '70s as the main man behind Steely Dan, this longtime fixture and innovator on the jazz and funk scenes is still ticking right along with his signature spooky sound of a carefree yet wistful loved up fusion. While some may wish for something groundbreaking, Mr. Fagen is more interested in honing his dreamy brand of funk into the future. The opening track Slinky Thing confirms just this. A blend of mysterious vibes and knowing vocals serve as a reminder on how to keep hold of the good stuff. I’m Not the Same Without You is a bittersweet jam with great carefree harmonica riffs and a steady resolve to re-find love lost. Memorabilia celebrates the charms of yesteryear in a laidback tribute to past romances and heartbreak. Weather in My Head turns more Bluesy with great wandering lead guitar and questions the ever-changing skies outdoors and inside our minds, while The New Breed turns more to jazz with light loving brass vamps and quirky keyboards Out of the Ghetto shifts up a gear for some steady funk thanks to Isaac Hayes on composition and laments the lessons learned when trying to change someone against their ways. Things relax back down for a minute with Miss Marlene which is just classic Fagen, coasting along with a story of a girl wise

beyond her years, at least on Saturdays nights. Good Stuff is testy testament to sexy simplicity of piano discords together with wiggly wah-wah guitar, somehow broken but still working along with great rich backing vocals and laidback savoire faire. The closing track Planet D’Rhonda serves as a warm wrapup that leads back to the beginning (especially if you’re playing on repeat mode) with more classic vibes and dreamy vocals and fretboard finesse. Overall the album dances between a smoky porn set and troubled murder-scene, leaving you to pick up the clues and wait for the next episode in Fagen’s franchise. It is heartening to hear these great original works that somehow fit just as well in both the '70s and present day, despite all the online noise and ADD kids to contend with. There is a wise and knowing fashion about this album that seems content to ignore all the new fangled gadgetry and stick with what you know. From the album title and cover alone, it also seems to sing the blues of future disasters. It’s almost like opening a long-lost time-capsule and grooving into simpler times, yet being warned of tough times ahead, but somehow we’ll make the best of it, as long as we don’t live by the beach. Classic '70s grooves for the 21st century. www.donaldfagen.com

astroyak

moodofthemoment By Dr Deepak | astro-deepak@usa.net | www.astronlp.com | Skype: drdeepakvidmar Civilizations come and go, mountains rise and fall, continents have broken up from one to seven, stars flare up and burn out, ice melts into water which turns into gas, species last only two million years, economies boom and bust, tides flow in and out, ashes to ashes and dust to dust. It all changes and it changes in cycles, predictable and eternal. I do not live my life according to astrological cycles, but come Spring Equinox, March 20th, at 11.02 am GMT, I am not going to fly in an airplane or ride my motorcycle through Goa. I am going to stay in bed and pull the covers over my head.

aries A lot of energy stirring in your unconscious now. It is a good time to rest yourself and spend quiet times in nature. Regain your calm center and remember how it is to be content. Things will begin to speed up again around March 12th when Mars goes into Aries and energises you. The Spring Equinox March 20th will have a particular impact on you. You can expect the unexpected. Move only at the speed at which you keep awareness on your movements. Happy Birthday.

leo

Maybe issues with survival, financial or physical or spiritual, confront you now and provoke you to look at a deeper meaning of life. What is this Mystery? Osho tells the story of the young man who told the Master he wanted to die. The Master took him to the river, pushed his head under the water, and tried to drown him. The man struggled and struggled and finally broke free. He asked the Master why he did that. The Master said that it is sometimes the struggle for life that gives it meaning.

sagittarius When a person gets it, really gets it, they laugh. It is all a joke, or at least our understanding of it is in the form of a joke. It is a good time for you to laugh. Jupiter is the ruler of Sagittarius and it is boosting, magnifying your energies this year and next. All the qualities of Sagittarius-humour, honesty, wisdom, adventure – are getting stronger. Understand the joke my friend, a combination of the unexpected with the paradoxical, and you will know. capricorn

taurus

March starts off with a lot of energy about being with friends, community and tribe. Good to develop your vision of what there is left to achieve and what you want to do when you grow up. Later comes a time when it is best to be involved with projects helping your fellow beings. Care and compassion will give you a sense of peace. Things speed up when Mars goes into Taurus on April 15th. Good to refresh your relationship and keep it from getting into a rut.

gemini

A lot of energy about work or what direction to go in life. It needs to be meaningful and personally satisfying. Do what you love and the money will come. Mr. Good Guy, Jupiter in Gemini, all this time really gives you good fortune and zest for life, selfconfidence and taste for adventure. Generous sharing of yourself will bring you more and more friends to share life with. It is such a party time for you now that you might gain a little weight. Every pleasure has its price.

libra

cancer

scorpio

Your time will come, but maybe not yet. These times may bring a shock to you as you realise through events that there is no security in an unstable world. There is a search for a new meaning to this life. The best way to take care of yourself is to take care of others. Your nurturing nature needs an outlet. Your sensitivity to the emotional field means you pick up the suffering of others. Reduce their suffering and you reduce your own. Giving is receiving for you now.

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virgo Everything is about relationship now. Not only the significant other in your life, but your relationship with all the others in your life. The question for you now is not ‘who you are’, but ‘who is the other’. Are they really out there or are they inside you? Analytical thinking will give you no solution. You have to use your intuition, your heart, your feelings to find where you fit in the world with these other creatures who share your space. Find the point where you end and they begin. This is a time of self-perfecting for you now. There is the story of the man who went traveling through the world looking for the perfect woman. When he came back, his friends asked him if he had found her. Yes, he said, but she was looking for the perfect man. We have all done it. When going on a date, we clean up and brush our teeth to make ourselves the best. To relate to the Other, improve yourself yes, but do it with compassion. How you treat yourself is how you treat the other.

Yes, every time Saturn goes through your sign every 28 years, it brings a seriousness about self and life. The paradox is that this time, there is also a lot of energy for leisure time and play. Both energies need to be fed. How to do both? How to synthesise and bring them together? Rather than trying to do that, somehow the answer lies in purifying the imperfections in your system. When all that is left is the light, balance and harmony are achieved. Work and play come together.

“Be Prepared” is a good motto for Capricorn. The man who coined it, Baden-Powell, had a Capricorn Rising. Asked ‘To Be Prepared for What?”, he said, “Why, for any old thing”. In this day and age, ‘any old thing’ is going to be sudden and strong. Whatever happens on the Spring Equinox March 20th will be new and unexpected. How to prepare for the unexpected is the challenge. You are a survivor and you have the strength. You have the wisdom and you will not be surprised.

aquarius Sometimes a person with no possessions is the richest of us all. So many planets in your second House now that values and money are emphasised at this time in your life. They go together. They mirror each other. What you spend your money on is a reflection of what you value. This is a time to look again at what is really important to you. What is necessary to your true being and what is preference? What would be your last wish? Do you choose the moment or do you choose the eternal? pisces Finally, Existence is singing your song. Half the planets are in Pisces now and there is a rebirthing of yearning for spiritual bonding that goes beyond social media or daily chit-chat. The whole world is learning to surrender with what is. It is a time of caring and compassion for each other and an opening of the heart. Logic and reason have gone too far and robbed us of our humanity. Now it is your time to restore us to what is real, that All-Is-One. Happy Birthday.

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