La Recessionista Files

Tales from an unemployed renegade on a world tour 



July 2, 2009

Bali

Bali....what a beautiful place. I love that the Balinese people have a strong culture where their traditions are still carried out on a daily basis (and not just for the benefit of tourists). Every morning women are weaving palm and banana leaves into works of art to be used as a vessel for offerings to the spirits. What do the spirits get? Flowers, bits of colored rice, sometimes fruit and often times a mini ritz cracker. I don't know the significance of the mini ritz cracker but i sure do find it interesting. Each family has their own temple within their family compound. Offerings are made in the morning to the good spirits and to the bad spirits in the evening. The bad spirits get the bigger offering since people want to make sure they are happy and stay away from the family.
 
Traditional dance is huge (at least in Ubud) and kids seem to take the art form seriously. We watched two young sisters (8 and 5) practicing a dance in front of the "magic box", otherwise known as a t.v. They were so focused on the dance - it was incredible.
 
I told my sisters that we could be very happy living the life of a Balinese woman. Making beautiful crafts everyday, getting dolled up and performing traditional dances at night. And did I mention the Balinese lace? They make lovely clothing here.
 
My only regret is not coming to Ubud earlier. While it is beautiful, it is also very crowded and a tad too touristy. I still loved it - but it left me wanting to find an even more authentic Balinese experience. Next time. :)

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July 2, 2009

Swimming With Snakes And Going With The Flow

Traveling solo has its benefits. I especially like having complete flexibility over my own schedule. The one aspect of solo travel I have not mastered is the bar scene. I find it intimidating to roll into a crowded bar by myself. I know....everyone says you meet more people when you are alone but that doesn't really cure me from feeling awkward. There is lots of nightlife on this island and i felt like dancing so as a personal growth exercise I stepped right up to the most crowded joint on the beach. I did ok and even stayed for a few songs after I'd finished my drink. I threw in the towel when one-too-many euro trash drunkenly flicked ashes on my bare legs.
 
This morning I became frustrated trying to write a cover letter for a job that sounds somewhat interesting and later tried to torment myself with updating the dreaded resume. Then I had an unexpected chat with the ever-wise Laura Schopen. She reminded me of the importance of going with the flow and that often times things work out better when you don't try to plan. This advice was even more a' propos because i was already on the beach in a bikini. Go with the flow.
 
Later while going with the flow of the ocean current (which is really strong today) I saw a sea snake. I only saw it's shadow but the woman swimming with me had her snorkel mask on and reported it was about 3 feet long! Here is a pic from someone much more prepared than I to capture a sea snake moment.

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June 30, 2009

Grinnin At The Gillis

I decided to leave Ubud a few days early for some quiet time at the beach. I took an early morning boat to Gili Trawangan, the largest of the 3 Gili islands. Though this is the "large" island you can reportedly walk the entire island in less than 2 hours.

There are no cars on the island. If you need to get somewhere fast you can either hoof it yourself or hire a hoof from one of the many pony cart-taxis.

Where my neighbors in Ubud have been roosters - my neighbors here in Gili appear to be goats. I think the goats and I share a common goal of sleeping past 4am, so I think we'll get along just fine.

I left the camera cord with Lisa in Ubud so I've "borrowed" these photos. I won't lie - it's lovely here. Clear blue water that i can't wait to snorkel in.

I like to bust out on a solo trip here and there, you know just to prove that I can. The goal this time is to spend so much alone time that I will have no other choice but to update my resume. Anyone want to wager bets on my completing this task? Better yet - anyone want to write this blasted resume for me? :)

     

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June 30, 2009

Ubud Eco Educational Bike Tour

We signed up for an Eco-Educational bike tour that promised to take us to small villages to see how Balinese people live, how they farm, visit temples, rice terraces and sample delicious Balinese cuisine...oh yes and do some bike riding too.

They delivered on each promise and then some. It was really a spectacular day. Riding by the vibrant green rice terraces with a breeze in the air... perfect.

We had breakfast overlooking Mt. Batur volcano and the nearby crater lake. Beautiful and thankfully there were no eruptions.

After some bike riding we paid a visit to a Balinese family. They live in a family community of 20. Once sons marry they raise their own family in the compound. When daughters marry they go to live with the husband's family. Depending on how many sons you have - things can get pretty crowded. Ever inquisitive, Lisa Carey asked what happens in families where there are no sons. The answer: you adopt a son from a family member with sons to spare.

The grandparents house (also within the compound) is always built on a higher platform to show respect. On honeymoon night the bride and groom sleep in the grooms grandparent's house so they can be closer to ancestors (or something like that). The grandparents (thankfully) sleep elsewhere for the night. But jeez - talk about a buzz kill...your honeymoon night in grandma and grandpa's bed with the rest of your family sleeping only meters away?

I made friends with the family's pigs (there were babies too!) and got a good laugh at the weight set made of stone. The Iron Maiden poster seemed a bit out of place - but apparently heavy metal has wide appeal.

All along the way kids line the streets to give the bike riders 'high-fives' and scream "hello!". So cute.

You'll notice a picture of a huge zucchini growing from a vine and defying the laws of gravity.

Later we rode by a wedding - you can tell where celebrations are happening because the front entrance is decorated in woven palms and flowers. The family invited us in - what an amazing experience. The celebration lasts for days and includes lots of eating and dancing.

Lastly (and thanks for sticking thru this long post) we stopped by a rice field where harvest was in progress. They asked for volunteers and I helped beat the rice grains out of the stalks and then sift the grains. Let me tell you - lots of work goes into growing and processing rice! Only order it if you realllly want it. My favorite picture is of the grandma who, while sitting amongst piles of dry rice stalks lit up a cigarette.

                                   

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June 30, 2009

A Heavy Time in Ubud

We are staying in a homestay in Ubud - it is a big compound where 5 families (all of them related) live along with 10 or so guest houses for rent. I love it because you get a better sense of what daily life is like from living with a family vs being sequestered in a resort.

When I left this morning all the family members were happily preparing offerings made of flowers and woven palm and doing all sorts of decorative work to the house in preparation for a big temple festival later this month. As I arrived home today a man was running from the house crying, literally tearing at his eyes. Some friends were running after him. When I entered the compound there were masses of people crying and some people trying to console a woman (I assume the mother) as she was wailing and thrashing on the tile floor. Her pain and the pain of the many family members around is absolutely crushing.

Death is so permanent no matter how much you protest. The word for 'no' must be the same in Indonesian because that is the one thing I heard the woman repeat again and again. Death is heartbreakingly permanent.

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June 29, 2009

Cockfighting

Fighting roosters are treated like kings, well that is until their owners strap razors onto their feet and lead them to the ring for a bloody battle till death. Men feed their fighting roosters special vitamins and massage their legs nightly to help make them better fighters.

The blood from the dead rooster is used as a sacrifice during temple ceremonies. Although I think it is against the law, people often place bets on which rooster will win.

I opted to pass on the cockfighting opportunity.

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June 29, 2009

Temple-Tastic

We lucked out and happened upon a temple outside of Ubud where a festival was being held. Before entering they dressed us in sarongs. I was really glad they provided sarongs because my only other option was to wear my zebra printed sarong.

This temple is one of the 3 largest on Bali and is known for it's fresh water spring. People come to give offerings and bathe in the spring water. It is hard to tell from the photos, but if you look at the black swirls in the water that is where the water comes up from the earth and creates little eruptions in the black sand at the bottom of the spring.

                           

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June 29, 2009

Our New Norwegian Friends

While enjoying a Balinese blues band (they were great) the other night we met an adorable couple from Norway: Annette and Martin. We chatted all evening about places we'd been, life at home and the high price of cocktails in Ubud.

We liked them so much we've been hanging out ever since. After seeing how cute their place is we decided that we should be neighbors too. We made up a white lie and arranged to check out of our hotel (which is not as charming and 3x the price) the next day. Here we are enjoying cocktails at Naughty Nuri's - a dive bar here that Anthony Bourdain is supposedly is a fan of. They are known for martinis so we ordered cosmos. They came in a huge glass with ice, but they were tasty!



       

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June 28, 2009

From Bangkok To Bali In 30 Minutes Or Less

My trip from Bangkok to Bali was 5 hours. But, if you'd like to travel from Bangkok to Bali in less than 30 minutes, just step into your kitchen. No passport needed - just a copy of the cookbook written by my Uncle Byron and Aunt Theresa featuring easy-to-make recipes from South East Asia. There are all sorts of tips for substituting common ingredients when the exotic items are not handy. For example - no need to search for kaffir lime - just use regular lime! Or use brown sugar and soy sauce to sub for tamarind sauce.

I was in college in Santa Barbara when they were writing their first cookbook; 'True Thai' (which is also fantastic and easy enough for a novice like me to master). I was living on the standard college diet of pizza, ramen and burritos. Weekends to visit them in L.A.and take part in their 'test kitchen' was a delicious treat.

I'm looking forward to cooking when I get home. If you get a craving for Thai and you are a patient and forgiving dinner guest, give me a ring. Or better yet, next time Uncle B and Aunt T come to visit perhaps we can talk them into being celebrity guest chef on Alvarado st. I hear Uncle B and Aunt T have added a great sous chef duo to their culinary team - their identities are held top-secret and they go by the name 'Las Suavacitas'.

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June 28, 2009

Ubud Spice Farm

Have you ever wondered what Balinese coffee beans look like on the branch? Or what cacao beans look like before roasted? Well.... wonder no more! Today we visited a spice farm where they grow coffee, cacao beans, ginger, cinnamon (it comes from the bark of trees - I didn't know that!) and vanilla beans. The cacao fruit (?) looks like a papaya. The seeds are found inside.

Here is our driver friend Wayan giving us the low-down on the spices. There is an expensive Balinese coffee bean that involves an interesting process. The mongoose have a taste for only the best coffee beans, leaving aside the less-tasty beans. Once the beans make their way out of the mongoose (don't make me spell this out) the beans are cleaned, roasted, ground and sold for a nifty price. Why are we humans so weird? Why pay more for coffee beans that have been in mongoose poop?

I loved the spice farm - always great to know where your spices come from (and in this case, your coffee beans too!). My mom asked for one thing on this trip - spices. So I was especially happy to pick up some Balinese specialties for my mom, the exotic cook.

               

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