The Bud #04

The definitive guide to the creative, holistic and spiritual centre of Bali

Volume 04 April/May/June 2010

IDR Rp 48.000 S$9 HK$45 â‚Ź3.50

As the success story continues Sanur’s Exotiq Real Estate franchise is looking to increase its presence in Ubud and surroundings.

List your property with us today!

The Bud Sophie Digby Agustina Ardie Nigel Simmonds CONSULTING Editor Nigel Simmonds Senior Photographer Yaeko Masuda www.yaekomasuda.com Sales & Marketing Pia Tandjung The definitive guide to the creative, holistic and spiritual centre of Bali

Volume 04 April/May/June 2010

Production Manager Evi Sri Rezeki / Marini Gustiana Accounts Manager Arthur Chosani Graphic Designers Irawan Zuhri, Novan Satria, Super Stu Distribution Made Marjana, Kadek Arthana, Putu Widi Susanto, Made Sutajaya, Didakus Nuba

IDR Rp 48.000 S$9 HK$45 â‚Ź3.50

Cover photo by Carlos de la Rua.

Publisher PT Saka Wahana Cipta Licence 1.265/09-04/PB/V/99 Advertising enquiries Tel/Fax: (+62 361) 8446341, 743 1804, 743 1805 www.thebudmag.com Email: info@thebudmag.com Canggu Club Tennis Centre Jl. Pantai Berawa, Banjar Tegal Gundul, Canggu, Bali 80361, Indonesia Š PT Saka Wahana Cipta

mac a n t i d u r “the sleeping tiger” ON UPPER MONKEY FOREST ROAD - UBUD - TEL 977121

indigenous arts antiques ethnographica fine art textiles

WWW.SUSIJOHNSTON.COM

WWW.MACANTIDUR.COM

April/May/June 2010

08 10 16 20 26 34 42 49 78 86 100

Out of the box Cloud Kingdom.

Front up New and noted. interview Symon's Art Zoo. obsessions Classic Bali travel posters from the '30s. feature Julia Roberts does it for the silver screen, but Elizabeth Gilbert hits the note on the page. iconS Faces going places in Bali by some of the world's leading photographers. interview Christian by name. Chef by nature.

THE LIST Information, columns, articles, The Map...oh my.

Senses Reflections of another world by Carlos de la Rua. feature Rain Stoppers – can they really turn the tide? open mike A new film about Kuta Cowboys rocks the boat.

Colours from a different time in travel, Page 20.

I love Cloud Kingdom. I used to love it a lot more, but the Singaporean authorities put an end to that (a story for another time, perhaps). I'm talking about escapism, of course, however you want to procure it.

These days I prefer to take my particular brand of 'let's get away from it all' medicine in the form of creative expression: it's cheaper, safer and essentially far more fun. I'm not going to write anymore – because it's too late, I'm too old and you've probably heard it all before anyway. Today I am white-space oriented; a haiku aficionado; a lover of feeling between the lines; a Zen cadet vibrating to a different chord. There's plenty to get your teeth into this issue, if you're still a Republican. And if you're not, well, here's to you. This is your white space. Break the rules. Btw, RIP my uncle David, who used to pick up his guitar after school with Denny Laine (of Wings fame) and had the best ice cream van in Birmingham. ED.

Bling Bong's A new boutique recently opened on the busy street of Monkey Forest, Bong’s is a label by Selphie Bong, one of Indonesia’s youngest fashion designers. She recently participated successfully in Milan Fashion Week, as well as in Geneva for the United Nation's Eco Chic for a Greener Couture show.

Tel: 808 4168 www.selphiebong.com

XL Lounge An all exclusive shisha lounge, bar and restaurant has hit the streets of Ubud. XL Lounge will escort you to an exotic Morrocco complete with shisha pipes, decor, belly dancers, exquisite food and world music. Not to worry, the night is always forever young at the XL Lounge. Take your time and relax as you wine and dine...or even spoil your feet in the fish spa on location. Need we say more?

Tel: 975 751 www.xlshishalounge.com

Make hay.

Flower Power Deliciously adorable clothes for kiddies have arrived in Ubud by way of a new Dandelion store. That’s right, Dandelion Ubud. Yay. The lovely label offers fresh and beautifully created clothes, gifts and accessories for little fashionistas aged between three and 10. Their breezy resort wear and smart city gear is made using a combination of fine cottons and linens with whimsical prints. Handcrafted leather belts, ribbon ties and quirky hats add the finishing touch.

Easy to wear and easy to care, Dandelion makes each casual collection soft and comfortable, perfect for play or lazy days. Moms and Dads, kids, grandparents, uncles, aunties and friends are each positively encouraged to go and have a peek and a purchase because in this store you are sure to find something for that special little one, boy or girl, who would love some brand new clothes. The store is located on Ubud Main Street, opposite Bank BNI. Tel: 730 375 www.dandelionkid.com

People Et Cetera The ARMA Cultural Centre in Ubud is featuring a sculpture exhibition by the multi-disciplined German artist Adi Bachmann. Together with Agung Rai, Bachmann has created over 40 modern sculptures throughout the grounds. Crafted mainly from cement, and almost all painted in bright and intense colours, the sculptures include dancing snakes, a red globe which rests on the peak of a pyramid and a reclining Buddha guarded by two life-sized king penguins. And why not.

Tel: 975 332 www.armamuseum.com

soy w a

iato h c c sabi cream ma

tuna tartare

sambal matah

martini bar | wine cellar | degustation menu | cigar lounge

shopping dining..., shopping dining..., shopping...

treasures toko antique

collection from bali & other islands ubud main st.

t62.361.975053

gallery of gold jewelry aryswarung@dekco.com

w w w. d e k c o . c o m

World Bamboo Festival Get yourself to the Green School for the Inaugural World Bamboo Festival (August 14-17) and experience a truly green festival that is aiming to open the horizons of bamboo in the world’s largest bamboo building. The festival includes workshops by the best bamboo builders, a feast of local organic food grown on the Green School campus as well as entertainment and interactive events.

There will also be planters, builders, artisans, manufacturers, architects, engineers and scientists who will share with you the undeniable benefits of...bamboo. www.worldbamboofestival.com

Samaya Paradise, Naturally Spectacularly located amid the rice fields and verdant hillsides of Bali's lush interior, the newly opened Samaya Ubud features 19 spacious villas, including one-bedroom deluxe villas, or two- and three-bedroom royal villas, each the height of luxury and indulgence. All villas also boast their own private swimming pools and are built into the hillside, designed to minimise environmental impact while optimising the closeness to the natural surroundings. A modern minimalist interior provides a heightened sense of luxury and spacious living whilst each villa is surrounded by a high wall. With a garden and traditional gazebo beside the swimming pool for comfort, the property offers privacy and the home-away-fromhome feel that is uniquely The Royal Collection. The restaurant and lobby are located on the uppermost level of the complex, commanding expansive views of the entire valley. For those seeking true relaxation and rejuvenation, a state-of-the-art spa and wellness centre is located directly overlooking Bali's famous Ayung River. www.thesamayabali.com

Bowling For Jewellery Have you ever wondered what happens to a bowling ball once it is no longer worthy of a bowling alley, but could never find the answers you craved? Well, we happen to have put our heads together and found the eco answer you’ve been longing for. Matt Cole Jewellery. The creator and designer behind the label, Matt Cole happens to be a bowling fanatic who had an enquiring mind and a concern for the environment, then used his inspiration to come up with a snappy idea: he turns those old bowling balls into jewellery. Check out his website. www.mattcole.com

A Wedding With The Vimala Welcome to The Vimala estate, a lush green property that perches quietly above the Oos river in the village of Puhu in Payangan, a mere 10 minutes from Ubud. It might just be the perfect place for you to get married. The Vimala wedding pavilion, which accommodates up to 40 people, is juxtaposed against the striking forest landscape surroundings and allows you an incredible valley view. The Vimala estate also offers an outdoor reception area for up to 700 standing or 400 seated guests; a fine dining restaurant, a lobby lounge and dining terrace, and both bride and groom preparation rooms. If you are hoping to stay on the premises, you can choose between a Master Villa or two one-bedroom villas, and there is soon to be 38 luxury private villas for your accompanying guests. An exclusive spa is also being added to the property.

Tel: 982 555 www.thevimala.com

Helping People Smile The Smile Foundation, established to assist people with cleft and craniofacial disabilities, is on the move. Their new centre is located at No. 9 Jalan Pulau Aru in Sanglah, Denpasar. The new building has 11 rooms and can host twice as many patients as before, and boasts a better recreation area, a bigger office for the staff and upgraded technical equipment. The Sanur-based Smile Foundation Shop is also moving. The new store will be on Jalan Satelit No. 56, in Sanglah, Denpasar. In Ubud the Smile Shop can be found on Jalan Sri Wedari. Aside needing to raise funds to continue their daily work, the foundation (also known as Yayasan Senyum) is in need of generous donations for the purchase of a Smile Bus to transport patients and medical teams to operations. If you think you can help, contact Yayasan Senyum on the telephone or web address listed below.

Tel: 233 758 www.senyumbali.org

Green fun.

High five.

Discounts at Table No. 5 Each and every night, the friendly staff at Siam Sally will be taking bookings on Table No. 5, the restaurant’s premium downstairs table. One lucky group per evening will receive a 20 percent discount off the table bill. Yes, you did read correctly. If you call ahead and request Table No. 5 (and if no other quick-thinker has gotten in a request before you), you’ll be skipping all the way to Ubud’s most-loved Thai restaurant, where you will be served up a delectable array of Bali’s freshest, most delicious Thai food – since they have their very own organic farm growing the freshest herbs – and then given a discount. As with everything in life, there are some rules. Number one is that your group must be between eight and 14 guests (sorry, that’s all the table fits); number two is that the discount does not apply to wine (but does for other alcoholic beverages); and number three is that you must arrive by 7pm. So gather your friends, family or whoever you can find, and make an evening of it at Siam Sally.

Tel: 980 777 www.baligoodfood.com

Year Round Fun and Adventure Green Camp Bali has announced the start of two year-round, seven-day-a-week programs. 'Fun', is a program intended for students aged between five and 11, and includes organic chocolate making, river ecology study, tubing, making shadow puppets or traditional kites, a low ropes challenge course and an amazing race, plus many more options. 'Adventure' is intended for students aged between 12 and 17 and features a residential option in the beautiful bamboo yurt village.

Activities include mountain biking, white water rafting, rockclimbing, bow-making and archery. Both Fun and Adventure camps consist of five full days of separate and unique activities and although campers are encouraged to complete the full five days, it is okay to drop in for just one or two. Sounds like a perfect fun filled adventure to us, a suitable activity for any children with parents looking for a day or five of rest.

www.greencampbali.com

Oma Anna Every aspiring or inspired writer, poet, artist and musician should be looking into getting themselves a piece from the Oma Anna handmade collection of notebooks, sketchbooks, music books or vintage blank page books. If you don’t think you qualify to list yourself under one of the above titles, then no matter, because with one of these beautiful hand-crafted and bound beauties under your arm, you will feel able to create just about anything. If you’re still not convinced, you can always look into their range of postcards, souvenirs and blank cards as they are all perfect for that very card-requiring occasion you’ve got coming up just around the corner. Search for them on Facebook or have a look at their blog for pictures and a list of how you can get your pen scribbling on one now.

www.omaanna.blogspot.com Menari-Nari Want to learn about traditional Indonesian and Asian spa techniques? Menari-Nari Spa School in Ubud might just be the perfect solution. A class here will provide you with a base of knowledge in natural treatments and a wide range of massage techniques. The classes are small, relaxed and focus on providing students with a historical understanding of the treatments as well as a practical skill. Best of all, Menari-Nari offer a range of classes and individual components that range in time frame from one day to up to three months.

Tel: 964 9034 www.menari-nari.com

Born in Peliatan in 1925, Ibu Rai sold food throughout the 60s, creating an eatery whose food was recommended by many guide books to international travellers.

In tribute to his mother’s courage and enterprise, her son Dewa Gede opened a namesake restaurant - Ibu Rai in 1986.

Since then Ibu Rai’s has been serving natural and nutritious flavours using the freshest ingredients all served with an artistic flair and friendly service.

“We hope you enjoy our food with the Taste of Asian Spices”.

Sweet Box Inspired by a childhood of lunchboxes and picnics prepared especially by mum, The White Box has opened up its kitchen to Ubud. A wander in through the front door will see you in a world of pastries, tarts, cakes, mousses, cookies, brownies, bread, sandwiches, quiche and an array of other yummy ready-to-eat food. Located on Jalan Raya Andong, The White Box promises that everything they make is made with passion, love and creativity.

Staff are also happy to create a special cake for any occasion, and there is a take-away menu for those who would rather have their cake from a lunch-box, at home or at that perfect Bali picnic.

Tel: 979 059

interview

Symon is the name and the persona behind Ubud’s Art Zoo, a Warhol-esque community of pop artists. He spoke to Lily Shipman.

It’s nice to meet you, but would you be so kind as to tell us your name, age, and where you’re from? And, well, who you are in the greater scheme of things?

My name is Symon, but since we are now on a first name basis, I don’t need to tell you the rest. I’m originally from Detroit. When I was still there I did a bit of work for the MC5 and I also got a gig making posters for The Grateful Dead, so, as I know what the real thing is, I sign my name. I guess you could say that my job is also quality control.

Who would you say is your favourite superhero and why?

Andy Warhol, for sure. I think he qualifies as a superhero. I met him once, he was selling copies of Interview magazine and he got me to tell him about my “Art of Destruction” kits.

How would you describe your approach to art?

I’m very direct. I’ll create a big blue Buddha if someone wants one…or I recently just did 40 big Marilyn Monroes for a party show on the 37th floor of the Sofitel Hotel in Bangkok. So, as you can tell, I have a great team of Balinese Pop Art Pros who help. I wouldn’t be able to do any of that without them.

What is it about pop art that has you hooked?

I like the fact that you can make it fast and keep it funny, and that when it comes to pop art, I don't forget to get the money...

When, and if, you decide to paint, do you just pick up a brush

and begin, or do you have a process you go through first?

Well, I meet a lot of cool people at Art Zoo, both number one and number two, and as a result I get painting ideas thrown at me. I like to give most of them a try. So perhaps that’s my process.

When did you first stumble across Ubud and why did you stay?

I guess you could say that I met up with Arie Smit and he’s way cool, so I set up in Ubud and I’m still here.

Why do you call your place an Art Zoo? More people pop up here from all over the world than would never walk into a gallery in NYC. Bali is hot global local.

What’s it like inside your Zoo? Is it as dangerous as the sign on the road out front says?

Art is vision and it’s more dangerous than geography because it’s our imagination that enables you to experience it.

Is the Zoo all about you? Or do other people get involved or exhibit their work too?

At Art Zoo we are looking at you! So, no, it’s not all about me. Be it pretty girls or Japanese grandmas, each of the people dancing up the steps is inspired to see one of the greatest studios in Asia.

These people are involved as they are often providing vision or direction, sharing their thoughts about what they might like to

interview

interview

see on the wall. So we, the Art Zoo team, are creating work for each of you.

Would you say that life in Ubud is like a zoo?

Ubud is in top form and what a success story that is. Just 30 years ago there were only two bemos a day and Jalan Monkey Forest was just a muddy track!

What’s your philosophy in life?

To create the world around you, then dance your role. Enjoy

the everyday and try to see your dreams come true.

When was the last time that you were happy?

Let’s see. The last time I was happy was when I was looking at all the creations and people painting. They started with a blank canvas then painted it red. I also love to see the sparkle of the Bali Sea. Is it all about art for you, or do you have other interests?

I like climbing towers, building Pagoda lotus ponds and I’m

interview

also always looking at paintings.

Is there anything that makes you angry?

I hate the ugly half structures left all over the island. If you build it you should tear it down when you leave.

In your opinion, what makes a great piece of pop art?

Pop must be flashy, decorative, cheap and bitch-trashy.

Then it’s perfect.

What’s your favourite colour? Why?

Red…because it really gets all over everything!

Is there any kind of art that you would refuse to hang on your wall?

Not that I can think of at the moment.

Tell us some wise words, yours or someone else’s, that you just have to share with the world?

I’ll refer you to the comment I made earlier: Make it fast keep it funny and don't forget to get the money...

Obsessions

obsessions

Obsessions

obsessions

You’ve probably seen vintage posters depicting travel to Indonesia – the one with the Balinese woman balancing a basket of fruit on her head, a steamship plowing the sea towards “Batavia”, a Balinese temple at water’s edge framed by palm trees, a KLM propeller plane tracing a yellow route from Amsterdam to Batavia...

The popularity of vintage posters has exploded in the past 10 years with people all over the world collecting and displaying them in their homes and offices. Corporations are buying back posters they once discarded. Museums are discovering posters in their dusty storerooms and putting them on display. These activities and the last 30 years of ever-increasing interest confirm that posters are gaining recognition not only as wonderful decorative objects, but also as important artistic and cultural artifacts.

Travel used to be a slow, luxurious indulgence, remember?

No, me neither, but I get a nostalgic whiff when I am face-to-face with a vintage destination poster. A vintage travel poster takes me back to a time when a journey took weeks and even months on a ship or train to arrive in a far-off exotic destination the likes of Bali or Java.

In the 1890s, advertisers, using the best commercial artists of the day, commissioned large private collections of poster art.

Some of the best known names in fine arts started out as poster artists, among them Henri de Toulouse–Lautrec.

By the Roaring Twenties, tourism had become big business, and governments competed for prestige and currency by commissioning artists to produce scenes that would entice the viewer to take trips to exotic locales. The posters were hung on the walls of public buildings and kiosks in railway stations and across Europe and America.

Stone lithography, a procedure refined and simplified in the late 1800s by a Parisian printer and artist named Jules Cheret (1836-1932) was the media of choice. By drawing the images on large lithographic stones, enormous posters were printed in vivid colour. The process involved as many as 17 individual colour applications, which had to be applied to each individual paper one colour at a time.

It is rare to find vintage posters on the market today that survived the ravages of time and abuse by the elements while posted as advertisements. Thanks to the fanatical collectors of the last century, many of whom acquired as many as 500 or

more unique vintage posters, a limited number of the relics are still around for us to enjoy. It is their limited supply that makes vintage poster art collecting a good investment.

The value of a rare vintage travel poster is based on the reputation of the artist, the popularity of the image, the print’s condition, and its rarity.

I spoke with the owner of Sarah Stocking Galleries in Los Angeles. Stocking has been collecting and selling rare vintage posters for 35 years.

Sarah, what is it about vintage travel posters that makes them so popular?

Vintage travel posters are one of the last great values in the world of art collecting. They were created to entice a wider audience than, say, product posters, and therefore more of them survived, making them more accessible. The original posters of Java, Batavia (the Netherlands word for Java) and Bali are rare and represent a very small niche. There are a handful of people who want the few that are out there.

Whose idea were the travel posters in the first place?

Travel posters were commissioned by railroads, then shipping lines. After WWII, the airlines began producing posters. As travel evolved into a viable industry, Chambers of Commerce, local municipalities and government-sponsored tourist boards began to commission the artists.

Which years produced the best travel posters?

The 1920s to the 1930s between the World Wars.

Range in value?

US$1,200 to several thousand dollars and more.

If someone wants to buy a vintage destination poster, where should they begin to look?

With an experienced art dealer like myself or other vintage poster experts. The International Vintage Posters Dealers Association is also a good place to start.

CHRIS Cloutier, a fine art poster collector, restorer and reseller, claims on his website www.posterfix.com, that the recent increase in the visibility of poster art has driven demand to the highest levels ever. Some posters have seen values triple in value over the past few years, with some commanding as high as six figures at public auction.

Cloutier finds his vintage posters mainly in Europe at markets, printers, book dealers, auctions and private collections.

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Obsessions

obsessions

Cloutier advises potential collectors to choose their vendor carefully. The vendor should have experience with rare poster art, offer extensive information about the art form, and a guarantee from the gallery as to authenticity and origin.

One happy customer in this particular avenue of the collecting world is Karen Waddell, owner of Terrazzo Restaurant in Ubud. A collector of the rare and valuable travel posters, she grew up in the cradle of art collecting – her father's business the Waddell Gallery of New York.

Waddell's obsession with rare and valuable travel posters featuring Indonesia began as a fluke. “I was looking through poster art at a gallery in Chelsea, New York, when I saw one that said 'See Java.' I had to have it. The gallery owner told me there was a whole series dating from 1939 to the '50s. She put me in touch with the owner of a Bali poster in London, and I added that one. One day a customer commented on one of the posters on the wall of the restaurant – he personally had worked with one of the artists. He led me to the KLM poster. Later, I saw a magazine ad with a Sumatra poster on the wall of an office. I looked everywhere for that poster, spreading the word far and wide that I was looking for it. My mother found it at last at an art show I sent her to in New York. The owner of the poster, as it turned out, lived five blocks from where I'd grown up in New York and where my mother lives to this day."

In a day when travel conjures visions of long security lines at airports and being stuffed into and between miniscule airplane seats, it is no surprise that we relish art that reminds us of a time when travel was slow and luxurious and led us to unexplored corners of the earth.

You can see local examples of vintage travel posters advertising Indonesian destinations at Terrazzo Restaurant in Ubud. For further information, check out these websites: www.sarahstocking.com www.internationalposter.com www.postergroup.com www.vintageposterbank.com www.posterfix.com www.gallery29.com www.vintage-poster-art.com www.postershow.com collections.

Reminiscing a gentler age of travel.

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Julia Roberts on set.

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Elizabeth, when we last encountered you, you had just concluded your journey across Italy, India and Indonesia in Eat, Pray, Love. At the end of that story you fell in love with a man in Bali named Felipe. It is that very relationship that led you to write this new book, Committed. Can you give us some background – why did you want to write this book?

As any author can tell you, there are books that you want to write, and books that you need to write and Committed definitely falls in the latter category. Because the United States Department of Homeland Security got involved in my love story with Felipe, the stakes and terms of our relationship changed overnight. Suddenly the two of us – two very marriage-averse divorce survivors – had been basically "sentenced to wed" by the government. I was hoping to make peace with those new terms – to essentially study my way through the history of marriage until I could find a way to be OK with the fact that I was entering that institution again, and the best way I know how to really get granular and intimate with a subject is to write a book about it.

Why do you think U.S. divorce rates are so high? What statistical findings did you encounter that people might consider before tying the knot?

First of all, it's important to know that the famous "50 percent divorce rate" that we hear about so much these days is a little bit misleading. Across the board, there is a 50 percent divorce rate, true, but those numbers really change based on the age of the couple at the time of marriage. Young couples divorce at astronomically high rates, which blows the curve for everyone else.

The fundamental conclusion we can draw from all the data is this: Marriage is not a game for the young. Wait as long as you humanly can to get married, and your odds of staying with one partner forever will increase dramatically. If you wait until you are, say, 35 years old to get married, your odds of success are pretty terrific.

The other question is one of expectation. Modern Americans bring to their marriages the most over-stuffled bundle of expectations the institution has ever seen. We expect that our partner will not merely be a decent person, but will also be our soul mate, our best friend, our intellectual companion, our greatest sexual partner and our life's complete inspiration. Nobody in human history has ever asked this much of a companion. It's a lot to ask of one mere mortal, and the inevitable disappointments that follow such giant expectations can cripple marriages.

In the book, you state that same-sex marriage may very well save the institution of marriage. How so?

Marriage is on the decline everywhere, and same-sex couples

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And in familiar surrounds.

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are the only ones who are really passionate about matrimony anymore. As one commentator described the situation, it's as if the institution of marriage is a crumbling, decaying, old neighborhood where nobody wants to live anymore. But then in come the gay couples, begging to move into that neighborhood, buy up all that valueless real estate, renovate those old houses, bring creative new shops and galleries to the place and suddenly make it the coolest place to live again. After which, heterosexual couples and families will follow! So the argument becomes this – instead of trying to "save" the institution of marriage by excluding gay couples from matrimony, maybe it's smarter to try to rescue marriage by letting same-sex couples move in and gentrify the place. It's a cute argument, but it has a strong historic resonance – every few generations, marriage opens its doors a little wider and lets in a new population who had previous been excluded, and that breathes new life into the whole institution.

The film version of Eat, Pray, Love starring Julia Roberts as you and Javier Bardem as Felipe, is coming out later this year. How does it feel knowing your life is being made into a movie?

It's great. Everyone involved with this movie is passionate about the book, and they all worked really hard to try to make the movie as loyal to the original story as possible, which is really touching. (They didn't have to care so much, so I'm moved by their passion.) There is something surreal about the whole experience, but then again, there has been something surreal about Eat, Pray, Love from the beginning. I have never entirely understood the rocket-like trajectory of that book, and so – with the movie as with all of it – I stand back, amazed, watching it all unfold and wondering at this strange turn of destiny.

Which myths about marriage, either personal or cultural, were most difficult for you to dispel in writing and researching this book?

I don't think I went into this project overburdened with dewyeyed romantic myths about marriage (my divorce had pretty much wiped those out years ago), but I did carry an instinctive prejudice that marriage is an artificial construct of "society", invented as a tool of repression by states and religions. In truth, the story is far more complicated than that. In fact, it wasn't states or religions that invented the notion of marriage, but individuals and families, who wanted to create some sort of special protective bond that would be recognised and respected

by everyone in the community, within which private intimacy could be tasted. What shocked and amazed me was to discover, in fact, how vehemently repressive governments and institutions (Soviet Russia, for instance, or the early Christian church) battled against marriage, trying in the most idealistic phases of their evolution to break down the natural bonds of love and family in order to exert more control over the populace. Seen in such light, marriage starts to look appealing and subversive to me – but, of course, I lean that way, and so of course I would find that exciting.

Since the publication and enormous success of Eat, Pray, Love, you have become something of a public figure. With Committed, once again we find you able to write honestly and openly about your personal life. Is it hard to write so intimately knowing that this new book will have a very large audience?

I don't think I will ever write another book as raw, intimate and revealing as Eat, Pray, Love, which I wrote without imagining that millions of people would ever read it. While Committed is also written in a familiar enough memoir structure, it is far less personal, and much more a meditation, or a contemplation, on a vast historical subject. I use myself and Felipe as sort of stand-ins for the readers, who, I suspect, probably have similar questions and hesitations about their own marriages and relationships, but I actually don't feel very exposed or revealed by this story. If anything, I think Felipe and I are pretty representative modern lovers, and our story – with the exception of the dramatic encounter with the Homeland Security Department – is not that different from everyone else's story.

Did your matrimonial research bring you a greater understanding of whether or not marriage was appropriate for you, or did it bring you greater confusion?

Well, it's kind of a moot point because I really had no choice: If I wanted to keep a relationship with my sweetheart and if I really wanted to live with him in America, I absolutely had to get married, or else I would lose him. So the decision was, in effect, already made. What I was trying to do was find a way to feel OK about it, and this book definitely helped. My fear was that the more I learned about marriage, the more I would hate it, but the opposite happened: The more I learned about marriage, the more I respected it. And when I use the word "respect" here, what I mean is something almost on the Darwinian

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At Ubud market with'Felipe'.

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In pensive mood in Italy.

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level. I came to respect that this thing still exists, despite centuries and centuries of change and, yes, evolution. What I learned about marriage is that it will take any shape, adapt to any circumstances, in order to endure. And that is precisely because we seem to want it and need it. Our longing for legally recognized private intimacy means that we will keep reforming and shaping this thing, generation after generation, in order to somehow make it our own. And I found that idea very touching, very transformative. I, too, am part of the history of marriage – as we all are, and all need to be.

The notion of "tiny acts of household tolerance" is a beautiful and spiritual way of thinking about partnership. In your own life, how does your spirituality intersect with marriage?

Everything I have ever learned about life – spiritual and otherwise – helps me to do better within this marriage than I have in past relationships. I think this is part of the reason that marriage is so ill-advised for young people: With rare exception, most 22 year olds simply haven't been sanded down or humbled enough by life's experiences yet to have acquired the wisdom and perspective that make long-term human intimacy possible. But yes, certainly the lessons of a sincere spiritual quest have been awfully helpful in negotiating the challenges of running a household – with the most important lesson of all being that I am, at the end of every day, responsible for my own state of being. I doubt that there is a more important tool of cheerful companionship than that truth.

In an effort to be sure you and Felipe were making the right decision, you went as far as making a list of your own faults so that he could better understand what he would be getting into if you married. What makes your relationship with Felipe so honest and successful?

Well, we've only been married two and a half years at this point, so it's a little early to be using the word "successful", but as for the honest part – that's simple: I have learned from painful personal experience that anything short of honesty will end in catastrophe for everyone.

Marriage and children seem to go hand-in-hand, and as someone who was not interested in having children, you looked to your mother and grandmother for answers. What surprised you about their experience with having children?

I am a woman of an entirely new generation than both my mother and grandmother and I have options they never knew.

(Which is to say: I have options, period.) My grandmother had seven children, essentially because she had no choice or control whatsoever over her biology, and she struggled with poverty and exhaustion her whole life. My mother had two

children, both of whom she chose, but she also made enormous sacrifices for her kids – including quitting a career that she dearly loved, in order to stay home and raise us, on account of the realisation that she could not, in fact, do it all. (As one female friend of mine always says, "Just because you can do anything doesn't mean you can do everything.") The question of having children was a huge one in my life – my first marriage fell apart largely, though not entirely, because of this question – and I have chosen to remain childless, which is a decision that reflects my own life, my own desires, my own destiny.

Still, I found it important to talk to both my mother and my grandmother about their choices, in order to put my decision in a deeper perspective. Probably the most surprising moment was when my grandmother told me that – while she loved her children and felt the happiest moments of her life during motherhood – she prayed that I would never have children of my own, and would instead dedicate my life to writing books and travelling. There was something very tender and touching in that revelation.

As a sequel of sorts, Committed follows up the fairytale romance of Eat, Pray, Love with some stark realities, including the bureaucratic proceedings of the Department of Homeland Security. Was it difficult, as an author, to switch gears and take on this less romantic subject matter?

I like to say that the difference in tone between Eat, Pray, Love and Committed is the difference in tone between romance and marriage. Eat, Pray, Love is, in every way, a romantic story, full of escape and longing and sensual exploration and even the shimmering thrill of emotional imbalance. Such a tone was appropriate to that year of self-exploration, because that's what it was like. I was overcome during my Eat, Pray, Love journey by a sense of daring, of soaring possibility, and such expansion was exactly what I needed, in order to reinvigorate my life after a period of loss and sorrow. But I daresay that marriage demands of us a slightly more pragmatic temperament. And the events that precipitated Committed were so especially serious (you could say that Felipe's and my romance ended the minute the men in the Homeland Security uniforms handcuffed him and led him away) that a sense of sobriety and level-headed focus was really called for in this situation, in order to handle things wisely.

That same sense of sobriety and focus, I think, informs the overall tone of Committed. It wasn't painful or limiting to write the book in such a manner; it just felt accurate and appropriate to both the subject and the situation. Anything else would have felt like a lark, which would not have benefitted anyone, least of all me.

Popo Danes by Vicki A. Taufer.

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Made Wianta by Susan Michal.

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Satria Narada by Curt Littlecott.

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Odeck (A. A. Gde Ariawan) by Susan Michal.

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Mansri Trisniawati and Koman Suteja by Indra Leonardi.

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Popo Danes by Vicki A Taufer • Balinese Architect Popo Danes is as multidimensional and international as his architectural design work. But his roots remain firmly planted in his native Balinese culture and community. He maintains these roots by reinvesting in education and supporting young talent for the benefit of the island and its future generations. Even before graduating from Udayana University Architecture Department in 1991, Popo was designing for and had earned his first Architectural Design Award, presented by Bali’s governor at the 1986 Bali Art Festival. Popo is proud that his education is purely Balinese, but his vision crosses all borders. Design and architecture projects have taken him to the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Australia, the USA, Costa Rica, Taiwan, Malaysia, India, Thailand and Vietnam.

• Photographer Vicki A. Taufer is the owner of V Gallery in Morton, Illinois, and has been recognised by Kodak as one of the up-and-coming photographers in the industry. Besides being published in several books and trade magazines, she has travelled the world as a keynote speaker and has won many prestigious international awards. Vicki runs V Gallery with her husband Jed and a staff of four. www.vgallery.net

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MADE WIANTA BY SUSAN MICHAL • Made Wianta is a Balinese multi-modal artist with strong sense of environmental awareness and social responsibility.

His environmental awareness has materialised into several art installations/happenings such as "Forest and Life" (1999),

"Sound and Nature" (1997) and "Water, Fire, and Air" (1998).

His strong sense of social responsibility has prompted him to hold several exhibitions from which the proceeds have been donated to many social causes. Since 1992, through his "Wianta" Foundation, he has collaborated with the Ford Foundation to help preserve endangered traditional art and culture in Bali. As an appreciation for the breadth of his creativity and the depth of his social and environmental awareness, Wianta was awarded the Dharma Kusuma Award by the Bali Provincial Government in 1999. He holds the title of Professor for Correspondence of Academie from the Academia Internationale Gressi in Marino, Italy (1996). www.madewianta.com • Photographer Susan Michal is an internationally published, award-winning portrait and wedding photographer. Her unique photographic images have been featured in calendars, greeting cards and posters around the world. She holds the Master Craftsman Degree in photography and is certified by the Professional Photographers of America. She has been named North Florida’s Photographer of the Year and is an active member of Professional Photographers of North Florida and Professional Photographers of America. She has won numerous awards including First Place Portrait of a Child and the Fuji Masterpiece Award from the Florida Professional Photographer's Association. and has had the distinction of having five of her images included in the Professional Photographer’s of America Loan Collection. www.susanmichal. com

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SATRIA NARADA BY CURT LITTLECOTT • Media player Satria Narada is the founder of Bali TV and a well-known personality in the media world in Indonesia. He is the force behind The Bali Post, the island’s most influential newspaper, and was involved in the establishment of Jogja TV, Cakra TV, Sriwijaya TV and Acheh TV, among other media organisations.

A graduate of the Surabaya Communication College and a member of the World Association of Newspapers, he was also the creator of Bisnis Jakarta.

•After several years as a travel photographer, Curt Littlecott created Florida-based 'nu visions' in photography in 1994 to pursue his passion of people photography. He rapidly became one of Central Florida’s premier wedding photographers, winning national and international acclaim. Not only is Curt one of the most sought after wedding photographers in the US, he has also become a popular speaker and judge at National and International photography conventions and schools.

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ODECK (A. A. GDE ARIAWAN) BY SUSAN MICHAL • Born from Balinese activist parents, businessman and restaurateur Odeck (Anak Agung Gede Ariawan) was educated in Sumatra and Ubud, Bali, where he studied tourism management in Nusa Dua. He later worked on HAL cruise line as a sommelier and progressed to other businesses in Bali. He has been treasurer of Yayasan Kayonan, the first Bali environmental foundation, and co-founder of Wisnu, a waste-management foundation. He has also been chairman of the Ubud Hotel Association and director of waste management for Ubud Community. He has travelled widely and is the founder and owner of Ary’s Warung, one of Ubud’s most successful restaurants. www.dekco.com

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MANSRI TRISNIAWATI AND KOMAN SUTEJA

BY INDRA LEONARDI • Pande Nyoman Wahyu Suteja (Koman) was born in Neka Gallery, Ubud, in 1968. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Trisakti University in Jakarta, before working for a garment manufacturing company. He opened Komaneka Gallery on Monkey Forest Road in 1996 followed by Komaneka Suites in Banjar Tanggayuda, Kedewatan, in 2001. Komaneka Resort at Bisma followed in July 2008.

• Ni Nyoman Trisniawati (Mansri) was born in 1968. A graduate of the Faculty of Engineering (Architecture), Udayana University in Denpasar, she has worked as an interior designer and concierge. She is married to Koman and together they have four children.

• Indra Leonardi is a world-recognised portrait photographer with more than 25 years experience in the industry. Among numerous awards and achievements during a highly successful career Leonardi has received the Fuji Masterpiece Award, the regional Medallion Award from Kodak and in 1998 was voted Wedding Potrait Photographer of The Year by the British Institute of Photographers. The force behind the first and the only photo studio in Indonesia to have acquired the ‘Superbrands’ status in the Asia-Pacific region, Leonardi launched the archipelago’s first portraiture book in 2007 entitled ‘Indonesia Portraits’. www.leonardi-portraiture.com

interview

interview

Name, rank and serial number?

MY name is Christian Hinckley, aged 31. Chef. I was born and raised in Utah, U.S.A. I attended Utah State University and Dubrulle Hotel and Culinary Institute of Canada. I’ve cooked in Sun Valley, Seattle, Las Vegas, Bhutan and now Bali.

My hobbies include cooking, reading, and travelling. I’m a firm believer in all things conspiracy and hope to one day live off the grid. I love baseball, Pearl Jam, my girlfriend and all the staff at Amandari.

Who’s your favourite monster?

The most obvious answer would be the cookie monster but I don’t like cookies so it would have to be the cigarette smoking man from the X-files. He was the leader of the Syndicate, a shadowy organisation within the U.S. government. A great character, and his ability to manipulate and control all facets of the government made him particularly frightening. I firmly believe people like him actually exist, which makes him that much more real to me.

If you could choose a cartoon character to describe yourself, who would you choose?

Calvin from Calvin & Hobbes. He is overly creative, imaginative, energetic and paranoid regarding the state of the world and his surroundings.

When you were young, were you a ketchup or a mayonnaise boy?

Actually, both. Where I come from is dubbed “the fry sauce region”. Fry sauce is one part ketchup and two parts mayonnaise. The region includes all of Utah, Southern Idaho, and Western Wyoming. It is served in all eateries in

the region in lieu of ketchup. Where you find Mormons, you find fry sauce. There is even a famous rock group in Utah called Fry Sauce.

An ultimate night of gluttony for you would include?

I would start off with a dozen oysters from the Pacific Northwest and a nice bottle of Sancerre. Followed by a Staub casserole of cassoulet with all the fixings – duck confit, sausage, ham hock, flagoulet beans and buttery breadcrumbs. I would finish off the night with a 60 percent all-natural Tambo cigar made right here in Indonesia. And a six pack of Budweiser.

Worst kitchen fear…

Spilling hot clarified butter on myself. I saw it happen once and the cook's whole hand looked like a snake shedding its skin. When we pulled his hand out of the ice bath, which was helping the burn, his hand looked like Freddy Kruger's. Now it’s become one of those preconceived thoughts that it will happen to me and whenever I work with it I can see the whole scene playing out in my head. But with a little focus and concentration I’m able to get through it.

Tell us, is it true, do all chefs like to drink?

No. It’s not true and although I’ve never met one who doesn’t, I do hear they exist. Sort of like the Orang Pendek.

What’s your all time favourite ingredient?

It would have to be eggs. I can’t think of any ingredient that is more versatile and a staple in all cuisines around the world.

Even if someone does not know how to

cook I guarantee you they can cook an egg. Eggs are the foundation in many dishes such as pasta, cakes, ice creams, dough and batters. In the kitchen you can use them for pastries, emulsified sauces and forcemeats. Jacques de Coquet once said: “There is not a celebrity, a marshal, or an opera singer who does not have an egg dish named after them.”

What is the hardest thing you have ever had to make, in or out of the kitchen?

A soufflé in Bhutan. Once in a blue moon a guest would request one and I could never pull it off. I always thought it was because getting a soufflé to rise at an altitude of 2,800 meters was virtually impossible. But then one of my pastry staff was able to do it so I realised it was me all along. I just didn’t have the touch.

How would you describe your personal kitchen style?

One of my greatest influences was my chef in Seattle, Daisley Gordon. I remember he always had a piece of paper stuck in his keyboard that simply said “surprise and delight”. I had to call the orders in every night from his office and that piece of paper would stare at me for the entire hour I was at the computer. It was his inspiration and inevitably became mine. To this day I have little quips taped all over my desk for reminders and inspiration. For me, in the kitchen, there is no greater philosophy or style than that.

Did you always want to be a chef?

No. I went to college to follow in my father’s footsteps and try to become a landscape architect. That was mainly

Invented in 1863. Enjoyed every night at Naughty Nuri’s.

Also serving ribs, mash, salads and curries. Jl. Raya Sanggingan, opposite Museum Neka. Tel: 0361 - 977547

interview

because I couldn’t think of anything else I wanted to do. I took a few business classes, a few language classes and many life classes. I had always worked in kitchens as a dishwasher and prep cook during college to supplement my income and one day in class I had a realisation that I was always happy at work and miserable in school. So I dropped out and decided to pursue a cooking career.

Not everyone was too excited about my rash decision but I think they have come around.

What would we find on a typical Aman menu organised by Christian Hinckley?

The Aman philosophy regarding food is comfort. My approach to this is to organise a menu as if I was inviting friends or family over to my house for dinner. That is the feeling that we want to convey to our guests and it must come through in the food. Modern presentations and techniques coupled with whole, local, quality ingredients is the perfect equation to make this happen. Food does not need to be manipulated into something it shouldn’t be, nor should the dining experience.

What’s it really like to be in charge of an Aman kitchen? It can’t possibly be all cool, calm and collected…can it?

For the most part it is. The kitchen crew at Amandari have been around for quite some time and worked with all the chefs that have been through here. They have been exposed to many different types of cuisines, techniques and management styles, so not much gets by them. I firmly believe that you dictate your own situation so if as a chef you are cool, calm and collected, then your kitchen will

reflect that. Clean mind, clean food.

When you’re not in the kitchen at Amandari, where might we find you?

I’m a bit of a recluse but when I do surface I have a few haunts. I go for nachos and fish tacos at Mojo’s Flying Burritos, arak madu at Warung Sovia, suckling pig at Warung NasiIbu Suna (just up the road from Amandari), Nuri’s for draft beer and a ramen joint down south, which will remain a secret.

Joel Robuchon, Amankora, Amandari.

You’re certainly ticking them off the list. What else is there to do for Christian Hinckley?

I have been very fortunate throughout my career and don’t take any of it for granted. I try and live in the moment focusing all I have on my current role.

I want to continue to accomplish and create here at Amandari, write a book, invent something, have a family and one day own my own restaurant.

We hear you like to dabble in Molecular Gastronomy. Thus far, what’s your most interesting creation?

I don’t do much of it at Amandari as I don’t really think it fits in a hotel restaurant environment but I do like to play around with it to keep myself constantly creating and to show my staff new techniques. Working with chemicals is the closest a chef can get to playing God. Lately I have enjoyed experimenting with transglutaminase, which is also known as “meat glue”. When it comes in contact with certain amino acids it forms covalent bonds that act like a glue. There is a great recipe from David Chang at Momofuku in New York called a 'chicken brick'. It’s a boned-out whole chicken

that is “glued” together and cooked.

When finished you have one solid piece of chicken containing both the white and dark meat all under the same piece of skin. The proteins are sealed together so it looks like one cohesive piece of meat.

Fascinating and delicious.

Is there anything that you haven’t or wouldn’t try cooking?

Eggplant parmesan. I despise eggplant and constantly question its place in gastronomic society. It’s something like 90 percent water with negligible health benefits. It’s stringy, slimy, oxidises instantly and most of all tastes like nothing. And for all those that think it is healthy it actually contains nicotine.

Eating 20 pounds of eggplant is the equivalent of smoking one cigarette.

Seems to me like too much to eat to get a buzz.

Do you have any secret talents?

I can roll my tongue, pick up a baseball with my toes and am very buoyant in water. When I go diving I have to use a 10 kg weight belt or I float to the top.

If you could get one person in the world, dead or alive, to cook for you, it would be…

Michel Bras. No one else even comes close.

Final parting words or wise kitchen philosophies the world can’t live without?

In the kitchen – he who fails to plan, plans to fail. In life – resist any temptation to allow your sanity and mental comfort to be attached to others accepting your point of view.

Thanks for your time, Christian.

You are welcome.

theLIST

April, May, June 2010

The definitive guide to our thoughts, tastes and tributes to Ubud and surrounds.

Birds & Bees • Out & About • Homestays • Festivals • Galleries • Eco Illustrations in The List by Captain Freddie.

A

Established in 1989, Sobek Bina Utama was the first adventure tour company of its kind on the island and continues to offer excellent rafting, cycling and eco trail tours in Bali.

ADVENTURE

ANTIQUES

Bali Adventure Tours Jl. Raya Bypass Ngurah Rai, Pessangaran, Sanur.

Tel: 0361-721480.

Map Ref: C.2 (Rafting) www.baliadventuretours.com.

Long-established Bali adventure tours operator with activities ranging from river kayaking, white water rafting, jungle trekking and mountain cycling, as well as the Bali Elephant Safari Park at Taro (see entry under Wildlife).

Gallery Macan Tidur Puri Muwa, Monkey Forest Road 10, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977121. www.macan-tidur.com Map Ref: L.7 Respected dealer in tribal art, antiquities, ornaments and texiles, Macan Tidur is often cited as ‘the best shop in Bali’.

Clients include collectors, architects, hotels and museums.

Alphabetical musings, meanderings and more from The Bud team...

Bali Bird Park & Rimba Reptil Jl. Singapadu, Batu Bulan.

Tel: 0361-299352. www.bali-bird-park.com With over 1,000 birds and 250 different species, walk through an avian rainforest, catch a film at the 4D avian theatre and top that off with a reptilian experience of dragon proportions at Rimba Reptil.

If animals are not your thing, the landscaped gardens of all things tropical and botanical are well worth a visit.

Kusia Gallery Jl. Raya Sanggingan No. 99X, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-973113.

Fascinating and longestablished shop dealing with Balinese cultural artifacts.

Bali Bird Walks Campuhan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975009. www.balibirdwalk.com Join Su-made (and if you’re lucky the one-and-only Victor Mason) on a well-informed and delightful bird walk around the Campuhan hills.

The Shop Sayan Jl. Raya Sayan No. 52, Br Kutuh Sayan - Ubud.

Tel: 0361- 973508 www.ShopatTheShop.com Map Ref: C.3 With a 15th century reclining Bhudda marble statue as the ‘piece d resistance’ the artefacts, antiques and relics at The Shop have been knowledgeably hand-sourced from around the region. Unique silver mosquito net tie backs, Jewelery, handicrafts and fashion items are also available for that ever important souvenir.

Sobek Bina Utama Jl. Raya Tebongkang No. 33 Ubud.

Tel: 0361-287059. www.balisobek.com Map Ref: B.3

ARAK Noun: arrack |arak; arak| |arak| |arøk| |arak| (also arak).

An alcoholic liquor typically distilled from the sap of the coconut palm or from rice. Clear and colourless with a sharp biting

taste, arak in Bali is a distillation of tuak, produced by fermenting the sap of the flower bud of any of a number of species of palm.

Origin early 17th cent.: from Arabic araq ‘sweat’, from the phrase arak al-tamr, denoting an alcoholic spirit made from dates.

ART GALLERIES & MUSEUMS 3 Brothers + 1 Jl. Raya Kedewatan, Ubud.

Tel: 0813 3874 5650.

The Balinese artist family of Nyoman Budiarta, Ketut Budiarsa, Wayan Piadnya and Made Budiana, stands together as an inspiring lesson in the power of art to heal and overcome limitations.

Adi`s Art Studio & Gallery.

Jl. Bisma 102, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977104.

Featuring an eclectic mix of sculptures, paintings and readymade objets d’art by artist Adi Bachmann and a number of talented Balinese artists.

Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA) Jl. Bima, Pengosekan.

Tel: 0361-974228. www.armamuseum.com One of the most distinguished museums in Bali, ARMA exhibits work by many of the island’s celebrated names including Spies, Bonnet, Hofker and Affandi. Open daily from 9am to 6pm, except holidays.

Map Ref: X.10 Agung Rai Fine Art Gallery Peliatan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975449, 974562. www.agungraigallery.com Selected works of fine art picked by owner Agung Rai for what he describes as a “spiritual connection he feels between a painting and himself”. Open daily from 9am to 6pm.

Map Ref: U.13 Antonio Blanco Renaissance Museum Jl. Raya Campuhan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975502. www.blancomuseum.com Dedicated to the life and work of the late Filippino artist Antonio Blanco (and curated by his artistic son Mario), this intriguing museum space includes the artist’s original studio, gardens, aviaries and family temple. Open daily from 9am to 5pm.

Bali Kuno at The Mansion Jl. Penestanan, Sayan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972616 www.themansionbali.com Witness Bali’s golden age of the 1920s at The Mansion Resort Hotel & Spa with a photographic exhibition entitled Bali Kuno: A Celebration of a Bygone Era. Images of Bali’s dance legends Ni Polock, Ni Ronji and others take part in an intimate cultural exhibition conducted in collaboration with Quidzy and Maurizio Rosenburg Colorni. "Our aim is to contribute to the retrieval, re-contextualization and redistribution of these important documents into their original historial and physical setting," said Gaia Rosenburg Colorni. "Although what we see within these images is typically a record of Balinese life, each photograph also distinctly speaks of the perceptions and mis-perceptions around this culture." Not to be missed.

Gaya ArtSpace Jl. Raya Sayan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-979252. www.gayafusion.com High concept space offering major exhibitions by both international and local artists featuring contemporary art, paintings, performance, Continued overleaf.

Don't look back in anger, writes Victor Mason.

You must have seen some changes.

Nearly everyone who goes out birdwatching with me and Su says it. And inevitably comes the response – Yes, and not all of them for the better. Yet that also implies that not a few are not for the worse.

Change is all about us. While the Ethiopian may not change his skin, nor the leopard his spots, John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647-1680), put it as well as anyone: Since ‘tis Nature’s law to change, Constancy alone is strange.

Of course things change. People change. Places change. Everything changes, climate included, with or without our intervention. Bali is no exception.

There are those who say that Bali has gone to the dogs. They were saying it in Covarrubias’s day, and they will go on saying it till the end of time. I am not one of them. There is more than ‘change and decay in all around I see’. For a start, the native ethic and mores remain immutable.

And the dogs – the Bali dogs – are always there. But now they have become rabid. I B Mantra was right. The embargo on imported breeds, no matter how profound their pedigrees, should never have been relaxed.

Then, what about the birds? What about them indeed? Do you remember my little jingle?

Well, did you see the birds in Bali, When you were staying there last year?

Or was your time assigned entirely To seeing sights and swilling beer; Sifting sand, or shifting gear?

With one or two notable exceptions – Java Sparrows and Orange-headed Thrushes for example – I find that bird populations are actually improving, and I put this down to greater awareness on the part of the general public that

our feathered friends, being so vital an element of our ecosystem, are worthy of protection and should not be persecuted.

Read what I said in Leonard Lueras’s excellent little book about Ubud, and you will see that I look beyond the confines of my own precious plot.

But ‘shifting gear’ imparts a discordant note. Of all the manifest changes that have taken place in recent years, it is the irruption of traffic on the roads that is the most noticeable – and the worst.

How well I remember the time when I could ride on my motor-bike all the way from Ubud to Sanur (via Sukawati in those days) and not see another single motorized vehicle en route. Those were the days, by God! Yet, who am I to crow, let alone complain? Who owned those wheels in the first place?

Another thing that bothers me is the mushrooming of buildings everywhere in the land, though much of it is what I would term – ribbon development: and it is a fact that once you get behind the insanitary cordon, there is little evidence

of change. The trick is, of course, to find a way of penetrating that cordon. Not so easy nowadays, when even public bridlepaths have been obstructed.

Time was when I might wander at will wherever fancy led me. A book I wrote many years ago, and long out of print – Bali Bird Walks – though it might be considered a charming memoir or memento, would now have little or no practical application.

I know I preferred, for instance, the Ayung River valley when I could walk from Payangan to Banjar Sindhu (south of Sayan) unimpeded, with always the river in view. You cannot do it now. Besides, brimming with rubber boats, the stream has lost its charm for me; and the left bank, bristling with buildings, so much of its allure. The Bukit Pecatu was my playground, before the villas came. Now, however, I digress too far.

But, mercifully, some things never change. The land that I love is mostly accessible, and always there. At a slightly more superficial level, Toko Adhika in Jalan Patimura still has the spare parts and perquisites to keep my Olivetti Valentino vintage 1960 up and running.

Nearer to home, Ryoshi in the high street always boasts the best dead fish and most eclectic collection of sounds you will hear anywhere. Another institution is the cocktail lounge at Murni’s, where one may still indulge in the odd swift preprandial libation in comfortable surrounds, to the accompaniment of cozy banter and decent jazz and swing. Make mine a double single if you please. Gin and autochthonic anyone?

You will excuse the nostalgia. I relish my trips down memory lane. While its beginning is clearly defined, it invites an infinitude of deviations, and it has no end in view.

installations and sculptures.

Genta Gallery Jl. Raya Lodtunduh No1, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-978272. www.museumrudana.com/ gentagallery International art collectors, painters, performers and travellers alike acclaim Genta’s fine art collection. Part of the Museum Rudana art empire.

Hanna Art Space Jl Raya Pengosekan, Peliatan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-978216.

With an accent on artists from Surabaya, Hanna Art Space intends to uncover the ‘underdog’ of art by bringing new and creative art to the visual forefront of Ubud’s gallery walls.

Han Snel Gallery Jl Raya Pengosekan, Peliatan, Tel: 0361 975 699, 974 271 .

Fax: 0361 975 643 www. hansnelbungalow.com View the works of one of Indonesia’s most celebrated foreign artists...Han Snel. Run by his widow Siti, the Han Snel Gallery is located in the grounds of the bungalow complex opened by the artist.

Komaneka Gallery Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-976090. www.gallery.komaneka.com Map Ref: P.7 Komaneka Fine Art Gallery features unique work by young Indonesian and overseas artists with ‘vision’ and an accent on kontemporer. It was built in 1996 with the aim of sharing the experience of living with art. Young contemporary artists exhibit their canvases and installations to those who stay

at the resort and those who pop in or walk by the gallery.

Keep an eye out for it as you walk towards Ubud palace on the right-hand side of Monkey Forest road.

Museum Neka Jl. Raya Campuhan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975074. www.museumneka.com One of Ubud’s oldest and best established galleries, Neka Museum features all the greats from Ubud’s artworld in a traditional Balinese setting with a fabulous ravine view.

Open daily 8am to 5pm except holidays.

Museum Puri Lukisan Jl. Raya Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975136.

www.museumpurilukisan.com Bali’s first museum features exquisite examples of Balinese art styles in drawing, painting and wood carving. Museum Puri Lukisan was established in 1954 and boasts among its past curators the artist Rudolf Bonnet. Open daily 8am to 4pm except holidays.

Museum Rudana Jln. Cok Rai Pudak no.44 Peliatan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975779. www.museumrudana.com Museum Rudana boasts an excellent collection of Balinese and other Indonesian fine arts by the likes of I Gusti Nyoman Lempad, Affandi, Supono and

Antonio Blanco in an elaborate new gallery that stands in its own grounds. Open Mon-Sat 9am to 5pm and on Sundays from midday to 5pm.

Nyoman Sumerta Fine Art Gallery Banjar Teges, Peliatan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975267. www.sumerta-gallery.com Highlights the richness of ideas and imagination of Indonesian artists with an emphasis on local Balinese painting.

Oracle Gallery Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-978611. www.sculpturebyfilippos.com Map Ref: B.4 The gallery of Greek sculptor and Ubud resident Filippos, Oracle is an artist’s dreamscape inspired by the creative imaginings of one of Ubud’s most flamboyant sculptors.

Pranoto’s Art Gallery Jl. Tirta Tawar No. 34, Kutuh Kelod, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-970827. www.age.jp/~pranoto Pranoto’s Art Gallery is a lively, active place in the heart of the Bali arts community. Hosts life-drawing model sessions, exhibitions and a large fine art collection of paintings by Indonesian and international artists.

Seniwati Gallery of Art by Women Jl. Sriwidari 2B, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975485. www.seniwatigallery.com Seniwati supports and showcases more than 70 female artists with a wide variety of styles and also houses a shop for and about women, from where you can buy crafts, some of them by artists who exhibit in the

gallery.

Sika Contemporary Art Gallery Jln. Raya Campuhan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975727/975084. www.sikagallery.info Artist curator I. Wayan Sika and his contemporaries of the Sanggar Dewata Artist Association, seek to push the visual arts envelope at this gallery, which condemns modem commercial art as “too sweet, like candy”.

Symon Studios Jl. Raya Campuhan, Ubud. www.symonstudios.com A Campuhan landmark for over a quarter century, Symon’s somewhat rakish Ubud Studio is the original Art Zoo. The artist has lived in Bali since 1978 and is best known for his bold portraits of sensual young Balinese men.

TonyRaka Art Gallery Jln. Raya Mas No. 86, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-7816785. www.tonyrakaartgallery.com One of Ubud’s prominent art galleries – and art characters – is Tony Raka. Respected by artists and collectors alike, he is an enthusiastic promoter of contemporary Balinese and Indonesian art. Tony Raka’s is a gallery for people who like the questions art poses.

Apart from a large modern building where the permanent collection hangs, there is a vast Balinese pavilion for temporary exhibitions and a new exhibition building.

Both the gallery and the gardens, festooned with orchids, are well worth a visit.

W. Gallery Jl.Bisma #3, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977978. pkaler@dps.centrin.net.id Art for conservation. The W. Gallery was established

in July 2007 as an effort to raise money for conservation through artwork. The gallery hosts local Balinese artists who have committed to donating a percentage of every sale to support the work of FNPF.

B BARS Ary’s Warung Jl. Raya Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975053. www.dekco.com Map Ref: I.7 Since its lavish revamp from a humble eatery to a posh bar and dining experience fitting the likes of Beverly Hills, Ary’s Warung has been the place to be seen in central Ubud.

The menu is mod-Australian inspired – that is, fresh produce, the best of meats, and simple preparation. Food aside, this is also a great bar with an open-plan atmosphere and tasteful design. The service, food and drinks are all good – it’s also a great meeting point in the centre of Ubud, anytime of the day.

Bar Luna Jl. Gootama Tel: 0361-971832 Map Ref: L8 Wander down (or up) one of Ubud's quaintest streets and drop into Bar Luna for an exotic breakfast or a very chilled glass of wine. Definitely one of our favourite secret hangouts.

Café Des Artistes Jl. Bisma 9X, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972706 . www.cafedesartistesbali.com Map Ref: K4 Pop in anytime, after 10.30 in the morning, for mocktails or cocktails, Smirnoff or

BANJAR Noun ( pl. -jar) Balinese neighbourhood association that plans, organises and executes the great majority of activities that make up Balinese life. Every Balinese belongs to a banjar, which has from one hundred to several hundred members. Each banjar has a meeting hall, the bale banjar, which is always divided into three parts: the banjar temple, the secular meeting place, and the kitchen. The death of any member of a banjar makes it obligatory for all male members of the banjar to show up immediately, spend every night at the house of the deceased, prepare various temporary structures for the death ceremonies and burial, wash the body, carry it to the cemetery and help with the burial. Banjars often have gotong royong, or work gangs, called upon to repair the bale banjar, clean the streets, build a road or plant trees.

Sambucca. Cafe des Artistes also has an extensive wine list and is open until midnight. One of Ubud’s popular yet quietly romantic eating and drinking venues.

Coffee & Silver Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud. Tel: 0361-975354. Map Ref: Q.6 One of the most popular dropin and come-as-you-please restaurant bars in Ubud. Based at the bottom of the Monkey Forest hill it is perfectly placed to quench that thirst before the stroll up the three in one.

Flava Lounge Jl. Pengosekan, Ubud.

Tel. 0361-972953. www.flavaloungebali.com Young, hip and urban (or as urban as one can be in Ubud) yet with a holistic feel. Comfy seating, shisha pipes and free WiFi that mixes well with the juices, the cocktails and café style menu.

Han Snel Bungalows Tel: 0361 975 699, 974 271 Fax: 0361 975 643 www.hansnelbungalow.com A horseshoe-shaped counter here gives the bar at Han Snel Bungalows a distinctly convivial atmosphere...easy to remember the artist Han Snel himself sitting here drinking Bintang and regaling all-comers with tales from his past.

Located half way down Jalan Kajeng on the left.

Jati Bar The Four Seasons Sayan Jl. Raya Kedewatan.

Tel: 0361-977577. www.fourseasons.com/sayan Sophistication is the name of the game here (unsurprisingly given the Four Seasons brand).

Perched atop the breathtaking Sayan Ridge, the vibe is mystically romantic. Worldclass views and flavours.

Jazz Café Jl. Sukma # 2, Tebesaya, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-976594. www.jazzcafebali.com Map Ref: M12 A true Ubud classic that hosts local and international jazz stars, along with great bar snacks and full menu. Live music nightly except Mondays, 7.30pm until 10.30pm.

Mozaic – The Lounge Jl. Sanggingan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975768. www.mozaic-bali.com.

A welcome addition to Mozaic’s award-winning restaurant oasis, The Lounge offers sublime cocktails and jazzy ambience. A taste of the future with excellence on all levels, this is a discerning and stylish atmosphere with a range of drinks fitting for one of Bali’s best fine dining spots (see Mozaic’s entry under Restaurants). There’s also a piano in the corner, should you feel like getting on the ivories,

but be warned – the cocktails are quality standard and likely to promote over-exuberance.

The manager is a chap called Rakesh, a man possessed of devilishy suave sub continental aplomb.

Naughty Nuri’s Jl. Raya Sanggingan, opposite Neka Museum.

Tel: 0361-977547.

Another longtime Ubud institution – the marriage of Ubud and New York sensibilities à la Brian and Nuri – Naughty Nuri’s serves mean, brimming Martinis, gargantuan Bloody Mary’s and home-cooked food, all in an open, road-side grille. Famous for its ribs (See entry under Restaurants).

Ozigo Jl. Sanggingan, Ubud, Next to Nuri’s Nacho Mama. www.ozigobarubud.blogspot. com When you’re pissed enough on Brian’s Martinis, join the fun-loving mix of great live cover bands and DJs as they lead you in to the late night!

Suspiciously large and colourful drinks.

Terazzo Jl. Suweta, Ubud Tel: 0361-978941.

A stylish and somewhat famous spot in town for savvy cocktails with superb fingerfood and full menu. Great music and atmosphere.

the list CALENDARS: To the outsider, the Balinese calendar of worship can appear startlingly complex, comprising, as it does, both a lunar calendar – each month starting on the day after a new moon, with the full moon occurring in the middle – and a 210-day ritual cycle. The lunar calendar is based on that used in parts of India and numbered from the founding of the Indian Saka Dynasty in AD 78, so that the year 1900 in Bali began in 1979. The 210-day pawukon cycle is indigenous to Bali, however, and differs from other calendars in that its dates are not measured as years, perhaps because it has its roots in the growing period for rice. The pawukon cycle is subdivided yet again into a number of shorter cycles, which run concurrently. These comprise a number of three, five and seven day “weeks” which have no correlation to conventional time but are used to determine holy days. Each day is said to have its own god, constellation and omen indicating good or bad times for activities ranging from construction to cremation.

BOOK SHOPS Ganesha Book Shop Jl. Raya Ubud.

Tel: 0361-970320. www.ganeshabooksbali.com A veritable treasure chest of second-hand books and beautiful weighty ones of the coffee table variety. You can also find magazines, bestsellers and postcards here.

Periplus Jl. Raya Ubud & Bintang Supermarket, Campuhan and Monkey Forest Rd. www.peripluseditions.co.id Ubiquitous chain bookstorecum-cafe stocking hundreds of titles on Bali and beyond. Buy your take-home copy of The Bud and The Yak here.

Boutiques Biasa Jl. Raya Sanggingan Tel: 0361-8878002 Map Ref: B3 Stylish nomads dress in Biasa.

One of Bali's top labels for cotton and linen fashion just opened an outlet in Ubud (near Naughty Nuri's) with their unique and recognizable cut and design. Comfortable, flowing and in a range of soft, contemporary colours Biasawear is ideal to move elegantly around the hills in.

Dandelion Ubud Main Street 18 Tel: 0361-978085

Map Ref: K.10 A boutique for the heir and spare. Delightful children's wear from the ever-popular and ever-expanding Dandelion.

This petite boutique will outfit the under 9s in ultrachic elegant (boutique for boys and girls) thankfully age appropriate day wear Divya Boutique 35 Ubud Main Street Tel: 0361-977169 Fax: 975115 Map Ref: K.10 Exquisite handmade batik shop incorporating both traditional and modern designs into cotton, silk and canvas textiles.

All dresses, sarongs, shirts and scarves at Divya – which is part of Nomad Restaurant on Ubud Main Street – are individually hand made using the ‘batik tulis’ process, which means patterns are hand-drawn and painted. Prices range from $70 to $180. Each piece is entirely original – no mass produced cottons here.

BOTANIC GARDENS Botanic Gardens Ubud Kutuh Kaja, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-7463389. www.botanicgardenbali.com Situated at an elevation of between 320 and 400 metres above sea level, the Botanic Gardens Ubud offers a range of micro-climates including ravine, hillside, meadow, a river, waterfalls and natural forest on a vast six hectare property.

Situated in the village of Kutuh Kaja just outside Ubud, the Gardens face the bird village of Petulu, home of the famous white egrets.

Botanical Gardens at Elephant Safari Park Taro Bali Adventure Tours, Jl. Raya Bypass Ngurah Rai, Pessangaran, Sanur.

Tel: 0361-721480. www.baliadventuretours.com This park is not just about elephants – throughout this 3.5 hectare wildlife haven are myriad indigenous plant species and a fabulous orchid display.

C COCKFIGHTING Cockfighting|käk faiti ng | noun | Balinese ‘Tajen’ | The sport (banned in 1981 in Indonesia except for three rounds permitted prior to temple ceremonies) of setting two cocks to fight each other. Fighting cocks often have their legs fitted with sharpened metal spurs. A cockfight is not only allowed at every Balinese temple festival, it is required. The blood is an offering to the hungry forces of evil.

COOKING CLASSES Bumbu Bali Restaurant Jl. Suweta No. 1, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-974217. www.bumbubaliresto.com

Half-day cooking programs with Balinese chefs teaching a wide variety of traditional island food.

Beduur Restaurant Ubud Hanging Gardens, Desa Buahan, Payangan.

Tel: 0361-982700. www.ubudhanginggardens. com Part nature walk, part culinary experience. Walk along the Ayung River and up to a village where the locals grow spices and vegetables. Then come to what is described as the hotel’s ‘indigenous outdoor kitchen’, located amongst the rice fields.

The chef will inform and guide you through the creation of three traditional recipes (which will also be yuor lunch!) A gentle wander back to the hotel grounds with views of Mount Batukaru is as much of a gift as the recipes you created that day.

Casa Luna Restaurant Jl. Raya Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977409. www.casalunabali.com Map Ref: J.6 Join Casa Luna’s own Janet De Neefe and team and discover the exotic spices and ingredients of Balinese food.

Explore cooking techniques, alternative ingredients and fascinating kitchen myths of this unique culture. Each session includes a lavish Balinese feast with complete

the list class notes. Guests of the Honeymoon Guesthouses receive a 10% discount on all cooking classes.

Mozaic Restaurant Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975768. www.mozaic-bali.com Map Ref: C.3 So not your average cooking class! Award-winning chef Chris Salans (think Table du Monde) will invite you into his ultra-modern Miele kitchen where you can choose to take a workshop that will enhance your culinary craft in either local or Mozaic-style cuisine.

The Workshop space is also open to Chef’s dinners and private cocktail parties.

Kupu Kupu Barong Kedewatan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975478. www.kupubarongubud.com Map Ref: A.2 Balinese cooking secrets revealed in one of Ubud’s most charming resorts. Learn to cook a classic three-course Balinese

meal of Soto Udan, Pepes Ikan and Dadar Gulung which make up the delicious lunch to follow.

Maya Ubud Jl. Gunung Sarim Peliatan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977888. www.mayaubud.com Map Ref: L.17 In one easy hour, Maya Ubud’s

master chefs will teach you five traditional Balinese dishes and then invite you for lunch. Take home a complimentary recipe book to continue your Balinese culinary education.

The Secret Garden Cooking School Penestanan Kaja, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-979395. www.balisecretgarden.com One and two-day hands-on intensive courses will allow you to learn, understand and appreciate Balinese cooking at its best. Learn of the spices, herbs, meat and vegetables that go into perparing a Balinese banquet. From appetisers to dessert, all in a tropical outdoor restaurant pavilion.

Clinics Prima Medika Hospital (Outpost) Banjar Nyuh Kuning, Mas, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972374. www.primamedika.com A hospital favoured among longtime expats, Prima Medika’s main facility is in Denpasar, approx 45 minutes by car.

Open from 8am8pm.

Sayan Aesthetic Institute Jl. Penestanan, Sayan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972648. www.aestheticbali.com Bali joins the rest of the world on the age reversal, rejuvenation and appearance optimization stage. Sayan Aesthetic Institute, an Australian-developed aesthetic clinic located on the stunning grounds of a luxury resort in Sayan, offers all visitors to Bali the complete range of one

visit procedures. Also on the beauty enhancement side, the high-tech dental studio is a must. CEREC from SIRONA Germany is a world leader in beautiful, resorative dentistry and most procedures can be done in one visit. Compare the cost of treatments in other Asia Pacific destinations and you will find yourself pleasantly surprised.

CRAFTS Bisama Cargo Ubud Main Road 33X, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia 80571 Tel: 0361-975520 www.bisama.com Leave it to Bisama cargo to handle and organise your shipments to anywhere in the world. The fast service includes collections, quality control, packing, storage, warehouse, document processing, and guaranteeing a safe arrival at the destination.

Indigo Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud Tel: 0361-7810631. www.indigobali.com Art and artifacts, natural dye batiks & ikats, handcrafted, earth-conscious clothing, jewelry, gifts, furniture and home accessories.

Kulit Kayu Gallery Ubud Main Road 33, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia 80571 Tel: 0361-975520 www.sourcingubud.com A house of modern furniture, home interiors and accessories made out of organic natural material in simple designs.

Macan Tidur Gallery Puri Muwa, Monkey Forest Road 10, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977121. www.macan-tidur.com Map Ref: L.6

Whilst one half of Macan Tidur (otherwise known as Sleeping Tiger) is for exquisite antiques, the other half supports local craftsmen to continue their creative traditions whilst also supporting innovations. One of Bali’s best places to buy unique pieces for gifts or interiors.

Oman Gallery Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-978250. www.omangallery.com Modern Art • Design • Ethnic • Antiques reads the business card of this well laid out gallery shop – from antiques to lamps to knick knacks for interiors. On the hill that leads to cocktails or culture – just steps away from Naughty Nuri’s and the Neka Museum.

Sayan Square Jl. Penestanan, Sayan, Ubud.

Tel: 081236 806100.

A one-stop shop where you can find a variety of items from batik to fashion, gifts to handicrafts, home decor to home spa products. If one of you shops and the other does not, coffee and the delicious handcrafted JBay ice cream is also on the schedule.

Tegun Gallery Jl. Hanoman #44B, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-970992.

Woodcrafting for the home and garden. A unique collection of inspiring traditional Folk art from across the archipelago.

D DHARMA (Sanskrit) Meaning righteousness. The orderly fulfilment of inherent duty.

A religious duty, according to one’s caste. Adharma is unrighteousness or the lack of

the list observation of this duty, and brings accumulation of demerit.

E ECO The Linda Garland Estate Banjar Nyuh Kuning, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-974017.

Linda@indosat.net.id Linda Garland’s worldrenowned river-estate is an amazing tribute to the potential of bamboo in all its forms.

Mick Jagger loved this place so much he got married here...well sort of.

The Green School Jl. Raya Sibang Kaja, Banjar Saren, Abiansemal.

Tel: 0361-469875 www.greenschool.org.

A powerful community jointventure school and event centre on the river. Well worth an afternoon looksee.

Utama Spice - Bali Herb Walk & Jamu Class Banjar Pengosekan, Jl Kaja Kauh #8, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975051 or 0812 3816 020. www.utamaspicebali.com Contact Lilir for secrets of jamu, Indonesia’s practice of traditional herbal medicine.

F FESTIVALS Bali Spirit Festival www.balispiritfestival.com A vibrant and uplifting annual international celebration of yoga, dance and music held in Ubud, the Bali Spirit Festival brings international artists and yoga practitioners together to inspire change in our world.

Held in April each year at the

Bali Purnati Centre for the Arts in Batuan. Go online and sign up for the Bali Spirit newsletter to stay in the loop about next year’s event.

Ubud Writers and Readers www.ubudwritersfestival.com One of the six best literary festivals in the world (according to Harper’s Bazaar UK at least), the Ubud Readers & Writers Festival brings together writers, readers, artists and performers in a week-long program that’s put Ubud on the map as an international centre for the arts.

Check the website for details, news, and updates as to who is coming this year and how to get tickets to the literary lunches, workshops and talks.

Ubud Full Moon Festival Jl. Penenstanan, Sayan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972616.

On the night of the full moon

www.horizonglassworks.com Map Ref: F.1 Handmade glass, expert craftmanship, best materials and great prices on solid sculpture and more. Trained at the world-recognised centre for hot glass – Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State’s Cascade Mountains – Horizon Glassworks founder Ron Seivertson believes the process of creating hot glass art is all encompassing. “There is something about the material that is alive,” he says. “Before being melted it is pure silica sand; after melting it is glass, and it will be glass forever – there is an alchemy in this process.” Ron transforms molten glass into sophisticated sculptures and vessels alike, capturing the fragile beauty of the subjects that inspire his work. Visit the workshop on the south end of Sayan Ridge and see art in creation. Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm.

legend comes alive. Each month under the tropical Balinese sky, experience a night of cultural heritage with the epic of the Mahabaratha: Arjuna and the seven Bidadri and the traditional Djanger performance accompany you and a traditional Rijstaffel or Indonesian Rice Table feast.

Bookings required.

GALUNGAN (Noun). A religious festival that takes place on Wednesday of the week Dunggulan in the Balinese calendar and which celebrates the victory of dharma (religious duty) over adharma, (or the lack of observance of this duty).

G

HEALTH Light Spirit Jalan Pengosekan, Ubud Tel: 0361-857-5570 www.lightspiritbali.com Sound and energy healing centre which works with intuitive and highly educated

GLASS Horizon Glassworks Jl. Raya Kengetan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-7804014.

H

therapists to ensure a high quality standard for energetic treatments. Open Monday – Saturday from 10:30 – 7:30 pm HELICOPTERS Air Bali Dewa Ruci Building No. 2 Simpang Siur, By Pass Ngurah Rai, Kuta.

Tel: (24 Hour hotline) +62 813 3876 9756 or +62 812 3836 321. www.airbali.com Sky tours, volcano flights, aerial photography…or maybe you just need to get up to Ubud in a hurry. Air Bali’s helicopter service covers the bases.

Landing pad at The Viceroy Bali.

HOMESTAYS Alam Indah Family Hotels Nyuh Kuning village.

Tel: 0361-974629. www.alamindahbali.com Jati 3 Bungalows & Spa Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-973349 & 977101. www.jati3bungalows.com Kebun Indah (Beautiful Garden) Jl. Raya Pengosekan.

Tel: 0361-973366. www.alamidahbali.com Padi Prada Suite – Resto – Gallery Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-978972 & 970979. www.balihotels.com/ubud/ padiprada.php Sania`s House Jl. Karna 7, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975535.

Swasti Cottage Banjar Nyuh Kuning.

Tel: 0361-974079. www.baliswasti.com Taman Indrakila Hotel

the list DANCE: “No feast is complete in Bali,” penned the Mexican writer Miguel Covarrubias in 1937, “without music and elaborate dramatic and dance performances. No one would dream of getting married, or holding a cremation, or even of celebrating a child’s birthday, without engaging troupes of dancers and actors to entertain the guests and neighbours.” Dance and drama remain central to the Balinese way, colourful spectacles in the life of the culture. In fact Covarrubias and his wife became such enthusiastic theatregoers during their time on the island they “sometimes they had to make a point of staying home to catch up with lost sleep”. The Mexican chronicler wrote in his still definitive book, Island of Bali: “Even the tired peasant who works all day in the fields does not mind staying up at night to watch a show, and the little children who invariably make up the front rows of the audience remain there until dawn for the end, occasionally huddled together taking naps, but wide awake for the exciting episodes of the play.” Next to having good orchestras, a fine group of dancers is an imperative need for the spiritual and physical well being of the community.

When a society has enough money for the elaborate costumes needed for public appearance, the village banjar or community association gives an inauguration festival to bless the clothes. All actors, dancers, or story-tellers undergo the same ceremony – in the case of a dancer, a priest uses the stem of a flower to inscribe magic syllables on the face, head, tongue and hands in order to make the dancer attractive to the eyes of the public. It is not only on this occasion that dancers pray for success; before every performance they make small offerings to the deities of the dance.

Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975017.

Tirta Harum Jl. Jero Gadung 66A, Kutuh Kelod, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-973381.

HOTELS Agung Raka Bungalow Jl. Pengosekan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975757. www.agungraka.com Alila Manggis Desa Manggis, Candi Dasa.

Tel: 0363-41011. www.alilahotels.com One of Bali's best kept secrets, Alila Manggis is a secluded, stylish seaside resort in Manggis, East Bali, superbly designed in a contemoprary interpretation of traditional Balinese architecture. All rooms face the ocean with clear views across the straits to Nusa Penida. Alila Manggis is famed for its cooking school specialising in East Balinese cuisine.

Alila Ubud Desa Melinggh Kelod, Payangan.

Tel: 0361-975963. www.alilahotels.com One of Ubud’s favoured hotels, this 56-room resort perches

on one side of the Ayung River valley. Four Pool Villas and four Valley Villas offer superb one-up-manship for privacy and luxury. A megalith garden, a designer spa and a fabulous restaurant complete this oneof-a-kind resort. Alila Ubud is also one of the top wedding venues of Ubud.

Amandari Kedewatan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975333. www.amanresorts.com Legendary luxury Ubud retreat.

Ananda Cottages Campuhan Campuhan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975376. www.anandaubud.com ARMA Resort Jl. Raya Pengosekan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975742/976659. www.armaresort.com ARMA resort is artistically and thoughtfully designed with antique wooden beds on each patio providing a romantic perch from which to enjoy the view. Traditional Balinese architecture melds thatched roofs, woven bamboo and sculpted sandstone into a unique and meditative ambience surrounded by lush tropical gardens and rice terraces. The Resort is set

within a unique and natural landscape.

Anini Raka Resort Jl. Raya Campuhan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975213. www.aniniraka.com Anhera Suite Ubud Jl. Raya Sanggingan 168, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977845. www.anherahotelbali.com Bagus Jati Br. Jati, Desa Sebatu, . Tel: 0361-978885/901888. www.bagusjati.com This out of the way resort is ideal for those times when you need to retreat and cleanse.

Fabulous spa facilities.

Beji Ubud Resort Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-971166. www.bejiubudresort.com Barong Resort & Spa Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-971759. www.barongresortspa.com Bumi Ubud Resort Jl. Raya Lodtunduh No.88, Br. Silungan Lodtunduh, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-974124. www.bumiubudresort.com.

Casa Luna Honeymoon

Guesthouse Jl. Bisma, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-973282. www.casalunabali.com.

The Honeymoon Guesthouses are situated only a fiveminute walk away from the heart of Ubud and Casa Luna Restaurant. With 30 elegant Balinese–style guest rooms set in lush tropical gardens, Honeymoon Guesthouse has become a favourite with travellers, possibly because it boasts within its grounds the Honeymoon Bakery. Guests can also order delicious meals from the extensive menu of the Casa Luna Restaurant, part of the same organisation under Ubud’s own Janet De Neefe.

Champlung Sari Hotel Monkey Forest Road, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975418/975349. www.champlungsariubud.com A veritable instituion with many returnees, located right opposite Ubud’s Monkey Forest.

Cendana Resort and Spa Monkey Forest Road, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-973243. www.cendanaresort-spa.com COMO Shambhala Estate Br. Begawan Giri, Payongan, Ubud.

the list

Write a new script and be a gift for others, says Nicky Kassapian

All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts…

– ‘As You Like It’, William Shakespeare I would amend this somewhat: All the world’s a screen, And all the men and women are the creators of their film of life: They have their projectors, actors, sets, the entire film crew, embedded in their heads; And it is time each man or woman changed their script for the good of all…

The Oscars, Baftas, Palme d’Or, The Sundance awards. Which one would you like to receive?

Know this about yourself: you are multi talented and incredibly versatile. Not only are you the director, the producer and script writer, but you are also the lead actor in the film and you get to choose all the other actors, the locations, the shots and sequences of events, the lighting, the sets, the wardrobe, the cars, trains, planes, motor bikes, the action, reaction and responses.

In short, you get to choose everything. This film is what you experience as your LIFE. As you are also the projector, what you see before your eyes is ALL YOURS. In the last Jiwa Juice we explored the ‘Gift of Others’. This time YOU are the Gift for others.

So what are you currently viewing on that wonderful screen of yours? A drama perhaps, where the boss is having a go at the employee for having forgotten to do something again? Or a family scene where the parent is just sick to the back teeth of the children demanding attention and the spouse just never around to lend a helping hand when it’s needed. Or perhaps it’s action, someone is ripping you off and you are mad as anything about it, planning and plotting to get your own back. Or maybe it’s a story of two friends who fall out with each other, perceived as a betrayal from one side and a natural course of action from the other side, both hurt and upset and neither understanding what went wrong.

One driver cuts off another driver on the road and gets very irate. A daughter

wishes her father was different so she could look up to him. A brother or sister, who just can’t stand to be in the same room as his or her younger sibling so intense is the rivalry. Lovers who are so caught up in their own independent lives that they somehow miss being there for each other when they really need each other and now sit in disappointment and hurt withdrawing their love from the other. These are simply everyday things happening to people all over the world at some time or other. Take a moment to reflect on your own life and see what you are watching on that screen of yours….

There are many extraordinary and glorious films showing too, though maybe it is on someone else’s screen. Life flows, opportunities, success, good health, good friends, love, peace and harmony abound.

Anger, frustration, struggle and suffering, are a thing of the past.

What denotes what you will be viewing and experiencing as life?

YOU DO, of course. Your thoughts, actions, wishes, dreams, your idle wanderings in fantasy, your judgements, beliefs and the chatter that goes on without you even being aware of it, the seeds you sow, all this creates the film you are experiencing as your life.

Now you know how the film gets created and you want to be part of something different, it is up to you to be an aware active creator and become a gift for others.

What happens when you do this? The movie changes, the actors and their stories change and ultimately life changes for you and everyone in your life.

How? It’s as easy as one two three.

It’s time to become a film critic and editor.

All that you need to do is to return to the projector to explore what you are experiencing on your screen and start doing some cutting and re-shooting so to speak.

Here I’ll give you an example.

Someone, maybe more than one, shows up in your life, who says they will do X and then just when you think that IT is agreed and you are moving forwards with X as the

game plan you find out that X has changed to E and you haven’t been told about it, even though you are immediately affected by it.

Frustrated, you go back to the person concerned and discuss how this can be so and find ways to resolve the issue by instigating A this time and you get on with your business with A as the playing field.

Only to find a week later that suddenly A has dematerialised and now WQ is the playing field. What happened to the agreement and honouring agreements?

Now you are more than a little annoyed and wondering why this situation is occurring and most likely highly critical of the aforementioned person. They are probably seen by you to be inconsiderate, stupid, confused, unfair, troublesome, dishonourable, for they have broken at least two agreements with you and they are definitely unreliable.

It is time to sit down in the cutting room and find the frame where you, yes YOU, have done or are doing the same. Where are you inconsiderate of others? On the road perhaps or in your family, or is it in business? Where are you stupid? Where are you not being clear and so causing others to be confused? Where are you or have you been unfair, caused trouble and most importantly when have you not honoured an agreement, no matter how small or big?

Somewhere, sometime you have been the person you are so critical of now. As soon as you can see yourself in them, own each time you have done the same and start realising that you have created them to show up in your life so that you can become a better person, the sooner your tormentor actor can happily change their role and such characteristics will STOP showing up in your life.

As a bonus you might just be able to feel your heart expand a little more with compassion for the others in your life, as well as, for yourself. Do start to change the script, so everyone can play out a more enjoyable film. And the award you and others win is a more authentic and enjoyable life all round. www.soulsopportsystems.com

the list

Continued from page 55.

Tel: 0361-978888. www.como.bz An Estate like no other.

This is where the A-list, red carpet regulars and the rest of the jet–set come for a change of scenery. Set on acres and acres of ravine and river exuberance, this retreat combines opulence, health, excellent raw food and a world-class spa topped off with with some of the world’s best butlers. One wants for nothing at Como.

Four Seasons Resort Sayan Sayan Ridge, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977577. www.fourseasons.com/sayan/ One of the most famous of Bali’s hotels as almost every year Condé Nast or some other venerable travel magazine nominates it for its fabulosity or service.

Furama Villas & Spa Jl. Raya Mambal, Br. Bindu, Mambal, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-7463064. www.furamavillasandspa.com Furama’s first resort property, Furama Villas & Spa Ubud is set amidst an expanse of serene rice fields, framed by the majestic Mount Batur.

Gaya Fusion Villa Jl. Raya Sayan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-979252/979253. www.gayafusion.com Garden View Cottages Monkey Forest Road, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-974055. www.baligardenview.com Kajane Mua Villa Monkey Forest, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972877. www.kajane.com Kamandalu Resort & Spa Jl. Tegallalang, Br. Nagi, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975825. www.kamandaluresort.com

Kayu Manis Ubud Br. Baung, Sayan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972777. www.kayumanis.com The first of the Kayu Manis brand, the one-bedroom villas are excellent and the new spa is something to write home about.

Komaneka at Bisma Jl. Bisma, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-971933. www.komaneka.com Map Ref: L.4 Located in Bisma street and close to the very centre of Ubud, the Komaneka at Bisma is a sophisticated and contemporary lifestyle resort, beautifully designed and nestled along the Campuhan river valley, with amazing views of the river, sloping rice fields and coconut groves.

Choose a Bisma Suite Room or a One or Two Bedroom Pool Villa. Overall this resort melds beautifully with a truly stunning site; staff are well-trained and extremely friendly and considered part of the well-respected and established family that owns and operates the property. Apple TV in each suite room is an innovative touch to this culturally-sensitive and artistically inspired hotel.

Komaneka at Monkey Forest Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud, Gianyar. Tel: 0361-976090. www.komaneka.com Map Ref: P.7 The first of three Komaneka’s that have paved the way for travellers of all ages to enjoy Ubud. Located in the very central Monkey Forest road, this small hotel has the option of fabulous rice field views or tropical garden views. A

contemporary art gallery makes it young, hip and chic – Ubud style. So popular it is usually fully booked.

Komaneka at Tanggayuda Br. Tanggayuda, Kedewatan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-978123. www.komaneka.com Map Ref: P.7 Think romance, think honeymoon, even if you have been married a few years.

Komaneka Tanggayuda ignites passion and initmacy in this hillside resort, just a short drive north of Ubud. Balconies, soft beds and huge bathtubs set the scene for one of rest, relaxation and pure indulgence.

Kori Ubud Jl. Raya Sanggingan 18, Campuhan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972487. www.koriubud.com

signature French restaurant.

A classic and well-established Kedewatan resort.

Maya Ubud Resort & Spa Jl. Gunung Sarim Peliatan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977 888. www.mayaubud.com Map Ref: K18 Maya Ubud Resort & Spa is set in 10 hectares of hillside garden, stretching 780 metres along a peninsula high above two river valleys. It flows from hilltop down to riverside hideaway, 30 metres below.

Just minutes by foot from Ubud, Maya Ubud Resort & Spa provides a spacious, stylish and luxurious environment in which to enjoy some of life’s better moments. Setting it apart are the luxurious Pool Villas, the landscaped botanical walk that skirts this vast property and an awardwinning spa (not to mention the excellent food - see Restaurants).

Natura Villa Resort & Spa Jl. Raya Gunung Sari, Br. Laplapan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-978666. www.naturaresortbali.com

Kupu Kupu Barong Ubud Villa & Spa Jl. Kedewatan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975478. www.kupubarongubud.com Map Ref: A1 This is a charming and verdant resort that spills down the hillside along the Ayung River Valley in Sayan, offering spectacular views of the Ubud countryside as well as friendly service and a buggy ride back and forth from your luxury pool villa. Choose from a couple of pools and enjoy the food at Ma Joly, Kupu-Kupu’s

Novus Taman Bebek Jl. Raya Sayan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975385. www.novustamanbebek.com Oka Kartini Bungalows Jl. Raya, Ubud, Bali.

Tel: 0361-975193. www.okakartini.com Ibu Oka Kartini has been welcoming travellers to Ubud for a number of years now and largely because of her they keep coming back!

Padi Prada Ubud Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-978972. www.padiprada.balidwipa.com

the list Pertiwi Resort and Spa Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975236. www.pertiwiresort.com Puri Bunga Village Hotel Jl. Raya Kedewatan PO Box 141, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975488. www.puribungahotel.com Puri Saron Villa & Spa Desa Madangan, Petak, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-270123. www.purisaronhotel.com Rumah Rio Jl. Suweta No.24, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-978773. www.rumahrio.com Private villas for rent in the heart of Ubud.

Royal Pita Maha Desa Kedewatan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-980022. www.royalpitamaha-bali.com Fit for a Prince and built by a Prince. Royal Pita Maha encompasses regal Balinese architecture on a stunning valley and river–view property.

Rijasa Agung Resort & Villa Br. Begawan, Desa Melinggih, Kelud Payangan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-980333. www.rijasa.com Sahadewa Resort & Spa Jl. Hanoman, Padang Tegal, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-971590. www.sahadewaresort.com SayanTerrace Resort Jl. Raya Sayan Ubud.

Tel: 0361-974384. www.sayanterraceresort.com The Samaya Ubud Banjar Baung, Desa Sayan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-973610 www.thesamayabali.com

A sister property to The Samaya in Seminyak, this latest property from The Royal Collection hotel group boasts 19 villas set against the Ayung River in arguably Bali's chicest valley, Sayan. A restaurant at the top of the property commands fabulous views over the entire gorge while each of the villas – built in to the hillside - has its own swimming pool. Expect first class service from a well-trained staff, modern minimalist interiors and world class cuisine. And then of course there is the glory of your surrounds, perfect for bird walking, cultural exploration or just relaxing.

Tegal Sari Hotel Jl. Hanoman, Padang Tegal Tel: 0361-973318. www.tegalsari-ubud.com Tepi Sawah Villas Jl. Raya Goa Gajah, Br. Teges, Peliatan, Ubud, Tel: 0361-970388 www.tepisawahvillas.com A restful retreat set amidst beautiful tropical gardens, Tepi Sawah Villas offer spacious Balinese-style accommodation, ultimate privacy, a friendly atmosphere, together with excellent, personalised service.

The Balinese-style thatchedroof villas overlook verdant rice terraces, decorated with selected paintings and artifacts

by Ubud's famous artists.

Semana Villa Br. Semana, Desa Singakerta, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-7471234. www.villasemana.com Set in a Balinese village just out of Ubud, the outstanding scenery to and from this property complements the luxury of staying in it.

com A lodge that is not a lodge. Twenty-five luxury accommodations in the centre of an elephant park! Pack your trunk and go to bed with the pachyderms.

The Linda Garland Estate Nyuh Kuning, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-974028. www.lindagarland.com The Mansion Hotel & Spa Jl. Penestanan, Sayan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972616.

Map Ref: K1 www.themansionbali.com ‘Grand’ is the word that comes to mind when walking through the doors of the aptly named The Mansion Hotel & Spa. Asian opulence at its best with a sweeping staircase that leads to an eclectic gallery that houses paintings, rare

Sunny Blow Villa Jepun Jln. Sanggingan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977950.

Fax 0361-970012. www.sunnyblow-bali.com Next to the well-regarded Minami Japanese restaurant (and indeed managed by the same team) is Sunny Blow, a charming collection of bungalows set in a garden around a small pool. Each room is designed with style and comfort in mind: the furniture is hand-picked and Colonial to suit the mood of this relaxed mid-range property.

The Chedi Club at Tanah Gajah Jl. Goa Gajah, Tengkulak Kaja, Tel: 0361-975685. www.ghmluxuryhotels.com Map Ref: X18 This luxury 20-villa resort, set on an estate dedicayed to elephants and surrounded on all sides by paddy fields is located near the Goa Gajah or Elephant Cave, and a favourite among ‘those in the know’.

textiles and royal regalia. The Suites and Residences host large four poster beds, swathed silk curtains and generous bathrooms. Indochine, the restaurant, is exotic and romantic. (See Restaurants)

Tanah Merah Resort Melayang, Pejeng, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-978554/978552. www.tanahmerahresort.com

The Elephant Safari Park Lodge Jl. Elephant Park, Taro.

Tel: 0361-721480. www.elephantsafariparklodge.

The Viceroy Bali Jl. Lanyahan, Br Nagi, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-971777. www.viceroybali.com

The Ubud Village Resort & Spa Jl. Raya Pengosekan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-978444. www.theubudvillage.com

Continued overleaf.

the list Diana Darling decries money, money, money.

There’s a high word for it almost everywhere: they call it fortune or the life force or blessings or success, but what they all mean basically is money.

The urge to prosper occupies part of the human heart – but that’s a big place, full of contradictions; and everyone is in it, even tourists.

That’s what it was always about Ngudiang ia dini yen sing ngaba pis?

(What are they doing here if they don’t have money?)

Anonymous remark overheard somewhere.

When a small island of small farmers gets too crowded, policy wonks recommend tourism as an alternative to agriculture (or pit mining), especially when the island is as cute as Bali. The quick cash returns of tourism make that an easy sell to farmers. Why else would you tolerate odd-looking people tramping through your village, fields, and (heavens) your temples, if you didn’t think it would some day bring you some money?

On the other hand, visitors wouldn’t pay good money to tramp through other people’s villages, fields, and temples if they didn’t expect to find something uplifting about other people’s hardship and peculiarity. We also like the place to be as unlike our home countries as possible (“Say No to Starbucks in Ubud”).

In the phenomenon of tourism, host and guest are nose to nose, not quite daring to look each other in the eye because of the confusing force of money.

You can see it especially in land use The world’s favourite “city” With the exception of several puri and some temples, Ubud’s Main Street is devoted almost exclusively to tourism; and with the partial exception of the market, local people will search in vain for somewhere to buy anything they need. There’s no shop where a farmer can drop in and buy a bottle of homemade, safe-to-consume arak; indeed there are no warungs. On Ubud’s Main Street there are no hardware or electronics shops, nor

any dry cleaners, medical clinics, libraries or news stands with local publications – and plans are underway to move even the traditional market away from the centre so that downtown Ubud can be 100 percent devoted to tourism, and if Ubudians want to buy a new sarong or a set of chisels or some floor-cleaning detergent, they can just bugger off to someplace out of sight.

Even the palaces, temples, and public places like the sports field and the wantilan community hall bow to tourism as venues for ticketed cultural performances, the sale of souvenirs, or as parking lots for tourist buses. For land is precious, and that brings us back to square one. Land is too valuable for anything as extravagant as a park where you can stroll with your family and not be hit by a child driving a motorcycle.

So people use their land to sell stuff: accommodation, lunch, guided tours, counterfeit luxury brand accessories, or just space: lease the land to Starbucks and let them figure out how to make money.

Oh no Far from Ubud, on Bali’s southernmost peninsula, a tidal wave of development is underway, threatening the wild and lonely beauty of the cliffs and hidden beaches.

The projects here are big, and some of them are fascinatingly ugly. Alarmed expats wonder where the water will come from, where the waste will go, how they’ll find enough electricity when the island is already suffering blackouts, and how the narrow road to the Bukit will support the extra traffic when it is already suffering gridlock. How did these projects get permits anway? Talk about money…

Many people who joined the Save the Bukit thing on Facebook want to stop development on the Bukit; others think it would be more realistic to lobby for intelligently regulated development.

There is very little discussion of the new prosperity it will bring to the inhabitants there as the value of their land shoots up and thousands of jobs come on stream.

Those who are enterprising will set up warungs, tailor shops, motorcycle repair shops, mini-marts, automobile accessory shops, and all that Denpasar-ish sort of stuff – which, although not scenic, will afford a greater circulation of money.

Thus the great hypocrisy of tourism in Bali: what tourists really want is luxury in the midst of pristine poverty – or at least for their hosts to spend their new wealth only on picturesque things like big ceremonies and to forego the temptation to live like us.

Impossible to grow rich gracefully, it seems.

Ask a Balinese In Bali, where all things are mirrored in ritual, one speaks not of a money god but of the deity of commerce, Bhatari Sri Sadhana (aka Rambut Sedana), who is honoured at shrines in market places and at certain temples around Bali. According to an article in the February 2010 issue of Sarad – a magazine aimed at a HinduBalinese readership – money (dhana) is not the object of commerce but rather the means to obtain what one needs to live an upright life. It went on to say that on the day dedicated to Sri Sadhana (which falls on Buda Cemeng Klawu, once every 210 days), merchants are to refrain from conducting any money transactions and to use that time for introspection, asking themselves whether they are conducting business in a manner that is principled and balanced.

I have no idea how many merchants observe this, but I was intrigued by the magazine’s choice of image in the midst of this article. It is captioned “Balinese vendors. Honouring Sri Sadhana.

(Pedagang Bali. Memuja Sri Sadhana)” and it shows three women in profile on the beach, sitting next to their baskets of fruit. Two of them are looking intently at something going on further up the beach; one of them is picking her nose, and the third is in the midst of a deep yawn. It was heartening to see that the editors of Sarad are still relaxed about expressions of piety.

the list OFFERINGS: Bali’s offerings take on myriad forms, part of the ritualistic art of the island. Simple offerings are presented daily to the gods – they may range from a tiny piece of banana leaf holding a few grains of rice to elaborate palm-leaf trays containing flowers and betel nut, a token of hospitality for the spirits. In 1937, Miguel Covarrubias. whose book Island of Bali is regarded by many as the definitive text on matters Balinese, wrote that offerings “are given in the same spirit as presents to the prince or friends, a sort of modest bribe to strengthen a request; but it is a condition that they should be beautiful and well made to please the gods and should be placed on well decorated high altars”. The size of the offering may also be scaled up or down depending on the occasion or nature of the “request”. Pula gembal, consisting of dozens of different rice dough figurines, may range in size from a single basket to a spectacular construction several meters high. Women and girls nearly always carry towering cones of rice cakes, fruit and sweet breads to the temple, where the gods are said to consume their essence, leaving the food intact to be returned home later. No part of the offering may be used again, meaning the banten must be reproduced for every single festival.

An relative newcomer to the Ubud hotel and resort scene, The Viceroy Bali is now one of the top resorts in the area.

Tjampuhan Hotel & Spa Jl. Raya Tjampuhan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975368. www.hoteltjampuhan.com Ubud Hotel - Taman Harum Cottages Tel: 0361-975567. www.bali-hotel-taman-harum. com

Ubud Hanging Gardens Desa Buahan, Desa Payangan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-982700. www.ubudhanginggardens. com.

Located in the steep rice terraces of Payangan, this unique resort has 38 luxury private pool villas, each with heated private infinity plunge pools and spectacular views of an ancient temple, tropical mountains and the winding Ayung river. The resort itself is not so much perched on the hilltop as merged with it, and a small mechanical carriage (funicular) carries guests up and down the hillside in style.

Ubud Sari Health Resort Jl. Kajeng No 35, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-974393. www.ubudsari.com A resort offering health and

detoxification treatments.

Ulun Ubud Resort Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Tel: 0361-975024. www.ulunubud.com

Villa Sonia Jl. Nyuh Bulan, Nyuh Kuning, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-971307. www.villasonia.nl

Uma Ubud Bali Jl. Raya Sanggingan Tel: 0361-972448. www.umaubud.como.bz Map Ref: B.4 Tropical French contemporary is a style with which Uma has become known, in other words elegant simplicity. One of Ubud’s top yet more exclusive resorts boasts an excellent bar, a fabulous pool, a Zeninspired spa, yoga pavilion and a restaurant (Kemiri) that has won accolades and a local expat following. Less espensive than sister resort COMO Shambhala, the care for health, excellent service and all the trappings are of equal standing.

Warwick Ibah Villa & Spa Jl. Raya Campuhan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-974466. www.warwickibah.com A small but revered boutique hotel with Balinese architecture fountains and tropical gardens.

One of the more genteel places to stay. The view from the balcony terraces and bathrooms is totally memorable.

Villa Indah Ubud Kedewatan, Ubud Tel: 0361-975450. www.villaindahubud.com

Waka Di Ume Jl. Suweta, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-973178. www.wakadiume.com Simple Balinese elegance from the Waka boutique hotel group.

Set in rice paddy just north of Ubud, it ranks as one of the areas nicest places to stay.

Villa Kánti Br. Apuh, Mawang Kelod, Lodtunduh, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-8614400. www.villakanti.com

Waka Namya Resort & Spa Jl. Raya Penestanan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975719. www.wakanamya.com Balinese antiques marry modern convenience. Romantic rice barn rooms or family villas with pools.

Villa Kerti Yasa Nyuh Kuning, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-971377. www.vilakertiyasa.com

Waka Gangga Resort & Spa Desa Sudimara. Bj. Yeh Gangga, Tabanan.

Tel: 0361-416257.

www.wakaganggaresort.com The 10 Lanais and two Gangga Villas of Waka Gangga sit on the gently sloping rice terrraces which fringe a black sand beach.

J JEWELRY Galaxyan Jewelry Jl. Hanoman No.3, Ubud.

Tel: 0361- 971430.

Map ref: K.10 www.galaxyanjewels.com The Galaxyan collection has been created by Italian artist Milena Zu and uses intricate 'mesh' designs in silver, together with stones that range from gems to minerals and zircons. The collection includes bracelets, necklaces, anklets and accessories. This very intricate weaving process was employed in the past to make gold woven jewelry for maraharajas and nobles of the Orient, but through Galaxyan is now available for you too!

Gemala Jewelry Jl. Raya Pengosekan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-976084. www.gemalabalisilver.com JFF Jewelry Jl. Suweta No. 6, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972078. www.jf-f.com

the list Map Ref: I.8 Jean Francois Fichot, jeweller extraordinaire who exhibits world-wide, has long attracted the A list to his style of design and art. He blends, moulds and crafts everyday things found in nature into intricate pieces of art. JFF’s gold earrings, rings and necklaces create not only conversations but jealousies to.

Treasures Jewelry Jl. Raya Ubud.

Tel: 0361-976697. www.decko.com Map Ref: I.6 Six accalimed jewellers exhibit at Treasures, Bali’s most unique venue for the the world’s most favoured metal. Gold, and lots of it, alongside precious and semi-precious stones amalgamate to make up truly one-of-a-kind pieces that last many lifetimes.

Yan Van Jewelry Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-978513. www.yanvan.com Finally jewelry that looks great on men (and excuse me, women too)! Using rubber and silver as his ‘signature take’ on adorning the opposite sex, Yan Van’s unique pieces are masculine yet thankfully not overly biker-ish.

K KAWI A literary language, based on Sanskrit, that evolved in South India and was transmitted to Java; many sacred Balinese lontars are written in Kawi, which is unintelligable to the average person and must be interpreted; the heroes and heroines of the epic poems speak in Kawi. In the lower case, kawi means ‘creative force’, ‘to write or compose prose or poetry’.

KIDS

in the Ubud area.

See entries under Adventure and Wildlife – Bali Zoo Park, Bali Safari & Marine Park, Bali Bird Park and Elephant Safari Park Taro.

Laughing Buddha Bar Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-970928.

Map Ref: P.7 A cosy, vibrant and funky cocktail bar. East West tapas or if you are in the mood for some local fare, try a dish from their inspired Asian menu while sipping on a lychee and lemongrass martini (buy 2 get one FREE sunset cocktails from 4 to 7pm). The little sister of Jazz Café, the music is a treat, with great playlists to soothe the soul and live gigs on Mondays with Bali’s own Blues Brothers and Thursday nights Acoustic Jam Session - from 8 to 11pm. Open all day, every day. Free Wifi 9am to 6pm.

L LIVE MUSIC Coffee & Silver Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud. Tel: 0361-975354.

Map Ref: Q.6 Head to the base of Monkey Forest hill and Coffee & Silver for live music on Saturday's (Latin Jazz), Sunday's (Funky Jazz) and Tuesday (Traditional Jazz). The action starts at 7pm.

Jazz Cafe Jl Sukma, Tebesaya, Ubud Tel: 0361-976594. www.jazzcafebali.com Map Ref: M.12 Cool Jazz at Ubud's hottest night spot. A lively and popular club, restaurant and bar

frequented by locals, ex-pats and international travellers alike.

Enjoy a meal from their excellent bistro, try one of their legendary cocktails, sit back, relax or kick up your heels and dance the night away. Their inviting, intimate venue is perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, wedding parties and other special events. Great bands play Jazz, Blues, Latin, Funk, Soul and World Music from 7.30 to 10.30pm every night (except Sundays and Mondays).

Free pick up service from hotels

M

O ODALAN A temple ceremony marking its anniversary. Lasting anywhere from one day to over a week, temple grounds are decked out in flags, penjors and impressive offerings. Music and prayers go on well into the night.

P PALACES If you’re interested in seeing a palace and observing the way life is conducted inside, there are opportunities to do so, but remember that for the most part they are private homes, not public throughways.

Many of the Ubud royals

MELASPAS (noun): A dedication ceremony in which a house or other building is “brought to life” with offerings,

mantras and holy water so that it can be lived in and used.

N NGABEN To cremate a body, low Balinese or Sudra; the noun is properly pengabenan, but the transitive verb is commonly used to mean “cremation”, an important final rite of passage for every Balinese, for it is only in this way that the spirit may be released from its body to join the family’s deified ancestors.

have opened hotels and restaurants within the walls of their homes, so one can, in fact, sleep and eat in one of the Ubud palaces, enjoying accommodations from the most modest bungalow to modern luxury rooms. In some cases, you have a chance to meet the palace residents and join them for family and community ceremonies. Puri Saren Agung is the central palace where the public dance performances are held. Located at the northeast corner of the central cross-roads, it’s pretty hard to miss. It was the home

the list of the last “king” of Ubud, and now his descendants live there.

It is essentially the “father palace” of the other Ubud palaces, which are more or less its “spinoffs,” built as the family extended. It was also Ubud’s first hotel, opening its doors to paying visitors in the 1930s.

Parts of the gardens and some of the bales are quite grand and formal, with generous lashings of prada (gold leaf) applied to the carved woodwork. Puri Saren Kangin is the eastern portion of Puri Saren (kangin means”east”), and is a private residence for several branches of the Ubud royal family. Pura Saren Kauh Kauh means “west,” and accordingly, this is the occidental portion of the palace.

of main street Ubud, next to the statue).

Tel: 0361-970888. www.ubudproperty.com Ubud Property is a leading realtor in the Ubud area.

The company is staffed by professionals who will help you to find and secure your ideal property and, let’s face it, who doesn’t want to retire and live in Ubud? The Ubud Property team is multinational and experienced, with the key staff holding degrees in law. The company works in association with the region’s leading Notary Office for optimal legal protection, and enjoys a reputation good enough to hold an exceptional portfolio of villas and land in and around Ubud.

PERFORMANCES

PHOTOGRAPHY

See last pages of The List for Dance Schedules and Performances.

Rio Helmi Gallery Jl. Suweta No. 5, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972304. www.riohelmi.com

PROPERTY Exotiq Real Estate Sanur, Bali Office Jalan Danau Tamblingan 77, Sanur, Bali 80227, Indonesia Tel: 0361-287642 www.exotiqrealestate.com Exotiq Real Estate is South East Asia's largest brokerage and consultancy focusing on property located in highly attractive and desirable holiday destinations. Exotiq Real Estate offers prime property listings in nine different destinations from a network of 12 offices.Exotiq Real Estate Bali is the largest real estate specialist with offices in Lovina, Jimbaran, Sanur and Seminyak. Exotiq Real Estate also provides villa management and marketing from Exotiq Villa Services office in Legian.

Ubud Property Jl. Raya Ubud No.1 (eastern end

ancient Hindu temples and the adjacent Royal Palace. It is the place to see and be seen and Ary’s is quite pleasant at night, when tranquil trance music plays and candles light every corner. Second-floor dining gives you a good view of the busy street below or the bats swooping to catch bugs at dusk. The food is good but not for the budgetminded. Try the gazpacho, perfect on a hot day, or the grilled goat’s cheese salad. The grilled tuna and lamb cutlets are done to perfection, and the ponzu-grilled snapper is delicious. Ary’s also makes for a good meeting place or for reconnoitering when the kids are trekking and Mom is off shopping.

Yaeko Masuda www.yaekomasuda.com

RESTAURANTS Ary’s Warung Jl. Raya Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975053. www.dekco.com Ary’s gourmet European and Indonesian specialties have fans from around the world.

Stop in for at least one of the honey-ginger-lime drinks (with or without the booze) and kick back on a couch street side for a bit of peoplewatching. The metallic, angular construction of this open-air bistro would look great in a big-city gallery district, and stands comfortably beside

Beduur Restaurant Desa Buahan, Payangan.

Tel: 0361-982700. www.ubudhanginggardens. com Terraced onto the hillside with outstanding panoramic views of the valley and the scenic backdrop of the temple on the opposite side of the gorge, Beduur Restaurant at Ubud Hanging Gardens resort features the delights of both Asian and French cuisine with Balinese ingredients in the serene setting of pure tranquility. Executive Chef Renaud Le Rasle’s menu is innovative and superbly delicious. Bookings preferable.

Bumbu Bali Jl. Suweta No 1, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-974217. www.bumbubaliresto.com

The Bali Photo Gallery Jl. Sanggingan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972304.

R

contemporary Western and innovative Indonesian or Balinese specialties in a fresh atmosphere within the environment of a real Balinese village. Tepi Sawah Restaurant is open for lunch and dinner from 10am - 10pm.

Bebek Bengil Restaurant (Dirty Duck Diner) Jl. Hanoman, Padang Tegal, Ubud.

Tel: 0361- 975 489. www.agungraka.com Bebek Bengil or Crispy Duck is what this venue is famous for... as well as its breezy pavilion style seating.

Bebek Tepi Sawah Jl. Raya Goa Gajah, Br. Teges, Peliatan, Ubud Tel: 0361-975656 www.tepisawahvillas.com Enjoy a wide selection of cuisine, ranging from

Bunute Restaurant & Bar Jl.Dewi Sita, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972177. www.bunute.com Recently opened Bunute serves Balinese delights with international twists. Wine and live music make this a new venue to try.

Café Des Artistes Jl. Bisma 9X, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972706 . www.cafedesartistesbali.com Map Ref: K.5 Think Belgian, think steaks, frites and salads in a romantically-lit pavilion or at garden tables.

Café Lotus Ubud Jl. Raya, Ubud.

Tel: 0361- 975660.

the list NYEPI: What could be a better illustration of Bali’s on-going dedication to religion and ritual than Nyepi, the island’s Day of Silence?

The afternoon before this extraordinary annual festival, excited children create vast figures in demonic designs – these ogres with their long talons and fierce teeth will later be lifted onto the shoulders of groups of men and danced around the streets in a mass of noise and colour. The festivities reach a chaotic climax before midnight, when crowds pick up and bang on drums, wooden logs or musical instruments, to be followed in the morning by a deafening silence, a time when the people stay in their houses, lights, and fires are put out and the roads are made empty. This, more than any other ceremony in Bali, shows the island’s true regard for ritual: the island’s visitors, just like anyone else, are forced so stay inside in observance of Nyepi. For 24 hours, Bali stands silent, its beaches, bars, and restaurants closed against daylight in the hope that evil forces will be tricked into leaving its deserted streets.

www.lotus-restaurants.com Overlooking an expansive lotus pond and amphitheatre in the grounds of Puri Saraswati.

Casa Luna Restaurant Jl. Raya, Ubud.

Tel: 0361- 977409. www.casalunabali.com Map Ref: J.6 With its relaxed tropical atmosphere and superb selection of food, Casa Luna offers a fine selection of Balinese and Mediterranean dishes, great bakeries, todie-for coffees and a healthconscious outlook. Situated on the main road just down from the Ubud market, it is a favourite with visitors from all over the world and has a reputation that extends beyond most café restaurants of its kind. Wednesday nights are Brazilian Jazz nights with music

by Murni and Riwin as well as tapas and cocktails. It also offers the Luna Lounge with newspapers, CNN, movies and free Wifi, as well as its famed Honeymoon Bakery, established in 1991, using time-honoured methods and the finest ingredients to satisfy travellers from all corners of the globe. Sunday Brunches are a must.

CasCades Restaurant Jl. Lanyahan, Br. Nagi, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972111. www.cascadesbali.com Map Ref: H.15

CasCades at The Viceroy Bali is a superb fine dining experience with an inspiring menu, a good selection of fine wines, and an outstanding view across the valley.

Cinta Grill and Inn Jl. Monkey Forest Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975395. www.baligoodfood.com Map Ref: 0.7 Walk along Monkey Forest Road in Ubud and you won’t miss Cinta Grill, Ubud’s garden restaurant and pub.

The inviting ambience of a spacious garden entices you in; the food and drinks convince you to return again. Start at the bar for a cocktail, then choose the thatched dining room, the outdoor modern garden back-dropped by an impressive Balinese gate, or chill on the cushions in the private pavilion. The menu has tantalising surprises in store, combining grill classics with an imaginative menu of salads, pastas, Asian curries, stir-fries and down-home desserts. Open daily from 8am to midnight.

Coffee & Copper Jl. Nyuhbulan, Nyuh Kuning, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-978631. www.coffeecopper.com A spacey, airy restaurant right next to the back entrance of Monkey Forest. Serving a range of healthy breakfasts, light

brunches and romantic dinners.

Luxurious suites available for reasonable prices.

Coffee & Silver Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud Tel: 0361-975354. www.coffeesilver.com Map Ref: R6 A favourite among the Eurocrew, this restaurant and bar is set on a multi-tiered terrace dotted with antiques and interior design accents.

International food is served in a jovial and social atmosphere and the bar never lacks for clients. Head upstairs and check out the colonial and Dutch antiques and relics. The top floor is also the favoured space to sit and hear live music on Tuesdays and Sundays from 7pm - 10pm. Open daily from 10am to 10pm.

Fly Café Jl. Raya Lungsiakan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975440. flycafe@gmail.com Ribs, ribs, beer and ribs and a great Trivial Pursuits night.

GLOW at COMO Shambhala Bj. Begawan Giri, Payongan.

Tel: 0361-978888. www.como.bz It’s rawfully good at GLOW, COMO Shambhala’s signature ‘healthful’ restaurant. Zucchini carpaccios, quinoa, red rice – everything gluten-free if need be – and all totally delicious.

Executive and award-winning

chef Chris Miller, has handcrafted a menu based on the purity of the new health trend of raw food. It is not only the food that will do you good as GLOW has one of Bali’s best ravine-river views with mature trees that just burst with energy and life, whilst the open, glass-accented kitchen lets you watch the specialists prepare your ultra-fresh ingredients.

Located on a private estate bookings for GLOW are essential!

Ibu Rai Bar & Restaurant Jl. Monkey Forest 72, Ubud.

Tel: 0361- 973472. www.iburai.com Map Ref: K.8 Ibu Rai's menu is specially selected for nutrition and natural flavours and uses the best and the freshest ingredients. They serve a pleasing presentation coupled with friendly service that adds enjoyment to any meal.

Indochine Restaurant Jl. Penestanan, Sayan, Ubud.

Telp: 0361-972616. www.themansionbali.com Map Ref: K.1 Indochine offers an elegant and intimate atomosphere within the ultra-Asian opulence of The Mansion Hotel & Spa. Serving Vietnamese and French cuisine with a modern twist on light and spicy flavours from Vietnam, Indochine proves once again that it is possible to have world class fine dining in the heart of a rural paradise.

the list The wine list is well chosen and matched exquisitely to the cuisine – often a sticking point in other restaurants claiming to be top class.

Indus Restaurant Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977684. www.casalunabali.com/indus Map Ref: C.4 Indus Restaurant, a five-minute drive from the centre of Ubud, overlooks the Campuhan River and enjoys breathtaking views of the surrounding hills. On a clear day, you can see mighty Gunung Agung, in the east, and on a full-moon, there is a spectacular view from the terrace. The restaurant runs a free shuttle service between Indus, Casa Luna and the Honeymoon Guesthouses.

With its mouth–watering menu, eclectic gallery and breathtaking views of the Campuhan River, it’s easy to see why Indus has been an Ubud favourite for nearly 10 years. Salsa nights on Mondays.

Jazz Cafe Jl. Sukma, Tebesaya, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-976594.

Map Ref: M.12 Cool jazz at arguably Ubud's hottest nightspot. The first live jazz venue of the island, with a lively and popular restaurant serving Mediterranean cuisine.

Live music nightly except Mondays.

Juice Ja Café Jl. Dewi Sita Ubud.

Tel: 0361-971056.

Fresh, pure and healthy. The perfect place to get your shot of wheatgrass and watch the street go by beneath you.

Kafe Jl. Hanoman no. 44B, Padang Tegal, Ubud.

Telp: 0361-7803802. www.balispirit.com/kafe/ The destination for the yoga

crew and anyone looking to feel at home when so far away.

It is also the hangout for the regular expat community, overseas course-takers and overnight Ubudites. The menu is organic and healthy, varied and reasonable. And, if you just want to read your book and have a decent coffee, you can do that too! Open daily from 8am to 11pm.

any time of the week, Kafe Batan Waru has something for you. Rated Bali’s “Best Indonesian restaurant”, this perpetually popular café serves up an imaginative menu of Indonesian and Balinese favourites in a charming setting. Known foremost for offering Bali’s most interesting and delicious selection of Indonesian food, Batan Waru also caters to other tastes.

Rice, pasta and bread lovers will find lots to eat for lunch and dinner. Open daily from 8am to midnight.

Kagemusha Jl. Pengosekan, Ubud.

Tel 0361-973134.

A secret success story, Kagemusha is a friendly Japanese restaurant serving home-cooked cuisine in a serene atmosphere with a good view.

Kafe Arma Jalan Raya Pengosekan, Ubud, Tel: 0361-975742, 976659 www.armaresort.com This pavilion-style open air café offers delicious Indonesian and international influenced cuisine. All dishes are cooked by internationally trained chefs and served in a relaxed and comfortable ambience.

Kafe ARMA also provides authentic Italian cuisine and a large selection of drinks and cocktails at the bar. The cafe holds an Organic Farm Market every Wednesday from 8am2pm. Kafe ARMA is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Kafe Batan Waru Jl. Dewi Sita, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977528. www.baligoodfood.com Everyone knows Batan Waru.

Conveniently located in the heart of Ubud, (and now directly across the street from the Waterbom Park in Kuta)

Kemiri at Uma Jl. Sanggingan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972448. www.umaubud.como.bz Map Ref: B.4 Chef Miller and his team have created an Indonesian menu with flavours fit for a king. Sit beside a waterfall that spills into a Koi pond in the midst of tropicalia and savour Southeast Asian cooking as well as traditional Balinese cuisine.

The healthy COMO Shambhala menu is also available. Open breakfast, lunch and dinner with à la carte or set menus.

Full moon dinners come highly recomended as does Uma Teatime.

Kokokan Club Jl. Raya Pengosekan, Ubud.

Telp: 0361-975742, 976659 www. kokokan.com Elegant dining in the oldworld atmosphere of Kokokan

Club's Balinese style openair restaurant. Rejuvenate yourself with an exotic range of Asian Cuisine, prepared by the internationally trained chef, specialising in delightful Thai dishes. Relax in the tranquil Kokokan Restaurant, situated within the peaceful surroundings of ancient rice terraces and water-gardens.

Kudus at COMO Bj. Begawan Giri, Payangan Ubud.

Tel: 0361-978888.

An exquisite 150-year-old prince’s abode seemingly hangs over the Ayung River Valley and sets the scene for eating some of the palatial delicacies that Indonesian royal families from past eras enjoyed.

Open for dinner only. Bookings essential.

Kué Bakery Jl. Raya Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975249.

Our answer to glucose withdrawals, Kue just takes the biscuit and bakes the cake (in face it bakes 15 types of bread daily). It also boasts a fabulous upstairs eatery which is very well regarded. Open daily from 8am–10pm.

Laka - Leke Jl. Raya Nyuh Kuning.

Tel: 0361-977565.

Related to the excellent Cafe Wayan on Monkey Forest Rd, at Laka Leke sit amongst lily ponds in pavilions and listen to the sound of frogs, and the food is as good as at Cafe Wayan.

Lamak Restaurant & Bar Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-974668. www.lamakbali.com Stylishly modern traditional dining featuring steel interior

the list designed by renowned sculptor Pintor Sirait.

Little K Jl. Pengosekan - Padang, Tegal Ubud (Bali Spirit Yoga Barn’s Garden).

Tel: 0361-970992. www.balispirit.com Awesome fresh breakfasts and lunches. Sit in the garden and umbrellas provided. Open from Tuesday to Sunday 9am – 4pm with Wifi also!

Laughing Buddha Bar Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-970928.

Map Ref: P.7 A cosy, vibrant and fun place to share tapas and sangria.

The little sister of Jazz Cafe, the musci is a treat, with great playlists and live gigs on Monday and Thursday, 8-11pm.

Free Wi-fi 9am-6pm.

Maya Sari Mas Jl. Gunung Sari Peliatan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977888.

Map Ref: K.17 Maya Ubud's signature restaurant brings the best of local and imported ingredients to the table. International in flavour, each dish has been carefully crafted to inspire and please the international clientelle. Right next door is Maya Sari Asiatique, complete with a Teppanyaki counter and a myriad of Asian cuisines from Indonesian to Indian.

Minami Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-970013.

Map Ref: B.4 Minami is an extremely highquality Japanese restaurant with food tastes that are subtle and delicate. The large, double-ceilinged, three-sided dining room opens onto a garden courtyard, with only eight well-spaced tables inside

and a couple more in the garden. Pure classic white and garden green predominate.

The food is exquisite Japanese fare, beautifully prepared with delicious variety. Minami serves a range of dishes not found in other Japanese restaurants and also specialises in cuisine from Osaka. This well-regarded restaurant offers something very different with Japanese cuisine normally served only in Japan.

Mozaic Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975768. www.mozaic-bali.com Top class French restaurant.

Reservations recommended.

Murni’s Warung Campuhan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361- 975233. www.murnis.com

Shaded and riverside, Murni’s has been welcoming guests to lovely food and her eclectic antique and handicaft shop for years.

Naughty Nuri’s Warung Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977547.

Best ribs, best sashimi tuna (Thursdays only), best grills, best mash – all topped off with draught beer or a superb Martini. Some claim the latter are among the tastiest in the world, and we would have to agree (hic). Genial owner Brian is usualy on hand in a corner seat somewhere, ready to welcome you into a world

of enjoyment that may start over a quiet beer and extend late into the night. Seating here is a free-for-all...just sit down and take your chances.

Naughty Nuri’s (named after Brian’s charming wife Nuri) is also something of a legend with Japanese and Chinese tourists, not to mention hordes from Jakarta who trek here on a regular basis, making sure this is one of the busiest and most popular restaurants in Bali, let alone Ubud. In fact sometimes it’s impossible to get a seat.

So go early and enjoy the food, ambience and ribaldry of what has become a legendary roadside establishment.

Nomad Restaurant 35 Ubud Main Street Tel: 0361-977169 Fax: 975115 Map Ref: K10 Opened back in 1979 and an

Just as it sounds...a part of Tijuana in Ubud with the added value of Nuri’s ribs if Nuri’s is crowded!

Plantation Dining Desa Melinggih Kelod, Payangan Tel: 0361-975963.

Map Ref: A.2 Think regal coconut columns and a 180 degree view of valley, river and tropical forest. Plantation Dining is Alila Ubud's dining venue specialising in Plantation Cuisine. Bold yet simple, fresh and organic, the menu offers both local, Asian and international dishes using the finest ingredients carefully crafted under the watchful eye of the Executive Chef Shahram Decontades.

Pizza Bagus Jl. Raya Pengosekan.

Tel: 0361-978520.

Italian - eat in, take away or even get delivery!

institution among travellers to Ubud for three decades, Nomad Restaurant is a popular gathering place for people of all nationalities, there to sample the local, Asian fusion and Western food from an eclectic menu that boasts a few special treats – Nomadstyle Martabak, Fresh Prawn Lakso and a selection of Balinese tapas. Open from 9am every day, Nomad Restaurant uses no MSG or other food additives, and the staff is delightful.

Pundi-Pundi Jl. Raya Pengosekan,Ubud.

Tel: 0361 3084005 / 970644 www.artinibaligroup.com Map ref: U.8 Pundi-Pundi Grill & Asian restaurant sits right in the heart of Ubud serving the likes of Grilled Baby Back Pork Ribs, Pundi Grilled Duck and Nasi Bakar Lotus. A great place for lunch or dinner, this restaurant serves both local and international favourites whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Pundi-Pundi is a sibling of the respected Artini Bali Group and prides itself on using the freshest of ingredients, prepared by award-winning chefs.

Nuri’s Nacho Mamas Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977547.

Rendezvous Doux Jl. Raya Ubud.

Tel: 0361-7470163

the list

Andrew Hall lauds Dr Linda Buller and her Above Board Massages. Ahem.

This one’s not for the kiddies because it contains symbolism that represents a range of naughty words. The highly religious and pure might also wish to give it a miss.

Many Ozzie women speak with a nasal twang; Linda’s accent makes nasal twang appear positively dulcet. Her punctuation can be somewhat #@*!in’ intimidating.

Linda has lived in Ubud since JC played half-back for Jerusalem.

In keeping with my resistance to name-dropping (apart from John Hardy, of course) it is appropriate that Linda get some attention: she’s a very interesting person. Although I had met her, I first really got to know Linda after a rogue trampoline conspired to break several of my ribs and a collarbone – moral of that story: avoid popping motorcycle wheelies in friends’ front yards.

After a number of weeks involuntarily crying “arrrgggghhh” every couple of minutes – especially after a balian had tortured me for an hour – I still could barely lift my arm. Enter Linda: “#@*!in’ hell luv,” says she, “what the #@*! have you done to yourself?”

“Rogue trampoline,” say I. “#@*!in’ trampolines!” she said, by way of consolation.

She helped me lay on a bed and proceeded to stab me in the back. . .with acupuncture needles, while regaling me with stories of her past. Linda ran a small business in Oz called “Above Board Massages” – she whizzed around Melbourne in a beaten up old truck bringing relief to knotty muscles.

One night she got a call from a hotel and turned up to perform her magic (“I

used to be a white witch too luv,” she revealed) but the client got the wrong end of the stick, so to speak.

“Why the #@*! do you think I call my business Above Board Massages you #@*!head,” she said to him before drawing the agreed sum from his wallet and leaving.

On another occasion she punched a would-be boyfriend on the nose at a drive-in movie. Long story.

Laying on my bed looking like a porcupine with moxibustion smoke billowing from my back and laughing to the point of unconsciousness, I had to ask Linda to leave the room. After the treatment was over, however, I could once again move my arm. After a second treatment – where the hilarity was less painful – I achieved full arm rotation.

A #@*!in’ miracle! But, then again, Linda is a doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

She is also a prodigious painter in the cubic semiotic, nouveau-whatnot genre. I don’t get it but many allude to the merit of her works. “#@*! it luv, they look bloody good on a wall,” she says.

Linda’s passion, however, is for Ubud’s animals – dogs mainly – and to that end she has set up Bali Adoption and Rehabilitation Clinic (BARC, nice one) in Pengosekan, just down from the gas station. BARC, a yayasan (nonprofit organization), offers a full range of services to keep your furry friends happy and healthy: consultation rooms; operating theatre; recovery area; and, slap me down and call me baldy, a place for animal acupuncture. Yep, Linda will puncture your pet for a pittance. If my experience is anything to go by, Fido will be frolicking freely in no time at all.

And she will most likely bound away with a sense of humour that might be somewhat “blue”.

Linda says she can “get inside” an animal and communicate with it. This would not surprise me at all.

Although I do find the claim somewhat spooky.

“I’m not #@*!in’ spooky, and I #@*!in’ missed out on the spiritual as well,” she says.

But when you think about it Ubud is full of spooky stuff: leyaks; gate-crashing ancestors inviting themselves over for Galungan; ghostly apparitions that have a penchant for nicking stuff from business establishments etc.

Dr Linda Buller is probably one of the most sane (and talented) people I’ve met and she’s right here among us. And yes, possibly the most “spiritual”. A rough diamond with a huge heart. A teller of stories that your children should probably not listen to – but you should. One thing, though: when Linda is on a story-telling jag please, please, tell her to breathe!

www.freewebs.com/balidogs

the list International airconditioned library and cafe with all-day screenings.

Ryoshi Jl. Raya, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972192.

Dependable Japanese food on two levels and tatami seating.

Siam Sally, Jl. Pengosekan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-980777. www.baligoodfood.com/siamsally Map Ref: V.9 After years of exploring the food of Thailand, and intensive cooking with Thai home chefs, the owners of Siam Sally have finally introduced excellent Thai cuisine to Ubud. Popular among tourists and locals alike, Siam Sally delivers fresh, homestyle Thai food in a spectacular setting. You can start your journey on the comfy sofas downstairs with an innovative cocktail menu and some shared food. Co-owner/ chef Karen Waddell starts you off with Roasted green chili “salsa” with rice cracker, Siam Palace Lom dip, or the hawker stall favorite, Hoy Tod, a crisp mussel fritter served with a housemade fiery Sriracha chili sauce. Curries are cooked up with house-ground spice pastes and fresh coconut milk, and the market style noodle dishes are fabulous, ditto the wok-seared creations and Fried Chicken and Som Tam papaya salad, a recipe inspired by a favourite food stall in Bangkok’s Jatujak market. Non Thai food and Vegan also available. Open seven days a week. Early dining birds (seated by 7pm) get a 20 percent discount when booking Table Five (food only).

Terazzo Jl. Suweta, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-978941.

www.baligoodfood.com Map ref: H.8 London’s Financial Times described Terazo as having food at a “price and quality that would embarrass your average London restaurateur”.

And it’s true, Terazo delivers ultra-fresh pan-Asian and international cuisine in stylish surroundings. Located in Ubud on quiet Suweta Street, just a stone’s throw from the centre of town, Terazo restaurant and bar is designed in a colonial modern style by international design firm Hananto Lloyd. It features banquette dining, a stylish lounge and mahogany bar downstairs. Casual glam awaits you in the dining room upstairs. Open daily from 10am to midnight, Terazo offers exquisite food and wine from across the globe.

Three Monkeys Café Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975554.

Excellent starters and the desserts are mouthwatering.

West End Café Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-978363.

Map Ref: A.4 Newly opened in Ubud’s flourishing west end (Mozaic, Nuri’s, Minami et al) is the West End Café. The cool and colourful décor is a welcoming respite to guests in need of food, refreshment and a place to relax. On the menu are “sandwiches with substance” such as The Italian Sub, Grilled Cajun chicken, and succulent roasted beef tenderloin. For those in search of lighter options, the fresh salads will not disappoint: traditional offerings, such as the West End Chef and The Cobb, along with Asian inspired Grilled Chicken & Glass Noodle salad or Coconut Chicken served in baby romaine lettuce cups.

Open Monday – Saturday; 11am – 6pm.

S SPAS

The Green House Restaurant Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-978189.

Pan-Asian cuisine in a modern luxury glasshouse setting, to be followed by a chill–out session with cocktails at the bar or upstairs in the Party Lounge.

Warung Buddha Bar & Grill Jl. Goutama, Ubud.

Tel: 8686705 or 081337971174. Open for lunch and dinner with live big-match broadcasts from ESPN, Star Sports, Euro Sports and others.

Warung Enak Jl. Raya Pangosekan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972911. www.warungenakbali.com Excellent Balinese and local fare with some highly amusing, if a tad risque, decor!

Ayung Spa at Ubud Hanging Gardens Desa Buahan, Desa Payangan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-982700. www.ubudhanginggardens. com In pure Balinese style, the resort’s Ayung Spa offers three luxurious pavilions dedicated to relaxation and well-being. Each pavilion comprises two large spaces; one with two massage beds and a Balinese sofa, the other with a dressing area and bathroom with a bath that is surrounded by water and looks out onto the river. Ayung Spa at Maya Ubud has won countless international accolades and Best Spa at The Yak Awards 2008... goes without saying – it is fabulous!

Eve Body Treatment Centre Eve 1: Jl. Penestanan Kelod, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-979356.

Eve 2 & 3: Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-7470910 & 973236.

The Day Spa Specialists.

Eve – Body Treatment Centre offers professional service at affordable prices.

Heaven and Earth Rejuvention Spa Jl. Penestanan, Sayan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972616. www.themansionbali.com Offers a range of treatments from the East to the West involving a variety of massage techniques in a natural Balinese setting. Choose from a selection of essential oils designed to encourage relaxation, rejuvenation and total refreshment. Detox and purify your body while combining good nutrition within this health retreat.

Spa Alila Desa Melinggih Kelod, Payangan Tel: 0361-975963.

Map Ref: A.2 Spa addicts unite. The Spa Alila has created a total concept for die-hard Alila-ites. Using their own blended products and those of Decleor, the Alila therapists wrap you in seaweed, masage you with warm stones, relax you with frankincense resin, even tend to your Third Eye with Shirodara.

When having an Alila treatment think fresh ingredients that smell sublime...

Spa Villas at Komaneka at Bisma Jl. Bisma, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-971933. www.komaneka.com Map Ref: L.4

the list The resort’s Spa Villa concept boasts four single treatment villas and two double spa villas overlooking the Campuhan river. Treatments include traditional Indonesian beauty and massage therapies.

Maya Ubud Resort & Spa Jl. Gunung Sarim Peliatan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977888. www.mayaubud.com Map Ref: K.18 Below the hotel nestles the riverside Spa at Maya...a haven of sensual bliss with double treatment pavillions and a spa treatment list that includes a gentle four–hand massage, relaxing Balinese massage, natural facials and body scrubs and treatments tailor-made for men.

Skin Organic Jl. Gootama 24, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975615. www.skinorganic.info Map Ref: M.9 Petite spa on Gootama, Ubud’s up–and–coming chic street. Organic nailpolish, fresh blended oils, facials using oxygen products, jamu drinks, scrubs, aloe vera extracts, top quality...waxing Rp.150,000...

Skin gives signature cards for local expats!

Taman Rahasia Jl. Raya Penestanan Kaja, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-979395. www.balisecretgarden.com Affordable treatments in the gardens of The Secret Garden.

Birds sing, flowers scent the air and the masssages just flow...

Ubud Sari Health Resort Jl. Kajeng 35, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-974393. www.ubudsari.com Look out over Mumbul river and treat yourself to a number 72

of beauty and semi-medical treatments, colonics, fasting programmes and retreats.

CranioSacral Therapy, Reiki and Deep Tissue Body Work rejuvenates the mind and revitalizes the body. A number of one, three day raw health programmes up to a two week total revitalization retreat completes the detoxifying package whilst the Salon De'elegance keeps the face and body glowing like royalty.

Kirana Spa Desa Kedewatan, Ubud.

Telp: 0361-976333. www.kiranaspa.com Shiseido products from Japan meet one of the best views of Ubud’s Kedewatan valley views. Located on the property of the Royal Pita Maha hotel.

The Spa at The Chedi Club Jl. Goa Gajah, Tengkulak, Ubud.

Telp: 0361-975685. www.ghmluxuryhotels.com Massage rooms overlook acres of swaying rice fields and Balinese hands impart some of the best massage treatments on the island. Unlike any other spa in terms of surroundings.

Uma Ubud Spa Jl. Sanggingan, Ubud, Bali.

Telp: 0361-972448. www.umaubud.como.bz Map Ref: B.5 This Zen inspired spa already calms the spirit on entering.

Add to that the excellence of COMO Shambhala’s exclusive products and unique massage therapies and one has, quite

simply, entered heaven.

Verona Day Spa Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud, Bali.

Telp: 0361-970975. www.veronaspa.com

T TEXTILES Macan Tidur Puri Muwa, Monkey Forest Road 10, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977121. www.macan-tidur-textiles. com. Map Ref: L.7 Unique and varied collection of woven and hand-dyed textiles, clothes and sarongs from all over the Indonesian Archipelago. Many with storytelling themes such as the Western tapestries, but woven instead of knotted or sewn.

Threads of Life Jl. Kajeng 24, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-976581 & 976582. www.threadsoflife.com Maintaining and promoting traditional forms of weaving and cloth making.

Handmade traditional textiles from Bali, Flores, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Sumba and Timor.

U

UDENG Traditional headcloth worn by men; called ‘dastar’ in high Balinese.

V VEDAS Four holy books of the Aryans, dating from about 1,000BC; the Aryans were not Hindu, but they laid some of the most important foundations of Hinduism; the Vedas are considered sacred by

Balinese Hindus; the Rig Veda is the best known of the four and is probably the oldest religious text in the world.

W WALKING Just go! There are many wonderful walks in every direction from Ubud, through villages, rice terraces, jungle gorges, and grassy hilltops.

Don’t be afraid. Just strike out in any direction. You can walk anywhere you like, without “trespassing”. Don’t be shy, just be courteous. The best of the Ubud area is off the roads, so grab a map, or just go rambling without one. Often the best discoveries are purely coincidental and can’t be found in any guidebook. If you prefer to follow a good leader, day treks are offered by adventure guides under our Adventure listing.

WEDDINGS Maya Ubud Jl. Gunung Sarim Peliatan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977 888. www.mayaubud.com Map Ref: K.18 Maya Ubud is a truly stunning property that sits on the bend of a river amid established tropical forest. It oozes Bali chic, so it's no surprise that this is a popular spot for weddings, whether large or small. More than 100 rooms and villas set in equatorial Bali bliss give you the option of a big event that still feels like an exclusive and intimate ceremony. Packages start at $1,558. Maya offers you the full spectrum of wedding services, from spa treatments to photography and entertainment.

Uma Ubud

the list Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972448. www.uma.como.bz Map ref: A.2 With just 29 rooms, Uma Ubud offers the opportunity for an exclusive wedding for up to 60 guests in a lush contemporary property that oozes style and sophistication. Take over the entire property or opt for a more intimate wedding a deux or with a small group of close friends. Uma is part of the worldclass Como brand, so you'll be in good company whichever way you decide to go.

Wanasmara Chapel, Komaneka at Bisma Jl. Bisma Ubud Tel: 0361-971933. www.komaneka.com Map ref: L.4 Wanasmara Chapel is built as a place to celebrate love!

Wonderfully positioned among the tropical treetops and dense foliage alongside the Campuhan River, the Chapel is made almost entirely of wood and glass, with a unique touch of Toraja thrown in. Capable of seating 48 guests, this is truly a stunning setting in which to tie the knot. Basic wedding packages start at US$2900++. For more details, email wedding@ komaneka.com WILDLIFE Bali Bird Park and Rimba Reptil Singapadu, Batubulan.

Tel: 0361-299352. www.bali-bird-park.com It’s all on at the Bali Bird Park… there’s an Avian 4D Theater, Reptilarium, Free Flight bird show and Komodo experience, plus avian nursery and kids corner.

Bali Safari & Marine Park Jl. Bypass Prof. Dr. Ida Bagus Mantra, Gianyar.

Tel: 0361-950000. www.balisafarimarinepark.com

Bali Safari & Marine Park relives the legends of both human and animal in a large natural setting of 40 hectares.

White tigers top the bill, but there are also lions, leopards and elephants. Stay overnight in the Mara River Safari Lodge.

Bali Zoo Singapadu, Gianyar.

Tel: 0361- 294357 www.bali-zoo.com Jovial zoo with 350 animal species, from birds to

mammals (including Sumatran tigers) to reptiles and other animals, some of which are endemic to Indonesia. Best of all are the merry gibbons and the resident male orangutan called Jacky. Open Daily: 9am to 9pm.

Elephant Safari Park & Lodge Jl. Elephant Park Taro.

Tel: 0361-721480. www.elephantsafariparklodge. com Part of the respected Bali Adventure Tours company, the Elephant Safari Park at Taro is a world class retreat for pachyderms and their admirers. This is an extremely well put together attraction guaranteed to be a hit with all the family. An official member of the World Zoo Association, the Park meets International Standards for animal care and is set in more than 3.5 hectares of exotic eco-landscaped botanical gardens, surrounded

by national forest. Facilities include a full Reception and Information Centre, a comprehensive Museum, with a large collection of elephant memorabilia and the only Mammoth Skeleton in South East Asia. Elephants can be seen bathing in the park lake, in between riding, painting or other activities. Hand-feed them, touch them, take photos with them, then learn more about the elephants ancestry and diversity at the Park’s historical and graphic displays.

It’s all about the elephants, however – get up close and personal with these incredible animals in a beautiful tropical park setting. You can also stay in one of 25 luxury lodges set within the grounds, or simply visit for the day.

WORKSHOPS Sari Api Ceramic Studio Ceramic Workshop Jl. Suweta 176 Bentuyung, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977917. www.rose.ne.jp/~ojara/bali/ sariapi Cultural Workshop Agung Rai Museum of Art. Jl. Pengosekan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975742. www.armamuseum.com Nirvana Batik Courses Nirvana, Jl. Gautama 10, Padangtegal Kaja, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975415. www.nirvanaku.com Pranoto’s Art Gallery Private Painting Lessons Pranoto’s Art Gallery. Jl. Raya Ubud, Kutuh Kelod, Ubud.

Telp: 0361-970827. www.age.jp/~pranoto/

Painting Class Ubud Hanging Gardens, Desa Buahan, Desa Payangan.

Tel: 0361-982700. www.ubudhanginggardens. com Silversmithing Courses Studio Perak. Jl. Hanoman, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-7801879. www.studioperak.com Thread’s of Life Gallery Jl. Kajeng 24 Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972187. www.threadsoflife.com

Y YAYASAN/CHARITIES Yayasan Bumi Sehat Nyuh Kuning, PO Box 116, Ubud, Bali 80571.

Tel: 0361-972969. www.bumisehatbali.org Yayasan IDEP Jl. Hanoman No. 42, Ubud.

Telp: 0361- 981504. www.idepfoundation.org YOGA Intuitive Flow Jl. Penestanan, Ubud.

Tel: 0361-977824 www.intuitiveflow.com Sanctuary for yoga and healing.

Offers yoga classes, therapy and trainings; various healing treatments; workshops on healing arts.

The Yoga Barn Jl. Pengoseken, Padang Tegal Tel: 0361-970992. www.theyogabarn.com Bali’s premier yoga centre located in the heart of Ubud.

Offers yoga classes, pilates, dance, meditation, detox & cleansing, teacher trainings, special events, workshops and retreats. An instant connection to holistic Bali.

73

the list Performance Schedules

SUNDAYS

VENUE

PM

MAP REF.

Legong of Mahabarata Kecak Fire & Trance Dance Wayang Kulit (Shadow Puppet) The Peliatan Master Janger Jegog (Bamboo Gamelan) Kecak Fire & Trance Dance Dancers & Musician of Peliatan Pondok Pekak Gamelan & Dance

Ubud Palace Padang Tegal Kaja Oka Kartini Arma Museum Lotus Pond Open Stage Bentuyung Village*** Batukaru Temple Balerung Mandera Bale Banjar Ubud Kelod

7.30 7.00 8.00 7.30 7.30 7.00 7.30 7.30 7.30

I.7 O.8 K.12 U.10 1.7 – – – J.7

MONDAYS

VENUE

PM

MAP REF.

Legong Dances Kecak Fire (Monkey Chant Dance) Barong & Keris Dance Kecak Ramayana & Fire Dance Women Gamelan & Dance Group Legong Telek Wayang Kulit (Shadow Puppet)

Ubud Palace Junjungan Village *** Wantilan Pura Dalem Ubud Bale Banjar Ubud Kelod ARMA Museum *** Pondok Bamboo

7.30 7.00 7.00 7.30 7.30 7.30 8.00

I.7 – – H.5 J.7 U.10 –

VENUE

PM

MAP REF.

Ubud Palace Pura Desa Kutuh Padang Tegal Kelod Monkey Forest Balerung Stage *** Pura Dalem Ubud Lotus Pond Open Stage Bale Banjar Ubud Kelod

7.30 7.30 7.30 8.00 7.30 7.30 7.30 7.30

I.7 J.12 Q.9 S.6 – H.5 I.7 J.7

VENUE

PM

MAP REF.

Ubud Palace Oka Kartini Yamasari Stage *** Padang Tegal Pura Dalem Ubud Pura Dalem Taman Kaja ARMA Museum *** Bale Banjar Ubud Kelod

7.30 8.00 7.30 7.00 7.00 7.30 7.00 7.30

I.7 K.12 N.14 M.9 H.5 – U.10 J.7

TUESDAYS Ramayana Ballet Spirit of Bali Kecak Fire & Trance Dance Wayang Kulit (Shadow Pupet) Legong Dance Legong Dance Women Gamelan w/Children Dancers Narita Dewi Gamelan & Dance

WEDNESDAYS Legong & Barong Dance Wayang Kulit (Shadow Puppet) Legong Dance Kecak & Fire Dance Jegog (Bamboo Gamelan) Kecak Fire & Trance Dance Topeng Jimat Chandra Wira Buana

the list Performance Schedules

THURSDAYS

VENUE

PM

MAP REF.

Legong Trance & Paradise Dance Kecak (Monkey Chant Dance) Legong Dance The Barong & Keris Dance Barong & Keris Dance with Children Dancers Kecak Fire & Trance Dance Kecak Fire & Trance Dance Wayang Kulit (Shadow Puppet) Mepantigan Arts

Ubud Palace Puri Agung Peliatan *** Pura Desa Kutuh *** Pura Dalem Ubud Ubud Water Palace Pura Taman Sari Batukaru Temple Pondok Bamboo ARMA Museum ***

7.30 7.30 7.30 7.30 7.30 7.30 7.30 8.00 6.30

I.7 – J.12 H.5 I.7 – – S.6 X.10

FRIDAYS

VENUE

PM

MAP REF.

Barong Dance Legong & Barong Dance Kecak & Fire Dance Wayang Kulit (Shadow Puppet) Jegog (Bamboo Gamelan) Kecak Ramayana & Fire Dance Barong & Keris Dance Women Gamelan

Ubud Palace Balerung Stage Pura Padang Kertha Oka Kartini Bentuyung Village *** Pura Dalem Ubud ARMA Museum *** Bale Banjar Ubud Kelod

7.30 7.30 7.00 8.00 7.00 7.30 6.00 7.30

I.7 – P.9 K.12 – H.5 U.10 J.7

SATURDAYS

VENUE

PM

MAP REF.

Legong Dance Legong Dance Kecak Fire & Trance Dance Wayang Kulit (Shadow Puppet) Legong Dance Frog Dance Beauty of Legong Kecak Fire & Trance Dance Wayang Wong

Ubud Palace Puri Agung Peliatan *** Padang Tegal Monkey Forest Ubud Water Palace Pondok Pekak Pura Dalem Ubud Pura Dalem Taman Kaja ARMA Museum ***

7.30 7.30 7.00 8.00 7.30 7.30 7.30 7.30 7.00

I.7 – M.9 S.6 I.7 M.8 H.5 – U.10

EVERY 1ST. AND 15TH: Gambuh Dance VENUE: Pura Desa Batuan *** TIME: 7.00 PM EVERY FULL MOON & NEW MOON: Kecak Rina Dance VENUE: ARMA Museum *** TIME: 7.00 PM *** Free transport from Ubud Tourist Information, ask them for detail (0361) 973285. Entrance fees are between Rp. 50.000,to Rp. 150.000,Ticket for these performances can obtained at: Ubud Tourist Information, Jl. Raya Ubud, phone : 973285; ticket sellers on the street or the place of the performances. The price is the same wherever you buy it.

advertiser’s directory GALLERIES Agung Rai Gallery Tel: 0361-976659 www.agungraigallery.com Page 9 Bud Map U.13 Bali Wood Arts' link Tel: 0361-972640 www.baliwoodresort.com Page 99 Bud Map D.3 Kulit Kayu Gallery Tel: 0361-978535 www.sourcingbali.com Page 77 Bud Map K.9 Tony Raka Gallery Tel: 0361-7816785 www.tonyrakaartgallery.com Page 13 Bud Map Z.14 CARGO Bisama Cargo Tel: 0361-976659 www.bisama.com Page 77 Bud Map K.9 HEALTH, SPA & SALONS Bali Spirit Tel: 0361-971236 www.theyogabarn.com Page FIC Bud Map O.10 Heaven & Earth Tel: 0361-972616 www.themansionbali.com Page 99 Bud Map D.3 Sayan Aesthetic Institute Tel: 0361-972648. www.aestheticbali.com Page 99 Bud Map D.3 HOTELS ARMA Resort Tel: 0361-976659 www.armaresort.com Page 9 Bud Map X.10 Bali Wood Resort Tel: 0361-972640 www.baliwoodresort.com Page 99 Bud Map D.3 Komaneka Tel: 0361-976090 www.komaneka.com Page 3 Bud Map L.4, P.7 Maya Ubud Tel: 0361-977888 www.mayaubud.com

Page 2

Bud Map K.17

Tepi Sawah Villas Tel: 0361-970388 www.tepisawahvillas.com Page 48 Bud Map E.6 The Mansion Resort Hotel & Spa Tel: 972616. www.themansionbali.com.

Page 99 Bud Map D.3 The Samaya Tel: 0361-973606 www.thesamayabali.com Page 7 Bud Map F.1 Ubud Hanging Gardens Tel: 0361-982700 www.ubudhanginggardens.com Page 1 Bud Map A.2 PHOTOGRAPHY Damon von Lawner Tel: 080805687787 www.i-v-d-k.com Page 47 PROPERTY Exotiq Sanur Tel: 0361-287642 sanurbali@exotiqrealestate.com Page 2 Ubud Property Tel: 0361-970888 www.ubudproperty.com Page 48 Bud Map K.14 RESTAURANTS Ary’s Warung Tel: 0361-976697 www.decko.com Page 11 Bud Map I.7 Bar Luna Tel: 0361-971832 www.casalunabali.com Page 5 Bud Map L.9 Coffee & Silver Tel: 0361-975354 coffeesilver@gmail.com Page 98 Bud Map Q.6 Ibu Rai Tel: 0361-973472 www.iburai.com Page 15 Bud Map K.8 Indochine Dine & Lounge at The Mansion

Tel: 0361-972616 www.themansionbali.com Page 99 Bud Map D.3 Jazz Cafe Tel: 0361-976594 www.jazzcafebali.com Page 13 Bud Map L.12 Laughing Buddha Bar Tel: 0361-970928 info@laughingbuddhabar.net Page 13 Bud Map P.7 Minami Tel: 0361-970013 www.minami-bali.com Page 47 Bud Map A.4 Nomad Tel: 0361-977169 www.nomad-bali.com BIC Bud Map K.9 Pundi - Pundi Tel: 0361-970644 www.pundiubud.com Page 77 Bud Map K.9 Naughty Nuri's Tel: 0361-977547 Page 45 Bud Map B.4 West End Café Tel: 0361-978363 Page 99 Bud Map A.4 SHOP Biasa Tel: 0361-8878002 www.biasabali.com Back Cover Bud Map A.3 Galaxyan Jewelry Tel: 0361-971430 www.galaxyanjewels.com Page 47 Bud Map K.10 Horizon Glassworks Tel: 0361-7804014 www.horizonglassworks.com Page 98 Bud Map F.2 Macan Tidur Tel: 0361-977121 www.macantidur.com Page 5 Bud Map K.7 Periplus Tel: 0361-752670 www.periplus.co.id Page 99 Bud Map F.4

distribution list

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL The Bud is available in selected outlets in Jakarta, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei, in airport and hotel business lounges, as well as in selected villas, hotels and partner venues in Seminyak and throughout Bali.

NATIONAL The Bud is also on sale in outlets of Circle K stores in Bali, including Seminyak, Kuta, Legian, Tuban, Jimbaran, Nusa Dua, Denpasar and Sanur, and at selected distribution points in Ubud, including Periplus bookstores at Monkey Forest, Bintang Supermarket and Tino’s, as well as in Ary’s Bookshop, Alila Shop Ubud, Coffee & Silver, Fly Cafe Restaurant, Komaneka Shop, Laughing Buddha, Murni’s Warung and Verona salon.

VENUE COPIES Alila Hotel Ubud Adi’s Gallery Ubud Amandari Resort Ubud Arma Resort Ary’s Warung Aston Nandini Bali Animal Welfare Association Bali Masari Villas Bali Spirit Bali Bird Park BARC Bar Luna Batan Waru Restaurant Bloomz Flower Bumbu Bali Bumi Sehat Café Des Artistes Casa Luna Restaurant

Cinta Restaurant Coffee & Silver Como Shambhala Dirty Duck Elephant Safari Park Esthetique Clinic Fly Café Four Seasons Sayan Galaxyan Jewelry Gaya Gallery Green School Bali Highway Horizon Glassworks Macan Tidur Maya Ubud Resort and Spa Mozaic Bali Ibu Rai Restaurant Indochine Restaurant Indus Restaurant Jazz Café Restaurant JFF Jewelry Kamandalu Kayu Manis Villa Komaneka Kori Resort Kupu-Kupu Barong Lamak Restaurant Laughing Buddha Bar Maya Hotel Ubud Minami Mozaic Restaurant Murni’s Warung Museum Rudana Nacho Mamas Naughty Nuri’s Neka Museum Nomad Restaurant Paul Ropp Pundi - Pundi Restaurant Rendezvousdoux Restaurant

Rio Helmi Royal Pita Maha Resort and Villas Taal Seniwati Gallery Siam Sally Skin Organic Sobek Adventure Rafting Tama Gallery Taman Hati Tegal Sari Terazo Restaurant The Café The Chedi Club The Green House The Mansion Hotel The Shop The Viceroy Bali/Cascades Three Monkeys Cafe Tony Raka Ubud Treasures Tutmak Restaurant Ubud Hanging Gardens Ubud Property Ubud Sari Ubud Village Resort Uma Hotel Ubud Verona Salon Wah Gallery Warwick Ibah Hotel Ubud West End Café Wina Gallery

THE BUD is in 33 outlets of Mini Mart stores in Bali.

to Como Shambhala, Alila, Komaneka & Ubud Hanging Gardens

THE CHEDI CLUB

Shop

Information

Post office

Spa/Salon

Money changer

Sports field

Misc.

ROGA

NDUN G

JL. TIR TA TA WAR

6:0

UKM A (T

Tebesaya

Padang Tegal Dirty Duck

MAYA UBUD

NGGA

Entrance fee: Adults Rp. 15,000

Children Rp. 7,500

Coffee & Copper

E

W

W

Pundi-Pundi Warung Enak Laka Leke

S

Gemala Jewelery Pizza Bagus

Nyuh Kuning

Bamboo Foundation

Siam Sally

Cafe Arma

JL.

V

Gajah Gallery

Dangin Lebak

Agung Rai Museum of Art ARMA RESORT Flava Lounge Ateliers

Hanna Art Space

Y

Agung Rai Gallery

Pengosekan

N

X

I

JL. GUNUNG SAR

JL. SE RO

Mandala Wisata Wanara Wana Sacred Monkey Forest Santuary

APENGOSEKA RAY N

U

Pura Gunung Sari

NATURA RESORT

Peliatan

S T

Andong

JL. C OK G D

Coffee & Silver Tanah Merah

Pura Dalem Agung Temple

JL. S

Q

KAMANDALU

I (JL . PEL IATA N)

KEY F

RA W ANA

(MON

KOMANEKA Three Monkeys Laughing Buddha Cinta UBUD INN Verona

Bloomz Bali Spirit Tegun The Kafe

THE VICEROY BALI Cascades

E RA

Bumbu Bali II

SAY A)

Milano Bodyworks Lamak

JL. RAYA

JL. SAN DAT

To ELephant Safari Park

ANDONG

TEGALALANG 10km TARO 16km KINTAMANI 22km

JL. SRI W EDARI

NG AJE

Bar/Nightclub

Police station

EBE

AD RO

Alamkara UBUD VILLAGE HOTEL Cafe Wayan Greenhouse Wah Tama Gallery

Pura Prajapati Cemetary

R

Place of interest

Deer pen

MBAW AN

T ENTRANCE

P

Dance theatre

OTAMA

RES

O

Restaurant/Bar

JL. JE

Y FO

One way street

JL. SUGRIW A

MONKE

Bridge

Taman Klod Rendezvous 018: Gusti Lempad’s Seniwati Gallery Kulit 00 Super of Art by Women Kayu Adi’s Art Market Galaxyan Atelier Kupu Kupu Studio & Bisama Foundation Gallery Gallery Infinity Market Ubud Nomad Gallery Property Highway Place Neka Gallery Sagu Cafe Des Macan Ibu Rai Artistes Galaxyan Tidur JL. COK PUTRA S. Atelier Pura Ganesha Jazz JL. D Dalem Puri EWI Bookstore Cafe SITA Skin Organic Sukma Tutmak Bali Pondok Pekak Library Taal Dragonfly Buddha Siwa Ratih Deli Hanoman Cat Juice Bar

BUD Casa Luna Ary’s Warung

MA N

KOMANEKA BISMA

ENTRANCE

HOTEL/VILLA

RUMAH RIO Rio JF-F Helmi Terazo Bumbu Bali I Ibu Oka

NO

FNPF

M N

Temple

Museum

JL. JE

Ubud Klod

To The Mansion To Sayan Aesthetic Institute

RAY AU

Monkey forest

Automatic teller

1.5km

HA

WAKA NAMYA

Murni’s Warung

1km

JL.

L

Blanco Renaissance Museum

JL.

.5km

Art gallery

Batan AlamkaWaru ra Bar JL. GO Luna

K

N NA TA ES EN .P

J

JL

I

Art Zoo

Ubud Kaja UBUD WARWICK IBAH SARI Puri Lukisan Lotus

H

0

TA

G

Mas

WE

Rudana Museum

Sayan

JL. SU

to The Samaya Horizon Glasswork

Tanah Gajah

JL. K

F

VILLA PURI SAYAN

KAYU MANIS

T RO AD)

E

ORES

D

JL. W ANA

C

KEY

ISM A

B

JL. B

A

KUPU KUPU As One Payangan BARONG Tegalalang AMANDARI Kusia Gallery Minami West End Cafe THE VICEROY BALI Biasa UMA UBUD Cascades Naughty Nuri’s Sobek Adventure Rafting INDUS KAMANDALU Mozaic PITA MAHA Bali Adventure Rafting Periplus Paul Ropp Gaya Gallery The Shop UBUD FOUR SEASONS THE MANSION Sayan Aesthetic Institute TEPI SAWAH VILLAS VILLA KIRANA

Genta UBUD VILLAGE RESORT

DENPASAR 26km via MAS

JL. NYUH KUNING

Z 1

2

3

4

5

6

Rudana Rudana Museum

To Tony Raka Gallery

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

SENSES

On his path to find paradise, Carlos de la Rua discovered life, re-evaluation and the opportunity for realisation. Now, armed with his camera, the inspirational photographer walks the hills, Bali’s beaches and the back streets of the world in search of something real, something beautiful. Interview by Lily Shipman. Images

by Carlos de la Rua.

Good Morning Carlos, could you briefly tell us who you are…

My name is Carlos de la Rua, I’m 43 years young and I was brought up in San Sebastian, a mid-sized town on the north coast of Spain. It is a place where food and drink means something more than just something to eat and drink. It has become a way of being and feeling, an essential part of our culture.

How did you find yourself living in Bali?

The idea was to find paradise. Have you heard that before?

What a joke. After being in Bali for 10 days, I found myself coincidently and unfortunately trapped inside the Sari Club trying to escape from hell and fighting to survive, when all I had come here for was to find the famous “paradise”. It was an ironic and paradoxical situation to find myself in. But,even after all that, I decided to continue with my dream and original intention and made the decision to stay here and start a new life. It has taken me a few years to understand and digest the meaning of just surviving and the feeling of being thankful for simply being alive. The process of learning about that idyllic “paradise” has come through as just the opposite to what I had expected. The paradise is within us, not in the rice fields. The lesson was a hard one to learn, but it has been totally worth it

in the long run.

Camera of choice? Why? I would prefer not to give specific names. I don’t even wear branded clothes. Sorry, but publicity has to be paid for.

When did you get your first camera and how did it come into your possession?

My father was an advertising cinema director. As a result, cameras were something very normal at home. From a very young age, I was surrounded by and learnt about photography or cinema cameras, Super 8mm, 16mm, Polaroids and many other kinds. He gave me the first one for my own personal use at the age of 12, more or less. It was a completely different time. Film was expensive, so every single shoot was an exciting experience. You didn’t want to lose any of the 36 images available on each role. But, as we say in my country, “in a blacksmith’s house, a wooden spoon…” Later on I found myself in a life that brought me to other paths where photography was not included in the pack. It was only after arriving in Bali that I discovered digital technology, which has allowed me to “paint” and transform the images that I take.

The process in between shooting and transforming hooked me immediately. Although I don’t consider myself academically

SENSES

prepared to be a photographer. I’m not a doctor, just a healer, not a photographer, just a simple artist who is learning about personal experiences through transformation and personal self-development and evolution. What is coming after the work, I don’t know and I don’t really care. What is important is the work itself. Actually it doesn’t depend on the artist if the work is good or not, or if it’s successful or not. The artist basically works for himself. To be in the correct place at the correct time…that’s another story. I guess you could say that in the end the work chooses you, rather than you choosing the work.

What do you think makes a beautiful image?

It’s proven that our brains react in one way or another depending on physical and mathematical proportions. Faces are not beautiful or ugly, it’s our mind that is analysing if it all matches, or is well proportioned, or not based on prefixed rules. It’s always difficult to talk about your own work. There’s people specialised on that task, and I don’t believe that an artist should argue or justify their work. The work has to talk for itself. It’s like music. It can touch your heart, or not. I am convinced that a work will touch you if you already have the feeling within your own self.

Where do you find inspiration?

Anything, everything is inspiring. Life is a huge blank canvas.

Eyes need new inspiration, just as lungs need to breathe, and the more you breathe, the better you feel. But, as Pablo Picasso said once, “inspiration comes while you are working”. The best moment of the day for me is when I’m going to bed and getting ready to sleep. When there’s no light or sound; when the mind flows like a wild torrent, half conscious, half asleep.

The images are real but at the same time become dreams. So, sometimes it’s necessary to wake up and write the ideas down or simply start working on them before they become diffused.

What makes you smile?

Many things: a kiss, a song, another smile, anything that comes from a good heart.

What makes you frown?

Many things too: injustice, intolerance, gossip, mediocrity, politicians, the list goes on.

Tell us about your most amazing experience as a photographer…

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I was in Java a few months ago when a friend of mine told me about a group of people on a local mountain road helping the drivers direct and organise the traffic. From very young children to adorable old ladies who with no more tools than their hands and an oil-lamp risk their lives on each curve in the middle of an intense and always crazy traffic circulation, day and night. The simplicity and total assumption of their life conditions made my hair stand on end. Some of the drivers, not all, gave five hundred rupiah coins as compensation for their services. That was amazing to me, not only on the working level, but most of all on a human one.

Are you an opportunist, or do you have a plan when you shoot?

Working at the studio is where you can have everything under control. Lighting, settings, sets, and so forth. It’s a very relaxing and calm way of working. But, no doubt, I do prefer live concerts.

When you observe the history of photography, it is not about corporate, commercial, fashion or weddings. It’s about street life, spontaneity and anticipation. But this job becomes totally exciting when it reaches its real meaning when you take the camera to the middle of nowhere without knowing what is going to happen in front of you. A handful of birds flying back home, or that boy who jumps onto his friend's shoulder… Those moments are full of concentration where you have to guess what can happen, and be ready to shoot that “precise moment”… That’s simply magical, it’s a mixture between concentration and meditation. This is, to me, the real magic of photography.

Black and white or full colour?

Both. It’s the Ying and Yang of life’s spirit. I love savoury food, but I cannot refuse a chocolate either.

Art Photography, Photojournalism and Travel, you have quite a range of passions, can you narrow it down to a favourite or do they each have a different place in your creative heart?

Art Photography represents a personal discovery based on a necessary way of self-expression. It’s the creative part of the cake, where impossible images can be done, where imagination is free and allows me to enjoy doing and sharing.

Photojournalism on the other hand is a necessary commitment to our society. There’s a much more powerful story behind those whose lives are tough and difficult, rather than to those who

have an easy and a comfortable life. They also deserve to be heard, as they are closest to God. Has it always been about photography for you?

My work in Spain was restoring old furniture, and as a furniture decorator. I have always been a simple artisan. To arrive home with my hands dirty and wounded was a nice experience.

What have you been working on lately?

My last work is precisely combining hand-crafted work and photography. I am modelling with clay and called the series “Little Creatures”. Later, these are combined with daily life elements, creating a deformed and disproportional distortion, where small is big and vice versa. Combining hand-crafted work and digital is a very exciting experience that is making me enjoy it tremendously.

You describe your photography as a way of learning and as a means of capturing emotion, tell us about this…

Photography is not only a piece of printed paper. There’s always a story behind it. It all depends on how much the spectator wants to read into it. To me observing others provides me lot of information about myself. It’s more interesting to observe other people’s souls than bodies of clothes. The real life is not in our appearance, but in our hearts and souls.

If you could do one thing to change the world…

Oh my God! One thing wouldn’t be enough, this world is so sick and there’s so much to do. Well, if I have to choose, our capital sin is ignorance, which creates arrogance and intolerance against those who are different to us. Ignorance is assumed as untouchable, as an absolute truth, not allowing people to learn or think differently. Ignorance of understanding history, our own history. We want to go far away, without knowing where we want to arrive to and without learning who we are and where we have been. At the end it’s all about education, based on freedom and respect for others. But how can we educate? Can we cure with the same medicines that have created the sickness? I guess what I am saying is that I would find a way to rid the world of ignorance.

Is there a song lyric to describe your current state of mind…

As good as it is, a difficult a question to answer. I would choose the songs Same Old Story and Send One Your Love, from Stevie Wonder‘s Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants.

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Feature Can Bali's celebrated rain stoppers really stop the rain? Michael Andrews investigates...and gives it a go himself. Images by Yaeko Masuda.

There’s a misprint in the internet advertisement for a Bali – based company offering the services of a rain stopper. The ad reads, “Brighter the Sky Naturally.” Brighten, surely? Needless to say, it’s a minor slip – similar errors frequently occur with English copy in foreign-speaking countries, sometimes to comic effect. However, for the Balinese rain stoppers themselves, whose livelihood and reputation are based on their ability to communicate directly with the clouds (or by way of the spirits who will move the clouds for them), absolute precision as to the location and time at which a sunny sky is required is essential to success. Provided, of course, that these rain stoppers are able to back up their claims of divine weather control.

The occupation of rain stopper is undeniably close to the top of any directory listing the most unique professions in the world; ahead of comparatively less idiosyncratic occupations such as hot-air balloon pilot, fortune cookie writer, rodeo clown, Braille translator or orchestra page turner.

At the Cloud Nine Chapel, on the grounds of the spectacular St. Regis Hotel in Nusa Dua, among the many choices presented to up-sell the future bride and groom are the inclusion of a “Champagne wedding toast” or the addition of a violin player to the basic “trio-choir” package. Likewise, for an extra US$300, one can reserve the services of a rain stopper.

There’s no mention of a disclaimer of responsibility, unlike the accountability-free Chendi Club Wedding Venue in Ubud, where the fine print reads: “The resort cannot be held responsible for the failure of the services provided by a Balinese rain stopper, should you wish to use one.” The St. Regis employs a more politically-correct or, as the sociologist would say, “culturally relative” approach, seductively promising how, “in mystical and magical Bali anything is possible…the Pawang Hujan (i.e. rain stopper) is reputed to make the rain fall anywhere but the location of the celebration.”

Can this be true? Is it possible for someone to be able to

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stop, move, divert, hold or otherwise charm the rain away from a particular area for a given period of time? And is such God-like intervention somehow more achievable in “magical” Bali? Many local people – both Indonesian and Western expats – would emphatically say: “Yes, it is possible!” And some of them have witnessed the effects first-hand. I recently spoke with event organisers, hotel managers, chefs and others who have seen it happen over and over. Some report miraculous occurrences, where the rain was falling 50 meters away – but not in the designated event areas. Jamie Thewes, a Scottish expat and manager of The Istana, marvels over the powers of prominent rain stopper Pak Mangku Ketut Pugrau, whom The Istana has used on 16 occasions during the past year. All events took place without incurring a drop of precipitation. As Jamie reports of one function: “It was raining cats and dogs just 20 yards away from the gates. There was literally a visible line on the tarmac. It was downright spooky.”

Hubert Lorenz, who now lives in Germany, recalls similar experiences from years ago when he was the Executive Chef at the Bali Hyatt in Sanur. “The amazing part is that sometimes the rain cleared right on the fence and sometimes it rained as close as the tennis court within the property.” For very important events Lorenz confides that the resort hired two rain stoppers to be doubly sure that rain wouldn’t ruin their event.

Furthermore, during the 20-day film shoot of Eat, Pray, Love in Bali, rain stoppers were used daily. Suffice to say, there wasn’t so much of a drizzle in shooting areas for the duration of the movie production.

Skeptics might state – in spite of eyewitness accounts in support of rain stopping successes – that these traditions are simply the dying fragments of a superstitious, pre-science world; traditions which celebrated atheist Christopher Hitchens refers to as a “common trait in all humanity…to meet our inescapable demand for knowledge”. Intellectuals like Hitchens are convinced that such ritualistic dogma points to a time when humanity had a need for understanding that far exceeded the existing grasp of scientific knowledge. Armed with little awareness or comprehension of minutiae such as microscopic cells or particles, nor suitable explanations for the formation of clouds or weather patterns, mankind simply had to try and figure it all out the best it could, and make up the rest as it went along.

Along this train of thought, we can guess that the tradition of rain stopping predates the discovery of the simple scientific explanation of precipitation –water vapour rises higher in altitude to a point where some of the mist becomes cooled

enough to form tiny droplets, much smaller than raindrops, that float on other rising air to form clouds; when the water droplets grow heavy enough so as to be subjected to the laws of gravity, they proceed to fall from the sky as rain.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the author of Fooled by Randomness (and who familiarised the term “Black Swan” in describing unforeseen events) after years of studying human behaviour, characterises the minds of people, when confronted with things beyond their comprehension, as “wonderful explanation machines, capable of making sense out of almost anything, capable of mounting explanations for all manner of phenomena and generally incapable of accepting the idea of unpredictability.”

Admittedly, it is rather easy for the intellectual mind to dismiss the idea of rain stopping as nonsensical hocus-pocus.

Traditionally used in indigenous ceremonies, the ritual is now being applied by enterprising Balinese shaman to serve corporate interests – whether for gala events, golf tournaments, or all-night open-air parties, where a clear night’s sky is essential for a good turnout. The contradictions inherent to this situation are relatively obvious; the thought of a shaman invoking invisible spirits who influence weather patterns and bend the laws of nature (in order to ensure robust liquor sales or to make for a pleasant round of golf, perhaps) would be easy pickings for any late-night-TV talk show host – but that is not my intention here.

In an attempt to provide insight to the believer and nonbeliever alike, I endeavour to walk a thin line between faith, belief, reality and science in my examination of rain stopping.

I will also offer up a glimpse into what I estimate as the mathematical probability of a rain stopper’s success, although hard empirical research is outside the scope of this article.

Throughout this investigation, I have maintained the conviction that it’s not entirely fair to singularly extrapolate rain stopping from the context of the Balinese social-cultural package – even though that is seemingly an authour’s obligation in a report such as this. The real value of this discussion may rest in the ongoing exercise to examine our own beliefs, specifically that murky area where our confirmed knowledge ends and where our faith in the divine or supernatural begins. Where exactly do we draw the line in the sand (or clouds, as it were) between what we will believe in and what we will dismiss as patently absurd?

Articles on rain stopping in some Bali-based magazines have promoted the ritual as unquestionably legitimate. “The success of a rain-diverting ritual can be as high as 90 percent. Compared to modern technology, the use of a traditional rain stopper is

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much more practical, while its effectiveness is almost certain,” claimed Darma Putra in a piece from the August, 2006 edition of HelloBali.

Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? A seemingly open-andshut case in favour of the abilities of a rain stopper, right? The writer does, however, add a cautionary note. “The failure of a rain stopping ritual might occur because several rain stoppers are in action at the same time at a similar location. Each of them will push away the clouds from the area they have to secure, sometimes to the direction where another rain stopping ritual is being held.” For any potential reality-TV producers reading this article, here’s another schlocky idea to please take a pass on: “So you think you can Rain-Stop?” Putra goes on to cite the only other potential reason for failure. “If the ritual of rain stopping is performed too close to the time of rainfall…the better prepared the ritual, the higher chance it will be fulfilled by God.” But before these ostensibly untested claims make us feel too comfortable or smug in the scientifically-absolute environment of our Western minds, we need to remember that the modern world is still filled with medieval superstitions, old-wives’ tales, myths and unfounded beliefs that haven’t yet disappeared from society ­– even if we take solace that 200 years have elapsed since the pyre was lit up in West Prussia for the last recorded witch-burning in 1811. To retrieve our humbleness, we need look no further than the common fear of the number 13. The uneasy distress caused by the symbols 1 and 3 put together – while apparently harmless to the Eastern observer – has meant that the plane you arrived on in Bali did not have a seat row 13, and that it’s unlikely that you’ve stayed in a hotel or worked in an office building with a floor numbered 13. In the West we may not have rain stoppers integrated as part of our culture; however, we continue to foster a variety of similar professions with purported abilities of the paranormal, with psychics, UFO hunters, ghost whisperers and astrologists (complete with columns in the daily news); all earning their keep in Western society.

And then there is a nagging old piece of folklore regarding the advancement of Western civilization and how it arose due to the unseen and invisible powers of a “special mind” – one that the people of the West miraculously possessed, but the people of the East apparently did not. Fortunately, facts are now available to debunk this fairy tale, and thanks to works such as Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond, a study which illustrates a plausible alternative to the supremacist view of human history. To over-simplify his 500-page thesis: Cultures that had limited access to efficient beasts of burden, transportation, with only meager indigenous staple food crops, did not flourish in the same way as cultures that possessed

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these resources in abundance. A budding society where the available animals were the wildebeest and the llama with crops such as taro and maize could not as easily start up empires of domination. That area of proficiency fell to those peoples with horses, cows, pigs and chickens paired with easily cultivated nutritious grains and high-protein pulses like lentils and chickpeas. It was the latter environment that provided the rich seeds for the development of bigger armies, better weapons, greater power, expanding wealth and, ultimately, the ability to create global empires.

NEEDLESS to say, I wanted to make sure that my Western mind was open enough to the mysteries of the East before I was to meet with a wonderful woman named Tri Harmani and her shining and serene husband, Made Warana, who are a team of married and incredibly successful rain stoppers in Nusa Dua. And if there is one man in Bali who can open even the most skeptical mind over a cappuccino, then Dr. Lawrence Blair is the man.

Dr. Blair has been exploring the mystical in Indonesia ever since 1972, when Ringo Starr gave $4,000 to he and his brother to set sail and make the first documentary of their journeys into previously little-known territories. Some 40 years later, he’s still discovering more. After completing the initial two-time Emmy award winning series Ring of Fire about the unexplained and the fantastical in Indonesia, he went to host another series entitled Myths, Magic & Monsters. Fortunately for Dr. Blair (and unfortunately for us) his are some of the few DVDs that cannot be found pirated in Bali (but are available to be seen on Mango Vision, Bali’s five-star hotel television network), which means that you’ll need to pay full price for his collections (available at the check-out at Bali Deli) or check-in to a hotel partnering with Mango. In the episode entitled Beasts there is footage of a rain stopper/rain maker who works his magic to make it rain on a sunny day with the help of a frog that he places in his mouth.

After four hours of meditation with the patient frog firmly between his lips, the rain did finally pour down.

“I’ll say this about the rain stoppers,” relates Dr. Blair, looking tanned and fit at his favourite Legian Beach morning spot, having just returned from guiding another expedition of elite globetrotters around the Malay Archipelago,“they’re very brave.

They’ve got to be real brave to tackle the big events, because if they fail to stop the rain for even a few of those, they’re out.”

We went on to discuss a variety of phenomena and studies. He talked about the power of attention in that we can sometimes ‘feel’ when we’re being stared at, or how on occasion we have a sense of who is going to call us just before the phone rings. He mentioned a study showing that dogs can perceive

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the exact moment when their owners make the mental decision to leave the office and come back home. We talked about how there are many ancient traditions of people who believe that the prevailing weather is a reflection of people’s moods.

He also mentioned Western attempts at ‘cloud bursting’. A scene of this phenomenon was included in the recent release, The Men Who Stare at Goats which Lawrence had not yet seen. Based on real events, the George Clooney film depicts a squadron in the U.S. army that is specially trained to be ‘psychic soldiers’. If this is indeed true – that there were people successfully trained by the U.S. Military to channel energy able to burst apart clouds and to kill goats by staring at them – then rain stopping as a psychic technique begins to gain an air of credibility.

I pushed Lawrence further to get an honest opinion of his belief in rain stopping but he wouldn’t let me off the hook with an easy yes or no answer. The man has seen some unbelievable things over the years and he instead provided me the caveat: “It is always beneficial to believe the ideas of the culture that you live in.”

On that note, I then sat down with Made Warmana and his wife Tri Harmani at their beautiful home in Nusa Dua. They met and married about 10 years ago while they were both learning meditation. Made also performs the art of healing Reiki at the Aman resorts. Although, with Blackberry in hand, Made has the smooth demeanor of a business manager, he and his wife have made spirituality the main focus of their lives. Their shared joy in life is “to help others” and “to spread positive energy to all people”. Made also speaks with a wisdom that reminds one of the books of a Deepak Choprah, Eckhart Tolle and other popular New Age gurus.

“My wife is Catholic and I am Hindu, but we are of the same orientation inside. Just like all people of the different religions on earth, there is no need to talk about what makes us different and our different Gods, but only to talk about what is the common ground to all people and what is the same spirit inside of all people.”

I felt relaxed in the comfort of Made and Tri’s warm presence. I ask him why the Balinese people in particular seem to possess such a spirit of togetherness and friendliness. He replies that “our mutual sense of community and mutual help for each other is part of Tri Hita Karana, an honouring of the three elements of nature: Reverence for God, respect for others and respect for the environment.” He continues: “To become positive as people, it’s not only necessary to speak in the positive, we have to think in the positive and act in the positive.”

Together, he and his wife learned the art of rain stopping from Tri’s father. He says of Tri, who is currently seven months pregnant and will continue her rain stopping practice throughout her pregnancy: “It’s very rare to be a woman and a rain stopper, but Tri has a natural ability.”

Made and Tri are also incredibly careful as to not to cause a major disruption to the ecosystem by their technique and clarifies that “we are not stopping the rain, we are moving it,” preferring the name of “Rain Mover” or even “Rain Charmer”.

When they work they trust that the rain will be directed away from where they are asking and directed to such places that need it. He also let me know that they are very careful each time after an event to make sure to give thanks and to help return the weather system back to its normal state.

Made and Tri perform rain stopping rituals for events at The Bvlgari, The St. Regis, The Four Seasons, Aman Resorts and for their own village. Made pulls out his desk calendar and shows me all the bookings, each of which is meticulously marked. Last year, he and Tri performed rain stopping for 97 events.

A day before the event, he or Tri visits the site and synchronise their energy with area’s energy through meditation.

They also perform a prayer, making sure to state the exact time the rain needs to be moved. He then fills a small plastic sandwich-bag with sand from the site to take with him. They then go home and begin a fast until the event is over. The next day, during the period of time of the booking, he and his wife will meditate together holding the sand in their hands. He says that if they can feel the sand getting hot, they know it is getting cloudy. Made also relies on phone calls from the staff at the events to keep him informed if there are any clouds coming into the area, so their power can be directed specifically at the incoming clouds.

Over the past year at The Bvlgari, Tri and Made performed their rituals for 65 gala dinners, receptions, weddings and other events. Made and Tri’s ‘cloud informant’ at The Bvlgari is Pak Nana, who works in the Food & Beverage department. During a phone interview, Pak Nana recounts the effects of the ceremony.

“It is as if Tri and Made were able to block the rain around the event area with some kind of giant umbrella,” he says. Pak Nana remarks that often the rain would get as close as 50 to 100 metres, without moving any closer. When he sees clouds coming towards the gathering, he calls Made in order to take preventative action. When asked directly as to whether it works or not, he replies: “I believe in it very much. I have seen it.”

Made Warmana explains that the cloud-moving technique he and Tri use is preferred by the hotels mainly for its simplicity

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and cleanliness. The more traditional Balinese style relies on performing a potentially obtrusive ceremony on site where the spirits are asked to carry out the rain-moving duties. Part of this traditional ceremony not only involves the burning of incense, but can also involve the sacrifice of a chicken. Demonstrably, such extreme measures are something that hotel guests, paying up to US$3,000 per night, don’t want to stumble across during their vacations. By contrast, Made and Tri’s meditation technique involves them simply sitting in a relaxed peace as they synchronise their energies with the area and communicate directly with the essence of the clouds.

Out of Made and Tri’s 97 confirmed engagements last year, only one resulted in rain. This number does not include the numerous times they performed ceremonies for their village and community, usually for free. In fact, Made says that this is his sole failure in 10 years as a rain stopper. In explaining the lone defeat, Made cites not a rival rain stopper at a nearby hotel, but more likely the negative energy of the event staff, who were all hoping for rain in order to get off early from work. In this

particular case, he said that he was not called on time when the clouds appeared on site and was therefore unable to engage them successfully until it was too late.

Regardless, a record of at least 96 successful rain-free events against one rained-out event is a seemingly spectacular record.

Put this together with other rain movers (like The Istana’s, who has gone 16 in a row) and the evidence begins to mount in favour of their possession of some sort of supernatural ability.

There are also other instances in scientific history where the human mind has been said to influence physical matter. The core idea of quantum theory is that matter does not exist in a distinct objective reality, but based rather on how it is affected by other factors, one of them being the human mind. A famous study by the scientists at the Condensed Matter Physics Department at the Weizmann Institute has become a “golden hen”, which the New Age movement has latched onto as confirmation of the secret that they have felt to be true all along – that thoughts can influence reality.

In the experiment, electrons were passed through areas

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that were one thousandth of a millimeter in diameter resulting in a wave pattern with no one in the room watching. However, when there was a ‘quantum observer’, a person in the room watching the experiment, the flow of electrons began to switch and behave like linear particles, not like waves. The scientists concluded that the very act of observation was able to influence the behaviour of electrons at a sub-micron level.

If we accept the results of this experiment as fact, then it doesn’t seem all that far-fetched to give credence to the idea that people can learn to influence the movement of water vapour that has condensed in the form of clouds.

However, like other investigations into supernatural activity, the natural rainfall in Bali can be quite deceiving to the casual observer. Although we receive a tremendous quantity of life-nurturing rain every year – the average annual total of approximately 2,000mm dwarfs the 650mm of London– the actual frequency of rain in Bali is much less than other places.

Whereas London encounters 145 days of rain and Vancouver averages 163 days, Bali clocks in with the same total as Rome,

atroughly 83 rain days per year.

This implies that for 282 days of the year, the chance of success for a rain stopper is 100 percent. Without further statistics, such as the average duration of rainfall, it is difficult to assess a mathematical probability on the days it does rain. But having lived in Bali for some time now, it does feel to me like a rare occasion when the rainfall lasts longer than an hour. When it rains in Bali, it pours – but not for too long. So if we were to figure on the chance of rain during any particular four-hour block of a rain day and allow for an average rainfall duration of one hour, this would mean that the chance of rain occurring on any given 60-minute period would be one in 24 or about four percent. The odds would increase for a four-hour block of time would be 24/4, or 16.7 percent. Allowing for the rain to overlap one minute to up to 59 minutes at either the beginning or near the end of the event would double our odds of escaping drop free to 33.4 percent on a rain day.

To calculate for any given day of the year, to have a fourhour dry period, the odds would be zero percent for 282 clear

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days and 33.4 percent for the 83 rain days. A weighted average for the year would equate to 7.2 percent chance of rain and 92.9 percent in favour of clear skies. For our rain stoppers, if they were to work on chance alone, this would mean that out of 100 engagements, it would be likely that 92 to 93 would be successful and a mere seven or eight would end up with adverse outcomes. However, during a rainy season month such as January (where there are 16 rain days) our rough calculations would result in an 85 percent chance of sun and a much greater 15 percent likelihood of rain for any four-hour period.

I want to stress that these are by no means exact measurements, as I do not have data which could look at probabilities of rainfall duration at specific times of the day in order to make more accurate estimations. At a rough glance, however, it appears that individual rain stoppers who have many engagements during the rainy season, such as Made and Tri (with a record of 96-1, or 99 per cent) or Pak Mangku (at 160, or 100 percent) are in fact beating the odds rather handily.

Others who possess the previously reported 90 percent success rate, may not be.

Still, I wondered if rain stopping could be possible. For the purposes of the article I thought I could at least give cloud bursting an honest try. I went down to the beach, found a nice spot, relaxed and supplemented by instructions I had found on the internet, began the cloud bursting technique as demonstrated by George Clooney’s character in the aforementioned movie.

And well…it seemed to work. In fact, the clouds began to disperse a little too easily. I had begun by concentrating on one particular cloud, but instead of anything happening with that one, another cloud nearby broke apart –a sweet victory! There was no way I was going to share this psychic triumph with some rival cloud-busting Jedi sitting somewhere down the beach, all I had do was improve my aim. Moments later, the small cloud I was focusing on finally came undone and was swept into nothingness into the blue sky, but instead of elation, I felt suspicion. If this was all it took, it seemed unrealistically too effortless.

I decided to not focus on anything at all and just observe what was happening up there. Lying on my back, enjoying the enchanting panoramic view of the sky, I watched what transpired. An abundance of different clouds floated above me, and true to form, many of them proceeded to morph together, move apart, break up and disappear altogether – all without my intervention.

Nonetheless, I’m aware this doesn’t prove that it can’t be done by intention, it just seemed to show that nature also

takes its own course, with or without our help. We can even become further, excuse the pun, clouded in our judgment by the another feature of ourselves, that being – we as people are not ones to shy away from taking credit for good results when we can, regardless if we had anything to do with them or not.

There are numerous psychology studies that point to people mistaking luck or randomness for their own special skills. In one of hundreds of different types of experiments that have been conducted over the years, random lights have been shown to people who have been given a dummy button to press. Time and time again, the people believe that they control the light pattern with their action.

I got up from the spot that may under different circumstances, have had held sacred meaning for me and walked further along the beach. I came upon several thousands of Balinese sitting closely together, some meditating, others sitting quietly and smiling, some being anointed gently by holy water. They were taking part in the melasti ritual which occurs three days before the Balinese day of Silence, Nyepi, the Balinese New Year. Here in Bali, the New Year is brought in, not with the shouts of drunken revelers, but with silent contemplation and meditation done together with family during an enforced day of home-time where not a soul is permitted to walk the streets.

I reflected on agreement with Made Warmana’s words. The Balinese do seem to have produced a culture that promotes togetherness, happiness and openness – characteristics that will be of use to the entire world if humanity is ever going to truly flourish in our increasingly diminutive global village. The art of rain-moving has come out of this highly developed community– based culture, and maybe it’s a lot less important as to whether rain charming actually works than the cultural atmosphere in which it has sprung from.

The Balinese were wise enough to recognise the benefits of using the technologies of the West to enhance their lives, but I wonder if in turn the West will ever exhibit the humility and intelligence to accept the wisdom of the humanness that has been developed and perfected over centuries by the Balinese.

As I continued walking, and continued to think about the differences of East and West, I recalled what Dr. Blair had told me over coffee when I continued to press him for an answer to whether or not he believed. He finally gave up, nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, and said with a slight sparkle in his crisp British accent: “Well, one thing’s for certain…they couldn’t be any worse than the weathermen.”

Maybe that sums it all up best. If the West still keeps their faith in meteorology in spite of extremely low success rates, then the Balinese are certainly entitled to their rain stoppers.

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open mike

Ku De GrÂce Amit Virmani came here to make a film about Kuta Cowboys. And people hate him for it. Interview by Emma Westwood. Image by Carlos de la Rua. What’s the pitch for your documentary?

Here’s what I’ve found useful at parties…

Imagine a beautiful island where sun, sand and surf conspire to unleash your carnal desire, where women have their pick of charming, desirable young men.

Now, if you’re curious about the realities behind these sweaty, fuss-free trysts, put that Danielle Steel novel down and check out Cowboys in Paradise.

What have been the responses to your film so far?

The film was very well received at the few advance screenings we’ve had so far.

You can never take that for granted, so I count it as a pleasant surprise. The bigger surprise is the controversy that recently erupted over the film.

Controversy? Like what?

Basically, a couple of guys in the film weren’t happy once the trailer came out… Or at least their friends and lovers weren’t. As a result, all kinds of false accusations were hurled my way.

Overnight, I’d become the guy who was ‘media raping Bali’, who had totally misread the harmless interactions that occur on Kuta Beach, who was – and this is my personal favourite – jealous of the beach boys because I can’t get laid.

How do you defend yourself against such allegations?

You can’t really defend yourself unless your attackers have seen the film. But let’s talk about a more serious accusation – one that probably started the whole ‘Boycott Cowboys in Paradise Campaign’ – that the guys in question weren’t told what the film was about. Well, there’s

more than enough in the film to prove they had to know. I mean, you don’t talk about juggling multiple Western partners if you think the film’s about surfing or religious ceremonies. The main guy being portrayed as a victim of my alleged subterfuge is asked directly if he’s a Kuta Cowboy and that’s even in the trailer. So to now suggest that they, or other beach boys in their group, were misled, is just plain ridiculous.

Did this sort of negative attention surprise you?

Yeah, luckily, a lot of expats in Bali have come to the film’s defence. They’ve been around long enough to know the Cowboys are many things, but not stupid.

Some pointed out that their consensual participation was obvious, even in the trailer. So yeah, I was surprised by it all.

But also hurt and disappointed.

What are the misconceptions about your film?

The biggest one is that it’s some kind of cautionary tale against Bali and the Cowboys… You know, a buyer beware, consumer rights video. Thing is, it would have been much easier to make that film.

But where’s the depth in that?”

The other misconception is that the film equates Cowboys with gigolos. That’s an age-old debate really. The beach boys hate the ‘g’ word, while outsiders scoff at the distinction. But I see the need for a distinction. It’s a very fine line but it’s there, and the film does its best to acknowledge it.”

So what was your actual intention in making it?

I wanted to present the Cowboys in a way that would help audiences understand why even well-travelled, educated women give in to their charms, knowing full well – as many do – that it’s all make-believe, that the charm store stays open long after they’ve left Bali. I’m not making them out to be saints. They are rogues but, at the very least, they’re lovable rogues. I don’t think the Cowboys are sex workers because they don’t bill for bedroom boogies. But they are the most visible part of Bali’s male sex trade because money does change hands in the most inventive of ways, and because many women come to Bali to be with them, expecting and intending to pay for the privilege. Sure, there are exceptions. But you don’t make a film about a phenomenon by focusing on the exceptions to the rule.

How did you go about finding participants for your film?

Given the subject matter, most of the research and sourcing for participants had to be done on the ground. I followed the six-degrees rule. I spoke to anyone who was willing to share their stories, and then approached others they recommended that I speak to.

To the people who are calling you a 'Bali hater', what do you say?

Absolutely nothing. They may or may not change their minds after watching the film, but it won’t be because of anything I say now. Besides, I don’t need their approval to love Bali.”

www.cowboysinparadise.com