A royal farewell: Part One

One of the advantages of living close to a temple is that you can see activity which gives you an inkling of something interesting about to happen, I am living in a laneway that is about 30 metres from the main Tebesaya Temple so I wander through the Temple grounds every day.

For the last few

days there has been a flurry of activity: students sweeping, men creating a huge tower and other bamboo structures, women weaving offering baskets and ornate decorations and everyone getting organised for some sort of event.

The event turned out to be a royal cremation for a member of the Royal family. She was Nelly Sukawati and she died at the age of 98. She was in fact originally Dutch and came to Indonesia to teach in 1947. She eventually married the son of the President of East Indonesia at the time and they travelled the world when he was appointed  into diplomatic posts and eventually as Ambassador. She was considered to be Balinese and the cremation was the first time ever that a non-Balinese born person was given a royal cremation in Ubud.

In a nutshell the cremation involved a procession which travelled a couple of kilometres along the main street of Ubud to reach the Tebesaya Temple for the actual cremation.

There were three  components of the procession:

- a huge black bull with lots of gold chains and a gold flap covering a hole in its backside into which the coffin was placed for the actual cremation. The choice of animal apparently suggests she was of high status, It was placed on a platform of bamboo poles and carried by a vast number of men from Temple Agung dressed in orange and white shirts.

- a bamboo walkway to allow the coffin and family members to be deposited in the tower. It was erected over a large truck (which meant the men from the Temple didn't have to carry it)

--a beautifully ornate multi level tower to carry the coffin to the cremation. Again it was carried at an amazing pace by the men from the Temple.

I wouldn't like you to think that this only took a few minutes as it went on for hours starting with the Holy man blessing all of the offerings that were then attached to the bull and the tower, and women chanting as they distributed the offerings. He was very resplendent in his impressive hat whilst he rang his gold bell and flicked holy water over the offerings.

Eventually the coffin was carried up the walkway followed by her son (?) and other family members who crammed into the small space with the coffin, and were consequently carried down the street as part of the tower (not a journey I would like to take as it all looked fairly precarious to me!!).

Eventually the men started to gather to carry the tower and there was huge shouting and cheering when the walkway was actually disengaged from the tower and nothing collapsed!

The pictures tell the story but unfortunately blogspot won't let me move them around: sorry they are in the wrong order. I will tell the second part of the story in the next post which is appropriate as I missed the next stage of the cremation as I had to go to Indonesian language lesson. So as the bull and the tower headed off on their journey to 'my' Temple a couple of kilometres away on the shoulders of hundreds of men, I had to leave the masses of followers and head to the library! 

There was a lot of waiting around and clearly some people were over it!

After hours of waiting the moment that the men actually lifted the tower and ran with it!!

Huge cheering as the walkway was separated from the tower!

The spot for members of the royal family to accompany the coffin

Heading off down the road at a reasonable pace followed by lots of onlookers

Healthy Homes or Rumah Sehat...good works in practice.

Whilst David and I are interested in doing something useful here we have no idea what that something might be. So, when in doubt, have a good look at what others have been doing!

At the Rotary meeting we had to introduce ourselves and I noticed that one couple introduced themselves by saying they were running  a project that took healthcare services to isolated coastal and mountain villages on the east coast of Bali.  So at the end of the night I introduced myself to them - Sue and Ray Bishop - and asked them about it. ( more front than Myers I have!).

So to cut a long story short a few days later David and I found ourselves travelling  for three hours to Amed with Sue and Ray to visit the project. They are both retired business people_-one is Canadian  and the other Australian. They thought they'd take on a project to keep them busy in their retirement and have had an exciting few years watching it flourish and falter and flourish again.

Without the resources of a few Swiss bankers behind them it's been a challenge to fund it .

First stop was for breakfast at a small French bakery called the Loaf cafe in the middle of nowhere on the road to Candi Dasar, It wouldn't have looked out of place in the middle of North Fitzroy: food and coffee was fabulous and it even had french cafe chairs! No end to the surprises around here!

 Finally we arrived at a small set of buildings in the countryside close to the coast. We received a warm welcome from Ping, the onsite manager, and the two nurses who were on duty.

The basic idea is to provide free healthcare to local villagers via this clinic. And to provide services into the isolated villages in the mountains beyond Amed. Using a mixture of paid and volunteer staff they manage to see hundreds of villagers who would otherwise not access any health services because of cost and distance. Their staff/volunteers include doctors, nurses, dentists and a range of other medical  specialists when available (pay attention any of you who fall into any of those categories!Fancy a holiday in Bali with some charity work thrown in?).
Various organisations or people sponsor Healthy Days where they go to one village with as many healthcare workers as they can find and plenty of mobile equipment and then they see as many people on one day as possible. Sometimes they have specific theses eg pregnancy , birth and early childhood as identified by the villagers and workers.

 Sue and Ray and the two nurses

Ray showing us the finer features of the mobile dental kit       ; it has suction, drills ...the lot!

The dental chair

 They have no mental health workers at all, and no idea if there is a problem with mental illness.

 Because Ping knew Ray and I were coming he'd asked a few questions and identified 9 people living in cages in one small mountain village. All of the workers were surprised at the high number and they have never seen these people. Apparently the police take them to Bangli (the only mental hospital in Bali) when they are completely 'gila' (crazy). But once they return home there are no community support services at all and the families can't afford the medication and they soon relapse. And the cycle continues. We are assuming that these are people who have psychosis or schizophrenia. Bangli doesn't send any discharge summaries or medication charts to Rumah Sehat . The nurses were a little concerned about dealing with people with mental illness: one of them asked if they would have straitjackets.

I can almost hear the cogs in the brains of those of you who are mental health clinicians whirring!! David and I are planning a visit to Bangli and to talk to the psychiatrists at the general hospital to suss it all out further! The questions are many and the answers are few.

The other part of their program is aimed at equipping those students about to graduate from high school with some Intensive  Vocational training so they can get a job. We arrived to find them practicing how to be a Reception clerk at a Hotel with their American teacher Kelly. I volunteered us to be potential guests so we spent the next couple of hours role playing with each of the nine students. Exhausting but very rewarding as they tried to book us into the right rooms, told us what was fabulous about Amed (apparently they make a huge amount of the arrack drunk in Bali: its a very strong whisky liquor), suggested where we should eat, etc etc.

Donated laptops

Before we headed for home we did a drive along the coast to have a look at Amed as it's a popular spot for divers, tuna fishing and generally hanging out at white sand beaches! We stopped at a bar with a million dollar view but resisted the temptation to try the local arrack,before heading for home.

As we wove our way along the coast and valleys the mountains towered over us. The idea of living so far from everything and often with only walking access is very challenging.

The landscape looked very green and lush but that was entirely due to a significant rainy season which is drawing to a close. Sue showed me some photos of the hard times when it's hot, dry and brown and its impossible to grow anything: a very different scenario.

Sue and Ray invited David and I to join them when they go to one of the mountain villages at the end of February, Apparently the last section takes 45 minutes of almost vertical walking (so its a damn good thing that I have been going to the gym!).

All very thought-provoking and fascinating. It is truly inspiring to see what a couple of people with no experience in health and education can do with minimal funding and a lot of enthusiasm and commitment,

your impressed correspondent

Dianne  

I just had to add this photo for all the dog fanatics out there. Charlie, Sue and Ray's lab just loves a ride on a scooter so here is all set to take the rubbish out and with his tail dragging along on the ground on the other side!!

Making a difference...can we?

After spending some time with a number of expats and listening to their stories of establishing a meaningful life in their retirement, it seems that many of them have become involved in some 'good works' here.

Bali may be a stunningly beautiful place for visitors and provide a memorable holiday with an intriguing culture, fabulous food, and endless opportunities for relaxation and reinvigoration, but for many of the Balinese, life is far from good.

It's easy to be swamped with worthy causes and to be inspired by the hard work and great outcomes many of the expats achieve through initiating or supporting projects.

Whilst the countryside looks green and lush as a result of the wet season conditions are usually arid and dry, especially on the mountainsides. 

Last week we went to hear a Swiss banker called Daniel Elbe speak about his 23 years of work in one of the most arid and poverty stricken parts of Bali on the steep rocky mountains to the east where rainfall is poor and mortality rates are high. Many of the women begging on the Ubud streets with their small children walk the long distance from Muntigunung  every few days in desperation for any money.
His project called Muntigunung Social Enterprise ( see www.muntigunung.com) studied the problems carefully before focusing on very practical solutions and getting the mountain village people involved They started by teaching them to use the right proportions of sand and concrete to make their rainwater tanks hold the rain as they were losing huge amounts of water through leaky tanks. then they built enormous shelters with huge rooves which collected the rain in enormous concrete tanks. Not only did they function as water collection which lasted a year, but the shelters provided a workspace for communities to develop profitable cottage industries . Each village was funded for 2-3 years to develop a high quality commercial product...of course it does help when you have a Board of Swiss bankers to fund you!!! So they produce cashews, baskets,hammocks etc. But the most fascinating project was they used the skills and knowledge of the women traversing the mountains to go begging and converted them into leaders of Trekking expeditions which tourists pay a lot of money for. So clever!!A brilliant example of how to change people's lives for the better with some careful analysis and through engagement of them in every aspect of the change.

I have been discussing mental health services and issues here with anyone I can and the news is bad I can tell you.

I have met with a friend of a friend David Meldrum who has moved to Ubud with his wife Charmaine for a year following retirement. He is very interested in seeing if there is anyway to help as he has been the CEO of the Mental Illness Fellowship in Australia and has held other mental health related senior positions, Between the two of us we have lots of contacts and w'eve been investigating any source of information about the current services in Bali.

I have chatted with lots of expats many of whom have lived here for many years and to a person, they tell the same story. There is always someone who lives in their village/street  and is considered 'gila' (crazy) who, at best, is managed by being restricted to the family compound and monitored by all of the family members and at worst, is locked away in a cage and never see. Either way they are considered to be outcasts in their communities. When things get bad the Police are called and they are admitted to Bangli , the only mental hospital in Bali. Once discharged they receive no community services and have no continuing access to medication.

So to sum it up you can't say mental health services are bad here, because there are simply no services to speak of.

The most substantial challenges include:
- Whilst the Hindu religion is heavily embedded into the culture and has a strong sense of community and personal strength it also provide a challenge for the concept of mental illness, It underpins all aspects of life as can be seen by the endless numbers of beautiful flower-filled offering baskets ouside every home , business, on cars in doorways etc. And everywhere there are temples of all shapes and sizes within family compounds, outside every business and in every banjar or community.

 Traditional belief systems seem to characterise 'gila' as karma for bad deeds,such as not going to temple, not making offerings etc. For example David spoke to someone who lived near a school where a couple of the students went into a trance -like state and investigations showed that there was a mix-up with the offerings and no one had been doing them daily as required. Offerings reinstated, problem fixed until the behaviour happened again, and this time the solution was to do some refurbishment of the temple next door as that would improve the karma. So far so good, But apparently if it continues to happen then they are considering moving the school as it is too close to the cremation grounds. Meanwhile no one is trying to work out whether there might be other causes of the behaviour
Clearly any attempts to change responses to mental illness will have to involve the traditional healers and religious leaders.
.  
David and I have started making contacts with anyone silly enough to talk to us to try to get our heads around the myriad of issues here. So that should keep us busy for a while!

your investigative correspondent

Dianne

A day in the life............

How am I spending my time I hear you say? Well it's now 3.00pm and these are today's adventures.
These photos sum up the purchases of the day:

As it is a non-gym day today it is a walking day (I'm alternating the two in an attempt to get fit!) So I headed off for the Museum Rudana, a contemporary Balinese Arts Museum.
For sustenance I just had to try out a French bakery and their avocado smash on French sourdough with a nice coffee was a great way to get started (and a third of the cost in Melbourne!).
One of the delights of my perambulations is the fabulous array of gateways into the family compounds usually adorned with a couple of statues to ward off evil spirits or make them laugh I think! Today I was lucky enough to see the special wedding decorations required to adorn the gateway when someone in the family is getting married.Very ornate and beautiful.

Not sure if this is a kangaroo or a dog?!

 The Museum was quite a walk away but well worth the visit.

Set in the middle of ricefields it'sin a beautiful old building with art ranging from traditional Balinese art to ultra contemporary( including some huge paintings of multi-coloured penises!) and anywhere in between. I caused quite a stir as I was the only visitor...so I received a lot of attention.

From a distance this looks as if it is a huge traditional Balinese painting

But when you get up close you can see the Twin towers being destroyed.....

 Planes? Trucks?

Then I wandered through their Gallery where you can buy paintings and I did buy one but what a performance!!
I forgot to take a photo of it before it was rolled up and wrapped so securely that I'm not game to unwrap it before I get it home.  At one point in the bargaining process the sales guy had a quiet conversation with me about how he would persuade the owner to drop a couple of hundred dollars if I gave him $50 on the side. he then proceeded to make a 'phone call' which I'm sure was a complete scam and he got me the discount. What a surprise!!. I ended up paying a few hundred dollars less then the first quote so who knows if I did well or not???? I have no idea.  But now I own  a painting I like that wasn't too expensive so I guess it's all good.
This cute dancing guy was so appealing I just had to take a photo of him (very surreptitiously as no photos allowed!)
Then it was time to stagger home with my painting rolled up under my arm.
Just a few more stops on the way to:
- pick up some business carsd I have had made ($6,50 for a hundred....not sure I know that many people!)
- pick up a few essential items at the Coco supermarket (including a packet of Coffee Joy biscuits, my new favourite).
-buy some freshly brewed jamu being sold from a spa stall. Its a local herbal tonic which many Balinese drink every day to stay healthy. It usually has turmeric, ginger and an array of herbs and spices so I will give it a go!

- buy some Indian food for dinner from my local Warung called Little India. See the organic packaging, and the food is fabulous.

So I arrived home to find the house cleaned, the dirty laundry disappeared and everything tidy thanks to Wayan, the housekeeper,

I'd done over 14,000 steps so not a bad effort in the heat and humidity.

Now I just need to recuperate and drink lots of water before heading off to choir for two hours in Sanur about 45 minutes away. The choir has about 40 members and has equal numbers of Indonesians and expats...and its a lot of fun.

So am I bored? Is there nothing to do? Am I taking it easy? You decide!

your tired but happy correspondent

Dianne

The challenges of being alone ....whilst still being in touch

Whilst I am being very brave (apparently!) hurtling off to the far reaches of Ubud to be on my own, I seem to be spending a remarkable amount of time trying to communicate with a vast array of people using a vast array of devices.

Clearly its not acceptable to be incommunicado at any point in time.

It would be fair to say that I only have a cursory understanding of the whys and wherefores of technology so finding myself with no less than four devices, many of them with the same apps, is almost enough to do my head in completely.

Having a local simcard in an old phone is a great idea  for local calls but the endless messages in Indonesian have meant that Google Translate and I have become best friends. The worrying thing is that at times even Google Translate can't explain the shorthand messages I receive.

Then there's the joy of downloading photos from my camera to my new compact laptop. They seem to behave like 5 year olds: sometimes they are best friends and want to connect with each other, and at other times the laptop simply refuses to have anything to do with the camera. And the answer??? Turn the laptop off and then turn it on again and then they are happy to interact!! Explain that all of you tech gurus.

Speaking of tech gurus I have two sources of IT assistance.

1. The Internet. The only problem here is that I don't speak technology martian (or that's what it sounds like to me!) so even trying to frame a question or comprehending the answer can be a total mystery.

2. Ewan. I can almost see him rolling his eyes when I communicate to him the details of my latest technological disaster. And they seem to occur very frequently. A few times I have received an endless stream of emails from him that start with the phrase "Have you tried......?" Usually he manages to sort out what is going on, which is an absolute blessing as it stops me swearing and pulling my hair out in frustration!
One night, forgetting the time difference between Bali and Melbourne, I was still sending him emails late into the night (Melbourne time) and he sent me a message saying that the IT Support Service ceased operating at midnight Melbourne time.

I am trying to not spend my time constantly checking devices but it is easy to get worried about whether there's been an emergency and you haven't checked every possible app - Whatsapp, SMS messages, gmail, Skype, hangouts, Messenger or even the dreaded Facebook - for information.

Oh well the best I can do is be philosophical about it and  hope there are no emergencies, whilst staying determined to not let technology rule my life!

your luddite correspondent

Dianne