Bali 2013 - cultural activities

I love to learn. When I finished my fourth year at university, I was devastated that I didn't get to keep going and learning at an educational institution every day. That's part of the reason why went back to uni and became a  teacher, and also a big part of the reason why I like to try new things, find better ways to do things and read (books, blogs, magazines...). I'm an insatiable student. It stands to reason then that I see an overseas holiday as an opportunity to study the culture and learn as much as I can about it. My kids inherited this trait and so, when we holiday as a family, the world becomes our classroom.

Beautiful carvings are everywhere

I studied bahasa Indonesia, the official language of the Indonesian archipelago, at high school and university.  I've sadly forgotten lots, but before we went away, I found my books and taught Stu and the boys some basic phrases. We all used the basics while away, and for the most part, it was really well received. I even managed a couple of proper conversations!  

We visited several temples too - of course!

Most people speak English though, so we were able to ask questions and learn from the hotel staff at Klub Kokos and a driver that we met, Rahde. We also purchased a great little book 'My life in Bali'. The book is aimed at children, but great for all ages as it explains very simply the Balinese culture, philosophy, religion, ritual, home life and much more. We took it everwhere and read snippets often. 

Wayang Kulit - shadow puppets.

Other than just observing the life and culture all around us (which, in itself, may have been my favourite part of the holiday!), we went to see two cultural shows - a wayang kulit (shadow puppet) performance and a kecak fire dance. Both were put on for tourists and very cleverly shortened and altered to allow us to get a glimpse of these traditional entertainments, while not drowning us in hours of entertainment in a different language!  The kids loved both shows, but as both were on at night, they coped better at the kecak performance as we'd had a little snooze earlier that afternoon. 

One hundred men make the music and many of the props for the kecak performance

Our performance told some of the famous story of Rama and Sita

The manager at Klub Kokos was also able to arrange some hands on activities/lessons with a local artist and his family. Each hour long session cost us $12. The first was a lesson in traditional painting with Gusti. We had to outline with a bamboo pen dipped in Chinese ink and then add shadow and watercolours to a pencil sketch he'd prepared for us. It was a challenging, but fun lesson that made us appreciate the art all around us even more!  And better still, we were able to keep our paintings as a souvenir. 



Painting lessons

For our second lesson, we went to Gusti's home where he and his wife taught us to make the traditional offerings that are put out each morning and afternoon at the entrances and temples of each home compound and business. We sat outside one of their living pavilions while their kids ran around and extended family were getting on with their day. Gusti and his non-English speaking wife (also Gusti), showed us how to turn coconut leaves into baskets and miniature masks for decorating.  We then filled our little baskets with flowers. If the offerings are to be put out as gifts to the gods and demons, a small snack (rice, biscuits, lollies!), a stick of incense and holy water would also be added. We left some of our offering baskets for them to use, and took two away. Of course, we couldn't keep them, so we put them out at the hotel as a parting gift. 



Making offerings with Gusti and his wife

For Stu and I, the best cultural experience was the day we hired a driver to take us out. The activities we did that day weren't cultural, but Rahde, with his fabulous English, spent the wholedrive explaining   the culture and philosophy of bali. I wouldn't dare say I now understand, but his descriptions were wonderful and together with our little book and the things we've seen while exploring the island, we're much closer to getting it!

Offerings placed on a bridge in Ubud.

While travelling around, I also took note if some practices I wanted to bring home, especially the use of a small scythe to cut long grass to feed to their animals. Like us, many people in the village we stayed in had numerous animals on small plots of land. The farmer from next door would take his two cows from their stable each morning and walk them to a small area for grazing, and in the afternoon, he would trim the grass around his rice paddies to feed to them at night. Our situation is very different, but I really want to buy a scythe now to 'mow' our lawns with so that the grass can be fed to our animals!

A farmer out moving his cows at breakfast time

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Did you read about where we stayed in Bali?

More in our Bali adventure soon!