Test driving Ubud....

Here I sit at the Ngurah Rai Airport sipping my last Bali Kopi (dark coffee) and eating my last Balinese banana pancake pondering on what I have learnt about this beautiful place….and myself.

For two months I have dabbled in the world of the expats – a diverse and independent group. I have tried to understand the intricacies of Balinese culture through the taxi drivers, friends and workers I have met from housekeepers to rice farmers And I have tried to unravel the mystery of mental health care in a country where it is given no priority at all, and people are literally jailed in their own backyards without treatment and forced to be outcasts from society.

Cat’s way of introducing me to people here was to say “This is Dianne – she’s test-driving Ubud”. A very apt way of describing my time here.

And now what do I think?

Am I ready to give up my Australian citizenship and move here permanently? Definitely not. The ties to home are too strong and the difficulties with many practical aspects of life here, such as land/house ownership, are too challenging and risky.

Am I ready to spend months at a time living here? Absolutely.

And if I did I would be joining vast numbers of expats from around the world who spend months at a time here. Some are here for love: they come for a holiday and stay for a long time....or a short time depending on the outcome of the love affair!

For some the decision is purely economic. Where in Australia can you live on the Aged Pension in a beautiful natural environment in a lovely villa with lots of people desperate to do the household chores, and where the food is so cheap it’s not worth cooking? And they manage to do ‘visa runs’ and travel as well! But there’s also lots of young things living here establishing businesses, doing degrees online and searching for their true selves through yoga and eating organically!

Cat is a Canadian who was my landlord during my stay. She has lived in Asia for 26 years and spent the last 15 years in Bali. She is part of a network of older people, mostly women, who either live here or spend most of their time here. They all have to get away from Bali at times when it all gets too much but they lead interesting and independent lives here with access to good medical care and if they need it, extensive support. Cat described the situation of an Australian man, the husband of a friend, who had Alzheimers. He lived out his life with two full-time carers in his own home with the support of the local Balinese villagers who tolerated his occasionally bizarre behaviour with great kindness.

Some of the big pluses about my being here are:

Realising that I am capable of surviving on my own if I ever had to, and often enjoying the luxury of doing what I feel like doing as opposed to the expectations of family, work etc etc has been a positive thing. There was never a time when I felt lonely or isolated and if I had joined all of the expat’s activities I would have been extraordinarily busy!

The Balinese people are exactly as they are described: shy, but very responsive to a smile and very happy to try and have a conversation. The taxi-drivers at the end of my lane were always very happy to see me and have a chat. So I learnt some of their life stories, met some of their family members and they taught me Indonesian as well. They also kept a lookout for me as I tramped in and out of home. I’m sure they found me quite odd because of my insistence on walking everywhere, especially as it was bad business for them!

The Balinese version of the Hindu culture is a wonderful thing: there is a spirituality in everything and every day that underpins what they do. Their faith in the Gods and the importance of traditional healing, cleansing rituals and offerings every day gives them a sense of purpose and contentment that I admire. Sometimes it can be challenging for a westerner: the day Made told me I didn’t need to wear a helmet on a Vespa ride because I had temple clothes on and the Gods would protect me was a bit confronting. I wasn’t sure I had as much faith in the Gods as he did. But I didn’t wear it and I did survive so who knows??!

Of course the Hindu faith is strict and caste oriented. It’s very judgmental about homosexuality and that is a great burden for many. The endless ceremonies can make it impossible to run a business and the costs of the ceremonies for each banjar can be crippling.

The way the communities operate is very different to Australia and creates a strong sense of belonging and a potential for support, in theory. You become a ‘banjar’’ member according to where you live. So they operate like a village where lots of families work together to look after the environment, and each other and the leaders have responsibility for all aspects of life in that village from ceremonies to the roads. There is a young man’s banjar for the unmarried young men, and separate women’s and men’s banjars for each village. Allegiance to your family banjar is strong and everyone is expected to play a part in any work : from building Oggi Oggi monsters for Nyepi, to contributing in some way to the costs of any projects. This system does create a strong sense of community.

The concept of time in Bali is both frustrating and to be admired. ‘Jam karet’ is the term used for ‘not on time’ or ‘Bali time’. If you expect anything to happen at an appointed time you will be sadly disappointed and met by a shrug of the shoulders and “Jam karet!”. Whilst the concept of slowing down and being less pressured by time is a lovely one, sometimes Jam Karet is simply an excuse for disorganisation and a lack of concern for others. And if you complain you will be accused of needing to relax and get with ‘Bali time’.

It is a place of contradictions. The amazing Subak system which manages every drop of water required to enable rice to grow on multi-layered terraces of rice fields is remarkable. But the drainage along the roads and the lack of attention paid to managing the monsoonal downpours of the rainy season is also remarkable.

Whilst everyone appreciates the beauty of the natural environment and the built environment too, the thoughtless disposal of rubbish is totally incongruent. The ubiquitous plastic water cup is dispersed by the hundreds at every event and provides only one cup of water, but also the plastic cup, cover and straw to besmirch the environment.

Corruption is rife, although the current President is on a mission to get rid of it. It stretches from paying a small bribe to any policemen who pulls you up for anything, to having to pay to get a job as a policemen so you can be paid an alarmingly inadequate salary which makes bribery an essential part of your income. I spoke to a delightful young GP whose dream is to be an Obstetrician/ Gynaecologist. He told me calmly that it would never happen . He had not the ability to pay to get into the training program, nor came from an influential family nor knew any of the specialists running the program and so would never be given a place. So much for rewarding ability!

And don’t get me started on the mental health service system! It’s impossible to say it’s bad: it is simply non-existent. One big mental hospital for Bali and basically no community based mental health services at all. Simply appalling in this day and age!

And of course there is the heat! Once you get over the fact that some days you will simply be covered in perspiration dripping everywhere, and you give up on the idea of looking glamourous, it seems bearable. Drinking lots of water is essential of course, and you do acclimatise a bit. But if you really don’t like the humidity and the heat then Bali is not for you

Despite the challenges and contradictions Bali can still be a wonderful place to be. It changes all of the time. There’s always something about to happen : a ceremony, a cremation, a temple birthday, a wedding and I find just travelling the roads endlessly fascinating. Is today the day we really will run over a dog or a chook wandering on to the road?? Are those guys in the woodcarving village really carving wooden penises? Is that Oggi Oggi monster really going to be that big! And the smiles on the faces of children and the toothless rice farmers and everyone when you speak to them are always welcoming.

I loved it all and I will be back.

Dianne

Busy, busy, busy.........doing what exactly?

It's funny how my days have formed a sort of pattern and a mixture of the unexpected and the routine.
I hadn't realised that I hadn't posted a blog for ages: I seem to have enough trouble managing to put the odd photo on Facebook and keeping in communication with friends back home.

So here's a pictorial summary of life over the last week:

One of the great advantages of having a friend who lives here and is embedded in the community is that she gets invited to all sorts of occasions that I willingly can tag along to. Last Friday was the third birthday of the son of one of Alison's business partners and friends Putu, and his wife Wayan. Many years ago we had visited His family compound in the mountains of Bedugul so I was happy to retrace my steps. Abi turned 3 in Balinese years, which are only 7 months long, making him 21 months old. Since we last visited Putu had built a beautifully ornate temple in the middle of the backyard for occasions such as these.

 The holy man sat chanting and splashing the offerings with holy water for sometime before we all prayed. Abi wasn't overly impressed you'd have to say. He was more excited when he was playing bubbles with his two elder sisters, Anisa and Julia. The proud grandmothers looked pleased and after the rituals were over there was a delicious lunch which they had helped prepare. It was very Balinese: rice with a range of dishes made from lots of vegetables and spices and chili of course. They do use chili a lot but never extreme amounts fortunately. Dessert was a choice from a plate full of interesting cakes and the local delicacy. It's wrapped in corn husks and made from palm sugar which turns into a black sticky toffee when cooked: I loved it of course! After the ceremony and lunch was over everyone gathered on the verandah for a quiet sit and some arrack, which is locally brewed Balinese 'whisky'. It would be bad manners not to accept a shot glass full, which I did, but it burnt the whole way down!!

One of the Grandmas getting ready for the ceremony

So very cute!

Putu Wayan and family

Abi showing interest in the bottle of arrack

Even a holy man has to keep in touch on his mobile phone!

The following day we set off for an overnight stay at Amed, a beach resort which is on the easternmost point of Bali. After a great cup of coffee at a cafe called Loaf at Candi Dasar we dropped off two of Alison's friend. The coffee here in Bali is exceptionally good and often locally grown and roasted so it's no hardship to live here if you're a coffee drinker.

Loaf wouldn't be out of place in the middle of North Fitzroy : orange flourless cake, banana bread, chicken and leek pies, lemon tart etc. An expat from Australia was one of the partners who set it up and we went there on the way to Amed and on the way home. It's important to support small businesses we decided!
Amed is a diving and snorkelling hub with endless modest hotels and resorts along some lovely bays,very picturesque as you can see!. We snorkelled straight off the beach at our beach-side hotel and there were thousands of fish and lots of coral of every colour and some giant fluorescent purple starfish. Amed itself looks reasonably prosperous but many of the villagers have been pushed up into the mountains to live and these are some of the poorer villages that Rumah Sehat send their health services into. On the way home we wound our way through many of them perched on the sides of some very steep mountains. We stopped to buy a couple of vodka  bottles of petrol. They are the perfect size to fill a motorbike and all sorts of alcohol bottles are re-purposed for petrol here.

For the rest of the week it's been the usual round of gym, walking, shopping, taking the laundry to the laundry ladies, eating a lot of great food, finishing the Indonesian language classes and trying to keep up with the homework, practicing my Indonesian with my new friends the taxi-drivers who sit at the end of my lane, having a new kebaya made....all interspersed with the odd cocktail at Mingle of course!

Your never at home correspondent

Dianne

This was supposed to be a photo of a cute smiling little baby boy but once he took a look at my blond hair, and size he reacted the way most babies do!!!

When we headed off snorkelling I tried to ignore the fact that we had seen a dead highly venomous sea snake on the beach not far from us!

It's a busy life.........

I could never quite work out why people who had retired complained about life being very busy, but I think I'm beginning to understand. The time just goes........

It's funny to think that I almost resent those activities which have a specific time that I have to be somewhere. Its rather nice to do things in your own time and if you feel hot and bothered you can allow yourself to just sit. The Balinese call it 'jam karet' (don't start on time!). Alison has perfected it to the point that she says we are going somewhere at about 10.00am and we finally leave at 12.00. I carry my tablet with me everywhere now so I can amuse myself whilst waiting!

So what have I been doing??? Let me think....

1.  Bahasa (language) Indonesian lessons:  Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons for two hours. The seven of us in the beginners conversation class attempt to concentrate enough to improve our practical skills in Indonesian. The teacher is just great: she even teaches us slang! For the record, the word for butterfly in Indonesian is kupu kupu, but if you add 'malam'  (meaning night) to the end it becomes 'butterfly of the night' ie. prostitute!
The other fascinating one is 'jeruk makan jeruk' which literally translates as 'orange eats orange'. It's actual meaning is someone who is gay or same-sex attracted (not a popular concept in the Hindu religion).The term came about because there was a very popular TV show with a very effeminate male host. The show was sponsored by an orange juice company and the ads had oranges eating oranges in them. Because its a delicate subject here  this term  was a rather roundabout way of referring to the host of the show and his sexual preferences!
The teacher Nyoman says we should attempt to speak Bahasa Gado Gado. Gado gado is a popular dish here and consists of a mixture of lots of vegetables, eggs, tempe and tofu covered in peanut sauce. So what she's suggesting is that we should speak a mixture of English and any Indonesian we can remember, as let's face it, none of us are going to be fluent in 4 weeks!!
It is actually very nice to be able to understand and answer basic questions from the locals as I wander around the back lanes of Ubud for my morning perambulations. One morning a delightful toothless old lady and I managed to have quite a chat  for a few minutes as she had a few English words and I managed to dredge up some Indonesian words from the backwaters of my brain. We were both very pleased with ourselves!

2, I have managed to find a local dressmaker who charged me the enormous sum of $12.50 to make the linen I bought in Denpasar into a dress...so I had her make me two! The workmanship was great so now she;s making me a pair of linen pants and tomorrow I'm going to search for cushion material as she makes great cushions too.The trick is to get her to copy something I already own and that fits of course, so there's no fussing around. My next adventure will be to see if we can communicate well enough for her to make me a shirt from some pale blue linen I bought without a sample to copy!! Wait for the next instalment!

3. Walking everywhere does take time as opposed to throwing yourself into a car to get anywhere. For the morning walks I  just head off in a particular direction  trying to find the lanes and alleyways rather than the main roads and their appalling footpaths. Usually I mange to find myself staring at ricefields or lush green gorges that line the edge of town. I have managed to get lost a couple of times but never for too long. I did set off on a short rice field walk which turned into 3 hours of walking but that hasn't happened often fortunately!

4. Being a domestic goddess takes no time at all basically because I do no housework or cooking or laundry! I've managed to make scrambled eggs once for breakfast and that's the extent of the cooking, The laundry goes off to the local laundry ladies who wash and fold it so beautifully that I don't have to iron at all. And Wayan, who is Cat's housekeeper keeps the place clean and tidy, changes the bed and delivers the dirty washing to the laundry ladies. Do I miss doing any of those jobs....absolutely not!!

5. Ubud is known to have a very  active expat community. The slightly cooler temperatures and less hectic traffic make Ubud an appealing place to stay and many of them have lived here for many years. For anyone living on a limited income the quality of life here is far better than in their original country There's a continuum of expats from those who live in their home countries and alternate with living in Ubud and travelling the world, to those who live here full-stop. Many of them seem to be feisty single women like Cat, although she has introduced me to some lovely couples as well. There's an array of activities available including croquet ( not my scene!) to mah jong ( I'm hopeless at it!) to choir to film nights...and plenty of dinners, lunches, cocktails to be invited to.
 The only commitment I have made is to join 7 of the expats who go to weekly choir practice in Sanur. The conversations during the drive there and back are nearly as interesting as the choir itself. The choir is led by Brendan, a longtime expat who has a very dry sense of humour. I started as an alto  (which is actually what I really am) but as I can't read music and the alto parts are never the melody, I am now pretending to be a soprano and just miming the really high notes. It is a serious choir as it has sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. but there is a lot of laughter as we struggle to sing some complicated songs. The latest one is an Estonian song which is quite a challenge. I have enough trouble learning an new tune without having to learn a new language.
There are about 35-40 people in the choir and it is a mix of local Balinese and expats. Every now and then it actually sounds beautiful, especially when we sing 'Bali Hai' from South Pacific, an interesting choice given the location! We end each two hour session with the Hallelujah chorus which sends us out the door feeling happy!

6. At night I usually go to Mingle, Alison's restaurant) to enjoy a cocktail or two, or some food or to chat to some of the many expats who gather there. Often we will head off to listen to some live music. Sometimes to see Made, Alison's partner, play Tjembe drum or to see some of the other groups who play a range of music here from reggae ( a big favourite in Bali!) to blues to rock to oldies to just about anything. Never a dull moment.

7. For the down times I lie on the couch overlooking the garden and watch a DVD or an episode from a TV series ( for those interested I highly recommend Spiral : french detective series). The first time I did this in the middle of the day I felt very decadent. I can't remember the last time I lay around doing nothing watching a movie in the middle of the day ( apart from when I have been unwell). I almost felt guilty. But amazingly I seem to have overcome any reservations I may have had and I have had a few naps whilst watching a movie in the middle of the day to avoid the heat.

I don't think I can do a blog without a few photos so here's some random ones just for the hell of it! Some I have put on Facebook so sorry if you have seen them already!

your very busy correspondent

Dianne

Streetside gamelan practice

The schoolgirls in the their best temple clothes when it is a special ceremony day

The Phys. Ed. uniform for this school: also for sweeping the temple grounds!

Saturday morning aerobics at the Elementary School next door. This is one of the four uniforms that every schoolchild must have: it's the standard Indonesian uniform

Typical view from my morning walks

The travelling plastic tub salesman

The beautiful view from Bali Asli

Food, glorious food....

I have a terrible admission to make...The only cooking I have done since I arrived has been to scramble a few eggs and toast for breakfast a couple of times - and that's it!

And what has contributed to this complete disinterest in cooking?

Firstly the prospect of cooking in the heat and humidity is not appealing at all. Even on the 'cooler' days the idea of using anything that generates heat seems ridiculous.

Secondly and thirdly, there is a huge array of food available here and for comparatively cheap prices so why would I bother?

Balinese food is varied and very healthy, although some of the westernisation of it for the tourist trade  can be a little odd.

I have managed to cook the fabulous french sourdough on this ingenious contraption on the gas stove : once the heat is on it rotates a circular fan under the bread which cooks the toast very well! That qualifies as cooking surely?!

From superb French bakeries to Mexican tacos to Italian pizzas to schnitzels with mashed potatoes to..........well you name it it's probably here!

Many of the westerners who come here could be called feral hippies and are obsessed with vegan gluten free raw food... and above all it has to be organic of course. So the enterprising Balinese have worked out that their traditional farming methods are of course organic, as the use of fertilisers and chemicals is not part of their agriculture. Everyone is very happy ( although there are a few of the fanatical raw food eaters who look as if they need a good feed to me!).

Smoothies: Almost every day I make some sort of smoothie using fresh fruit and vegetables. I started with papaya ( paw paw in Australia) which is supposed to keep all of your bodily systems healthy and create miracles. Then I discovered that if you add 8-10 of the seeds, which taste quite peppery, every day then they help your kidneys and liver. And of course it tastes delicious!
Then I started adding lots of other ingredients: including mulberries from the tree in my garden and lime that grows there too. And of course the colour changes as you can see!
Th latest addition has been moringa powder made from the dried leaves of the moringa tree which grows everywhere here. It is supposed to be the new superfood according to the latest research and its benefits are well known to the Balinese of course. So a spoonful goes into the smoothies turning them an interesting shade of green!
I put some on my muesli the other morning and found it a bit hard to eat green muesli.

Treats: It would be true to say that after eating the local food you do get a bit homesick for some of the  foods that are not part of the local cuisine: cheese , chocolate, schnitzel, salami etc. Cat, my landlady has introduced me to the temptations of the  local 'Deli 'which imports all sorts of foods from far afield to satisfy the expats need for their national food. After purchasing salami, french brie and corn chips Alison, Cat and I had a very nice afternoon tea, feeling a bit wicked !

The 'real deal' Balinese food: Every street here has lots of warungs which are tiny family-run street-side restaurants which often offer a specialty dish. They are cheap and the food is freshly cooked. When we go anywhere with Made, Alison's partner, we often end up sitting on tiny plastic seats ( far too small for large Australian bums!) under an awning whilst we are served some delicious local dish: chicken noodle soup, pancakes filled with banana, the Balinese version of yum cha...or the national dish nasi goreng (fried rice). Sometimes the Warungs have grown into established restaurants but there is something exciting about being jammed in with everyone, whilst we all savour the sounds of the traffic along with the food. One of my favourites is a drink called chendol which consists of brown palm sugar mixed with ice, coconut milk and tiny green pandan noodles. Very sweet but delicious.

However the star of Balinese food is without doubt Babi Gulig  - roast suckling pig. Look away all vegetarians!!!! It is an essential part of any ceremony but is also available at all sorts of warungs and market stalls. The pigs are slow roasted over a fire after having been stuffed full of all sorts of herbs and spices.  It traditionally is served with rice, fried puffed crackling, lots of roasted skin , a bit of blood sausage and some vegetables...and chili of course!

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Jamu: A part of everyday life for the Balinese is a bright orange drink called Jamu. It is a daily health tonic whose ingredients differ with every batch according to what's available and personal likes. They all seem to have turmeric and ginger as a base and then honey, herbs  and spices are added before the mixture is boiled. An ice cold shot every day is great: a Balinese tradition I love! 

I seem to have stopped taking photos of all of the delicious food I have eaten so for a food blog this is very boring!

I have to admit that I have written this entire blog sitting in a vegan raw food restaurant called Sakuri near my house. It was recommended to me by one of the expats but I have to admit that I approached it with some trepidation. However this is my second lunch in a week as the food is fabulous!

Last week I had Pad Thai all made from raw vegies with a delicious coconut dressing and today I have just eaten Mexican lasagne made with beetroot and 'white sauce ' made from ground nuts ( I think!)- delicious. Although I have to say, the cashew nut milk latte was a bit weird. Maybe I'll turn into a vegan hippie too??!!

your willing -to eat-anything correspondent 

Dianne