Kuan Yin
Karen Johnson Joined: April 2nd 2009
Logged in: January 26th 2012
Logged in: January 26th 2012
Scroll down to read my previous posts, and check back often for more pictures and stories.
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Travel Blog Posts
Jockeys
I like horse racing. I’m not much of a gambler; I just like to watch the horses run. I can have a good time whether I bet or not, whether I win or not. (But it is more fun when I win.) I’ve seen some fine horses with some outstanding jockeys, but some of my favorite races have been at the Garrison in Barbados. As its name implies, the Garrison is the former home of the British Garrison in Barbados. The Brits are gone – though the Barbados Defence Force maintains its barracks across the street – and now the old parade grounds are given over to horse racing and rugby. And cannon – the Garrison boasts an impressive outdoor museum with the largest collection of 17th century cannon in the world. I’ve written about Boxing ... read more
"Twas the week before Christmas..
‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through the land, Not a tourist was stirring, child, woman, nor man. The beaches were sunny, the water was warm, “But where are the visitors?” locals cried with alarm. “It’s the economy,” they whispered, “and no one has money. Can’t pay the mortgage, can’t go where it’s sunny.” OK, I’m not going to be named Poet Laureate anytime soon, but you get the idea. Barbados is my favorite winter vacation spot, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this empty. The global economic meltdown has, sadly, spread to Barbados as well. A number of decent, mid-range hotels have closed. Some are closed under the mantel of “refurbishment” (In the middle of high season? With no visible workers?), some are actively being demolished, and some are just shuttered and ... read more
Four boys on a bike
Those of you who have read some of my previous entries know that I really enjoy walking around new places, often with no particular destination. Now that I am back in the US, I still have a few more photos that I would like to share, along with some random thoughts about this trip to Bali. • Motor scooters are the prime mode of transportation. And the number of passengers on any give bike is limited only by the driver’s imagination. It was common to see an adult or two on a bike, along with a couple of kids and maybe the family dog. I would occasionally see an adult with an infant clutched to their chest with one hand, steering with the other. And any kid with a scooter is de facto in the transportation ... read more
Super Deal Dua Milyar!
One often overlooked export from the US to the rest of the world is old TV game shows. I have seen the Singaporean version of Deal or No Deal, country-specific versions of The Amazing Race and Idol (which itself is an import to the US from England.) But perhaps my favorite is the Indonesian version of Let’s Make a Deal, complete with a slick TV host, contestants in wacky costumes, and the excitement of finding out what is behind Door Number Three. Interestingly enough, you do not have to speak one word of Indonesian to follow the action, but it is a fun and easy way to learn numbers. After hearing the countdown “Tiga, DUA, SATU! a couple of dozen times during the course of every show, you will forever after know how to count backwards ... read more
Roasting coffee
A number of farms in the Tampaksiring-Kintamani area north of Ubud have realized that there are any number of visitors who have a deep interest in chocolate, coffee, and spices. These farms are open to the public, usually for free, figuring, and rightly so, that you will buy some of their products directly from the farm. My driver took me to Santi Agrowisata on the way back from seeing the holy springs at Tirta Empul, and I’m glad he did. With me, if you say coffee and cocoa in the same sentence, my little ears perk right up. Unlike rice cultivation, which requires dedicated fields, at Santi Agrowisata the plants are intercropped. That means that as you walk the shady paths you will find coffee plants next to vanilla beans around the corner from cocoa plants, ... read more
Spinning thread
Some villages in Indonesia specialize in a form of textile called ikat. Unlike batik, where the patterns are made by waxing and dying sections of cloth, ikat is made by dying threads before they are woven into cloth. Click here to go to the Wikipedia explanations of warp, weft, and double forms of ikat. Very traditional forms of ikat can be traced to specific villages, where a particular patterned sarong might only be used for certain ceremonies. Some very fine examples of ikat might depict a legend or a story, and are used for wall hangings. Threads of Life on Jalan Suweta, has some wonderful examples of high quality ikat, some of which are for sale for high quality prices. However, there are more affordable forms of ikat for sale in Ubud. One particular shop fascinated ... read more
Black Rice
I’m sure that most of the Balinese I encountered thought I was just a little nuts. (OK, maybe they thought I was more than a little nuts.) But I took a whole lot of pictures of rice paddies while I was there. There was just something about the shifting colors and light and shadows that I found really beautiful. Rice is extremely important to the Balinese. In addition to being a food staple, it is central to their culture and their religion. You will see many women, and some men, with grains of rice pressed into their foreheads, or at the base of their throats. One woman explained it to me like this: “The two things most important and most holy to Bali people are water and rice. Without water there is no life. Rice is ... read more
Mouth of the Elephant Cave
I decided it was time to get out of Ubud and see a bit more of the country. I signed up for the archeological tour with Perama, a big tour and transport company in this part of Indonesia, with a strong presence on the web. Unfortunately, Perama needs a minimum number of people to run a tour. With their main offices in Kuta, the magnet for surf-mad Australians, it is no wonder that the archeology tour didn’t take place. However, as so often happens in Bali, the tour expeditor said to me, “Not to worry, madam. My friend here has transport. He is very good driver, he can give you tour.” I had a chat with the driver. Yes, he had a car. (Sometimes “transport” means the back of a motorbike.) Yes, we could stop at ... read more
Pasar Ubud
Several of the restaurants in Ubud offer cooking classes. The weather had been kind of crummy, so I figured what the heck. At least you get to eat everything you cook. There were eleven of us from five different countries who met with Chef Nyoman at the Bumi Bali Restaurant. A genial man, he managed to take us through some of the intricacies of Indonesian cooking without anyone drawing blood. Our first stop was Ubud Pasar, the local market. Ubud Pasar is not for the claustrophobic or easily intimidated. This is a three story building that takes up about half a city block. It is absolutely crammed with tiny stalls selling fruit, meat, fish, laundry detergent, cloth, flowers, spices, oil, jewelry, vegetables, and probably a whole bunch of other stuff. And each of these vendors is ... read more
My new best friend
Yesterday I visited the Elephant Safari Park in Taro, just north of Ubud. Yes, it was a little touristy, and yes, it was a little pricey, but how often does a nice girl (well, OK, a reasonably pleasant girl) from the Midwest get to ride an elephant? There are several elephant parks in Bali. I chose this one because of its strong emphasis on breeding and conservation. It also has an elephant “hospital,” where they manage the animals health concerns, including once performing cataract surgery, and a research area. The park is home to 30 rescued Sumatran elephants; three baby elephants were born in the park in 2009. Another point in its favor is that unlike some other attractions with elephants, the Elephant Safari Park pairs each elephant with its own human, or mahout, defined as ... read more
