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Published: February 15th 2013
Daily offerings
These are made daily to honor good spirits and placate evil spiritsMy flight was four hours from Hong Kong on Cathy Pacific's 777. I am always amazed, wherever I go in Asia, the planes are filled to capacity! After buying my visa on arriival (VOA) for $25. at the airport, I went through immigration, which is always jammed even at 2AM, as was the case when I arrived in Hong Kong the night before. The airport is small and already I'm liking Bali!
I am picked up by a driver from Rumah Rodda Homestay in Ubud. The traffic is heavy in Densapar, near the airport, many motor bikes crowding the road along with busses & cars. As we get furthur out of town, the traffic thins out, the air cools and we travel about one hour to Ubud. Ubud comes from 'Ubad' ancient Balinese for medicine and in ancient times, the town was a center for natural medicine and healing. Rumah Rodda is on a very charming street, with many Homestays, shops and restaurants........it is very quiet, especially at night. Upon arriving, the Rodda family greated me.The people are very gentle, warm and friendly. Ubud is at a higher elevation, with many rice fields, and much cooler than other areas of
Bali.
A few words about Rumah Rodda! It is very charming, old polynesian architure, with swimming pool, restaurant, 3 story buillding with 3 rooms on each floor. Each room is quite large, all tile flooring, with large, modern bathroom. I have a 4 poster, queen size bed, with netting. I sleep very well at night, it is quiet. Each room also has it's own veranda and WiFi. There is a large family temple in the middle of the complex.The Temple is always facing East. Each morning, I'm served a delicious breakfast, part of the room. My favoriite are the green, banana pancakes which look like our crepes, they are very thin, with bananas inside and a lovely syrup made from palm sugar, poured along with a bowl of tropical fruit, mango, papaya. The green comes from pounding palm leaves, making a paste and adding that to flour. The staff consists of young people who are cheerful & willing to help you. They work 7 days a week, with one afternoon off. The rooms they clean are amazing. They get down on their knees to clean the tiles........are always smiling & grateful for the job.
The scenery is breathtaking
with lush rice fields cascading down hillsides, dormant and extinct volcanos and a spectacular coastline.....Bali is considered one of the most beautiful places in the world. Bali is one of Indonesia's 17,000 islands. It is located in the tropics, just south of the equator. The beaches are very lovely, white sand & palm trees. The architicture came from the Hindu's and Polynesia,
The Balinese seek harmony in all aspects of life. Balance between good and bad, life and after life, with humans and nature. It's what life is about, I'm told. Darta Rodda visitis me daily over breakfast to tell me more about the culture. Today he told me that up until 1970, everyone wore only sarongs, no shirt covering up the upper body. He said all the woman were beautiful! The government made a rule at that time, that everyone had to be covered from the waist up.......
Over 3,000,000 live on Bali. They are Hindu, originating from Sumatra, India, when Islam came to Java and pushed Hindu's eastward. Their customs are different from traditional Hinduism of India. They came to Bali in the 11th century, around 500 A.D.
The rice fields are on volcanic soil,
Cascading, Terraced rice fields.
Notice new seddlings planted in flooded field perfect for growing rice, they are terraced and farmed the same way over 2,000 years. First the soil is tilled, then flooded. Then previously planted plants are transplanted, one by one, into the moist soil. They yield 2-4 crops a year, there is no need to rotate the crops as the water provides all nutrients. Balinese also plow last crop into the soil which puts nutrients back into the soil. After harvest, the rice is dried which makes it easier to pound for eating. Rice is a staple and eaten every day; is also used for ceremonies. They eat what they harvest, there is not enough left over to sell. The rice farmer makes very little money & often works another job to get money for clothes and other items. The young people today don't want to be rice farmers, they leave to work in the hotels and tourist industry. Bali runs on tourism.
Each day, offerings are made and placed in front of businesses, homes, and shops. Woman are seen making these offerings daily and they walk around the streets placing them near doorways to honor good spirits and placate evil spirits. The offerings are made of rice
Planting rice seedlings, one by one
After the rice is planted, one month later it is ready to be re-planted, a tedious job. One by one, each plant is planted in moist soil, notice the field is flooded to prepare it for the seedlings and flowers, it is hoped that good Karma will come to them. It is a form of worship.
There are many rituals, here are but a few: creamations, baby ceremonies, weddings, puberty rites, temple festivals and on and one! They believe in reincarnation. Babies are from ancestors. Creamation costs are very high, sometimes they don't have enough money, so they bury the corpse till they have money. The corpse is dug up and the ceremony is performed, it is one of the most sacred duties for each Balinese. The corpse is carried through the streets on a platform,and twirled around so deceased will have smooth passage into next world. Then they burn the corpse to liberate the soul so it can enter a higher world and reincarnate into a higher form. It is a joyfull time. Newborns are believed to be reincarnated from an ancestor. A baby's foot can't touch the ground for 3 mos. Balinese year consists of 210 days.
We stopped off at a school, Bentuyung School, and the classes alternate arriving to school an hour early to clean the school. They are on their hands & knees cleaning the tiles while the other one sweeps.
No janitor is needed! They also participate in sports before classes begin.
In 1980 the government decided to create paved roads between the villages to promote the economy. This replaced the dirt paths. Now the villages could begin to trade and the economy improved greatly.
Indonesia was given independence from the Dutch in 1945. 29% of population on Bali are X Pats. The X Pats are building very large homes here in Bali. They also help improve the economy by hiring and buy for their homes.
In 1972 the Indonesian Government put family planning into law. Free contraception became available in the form of pill or injection. The government rewards those families with two children with free hospital and schooling. If a third child is born, they have to pay for schooling and hospitals. If a girl gets pregnant, she has to get married to either the boy or find another boy to marry her.
During WWII, between 1943-45, the Japanese invaded and raped the women, took all the food and left people starving. Many lost their homes as they had to re-mortgage them to get money for food. Many escaped to living in caves as
Rumah Rodda swimming pool
The temperature is around 84, just right! they lost their homes. Inflation was terrible due to large amount of money Japanese brought into the country.
There are 20,000 Temples in Bali. The 'Tirta Empul' or 'Temple of Holy Water' has water which comes from the bowels of the earth and is very pure and holy water. People come from all over for this holy water. My guide, Darta, owner of Rumah Rodda, sprinkled me with this holy water. A woman I had breakfast with at the homestay told me she submerses herself in the water & also drinks it, she has done this several times. It is said that a photographer took a photo of the water and it had a special light around it.
The Monkey Forest is on the 'to do list'! The monkeys, some with young and one with twins, were abundant! The forest is quite lovely and the sunlight dancing through the vegetation is very beautiful. One monkey jumped on my back & startled me. I'm told some get quite 'naughty'! they like to go into open backpacks or purses & look for food to eat.
Gigit Waterfalls are in North Bali about 1 1/2 hrs from Ubud. It is
Gigit Waterfall
Located in north Bali, many volcanoes, high elevation a long, rather steep walk to the falls, beautiful when you get there. Lake Tamberan is south of the falls and Pura Ulun Danu temple, the 'floating temple' is located on the lake. The elevation is so high, that we were in the clouds and it started to rain while there. The northern part of Bali was quite ruggard and was a bit like Katmandu in places.
Today is another '10' and it is with saddness that I must depart this magical/mystical island..........I hope to return next year and also spend time on Penida Island, off the coast of Bali. I have an opportunity to volunteer and help teach young children. Always good to give back to humanity. (Again, please scroll down, through advertisements, to see more photos, thanks)
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Roberta
non-member comment
Thanks so much for sharing all of this. I have learned so much from you travel blogs. Bali looks like a place I would love to visit. Have a wonderful time with the rest of your trip. Your missing the worse part of our winter and I am wishing I was there with you. Safe trip.