Ubud Bali Writers And Readers Festival 2014

 

Another Interesting Day In Bali 

I usually wake up about 7am and the family serves breakfast at 8am, but I always feel a conflict that I should try  to get up earlier so that I can beat the tropical heat.  Bali is 6 degrees from the equator and humid 85 - 87 degrees F all year around.  After getting dressed in my hopefully cool attire,  I go down a flight of stairs to the ground floor, pass by a small swimming pool on the left, the family outdoor temple on the right and stop at the partially outdoor kitchen.  It is there that I greet the family "Selamat pagi". (good morning) and say that I'm ready for breakfast.  Then I climb another flight of stairs to their upstairs restaurant which overlooks the front little street area.  That's where I wait for my bowl of fresh fruit, usually papaya, pineapple and bananas accompanied by either green banana pancakes topped with toasted coconut or  an egg French toast. For the drink, I choose ginger tea with real clumps of ginger soaking at the bottom of  the cup. There is also the choice of  "Bali" coffee but it is not filtered well and becomes thick at the bottom.  The neighbor has a very weird rooster for which they paid 3,000,000 rupiahs ($250) and he has a very unusual crowing sound, which has started to get on my nerves.  As for his crowing,  I suppose that you can either love it or hate it.   It has been hinted that the family hates it, and although they do not outwardly complain, they believe the weird crowing  gives them bad dreams and that they have no choice but to be tolerant.

At breakfast, I do have a nasty little habit which does not blend in well with the traditional Bali ambience.  It is true that I take up my mini laptop computer to breakfast and eat while I'm checking email.  Reflecting back ten years ago, there was no wi-fi and I have a clear memory of  the dial up internet, which was painfully slow making  my head spin with impatience.

And the reality here in Bali is that there is free wi-fi, even at the tiny homestays and the Balinese are texting while driving their motorbikes.

This week is the week of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival and for me, it means that there are all kinds of free activities, films, book launch events and great entertainment, as well as workshops for a hefty fee.
www.ubudwritersfestival.com


As a nice surprise, there was one event right outside the entry door of my homestay on 24 Jalan Kajeng. There was live traditional music and dance from Sumba, Indonesia and included Balinese sweets and drinks, all prepared by my homestay family. 



At the entryway of my homestay, the family is watching the outside event, the  Sumba dancing.

 

 

Grandma is taking a very active role, proudly putting together packets of desserts using her bare hands.
The bowls and spoons are made of banana leaves held together with tiny sticks.  My favorite was  the black rice pudding sweetened with coconut milk.

 

Sumbanese Dancers

Bali Bird Park and Komodo Dragons

Calling All Bird And Reptile Lovers



Parrots In Love



Take Time To Wander Around The Bali Bird Park

Having a wonderful assortment of rare birds from all over the world, and positioned next door to the reptile park with Komodo Dragons, I loved the outdoor encounters.  The location is about 30 minutes by car from Ubud, is open from 9 -5pm and costs $26 US for adults and $13 US for children.  When you enter the park, the workers immediately spray your arms and legs with something which I am guessing is a disinfectant.  But I'm not entirely sure whether if it is for the birds' protection or for the visitors' protection.  Because it is very hot and humid in the park, it is best to get their early (trust me) and at a time when the birds are most active, when you can observe their feedings.  Try to get there by 9am if possible before the tour buses arrive at 11am.

The best part is that there is an area where you can both observe and get close to the birds, without being separated by a cage. The birds seem to be casually wandering and flying from place to place, but are frequently flying over your head.  That being said, it would be a good idea to be wearing your hat and watching out for the many droppings that are falling down like time bombs.  I found it to be amazingly that the birds did not fly off and escape the park. Then I became curious as to whether the bird park might actually be clipping their wings to prevent their escape. However, when I asked them, the park did not admit to any clipping and with their usual Bali smile said, "They stay here because they like it here".  Well, perhaps they are right, in that the birds hang around because they always know where to get a free meal.

The Bali Bird Park has the largest and finest collection of Indonesian birds in the world, plus fantastic birds from Africa & South America. Encompassing two hectares of botanical landscape, the park provides sanctuary to almost 1000 birds of 250 different species.

It accommodates an amazing display of flora with more then 2000 tropical plants including 50 varieties of palms alone and attracting numerous butterflies. Incorporating a breeding, research and veterinary facility within the complex, the park has a high success rate in the captive reproduction of exotic birds such as the Bird of Paradise and Horn Bill.




  Hornbills Are Plentiful Here

 while most parks do not have them.

             An impressive characteristic of hornbills is the heavy,

             powerful bill, which they use for capturing prey, breaking open

             fruit/nuts (hornbills are omnivorous), building the nest, and fighting.

When sitting at the restaurant you may feast your eyes on a group of  poised flamingos or peacocks.  Both small and large birds may come into the restaurant area and wander underneath your table, but don't worry.  They won't bother you. (no not much:)  Most people think that the park drinks and food are pricey, so be prepared and if that is a concern, bring a few drinks or even pack a lunch.




View From The Restaurant
Photo source: Bali Bird Park Website



Poised Flamingoes



Richly Colored Orchids



White Peacock Showing His Plumage.




The Rare Cassowary,
which is a flightless solitary bird related to the ostrich
(from Africa) and emu (from Australia). They have feathers but these feathers lack barbules,
the part of feathers that act like a zipper to keep the pieces together. As a result, the cassowary
feathers are soft and fluffy rather than holding their shape the way a flighted bird's feathers do.

Flowers Are Abundant




Pretty Blue Peacock

Check out the interesting eagle and macaw show, the water falls and the mini forest. Children and adults love the 3 D movies, which includes a show about the Birds of Prey. 

The photo opportunities are awesome.  The staff workers will place large or small birds onto your hand, arm or shoulder. (or even your head), depending on how brave you are. Then they volunteer
to take your photo, either with your camera or with their own professional camera, with a later no obligation opportunity to buy one of the photos.




One Bird Is Never Enough For A Photo

Actually, many of the signs and educational shows are more about providing photo opportunities than providing educational information. If you really want to know about the different types of birds, it would be a good idea to look up birds of Indonesia before you go.

Bali Bird Park and Reptile Park Operating Hours
The park and restaurant is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily

Entrance Ticket
Adult 26 US
Child 13 US

Learn Why Parrots Make Demanding Pets

Bali Bird Park Website

Suggested Reading
Birds of Bali by Victor Mason, Periplus Editions 1993, ISBN 978-0945971047, hardback, 80 pages. An excellent and inexpensive book for the traveler, light enough to carry in daypack. No other book covers Balinese birds in such detail.

A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Indonesia, Tuttle 2012, ISBN 978-080-484-2006, 544 pages. A pocket-sized identification guide to 236 common bird species of Java, Sumatra and Bali. Includes short descriptive accounts and color photos with brief comments on calls, habits and habitat. Map.

Don't Miss The Bali Reptile Park
and Komodo Dragons

The price includes admission to the Reptile Park which is next door and good for at least 30 minutes. To be honest, the reptile park is a little anti-climatic after going to the Bali Bird Park.  However, the Reptile Park houses a collection of  snakes, turtles, monitor lizards (Komodo Dragons) and iguanas, where you can experience them up close and and pick them up to hold them if you want to. (but would you really want to?)  There are crocodiles and one or two Komodo Dragons in a protected pond area that you can enjoy viewing.  Watch for their feeding times, as it can be interesting to watch the park attendants feed live chickens to the Komodo Dragons. (however you might want to warn your children)




Komodo Dragon poses for his picture
(or is he ready for an attack?)

Before or After Your Bali Trip:  Visit Komodo Island

Two of the few places outside of a park or zoo to see  Komodo Dragons in the wild are on the Komodo & Rinca islands, near Flores Island in Indonesia.  It is a 1.5 hour flight from Bali (or
a 3 day ferry boat ride) and then a short boat ride to the islands.   The Komodo Island is considered
a national park, one of the "New 7 Wonders of  Nature", which inhabits and protects approximately 3000 Komodo Dragons, the largest lizards in the world.  These direct descendants of the dinosaur
can grow to be 9 ft. (3 meters) and weigh over 150 pounds. 

The amazing, unpredictable dragon is a carnivore and lives mostly on deer and wild pigs that inhabit the island. They are good swimmers, and quite agile and swift on dry land.

You can't view these creatures on the Komodo Island unless on a guided tour, accompanied by rangers that only use a pronged stick for protection. They say that the Komodo Dragon have a good sense of smell and  can smell blood from many miles away.  So visitors are not allowed to bring any food onto the island.....and believe it or not, women during their menstrual cycle are discouraged to take the tour.  (note: it does not appear that safety is a high priority on these islands, although they say accidents rarely occur)



A Komodo dragon lounges near the Komodo National Park welcome center on Rinca Island.

Photo: Rachel Nuwer

The Most Infamous Komodo Dragon Attack Of The Past Ten Years

Komodo Dragon Facts and Info

If I decide to go on this trip, would you be interested
in joining me?


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           



Goodbye Bali - "The Good & The Bad" - Hello San Francisco

My Departure With "Bali Belly"

left me with plenty of time to reflect on changes,

that were both Good and Bad.



I said  goodbye to a beautiful Bali.



And I said hello to a lot of time for reflection.

I said  my last goodbyes to Bali, departed from the Denpasar airport

back to San Francisco  with a significant case of “Bali Belly”.

(It does not mean I am pregnant!)  "Bali Belly" means the same as

Montezuma’s Revenge or Turkey Trots, as in travelers' diarrhea

caused by contaminated food or water.

The nasty offender must have originated from the “ice” in my last ice
latte at Starbucks.  I guess I was feeling overly confident after not
having any problems for the entire two months and eating whatever I
wanted, sipping on ice drinks and occasional salads at the new
organic restaurants.

Given that it was at least a 22 hour travel day, it meant  that I didn’t
eat any of that tasty microwaved warmed up airplane food and I
stuck firmly to my prescription of a liquid diet. Unfortunately, the
Bali bug lingered for almost a week after my return home, which
meant breaking into my emergency supply box for canned chicken
soup.  Yeah…. lots of soup.

I hated having to spend my first week home feeling crappy!  But it
did give me plenty of time to reflect.

Looking back: 2 Months in Bali - The Good and Bad.

Spending time in Bali gave me a chance to evaluate what had
changed during the last ten years.  My observations are what
I'm going to call it the Good News and the Bad News. 
Which one should I start with first....the Good News?

The Good News:

Bali is still incredibly gorgeous, especially when you take the
back roads by foot or bicycle or even a motorbike. ​The difference
now  is that along the pathway, there are restaurants where you
can rest and enjoy the view, reward yourself with  an organic
smoothie and then when refreshed, get back on the path.

The fact that Bali is a Hindu island in the middle of a Muslin
country,  makes it unusually fascinating to me. The Balinese form
of Hinduism is one of a kind in the world, a swirling mix of
animism (nature worship),  Hinduism and Buddhism.   You will
observe  rituals and remnants of Hindu prayers everywhere and
constantly.

Ubud, in itself, has special features you won’t see anywhere else
in the world.  For one, there is an  exotic, large Monkey Forest
jungle right in the central part of the city.  Plus, there are cute
boutique shops intermingled with old Balinese artisan shops with
fabulous food options, both ethnic and organic. 

You will be amazed by the Balinese architecture and stone
carvings,  small trays of flower offerings at every buildings entry,
complete with prayers and incense. Every house has a visible
outdoor temple as well as every village having their own 3
temples.  The Balinese are  artisans and royalty from their very
birth, originally from Java.   The Ubud royal family supports the
community financially, offers their property for dance shows and
is completely open to wandering tourists. All of these features
make Ubud a unique high vibrational place in the world and that's
part of why the secret is out!

Just a few years ago, it was a quiet relaxing haven, attracting
backpacking hippy types with block after block of Balinese
crafts and trinket shops. Now there are daily buses unloading
groups of Chinese and Japanese tourists, for bargain shopping
at boutique, clothing and jewelry shops,

Many say that Eat Pray Love is responsible for the peaked
tourism at it's current,outrageously high levels.  The increase in
tourism gives Bali great pride and is changing their focus to be
more about business and money.  (One of  the reasons,  I liked
Bali in the first place, was so that I could leave that focus of
money at home and spend time relaxing!) The Balinese still
have their beautiful temperaments, but now there is a tiny dollar
sign pasted on their foreheads.

Old traditional craft shops are giving way to sparkling, modern
shops, while carved wood  buildings are  giving way to hard
cold concrete.  Family owned homestays are giving way to
fancy boutique  hotels, while rice paddies are giving way to
newly built, expatriate homes. It's happening rapidly, with
bulldozers and new construction on nearly every block.

Ubud continues to be a healing paradise, as well as a shopping

paradise, which makes it any woman's dream come true.

On each block, there remains  several venues for inexpensive

massage, foot reflexology, chakra readings, yoga and medication
lessons and beautiful  shops, mostly aimed at women. 

 Did I happen to mention that Bali loves to market their  young,

buff men to the tourist women? The "Kuta Cowboys" or gigilos
are definitely in Ubud and Lovina, although they are somewhat
discreet.  However, my sharp eyes see them flaunting themselves
around.  Most “drivers” double as lovers, whether they be single
or married and their wives who are very aware,  are powerless.

The Bad News:

Some things I have had to deal with here in Bali is the poor

air quality, due to congested street traffic.  I developed a

cough during the very first week in Ubud and resorted to

trying to wear a face mask.   But I didn’t like breathing in

my own hot air, on an already hot day, causing my face to

sweat.  And let’s not go into my claustrophobic issues with

anything over my face.

Anyway, it’s not  possible to enjoy a coffee or bite to eat in
the coffee shops of Ubud without inhaling fumes.

With the unbridled development, there are now  teams of

poverty stricken, migrant workers flooding into Bali from

Java and Lombok, causing an increasingly higher crime rate. 

This is probably more concerning to the expatriates who live

there, than to the tourists. 

Bali's goals are to increase tourism to higher levels each and

every year.  They have succeeded!  Cruise boats have started

to dock at the Benoa Port at the south of Bali with thousands

of tourists. There is much money and focus on extending the

dock so as  to allow 2 cruise boats at one time in 2015.

Basically, it means there will be increasingly huge flocks of

tourists each year and Bali will soon will be a different world.

Cruise ships at Benoa Port

With all of the above mentioned, I continue to hear first time
tourists raving about how much they love Bali and how they
find their experience to be nothing less than  magical.

They feel drawn to returning and spending more time in Bali
and those that have the time and money, simply change their
tickets and extend their visa.

That same magnetic pull and magical experience, is one that I
too experienced 20 years ago and at that time,  I knew that I
would return.  Bali has it's way of warming the heart and
opening the soul in ways that one wants to re-experience again
and again.  How amazing that some things are simply timeless,
refusing  to change and that is true for the intoxicating allure of
Bali.

A Few Tips Before Traveling To Bali.

My experience was that the stress level is higher now than
previously, in a way that builds up on you a little more everyday,
until it becomes just a little too much for comfort.  

I can only suggest that it is wise to start using the very inexpensive spas and
massages as often as you can, focus on enjoying all of the
wonderful sights and experiences that  Ubud has to offer.

If you are hoping for beautiful beaches, I would recommend going elsewhere. If you are hoping for a unique cultural experience you have the right place.   Since so many modern changes have taken place in Bali it is more difficult to have the experiences that I have had historically.  You will have to announce to your hotel and everyone you meet that you are interested in authentic Balinese events and ceremonies.   Be open to meeting the right people to give you information.

Include road trips to the country or perhaps a couple of days to the hot beach area of Amed on the east coast or a couple of days at the nearby Gili islands via speed boat.
Don't even bother to go to the Kuta, Legian area, unless you are either
a party person or a surfer.

You can still have a wonderfully magical  time in Bali, enjoying
an intact, vibrant culture, incredibly beautiful country roads
through rice paddies, the music and arts, and spas galore.

Will I return 10 years from now?…….I can’t say for sure what it will look like and then I will have to see if I still feel the vibrational pull.

Yet, I am incredibly grateful for having known Bali, the magical
experiences and caring, spiritual  people that I have met along
the way. For me, it has been a true gem in the world, a piece of
heaven that I will never forget. I will always remember Bali
with love and peace in my heart and doubt I will ever find a
location and culture so beautiful. 

And now, I am adapting to the cooler weather and culture shock
of being back in San Francisco.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om

(Peace, Peace, Perfect Peace)