I landed in my 40th country and it might be my favorite yet (Mark is doing his best to keep up, he’s up to 20 countries now!). It’s definitely top five material. The Balinese people have it right in my opinion – their guiding light is to do what will make their family, community and themselves happy. We spent a day touring with a local Balinese person who was so kind in sharing with us all the important things in Bali culture.
And the scenery is beautiful too! We’re in Ubud, which is inland and covered in tropical jungles and rice paddies. We started our day with a walk along the rice paddies that our villa is nestled within. The path took us along the complex irrigation system, which was built in cooperation among farmers to feed everyone’s rice paddies across the island.
After a three course breakfast on our terrace overlooking the pool (which I could get used to), we were picked up by our driver and spent all day chatting with him about life in Bali and his village. We saw some pretty cool sights along the way, including but not limited to: a waterfall, stunning rice terraces, a silver workshop, a coffee and chocolate plantation, a forest filled with monkeys, and lunch overlooking the jungle.
Our driver has quite a passion for education, which is perhaps why we got along so well 🙂 he is currently sending the eldest of his four kids to a three-year hotel management program, including a “training” in Singapore that costs him as much as a car. But he places utmost value on education, unlike his parents did. He put himself through college in a major town in Bali, occasionally having to live on the street because he ran out of money. But now, he works for a top three tour company in Bali among 4,000 competitors in the country. He also taught himself Korean and Japanese to be one of the best tour guides in the country. But even with all this hard work and skill, he had to sell three cows to pay for just one semester of his daughter’s education.
Bali is likely the safest country I’ve ever visited. There are no car accidents and no crime because everyone knows each other in the villages and respects each other. This might sound odd, but I feel very safe here especially because I haven’t been stared at or “cat called” a single time. We also left our purses and bags out in plain sight in the car, something that I always avoid doing even in Minnesota, and it was clear that there was no need to take precautions. There is only a feeling of warmth, friendliness and respect.
I learned so much in a day about things that I probably should’ve known earlier, such as where rice comes from. The Balinese have a dedicated temple in every home and every rice paddy to the Rice spirit because it is so important to their economy and their existence. Our driver’s family of six eats 75 lbs of rice per month, for three meals a day plus dessert. He also carries 75 lbs of rice on his head when hauling it from the fields.
Want to know how rice is grown? Let me tell you. First, sprout seedlings indoors and keep them in the dark for three days. Plant them in your rice paddy in the mud below several feet of water. Add fish that will eat the bugs. Weed after the first month. In the subsequent month, shoo the birds out while the rice is sweet. Wait till the grains are dry and yellow, which is 3.5 months for regular white rice and 5 months for sticky rice. Whack the stalks with a machete (doesn’t matter if you’re 7 or 75 years old). Slap the stalks against a big basket to shake out the grains. Dry in the sun for 2-3 days. De-husk, boil and eat!
Our tastiest stop was a tour a plantation of coffee, which also grew every tropical fruit and spice imaginable, including: pineapple, mango, passion fruit, star fruit, durian (which literally stinks), mangosteen, coconuts, water apple, jack fruit, cocoa beans (aka homemade chocolate!), ginger, turmeric, lemongrass, cloves, vanilla, cinnamon (which is actually tree bark), and peppercorns. We sampled essentially the entire shop including tea, coffee and chocolate, and bought much more than we bargained for. But that’s okay with me, since the country relies on tourism. 70% of Balinese people work in the tourism industry. I’m glad to help these super happy, friendly people put food on their table. Their economy took a nose dive after 9/11 when nobody wanted to travel, and suddenly nobody in Bali could make money. It’s odd for me to think how much of an impact the US has on the world, including tiny islands in Indonesia.
We saw the most beautiful rice paddy terraces, which are a carved out of the ground and almost look fake. Lunch was at a private table overlooking the jungle, which also looked fake. The steep jungle valleys that dip down between rivers are unreal. The perfect compliment was an awesome “sampler” dish called nasi campur, a traditional Balinese dish.
Balinese have many many ceremonies, including blessing of a house, three-month old babies, and cremation being a few of the biggies. We toured a village temple that the community maintains. Every village and every house has a temple. Our driver was kind enough to outfit us with sarongs so that we could “look the part” and be respectful. The stone and wood carvings were so intricate and beautiful, and apparently all villages have an artist (or several) who have amazing carving skills.
Our driver showed us a typical home “compound”, which houses all male family members and their wives. He lives with seventeen family members in a single compound. His neighbor had fifteen sons and one daughter, so all fifteen men plus their wives and kids lived with them. Each family (if they’re lucky) has their own raised pavilion within the compound to call theirs. Grandparents have the highest pavilion in the complex because they are the most important, though our driver acknowledged that they “become like babies” and rely on their children to take care of them. There is no such thing as nursing homes; his grandfather lived with them until he passed away at 103 or 104 years old. I personally loved how families take care of each other – though women have to be aware that they’re dating not just a guy but his entire family for life 🙂
We also learned how to make jewelry out of silver, which is the jewelry of choice in Bali. Silver is mined from the next island over called Lombok and then combined with copper. The metal is rolled by hand, cut into smaller pieces, and melted back together to make jewelry. Tamarind paste removes the brown burnt layer off after heating it up (who knew). I’m going to put my tamarind paste to work on my silver napkin rings at home.
Did I mention we’re spoiling ourselves too? Every morning in Ubud, we are served a multi-course breakfast and afternoon tea (including appetizers) on our terrace or the pool deck. We agreed that we could get used to this pampering. Between the really sweet people, amazing food and lovely scenery, I can see why people extend their stays and never leave Bali. But don’t worry, well be home for Christmas!
Inspiring quest there. What happened after? Thanks! Tiphani Red Care
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