Indonesia

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Indonesia

We had fell asleep on the plane and woke up just as it touched the ground. I looked at the clock and saw that it was about 3:50 a.m., the time we were scheduled to arrive at the Ngurah Rai International Airport. We groggily walked down the steps of the jet and picked up our luggage. As we did in Libya, we went to the ATM and exchanged $200 for 2,528,978.94 rupiah. After doing so, we walked out of the airport and went to the first cab we saw. I asked the driver how much it would be to take us to Denpasar and he told us it would be 75,000 rupiah. It sounded fair enough, so we got in the cab. It took us about 20 minutes to arrive at Bali Ra Airport Hotel. Once we got there, we paid the cab driver 126,399.90 rupiah for his kindness, then we walked up to the front desk of the hotel with our luggage in hand and requested three rooms to sleep rest in before beginning our adventure in Denpasar, Indonesia. The hotel clerk told us that it would be 379,346.84 rupiah per person. It wasn't a bad price, so we paid and got the key to our rooms. Thankfully, all of our rooms were only on the second floor and they were all right next to eachother. It was already about 4:30 a.m., so we said goodnight to each other before entering our rooms and going to sleep for a few more hours.

At about 8 a.m., we were awakened by room service to get breakfast in bed. I was ecstatic. They served bubur ayam, a warm rice porridge topped with dressings of soy sauce, fried shallots, shredded chicken, peanuts and crackers, along with a cup of kopi tubruk, which is prepared by pouring steaming hot water over ground coffee beans and mixing it with a lot of sugar. I had never tasted anything like it, and the taste was so unique that I couldn’t help but devour it all. The tea was a real kicker and gave me the energy I would need to power through the day ahead of us. After I finished eating, I met up with Jasmine and Karen in the lobby to discuss our plans. It was about 1 p.m., so we had a good five hours to explore. Since we had never been there before, we did not know where to begin. The people around us spoke many different languages, and it amazed us how it differed from Libya. While Libya was more of a monolingual state (country in which one language is mostly spoken), Indonesia appeared to be more of a multilingual state (country in which more than one language is spoken). A young Indonesian boy came to us, bashfully introduced himself as Satriyo, and asked us if we would be going to see the ceremonies later on. I looked at him curiously and asked what would take place in this ceremony. Satriyo informed us that there would be the performance of the Pendet dance (also known as the welcoming dance), which is performed by 4-5 young girls in temple yards. Pendet dancers bring flowers in small Bokor, silver bowls for keeping flowers in a ceremony, and spread the flowers around the temple. This dance is a symbol of welcoming God. The second dance is called the Kecak dance, which is performed by a group of male dancers. Kecak dancers sit on the ground surrounding a big torch while singing. They sing as though Balinese instrument sounds, but are not accompanied by any music instruments. The movements only use the hands and head. They perform classical stories such as Ramayana and Mahabratha. It sounded like fun, so we agreed to go if he’d take us to it. He smiled excitedly and took motioned for us to follow him. I asked him where he was taking us, and he told us we would need to get a bokor, some flowers, and a kebaya, which is a fit embroidered blouse worn with a batik sarong that is usually dyed with flower motifs and in bright colours. So he led us to a little shop nearby and helped us pick out some Moon Orchids, Melati, and Rafflesia flowers, which are the national flowers of Indonesia.He also picked out distinct Kebayas for each of us. Karen’s was bright pink with yellow flowers, Jasmine's was purple with pink flowers, and mine was turquoise with white flowers. We brought our selections up to the register and paid 126,399.90 rupiah per dress and 252,799.79 rupiah for the flowers all together. Satisfied with our purchases, Satriyo told us to to go back and change, put our hair into a bun, and meet him there at 2 p.m. We thanked him and walked back to the hotel to put on our kebayas and fix our hair before the ceremony.




We met up at the place Satriyo told us to go to and he told us he would be taking us to the local temple yard to watch the dances. We walked alongside him as he asked us questions about the American culture and our reason for traveling. Jasmine proudly explained that it was our birthday gift to her and that we only had a few more hours before we had to head out. He nodded in understanding and quickened his pace, motioning for us to do the same. We looked around and took our environmental perception (how a person perceives their environment through sounds, smells, and sights) into account. It smelled wonderful and the women around us had even more extravagant kebayas than we did as we neared the temple yard. After about an hour, we reached our destination. Good timing, too, because the dances began at 3. Satriyo picked a spot for us to sit right up front so we could see the dancers up close for the Pendet dance. Sure enough, five young girls in fluorescent kebayas stood in front of us and waited for the music to begin before beginning their dance. Once the music played, the dancers moved in perfect synchrony with the rhythm of the song. Jasmine, Karen, and I couldn't believe that children so young could posses the talent to dance so beautifully. It was quite the sight. Suddenly, one of the youngest dancers danced over to Jasmine and pulled her up. We laughed at Jasmine's surprised expression and encouraged her to dance. Satriyo turned to us and jokingly told us to join her. I shrugged and got up to dance with them. Karen followed my lead and in no time, we were clumsily dancing along to the music as the crowd cheered, throwing our flowers as we moved. Its like they knew we were coming that day. Finally the music came to and end and the young dancers hugged us as we complimented them on their kebayas and dance skills. They sat down next to us and hushed us as some men gathered around in a circle in front of us, placing a torch in the center. The crowd went silent as the men silently spoke to each other. Then suddenly, they began to sing out, imitating the sounds of various interments, just as Satriyo told us they would. I was mesmerized by how well they worked together to create those sounds. It was unlike anything I'd ever heard. The crowd began to clap along in a steady beat and move their heads to the music. Jasmine, Karen, Satriyo, and I followed their lead and did the same. It was so easy to get lost in the music, and we did until we realized it was already 4:30. I nudged Santriyo and informed him that it was time for us to go. He nodded and said Semoga Tuhan memberkatimu, meaning "May God Bless You". We thanked him and made our way back to the hotel, discussing our amazement to what we just took part in. When we reached the hotel, we changed into our normal clothes, let our hair down, and retrieved our luggage. I called a cab and we went outside to wait for him. He arrived at 5:30 p.m. and we loaded our bags into the trunk, asking if he could take us back to the Ngurah Rai International Airport. He agreed and we set out. After about 20 minutes, we arrived at our destination. We took out our luggage, paid him 126,399.90 rupiah, and thanked him. Then we headed towards our jet to head out to our next country, pausing to take in the Indonesian scenery before entering.

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Photos

Denpasar, Indonesia
This map show the part of the Indonesia in Bali we visited.

Bubur Ayam
This is one of the breakfast dishes that is known in Indonesia.

Kebayas
Traditional dresses women wear in Indonesia.

Pendet dancers
These are the young girls that dance the Pendet.

Moon Orchid
This is one of Indonesia's national flowers that could be thrown in the Pendet dance.

Kecak dancers
This one of the the dances males are the center of in Indonesia.