Monico Family Travels

Category: Countries

• Welcoming Robin with a clifftop sundowner

  Posted at 4:56 am by Charlotte, on June 23, 2019

  We excitedly met Robin (the much anticipated final guest to Monicofamilytravels) at an airport hotel where he had crashed for the night after his bag had finally caught up with him following flight-delay shenanigans.

  

  Random shot from the hotel shop, but we’ve been shocked by how many smokers there are in Indonesia.  Cigarettes are sold everywhere, accessible to all, merchandised in view and reach of children above the crisps and chocolates!

  With huge gratitude to Mr Matthew Adams for setting us up, we hot-footed it to Omnia day club, an all-day party destination perched atop a cliff, 100m above the Indian Ocean on the southern most tip of Bali.

   

  

  

  

  

  We kicked off the welcome celebrations with cocktails and a spot of lunch:

  

  During the afternoon we chilled out and admired the abundant beefcake and bottoms!

  

  Pete Tong came on at about 5ish to play the sunset set….

   

  

  

  ……and suddenly the loungers were empty and the dance floor was full!

   

  

  

  The crowd didn’t take long to warm up and neither did we!

  

  Sunset was gorgeous and euphoric:

   

  

  

  After which it all really kicked off:

   

  

  

  Bit of an incident with the podium…..

  

  Here she goes!!!

  

  And here she gets off…. escorted by the most courteous bouncers in the world!

  It all went a bit Pete Tong…..

  

  …..so time for me to flip the photos into black and white:

  

  ……and for Robin to get in the pool!

  

  Luckily Monday was quiet, so we spent the day catching some rays, and playing with the girls in the pool.

  Millie took out her braids!

   

  

  

  We even treated ourselves to a guest chef to cook dinner in the relaxed surroundings of Villa Arcadia so very little finger-lifting was required that day.

  

  and Emily took a turn on the mixing desk!

  PERFECT!

  WELCOME ROBIN – WE ARE SO HAPPY TO HAVE YOU IN BALI!

   

  Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 2 Comments

• Last seen…..

  Posted at 10:30 am by Charlotte, on June 22, 2019

  ……disappearing into the beach horizon.  More fleet-footed horses involved of course!

  On a top tip, we hot-footed it to a village just between Chang Gu and Seminak for a beach ride.  The horses looked well pampered, and smartly decked out in their red bandages.

  We were slightly surprised when the yard wanted to send foot-runners with all 4 of us (given that we were on the advanced ride), but ultimately they sent 2, and it turned out to be quite a good thing.

  

  We were set up with 4 steeds, and took it calmly down some fairly ‘major’ roads** to the beach.  B & E rightly baulked at being led, so their runners trotted along side them.

  ** a major road equates to one where you can pass an oncoming vehicle without bypassing onto the verge, or dropping half a wheel into a ditch

  

  

  

  

  

  When we got to the beach, all became clear.  The horses started dancing and prancing, and it turns out that the main function of the stables is for riders (or actually more often non-riders) to get their Instagram shots.  Apparently plenty of girls arrive in long flowing dresses or bikinis and expect to go out for a hack…….

  If you can’t beat them, join them….. so we took our turns to walk the length of the beach, and hoon it back while the patient photographer took pictures on my cellphone.

  

  Here are our Insta-shots – duly colour filtered!

  

  

  

  

  Once we were ‘post-ready’, our escorts were rather surprised that we wanted to go again, (EVEN though we already had the money shots) purely for the love of the gallop!  Actually the staff were fab.  Galloping technically wasn’t allowed by the stable’s owner (most punters predominantly stand and pose in the shallow surf), but seeing that we actually loved the horses and the riding, they let rip, and cheered us on.

  The horses got seriously excited, and Bella in true Beanie style was completely unstoppable:

  Squiggler was brave in the face of her speed demon:

  James encouraged his steed out of its leisurely cruise into overdrive, and mine frothed in the foamy waves and generally looked beautiful (when she wasn’t going mental at being held back to last-to-go in the galloping order!):

  We cruised through Chang Gu on the way home to check out the scene (having heard much), and grab a late lunch at a popular beach club.  It was on a spectacular setting on the coast line, and served a very decent grilled fish (and some sausages!).  The bathrooms were somewhat ‘hose-down’ and it was clearly a big party venue by night that cleaned up just enough by day to pull the punters in for the lunch shift before picking up the pace again at sunset.

  

  

  

  Another high adrenaline day for Monicofamilytravels (those horses were, yet again, entirely unstoppable!!)

  Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 4 Comments

• BARCing again and the 3 witches!

  Posted at 3:09 am by Charlotte, on June 21, 2019

  In school, Rob and the girls have mostly drawn inspiration and learning materials from the culture around us in each moment, but in order that Bella keeps up with the St Christophers Y6 English curriculum, they spent a few weeks this dipping into Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Midsummer Nights Dream, and Romeo and Juliet.  On Friday, they performed a great rendition of ‘Double Double Toil and Trouble’

  

  

  Rob made an excellent 3rd witch to round out the triefecta

  Break time for Bella today constituted coconut tree climbing practice!  I’m convinced Agus will get her up the real thing before we are done.

  

  We returned for the afternoon to the BARC dog rescue safehouse where they nurse the animals that are too sick to flourish in their sanctuary (which houses more than 350 animals, many ready waiting to be re-homed).

  

  Happy reunion with some of our old friends: Lady, Rosie and Clara

  This visit we were trusted with dog washing, so we started with Daisy who was the most gentle unwanted ex-breeder labrador that you could hope for.

  

  

  

  She even stood like a rock while she was vigorously rubbed dry.

  

  

  Then I got to wash my beloved Lady.  When wet and lathered it was apparent that she is still a skinny little thing despite all the best efforts of the staff.  They can only feed her up slowly on pumpkin and tiny pieces of meat as she can’t hold down rich food, or too much at a time.

  

  

  

  It doesn’t get much cuter does it?

  

  Emily gets cosy with Clara, another abandoned ex-breeder who is sadly dying from cancer

  

  Bella takes a turn with Lady while I cuddle little Missy – the plumpest chihuahua!

  On our way home, Rob met us for dinner at the infamous Famous.  It was the very first restaurant we went to in Bali (for a pizza hit!), and has become the most frequent (Bob is there most days!).

  

  Its not exactly authentic Indonesian, but it does a mean pizza and has filled many happy bellies for us!

   

  Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 3 Comments

• Its a mucky business!

  Posted at 4:28 am by Charlotte, on June 19, 2019

   

  The rice paddy is such an archetypal attraction of the Bali tourist scene, its almost easy to forget that rice farming actually constitutes the livelihood of so many of its people.

  Our villa is nestled in 360° of rice paddys, and we have had the privilege of watching almost an entire cycle of rice production.  From this vantage point, and the with help and insights of  our wonderful staff Wyan, Augus and Gade, we now understand more deeply how rice acts as the life blood of Bali.  It permeates every aspect of Balinese culture and has for at least 2000 years.  The ‘Subak’ system of growing rice is much more than a simple agricultural methodology, its simultaneously spiritual and communal.

  We found an (artificial yet fun and informative) way to experience rice farming ‘hands on’ for ourselves at Tampakspiring Journey.  Despite turning up in our oldest clothes, ‘farming’ clothes were thrust upon us.  We donned said Ganesha wifebeaters and shiny shorts with good grace, and got to it!

  First up we had the experience of ploughing with cows.  Cows and buffaloes are still used all over Indonesia, although newer machinery, some motorised are a beginning to become commonplace.

  

  

  

  

  After ploughing farmers let the soil (and themselves) rest for up to a few weeks and then they  ensure that the fields are flat and properly retaining water.

  Subak (the all-encompassing water irrigation system) consists of forests that protect the water supply, the terraced paddy landscape, rice fields connected by a system of canals (like the one on the RHS), tunnels and weirs, villages and temples of varying size and importance that mark either the source of water or its passage through the temple on its way downhill to irrigate the land.  This entire complex set of Subak elements are all managed communally in a way that binds Balinese agrarian societies together within geographic boundaries.

  Once the water is sorted, the Balinese then wait for planting day.  This will be a particular day determined by their calendar system which has been in place for more than a thousand years.

  Bali is an island famous for being laid-back. People work slowly, and have a tenuous relationship with time-keeping at best.  This all changes when it comes to rice!  When it is planting time, the air is electrified with determination, and everyone comes together to work in the fields and make sure that Bali gets set up for yet another successful rice harvest.  The usual relaxed pace is replaced with speed that seems almost impossible.  An entire crop can be put into the ground in just a few hours. Planting involves taking shoots that have been cultured in ‘baby beds’, and ‘sticking’ them in the mud.

  

  Our rookie efforts were fun but not neat enough to represent the real deal

  

  Done properly the rice plants are re-sown in a uniform 10cm grid

  We had fun with it though….

  

  

  …..and enjoyed getting muddy!

  

  

  

  

  Ritual and spirituality are integral to the cycle of growing and harvesting rice.  Ceremonies and offerings to Dewi Sri (the goddess of rice and fertility) are performed throughout the year .  Many ceremonies are performed on the farm, others at water temples.

  

  Dewi Sri

  The upstream corner of every rice field is sacred.  All the offering to Dewi Sri done on the farm are performed here.  Before planting, the first stems of rice are ceremonially carried and planted in the part of the field that is closest to Mount Agung – considered sacred by the Balinese.  All of hte rice produced from this corner of the field is also used as offerings to he goddess.  When it is harvest time, the farmers create an image of the goddess out of some of this rice and give it as an offering to her

  

  Field offering temple

  

  Ripe rice paddy beside Villa Arcadia

  Harvest is always still conducted by hand with scythes.  We were privileged to witness the very first cuts in the very first cuts in the gorgeous paddy field next to our house, and there was such a party atmosphere between the villagers who collected to work together.

  

  The grains are threshed out of the stems, again by hand, by beating them into a large bamboo tube, and then they are de-husked in local ‘factories’.

  

  Ducks are put on the fields post-harvest to clean up any grains and worms or grubs.  If a family doesn’t own their own, they borrow some!

  

  Nearly the entire rice plant is used for something, but lastly the final debris is burned.

  

  We got a bit smoked out a few nights at Villa Arcadia

  Understanding this rice cycle certainly concentrates the mind when we are enjoying our nasi goreng (Indonesian staple dish of fried rice)!  On a deeper level our exploration into rice growing certainly brings us closer to what feels like the true heart of Bali, along with the beautiful arts that we have been enjoying in this incredible country.

  Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 6 Comments

• Crafty kicks!

  Posted at 11:11 pm by Charlotte, on June 18, 2019

  James took off for a 2 day road-trip of personal discovery on his beloved motorbike, so the girls and I maxed out on some of the amazing craft workshops offered in Ubud.

  First up was jewellery making.  We picked a design (a piece to copy), and then dove in, Bella stencilling and cutting a sheet of pure silver, and Millie drilling holes in the disc that was prepared for her by our teacher.

  

  

  

  It was all pretty intricate, and to be honest we had a fair bit of help, especially when it came to wielding the blow torch!

  

  

  

  Here is some work in progress:  Bella’s feather takes shape, and my tear drop slowly expands in a series of concentric wire bands that are molten together then bashed flat.

  

  

  

  A beanie foot pumping air to fuel the blow torch

  

  Bella adding some finishing touches

  

  Bella’s masterpiece!

  

  Millies masterpiece

  

  My effort

  

  A moment to count some of the blessings we experience daily in Bali:

  

  The classroom to beat all classrooms!

  The incredible wildlife that we share our lives (intimately often!) with every day:

  

  

  The bamboo hut at the bottom of our garden where we take yoga classes with atmospheric sounds and smells of the jungle enveloping us.

  

  

  Our second creative effort of involved a bigger set of mallets, and chisels.

  

  Bels getting started on her design with a block of wood nailed to a bigger block of wood!

  Emily and I both bashed our thumbs before we got the hang of it, and there was some minor finger chiseling, but ultimately no permanent damage done!

  

  

  I worked hard at a cheesy gift for my beloved James:

  

  

  Bella makes steady progress:

  

  

  

  Millie displays her final work of art!

  

  And here is mine!

  While Daddy was away we girls tended to bundle in together in the master bedroom, and we may have possibly indulged in a few breakfasts in bed…..

  

  Freshly woken!

  But we were VERY happy when Daddy came home (in one piece!).

  Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 4 Comments

• Fathers Day

  Posted at 11:28 pm by Bella, on June 16, 2019

  We started the day off by cooking Daddy a meal in bed.  We made pancakes with Nutella on the side.

  

  

  We collected up some frangipani flowers and put our cards, some coffee and the food on a tray with the flowers to make it pretty.

  

  Emily and I carried up the tray and surprised Daddy with it!

  

  We served it up and then jumped into bed with him to have a breakfast feast and lots of cuddles.

  

  

  

  Then we drove to Kuta, a busy city to go go-karting.

  

  We were a bit worried when we tripped over this chap in the car park!

  We had the karting track to ourselves so we had a nice empty run, and no thugs!

  

  It was so fun to ride the karts but they were really hard to turn because they were heavy and the steering wheels were really stiff.  The track was really twisty and swervy, and Daddy raced through it really fast.  We all got out of his way so that he could get the fastest score of the day.

  

  

  

  

  

  After karting we went to a lovely beach club for lunch.

  

  When we set off for MonicoFamilyTravels (right at the beginning of our trip), Dinne (our grandmother) gave us a big bag full of little treats and games.  We got to do a lucky dip and get a new one out to play with at special moments.  Here is an example of one that was really handy and fun to take to restaurants with us.

  

  I really enjoyed my apple mojito mocktail.  Emily and I both had one.  We had chicken noodle soup for lunch and it was nice to know that we hadn’t forgotten how to use our chop sticks!

  

  

  During the afternoon we got a giant lounger bed with enough room for 4, and relaxed enjoying the sunshine.

  

  

  

  After we went in the sea and then rinsed off, Emily and I did our puzzle book while we dried.

  

  

  At the end we got to watch a beautiful sunset although lots of Instagram posers went in front of us and blocked our view!

  

  Then we walked across a beautiful bridge (that smelt like poop) to a fancy Italian restaurant for dinner.

  

  I was forced to wear a dress for dinner, but Daddy liked that and today was all about him (although we all had lot of fun too!).

  

  Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 5 Comments

• The craziness continues

  Posted at 1:51 am by Charlotte, on June 14, 2019

  

  Sunrise from the stunning balcony where the girls do school, and where Bella and I hangout of an early morning doing puzzle books and drinking turmeric tea / fruit smoothies

  This week James and I attended (embraced!) a tantric workshop together which (for us) was not so much enlightening, but rather entertaining and sometimes excruciating.

  About 80 of us joined together for 3 hours of tantric edification and application (all fully dressed I hasten to add!).  Most of it we managed just fine, but when practicing ‘exploring the Ecstatic Orgasmic Breath to supercharge your Life-Force Energy’ we dissolved into uncontrollable giggles.  It went like this:

  • We sit cross-legged facing each other
  • James projects his male energy out of his groin towards my groin
  • I then receive and welcome his energy and carry it up through my body to my breast
  • I then pass it out through my breast and back across to James who receives it into his breast and then sends it back down to his groin.

  There were accompanying hand-movements………. and deep breathing.

  We really did manage it quite seriously for at least 5 minutes, but then James hammed it up a bit and I totally lost it.  So then he lost it.   Unfortunately we also ‘infected’ our neighbouring couple too.  Everyone else was taking it so seriously, so our giggle-guilt just made it worse.  The exercise went on for about another 15 minutes in total…..eek!

  On the excruciating end we had to perform private dances for each other (no not THAT kind – that would have been MUCH easier that what we ACTUALLY had to do).  One person sat on a block on the floor and maintained full eye contact with the other who danced their ‘shadow’……………for what felt like a lifetime (but was probably only about 10 minutes) to the other person.  We both started with a good effort, but then it was a case of just willing the music to PLEASE STOP!  Then we swapped.

  Worth going? On balance, yes.  Highly unconvinced that we will incorporate anything we learned into our personal lives, but glad we gave it a try, and at a minimum they say that laughing has huge health benefits in itself!

  Emily opted for a much more sensible Ubud special – the braids!!!  Her hair is so thick that end-to-end braiding and beading took a good 2 hours of work.

  

  

  

  

  The end result was fabulous though:

  

  

  Anyone notice that Millie is actually taller than her gorgeous stylist?

  

  Here she is rocking her new look

  

  Back at home, more break time fun with spinning whizzer pinger thingies!

  Now many of you (particularly our Argentinian friends) would be surprised to hear that we have lasted so long in a new home without a single attempt to grill our dinner.  Well, the day came that James could no longer hold out, and solicited help from our wonderful villa manager to secure this little number. It was a somewhat tragic scenario.  The charcoal we had was bamboo based……and not particularly flammable.  With his usual unorthodox ingenuity, James decided to get the charcoal blazing in a sieve over the gas hob before depositing it in what can only be described as a sorry excuse for a BBQ.  He then wafted it a bit with a fan before depositing the (thankfully precooked) chicken drumsticks.  The whole event was a slightly sad state of affairs, and a slightly deflated Jimbob, but dinner was delicious that night none-the-less.

  

  

  

  

  Over these few weeks, we all came down sequentially with a hideous bug reminiscent of some kind of bird flu.  Emily had such extreme fevers that I basically had to surround her with bags of ice.  She is still now (3 weeks later) still trying to clear the snot/plegm.  Nice!  It manifested with Bella in a hacking cough and some truly amazing bogies.  James fell ‘dangerously ill’ (to coin a Senor Jonesism) and sweated it out in bed for 3 days  straight.  Having nursed the rest of them out of the worst of it I finally succumbed myself to a somewhat milder version of the whole suite of symptoms. James  trying to kick as I writ. 

  

  Theo our wonderful yoga teacher and vedic practitioner recommended the remedy Javanese Jamu.  I have to say I think it probably did more than a pure placebo!

  The rice in the paddys outside our house has turned from bright green to golden brown, and harvest is kicking off.

  

  With all the craziness around us, we are forever grateful and thankful to Wyan and Augus who bless us, our house, our pool, our kitchen, and our garden temple on a daily basis.  I’m sure it helps.

  

   

  Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 3 Comments

• It wouldn’t be Monicofamilytravels if we didn’t…..

  Posted at 11:51 pm by Charlotte, on June 9, 2019

  It wouldn’t be Monicofamilytravels if we didn’t find at least one completely bonkers and somewhat dangerous physical activity per country to scare the pants off me…… and the ropes course wasn’t it!

  But let me start at the beginning of this crazy weekend when we traveled to the central northern part of Bali (through spectacular scenery on a mountain pass between 2 big volcanoes), and enjoyed an exhilarating afternoon at Bali Treetop Adventure Park.

  

  The safety briefing was minimal at best, and Bella smartly identified her very floppy harness and gave it a good tug, while I had a somewhat frantic panic and sent James up the first ladder first.  The obstacles themselves seemed sturdy enough though so we relaxed and got climbing!  There were 12 routes to follow of varying height, strength and dexterity requirement, and general terrifyingness, with tonnes of zip lines built in for whooshing and taking a break from balancing and wobbling.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  My one horror was the claustrophobia inducing tunnel.  Here is Emily who followed me through it sniggering at my whimpers!

  

  Exhausted, even more raw handed, sporting one rope burn (Bellas) and one rather strange wire rash/blistery thing (mine), we popped back in the car, and drove past more spectacular scenery to our resting spot for the night.

  

  We have ended up doing a lot of driving in Bali, often in terrible traffic conditions, but the girls churn through books on Audible, and with never-ending eye-watering scenery, its hard to get too frustrated!

  We stayed in a resort, not usually our style, but having picked the right villa, this one had very worth-it views…..

  

  

  

  

  

  …..and the most spectacular flowers….

  

  

  

  

  

  …..and some of the lushest paddys yet!

  

  

  Playing Sussed – a great new addition to our games bag from the lovely Lewis Banks family

  Next morning we set off fairly bright eyed and bushy tailed to the Aling Aling waterfalls: 

  

  We stumbled across this sign after a hike to the waterfall – I think it says it all!

  We started with the relative ease of a 5M jump (still with a bit of screeching!)

  

  

  

  

  Next up was the slide down this huge waterfall:

  

  Bella in mid flow!

  Next up was the relative safety of the smaller waterfall slide, but while less generally alarming, it was definitely bumpier on the nether regions!

  

  

  

  We walked downstream a bit to the next set of falls…..

  

  …..James took a peak over the edge…..

  

  ……and then jumped the 10M!!!

  

  It must be a boy thing…. but I have to admit I was impressed by his lack of hesitation!

  We were thankful to our lovely guide who responsibly shared with us that the last punter who jumped the 15M broke a small (but vital!) bone in his back, so we retired gracefully at the 10M, revisited the 5M pool for a few more family jumps, and then headed home.

  

  Wonderful vibrant colours in this paddy

  Famished after all the exertions, we stopped at a restaurant for early dinner on the way home and found a bonus playground in the garden.  Sweet!

  

   

   

   

   

   

  Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 7 Comments

• Feisty equines and farming

  Posted at 1:53 am by Charlotte, on June 7, 2019

  We can’t seem to stay anywhere too long without finding some horses to ride (although this only stems Bellas ‘I miss Tornado’ lament for a matter of hours…….while we are actually in the saddle….).  This particular afternoon and route turned out to be the most wonderful way to experience rice farming practices, real life unfolding in the paddys, and to see a local village entirely off the beaten track.

  Even on the drive up we saw interesting sights of bundled straw and rice grains laid out in their various guises to dry in the sun:

  

  

  Many of the fields we rode through were harvested or in the process, so there were lots of villagers out and about cutting with scythes, threshing, drying, burning etc.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  And there was even some evocative stubble burning which took me back to my favourite event of the annual calendar from Mutton Hall in the arable farming days.

  

  

  It was fascinating to see how people ‘live’ in the paddys.  There were clothes drying everywhere, kids flying kites and families and friends hanging out together.  There are also huts dotted around where farmers often sleep overnight.

  

  

  

  Now as for the horses, they were beautiful, glossy, and well looked after, but someone had given them WAY too many oats, and we subsequently discovered that they were all (recently) ex-racehorses.  They had mouths of iron, and stopping was not something they particularly embraced.  Mine had the mother-of-a-buck on her which she shared with me every time I held her back from racing the rest.  Despite my usual penchant for the ‘interesting/spirited’ horse, this time it was actually somewhat unnerving.  James’s kicked and went mental any time it got close to the other horses so he had to try (and sometimes succeeded) to keep it at the back.  Emily’s was an incredibly elegant chestnut, but entirely devoid of brakes.  Bella’s wasn’t much better and there were lots of raw hands by the end of the day!  The girls did incredibly well though, and we survived several out-of-control gallops, as well as the remainder of the 3 hours of more civilised hacking.

  

  

  

  

  Midway, we passed through a very local village in the hills, which was a fab opportunity to see life away from the tourist routes.

  

  

  

  Sadly we passed a big bank of rubbish on the way into the village.  There is actually not too much around the country in general (most locals buy food wrapped in banana leaves vs plastic packaging, and villagers grow their own rice on a household by household basis), but what there is isn’t collected or managed, so usually ends up on the street sides if it isn’t burned.

  

  Here are some women breaking rocks, which is a relatively common sight.  Not quite sure why its always women?!?!?!

  

  We also passed plenty of cockerels in baskets being groomed for fighting.  In Balinese Hinduism, the spilled blood in a cockfight is believed to expel evil spirits.  Although it is illegal, cockfighting takes place throughout Bali.  Men will spend anywhere from six months to two years preparing roosters for a cockfight.

  

  

  I love seeing the oldest generation out and about in Bali.  They are often to be seen walking slowly down the roads with sticks to help support them.  Usually very thin, I find their faces very expressive and beautiful, and its always heartwarming to see them out in the community.

  

  

  

  We passed so many spectacular valleys and scenery I could post a hundred pictures as dramatic as this one!

  The ride drew to a close as the sun started setting.

  

  We look positively peaceful here on our feisty mounts!

  On the way home I managed to snap this picture (again out of the car window) of a kite on a bike.  We see them everywhere, and they have definitely inspired us to see if we can find some way of joining the kiting fun with some locals.

  

  Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 2 Comments

• Fun fiery times, and farewell to Sarah

  Posted at 10:22 pm by Charlotte, on June 4, 2019

  You can’t really visit Bali without experiencing one of its famous exotic dances.  Some are complex dance-dramas that recount various myths and legends, while others are only performed during religious holidays.  There are animal-themed performances as well, most humorously the frog dance.  We opted for a Kecak Fire and Trance Dance (yes, Jimbob DID do the choosing on this one….).

  

  It kicked off with the lighting of the fire

  What makes the Kecak special is that the accompanying music is provided by the human voice, the ‘gamelan suara’, a choir of a hundred or more men sitting in concentric circles swaying, standing up, and lying prone as the story develops:

  

  

  

  The story itself was a fragment from the Ramayana Hindu epic.  It narrated the life of Rama, legendary prince of the Kosala Kingdom.  He was exiled for fourteen-years by his father King on the request of his step-mother.  He then traveled across forests in India with his wife Sita and his brother.  Sita was kidnapped and a war resulted to rescue her back.  Rama eventually returned to be crowned king as the crux of the epic.

  

  The Trance Dance was performed after the epic, and the version we saw was the Sanghyang Djaran (djaran meaning horse).  A horse rider is lulled into trance by the repetitive sounds of the gamelan suara and in his hypnotic state he walked on a bed of burning coconut husks responding to the rising and falling of the music.

  

  

  Although the show we watched was clearly a fairly mainstream tourist attraction, we were for sure experiencing some genuine history, culture, ancient arts and unique talent.  I was enthralled by it.  The girls had fairly mixed views, but were ultimately awed by the fire walking and thankful that its duration was only just over an hour.

  

  Check out the fire-walkers feet!

  We have loved getting to know the wonderful staff in our villa, and Wyan loves to share insights into local life with us, in particular Hindu traditions and ceremonies.

  

  

  Various ceremonies and celebrations:

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  For the Balinese, Ngaben (cremations) are one of their most important ceremonies as they represent the release of the deceased’s spirit from the body, allowing them to reincarnate, or find final rest in Moksha free from the cycle of reincarnation and death.  Fittingly cremations require significant effort, time and expense.  To help defray the cost of a Ngaben, many Balinese temporarily bury their dead, to be exhumed for participation in a mass Ngaben at at later date.  We’ve driven past several of these mass cremations, and Wyan shared with us this incredible video of the elaborate Ngaben of a senior religious leader in her province:

   

  

  And Wyan herself looking incredible at the back of this beautiful foursome

  Back at home we practiced the far less erudite art form of some temporary tattoos!

  

  

  

  One happy Sunday, we met up with Shervin (of Sound Healing fame) and one of his sons Aiden for an afternoon on the beach.  We all swam in the sea, took in the glorious coast line, the men built a sandcastle, the kids found the swimming pool, and Sarah and I hung out in the warm lapping shallows for a deep-and-meaningful.

  

  

  It was such a treat to spend the afternoon with great people, and we will be eternally grateful to Susie Hunt (Knox) for introducing us to such incredible new friends here.

  Emily found the most gorgeous puppy on the beach.  Sadly its boy owner had been dragging it in the sea and dunking its head under the water so Emily comforted it and dried it with a towel.

  

  

  Sarah spent a happy morning at the Ubud market to pick up some souvenirs to take home (and actually as it turned out some gorgeous gifts for us).

  

  

  James took Sarah on her last night to a Cocoa Ceremony at the Yoga Barn (I was at home nursing Emily who had a stonking fever).  Watch this space for Sarah’s second guest blog which will hopefully give more insights into what sounded like a bizarre yet truly uplifting experience!

  On her last morning we eventually completed the trixy circular puzzle that Sarah had kindly brought out with her.  Phew!

  

  

  And we all had a massage in the garden – what a treat!

  

  

  For a final farewell lunch we went back to the fab duck restaurant over the koi ponds, and ate huge quantities of prawns.

  

  

  

  

  

  Last group photo!

  And to finish for today, a fabulous dragon – laid out on the tiles of our terrace, made from leaves in our glorious garden!

  

   

  Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 4 Comments

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