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!

Bali 2013 - Where we stayed

We have just returned from an amazing ten day holiday in Bali with our children. I want to share the journey with you, so over the next week, I'm going to write several posts on different topics:

• Where we stayed (accom and location)
• Cultural activities
• Adventure activities
• Food, Sight seeing and shopping
• And perhaps a travelling with kids wrap up

Enjoy!

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Where we stayed

When we were planning our Bali holiday, our first priority was to avoid the over commercialised tourist areas as much as possible and get out there to see some real Bali. However, we also wanted to be comfortable and safe, budget conscious, and allow the kids to see and do some of the more touristy stuff and also enjoy relaxing in/by a pool. Tough order!  

Enjoying the view from the Klub Kokos activity room.

Our first hotel met our needs perfectly, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wanted a Bali holiday that was just a little bit off the beaten track. 

Klub Kokos is a small hotel situated in the village of Bangkiang Sidem in the Ubud region of Bali. We chose it based on the website and booked for seven nights including a pickup from our flight which arrived late at night. Before our trip, I had several email contacts with Cathy (the Australian expat owner) who was very helpful, offering advice on money changing, tours and more. 

On arrival in Bali, we were met by our driver, Ketut. The drive to the hotel took about an hour, and while it was dark, so we couldn't see much, we did feel the difference as we left the hubbub of Denpasar with its very busy, wide roads and moved through more suburban areas with their narrower, still busy roads, surrounded by warungs (small restaurants) and stores, and finally into the dark and quiet of the countryside, onto a rough, single lane dirt road and into the driveway of Klub Kokos. 

Master bedroom at Klub Kokos.
Note the open part at the top of the wall which was well covered with insect mesh.

We were greeted by the manager, Kadek, who helpe
d us to our bungalow and showed us around. His English was great and he was kind and helpful. 

Towels in the bathroom were folded cleverly and decorated with flowers each day.

Our two bedroom bungalow was big, clean and well appointed. It had the beauty of Bali all over it from its carved teak doors, to the always open ventilated ceiling area and a balcony surrounded by flowers.  The "bedrooms" of the bungalow had no doors on them, but as they were separated enough, Stu and I could read in bed without disturbing the boys, and the massive balcony gave us another "room" to use when we needed to give sleeping people peace and quiet.

The rooms were well appointed inside and had a very generous balcony with tables and chairs.

Nights were noisy due to the constant sounds of frogs, toads, geckos, cicak (small geckos), birds and insects in the rice paddies that surrounded the hotel, and in the morning we were woken by the roosters from the village farms and the sounds of people going off to work in the bigger towns. All good noises for rural people like us. 

Early morning views of Mt Agung and farms from our room.

Stu and I woke early on our first morning and watched the sunrise over Mt Agung, one of Bali's sacred mountains, from our room - pretty special!

Lachie enjoying the extensive Klub Kokos library.

Before we had breakfast in the restaurant (we could've had it in our room, but elected for the restaurant each morning so we could watch life pass by), we checked out the ping pong table and extensive library. Our bookworm children would've spent the entire week in there!  We didn't use the toy room, but it would've been brilliant for younger children. 

Jamie enjoying a mixed fruit breakfast juice.

Breakfast each morning was either Balinese nasi goreng with a fried egg (my favourite!) or eggs and toast. Both breakfasts were served with a delicious, freshly made mixed fruit juice and tea/coffee. Stu bravely opted for the Bali Kopi on the first morning, despite hearing rumours of its very thick, strong style. He loved it!  And went back for more each morning of the trip. 

View from our bedroom window.... bliss.

The hotel staff were all extremely friendly and helpful and the whole place was kept clean and beautifully decorated with flowers. The kids loved being able to swim in the pool each day and lounging on the sun loungers. And we enjoyed the complimentary tea/coffee each afternoon which was served with a different Balinese cake or snack each day. 

Relaxing poolside at Klub Kokos after a long morning of activities.

The manager was able to help us book some of our activities and tours and arranged cultural activities with a local family (I'll talk about them later). 

The hotel was located on the Campuan ridge, between the Campuan and Ayung rivers. The village it was in was small, consisting mainly of small farms and artists' gallleries, though there was also a cafe which catered to the needs of tourists trekking from Ubud village up the ridge and around through Campuan village. We didn't do the whole trek, but did walk the 2km walk into Ubud village each day (and home one night). 

Walking to Ubud along the Campuan ridge.

The walk to Ubud was mostly along footpath, so no traffic. During the day it was dotted with tourists and in the afternoon it seemed to become a favourite hang out for local teenagers. It felt safe and friendly to walk to town and greet the locals as we passed. Each step opened up new amazingly beautiful vistas, it was a real pleasure to walk each day. 

We only walked the return trip once though. It was spooky at night (for no reason other than it was really dark) and it was hard going with tired kids, especially since Lachie tripped and grazed his shin part way home!  Mostly we took a taxi from Ubud village to the hotel. It was a reasonably long drive as they had to go around the long way, and the taxi drives cost between about $7 and $10 each time. 

The gardens at Klub Kokos were beautiful.

We ate at the hotel restaurant a couple of times and the food was good and reasonably priced. 

If (when!) we go back to Bali, we intend to stay in the Ubud region again, and while I wouldn't hesitate to stay at, or recommend Klub Kokos, we met and became friends with a local man who has promised to help us find a villa to rent. We could've done that this time, but having the hotel staff to help us was brilliant!  Next time we will know people who can help us and can enjoy a different experience. 

We were all sad to say goodbye to Klub Kokos and Ubud when we left, especially Lachie and I who shed a few tears. It was such a beautiful part of our holiday. But all good things must come to an end, and so, after 7 nights, we took a transfer to our hotel in Tuban (South Kuta), Green Garden Hotel. 

Sadly, by the time we arrived in Kuta, we wanted to leave. The hour long drive into the busy areas, past copious quantities of rubbish, polluted waterways and messy building sites wasn't pretty. But neither were the huge monuments to tourism in the form of global fast food chains, massive hotels and copious quantities of tacky souvenirs. 

We were early to arrive at the hotel and were not able to access our room. The staff were offhand and told us that they had had to change our reservation to a different room. Feeling tired and dissapointed, we stored our bags there and went in search of a comforting lunch. 

Comfort in Kuta cams in the form of air conditioned shopping centres and western food, a far cry from the small Balinese restsurant we took comfort in on our first day exploring Ubud. 

The hotel was only a few hundred metres from the large Discovery/Centro shopping centre, which was right opposite Waterbom Park. But that short walk was choc full of touts using bad Aussie accents and trying to sell us massages, watches, toys, Bintang (beer) tshirts, tours, taxis etc. Unlike in Ubud, they would touch us, grab at the kids and call us 'mate', 'boss', 'boy' and 'darling'. It no longer felt nice and they often didn't take no for an answer. I felt sad that tourism has changed the culture so much in these areas. 

The only photo we were inspired to take at Green Garden!
Towel origami each day - this day was an elephant.

When we finally were able to check into our room, we found a decent sized room that was clean and quite well appointed. But the tiny balcony was uninhabitable as it looked over the street and was therefore choked in fumes from the traffic and inside, we had to use air conditioning as there was no fan and we couldn't open windows due to the noise and pollution. 

The swimming pool looked nice, but since it was located in the centre of the very cramped hotel grounds and shaded on all sides by three stories of rooms, the water was cold and we never swam in it. 

Unable to find any good restaurants that served Balinese food and didn't have the AFL football playing on big screen tvs, we ate at the hotel that night. The menu was designed for tourists that don't want to experience a lot of Balinese food, and so we all ate burgers, which were nothing special, for tea. 

We then endured two nights with very little sleep. The room we had been given not only received all the noise from the street, but was set above the restaurant where they played music extremely loudly till about 10.30 the first night, and then had a two piece band who were even louder the second. We hired a DVD player and stayed up with the kids to watch a DVD, but had to turn it up way too loud just to hear it. We all used ear plugs, but still found the noise too much for sleep. After the second night, when we were all very tired and irritable, we asked to change rooms. They were able to move us, and the new room was better and quieter, but we still missed to peace of Klub Kokos.

Green Garden Hotel was supposed to be a good option for families with kids, and the room itself was certainly good - a big queen size bed and a set of bunks that could be separated with a curtain when the kids went to sleep.  But nothing else about the hotel really suited our family.  It was located in a very busy part of Kuta, the clientele were not all.... ummmm.... our kind of people, shall we say?  The staff, while friendly, were better suited to the partying adults than to kids, and the restaurant was also not fabulous for kids and extremely noisy.  All up, we would never stay there again and wouldn't recommend it to families.

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Stay tuned - tomorrow I'll tell you about the cool Cultural Activities we enjoyed during our holiday......

Making and mending

I had to visit spotlight the other week to get a bit if fabric for my brothers birthday present. As it always does, the clearance racks called me and this time, they were loaded with deliciously light and very pretty vintage inspired fabrics. At only $4-8 a metre, I was sucked in and came home with two types.

Since then, my sewing bug has hit and I've been busily stitching away on all manner of projects - it is, afterall, perfect weather for being in with the heater and working on projects for now, for upcoming travel and for warmer days to come. 

I started my sewing bee with this top. The fabric is light as air and the pattern is not only free, but easy and fits me well! Woohoo!  I wore the top for our ladies lunch over a long sleeved tee, but am looking forward to wearing it on its own in warm weather. In the making of this top, I also learnt to make bias binding - oh the possibilities!

My next project was bigger, so I decided to make space and clean up the mending pile. I fixed a bag handle, an umbrella spoke, a hole in the knee of a pair of school pants, an unfortunate hole in a pair of jeans and a shirt that had torn along its seems when Stu ripped if off because a wasp was in it. I also took in and up a pair of pants Stu bought on special years ago, but that we're always too big. They're great pants and will be perfect for travel (now that they fit!). 

I was just about to start on my bigger project when I had a chat to my mum. The conversation included talking about our dog Buddy, who, since losing his brother earlier this year, has been feeling the cold at night. Mum suggested I make him a coat. Half an hour after getting off the phone, I took this picture!

Buddy's custom fitted dog jumper was made using this tutorial from an old work jumper of Stu's. Buddy has been wearing ever since - think I'll have to make a couple more so they can be washed. 

The big project I was working up to was a carry on travel bag for me. Messenger in style, the bag is roomy and full of pockets and clips. I made one for Stu months ago. His is made from fabric I bought as a couch cover from the op shop, lined with business shirt material and decorated with an op shopped belt. The look is smart enough for him to use it when he is wearing a shirt and tie for work, but casual enough for holidays too. 

My bag used the same general pattern, but with a few adjustments - more pockets, a shorter strap (for my somewhat shorter body) and slightly roomier. Mine is more 'me' too - made from a rug I bought at an op shop and lined with some old sheet fabric. 

Both bags have pockets inside and out,including  an elasticised drink holder, a zippered pocket (I used this tutorial to put them in) in the flap and a d-ring sewn inside for clipping keys to so they don't get lost. I'm really pleased with the finished product, and rapt that we have completely unique bags!  I didn't use a pattern for them, but took ideas and inspiration from lots of patterns. (Let me know if you would like a pattern/tutorial as  I'm planning to make one as a gift in the future and would photograph it when I do). 

I'll include a pic of Stu's bag later - he took it to work today!

After those bigger projects, I turned back to doing lots of little projects (for travel and home), using scraps of gorgeous fabrics. 

Bag tags and ear bud holders for all of us and eye masks for Stu and I. 

More sandwich wraps and a few snack bags. 

And then some personalised throwing beanbags for a couple of friends first birthdays....

I up-cycled a couple of opshop tshirts into PJ tops for the kids....

Then there was some more mending and a bit of work on another top for me, but I have to finish the crochet work before its completed. 

My poor sewing machine is exhausted now!  I managed to break several needles and blow the lightbulb in that sewing marathon. 

I'm loving sewing right now though and have a few more projects I want to work on, including felt slippers for the kids and new cholis for my dance troupe. 

Do you sew?  And do you make clothes for your family?  It feels so good to see your family using things you've made, and to receive compliments on clothes that you can say 'thanks, I made it!'....

Still here....

It's another one of those times when the living of life means there is no time left to write about life....  

I've taken on a few hours a week of admin work from home, a brilliant addition to my week - a bit of extra cash that can be earned without driving anywhere or even changing out of my gumboots!  But it has taken me a couple of weeks to make that few hours of work fit neatly and to again find room in my life for extra-curricular activities like blogging. 

The kids are currently on school holidays after another full term of school. They're enjoying being home, learning, exploring and playing with each other and me. I'm loving having them around. 

The rest of life has been pottering along too. There has been lots of crafting, which I hope to show you this week, the regular cooking and garden work, some wonderful belly dance classes, lots of preparation for our upcoming travels and the arrival of our goat (and also a lamb...) which will happen soon after we get home. 

Life is better than al-wright at the moment, and I will be back to sharing it again soon :)

Living in the season {and cake too}

I have a bit of a pet hate - heating to summer temps in winter and cooling to winter temps in summer. There is a (large) collection of people who turn thermostats on heaters to 30c through the winter just so they can get about in a tshirt. The same people, undoubtedly, switch on the aircon if the temperature goes over 25c in summer. Grrrrr.... Makes my blood boil!

There's none of that in our house. We probably swing to the opposite extreme. Our centralised system is broken, so we only have room heating and no air con. 

Right now, it's the middle of winter here and it's pretty cold. It never gets cold enough to snow here, but we get a mean frost. We had one this morning that froze everything in sight. This morning, we turned on the heater, but its the first time we've used it in the morning all week. Most mornings, we climb (begrudgingly) out of our toasty warm (thanks to flannelette sheets and good blankets) beds, toss on dressing gowns and slippers and make a warm drink straight away.  Stu and the boys go off to their tropically heated work and school, and I stay here - dressed for the weather. During the day, I wear layers, a singlet and warm socks, a beanie, scarf and fingerless gloves. I wear them inside and out. When I venture out for my morning and evening jobs, I add a coat and boots. The boys follow this dress code on the weekend. 

Do I heat the house in the day?  Depends. If I am running around doing housework, baking with the oven going or in and out all day, then no, I don't. If I'm sitting in one spot sewing or working at the computer, or if I have guests, then I heat the space I'm in. We also heat the kitchen for our evening meal and the lounge room after tea. 

When watching tv or crafting or playing games at night, we use the heater on low. We also use blankets on the couch, and often reach for an extra layer or beanie. 

Hot water bottles are used for warming beds, or on chilly nights to curl up with on the couch. Hot drinks are used frequently, by all of us, to warm from the inside. 

We live like its winter. 

We eat like its winter too. We don't eat fresh tomatoes, zucchini, corn or stone fruits despite the fact that we love them. We'll love them even more when summer comes back. We eat seasonal veggies and fruit and preserved versions (tomato chutney gives that red, tomato-y kick to a sandwich!). 

Porridge is a breakfast favourite, and on days like today, I'm inclined to whip up a bowl of this nutritious, delicious cheap and super warming goodness for lunch too. 

We are eating a lot more soups and curries too. Warming and made from seasonal and preserved foods. They go beautifully with fresh bread (which incidentally warms the house while it cooks). 

My chooks are on their winter holidays, so eggs are off the menu. We still buy the odd dozen free range eggs (preferably local), but I only use them for baking, and choose egg-lite recipes. 

From the garden we're harvesting lettuce, beets, carrots, delicious celery, brocollini and herbs, with wombok, pak choi and kale not far away. These are the basis of most of our meals. We're also harvesting lemons, lots of juicy lemons. 

Tonight, I made a delicious, season friendly, eggless lemon-yoghurt syrup cake.  It was very very easy - kid friendly in fact.  We served it warm with a drizzle of cream and it made a fabulous dessert for us and my brother - very moist and with that fabulous tang that only lemons can give. Yum!

Eggless Lemon-Yoghurt syrup cake. 

(adapted from this recipe)

• 220g plain flour
• 200g sugar
• 3 tsp baking powder
• Juice and zest of 2 medium (juicy) lemons
• 250 ml natural yoghurt (homemade preferably - my 'recipe' is in this post)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil of your choice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Juice of a third lemon (for syrup)
• 3 tablespoons of sugar (for the syrup)

 

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree C and grease and flour a pan (I used a 20cm round tin)
2. In a medium-size bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt. 
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the yoghurt and sugar well, till sugar dissolves completely. Then add the zest and juice of lemons, whisk till mixed well. This forms the wet ingredients.
4. Mix your two bowlful a together until we'll combined. 
5. Finally, fold in the oil till it is completely incorporated.
6. Bake at 180 (or 160 if your oven is too hot like mine). degrees for 50 minutes or do until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Meanwhile, make a syrup using the juice of another lemon and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Mix together in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. 
8. When the cake comes out of the oven, leave it in the pan and stab it numerous times with a skewer. Then slowly pour over the syrup, allowing it to soak into the cake. 
9. Let the cake sit for at least ten minutes to soak up the syrup and then serve. 

I wish I could tell you what it tastes like cold, but it was all scoffled up warm for dessert... I guess I'll have to make another while the family isn't home. 

Lunching with ladies

Six ladies, three babies.

A table set with the good china and linen. 

A little vase of violets and scented candles burning. 

Delicious homemade rolls, wraps, savoury pastries, cheese, slices, cakes. 

Pots of tea and chai. 

Rain on the roof, steamy windows from chatting women. 

Recipes and parenting tips exchanged. 

New friendships formed, old ones strengthened. 

It was ladies lunch at my place. A beautiful way to spend the afternoon with some of my beautiful friends. 

Getting to know Jorgie

Over the weekend, we took a trip to visit our goat. Jorgie is still living on the farm with the other goats as we are going away for a couple of weeks soon and don't want to leave her in someone else's care so soon after getting her. We're also still waiting to confirm that she is pregnant before we take her away from her boyfriend.



Here comes Jorgie!

 It was lovely to spend some time with her though. The boys love her!  Stu aptly described her personality as cat-like. She comes straight to us when you go to the paddock, has a pat and a cuddle with everyone, and then, when she's had enough, she wanders off, tail in air. If you call her back, she raises an ear to tell you she heard you, but keeps walking. If you follow her, she's OK with that, but she won't let you just catch her, much to the children's frustration. 



"I've had enough now"

She has a beautiful cashmere through her goat at the moment and feels like a soft minke blanket, only better.  

Kisses through the fence

Oscar is the buck that she's in with at the moment. He's super friendly, and had a lovely time rubbing his bucky smell onto all of us. 

Oscar the buck

We visited some of the other goats too. Itty Bitty and Shadow are more like dogs than cats - you can't get rid of them!  This pleased the boys, but I'm quite pleased that we're getting a more independent goat. In the paddock with Itty and Shadow are a range of other ladies. Young ones and a few retired girls. Mini goats can live to around 20 years, but the breeders we're buying from, stop breeding their girls at about 10-13.  There are also a small group of adorable alpacas. Very cute!

Goats and alpacas galore!

The kids on the farm amused us with their antics. An 11 month old kid sprinted sideways across a paddock towards us and  then leaped around madly which was very funny. Our boys were quite disturbed by the feeding methods of a pair of six week old buckling kids who were butting their mum very hard - I explained to them that having boy twins is the hardest thing in the world for a mum ;)

Goodbye for now Jorgie.

All in all a fun and informative visit. Can't wait to have our own goats here!