The Bud #11

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

Volume 11 - JAN/FEB/MAR 2012

ROBIN

LIM

MANGU PUTRA

BIKES DEEP TRIVIA SNAKES

IDR Rp 48.000 S$9 HK$45 €3.50

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restaurant

Seasonal Cuisine...

Immerse yourself in a culinary journey at Plantation Restaurant.

Executive Chef, Eelke Plasmeijer (previously of Michelin-starred Vermeer and SHY, Jakar ta) and his culinary team passionately prepare a modern seasonal tasting and a la car te menu. Enjoy the best local ingredients prepared using classic French culinary techniques, and served with a refreshing modern twist.

Star t your journey with a fine selection of our signature seasonal cocktails, infused vodkas, araks and syrups – all made in-house from the best produce the season has to offer.

Plantation Restaurant, an open Balinese-style restaurant, with a central bar, towering coconut pillars and traditional alang-alang roof, creates an exotic ambience for diners as they feast on stunning views of our natural surroundings.

For reservations, contact: Alila Ubud - Plantation Restaurant T: 0361 975 963 E: ubud@alilahotels.com

Volume Eleven Jan/Feb/Mar 2012

The Bud Sophie Digby, Agustina Ardie, Nigel Simmonds Publisher's pa / sales & marketing Ananda Sarina Production Manager Evi Sri Rezeki Graphic Designers Irawan Zuhri Kartika Tjandra Super Stu Accounting Julia Rulianti Distribution Made Marjana, Kadek Artana, Putu Widi Susanto, Made Sutajaya, Didakus Nuba Publisher PT Luxury In Print Licence 1.265/09-04/PB/V/99 Cover photo: Damon Emmanuel shoots CNN Hero Robin Lim.

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 © PT Saka Wahana Cipta

yPod Bali V.2.0 – The Yak and Bud Magazines' iPhone App featuring the best places to go in Ubud and beyond – is available from the App. Store.

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Out of the box Inside Track Front up New and noted people Robin Lim art Kartini Land interview Jane Chen feature Ethno Bot feature Blueberry Guitars art Art of Glass obituary Ketut John Darling the list Guidezine goodness

28

Snakes alive.

turis condition Drive feature Surviving Bali On a Bike Feature Deep Trivia food Mozaic Magic fiction Transit Fields runaways Gonners?

36

Neck ties.

First up our heartfelt congratulations go to Ubud’s Robin Lim, founder of the Bumi Sehat foundation for the health and wellbeing of mothers and children. In December Robin was named CNN’s Hero of the Year. It’s not that she isn’t frequently in our thoughts anyhow – for the magnificent work carried out by Bumi Sehat on Bali and in Aceh. But on December 12 droves of us watched the CNN award presentation with baited breath.

There were cheers, beers and tears.

Well done Robin for the well-deserved worldwide recognition you have achieved.

Also in this issue we delve into the world of snakes and herbal medicines through the eyes of ethno-botanist Dale Millard – a self-confessed “obsessive” when it comes to all things that grow, creep, crawl or slither. He is on a mission to promote the value of environmental conservation and to extract and preserve the medicinal knowledge and understandings of traditional societies.

Feeling a bit wobbly on your scooter? Read Dave Smithson’s piece about riding on Bali . . . you might not want to get back on

one.

We enter the sociopolitical world of Mangu Putra – one of Indonesia’s greatest living artists – for a glimpse of the evolution of the Indonesian Republic.

And continuing with the rich vein of artistic personages on island we have a yarn with Jane Chen – martial artist, dancer, and all round mover and shaker.

Wood carver, luthier and gentleman, Wayan Tuges, gives us a tour of his Blueberry Guitars workshop near Sukawati – a project that marries eastern and western artisanship, in producing unique world-class instruments.

The Bud visits Ubud’s Mozaic Restaurant to see what new creations Chris Salans has come up with to expand our gastronomic horizons.

It’s a moveable feast – an omnibus.

We know you’re gonna love it!

May peace and love embrace you one and all for the New Year 2012.

Betelnut A contemporary vision of a traditional eatery, Betelnut brings a noodle and satay bar and music lounge under one fabulous roof. The 'outer core' is a unique, glass-covered outdoor piazetta or courtyard, with trestle table seating and sofas under mature palms. The inner core, with its indoor lounge and performance space alongside long, shared dining tables also hosts the open kitchen. Here the slow food concept, with organic and locally sourced produce, serves up one fabulous Asian flavour after another using noodles, salads and satays – delicate kebabs made from myriad ingredients. Herbs, spices, grasses and pungent roots infuse and scent meats, vegetables, even flowers and fruits. The music lounge and mezzanine host live music and ‘doco-film nights’ accompanied by lounge music and great cocktails. Casual, relaxed and affordable, Ubud’s new night-time, day-time venue is easily located in the heart of town, opposite the Puri Lukisan Museum.

Tel. 971426 www.decko.com Map ref. I.6

Rocky Dawuni.

The Spirit of 2012 Will the planet implode? Will just the spiritual few survive? Or is it all media hype, just like Y2K? Maybe it doesn't actually matter.

However what is of immediate global importance is the expansion of positive change in the world and the awakening of societies and individuals. And where better to join the wake-up call than at the Bali Spirit Festival, now in its fifth fabulous year and celebrated as “one of the world’s leading lifestyle festivals” by Ciaran Caulfield – Sky TV Europe. Daily workshops; ecstatic night concerts; alternative medicine; and eco-friendly market-place vendors make this year’s celebration (scheduled for March 28- April 1) impressive indeed. Five days and four nights will see performances from the likes of Dave Stringer, with his sound of mystic traditional music blending with gospel while his work translates ancient Kitan and Yogic traditions into modern participatory theatre. Coral Brown’s holistic counseling brings us to an integrated body-mind-spirit approach while Julie Dohrman, of New York fame, will be at the helm of the Anusara yoga movement, with Danny Paradise teaching all the Ashtanga sequences. Soul Motion founder, Vinn Martin along side Ellen Watson, founder of MovingVentures and the Uruguayan-born ‘embodiment of World Music’, Pepe Danza – amongst a host of others – will all be raising our vibrational ceiling and expanding our global consciousness. Oh and don’t miss the opportunity to share cycles of consciousness with Mayan Astrology expert, Vasumi. www.balispiritfestival.com blog.balispiritfestival.com

Now We Are Seven Over the past few years Ubud has gone from strength to strength, ever growing in popularity and international acclaim, partly due to the Ubud Hotel Association (UHA). The UHA umbrellas all the award winning brands of Ubud’s overnight options as well as the smaller lesser-known brands that delight visitors to Bali’s cultural centre. With the aim of being an active participant in decision-making within tourism growth areas, the UHA also encourages and supports the sustainable growth of member hotels, through global linkages, marketing and training opportunities. www.ubudhotelassociation.com New Horizons Californian, Ron Seivertson, is hot . . . it comes with the territory.

After 20 years in the construction industry which, he says, awoke the artist within, Ron’s osmotic path through the universe guided him to a vocation in off-hand hot glass art. He studied with passion in Seattle, Washington, USA – at the world-renowned Pilchuck School – and travelled as far afield as Melbourne, Australia in his search for the means to refine his technique.

“Hot Glass fits my personality, my need for quick gratification and a sense of conquest,” Ron says.

“It challenges me to explore possibilities regardless of the subject at hand. The results are immediate.

“Hot Glass is my competitor in many variations to exhaust my creative ambitions for the remainder of my life. Not all sculptors get the chance to work with Glass and for me it is humbling and a great privilege.”

Ron’s Horizon Glassworks operation recently opened a shop at the southern end of Monkey Forest Road, Ubud, in the retail space shared by Coffee and Silver restaurant.

“We are now in a position of growth in our business, and with the new premises I am inspired to make a wider range, and more pieces, which gives me more personal freedom to pursue my sculptural work,” Ron says.

Check it out – Ron’s hot stuff is cool . . .

Tel: 78040 14 horizonglassworks.com Map ref: R.5

Silver Linings Kapal Laut's eighth shop opened in Ubud recently. The success of this jewelry brand is due to their quality and design – simple, inexpensive elegance. Using top grade silver and stainless steel, the designers at KL transform natural elements such as rubber, shell, pearls and horn into contemporary yet timeless fashion statements.

Tel. 972470 www.kapal-laut.com Map ref. I.5

Live Light Bio-Electric Being Combining a specialized culinary programme conducted

by Sora Kimberlain of the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute and crystal sound harmonics by none other that the globally recognized AwaHoshi, this fabulous seminar (Crystal Sound and Living Food Incentive) is set to move our spirits and souls into a higher vibration over a one, two or three week period.

Mindful Awakening for a Vibrant Frequency takes place from April 2-22.

For more information email: thewomanconservancy@gmail.com.

A Morsel of Provence Bringing a touch of Provence to the streets of Ubud, Kebun - or ‘jardin’ as one might call it - embraces all things from this southern province of France. The food, the décor, the style and the je ne sait quoi that has enthralled poets and plebeians for decades, embodies itself in Kebun’s courtyard living. Expect gourmet eat-in or take-away delicacies, fresh baked savouries, desserts a la maison and gelatos. In the soirée treat yourself to light meals, cocktails, tapas and of course du vin!

Tel. 973361 www.kebunbistro.com Map ref. O.10

Butterflies, Birds and Fireflies Pelangi Estate is the fabulous result of an ongoing love affair with Bali and Indonesia. Built by a traveler photographer, the Estate - set on an acre of landscaped terraced rice fields and garden – encompasses the main house with four bedrooms, a stunning authentic Javanese joglo with three bedrooms and a singlebedroom cottage called Bhutan.

Pelangi, or rainbow in Indonesian, is so called as the walls are daubed with gentle colours of blushed mango, aquamarine, bruised cornflower blue. Rich wood tones adorn the floors and ceilings and bamboo rafters. Four-poster canopied beds add romance to the elegance of the three living spaces, which can be rented separately, or as a whole. Two salt-water swimming pools, and a river are two of the features of this property as are the rice field views that extend far beyond the boundaries.

Best put by one guest: “The gardens are spectacular – a haven for butterflies, birds, and fireflies at night.

“Having a meal on any of the outside lanais, with the sound of the waterfalls and the fresh breeze is pure heaven.

“Riverside massages in the shade of the coconut palms or sunbathing by the pool in the private back yard will become favorite pastimes.”

Privacy and peace – ideal for retreats – Pelangi Estate offers rice field walks and bird watching on the property that is a short distance the bustle of Ubud with its first-class restaurants, galleries, museums temples and Balinese dances. Fully staffed with an English speaking knowledgeable driver, a stay at the estate could be your own version of Eat, Pray, Love. www.pelangiestate.com Managed by DMG LUXURY TRAVEL AND REAL ESTATE info@dmginvestments.com / +6281314577885.

people

Robin Lim is CNN's Hero of 2011 for good reason.

Robin Lim was named the 2011 CNN Hero of the Year on December 12 (Bali time).

Her Yayasan Bumi Sehat clinics – on Bali and in Aceh – have offered free prenatal care, birthing services, and medical aid for literally thousands of families who otherwise would not be able to afford such care.

“Every baby’s first breath on earth,” Robin said during her acceptance speech on CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute, “could be one of peace and love.

Every mother should be healthy and strong. Every birth could be safe and loving. But our world is not there yet.”

Robin – our Robin – shed some

tears during the presentation ceremony.

Not a few tears were shed in her hometown (at least we think of it as such) of Ubud among her myriad friends who were watching in various places throughout the village. Tears of joy . . .

She became the talk of the town.

For a while Robin became something that bound us together – proud of the humble person who offers so much to those who have so little.

In Indonesia the average family earns around US$8 a day (according to the International Monetary Fund). A birth costs about $70 in a hospital – up to $700 if the birth is complicated and requires a Ceasarian.

“The situation is bad . . . babies are unattended; deliveries have become commercialised, and mothers die from hemorrhage after childbirth because they can’t afford proper care,” Robin says.

Bumi Sehat has brought more than 4,000 children into the world.

During her acceptance speech Robin made this plea: “Today on our earth 981 mothers in the prime of their life will die . . . and tomorrow, again.

“I’m asking you to help change that.

We don’t even know how many babies are lost, but all of us can help change that.”

To read our definitive article on Robin Lim and Bumi Sehat go to: www.theyakmag.com.

Neal Adams recounts his experience of Robin at the birth of his second child, Ethan.

“My first son, James, was born at Bumi Sehat in Nyuh Kuning, in December 2006 under the caring and experienced guidance of Robin Lim. It was obvious to my wife, Ayu, and me that we would be back at Bumi Sehat for the birth of our second child.

Bringing a new life into this world always carries a certain amount of stress for both parents – especially for the mother-to-be. So, on the eve of July 17th, 2009, at around 9pm, Ayu's labor pains started, along with my concern and excitement to do my part.

Having been through this life-changing process before and knowing not to panic as I did on the previous occasion – rushing to the clinic and denting my car twice on a poor tree minding its own business in the car park, and finding out I was five hours too early, we both decided to wait until Ayu felt the time was close.

A few hours of waiting around then Ayu said, “let’s go”. By this time it was about 1.30am and we arrive at the clinic and put Ayu in the hands of the staff on duty. I feel bad because they are resting at that time in the morning but they are very caring and rub their eyes and go through the necessary checks.

We move to the room where the water births take place, I ask Ayu how she is feeling and she says the baby is coming NOW. Panic!

All I can think is, “Robin help!”

I pull out my phone and find her number but it's 2.30am – my general reaction to someone calling me at 2.30am is not to answer the phone. But Robin answers, “Hi Neal what's up?”

I stammer, “Baby coming now . . .”

Robin calmly says, “Okay, there in five”.

I think, “wow” – true to word, she rushes in with an armload of flowers, which fly into the warm bath awaiting Ayu. I notice that Robin is bleeding from her leg and point this out.

Her reaction is, “Oh yeah, I was running down the road and tripped over a pile of black sand but forget about that – let's concentrate on Ayu and get this baby born”.

So Ayu is in the water and Robin is encouraging her to push, then woosh, Ethan shoots into the world . . .”

- Neal Adams, painter.

art

Pray.

Neal Adams talks to Mangu Putra about his beloved country and the art that has launched him into the international spotlight.

Not every painter walks into a national art gallery and starts to throw red paint on the walls and floor.

And when Balinese artist, Mangu Putra, began to do it in the Indonesian National Gallery in Jakarta the curator nearly had an apoplectic fit. Mangu gave a blithe shrug and said he was creating an installation as part of a solo exhibition – Teater Rakyat (Theatre of the People) – celebrating 65 years of independence.

The red paint symbolised blood spilt during the fight, and ongoing struggle, for freedom in the Republic.

And there I was, thinking I was going to talk to, arguably, Indonesia’s greatest living artist, about tonality or some such technical aspect of what we do.

Mangu Putra is a master of tonality, texture and technique. Of incredible technical detail. But it is the metaphorical semiotic in his work that lights him up.

“This is my country,” he says.

“We have many, many problems – poverty; injustice; old people who have fought in the independence struggle who are now left behind and forgotten.

“So many of our women go to places like Saudi Arabia to find work and are abused . . . even killed.

“This is what I wanted to say to people in the Teater Rakyat exhibition.”

Mangu says he invited many people from government to view the exhibition . . . no one turned up. Similarly absent were the media.

He shrugs, smiles.

Mangu interrogates the issues surrounding women’s rights through a ubiquitous “Kartini” – based on the reallife figure of Raden Ajeng Kartini who is a hero to millions for her struggle to get Indonesian women the recognition they deserve.

“There are many, many Kartini,” he says, “fighting here and in other places against the abuses that are inflicted upon them.”

One painting – Ibu Pertiwi (who in Balinese legend is the earth mother) – portrays an elderly and downcast woman whose shriveled breasts are symbolic of starvation (one suspects spiritual as well as material), and provides a strong insight into how the artist goes about his work and the range of meanings he puts into it: “See the red light reflecting off her arms – this is the heat from the earth that symbolises global warming.”

In another, two children cling together – one in a grubby white shirt, the other in red; their faces bear the scars of what the nation has been through to get to this point in history. Police “do not cross” lines lurk in the background.

“These children are our future . . . but what future? We don’t know yet . . .

art

Red And White.

Teacher.

art

“I put the yellow police tape in lots of my paintings – a signifier of state-imposed order and control. I use them as symbolic permission for people to go wherever they want.

“In fact, the exhibition opened with the cutting of the police boundary tape,” says Mangu with a wry smile and a twinkle in his eye.

In yet another an old female soldier stares out at us with glaucomic rheuminess, hand in mouth. The portrait is titled No More Words. The portrait is of a woman who actually fought in the independence revolution.

“In the painting she can still see . . . but what does she see? What can she say?”

As part of the anniversary exhibition Mangu made a documentary film, which featured a proud old man, I Wayan Pegeg (also a veteran of the independence struggle), who dragged himself from his sick bed to be interviewed in his Legion of Veterans uniform (together with the woman in No More Words). He asserted his

great love of country and gave this message to following generations: “To the youth I ask with respect. I fought to defend the United State of the Republic of Indonesia, now you have to continue the struggle, since the struggle is not over . . .

“Whatever experience you get, copractise, not just theoretically. “ . . . dare to show the struggle through development.

“Do not create havoc in banjar, village, country. Don’t!”

The day after Mangu interviewed him, he died.

As we watched the footage – which included that of the old man’s funeral – there wasn’t a dry eye at the table.

His profound talent (with brush and palette knife, as a photographer and videographer) aside – not an easy thing to do – Mangu Putra wears his heart on his artistic sleeve.

“But I am finished with the past now,” he says.

“Starting next year I’m going to start painting the future.”

If his future works are nearly as powerful and profound as this series of works, I think the future is in good hands.

His imagery tugs at the very centre of my being and reminds me of how lucky I am to have chosen a vocation that allows me to meet and get to know people like Mangu.

Meetings such as this one challenge me to look at my own work in new ways. And push me to never stop experimenting with style and story.

Before we leave Mangu’s place he pulls me aside: “Hey Neal, let's go painting landscapes sometime.”

It will be my great pleasure mate . . .

Neal Adams is a painter and avid student of art history who has immersed himself in theory and technique, and worked in the art world since he was in his mid-teens. Now in his early 40s, Neal lives and paints in Ubud.

His work can be viewed at Orgone Gallery in Sanggingan.

Ibu Pertiwi.

interview

Salavado Bali raps with multi-talented artist Jane Chen about her passion for exploring creative expression and disciplines in various mediums. Through her study and proficiency in White Crane Silat, Jane continually experiences a journey of discoveries within the body.

Ten years ago we did an interview, what are you doing now?

This new work I’m doing – I call it “Lost Alphabet” – is the evolution of my past performances. I’m changing, growing, and now the vibration is different – it’s an ongoing revelation of something, no beginning and no end.

Dance wise?

Yes, dance wise, like many things in life.

Let's back track on who, where and what?

Well, Jane Chen, age 55, although I don’t always tell (laughs), born in Jakarta and living on Bali for 28 years. I graduated art school as a ceramicist; my first job was at Jenggala Ceramics. I eventually left in pursuit of exploration, many things were out there. I won an award

in 1998 for designing with sustainable eco-friendly woods: table tops, palm ivy, all this before it became fashionable.

I was one of the pioneers in Bali.

So where did the dance come from?

Did you have a background in it?

No, nothing to speak about, looking back I wished I could have been in a dance academy. Whatever the soul search, it has come to me, one way or another. I have the need to express myself differently. I went to San Francisco and New York to dance classes but it turned out it was not what I planned. In San Francisco, doing the third class with a Tibetan chant and dance teacher that I had found, a voice that told me go back to Java. I visited the ancient temples and met with master

Dances with masks.

interview

choreographers, all this allowing me to be introduced to some of the culture that I’ve never been in touch with growing up. When I was six, I had some ballet lessons and I loved creating something out of nothing, choreographing myself.

Who were you in the beginning?

I guess we come from different cultures from past lives and as someone who was born in the Chinese family – my father has a Japanese grandmother and I feel closer to Japanese culture – and being Indonesian, but I feel closer to Javanese culture as well, mother is Indonesian-Chinese.

So you did have some dance experience?

Yes, but not in the form of expression: Salsa, Tango, which I love because it involves a lot of feeling, but didn’t give me much inside. I worked with many different crafts until I found that I’m slowly getting into more dealings with essential oils. Whatever work I do and what is significant for me, is the training of all the senses, cultivating your thought, your speech and heart – which is the most difficult – and how to harmonize.

It’s a never ending learning process . . .

So now let the dance begin.

In 1997 I was experiencing a great opening, a craving and wanting to express myself and I was lucky to be able to perform a little bit with very established dancers when I went back to Java. I trained a little bit here and there and they were very open to me, someone would bring me a text of an ancient Javanese chant and would give me a mask and over years I received invitations from healers to see performances. So all these things were messengers in my life. I come from a very different discipline. My time is spent differently from professional dancers – they have a need to keep producing, I produce by time. I wake up in the morning, I hear the voice and follow through.

There has to be some kind of

schedule you adhere to?

Yes, okay to satisfy logic, which I can’t, I have to satisfy my business. On stage is not something that makes money at all, a lot of times I finance with my own pocket money.

Let’s get an understanding, you're writing, producing, designing, choreographing and directing, the whole ball of wax, that’s some undertaking, how did that come into existence?

In 2002 I and a famous choreographer and dancer, Pojor Satriadi, we worked together.

There was also Ketut Suttronia, the legend of Bali Dance – she showed me how to embrace the audience by looking at and right through from the center. What I have cultivated within my limitation, creating, I am with the audience, the audience is with me, synergy.

Is there anything you would like to add?

For me, I think, if I’m the audience of Jane Chen’s show, I will be open to anything that connects my own perception that would trigger me, good or bad.

Future plans?

The process has been a future journey that heals me so much, before I heal others, I have to heal myself in the hope of healing others, and whatever the result is will affect people in some way.

When you say healing yourself, what hurdles do you have to apply?

(Laughs), I have no more back pain, I don’t need to go to an osteopath or chiropractor anymore, I did it, and I’m there now. I do some healing work as well, when I project my energy into a person, many things that I do allow only the best, I receive as well from channeling.

Philosophy?

Simplicity.

feature

Tongue in cheek.

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"I DON'T LIKE SPIDERS AND SNAKES BUT THAT AINT WHAT IT TAKES TO LOVE ME . . ." OH YES IT IS FOR DALE MILLARD, WRITES ANDREW HALL.

With his fascination for all things that grow, creep, crawl, slither or slink, ethno-botanist/herpetologist Dale Millard has many amazing stories to tell about the plants and creatures that share the planet with us.

Like the one about a species of fungus – cordyceps – that preys on ants; grows out of their heads and turns them into zombies. Yep, zombies! Cordyceps spores infiltrate the little critters and at some point begin to sprout as a mini mushroom out of their heads. It’s all downhill from there . . .

The afflicted ant – under the influence of the fungus which is related to that from which LSD is derived – forgets all about its antly duties and wanders off in search of a leaf (at about 25cm from the ground and at just the right angle to the sun) onto which it clamps its jaws . . . and dies. Its body becomes a factory upon which the highly contagious fungus flourishes.

Dale says ant colonies have cottoned onto the fungus’ cunning plan so that sentries posted at the entrance of the colony check each worker returning from work. If an infected ant is detected the sentries drag him off to the local graveyard and kill him . . . and then commit suicide by biting each others’ heads off.

It’s a tough old world out there.

But there is another member of the cordyceps family that, because of its immuno-depressant properties, is used widely in organ transplant procedures to prevent the body rejecting a new organ.

And yet another (cordyceps sinensis) – used, in a drink

form, by many elite athletes – which enhances energy, endurance, stamina, and oxygen capacity (and isn’t banned under the rules of international competition).

“We haven’t even touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to researching the contribution mushrooms and other forms of fungi have to make to medicine . . . but one thing is for sure, it’s the future . . .”

Dale was born in South Africa and developed his love for the natural world early on.

“I had an elaborate cactus collection when I was about seven,” he says.

“We lived near a big veldt and I used to go out and catch snakes.

“I remember when I was about eleven I came across a sheet of asbestos, so I lifted it up and underneath were two snakes together – about a metre long. At that stage I didn’t really know much about snakes and I wanted to catch them . . . “. . . that is until they (Mozambican spitters, as it turned out) reared up and flared their hoods at me.”

Undeterred, and as time went on, Dale’s bedroom – much to the chagrin of his parents – became home to rattlers and mambas and cobras and other species that would make most of us think more than twice about going to bed.

“One Christmas my pet golden-faced Cape cobra escaped . . . and because I wasn’t meant to be keeping poisonous snakes in the house, I couldn’t tell anyone,” Dale says.

feature

“I used to look around the house while my parents were at work but couldn’t find it.

“On Christmas Day when we were opening our presents (that were piled up under the tree) I found it . . .”

Dale pursued what he refers to as his “obsession” with all things natural – with an emphasis on discovering and developing medicinal uses for naturally occurring substances – through various under- and post-graduate degree programmes while at the same time making a name for himself amongst the community of fellow researchers.

He founded a company called MEGA (Medicinal Edible Gardens Association) – set up as a service provider for humanitarian organisation, Food and Trees for Africa – and started visiting communities and researching traditional approaches to treating common primary health care problems like dengue, typhoid, malaria and others.

“I was looking for the best non-toxic chemistries that people were using to address specific afflictions in their regions,” he says.

“I made some pretty amazing discoveries with regard to certain medicines that you absolutely don’t even have to know what’s wrong with you – where diagnosis and pathology becomes less and less important.”

Dale headed out of Africa to the jungles of Brazil (where he set up another research project) to widen his knowledge and understanding of herbal medicines . . . . . . and now lives part-time on Bali (from where he travels throughout South-East Asia) studying environments that are potentially rich in natural resources that can be used to treat the common ailments afflicting local communities (which are largely akin to the maladies found in most developing nations).

He communicates with local researchers – notably Tjokorda Gde Kerthyasa (see the previous issue of The Bud) – who are looking at, for instance, herbal approaches to the treatment of dengue.

A plant that grows prolifically in Indonesia – locally known as temo kunci – has demonstrated properties that fight this disease, which causes enormous social and health-related economic misery.

“The University of Malaysia is developing it into a drug but I think it’s going to be suppressed because it’s just too cheap and too easy,” Dale says . . . “after thirty years of

failure to come up with anything else.”

And so the conversation moves into efforts of researchers who have access to limited funding versus the multinational drug companies who have vast resources but, Dale says, are very specific about what kinds of drugs they are willing to research and manufacture . . . the ones that earn them the most money.

“One of my first jobs was with a famous German toxicologist who came to South Africa . . . and I had to go around with him collecting all the most venomous nasties,” he says.

“We were working on developing a drug that came from puff adder venom . . . that (with a very precise procedure) could be injected directly into a tumour in the brain . . . and the venom would break down the cells of the tumour (without affecting the surrounding brain tissue). “. . . so many of these (types of) things get researched but if they don’t have a good business model they just never get developed.”

Dale says the wider (western) medical profession is similarly limited in its understanding of – and ways of dealing with – health issues, especially if those issues incorporate some component that might be regarded as “socially unacceptable”.

“The obvious ones are those that involve some kind of mental aspect (schizophrenia, for example),” he says.

“If someone’s seeing visions or hearing voices . . . you’re crazy mate.

“But in many parts of the world it is regarded as a spiritual affliction.

“You can see the same way of dealing with (some aspects of) mental health here on Bali – where there is a raised awareness of the value of ritual and belief (and where the sufferer doesn’t have to fit in with fabricated ‘norms’).”

And then there is the repertoire of drugs available in traditional societies: “We might think we’ve got a lot of drugs in western medicine . . . but you simply can’t compare with nature,” Dale says.

Unfortunately though – from having discussions with a number of traditional healers on Bali – Dale says the knowledge of such things is being lost at an alarming rate because the younger generations are being seduced by

Green pit viper... rainbow curves.

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Wing command.

consumer culture . . . ably assisted by concerted marketing campaigns that are turning consciousnesses towards western notions of value.

“The erosion of culture and language is as detrimental to the ways of traditional healing practices as deforestation,” Dale says.

Indigenous languages are being abandoned in favour of lingua francas such as Bahasa Indonesia but what many people don’t realise is that traditional knowledge and understanding has generally been passed from generation to generation via an oral tradition. Forget the local reference for something that might not be able to be adequately described in another language and you’ve lost the whole essential concept.

Trade in an understanding of herbal remedies for handphones and you place yourselves at the mercy of a medical system that might not only be inferior but economically crippling.

“What (anthropologist) Margaret Meade – who used to live in Ubud – warned us about many, many years ago was the movement to a monochromatic society,” Dale says.

“In one generation you can lose what has taken thousands of years to build.”

Before we got too maudlin about the way of the world I segue back to the animal that first fascinated Dale all those years ago – snakes.

On Bali virtually every day we see them laying dead on the road. According to Balinese Hindu belief the snake is a sacred animal and, strictly speaking, should not be assassinated – that’s why they’re on the road: so we can pretend that they have been run over.

But there are some snakes on Bali that are quite poisonous (though not nearly as many as some people think) and, as such, pose a threat to people who are increasingly forcing them out of their preferred habitats and into homes and gardens.

So why shouldn’t we kill them?

In 2011 West Bali lost its entire rice crop to rats. Snakes are rats’ major predators.

In addition to being voracious eaters, rats are prodigious breeders and they carry a range of diseases matched only by mosquitoes.

“Killing one snake allows hundreds of rats to breed – leading to an exponentiality in numbers,” Dale says.

“Secondly, killing a highly venomous snake can be very dangerous . . . and there aren’t nearly enough anti-venom stocks on Bali – I’ve checked.

“If you get on the wrong end of a Malayan krait (for example) which are common on Bali . . . 85 per cent of people who present to a hospital after being bitten still die.

“But they are a shy snake . . . we say snakes don’t bite people, people get bitten.”

Dale goes ballistic – in his own quiet way - when he thinks of sacrificing snakes for the dinner table; a practice he equates with the abhorrent practise of shark finning for the sake someone’s mistaken belief that shark fin soup will give him a longer lasting “stiffy”.

But, he says, even dead snakes can get their own back because they carry a parasite called pentastomes – a spiralshaped, wormlike arachnid (see also, spider) that hatches inside you and begins to bore its way through your organs.

Imagine it; a bunch of organ eating spiders crawling around inside you . . . how’s your stiffy going now?

This is a highly populated island ecology and many people rely on agriculture - snakes play a vital role in controlling the rodent population. And if we let the rat population to get out of control we run a public health risk of spreading the myriad vector-borne diseases carried by them.

“There are really beautiful snakes on Bali,” Dale says, “and most of them are harmless to humans.”

But be careful poking around under bushes and rocks, putting your hands into crevices and bamboo thickets.

Use common sense and scope out the habitat you’re in before you go bumbling through it. Snake bites – especially venomous ones – are statistically very rare . . . but they do happen. The more awareness you have when negotiating the environment, the smaller the chance of having a nasty experience.

After our talk Dale and I took a wander around my garden. Swimming in one of my ponds was an exquisitely decorated snake. He told me its name but I’ve forgotten it . . . I’ll just call it Bob and feel happy that s/he’s happy keeping my tadpole population under control.

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Malayan or Banded Krait.

Black Krait.

Malayan Spitting Cobra.

Malayan Spitting Cobra.

Green pit viper.

King Cobra.

Rusell's Viper.

Rusell's Viper.

King Cobra.

Snakes to AVOID: If you see one leave it alone. Back off cautiously (sudden movements may alarm the snake) and keep the snake in sight until a safe distance away. Call for help if necessary (snakes are deaf). Snakes will usually try to escape if encountered by humans – but don’t count on it. #1 Malayan (banded) krait / black krait: Highly venomous and common on Bali - survival of a

bite is unlikely. #2 King Cobra: Highly venomous – better outcomes with treatment

than krait bite. #3 Malayan spitting cobra: Aims for the eyes when spitting. If hit wash eyes/skin immediately with water. Highly venomous if it bites. #4 Russell’s viper: Highly venomous and responsible for thousands of deaths in S E Asia – not confirmed on Bali but sightings have been reported. #5 Green pit viper / also called white lipped viper: Venomous but not likely to cause death in a healthy

human being if treated promptly.

1. Allow bite to bleed freely for 15-30 secs.

2. Cleanse and rapidly disinfect area with Betadine (assuming you’re not allergic to iodine). If the bite is on the hand, finger, foot or toe, wrap leg/arm rapidly with 7.5 cm to 10 cm crepe bandage past the knee or elbow joint immobilizing it (you can improvise by using a sarong, scarf, towel or other piece of wide fabric). Leave the area of fang marks open. Wrap the bandage no tighter than you would for a sprain. Make sure pulses in the

ankle or wrist are present.

3. Apply hard direct pressure over bite using a gauze pad or clean piece of fabric. Soak gauze pad in Betadine solution if available. Strap gauze pad tightly in place with adhesive tape.

4. Immobilize bitten extremity, use splinting if available.

5. Try to stay calm and do not cause the victim to panic. Panic states will raise the victim’s heart rate causing faster distribution of the venom. If possible, try and keep bitten extremity at heart level or in a gravity-neutral position. Raising it above heart level can cause venom to travel into the body. Holding it down, below heart level can increase swelling.

6. Go to nearest hospital or medical facility as soon as possible!

Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar can deal with snakebites, and is recommended, whereas the smaller hospitals and clinics in Bali generally do not have the facilities or experitse to deal with snakebites. The telephone number for Sanglah hospital is 0361 227-911. Then press 0 for the operator, and explain to them the problem.. For emergencies, it is quicker if the patient is taken directly to the hospital, and straight to the UGD (Unit Gawat Darurat) or ER (Emergency Room), rather than waiting for an ambulance.

7. Try and identify the offending snake. Visual identification/ description usually suffices.

8. Bites to face, torso or buttocks are more of a problem. Apply pressure with a Betadine soaked pad to the bite and seek medical attention immediately.

If the victim has been injected with a “neurotoxin” (nerve poison) that is characteristic of the cobra or Malayan krait, it may be necessary to assist the victims breathing by performing mouth to mouth resuscitation until such time as the victim can be given assistance at a medical facility.

Information courtesy of Ron Lilley.

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”.

A restful retreat, mistify and excite...

Jl. Raya Goa Gajah, Br. Teges, Peliatan, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia Phone : 62-361-970388 Fax : 62-361-970377 Email : sales@tepisawahvillas.com www.tepisawahvillas.com

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East meets west as balinese artisans team up to build the best guitars. by drew corridore.

Along a small laneway near the tourist shopping mecca of Sukawati is a workshop where artisans are busy carving and shaping . . . . . . guitars – world class guitars with artful Balinese woodworking and inlay accents, making them uniquely recognisable in a world in which even some of the best known brands are mostly outsourced from their countries of origin and made largely by machines.

Not Blueberry guitars.

They are entirely hand made – even the necks are painstakingly carved and shaped by hand.

Leading the project is a genial Balinese man named Wayan Tuges.

“Originally I was a wood carver – a skill I inherited from my father and my grandfather,” he says.

“In 1988 I was invited to attend an international wood carving symposium in Finland – the only participant from Asia. There were workshops and seminars, and then we were given one week to create a carving to put on display for the participants and public.”

Pak Wayan was somewhat intimidated by the time frame to get the work done because, he says, Balinese

carvings are usually quite intricate and cannot be rushed.

For the first time in his life he turned to a chainsaw to achieve the basic shape of the piece – Duga (a representation of the Balinese witch, Rangda).

“I was very proud to be there because many of the other carvers were teachers at famous places throughout the world,” he muses.

“But at lunchtime on the first day my arms were shaking like anything because a chainsaw is very heavy compared to the tools we normally use for our work.”

The memory makes Pak Wayan laugh.

It all worked out well in the end and his statue was left behind to be admired by the folks far from his home and unfamiliar with the meanings and relevance of Balinese Hindu symbology – too heavy to be lugged home.

He made headlines, though, in several European newspapers and became well known for his skill and application to his craft.

Upon returning from Europe Pak Wayan once again carried on his wood carving business and his role as a senior member of his village of Guwe.

Fast forward to 2005 and enter Canadian entrepreneur,

Rockin' silver dragons.

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Nice rack!

In the key of precision.

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Danny Fonfender: “. . . who brought me a guitar he’d bought in Denpasar.

“He said, Wayan, I have a plan to build the best carved guitar in the world – here, you can do it . . .

“Danny said I could break the guitar (to see how it was put together) so I broke it.”

Pak Wayan built a guitar from teak – based on what he had seen of the sample – which, he says, was not only the wrong wood to use but also dysfunctional as an instrument (teak not possessing the necessary tonal qualities of the woods used in making the finest guitars).

“But it looked nice,” Pak Wayan says.

He realised he had the potential to make a good guitar that would stand out in an aesthetic way, and perhaps also in a way that would be accepted by accomplished players.

Enter American instructor luthier (and member of the American Guild of Luthiers) George Morris who came to Bali: “. . . he has a guitar making school in Vermont for about 30 years and taught me the techniques of guitar building over a period of about two years.

“We launched our guitars at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2007.”

They were all acoustic instruments.

Terence Tan of guitarbench.com wrote in 2009 about Blueberry guitars: “The tone. I would stick my neck out and say that the tone is between the Fox production guitars and L’arrivees – which is not surprising considering the George Morris lineage and influence. The mahogany and acacia guitars were projective and punchy with a good balance and strong fundamentals. I would place them on par with the above named tonal comparisons.”

At the outset Pak Wayan was making his guitars from imported woods – maple from Canada, spruce from Alaska, cherry wood. But since then local woods have been sourced that provide the necessary tonal qualities and engineering integrity – Blueberry guitars are now an entirely Indonesian product made from acacia, mahogany, ramin, ebony, rosewood, and others.

The company has increased its range of instruments to include electric guitars and basses (albeit that pickups and hardware for these are still imported), and other stringed instruments.

So what makes a Blueberry guitar so special?

“In my mind they are a marriage between western art and eastern art,” Pak Wayan says.

“But also I am experimenting with some things that other luthiers wouldn’t really try . . . like making tops out of rosewood. Other luthiers are very surprised about that one.

“I also make split-top instruments where I use one kind of wood to bring out the bass notes and another to emphasise the tonal range of the top strings. I am aiming for a uniquely bright sound in my (acoustic) instruments.”

I’d not seen a split-top guitar before (which offsets the darker rosewood against light spruce), although I imagine they exist somewhere. Pak Wayan is also constructing “three- tone” tops whereby three pieces of different woods are layed in and joined to form the deck. They are visually attractive, even before the decorative carving accents are added.

To date Blueberry has sold about 1,500 guitars worldwide – which might not sound like many but when you consider a single instrument takes around three months to create, the craftsmen at Blueberry are actually quite busy.

In 2011 Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, ordered a Blueberry that Pak Wayan delivered in person to the palace in Jakarta.

Is SBY a good player?

“He is a songwriter . . .”

Since then the president has ordered another.

Local guitar legend, Balawan, plays a Blueberry as do a number of notable players around the globe.

Throughout our conversation Pak Wayan laughed a lot and expressed a great pride in a project that really came to him out of the blue. He is an easygoing, joyful man who is value-adding to the repertoire of fine, hand-crafted goods being made in Indonesia.

Dreadnaught dreaming.

art

exhilarating and inspirational, geoff hardy's work is glitz on culture with a nod to klimt.

BEGIN the begin.

Geoff Hardy, 57 going on 40, born in Sydney, Australia, schooling was a pretty rough ride, I was not a great student at all, somewhat rebellious, didn’t graduate, apparently ran around like a loose cannon for a long time. First child when I was 17, six more followed, divided by four mothers.

Time out, say that again.

(Laughs), I’m heavy on the clutch, right!

Seven children, four mothers, not wives, spread around the globe?

A little bit international.

How do you keep up with that?

Pretty well. We’re all one big family – we’re friends, it’s quite remarkable. My status now is two children here and married in Bali to my Indonesian wife.

You are the classic rebel without a clause, citizen of the world, what were you doing within that time . . . were you always an artist?

No, I fell into the antiques industry, studied different areas of fine art day and night and with a massive passion. I became a fine art valuer for some auctioneers in Sydney and I eventually went out retailing myself. Half that time I found myself with people saying, “I want that table or that cupboard, but smaller”, so I started cutting it up and doing things with it, using old timbers. That was very successful and I ended up having seven shops in Australia. I eventually came to Indonesia looking for a manufacturing base but once that was running I got bored with it all, always perusing other mediums.

Egyptian Head.

art

Monochrome.

art

So basically no formal education in the arts, just follow the yellow brick road?

None at all, I’ve fallen down quite a few times, but always got up.

So, vision quests?

Usually what other people aren’t doing.

Have you ever picked up a brush before?

No, cannot paint to save my life, although I recognize good art – scared to translate what I see in art.

How would you describe what you’re doing now, I mean your mosaic work is a highly skilled art form...

They’re mosaics made with glass, sometimes shell, brass, gem stones . . . I'm forever looking for different mediums, tedious work. A reasonable size contains 35,000 pieces. I’ve done pieces with 50,000 pieces. The problem working with these mosaics is that it is so difficult to change it once you’ve made a mistake.

Do you draw it out before you construct the mosaics?

Yes, they’re painted; an image is found, be it a virtual copy of a classic work, a famous work such as (Gustav) Klimt – an inspiration, drawn and painted to get the pallette, which I direct. I could draw it, but I just don’t have the time or patience.

How long does the average piece take to put together?

Well, I have four to six people working on each piece...

Hold the brush, you direct, but do not work on the pieces?

Inspiration was the learning of Persian carpets – the man that directs the Persian carpet sings the message to all of the weavers as they travel down the carpet. I don’t sing, I scream, so yes, I direct in many mediums.

Do you have the work done in Bali?

No, Java. In answer to your question, it takes two to two-and-a-half months to complete, sometimes longer.

Price range?

From about $1,000 – at the Ku De Ta exhibition – up to $8,000.

How long have you been creating mosaics?

About 18 years now – made every mistake in the book!

How many exhibitions have you done?

Ku De Ta last year was the first in Bali, the first ever, actually. I supplied a man who shows his collection all over the world, but I really can’t say who he is.

He wholesales decorative furnishings all over the world: Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Milan, big shows, and he has commissioned certain mosaics for him.

Apart from that no exhibitions.

Will you be doing exhibitions in the future?

Yes, we have a show coming up in New York next May – 50 works have to be completed for that. It’s a big store called Our House, in the meat market district, as they call it, Fourteenth Street. They

have about 40 stores across America; this opening will be their flagship store.

They just flipped when they saw these works.

Backing up, what is the final process of the mosaic work?

We have to put them on a water jet machine to trim the edges; it’s a huge machine, 40 thousand PSI, water and garland that cuts straight through the glass which gets a beautiful scraping.

We do a few here in Bali, sign them, date them and come back here for final inspection.

Do you get your materials here?

I sometimes go to China to buy gemstones.

Besides the Showman, have you done other custom commission works?

That’s what it has been up to now, and the people who commission want to keep it a secret. We’ve done massive carpets for instance in floors, amazing, 100,000 to 160,000 pieces – the effect is devastating.

Your philosophy on life?

Escape. I think creating is looking for a way out, for comfort. Escape from a middle-class upbringing. I’m forever looking for new ideas, new aesthetics, and new heights in emotion.

Geoff, thanks for your time...

The Understudy.

obituary

ketutjohn darling

John Darling, who died on November 26th, 2011, was a documentary film-maker, poet, and quintessential Ubudian.

Here he is remembered by Diana Darling, his wife from 1981 to 1987.

THE first conversation I had with John Darling was in June 1980 in the parking lot of the Bali Oberoi. It went like this: “Are you Madé Wijaya?” I said.

“No.” My friends and I were to be introduced to John and Madé at dinner that evening. It was easy enough to confuse the two: we had been told that they were both Australian, both red-heads, and that they knew as much about Bali as any foreigners since Walter Spies.

Later John opened up considerably, and he told me about how he first came to Bali. He had been at Oxford studying for a doctoral degree in history when, sometime in the mid-1970s, he met an adventurous American girl who persuaded him to drop out and go to Indonesia with her. They sailed around the archipelago and ended up in a bamboo hut near Ubud. But after a while she went on to do other things, and he was left alone with his books, his handwritten poems, and a broken heart.

One night he was feeling particularly lonely and he went wandering through the rice fields in the moonlight. I can see him so easily – a tall, lanky, rose-coloured man in batik pyjamas, with his long nose sniffing the warm night air. He came across an old man and was so happy to see another human being that he just sat down beside him. They tried to converse, but the old man didn’t speak Indonesian and John didn’t speak Balinese. So John offered him a clove cigarette, and they sat there together in the dark and brilliant world of the rice fields, the young man and the old man, looking out at the night – John didn’t know it at the time, but he was sitting with the venerable old artist, I Gusti Nyoman Lempad.

Sometime after this, John went to watch a wayang kulit performance at the Lempad house. After the performance, a slim elderly man came up to him and said, “Excuse me, but my father has noticed you and he has said that you should come and live on our land.”

This was Lempad’s son, I Gusti Made Sumung. John accepted the offer.

When Lempad died several years later at the age of 116, John went to the family house, as was customary, and found the courtyard full of people busy preparing for the funerary rituals. John apologized to Gusti Made Sumung: “I’m sorry, I don’t know what I can do to help . . .”

Gusti answered: “Make a film of my father’s cremation.”

John’s friend Lorne Blair had just returned to Bali from shooting a segment with his brother Lawrence of their Ring of Fire series, and he had a camera and some film. With Gusti Made Sumung’s guidance, they shot Lempad’s cremation. Then they decided to expand the project and document Lempad’s long life, as well, giving John a chance to exercise some of his prestigious training as a historian. The film Lempad of Bali became a classic in the filmography of Bali, and John had discovered in film-making a way to make his poetry visible.

In the films that he went on to make – especially in his major work, the three-part series Bali Triptych – John seemed to be searching for a way to show others what it was about Bali that moved him so. He regarded Bali with something close to reverence, and observed its uniquely elaborate customs with a rigour that was almost courtly.

John’s determination to make films led him to move back to his native Australia in 1987. Over the next twenty-odd years he made a number of documentaries on Bali and other societies in Indonesia; and for many years he taught film-making at Murdoch University in Perth, despite being constrained by a rare and debilitating blood disease. His last film was The Healing of Bali (2003), launched on the first anniversary of the Bali bombings. It was a project he described, somewhat grandly, with the word karya, meaning ‘holy work’.

In October 2011, John was diagnosed with untreatable cancer and given a shockingly short prognosis: “weeks, possibly days”.

He prepared for his death with grace and good humour, and uncommon efficiency. He planned the details of his funeral. His books and papers will go to the National Library in the collection “Australians in Asia”. He took care to communicate with his friends. He was grateful when two of them – Madé Wijaya and Jero Asri Kerthyasa – visited him in Perth and brought him holy water from Bali, of the particular sort required for the release of the soul.

He spent the last day of his life listening to recordings of Balinese music that he had chosen weeks earlier and labelled “John’s last listening”. To all who bade him good-bye, his last words were “I love you.”

theLIST

Jan/Feb/March 2012

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

Illustrations in The List by Captain Freddie.

Victor Mason was last seen on a pub crawl in north London. His column 'Those Were The Days' does not appear in this issue.

Birds & Bees • Out & About • Homestays • Festivals • Galleries • Eco

the list

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

A ADVENTURE 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).

Their white water rafting has been relocated further upstream, to enjoy a longer and more exclusive stretch of water with the facilities and access being better bar none not only in Indonesia and Asia, possibly the best white water rafting concern in the world!

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.

Bali Bird Walks Campuhan.

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.

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.

Sobek Bina Utama Jl. Raya Tebongkang No. 33.

Tel: 0361-287059. www.balisobek.com 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.

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.

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

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.

Kusia Gallery Jl. Raya Sanggingan No. 99X. Tel: 0361-973113.

Fascinating and longestablished shop dealing with Balinese cultural artifacts.

The Shop Sayan Jl. Raya Sayan No. 52, Br Kutuh Tel: 0361- 973508 www.ShopatTheShop.com Map Ref: C.3 With a 15th century reclining

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

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.

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.

Tel: 0361-975449, 974562. www.agungraigallery.com Map Ref: U.13 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.

Antonio Blanco Renaissance Museum Jl. Raya Campuhan.

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.

Gaya ArtSpace Jl. Raya Sayan.

Tel: 0361-979252. www.gayafusion.com High concept space offering major exhibitions by both

the list

international and local artists featuring contemporary art, paintings, performance, installations and sculptures.

Genta Gallery Jl. Raya Lodtunduh No1.

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.

Infinity Gallery Upper Monkey Forest Road Tel: 0361-972500 www.liquid-art-gallery.com Infinity Gallery displays "Liquid Art", which is ultra high-speed photography of fluids in motion. The timefreezing method allows you to see hidden wonders of the natural world. Think of it as a visual spa, in a modern and elegant gallery setting. Open daily from 9am to 10pm. Free entry.

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.

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 Neka Jl. Raya Campuhan.

Tel: 0361-975074. www.museumneka.com One of Ubud’s oldest and

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

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.

Hanna Art Space Jl Raya Pengosekan, Peliatan.

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 Kajeng.

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., lovingly 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.

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.

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

Nyoman Sumerta Fine Art Gallery Banjar Teges, Peliatan.

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.

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

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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. sculptors.

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

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. 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.

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. 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.

Tanah Tho Jl. Raya Lodtunduh.

Tel: 981 482 www.tanahtho.com Owned and curated by Dewa Gede Putrawan, owner of the popular Ibu Rai Restaurant, Tanah Toh Art Studio was built with passion and with the aim of bringing art enthusiasts and artists into a single community. The gallery showcases pieces of great energy, spirit and highlight the dynamic relationship between the artist and the canvas.

TonyRaka Art Gallery Jln. Raya Mas No. 86.

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.

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 modAustralian inspired – that is, fresh local organic produce, the best of meats, and simple preparation. Food aside, this is also a great bar with an openplan atmosphere and tasteful design. The service, food and drinks are all good – their Virgin Wheatgrass Mojito has to be the best pick-me-up of all time - 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. Literary Evenings are a educationalmust on the last Thursdays of every month.

Bridges Bali Jl. Raya Sanggingan Tel: 0361-970095

www.bridgesbali.com Map Ref: H2 Set on a ravine of the Oos River this new trendy threetiered cafe cum wine bar cum restaurant is set to rock its riverside terraces. Their Divine Wine Cellar stocks Old and New World wines and hosts Divine Hour from 5-7pm every day with a glasses of wine starting from 50++. There is a cute bites menu as well as a full on a la carte. A private dining room and bottle shop complete this all-in-one venue of Ubudosity!

Café Des Artistes Jl. Bisma 9X. Tel: 0361-972706 . www. cafedesartistesbali. com Map Ref: K4 Pop in anytime, after 10.30 in the morning, for mocktails or cocktails, Smirnoff or 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, now serving original Belgium beer.

Coffee & Silver Jl. Monkey Forest.

Tel: 0361-975354.

Map Ref: Q.6 One of the most popular

drop-in and come-as-youplease 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.

Han Snel Restaurant & Bar Jl. Kajeng.

Tel: 0361 8410505 www.hansnelrestaurantcom A horseshoe-shaped counter here gives the bar and

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

Jazz Café Jl. Sukma # 2, Tebesaya.

Tel: 0361-976594. www.jazzcafebali.com Map Ref: M12 A true Ubud classic recently refurbished to combine air con comfort and outdoor pavilion seating, 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. Raya Sanggingan.

Telp: 975768 info@mozaic-bali.com www.mozaic-bali.com Map ref: B.3 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 overexuberance.

restaurant at Han Snel Gallery a distinctly convivial atmosphere...it's easy to imagine the late artist Han Snel himself sitting here drinking Bintang and regaling all-comers with tales from his

(unsurprisingly given the Four Seasons brand). Perched atop the breathtaking Sayan Ridge, the vibe is mystically romantic. World-class views and flavours.

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

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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 210day 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.

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).

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

Tel: 0361-974228. www.armamuseum.com Views of rice paddy fields and landscaped gardens over

or courses on offer.

BOOK SHOPS Ganesha Book Shop Jl. Raya Ubud.

Tel: 0361-970320. www.ganeshabooksbali.com

Ozigo Jl. Sanggingan.

Next to Nuri’s Nacho Mama. www. ozigobarubud. blogspot.com When you’re pissed enough on Brian’s Martinis, join the funloving 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.

Tel: 0361-978941.

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

Periplus Jl. Raya Ubud 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

a cup of coffee, a delicious brownie and a good book.

There is nothing better. One of Ubud's best cafe hangouts.

WiFi is supplied - if you must, but we suggest getting off your Faceboook and enjoying the breezes and the view or one of the many workshops

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.

Anjaly Jl. Dewi Sita.

Tel: 0361-971599 www.anjalybali.com Map Ref. M.9 Born out of gratitude, inspired by yoga and a tribute to being green, Anjaly (Sanskrit for thankfulness) is a forwardthinking clothing brand dedicated to freedom. With the focus on ‘you’, the people at Anjaly produce high quality, eco-friendly threads that are for more than just yoga.

Simplicity and harmony guide their designs and organic cotton is their medium. Anjaly is paving the way for us, as individuals, to take stock of what we wear and how we feel wearing it and have come up with an option to make us all feel freer.

turiscondition I overheard a conversation the other day at Localista, the smart new little coffee bar in Ubud. It’s not that easy to listen to other people’s conversations over the noise of the espresso machine and the coffee grinder, so I had to employ ‘chair creep’ and slowly move closer to this table where a group of people were advising a young couple on the matter of getting around in Bali.

The young couple was ripe for just the sort of local expertise that expats love to share. Judging by their accents, the newcomers were American — or perhaps Canadian, because they seemed to be awfully nice. The woman, who was apparently called Claire, had her arm in a sling. That’s how the conversation began.

“What happened to your arm?” said someone.

“It was really stupid. I walked into the traffic looking the wrong way and I got hit by a motorcycle.”

“You’ve got to watch that in Bali,” said Rio Helmi, who with his daughter, Soma, is the owner of Localista. “Indonesia drives on the left, like in Australia and the UK.” “You can’t really tell by looking at the traffic,” said Claire.

Then her husband spoke up. “We were thinking of renting a car, but I’m not sure about driving here.”

“Oh, don’t drive yourself,” said someone else. “You won’t see anything otherwise.”

“How long are you going to be in Bali?” said Rio. “Actually, we’ll be here for three months. We have a little research grant.”

“Then you should definitely get a driver,” said Soma.

“Yeah,” said a woman in yoga clothes.

She did some conspicuous stretches. “It’s really handy to have a driver.”

A pleasant-looking man in a red shirt

Diana Darling plays in the traffic.

said, “What are you researching?”

“Land-use patterns in regard to small business development in agricultural communities,” said the husband. “My name’s Sam, by the way.”

“I had a car and driver for a while,” said the woman in yoga clothes, “but now I get around by bicycle. Or walk. Walking really brings you in touch with where you are.”

There was a moment of clatter while everyone was served their coffee and sorted out their cupcake orders.

Suddenly I heard a familiar voice. “In the olden days, everyone got around on motorcycles.” It was my friend Tropical Tanta, a plump, rather elderly and very dishevelled-looking woman who looks like she belongs on a tram. It’s impossible to imagine Tropical Tanta on a motorcycle.

“Everyone still gets around on a motorcycle, Tanta,” said Rio. “Haven’t you noticed?”

I decided to join the conversation. “The vast majority of Balinese drive motorcycles and the others drive cars and trucks.”

They all stared at me with blank faces.

“Only one per cent of Balinese walk anywhere,” I continued, helplessly.

“The other one per cent ride expensive mountain bikes in the late afternoon, wearing Tour de France competition attire sans helmet.”

“Oh, hello, dear,” said Tropical Tanta.

She pulled up a chair and flopped down.

“The only way to get around Bali these days is with a car and driver.”

“Yes, Tanta. Everyone agrees.”

We made introductions all around and then I explained, “Claire and Sam are thinking of hiring a car and driver. They’re going to be doing research. I beg your pardon, I couldn’t help overhearing.”

Tropical Tanta gave her clucking little laugh. “Research? How interesting. You’ve come to the right place. Localista is full of

terrain.”

Everyone gave her the blank stare.

“If you hire a driver, though, you need to be careful who you get,” she continued.

“Drivers are not ordinary servants. They can be quite proud. In colonial times they were all high caste people, because you had to be brave and clever to drive at all.”

“Were high caste people brave and clever?” said Sam with a twinkle.

The woman in yoga clothes said, “My driver was an Ida Bagus.”

“Of course these days you can’t chose a driver according to caste distinctions,” said Tropical Tanta. “Fate decides who you hire. So you must endeavour to be a good person and hope that your karma gives you someone you like and can afford.

He should be able to drive well in the particular style you prefer . . .” “ . . . meaning aggressive or paranoid,” someone said.

“And he should be able to eat our sort of food at any hour,” said someone else.

“But he shouldn’t like to drink the same stuff we do.”

“And you should have some language in common.”

“Good point,” said the man in the red shirt. “A lot of drivers learn just enough English or French or Japanese to give the impression they can converse in that language about naval history or semiotics or nuclear fallout, when actually they have trouble with ‘left’ and ‘right’.”

The woman in yoga clothes said, “My Ida Bagus was multi-lingual.”

“On the other hand,” said Tropical Tanta, “he must not be so wonderful that you or your spouse fall in love with him.

That can lead to heartache such as real estate deals.”

The woman in yoga clothes said, “Life is a learning curve.”

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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 theatre-goers 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.

Biasa Jl. Raya Sanggingan Tel: 0361-8878002 www.biasabali.com Map Ref: B3 Stylish nomads dress in Biasa. One of Bali's top labels for cotton and linen fashion 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 Biasa-wear 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.

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.

are myriad indigenous plant species and a fabulous orchid display.

BOTANIC GARDENS

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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

Botanic Gardens Ubud Kutuh Kaja.

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.

CAVIAR & CHAMPAGNE Mozaic Jl. Raya Sanggingan.

Telp: 975768 www.mozaic-bali.com Map ref: B.3 Caviar menu and Champagne menu available, indulge your

tastebud with the Caspian Sevruga Caviar and Iranian Imperial Oestra Caviar and Champagne at the Lounge of Mozaic.

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 Beduur Restaurant Ubud Hanging Gardens, Desa Buahan, Payangan.

Tel: 0361-982700. www.ubudhanginggardens.

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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.

of this unique culture. Each session includes a lavish Balinese feast with complete class notes. Guests of the Honeymoon Guesthouses receive a 10% discount on all cooking classes.

Mozaic Restaurant Jl. Raya Sanggingan.

Telp: 975768 info@mozaic-bali.com www.mozaic-bali.com Map ref: B.3 So not your average cooking class! Award-winning chef

Kupu Kupu Barong Kedewatan.

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.

Tel: 0361-977888.

Bumbu Bali Restaurant Jl. Suweta No. 1.

Tel: 0361-974217. www. bumbubaliresto. com Half-day cooking programs with Balinese chefs teaching a wide variety of traditional island food.

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

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.

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.

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.

Clinics Prima Medika Hospital (Outpost) Banjar Nyuh Kuning, Mas. 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 8am-8pm.

Sayan Aesthetic Institute Jl. Penestanan, Sayan.

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

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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. other Asia Pacific destinations and you will find yourself pleasantly surprised. A recent addition is a women's medical spa offering ozone treatments, basic pre-med check ups and a variety of feminine hygiene treatments.

CRAFTS Indigo Jl. Monkey Fores.

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

Macan Tidur Gallery Puri Muwa, Monkey Forest Road 10.

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.

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.

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. Tel: 0361-970992.

Woodcrafting for the home

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

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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 observation of this duty, and brings accumulation of demerit.

E ECO Golden Hour by Agung Rai. ARMA Museum & Resort, Jl. Raya Pengosekan.

Tel: 0361-975742/976659 www.armaresort.com This is one of those special tours, the kind that can really open your eyes to the beauty of Bali. Starting from the ARMA Museum & Resort, join owner Agung Rai as he takes you to his secret places just north of Ubud, to

lands that have not changed in customs or traditions for thousands of years. Walk the verdant rice fields, gaze upon Mt. Agung majestic in the dawn's glow, stop for coffee at a local warung... and along the way learn how the Balinese really feel and think from one of the island's most helpful and generous tour guides. A stunning dawn tour of some of Bali's most outstanding landscape.

The Linda Garland Estate Banjar Nyuh Kuning.

Tel: 0361-974017.

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 joint-venture school and event centre on the river. Well worth an afternoon looksee.

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

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

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.

F

GLASS

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

G Horizon Glassworks Jl. Monkey Forest Coffee Silver Shopping

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 on Jl.

H Handicrafts Threads of Life Indonesian Textile Art Center Jl. Kajeng 24.

Tel: 0361-972187 www.threadsoflife.com While Threads of Life Gallery mostly displays and sells natural dyed traditional textiles made by the 1200 weavers on the 11 islands that Threads of Life works with, the gallery also features a variety of fine crafts made by traditional artisans, including fine traditional basketry, pottery along with homewares such as pillows and tablerunners, and wearable art.

HEALTH

Arcade Tel: 0361-7804014. www.horizonglassworks.com Map Ref: R.5/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

Raya Kengetan and see art in creation. Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm.

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).

Fivelements Banjar Baturning, Mambal.

Tel: 0361-469206 www.fivelements.org Taking healing and healthy living to a new level, Fivelements is a tribute to both traditional Balinese healing Usadha – there are two native healers more or less in residence – and to Living Foods with Sakti, their fine dining vegan restaurant.

With eight healing rooms, a beauty sanctuary, five suites for residential healing, two pools – for Watsu and Healing water dancing – a laboratory, meeting rooms and a myriad of curative treatments Fivelements is going 'deeper', way deeper, than others on

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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.

Bali have gone before.

Light Spirit Jalan Pengosekan.

Tel: 0361-857-5570 www.lightspiritbali.com Sound and energy healing centre which works with intuitive and highly educated therapists to ensure a high quality standard for energetic treatments. Open Monday – Saturday from 10:30 – 7:30 pm Sayan Aesthetic Institute Jl. Penestanan, Sayan.

Tel: 0361-972648. www.aestheticbali.com On the other side of the spectrum, Sayan Aesthetic Institute (SAI) treads the well worn path of beauty and rejuvenation through modern means. This Australian-developed clinic offers a complete range of procedures including world leader Germany's high-tech restorative dentistry, CEREC from SIRONA. Treatments exclusively for women are also now part of the programme.

HOMESTAYS

Alam Indah Family Hotels Nyuh Kuning village.

Tel: 0361-974629. www.alamindahbali.com

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

Tel: 0361-973381.

Jati 3 Bungalows & Spa Jl. Monkey Forest.

Tel: 0361-973349 & 977101. www.jati3bungalows.com

HOTELS

Kebun Indah (Beautiful Garden) Jl. Raya Pengosekan.

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

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

Tel: 0361-975535.

Swasti Cottage Banjar Nyuh Kuning.

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

Tel: 0361-975017.

Agung Raka Bungalow Jl. Pengosekan.

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 Eastern 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 along the ridge 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 and a fabulous pavilion restaurant complete this one of a kind resort. Alila Ubud is also one of the top wedding venues in Ubud.

Alila Soori Banjar Dukuh, Desa Kelating, Kerambitan, Tabanan.

Tel: 0361-894 6388. www.alilahotels.com/soori Alila Villas Soori has brought new meaning to stylish, luxurious and yet relaxed beachfront living. All the villas in this luxury all-pool villa property were sensitively designed to maximize views of the surrounding beach, sea and paddy fields, while still maintaining a sense of privacy and shelter.

Interconnected spaces create a harmonious flow from the interior to exterior space. Alila Villas Soori comprises of 15 one-bedroom Beach Villa, 15 one-bedroom Ocean Villa, 8

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one-bedroom Terrace Villas as well as 9 residential villas.

Each villa is accompanied by its very own private pool and in-villa Alila hospitalities, such as dedicated villa host service, a gourmet bar, espresso coffee and tea making facilities, 24-hour invilla dining, LCD televisions, Apple TV and iPod, double vanity with complete range of Alila’s signature bath amenities.

Amandari Kedewatan.

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

lush tropical gardens and rice terraces. The Resort is set within a unique and natural landscape.

Beji Ubud Resort Jl. Raya Sanggingan.

Tel: 0361-971166. www.bejiubudresort.com

Anini Raka Resort Jl. Raya Campuhan.

Tel: 0361-975213. www.aniniraka.com

Bidadari Private Villas & Retreat Jl. Raya Kelabang Moding Tel: 0361-9000402 www.bidadarivillasubudbali. com Map Ref. G.8 In under one year, Bidadari Private Villas and Retreat, set in the outlying lushness of Ubud, has already garnered no less than 11 ‘excellents’ from Tripadvisor.

Sophisticated seclusion on

Anhera Suite Ubud Jl. Raya Sanggingan 168.

Tel: 0361-977845. www.anherahotelbali.com Bagus Jati Br. Jati, Desa Sebatu, . Tel: 0361-978885/901888. www.bagusjati.com

Ananda Cottages Campuhan Campuhan.

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

Tel: 0361975742/976659. 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

This out of the way resort is ideal for those times when you need to retreat and cleanse. Fabulous spa facilities.

Barong Resort & Spa Jl. Monkey Forest.

Tel: 0361-971759. www.barongresortspa.com

a magical ravine, their five private villas offer sumptuous and distinctive décor and expansive living areas.

Panoramic views look out over Nature and are enhanced with horizon-edge pools. The bedrooms and bathrooms are fit for angels no less, as is the spa and meditation area. Fully

staffed and cuisined, you will probably find that when it is time to come down from the clouds, a little bit of you will always stay behind.

Bumi Ubud Resort Jl. Raya Lodtunduh No.88, Br. Silungan Lodtunduh.

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

Casa Luna Honeymoon Guesthouse Jl. Bisma.

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

The Honeymoon Guesthouses are situated only a five-minute 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.

Cendana Resort and Spa Monkey Forest Road.

Tel: 0361-973243. www.cendanaresort-spa.com Champlung Sari Hotel Monkey Forest Road.

Tel: 0361-975418/975349. www.champlungsariubud. com A veritable instituion with many returnees, located right

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opposite Ubud’s Monkey Forest.

Cinta Inn Ubud Jl. Monkey Forest.

Tel: 0361-975395. www.baligoodfood.com Cinta Inn has opened behind central Ubud's favorite watering hole, Cinta Grill.

Downtown and hip, expect a dock for your iPod, plenty of light to read The Yak and The Bud, DVD's and flat screens, and the comfiest bedding you'll find in a small inn. The pool is cool too. Rates +/USD125 include selections from Cinta Grill's awesome breakfast menu.

COMO Shambhala Estate Br. Begawan Giri, Payongan.

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.

Fivelements Banjar Baturning, Mambal.

Tel: 0361-469206 www.fivelements.org With only five suites for residential healing, Fivelements treat their on-site guests to a one-on-one like no other. This eco-friendly healing centre, crafted from sustainable bamboo,

is located on the banks of the Ayung river and offers a unique visitation into the Balinese world of traditional healing, set on the edge of a verdant, tropical forest.

Four Seasons Resort Sayan Sayan Ridge.

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.

Kamandalu Resort & Spa Jl. Tegallalang, Br. Nagi.

Tel: 0361-975825. www.kamandaluresort.com Kayu Manis Ubud Br. Baung, Sayan.

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.

Garden View Cottages Monkey Forest Road.

Tel: 0361-974055. www.baligardenview.com

Komaneka at Bisma Jl. Bisma.

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.

Kajane Mua Villa Monkey Forest.

Tel: 0361-972877. www.kajane.com

Komaneka at Monkey Forest Jl. Monkey Forest.

Gianyar. Tel: 0361-976090. www.komaneka.com

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

Tel: 0361-979252/979253. www.gayafusion.com Recently completed one and two bedroom villas showcase the artistry of Gaya Ceramics.

Contemporary simplicity perfects the quiet, mature tree-lined river valley.

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.

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.

Tel: 0361-972487. www.koriubud.com Kupu Kupu Barong Ubud Villa & Spa Jl. Kedewatan.

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

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well as friendly service and a buggy ride back and forth from your luxury pool villa.

Maya Ubud Resort & Spa Jl. Gunung Sarim Peliatan.

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.

Tel: 0361-978666. www.naturaresortbali.com Novus Taman Bebek Jl. Raya Sayan.

Tel: 0361-975385.

www.novustamanbebek.com Oka Kartini Bungalows Jl. Raya Ubud.

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.

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

watchdogs, 6 squirrels, 83 koi and two turtles. Puri Tupai is heaven on earth with its two traditional joglos, four bedrooms, 25 metre pool, grass tennis court, sculpture garden and the mod cons of satellite TV and Internet connection. So fabulous you won't want leave the property! Excellent for families, excellent for friends.

Puri Bunga Village Hotel Jl. Raya Kedewatan PO Box 141.

encompasses regal Balinese architecture on a stunning valley and river–view property.

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

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

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

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

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 chic-est valley, Sayan.

Pertiwi Resort and Spa Jl. Monkey Forest.

Tel: 0361-975236. www.pertiwiresort.com Puri Tupai Private Garden Villa Jl. Raya Anak Agung Gede Rai, Banjar Abian Semal, Lodtunduh.

Tel: 0361-981655 www.puri-tupai.com Chef, housekeeper, 24 hour security guards, 2

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

Tel: 0361-270123. www.purisaronhotel.com Royal Pita Maha Desa Kedewatan.

Tel: 0361-980022. www.royalpitamaha-bali.com Fit for a Prince and built by a Prince. Royal Pita Maha

Semana Villa Br. Semana, Desa Singakerta.

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.

Sunny Blow Villa Jepun Jln. Sanggingan.

Tel: 0361-977950.

Fax 0361-970012. www.sunnyblow-bali.com Next to the well-regarded Minami Japanese restaurant

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(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.

Tanah Merah Resort Melayang, Pejeng.

Tel: 0361-978554/978552. www.tanahmerahresort.com Tegal Sari Hotel Jl. Hanoman, Padang Tegal Tel: 0361-973318. www.tegalsari-ubud.com Tepi Sawah Villas Jl. Raya Goa Gajah, Br. Teges, Peliatan.

Tel: 0361-970388 www.tepisawahvillas.com A restful retreat set amidst beautiful tropical gardens, Tepi Sawah Villas offer spacious Balinesestyle accommodation, ultimate privacy, a friendly atmosphere, together with excellent, personalised service. The Balinese-style thatched-roof villas overlook verdant rice terraces, decorated with selected paintings and artifacts by Ubud's famous artists.

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’.

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

Tel: 0361-721480. www.elephantsafariparklodge. 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. One of the top 100 things to have done in a lifetime.

The Linda Garland Estate Nyuh Kuning.

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

Tel: 0361-972616.

Map Ref: D3 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 that houses paintings, rare 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) The Ubud Village Resort & Spa Jl. Raya Pengosekan.

Tel: 0361-978444. www.theubudvillage.com The Viceroy Bali Jl. Lanyahan, Br Nagi.

Tel: 0361-971777. www.viceroybali.com 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.

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, 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 has 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.

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 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 Zen-inspired 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.

Villa Indah Ubud Kedewatan.

Tel: 0361-975450. www.villaindahubud.com Villa Kánti Br. Apuh, Mawang Kelod, Lodtunduh.

Tel: 0361-8614400. www.villakanti.com Villa Kerti Yasa Nyuh Kuning.

Tel: 0361-971377.

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www.vilakertiyasa.com Villa Sonia Jl. Nyuh Bulan, Nyuh Kuning.

Tel: 0361-971307. www.villasonia.nl Warwick Ibah Villa & Spa Jl. Raya Campuhan.

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.

Waka Di Ume Jl. Suweta.

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.

Waka Namya Resort & Spa Jl. Raya Penestanan.

Tel: 0361-975719. www.wakanamya.com Balinese antiques marry modern convenience.

Romantic rice barn rooms or family villas with pools.

J JEWELRY Galaxyan Jewelry Jl. Hanoman No.3.

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 it is now available for you too!

mixes it up with horn, rubber, pearls, shells amd beads.

Definitely a place to shop for gifts!

Treasures Jewelry Jl. Raya Ubud.

Tel: 0361-976697. www.decko.com Map Ref: I.6 Acclaimed jewellers exhibit at Treasures, Bali’s most unique venue for the world’s most favoured metal. Gold, and lots of it, alongside precious and semi-precious stones

Gemala Jewelry Jl. Raya Pengosekan.

Tel: 0361-

‘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 See entries under Adventure and Wildlife – Bali Zoo Park, Bali Safari & Marine Park, Bali Bird Park and Elephant Safari Park Taro. ARMA Museum carries out painting, dancing and offering making classes.

Ceramic sessions are held at Gaya Gallery in Sayan for kids.

976084. www.gemalabalisilver.com Kapal Laut Jl. Raya Ubud.

Tel: 0361-972470 www.kapal-laut.com Map Ref: I.6 With 'simplicity, style and design' as their mantra Kapal Laut has opened their eighth shop in Bali. Elegant and affordable, Kapal Laut designs jewelry and accessories in silver and stainless steel and

amalgamate to make up truly one-of-a-kind pieces that last many lifetimes.

L LIVE JAZZ

Yan Van Jewelry Jl. Monkey Forest.

Tel: 0361-978513. www.yanvan.com Finally jewelry that looks great on men (and excuse me, women too)! Using rubber and silver as his

Mozaic Jl. Raya Sanggingan.

Telp: 975768 www.mozaic-bali.com Map Ref: B.3 Every Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights are the

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time to enjoy the live jazz performance at the Lounge at Mozaic from 7pm – 11pm, elegantly accompanied by a deluxe tapas menu and very delicious cocktails.

Jazz Cafe Jl Sukma, Tebesaya.

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 in the Ubud area.

Laughing Buddha Bar Jl. Monkey Forest.

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.

M 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.

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 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 crossroads, it’s pretty hard to miss.

It was the home 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.

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

PROPERTY Desa Kerasan Tel. 0361-9000566 www.desakerasan.com The opportunity of a lifetime should you wish to buy in Ubud is the upcoming Desa Kerasan. A six home community minutes away from the town centre has been created to offer elegant living with a focus on being green. Priced at under $300k.

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.

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

PHOTOGRAPHY Infinity Upper Monkey Forest Road Tel: 0361-972500 www.liquid-art-gallery.com Rio Helmi Gallery Jl. Suweta No. 5.

Tel: 0361-972304. www.riohelmi.com Yaeko Masuda www.yaekomasuda.com

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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 people-watching.

The metallic, angular construction of this open-air bistro would look great in a big-city gallery district, and stands comfortably beside 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 is done to perfection, and the ponzu-

grilled snapper is delicious.

Ary’s also makes an excellent virgin wheat grass mojito though we are sure they will be happy to add a shot of vodka if needed!

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

Tel: 0361-975489.

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.

Tel: 0361-975656 www.tepisawahvillas.com Map Ref: E.6 Enjoy a wide selection of cuisine, ranging from 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.

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. The menu is innovative and superbly delicious. Bookings preferable.

Betelnut Jl. Raya Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975053. www.dekco.com Map Ref. I.6 Pleasant, airy conservatory filled with palm trees and tressle tables. We love the noodles, satays and salads.

Keep your eye open for docofilm nights and live music performances on their indoor stage. Open for lunch, dinner and of course cocktails. Right ooposite the Puri Lukisan Museum, on the main street.

Bridges Bali Jl. Raya Sanggingan Tel: 0361-970095 www.bridgesbali.com Map Ref: H2 Nicolas Lazzaroni heads up a team of 11 in his kitchen.

Lunch menu has delicate salads, pasta dishes and light midday morsels. Dinner

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is a rather grander affair; Seared Scallops; Tiger Prawn Tempura; Red Pepper Crusted Chicken; Roast Pumpkin Rotolo and the best Filet Mignon this side of a number of bridges! Excellent wine list, wine cellar, a private dining roomand a lovely river view from the open-air terraces.

Bumbu Bali Jl. Suweta No 1.

Tel: 0361-974217. www.bumbubaliresto.com Bunute Restaurant & Bar Jl.Dewi Sita.

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. Tel: 0361-972706 . www.cafedesartistesbali.com Map Ref: K.5 Think Belgian, think steaks - and we mean excellent tenderloin with a choice of 6 luscious sauces - frites and salads in a romantically-lit pavilion or at garden tables.

Both Leefe and Hoefgaarden (famous brands of Belgium beer) are now available for those mid-day heated moments. Lunch is salads, snacks and excellent Indonesian specialities. One of Ubud's favourite hangouts and a must if you want comfort food.

Café Lotus Ubud Jl. Raya Ubud.

Tel: 0361-975660. 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.

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.

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 backdropped 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.

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.

d'Bali Bistro Bintang, Jl. Sanggingan.

Tel. 0361-975527 Indo-Asian cuisine with crispy duck and ribs at the fore. This sports cafe cum bistro also offers WiFi, and a big screen TV. If you are into fried ice cream look no further!

Cherry Blossom Bintang, Jl. Sanggingan, Ubud.

Tel. 0361-975527 This first floor restaurant offers classic dim sum, hangover perfect noodles, live sea food and lip- smacking crispy pork, organic and vegetarian dishes are also available.

Fly Café Jl. Raya Lungsiakan.

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.

The hand-crafted menu is 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, glassaccented kitchen lets you

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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.

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 Jl. Penenstanan, Sayan.

Tel. 0361972616 www. themansion.com Map Ref. K1 Indochine offers and elegant and intimate atmosphere within the ultra-Asian opulence of The Mansion Hotel and Spa. Serving Vietnamese and French cuisine with amodern twist on light and spicy flavours from Vietnam, Indochine proves once again that is os possible to have world class fine dining in the heart of a rural paradise.The wine list is well chosen and matched exquisitely to the cuisine.

Indus Restaurant Jl. Raya Sanggingan.

Tel: 0361-977684. www.casalunabali.com/indus Map Ref: C.4 Indus Restaurant, a fiveminute 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 Café Jl. Sukma, Tebesaya.

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 and a variety of salads, healthy fare, excellent kebabs and fresh juices. Choose from airconditioned bliss inside or traditional pavilion seating in the garden. Live music nightly except Mondays.

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

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.

Kafe Arma Jalan Raya Pengosekan.

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 8am-2pm.

Kafe ARMA is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Kafe Batan Waru Jl. Dewi Sita.

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) 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

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

Kagemusha Jl. Pengosekan.

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.

Kebun Jl. Hanoman no. 44A, Padang Tegal.

Telp: 0361-973361. www.kebunbistro.com Map Ref. N.9 France's most well-known region, Provence, comes to Bali at Kebun. This bijoux eatery complete with patio, comes with light meals, freshly baked savouries and of course wine!!

Kemiri at Uma Jl. Sanggingan.

Tel: 0361-972448. www.umaubud.como.bz Map Ref: B.4 The Uma cuisine 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 recommended as does Uma Teatime.

Kokokan Club Jl. Raya Pengosekan.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 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.

Tel: 0361-974668. www.lamakbali.com Stylishly modern traditional dining featuring steel interior 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 Tuesday to Sunday 9am – 4pm with Wifi also!

Laughing Buddha Bar Jl. Monkey Forest.

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 music 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, 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.

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, threesided 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.

Mozaic Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Ubud.

Telp: 975768 www.mozaic-bali.com Map ref: B.3 Enter Mozaic's Balinese doorway and you are guaranteed an evening of repose and pure enjoyment.

A walkway leads you into a tropical garden and pavilion dining. The chef's Degustation or tasting menu offers you the ocassion to truly savour what is a parade of ever-changing culinary

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creations. Mozaic and Chef Chris Salans have been honoured around the world for the excellence of their cuisine, and the beauty of the setting, by being selected by the prestigous Traditions & Qualite as one of Les Grandes Tables du Monde. The wine list is also a favourite choice of Wine Spectator. Top class.

Reservations essential.

Murni’s Warung Campuhan.

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.

Tel: 0361-977547.

Best ribs, best sashimi tuna (Thursdays only), best grills, best mash – all topped off with draught beer, a Bloody Mary 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.

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.

Palm Grove Elephant Safari Park, Taro Tel: 0361-721480 www.baliadventuretours.com A four-course fine dining experience like no other.

Sit under the stars and palm fronds of Bali's pachyderm estate and enjoy excellent

Nomad Restaurant 35 Ubud Main Street Tel: 0361-977169 Fax: 975115 Map Ref:

K10 Opened back in 1979 and an 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 – Nomad-style Martabak, Fresh Prawn Lakso

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 Eelke Plasmeijer.

Pizza Bagus Jl. Raya Pengosekan.

Tel: 0361-978520.

Eat in, take away or delivery!

Pundi-Pundi Jl. Raya Pengosekan.

Tel: 0361 -3084005 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.

food and wine in one of Bali's most original and beautiful locations. Boasting rights and getting to tick off one of those 100-things-to-do boxes is definitely part of the evening.

Bookings are a must.

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

Map Ref: A.2

Rendezvous Doux Jl. Raya Ubud.

Tel: 0361-7470163 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.

Sakti Living Foods Restaurant Fivelements Healing Centre Banjar Baturning, Mambal.

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Tel: 0361-469206 www.fivelements.org Neil Harden – raw and living food guru – came, saw and passed on the knowledge to master chef Made Runatha.

This vegan eatery, set in an ecological master–build bamboo pavilion, awakens your taste buds with healthful organic ingredients. If you thought vegan food was less than appetising, it's time you tasted again.

Siam Sally Jl. Pengosekan.

Tel: 0361-980777. www.baligoodfood.com/ siam-sally 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. Coowner/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.

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.

Tel: 0361-975554.

Excellent starters and the

desserts are mouthwatering.

The Green House Restaurant Jl. Monkey Forest.

Tel: 0361-978189.

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

Warung Buddha Bar & Grill Jl. Goutama.

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

Warung Enak Jl. Raya Pangosekan.

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

Tel: 0361-7470910 & 973236.

The Day Spa Specialists.

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

Fivelements Banjar Baturning, Mambal.

Tel: 0361-469206 www.fivelements.org Welcome to Ubud's newest and most thorough healing centre. Riverside treatments rooms transport you into another world. Two healing pools – Watsu and Water Dancing – realign your vibration, and Bali's top healing hands cleanse, support and reawaken your very soul. Bookings essential.

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KUSH Jl Hanoman.

Tel: 0361-971 236 Map Ref: O.10 Happiness in name (Sanskrit) and happiness in aim balance, calm, strength and contentment through an incredible variety of massages and treatments. From gentle Abhyanga to Kati Basti, through a Hot House session in the Infra-red sauna. Facials, hand and feet rituals using ancient Indian techniques promote cellular healing and alleviate strains of Modern Day existence and put one in the Ubud frame of mind. Time to turn off your handphone!

SPAS Eve Body Treatment Centre Eve 1: Jl. Penestanan Kelod.

Tel: 0361-979356.

Eve 2 & 3: Jl. Monkey Forest,

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

Map Ref: A.2

West End Café Jl. Raya Sanggingan.

Tel: 0361-978363.

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.

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Spa addicts unite. The Spa Alila has created a total concept for die-hard Alilaites. 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...

Skin Organic Spa and Waxing Salon Jl. Goutama 24.

Tel: 0361 975 615 www.ubudskinorganic.com Petite, authentic skin spa on Goutama, Ubud's up-andcoming 'chic street'. Natural nail polish, fresh

T

Taman Rahasia Jl. Raya Penestanan Kaja, 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...

TEXTILES

Ubud Sari Health Resort Jl. Kajeng 35.

Tel: 0361-974393. www.ubudsari.com Look out over Mumbul river and treat yourself to a number of beauty and semimedical treatments, colonics, fasting programmes and retreats.

Spa Villas at Komaneka at Bisma Jl. Bisma.

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

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.

ingredients ... genuine quality, traditionally inspired.

Kirana Spa Desa Kedewatan.

Telp: 0361-976333. www.kiranaspa.com

blended oils, facials using oxygen products, jamu drinks, all-natural scrubs, aloe vera extracts. Expert waxing, only certified therapists, sterilized equipment, and pure

Uma Ubud Spa Jl. Sanggingan.

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.

Macan Tidur Puri Muwa, Monkey Forest Road 10.

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 story-telling themes such as the Western tapestries, but woven instead of knotted or sewn.

Threads of Life Jl. Kajeng 24.

Tel: 0361-976581 & 976582. www.threadsoflife.com Maintaining and promoting traditional forms of weaving and cloth making, Threads of Life Gallery works closely with weavers from the Islands of Savu and the rest of the Indonesian archipelago.

Handmade traditional textiles from Bali, Flores, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Sumba and Timor are exhibited at the gallery. In the dry months check out their specialised 'Weaving tours' around the islands of Nusa Tenggara east of Bali. Open daily from 10am-7pm.

U UDENG

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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 Elephant Safari Park & Lodge Jl. Elephant Park Taro.

Tel: 0361-721480. www.elephantsafariparklodge .com Featured in international television travel programmes, getting married atop an elephant - with your entourage hanging out in a traditional Javanese pavilion surrounded by 30ft commemorative wedding flags - is one of those events that will make a lifetime dream come true, you will even have the photos and videos to prove it! (In reality wedding vows take place on the ground).

Maya Ubud Jl. Gunung Sarim Peliatan.

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 Jl. Raya Sanggingan.

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 & Rimba Reptil Singapadu, Batubulan.

Tel: 0361-299352. www.bali-bird-park.com

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

Tel: 0361-950000. www.balisafarimarinepark. com Bali Zoo Singapadu, Gianyar.

Tel: 0361- 294357 www.bali-zoo.com Elephant Safari Park & Lodge Jl. Elephant Park Taro.

Tel: 0361-721480. www.baliadventuretours.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 ecolandscaped 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. Handfeed them, touch them, take photos with them, then learn more about the elephants ancestry and diversity at the Park’s historical and graphic

the list

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

Y YAYASAN/CHARITIES

Yayasan Bumi Sehat Nyuh Kuning, PO Box 116, Ubud, Bali 80571.

Tel: 0361-972969. www.bumisehatbali.org

Sari Api Ceramic Studio Ceramic Workshop Jl. Suweta 176 Bentuyung, Tel: 0361-977917. www.rose.ne.jp/~ojara/bali/ sariapi

Yayasan IDEP Jl. Hanoman No. 42.

Telp: 0361- 981504. www.idepfoundation.org

Cultural Workshop Agung Rai Museum of Art. Jl. Pengosekan.

Tel: 0361-975742. www.armamuseum.com

Intuitive Flow Jl. Penestanan.

Tel: 0361-977824

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/ Silversmithing Courses Studio Perak. Jl. Hanoman.

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

Tel: 0361-972187. www.threadsoflife.com

YOGA

www.intuitiveflow.com The Yoga Barn Jl. Pengoseken, Padang Tegal Tel: 0361-970992. www.theyogabarn.com Map Ref: O.10 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.

Uma Ubud Jl. Raya Sanggingan Tel: 0361-972448. www.umaubud.como.bz Map Ref: B.4 Stretch and Savour, every

Sunday at Uma Ubud Yoga Studio is a must attend program that will certainly give you a stretching and savoring impression. This is the "Stretch and Savor" Sunday Yoga Breakfast. For Rp. 295,000 ++ per person you will experience a one hour yoga session starting at 8:00 a.m. followed by breakfast showcasing healthful COMO Shambhala Cuisine. Wear something comfortable, leave all the hustle and bustle, and head to Uma Ubud.

Tel: 975 024 www.umaubud.como.bz

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 –

TUESDAYS

VENUE

PM

MAP REF.

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

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

WEDNESDAYS

VENUE

PM

MAP REF.

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

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

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's 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.

advertisers' directory

HEALTH Bali Spirit Tel: 0361 - 971236 www.theyogabarn. com IFC Bud Map O.10 HOTEL Alila Ubud Tel: 0361- 975963 www.alilahotels. com P.3 Bud Map A.2 Arma Resort Tel: 0361- 976659 www.armaresort. com P. 11 Bud Map W.10 Bali Wood Resort Tel: 0361- 972640 www.baliwoodresort. com BIC Bebek Tepi Sawah Villas Tel: 0361- 970388 www.tepisawahvillas. com P. 35 Bud Map E.6 Bidadari Private Villas Tel: 0361- 9000401 www. bidadarivillasubudbali. com P. 27 Como Shambhala Tel: 0361- 978888

www.como.bz P. 8 Bud Map A.3 Desa Kerasan Tel: 0361- 9000566 www.desakerasan. com P. 81 Bud Map K.12 Komaneka Tel: 0361- 976090 www.komaneka. com P. 7 Bud Map L.4/P.7 Maya Ubud Tel: 0361- 977888 www.mayaubud. com P. 11 Bud Map L.18 The Mansion Tel: 0361- 972616 www.themansionbali. com BIC Bud Map A.2 Ubud Hanging Gardens Tel: 0361- 982700 www. ubudhanginggardens. com P. 1 Bud Map A.2 Uma Ubud Tel: 0361-972448 www.uma. ubud.como.bz P. 13 Bud Map A.3 MEDIA

The Yak Online Tel: 0361 - 8446341 www.theyakmag.com P. 2

RESTAURANT Betelnut Tel: 0361- 971426 www.decko.com P. 5 Bud Map I. 6 Bebek Tepi Sawah Rest Tel: 0361- 970388 www.tepisawahvillas. com P. 35 Bud Map E.6 Cherry Blossom Tel: 0361- 975527 BIC Ibu Rai Restaurant Tel: 0361- 973472 www.iburai.com P. 35 Bud Map K.8 Kebun Tel: 0361- 973361 P. 15 Bud Map O.9 Mozaic Tel: 0361- 975768 www.mozaic-bali. com P. 13 Bud Map B.3

SHOP Anjaly Tel: 0361- 971599 www.anjalybali.

com P. 8 Bud Map N.9 Biasa Fashion Tel: 03618878002 www.biasabali. com BC Bud Map A.3 Hatten Wines Tel: 0361- 767422 www.hattenwines. com P. 15 Horizon Glassworks Tel: 03617804014/7834378 www. horizonglassworks. com P. 15 Bud Map R.6 Periplus www.periplus.co.id P. 81 Bud Map C.3 Threads Of Life Tel: 0361- 972187 www.threadsoflife. com P. 9 Bud Map H.7 MISC FNPF www.northernmgic. com/fnpf P.81

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 Betelnut 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 Kamandalu Kayu Manis Villa Kebun Komaneka Kori Resort Kupu-Kupu Barong Lamak Restaurant Laughing Buddha Bar Maya Hotel Ubud Minami Mozaic Restaurant Murni’s Warung Museum Rudana Naughty Nuri’s Neka Museum Nomad Restaurant Paul Ropp Pundi - Pundi Restaurant Rendezvousdoux Restaurant Royal Pita Maha Resort and Villas Seniwati Gallery Siam Sally Skin Organic Sobek Adventure Rafting

Tama Gallery Taman Hati Tegal Sari Terazo Restaurant 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 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

KUPU KUPU BARONG AMANDARI Minami Biasa Naughty Nuri’s

A B

Mozaic

C D

Paul R

Gaya Gallery The Shop FOUR SEASONS

F G

KAYU MANIS to Fivelements to The Samaya Horizon Glassworks

opp

Sayan

KEY Art gallery

Monkey forest

Temple

Automatic teller

Museum

HOTEL/VILLA

Bridge

One way street

Restaurant/Bar

BEBEK TEPI SAWAH RESTAURANT & VILLAS

Dance theatre

Place of interest

Bar/Nightclub

Deer pen

Police station

Shop

THE CHEDI CLUB

Information

Post office

Spa/Salon

Money changer

Sports field

Misc.

UBUD

THE MANSION Sayan Aesthetic

VILLA KIRANA

E

Payangan Tegalalang Kusia Gallery West End Cafe UMA UBUD THE VICEROY BALI Cascades Neka Museum INDUS Warung Pulau Kelapa PITA MAHA

Tanah Gajah

Rudana Museum Mas Tony Raka Gallery

0

.5km

1km

1.5km

Ubud Kaja TEGALALANG 10km To Bidadari Villas UBUD SARI TARO 16km Rio Threads of Life KINTAMANI 22km Helmi Han Puri Lukisan Snel Terazo Bridges Bali Art To Elephant JL. Zoo Bumbu Bali I Safari Park RAY Murni’s Ibu Oka A Blanco UBU Warung Taman Klod To Desa White D Renaissance Betelnut Kerasan Box Rendezvous 6:0 Museum Casa Luna 018: Gusti Lempad’s Ary’s Warung 0 Seniwati Gallery 0 Periplus Super of Art by Women Market Galaxyan Atelier WAKA NAMYA Kupu Kupu Ubud Klod Foundation Gallery Infinity Ubud Nomad Neka Gallery Gallery Market Property Highway Place Exotiq Sagu Cafe Des FNPF Macan Ibu Rai Artistes Galaxyan Adi’s Art Studio & Tidur JL. COK PUTRA S. Atelier Gallery Pura Ganesha Jazz JL. D Dalem Puri EWI Bookstore Cafe KOMANEKA SITA Sukma BISMA Sk in Organic Tutmak Bali Pondok Pekak Library Buddha Siwa Ratih Deli Hanoman Anjaly Cat Juice Bar MONK Bali

JL. RAYA ANDONG

UNG

JL. JE

ROG AND

JL. TIR TA TA WAR

JL. SAN DAT

TA

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Boll Bat ero Res Alaman Waru to kara

Pura Dalem Agung Temple

Horizon Glassworks Coffee & Silver

I JL. GUNUNG SAR

MAYA UBUD

I (JL . PEL IATA N)

SAY A) EBE UKM A (T

Padang Tegal Dirty Duck

Peliatan RONG G

A

Entrance fee: Adults Rp. 15,000

Children Rp. 7,500

JL. SE

Mandala Wisata Wanara Wana Sacred Monkey Forest Santuary Coffee & Copper

E

Laka Leke

S

Gemala Jewelery Pizza Bagus

Nyuh Kuning

Bamboo Foundation

Siam Sally

Cafe ARMA

JL.

W

W

Pundi-Pundi Warung Enak

APENGOSEKA RAY N

V

Agung Rai Gallery

Pengosekan

N

X

Pura Gunung Sari

NATURA RESORT

E RA

JL. SUGRIW A

MA N

MBAW AN

Tebesaya

S

U

Andong

JL. C OK G D

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Kebun Bali Spirit Tegun The Kafe

JL. S

Tama Gallery

R

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KEY F

Pura Prajapati Cemetary

Bumbu Bali II sisi + nanan KOMANEKA Three Monkeys Laughing Buddha Cinta UBUD INN Verona

JL. JE

ENTRANCE

P

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THE VICEROY BALI Cascades

JL.

Bar LuGnOOTAMA a

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Milano Bodyworks Lamak

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Alamkara UBUD VILLAGE HOTEL Cafe Wayan Greenhouse

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Hanna Art Space

Kokokan

NGOSEKAN

JL. RAYA PE

Gajah Gallery

Dangin Lebak

Agung Rai Museum of Art

Y

DENPASAR 26km via MAS

UBUD VILLAGE RESORT JL. NYUH KUNING

Z

To Genta Gallery

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

To Tony Raka Gallery

To Puri Tupai

9

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Rudana Rudana Museum

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feature

Holy Honda.

d and e roa h t n o way. bber he ru ep it that t s t u e uld k son p Smith hy we sho e v a D us w tells

Christina is a savvy 60-year-old American who has come to Bali to set up a nest. She has never ridden a motorbike before and has already fallen off twice in two weeks.

“I’ve just learnt how to turn left,” she says, “without feeling as if I’m going to tip over.”

It might not come as a surprise that the death toll on Bali’s roads has spiraled out of control. In 2010, 541 people out of a population of 3.9 million died in road traffic accidents (according to official figures). From just March to May 2011 the number leaped to 758 dead, including six foreigners – with most fatalities a result of riding motorbikes. The rise is puzzling until you factor in the ease with which a local can set up a credit plan at a motorcycle dealership – with a downpayment of as little as Rp.50,000 – and ride off into the sunset. In 2006 there were 1.58 million vehicles on the island, by July last year the number had surged to 2.35 million and counting.

Simply put, the roads in Paradise are full to bursting.

The vast majority of Balinese people have never taken a test or driving lesson in their lives. Most buy their license from the police. There are children of nine riding without papers, helmets or insurance. Young families of five balanced on a moped are not uncommon. Add a teenaged girl who’s texting while she’s tailgating, a bunch of speeding 15-year-old boys heavily drunk on arak (80 percent-proof palm alcohol), throw in a wife trailing a

wheelbarrow behind her Yamaha as her husband steers and you’ve got an explosive mix.

Stefan, a 49-year-old expat Briton working in Sanur has been to Borneo and back on his Honda Africa Twin 750.

“Most riders who die in Bali aren’t wearing helmets or don’t do them up properly. There are no fixed rules here; anything goes. If people see a space, they go through it.

Mirrors and indicators are ornamental,” he says.

For me, some of the most dangerous people on the road are visitors. I avoid them like the plague. You can tell the ones who are going to hurt other people – the fixed grins, the wobbling around corners, the shouts of indignation when they nearly hit someone because they have absolutely no idea how life works here.”

Road-rage is extremely rare on Bali: losing your temper in public is considered the height of rudeness and to be avoided at all costs.

“If you’ve never ridden before,” advises Stefan, “don’t even think about renting a bike here.

“Having a lot of overseas experience can hurt too you’ve got a set of ingrained rules that just don’t work here. In Britain, if you flash your lights it means, ‘come out, you can go’. In Bali, it means, ‘watch out because I’m not stopping and I will crush you’.

“Using your horn in western countries is often a last resort. Here you beep quickly to let someone know

85

feature

you’re going to overtake them, or you give a quick beep at somebody who looks as if they’re going to pull out in front of you without looking, or you beep before you take a blind corner. It’s not an insult.

“Don’t take it as one. Driving angry only causes more accidents.”

Mike, 57, an American expat living in Ubud who has been riding in Indonesia for 18 years, describes the traffic flow on a typical Balinese road.

“Imagine a school of fish moving together. Go with it. Anyone outside that flow is the one who’s going to cause an accident. Stick to an imaginary lane. Don’t drive aggressively; drive defensively. Keep an eye on who’s overtaking or undertaking you and don’t make any sudden moves unless you’re about to hit something.”

Fellow road users aren’t the only dangers.

Kites falling out of the sky; chickens and dogs darting across the street; mounds of black building sand at the side of the road that is all but invisible at night; deep potholes that weren’t there the previous day; clouds of insects at dusk that will temporarily blind you if you’re not using a visor.

“If you can’t survive a near miss with an ibu and not smile back when she smiles at you, you shouldn’t be on a bike here,” Mike says.

David, 43, another Ubud resident, is a little more direct: “If you’re uptight, you’re better off walking or getting on a bicycle.

“If you can’t stand being tailgated by a truck, you shouldn’t be on a bike here.

“I saw a triple-fatality involving two 14 or 15-yearold boys and a man in his 40s. I arrived on the scene very soon after it had happened. It was like the strangest theatre. There was a crowd of 30 or so people who had come out from nearby shops. The whole scene was completely silent for about 15 minutes. Nobody moved.

“In the middle of the road one of the boys groaned twice and the other didn’t move at all. The two motorbikes were vaporised nearby. The older man was lying with his face in the gutter bleeding out through his mouth.

“I offered my handphone to several people to call for an ambulance because I didn’t have a number. Nobody would touch it. I finally convinced a shop owner to call for help, and she disappeared into her shop.

“I went back to the man who was continuing to bleed out. No ambulance came. About ten minutes later, when

he died, everybody bounced into life. The three bodies were rushed into a shop, the larger bits of the bikes were carried onto the pavement, the smaller bits of plastic kicked into the gutter and road-dust sprinkled over the blood.

“The next day I went past the same spot. There were just two white Xs painted on the ground, one for the two boys and one for the man. I kept seeing things in my mirrors for a few months after that.”

If normal Balinese roads are closer in spirit to the Whacky Races, the by-pass running from Kuta to Sanur is Death Race 2000. The school of fish has got tighter and margin for error has become slimmer. The long, beach-hugging road between Denpasar and Gilimanuk Port on the north-western tip of Bali is a serious accident blackspot for tired truckers on tight deadlines who may have just driven non-stop across Java to get there; brakes may or may not have been serviced in the past year.

If you are intent on biking on Bali, good luck.

Buy the best Standar Nasional Indonesia (SNI) helmet you can afford and do up the strap. Wear strong shoes – flip-flops are for the beach. Leave your shorts at home – jeans and a thick jacket will save you several layers of skin when you come off. Forget broken bones or a fractured skull: a serious secondary skin infection from a gash in this ultra-humid climate is guaranteed to put your holiday plans on hold. And find some good travel insurance – after reading the small print.

Keep your headlight on at all times. Be polite with the police when they stop you. Hug the kerb when you’re taking a blind corner as other vehicles won’t think twice about veering into your path. If you’re unfamiliar with a road – especially at night – follow a local who has already mapped out the latest killer pot-holes.

And if you’re riding pillion, use a slow-flapping gesture with your arm – known locally as the magic hand-signal – to convince others that you really do intend to make that turn.

Better still, don’t bother.

Get on the back of an ojek – a motorcycle taxi – and learn from an expert. Grab a cab. Or go that extra mile and hire a car with a smiling, informative driver for as little as Rp.200,000 a day. Leave the stress to somebody else, sit back, and enjoy the magnificent views. You’re not going to get lost, or die, or be left with a crippling injury, or kill someone else, or go to jail.

Or get wet when it pours with rain.

Pray for safety.

feature

Bali is carved by water, blesses itself with water, describes itself in terms of water, entertains its guests with it, sometimes chokes on it, and has a multi-level vocabulary for talking about it.

Diana Darling dives in.

Bali’s many rivers descend from mountain lakes and springs in gorges that cut deeply through the island’s rich volcanic soil. Before the advent of roads and bridges in the 20th century, the difficulty of crossing these steep gorges meant that villages developed along the ridges and that their local cultures flowed up- and downstream, while settlements along adjacent ridges might be quite different.

Bali has four lakes (danu, in Balinese): Batur (1,607.5 hectares), Bratan (or Beratan) (375.6 ha.), Buyan (336 ha.), and Tamblingan (110 ha.). Their depths are not known. Their spiritual counterparts are female deities, perhaps they form in the negative space of volcanic craters. These goddesses are addressed as Dewi Danu, and their husbands are gods of their particular mountain.

For many centuries, Bali has had a hydraulic economy, based on the flow of water. Ingenious low-tech engineering dating from at least the 10th century allows farmers to divert water from the upper slopes in a network of dams, weirs, and channels to irrigate terraced rice fields along the lower slopes and broad plains. A system of watersharing associations (subak) allows farmers to coordinate their planting schedules so that all have enough irrigation water at the proper time of the growing cycle. Because

A simple miracle.

feature

Springtime.

the crops were staggered, pests could never collect over a large area.

Unfortunately, the genius of this system — which regulated planting according to the arcane 210-day Balinese calendar — was gutted by the so-called Green Revolution in the 1970s, when the government introduced hybrid strains of rice with a shorter growing season, rendering the 210-day cycle irrelevant. As the anthropologist J. Stephen Lansing shows in his book Priests and Programmers, this absolutely screws up the ritual and ecological synchronicity of a system that produced a surplus of rice for at least a thousand years.

The shape of the island itself is carved by its surrounding seas.

In the Balinese cosmology, the sea embraces the underworld. The ashes of the cremated dead are brought there for purification in an invisible realm called Pura Segara (‘temple of the sea’) before the soul is called back by family members and taken to the godly abode in mountain temples.

According to myth, the name Segara comes from an Indian king Sagara, whose land was suffering from a terrible drought, caused by the long withdrawal from the world of Dewi Gangga, goddess of the waters.

It was the destiny of his descendants to meditate in prayer to Dewi Gangga and ask her to restore water to the world — but King Sagara had only a lame son by one wife and 60,000 sons by his other wife (all born at

once) and all 60,000 of them were coarse, arrogant men. It was only in the fifth generation and after many trials that Dewi Gangga consented to descend to the world and restore the gift of water. This myth is said to illustrate the great difficulty of purifying the sins of humanity.

Blesses Holy water, called tirta — or tirtha with the fashionable “h” which the Balinese insert all over their spelling these days — is made from spring water consecrated by a priest with mantra, incense, flowers, and the ringing of a bell. It is used for dedicating offerings, for conferring the blessings of various deities, for rousing people from trance and sometimes for putting them into trance. Its action is purification.

There are many different kinds of holy water, depending on its origin and ritual function. Banyu cokor is the tirta associated with the specific deities of temples, where it is dispensed to people after prayers: a priest sprinkles the head and palms of the devotees with holy water using a flower or a small wand made of bundled grass; then they are given three sips; then three more sprinklings to wipe over their face and hair. Often people take a small container of this tirta home for use in their house temples.

There is a special tirta made by shadow-puppet masters (dalang) for people born during the week called

Wayang, thought to be unlucky. The dalang creates this holy water by dipping the tips of the handles of certain key wayang puppets in spring water, accompanied by secret mantra and the usual paraphernalia of flowers and incense.

Among the eight different types of tirta required in cremation (ngaben) rituals, the most important is said to be tirta pangentas, which is crucial to the purification and release of the soul. Its preparation is intensely magical. It can be made only by a high priest, and among the materials required are flowers, rubies, leaves, gold, silver, grasses, rice grains, and scented wood.

Water is ruled by the Hindu deity Vishnu, whose place of veneration in a Balinese household is the water jug—or, more commonly these days, the kitchen sink. If you have come from the graveyard after a burial or cremation and want a quick purification, you can toss some water onto the kitchen roof, catch it in a woven bamboo rice-steaming sieve (kukusan), and let the water drip over your head.

Describes Before the current Indic Hindu revival movement which began in the 20th century, the Balinese called their religion Agama Tirta, the ‘religion of holy water’. Efforts to have their religion recognised by the new Republic of Indonesia at mid-century

feature

led to its finally becoming called Agama Hindu, after twenty years of debate considering and rejecting Agama Bali, Agama Hindu Bali, Agama Bali Hindu, Agama Siwa, Agama Buda, Agama Siwa-Buda, and Agama Trimurti.

Entertains As a world tourism destination, Bali offers guests many recreational activities in or on the water: swimming; surfing; river rafting; diving and snorkelling; cruises; and a wide range of things called ‘water sports’ which require renting motorised equipment.

Golf is not usually associated with water because the great quantity of water required to maintain golf courses is kept secret.

One ingenious idea for entertaining tourists was put forward by a government official in the concept Tirta Wisata (‘water tourism’), in which he proposed boat tours on the Badung river, which winds, or more often trickles, through

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the capital city of Denpasar, carrying more than its fair share of waste.

Chokes Water pollution is especially tragic on an island where water is held to be a medium of purification.

Until the advent of plastic bags and stapled plastic party boxes, there was no reason not to drop your trash on the ground, where it belonged: someone would sweep it up or push it out of sight to rot organically.

(These days, when most ground is paved over in temples and house courtyards, it appears that the polite place to leave your plastic trash is a flower pot, apparently, even a small hanging flower pot holding a single orchid.) The poisoning of Bali’s waterways is accelerated by the dumping of chemical dyes from handicrafts industries, as well as the fertilisers and pesticides required by the Green Revolution. Although no one yet boils holy water, the amount of bottled water that people consume

is evident on the roads, where trucks from Danone’s Aqua factory in central Bali obstruct traffic, and along the roadsides where empty plastic cups, straws, and bottles glitter in the sun.

Talks There is more to Balinese language levels than “high” and “low” — and there are more levels than that — but generally you use the high language when speaking to a stranger, or to (or about) someone of higher rank. The low language is considered intimate, or for speaking about yourself to a superior. For example, if you offer a prince coffee, you will ask him if he’d like to ngewédang.

When he asks if you’ll join him, you might say, still in high language that you don’t dare drink coffee anymore — but you’ll say that you don’t ngopi — because of your arrhythmia.

When in doubt, use the high level, or Indonesian. Or English.

English

Indonesian

High Balinese

Low Balinese

water, liquid

air

toya, apah

yéh

rain

hujan

sabeh

ujan

sea

laut

segara

pasih

bathe

mandi

masiram

manyus

sprinkle

percik

sabuh, tabuh

ketis

thirsty

haus

kasatan

bedak

coffee

kopi

wédang

kopi

wash

cuci

wajik, wangsuh

umbah

wash your face

cuci muka

raup

sugi

wash your hair

keramas

keramas

ambuh

blood

darah

rah, rudira

getih

sweat

keringat

pringet

peluh

tears

air mata

waspa

yéh mata

Blessed.

food

Mozaic restaurant in ubud stands in a class of its own, a first among equals with chris salans' mastertouch providing unrivaled haute cuisine to tempt even the most discerning gastronomic traveller. here we showcase a trio of his dishes, and a cocktail to wash them down.

Green Pandan Cocktail: vodka, aromatic pandan leaf and young coconut water.

Foie gras mousse, apple sorbet and sesame.

Baked chouquette and black truffle cream.

Tomato shooter, tomato sorbet and garlic tuile.

Frozen kafir lime cloud and spiced almond.

food

This page: Seared scallop, fresh tumeric and lemon dressing, spiced cauliflower salad and roasted walnuts. Coral trout cooked in fresh coconut oil, Balinese spiced reduction and wild mushroom salad. Seared fresh water crayfish, exotic spiced fruits, lemon verbena reduction and micro greens. Right: Wagyu beef, rendang oil and cepe mushroom.

FICTION

A work in progress,

by Diana Darling.

Transit Fields Chapter 10: the ground-breaking, part 3

Denpasar, 1926 The hotel would be spawned from colonial government buildings. As they walked, Kaspar sketched in for Allison a short history of the plot of land. During years between 1906 and 1914, the site had been a barracks for Dutch soldiers and the home of the Assistant Resident; and immediately before that it had been a living palace full of princes, wives, children, priests, cooks, craftsmen, songbirds, ponies, gardens, statues, fighting cocks, musicians, granaries, petitioners, ponds, gossip, stray dogs, and a great deal of gold. There had also been an armory containing lances, banners, wooden shields covered in leather, talismans, and three small crates of locally made rifles (the royal kris knives had been stored in the family’s house temple until the night before the awful end).

“What awful end? What happened?”

“We’re here. I’ll tell you another time. Just pretend to be enthusiastic.”

Now Allison sat on the verandah of the Houtmans’ house talking to Ratu Manik.

“Places change,” the prince was saying. “Before it was a palace it was probably a temple, and before that probably a forest. But the land remains. Land cannot be lost. It doesn’t go anywhere. This hotel will be very good for Bali.”

Allison stared at Ratu Manik’s androgynous beauty, which extended even to his clothes. He wore the batik sarong and tight black jacket of the Indies with a European dress shirt and a tie. His hair was slicked back tight against his head and tied in a chignon at the nape of his neck. His face wore the serenity of a stone in sunlight.

“Do you mean to say that land in Bali can’t be owned?”

Allison asked.

Now he smiled, slightly. “No, I would never say that.” He looked at the European guests milling in the front garden, and Allison felt conscious of being one of them.

Just then Kaspar pulled up a chair. “Thank God the Resident’s gone at last,” he said. “Weren’t the speeches a

scream?” He addressed this to Ratu Manik, and the two of them began to chat in a language that Allison did not understand. Nonetheless, she relaxed in the evident easing of formality.

An hour earlier, Kaspar had presented her to the Resident (whom he addressed, she caught, simply as “Resident”); to Ratu Manik (“on behalf of the Regent of Tarik Tamu”); to Willem Houtman, their host and the Head of the Official Tourist Bureau, (adding, “You have already met Mrs. Houtman” as she took Emma’s hand outstretched hand anyway); and to a dozen other men and women whose names and faces she had already confused and begun to forget — presenting her as “my cousin, Mrs. Edmund Peal from New York”, or “Mrs. Peal, on holiday”.

Most had replied in murmurs of Dutch. Willem Houtman had bowed over her hand and murmured, “Enchanté.” The Resident, chuckling amiably, had said in English, “Ah! Good for you!” Ratu Manik had said nothing. He merely kept his gaze on the air in front of her forehead and nodded almost imperceptibly. Allison flushed: she had extended her hand in readiness — but when Ratu Manik did not take it, her head roared with confusion; and, without thinking, she clasped her hands in front of her chest and curtsied. As she rose, the prince caught her eye for a split second, sending her something barbed and fragrant and golden. Kaspar whispered to her, “How unexpectedly pretty!” — but her ears were still buzzing and she did not hear him.

Then there had been the speeches.

There were only two; Kaspar translated for Allison. Willem Houtman spoke first. Consulting a sheaf of notes, he explained that the building of the tourist hotel was only the newest of many important works in the opening of Bali to world visitors.

He reminded his listeners that the Official Tourist Bureau was established in Batavia in 1908 under the KPM (which everyone there knew was the government’s shipping monopoly). He did not mention that 1908 was also the year that Dutch soldiers shot the last of the Balinese kings and many of his family — but he did say that in 1914, with the advent of civil rule in Bali, the government began to allow tourists to visit the island.

Many improvements had been made in the past twelve years, he said. The government had built an arterial system of paved roads, and it was now possible to cross the mountains

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by automobile, making the trip from the north to the south in a single day. (Everyone there was aware of this.) Dozens of government rest houses had been built throughout the countryside and been fitted out for visiting guests, besides serving colonial officers on their tours of duty.

The most important innovation, he said, was the decision by the KPM two years ago to begin taking passengers on its weekly cargo service between Batavia and Makassar. The increase in visitors to Bali since then had been so significant that the KPM, under the auspices of the Official Tourist Bureau, had decided to build a hotel exclusively for tourists.

As to the hotel, Willem pointed out that the choice of the site was “the most prestigious in South Bali, being within walking distance of Denpasar’s central square and of the new Bali Museum”. He added that the island’s most important cultural sites with were within an easy day’s drive.

The hotel itself would be a modern building with thirty guest rooms, a reception hall, a grand dining room, a terrace and of course the requisite administrative offices and service facilities. Public works were underway to provide electricity and running water not only to the hotel but also, he was pleased to announce, to the residents of central Denpasar (applause and scattered cheers from the audience) with plans to eventually provide electricity and piped water to the rest of the town’s population as well.

Willem concluded his speech by calling for the model of the hotel to be brought out for unveiling by the Resident.

There was a lull while two servants emerged from the house carrying a table with an oddly shaped object under a white cloth. They set it down and backed politely away, only to be called back and ordered to turn the table ninety degrees.

Then Willem said, “Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, may I announce the Resident of Bali and Lombok.”

The Resident was a snowy-maned man who beamed pleasantly as the assembled guests greeted him with applause.

“Today we are inaugurating not just the building of a hotel, but the beginning of a new era in the life of the island of Bali — an era in which Bali will stand before the world as the showroom of the Netherlands East Indian empire.

“The colonial government is proud of its accomplishments on this little island. In accordance with the Ethical Policy instituted by our gracious Queen twenty-five years ago, we have done much to improve the lives of the native population.

We have improved the irrigation systems. We have introduced

new crops. We have built schools and hospitals, bridges and roads, and even an ethnographic museum. Civil law reigns and the people are at last at peace with each other.

“But our most important achievement has been to liberate Balinese society from the tyranny of feudalism and to help it recover the original genius of its native culture.

“Bali’s greatest wealth is in its ancient Hindu way of life — in its social laws and unique religious arts as they have been practiced in the villages for over a thousand years. The government of the Netherlands East Indies will not allow that way of life to be defiled by intrusive outside influences. We do not permit missionaries to operate in Bali — whether they be Christian, Moslem, or the atheists of new political fads. We do not encourage industrialization or any other form of disruptive modernizing. Balinese children are educated in their traditional arts and literature. We are dedicated to preserve Bali as a living museum of a rare and beautiful old culture.

“Now you may ask, how can the Balinese culture be preserved if the island is opened to tourists? The problem is indeed a delicate one — and that is why it requires the vigilant supervision of the Government. We extend our hospitality carefully. We will not let Bali be over-run by outside entrepreneurs. We will not let Bali be colonized by tourists.

“We offer a guided tourism that emphasizes the cultural richness of the island, that promotes its arts and protects its traditions — and that demonstrates to the world what can be achieved by a responsible and benevolent colonial policy. Thank you.”

The applause was warm, and Allison noticed that many of the guests were smiling, their faces pink with contentment and their eyes bright with purpose.

Then the model of the hotel had been unveiled, and the assembled guests filed past to admire it before proceeding indoors to the buffet table. The model showed a white onestory building with a large covered entrance at the center. The guest rooms extended on either side of the central hall, shaded by long verandas. Shrubbery was designated by little pieces of sea coral painted gaming-table green.

“What do you think of our hotel, Mrs. Peal?” asked Emma.

She was seated at the end of the buffet table next to an urn of coffee. A young Balinese servant-woman poured. “Does this augur the end of Bali, as you feared?”

Allison flushed. “I think it will be a handsome building, Mrs. Houtman. It looks — historic.”

“As it should. Do you take milk or sugar, Mrs. Peal?”

Now as she sat with Kaspar and Ratu Manik, who were conversing in Malay and apparently sharing a string of jokes, Allison wondered about this strange blind woman who presided over the festivities and yet seemed to be aloof from them. She wondered about Kaspar’s intimacy with the Houtmans — and with Ratu Manik. He seemed to be intimate with everyone, herself now included. * During that first week, while Edmund rested in the afternoons, Allison had ventured out for walks around the village, at first accompanied by Kaspar and then on her own, always trailed by children and barking dogs. Kaspar introduced her to the family in the front compound, and every time she passed through they sang out greetings to her, waving back in imitation, the children returning her “Good morning”, and the older people shouting gaily in Balinese through mouths muffled with tobacco. Kaspar also introduced her to the village headman; to some temple priests dressed entirely in grimy white cloth; to the woman who sold packets of rice and vegetables from a table under a huge banyan tree at the center of the village; and to anyone who approached them. Although everyone stared at her as if she were a wondrous animal, no one touched her, and everyone returned her greetings with full-faced smiles. Language, Allison decided, would not be an obstacle between her and the villagers. She spoke to them in English; they spoke to her in Balinese; and since they had little to communicate to each other besides cordiality, it worked well.

Her habitual shyness fell away, useless.

As they strolled through the village the first day, Allison sketched out a map in her notebook and wrote down the terms of the places he showed her.

“This is the balé banjar, a kind of community hall, “ he said, indicating an open pavilion at the edge of the village square. “Once a month the men of the village dress up and meet in council here to discuss boring things like village taxes.

The rest of the time they hang out here in dirty clothes and discuss all the interesting things going on in the village.” Allison noticed the gilded feet of the gamelan instruments peeking out from under a cover of mats.

“Do you join their meetings?”

“No, no; it’s just for married men. One ought to be Balinese,

too. Now this tower is the kul-kul. Those hollow wooden tree trunks hanging up there are drums for sounding the hour and for summoning people. They’ve got an entire code of drum calls — very slow to announce a death; very fast for an emergency; nicely, nicely for meetings.”

“So people come at the pace of the drumming?”

Kaspar laughed. “I suppose so. One could choreograph a dance, couldn’t one? ‘Moods of the Kul-kul’. I must mention that to Walter; he adores arty projects. Now here is the pura desa, one of the main village temples. Aren’t the carvings marvelous? This is the wantilan, the cockfighting pavilion. And over there is the so-called palace, or puri, Desa Pondok’s little acre of aristocracy and a branch of the Tarik Tamu family. We’ll call in there this evening. Are you making a map? What a good girl.” (Many years later, Allison’s maps and notebooks and her letters to and from Kaspar would become the inspiration for a project unimaginable in those days in 1926.)

One day, Kaspar invited her to walk with him to the next village north of Desa Pondok, where he had ordered some doors to be carved for the museum. They walked up the central lane that bisected the village and then followed a dirt track out into the aquarium light of the rice fields. A broad silence stretched out around them, ruffled by the sound of running water. The rice plants were young, only about a foot high, and impossibly green. Crimson dragonflies zig-zagged in the late morning sunlight. At distant intervals were tiny grass-roofed huts where the farmers rested during their days and nights in the fields. “And those huts are called pondok. Hence the name of the village, being a branch of Tarik Tamu palace.”

They reached the village by miday and sat in the shade of the wood-carver’s porch drinking glasses of grainy black coffee.

Allison watched the wood-carver’s son work as his father talked with Kaspar. His chisel bit off wood like curls of butter.

On the way home, about midday through the rice fields, they were caught in a thunderstorm. In less than a minute they were soaked to the skin. Through the din of the rain, a farmer called to them and waved them to the shelter of his hut.

Inside it was smoky and cramped. A little fire burned in a nest of mud bricks in the middle of the dirt floor, and on the fire was a kettle, furry with soot. The farmer unrolled a mat for them to sit on and made them a glass of tea. There was only one glass and they shared it, passing it back and forth.

Allison tried to guess the farmer’s age. His face was crumpled, but his arms and torso were smooth and as finely

FICTION

muscled as a racehorse. Outside the rain hissed down in a white wall. When they’d finished their tea, the farmer cleaned the glass by shaking it upside down, then fetched a filthy bottle and poured a bit of what smelled like kerosene. He gave the glass to Kaspar, who offered it first to the farmer.

Kaspar said to Allison. “This isn’t to test whether it’s poison, it’s to show that we don’t mind sharing the glass with him. It is poison, of course.” The farmer grinned, drank it off, and poured a bit for Kaspar. Kaspar raised it in salute and tossed it back.

Then, hoarsely, to Allison, “Do you want to try some arak?”

Allison made a pinching sign with her fingers and the farmer poured, visibly pleased. She held her breath and drank it down. It tasted like thistles and canvas, but it warmed her ears and brightened the light in the hut. The glass went around again, and soon Kaspar was chatting easily with the farmer.

“Let’s see if I can get him to sing for us,” Kaspar said.

“Balinese drinking songs can be terrifically artistic.”

There was a short exchange during which the farmer looked very bashful — and then suddenly he began to sing a strange, shapeless lament. He sat cross-legged with his back very straight, his head back, his eyelids fluttering, nearly closed.

His voice was rough, and Allison wondered why he didn’t clear his throat and whether he was already drunk. Then she noticed his right hand, languishing on his knee. His forefinger, steely and straight like a separate machine, had begun to mark time, following some inaudible drumming. She glanced at Kaspar and saw his face light up as he watched, smiling and expectant.

The song labored on, slow and tuneless, as the invisible beat became steadily more palpable. The farmer seemed to grow taller through his spine, and then he gave a sharp shout and with his eyes now open, blazing, seeing nothing, he began to toggle in place, chattering a line of percussion. Then the lament sprang back and the farmer’s eyes were closed again as he lugged and wove against the song, although a bit more richly this time — then ripped back again into his jittering drum talk, all the while keeping perfect, robotic time with his index finger or a big reptilian toe.

Now a mood of marvel settled into the little hut, and the farmer unfurled his song more coyly. The lament became a dialogue, a love song; the drum chatter became duel; and it seemed that the hut was filled with a pageant, complete with armies, lovers, banners, and evil birds.

When the performance was over, the farmer became his shy self again, and the rain lightened and lifted away. Allison felt

that she had been in a dimension of Bali that existed hundreds of years ago.

“Aren’t they mad?” said Kaspar, glowing.

Later that afternoon she told Edmund, “Darling, I saw something today that you would have hated.”

“Good. Glad I didn’t see it. Here, Ally, take a look at this.”

Edmund handed her a sheet of paper covered with calculations.

“What is it, honey? I can’t make it out.”

“Money. I figure that by staying here instead of riding all over the island, we’re saving fifteen, twenty dollars a day. You happy here?”

“Very.”

“Good. You can give Schell some money for groceries, tell him we’ll stay another week. I’ve got to stay off my feet, you know. The medication is helping.”

In the evenings, after she had tucked Edmund back into his medical stupor, Allison would return to the big pavilion and stay up late chatting with Kaspar. She learned that he was not only a collector of art objects but also an amateur painter. One evening he showed her his studio, a large room behind the brick wall at the rear of the big pavilion.

“Walter’s the real artist,” he said, “but he encourages me.

All the good stuff is his work.” Allison looked around at the walls, filled with oil paintings and small framed prints, nearly all of Balinese gateways, walls, doors, pavilions and pagodas.

“We’ve been doing a series of things on Balinese architecture.

Temples, puri, house compounds — variations on the basic theme of the pavilion in a walled courtyard with a wonderful gate. We take photographs when we’re out in the field, and work from them. Walter finds that easier than trying to sketch from real life; the crowds disturb him, although I don’t mind them. I find crowds company.”

“What a pleasant life you lead, Kaspar.”

“Yes. It doesn’t seem quite fair, does it? I mean, compared to the way everyone else lives.”

“You mean the Balinese?”

“Mmm, let’s not talk about that. Look — this is our printing press. Just got it assembled last week. We’re going to be doing some brochures for the Tourist Bureau. Would you like to run up a pamphlet or something?”

Allison laughed. “About what? I don’t have any opinions.”

“Really? My poor dear. Nobody should be without opinions; they are an absolute must for a modern woman. You can use mine until you get some of your own.” Still pottering, he pulled

down a box of photographs from a shelf and began shuffling through them. “Here, how’s this for a lively gate?” He showed her a picture of an immense fierce face in the side of a hill, with Kaspar standing in the doorway formed by its mouth.

“That’s the Elephant Cave, not that it has anything to do with elephants. A most exciting find. We must go there; it’s not far at all.”

“I think it would frighten Edmund to death.”

“How’s he feeling, your Edmund? I hardly ever see him, he’s such a recluse.”

“He’s okay.” Allison paused, flushed with annoyance that Edmund had given her the task of seeking an extension of Kaspar’s hospitality. She said, “He didn’t like Bali at first, but now he wants us to stay on another week. Here with you, I mean.”

Kaspar looked up from his box of photographs. “Well, don’t make such a face. Wouldn’t you like to stay a bit longer? You’ve hardly seen anything.”

Allison blinked miserably and pulled an envelope from her pocket. “He wanted me to give you something for groceries.

Here.” She put the envelope on the edge of the printing press.

“Really, I ...”

“What an ogre to send you on such an errand. Of course you must stay, forever and ever, if possible. And don’t be silly about buying groceries, although it’s sweet of Edmund to think of it; we’ve got groceries coming out of our ears.” Kaspar picked up the envelope and weighed it unopened in his hand. “But if it would make Edmund more comfortable to put something into the housekeeping, I know that the kids here would be thrilled to get their wages.”

Allison looked at him, startled. “Wages?” Then she smiled in relief. “Oh, indeed, please do. They work so hard taking care of us, it’s a pleasure to ... “ Then she looked at him again, this time anxious.

But Kaspar was laughing. “We must get a movie of you, Al — playing poker, I think.”

“Kaspar, it’s none of my business, I know, but, well, do you get a salary for this work that you do for the Dutch government?”

“Oh, heavens, no.” He closed up the box of photographs and put it back on the shelf. “It’s a rather subtler arrangement.

We help them out and they permit us to stay.” Allison presumed that by “we” he meant himself and Walter. “It’s the same with the Balinese. They tolerate us being here as long we

can keep thinking up ways of being useful to them. Don’t look so hurt. How would you feel if you were living quietly with your kin, going about life in the normal way, when all of a sudden a crew of absolutely foreign people of another race set up house in the midst of your village and started bossing you around?

Wouldn’t it be fair that these invaders gave you something in return for the nuisance of their presence? Of course that’s only one point of view. The Dutch view is that the real invaders are the Balinese princes.”

“What?!”

“Oh, yes. The Balinese aristocracy, according to their own royal chronicles, are descendants of Majapahit—” “Who?” “Darling, Majapahit was a kingdom. If you love Bali, it’s very important that you know about Majapahit. It was the Hindu-Javanese kingdom that ruled much of the archipelago from about the 14th to the 16th century, and it was quite a high civilization. To put it very briefly, when Majapahit started to fall to Islam, the priests and nobility migrated to Bali which was already Hindu-ish, although of a rather odd and rough sort. The Javanese Hindus brought their music, dance, manners, and literature, their metal-smithing magic and their insane calendar — all the sublime courtly arts of royal Java — and set up in Bali.

So you see, Majapahit practically invented Balinese culture. The Balinese aristocracy, their descendants, have been keeping it going ever since.”

“So why are they invaders?”

“Because it’s convenient to see it that way. The Dutch believe that they should replace the aristocracy with themselves. Indeed they have done so. The irony is that once they displaced the princes, they turned around and enlisted them as their junior partners in government. The main difference now is that power is exerted more efficiently, and the Dutch get all the revenues.”

“I’m confused.”

“That’s appropriate. It’s a confusing place.”

“I don’t mean it in a deep way. I mean, do you think it’s a good thing or not that the Dutch are here?”

“Good heavens, my dear.” Kaspar gave a mirthless laugh and began wiping down the metal sink. “If anyone should ask you, please quote me as saying that I think the Dutch are the salvation of the peoples of the entire Indonesian archipelago. All right?”

“Of course.”

andrew hall contemplates a new year . . . and wonders where all the good good lyrics have gone As we drift-dream from 2011 into 2012 I’m reminded of a scene from the John Cleese comedy, Fawlty Towers, where his character, Basil Fawlty, is engaged in a soliloquy after being, yet again, brow beaten by his busybody wife, Cybil: “Whoosh”, he says as he passes his hand over the top of his head in a speedy gesture . . .

“What was that?

“That was your life mate . . .”

We are after all, according to the Mayans, meant to be shuffling off this mortal coil come next December.

Now, I don’t believe for a moment we’re going to snuff it just because a bunch of ancients came up with a calendar that predicts armageddon on December 21st 2012. If they were so smart where’s the bit in their calendar that predicted their own extinction circa 1300ACE (without any assistance at all from the Spanish)?

If there’s a remnant Mayan wandering about is s/he looking a bit smug?

Twitching up a fatty with a knowing smile, and chilling out to his or her favourite Gypsy Kings record? Has s/he told the secretary to cancel the 2013 order of Beaujolais Nouveau?

Probably not – more likely s/he is a member of a Mexican drug cartel . . . planning for extinctions, yes, but only of troublesome rivals and undercover DEA agents.

But what if . . .?

Well, for starters we’ll not get to witness the traffic chaos created by digging a tunnel under the Simpang Siur roundabout – with the resulting possibility of greater Kuta subsiding into a huge hole. Not such a bad thing, really . . . one way of dealing with wayward Australians and their embarrassing behaviours.

We’ll never know if it’s possible to get from one side of Ubud to the other in under 45 minutes.

We won’t have to worry about the

environmental impact of the mangrove massacre that will take place in building a bypass for the bypass.

Unless I really get a wriggle on I’ll never get to the end of Shantaram!

Should I try to become a better person – to atone for the myriad mistakes I’ve made along the way? What kind of New Year’s resolution does one make knowing that that’s your lot mate – give up the cigs (again), drink less, indulge in random acts of kindness and senseless beauty?

Or party, party, party . . .

What about the book that has been

a bewildering act of procrastination all these years . . . I’ll think about it tomorrow.

The economic impacts of the end of all we know will be quite large – no one in their right mind is going to bother paying off that bank loan. Flip the bird at the bank managers because if enough people do, there won’t be sufficient human resources for all the foreclosures and bankruptcy hearings. Even if the world isn’t ending this is probably a good idea anyway, if only by way of sending a message to the money masters that we’re onto their little game and we’re not

at all happy.

Retail crisis: who’s going to bother shopping for Christmas 2012?

No doubt there will be groups of believers prognosticating on promontories and other high places – arms raised to receive the Rapture; to celebrate the second coming (which I have already experienced, thank you very much, to various femmes fatale); to witness the arrival of the asteroid, comet, cosmic blast.

Perhaps a pow-wow in Yellowstone National Park in anticipation of the super volcano there going pop (this is actually on the cards for the nearish future I’m sorry to say to our American friends – not much good for the rest of us either come to think of it).

But that would be bringing science to bear on the doomsday scenario – a no-no for most apocalyptic acolytes who would rather put their faith in a long-dead South American, or the mumbo-jumbo that has been written since times of yore that, as far as I can tell, has had the singular effect of oppressing the female of the species.

Yes friends, well might we say, “we’re fucked!”

And we probably are if we carry on in the same silly and selfish fashion that we find so easy to explain to ourselves.

As we approach a new year (whether it is to be our last or not) let’s remember the lyrics of Bob Dylan, of John Lennon, of Donovan, Joanie Mitchell and Joan Armatrading, of Tracy Chapman – at once despairing and hopeful, certainly poignant. And let us hope that we might find another lyricist of the same caliber, because the current crop just isn’t cutting it.

I’m going to see if I can get in an early order for a box of 2013’s Beaujolais Nouveau (who knows, it might be heavily discounted) and I’ll be quietly humming the immortal words of REM . . . it’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine ...