Categotry Archives: Thursday Thirteen
Uluwatu Cliffside Temple
The grounds around the Uluwatu Cliffside Temple are extensive. From the parking lot we had a leisurely half hour walk to where the temple perches on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea. Most of that walk takes place along a wide, brickwork walkway filled with little steps up and down. The walkway runs along the top edge of a cliff. A nice, thick wall runs along the outside of the walkway. The walkway curls off to the right […]
A Random Textile Factory
It wasn’t in the little itinerary booklet the company provided us with, but we made an excursion to a textile factory while we were in the Jimbaran area. The workers paid very little attention to us. I know they get a fair amount of visitors because another group went through right after us and we all ended up on the sales floor.
13 Statues in Bali
We just drove past. Your guess is probably as good as mine. I kind of recognized some Hindu characters that I already talked about here. They tended to run on the large size. 1.
Rice Terraces Between Lovina and Jimbaran
Between Lovina and Jimbaran the volcanic soil coils around to form steep hills. Indonesians have industriously terraced them into a unique combination of rice paddies and irrigation system. The irrigation system is called subak. It is woven into the landscape and the culture of Bali. UNESCO World Heritage protects the entire subek area. Rice is first planted in a small nursery area within the fields. This is because many seeds won’t sprout. Rather than letting large patches of field fall […]
Community Lunch in Tiga Wasa Village
The name of this three has escaped me. That’s a real pity because so much of this post is going to be about it. I’m going to call it a palm for convenience sake, but don’t quote me. After we walked around in the rest of the village, we found hooked up with our host for lunch. He made much of his living off of the palm trees growing randomly on his land. One of the main crops for him […]
Tiga Wasa Village
We ambled away from the school and down the street to begin our tour of the village at the mayor’s building. Apparently Bali uses the same alarm system that Java does. The wooden alarm hung from a nice alcove on the front patio of the town hall. This patio area is built on the second floor. They mayor gave us a little demonstration of it’s use. From the street you see this:
Schools
There’s a school in Northern Bali that receives support from the travel company that ran our tour group. As part of the package we get to visit the school. On our way there we encountered a town full of marching children. They were practicing for an upcoming competition in which each class will try to march in perfect synchronization and shout cheers.
Suzie’s House 465 : Listening Closely
I’m Not Always Wrong played through the headset. Bruce braced himself. A lot of times when you listened to a recording it didn’t sound anything near as good as what you thought it was to start with. It wasn’t too bad. He looked around. Everyone else was kind of deadpan. I wasn’t sure if they were hiding reactions, or just didn’t know enough to have one. Emma glanced at him with a little worried wrinkle in her forehead. He gave […]
Ulan Danu Bratan Temple aka Temple in the Mist
We went to Lovina from Ubud by bus. It’s a day’s drive. Apparently previous tourists had complained about being cramped in a bus for hours on end. On one hand I’m used to road trips in which you might spend up to eighteen hours with stops only long enough to refill the gas tank and hit the bathroom. To me, this wasn’t even a real full day’s travel. On the other hand I find I am less able to sit […]
The Shadow Puppet Master
This is Wayan. The name Wayan comes from the word bayan, which means shadow. He is literally a national treasure. As one of Bali’s best puppeteers, and a member of the Indonesian puppeteer association with full honors, he is well respected.
Sudi Dancing School
We were supposed to visit the Sudi Dancing School the day we flew from Java to Bali. Since we were so late, that didn’t happen. Luckily our guide was able to arrange an alternate time for us. We slipped it in between the Sacred Monkey Forest and a visit to a puppet master. They welcomed us in full regalia.
