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Rice Fields of Sidemen
Days spent watching a single view, a feverish dream, an impressionist painting. The posts of our veranda have become the heavily gilded frame on this ever changing Pierre Guillaume. Calls to shoo birds away from the precious grains, emphasis added with clanging bamboo halves controlled by long strings from the shed, shared with a patient…
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Our Favorite Kind of Traffic Jam
On the way back from our jaunt up Gunung Batur we are caught in the ceremonies that prevented us from climbing the holy and much higher mountain Gunung Agung. As we can’t pass the procession by car we just wander along for a couple of miles.
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Viewing Gunung Agung From An Overguided Hike Up Gunung Batur
Oh, hail thee wondrous traveler in tennis shoes and with quizzical look! You cannot be trusted to scale this 1700 m pile of ash and pumice on your own. There may be spewing of poisonous fumes at times (not that we would know when and where) and trails to be missed (if you can’t find…
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Blessings by the Pemangku
For days we have been seeing ever more extravagant offerings floating through town carefully balanced on the heads of ornately dressed women. Where are they going with these? That unique culture and religious custom should continue to exist at all in this spot manhandled by an international influx of travelers is beyond comprehension. From the…
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Setra Desa Pakraman Ubud
Anything but undiscovered Ubud provides us with the serendipity careful planning and guidebook thumping usually rules out. Gamelan music drifting to our nap above the rice fields leads to a walk to the source, a ceremony at a cemetery with demon Barong frightening spirits and attendees alike.
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Surfer Dude
Wave riding has long been replaced by crowd surfing in the moped inferno that is Kuta. The only calm emanates from the serene look of sculptures, traditional or more likely than not Hindu-Euro-Bali-Arabenese. A day of rest in a calm court yard to plot travels yonder the banana pancake trail.
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Mail from Overseas
(c) 2013 Tess