The Balinese BBC: Bamboo, Bananas and Coconuts

The small propeller plane that flew me to Bali. Scary...

It's hard to believe that it's been almost one month since I left California. The first few weeks in Semarang acted as the perfect "settling-in" period. September 7th came before I knew it and as my coworkers began preparing for the celebration of the end of Ramadan, I boarded a plane for one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

The first four days we spent relaxing on Nusa Lembongan, a small island about 45 minutes from mainland Bali. This small paradise is home to only about 7,000 inhabitants and caters largely to a crowd of skilled surfers and scuba divers. Directly outside our hotel is a surf break fittingly named Lacerations. I understood why after a number of surfers came back to shore with bloody limbs. Lembongan is known for the dangerous current and inevitable coral and reef that you'll hit upon wipe out. Needless to say this was not the place for a novice to take her first surf lesson. So there went that idea. There were three of us that neither surf or scuba, so we spent our days taking snorkeling trips with the kind locals whose job it is to boat us out to great spots for a minimal fee. We rented bicycles and rode up and down the two main streets of the island. We took long walks and ducked in and out of the same shops everyday to get a break from the blistering heat. We ate meals fit for kings that cost close to nothing while watching beautiful sunsets.

The beach outside the Mainski Lodge
Michaela and I, looking dashing, I'm sure

A typical Family Temple

Lembongan Village Beach

The streets of Nusa Lembongan

A typical way of transporting items
A seaweed farmer carrying his load

A happy boat owner

The inside of a temple
A typical Lembongan sunset

The highlight for me on this leg of the trip was our last full day on the island. The non surfers/scuba divers had the brilliant idea of renting motor bikes in order to get to the other side of the island to both Mushroom Beach and Dream Beach, two places not to be missed. The only dilema? We had never driven motor bikes. How hard could it be, though? There were 11 year olds driving them up and down the street carrying both a baby brother and balancing a basket on their heads. I mean, I know how to ride a bike... It was pretty touch-and-go for the first 30 minutes on that thing. The streets are narrow. The wall and I battled a few times when I forgot that the gas was on the handle bar. I thought I was slowing down, but instead was speeding up. It could have been ugly... real ugly. We made it to the first stop and after my sprint to the bathroom in order to make sure my fear hadn't left an accident in my pants, we were overlooking Mushroom Beach. Jackie and I swam, while Michaela read on shore. It was magical, really. Mid day came and it was time to brave the scooters/motor bikes/motorcycles again. Our drive to Dream Beach should have lasted maybe 5 minutes but because I stopped to take a picture (idiot!) I missed our turn and lost the other two. Confused and sweaty I stopped at a dead end and realized that there was no way I could turn this damn thing around on my own. I was on a road the size of my pinkie and the hill was too steep... Think, Noreen. THINK! Then behind me I hear, "Miss, where you go? You need help? I help you". My knight in shining armor, a native, had stopped on his bike and offered to get me turned around. He even offered to go find my friends before sending me off alone. This marks rescue number one... The three of us were on our way and having fresh juice and lumpia at a cafe overlooking Dream Beach in no time. From the photos of Dream Beach you'll know why Jackie and I couldn't resist a swim in the water here. It was just too inviting. Soon thereafter Jackie and I both realized two things: 1) There were lots of jellyfish in the water that were having their way with us and 2) the current was too strong. Enter rescue number 2. Before I knew it there was a lovely man on a paddle boat next to me saying, "Miss, there are too many jellyfish here today. Better you stay on sand". And then he pointed to the back of his little boat, told me to hold on, and paddled me to shore. We walked away unharmed, with only two jellyfish bites each.

Mushroom Beach

That's me, sitting at Dream Beach...

Toes in the sand at Dream Beach

Those were the little guys who got us a few times.My paddle boat hero...
Jacki and Michaela on their motor bike... Yes, without helmets...
A street atop a hill on Nusa Lembongan

Some young friends we met on the way back from Dream Beach

The next day we took a boat to mainland Bali and after a short taxi ride found ourselves in the heart of Ubud. It was love at first sight, really. The streets are lined with all sorts of art stores and colorful, silk batik patterns. I've never seen anything like it, really. The next morning was by far my favorite piece of this trip. We set our alarms for 1:45 am and at 2:30 departed our hotel for Genung Batur, an active and sacred volcano just north of Ubud. We arrived at the base of Batur aroud 3:30 and began our ascent with a lovely tour guide, who apparently is in the best shape ever, as he smoked Marlboro Reds the entire way up. I loved him nonetheless because he called us his "honeys". Giggle, giggle... At 5:30 we reached the top and were greeted with the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen. The view was simply breathtaking. That was the perfect way to start a day (Alex Biale, I think I brought enough zen with me that morning for the whole group.).

The top at sunrise: Cary, myself, Michaela and Jackie, along with our guides

Genung Batur. Yes, we made it to the top.

If you look closely, you can see the smoke from the crater of Batur behind the monkey.

Hungry, little fella?

A view of the rice paddies on the way back from the volcano

The following day brought out the inner artist in me. After Jackie had such an amazing time at her batik class, I decided I'd give it a go. I've never been much of an artist, as most of my drawings consist of stick figures and squiggles. It turned out that I was the only student that day, so I had two art aprentices who walked me through each step of creating a batik. I have a new appreciation for the intricacy and detail that goes into making jut one. I was there for over 5 hours, drawing, waxing, painting, re-waxing, etc. The class was held at the artists home, which also serves as a studio and a bed and breakfast. They prepared lunch for me and the artists wife and I sat and talked about teaching, Bali, California, my lack of artistic creativity, and on and on. By the end of the class I walked out with my very own batik that will look great on someone's wall... Any takers? Mom? Dad? Perhaps some decor for your garage, Dad-ee-oh???

My instructor demanded a smiling photograph.

There he is, boiling the wax off my masterpiece.

It was an early start on Wednesday morning as we embarked on a bike tour of the "Real Bali". We were treated to breakfast overlooking the beautiful lake, then driven to a coffee plantation where we learned of the process. If anyone has seen the movie The Bucket List, you may recall the beginning of the movie when Jack Nicholson's character decides he wants to drink a cup of Lewak coffee before he dies. Great idea. It's a solid cup of Joe. Only thing is... the lewaks eat those coffee beans, then poop them out before they're used. Apparently there is less work for the harvesters if the lewaks go to town. And to town they go. The coffee bean stays in their system for only about 20 minutes before coming right back out. And allegedly, a cup of this poop coffee runs about 40 pounds in England. Jesus. So naturally I jumped at the opportunity to try some. How could I not?

We tasted 2 coffees, 1 hot chocolate and 2 teas. Then we tasted the pop coffee. Sorry there's not a picture of that.
There I am, overlooking the coffee plantation. Now you know I was really there.

After our coffee high we hopped on our bicycles and rode for about 3 hours through rural villages far outside Ubud. We were greeted on the streets by local kids, all wanting high fives and saying, "Good morning, hello"! We were offered a look at the inside of a family compound and were able to stop and take a walk through the rice fields. I've never seen such vivid green in all my life. A late afternoon buffet lunch consisting of roasted duck and satay chicken left me one happy panda bear!

Walking through the rice paddies, we met this man, hard at work.

The Grandmother of the home, crafting a rooftop of bamboo

Other high points were the dance performances we took in, walks through the city, phenomenal food, yoga in an open air studio. It's really hard to put into words the magic of Bali. It's a whole other world. I cannot wait to return, hopefully next time with my Mama!

A Legong Dance performerOne of the many ornately detailed walls I passed while walking

The view from our porch in UbudI came across this on a walk.

School starts on Monday, so off I go. I imagine I'll have plenty of funnies for you once the semester begins. Until then...

Be well.

Noreen