It’s the Barong way to do it!

It’s the Barong way to do it

I’m sitting on the balcony just after sunrise. Let me rephrase that … I’m sitting on the balcony beneath grey skies, assuming that the sun must have risen by now ;o)
Beneath me I can hear people busily sweeping up the puddles from the early morning deluge. The Panzer division have already mustered an assault group and are even now securing bases all around the swimming pool and beach, capturing prime positions by laying down an impenetrable barrage of beach towels. Soon we will join battle on another front, fighting for positions in the egg and toast trenches. But we know before we start that we will be defeated … we aren’t equipped with that self-centred single-mindedness which is essential if you want to survive alongside Europeans at Leisure.
Shortly we are to be collected for a downhill bicycle plunge, from Mt Batur to Ubud. So a quick blog is called for in case we lose a limb or two on the descent!.

Yesterday was “interesting” in that it both proved and disproved my theory that you should never go back to a venue you have enjoyed.:

We were picked up by No1 Jack (who had emerged from some bushes and taken us quite by surprise during our long and bloody trek yesterday) and whisked off to see an early performance of the Barong. We were going to the same village where I had first seen it thirty years ago. The temple setting had been quite magical and the crowd of 100 or so were enthralled. I was so looking forward to seeing Jan’s reaction….

We arrived to a chorus of shrill whistles as hordes of traffic cops tried to find space for hundreds of tour cars and a convoy of coaches. Having found a slot we were then relieved of our cash and herded into a large barn where a stage resembling a temple had been built. The performance had already started yet more and more people continued to pour in, scrambling for any seat they could find.

The costumes worn by the players and dancers didn’t seem to be as majestic as those I photographed all those years ago - the heavy gold ornamentation was gone and the sarongs looked quite similar to those on sale in the local markets. Worse still, the whole think seemed to have been debased and turned into a pantomime, although it didn’t have a thigh-slapping principle boy.

Throughout the performance members of the audience would stand up to take photographs or shoot video, entirely without consideration for the masses of equally impatient spectators behind them. It should have annoyed me intensely, but somehow it seemed appropriate.

This was not the Barong I came to see, this was a circus.

From there we travelled on to Tanah Lot:

Last time we had visited in the afternoon and our guide simply left us to find our own way while he relaxed with friends in the car park. At the time we appreciated his consideration in allowing us to enjoy the place alone…. and followed the throngs of visitors down to the island. It was quite impressive and we came away contented … until we got back to UK and realised we had missed seeing an awful lot. Ta a Lot!

So this time No1 Jack accompanied us - up to a point. He would take us to an important viewpoint and then leave us to our own devices. We would then discover him later either chatting up young girls or dozing quietly in a patch of shade.

Because it was morning it was pretty much deserted. (The crowds would appear after lunch.) As a result the hawkers left us alone - in fact we had real trouble on some market stalls where we wanted to make purchases but the stall holders were in deep slumber! The whole scene was clear of tourists cluttering up the view and we spent much, much longer there, sitting in various prime locations absorbing the views and the atmosphere. It was well worth the return visit :o)

We had planned to go on to a beach before taking an evening meal at Jimbaran. But, with both of us raw from sunburn and with open wounds on our feet, this was impractical. So we told Jack that we would like to cut it there. This caused great consternation - I suspect he was looking forward to a healthy commission from Jimbaran - so we eventually conceded that we would go there for lunch.

Now this could well have been a mistake! Jimbaran is all about sunsets, tables on the beach and wandering minstrels serenading you while you gaze lovingly at each other across a flickering candle. Imagine instead pulling up at a deserted restaurant in the middle of a scorching hot afternoon. Imagine sparse tables indoors (too many flies on the beach) facing out through windows onto a deserted beach. There was absolutely no atmosphere at all, nothing to see and the menu seemed starkly uninteresting.

We ordered a vastly overpriced meal and then sat in silence, not wanting to eat but afraid of offending the staff. A couple of guitarists and a singer appeared, against our wishes, and started to approach. “NO! Don’t you dare!!!!”
They fled.

We paid some extortionate price for the meal (way in excess of UK prices) and headed back to the hotel for a relaxing shower before heading for our favourite cocktail bar for sunset happy hour.

The cocktail waiter recognised us immediately and rushed across with a broad welcoming smile. As we settled into our seats the sky turned a magnificent rose colour and a group of instrumentalists turned up and began to sing.

They were utterly brilliant - the guitar player in particular was truly talented and the string bass player had a sweet tenor singing voice. They appeared to be able to play anything at all to request….until someone asked for “Hotel California” by the Eagles.
They pretended to be at a loss for a second, before starting to play an expert rendition of the musical intro, followed by “Welcome to the Hotel Sanur Beach, It’s such a lovely place….”
Brilliant!

Too soon they played their final number. They turned to us and said “Here is Delilah, by Tom Jones. From South Wales”

On balance a simply wonderful day where the lows were mildly amusing and the highs were magical.
Don’t miss tomorrow’s episode: Bike Bali Baik!

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