On our way back down the mountain we stopped to take some pictures of these rice terraces just about ready to be harvested. Each "plot" either belongs to or is worked by different people in the village, but when it is time to harvest, everyone helps.
A legend says that in payment for the ideal growing conditions the people would have to give half of their harvest to the gods when all the harvesting is done. Therefore, each farmer starts a new sewah before harvesting an existing one. This way, harvesting is never "done". Clever folks. They also practice crop rotation, so you will see corn, beans, herbs and flowers interspersed amoung the rice paddies.
Rice, sugar cane, little resting huts and incredible beauty. Even the picture fills you with a sense of peace.
But the terraces will always knock your socks off.
The roads are extremely narrow in many places, so we couldn't get a very good shot, but here you can see many people working at the harvest.
When people from Sumatra come to Bali to live they don't move into a Balinese house or compound, they build their own. This is a Sumatra house. Very unusual design, don't you think?
This was a lovely hedge surrounding a restaurant we decided to try. Gede said they called it "cat's whiskers". Sound familiar to anyone?
This was taken from the edge of the dining room of that restaurant. They grow all their own fruits and vegetables - organically. The river at the bottom of this valley provided us with a lovely counterpoint to all the bird song while we were having a leisurely lunch. We were the only people in the restaurant at the time, so it was very easy to believe that we few were the only people in Bali. Talk about serenity!
I must leave for rehearsals...so I am sending this last one. Again from the restaurant. There was a huge empty room on the premises, with a beautiful wood floor. They told me it was a meditation room. Can you imagine a more exquisite setting for truly beneficial meditation?
Sampai jumpa beso...(see you tomorrow)
Yokwe,
Shari
Hi.
I don't know of your pictures "wash the eyes", but they sure are easy on the eyes. Thank you so much (again) for sharing all this with us.
Sylvain.
Shari, I am thoroughly enjoying MY trip to Bali...through you!
Thank you so much!
I've been watching every picture with much delight, and I'm so happy of this unexpected internet-vacation for me! It's fascinating, the art in all forms, the greenery, and the sweet little monkeys! You've had a great time! I will never be bored of your pics, Shari!
Alexandra
Wonderful travelogue, Shari...enjoyed it mucho! We spent a week in Ubud in 2000 and loved it! Fun to relive it thru you.
Aloha nui loa
Hi gang! My computer has been down for the last several days, and I have been swamped with show stuff. Last performance is tonight, so if anyone wants to see more/read more, I will check in tomorrow. It is nice to hear that you are enjoying them, but I'll see tomorrow if I should keep posting.
Ta for now,
Yokwe,
Shari
Keep posting ! LOL!
yes...keep posting.
Waiting.
I'm enjoying this virtual tour a lot, please keep posting.
Okay then! Today we are going to the town of Klungkung, one of the district capitals and a very busy, bustling trading area. The main place we are going to visit is the remains of the royal palace, but on the way we pass through this round-about. Much like places in Europe where objects de arte are displayed in the center of these traffic nightmares, Bali displays huge statues of characters from their religion/mythology/history. This one is somewhate decorated because of a ceremony, and it depicts four of the guardians of the people.
I'm trying to get a closer shot of the characters alone, but I think it got blurry...traffic. But maybe you can see Ganesa - the "elephant man".
Another amazing piece of architectural achievement is The Puputan Monument - in honor of those who died in 1906 following the Raja in a fight to the death against the Dutch.
As we enter the grounds of the Taman Gili or royal palace compound, you can see the ancient statues that surround the area. This palace was moved to Klungkung in the 1600's , and though the recently built Museum is obviously of modern construction, and the painted ceilings have been restored a few times, much of the stonework and statuary is deteriorating badly.
This is the royal family temple - and was closed off to the public. But that didn't stop us from trying to play chess on the grass with some of those statues! All in our mind of course.
Here we are, right in the center of a busy, noisy town...lots of traffic, vendors hawking their wares, buses and taxi's honking, restaurants filling the air with a myriad of inviting smells...and it all fades away. When walking around these ponds and stonework and statues, all you hear, all you see, all you can think about are days gone by...it is so easy to imagine the Raja and his family walking from temple to palace to consultation pavillion.
Here you can see the "bell tower". Huge wooden bells that have the most magnificent sound! The would be struck a specific number of times to indicate a ceremony of some type, a visiting dignitary, or a meeting of the Raja with various lesser rajas in the consultation pavillion.
And here is the main reason for our trip: The Consultation Pavillion. It sits near the edge of the Taman Gili (Island Gardens), high enough to look out over the surrounding town, and also high enough that the people could see in to the pavillion over the walls and see their "government" at work.
And here they sat. Kerta Gosa or the Consultation Pavilion for Peace and Prosperity is sometimes described as a criminal court - I suppose because of the paintings of somewhat gruesome punishmens that can be found on the ceiling - but it is much more likely that this is where the King and his ministers sat to debate law and other matters of importance to the towns and villages.
These paintings are the only surviving examples of classical wayang painting in situ on the island, (called this because the figures are identical to the characters in the wayang puppet theater, an essential part of Balinese life).
The paintings have gone through restorations in the 30's, 60's and again in 1982. What's remarkable is that they remain so vibrant even though bombarded with all the pollution of a modern world, and the natural elements of wind, rain and sunlight. There are no doors or windows on this pavilion...
The paintings are magnicent, but almost as interesting are the carvings and surround support structures. Everything is carved and painted...nothing is plain. The eyes simply cannot take it all in at one sitting.
This is a cross beam???
But one's eye's cannot help going back to the paintings...
Eventually we made our way to the museum. An interesting place, but not one I will subject you to for very long. After all, most museums are pretty similar. This one did have a few surprises though...
Believe it or not...this is a public telephone! We thought it was a display...nope!
Here is my darlin JB...struggling with his sarong yet again. But he does look like he's enjoying himself, don't you think? Most of the artwork in the museum was either very stylized wayung, or impressionistic which Gede said gave him a headache. Must be a matter of taste...
Maybe you can blow this up and make your own decision. This was the least impressionistic of the impressionists.
I found this fascinating...but maybe I was just being naive. These tall pieces at the end are bullet housings!!!! The Balinese people are so artistic and fundamentally peaceful, that they decorated their bullet housings!!!
Carol, many folks her on Kwaj that have been to Bali told us about Ubud, and how wonderful it was. The first two times we tried to enjoy this remarkable place, the President of Indonesia was visiting on a campaign trip, followed by two other candidates. Elections are in a few weeks, so it was getting pretty hectic. Consequently the streets were filled with military and police and ten times more people than usual. Gede told us that this was not in any way normal for Ubud, but aside from the Monkey Forest and the dances at night, we really didn't enjoy it. Finally we tried it a 3rd time in the middle of the week, and found the charming, artistic and historical place that we had heard about!
I have many pictures of the plants and flowers we discovered in Bali, but I will post them in appropriate threads at a later time.
Still busy catching up (my you have all been pretty busy!) Jeanne your garden looks lovely! All that research into invasives, and so much help for folks with quesitons...I feel so special to be a member of this great forum! I'll have some more pictures and stories for you tomorrow.
Yokwe my friends,
Shari
Shari, words fail me to tell you how much I vicariously enjoy your trip to Bali. Thanks so much for all this work you are doing in order to be able to share your experiences with us. The image on your post of June 21 at 7:57 can not be enlarged. Maybe if you tried posting a larger image. By the time the copyright notices are done, there's no space for the image itself. But it's all right. Don't worry about it. I daren't say what I THINK it is and it wouldn't be surprising if it were that. Maybe it's better left like that.
Take care and thank you again.
Sylvain.
