Singaraja

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Having exhausted every potential site of interest in Lovina Karen and I headed east by Bemo to the town of Singaraja about five klicks down the coast. Singaraja is the second largest city in Bali with a population of 100,000. The majority of Balinese live in the countryside tilling the soil and producing crops of rice, tobacco, coconut and corn among many others. Singaraja was established as the Dutch capital of Bali in the 19th century. Apparently the Balinese put up quite a fight when the Dutch decided to move in but after discovering bullet holes in a few thousand of its citizens Bali quickly gave in to the wooden shoe crowd.

Singaraja has a fairly large regional market. It is well organized by Asian standards and we were pleasantly surprised to see that the meat sellers were planted in a different part of town. You have to understand that a butcher in these parts butchers. In the markets of Thailand the air is full of the squeals and clucks of animals going to their demise on the whim of a cook planning her menu. The Singaraja market offers a plethora of fruits, vegetables and spices. Many of the fruits you would recognize though they appear to be smaller in size and blemished when compared to their American cousins. The vendors are friendly and always ready to explain what it is that you are looking at or to give you a sample. I had never before seen such a wide selection of different types of rice and beans which were displayed in huge conical heaps. There are aisles of goods made up of household items. Brooms of coconut fiber, bamboo tongs and ladles hand made from cast-off tin cans. If you like a quick bite there are dozens of food vendors offering sliced fruits and Balinese Satays. Here instead of grilling pieces of meat on a bamboo skewer the Balinese make a paste of meat, coconut and spices which is pressed onto the equivalent of a bamboo tongue depressor, grilled and served. Delicious.

There is a chain of department stores here called ‘Hardy’s’ Sorry, no burgers. The store is four levels high with the first made up of groceries and dry goods. The second consists of men’s’ and women’s’ clothing with a special section for Muslim wear. A selection of veils that you wouldn’t believe. The third offers Children’s’ clothing, toys and educational items. Perusing a map of the United States they had for sale I was amazed to discover that there is a large island about 50 miles west of Sarasota. I plan to stake my claim as soon as I return home. The fourth floor is taken up by a video game arcade and a food court where a chicken dinner with all the trimmings can be had for less than $2 US.

Singaraja is the home to two Indonesian Universities. The students here are as vociferous as ours were back in the 60’s. When the 2000 Indonesian presidential elections didn’t go quite the way they had planned they put Singaraja to the torch. In 1965 the new government decreed that atheism (Communism) was a crime against the State. It is estimated that 50,000 to 100,000 Balinese atheists were murdered with an equal number dying on the neighboring island of Lombok. These folks do get fired up from time to time.

After the Japanese forced the Dutch occupiers off of the Island in 1941 the Japanese were looked upon as liberators. The Balinese quickly changed their opinion after the forced labor camps were established. When the Japanese left in 1945 the Dutch quickly returned to reestablish their claim. It was not until 1949 and another spate of killings that Bali was declared free. Such are the origins of Paradise.

After two weeks Karen and I are starting to feel like permanent residents in Lovina. Actually we’re starting to feel like the only foreign residents in our neighborhood. In the past ten days we have had a total of three other guests in the hotel. They showed up together late one night and left early the next morning. We have a hotel staff of twelve to care for us, which is good. On the down side we are the only potential targets that the beach vendors (touts) have to pitch to. Balinese touts can be men or women. They all specialize in certain services or items. There’s the lady in the white baseball cap selling massages. A man with the fanny pack selling necklaces which look like street debris from a New Orleans Mardis Gras, A crone peddling jewelry from a hardwood case and a multitude of tour salesmen. Everybody in Bali is an official tour guide selling day packages to anywhere you may or may not want to go. And if you don’t want to go anywhere, well how about a trip to your inner-self with a quantity of Marijuana. In order to start the pitch they always begin with an observation. “Oh, you are reading!” Oh, you are eating!” Oh, you are swimming!” “Oh, you are sleeping!” God knows what happens if you are foolish enough to use a public restroom. Niceties aside the pitch begins:

“You have plan today”
No
“You want see dolphins?”
No
“You want go fishing”
No
“You want massage”
No
“You want go snorkeling?”
No
“You want good smoke?”

You must always respond with a no. Politely saying “not now”, or “maybe later” leads to pestering not experienced since you were eight years old and were the only one with candy among a group of famished playmates. I did it to myself.

The second day here I asked a man walking along the beach in front of my hotel if I could take a picture of his too cute son. After having done so he launched into a long pitch for his restaurant called ‘Rasta’ just down the beach. I smiled and said that ‘maybe’ I would stop by during my stay for a meal. He smiled and left. Fifteen minutes later as I was starting to eat my dinner he reappeared with his son and his wife. He wanted to know what time to expect me at his restaurant since his wife was the cook and she wanted to make sure that they were ready for me. Knowing that I was stuck but good I told him to expect me at 11 AM the next day for lunch.

So the next day finds me at ‘Rasta’. Huge picture of Bob Marley, picnic tables, 200 empty liquor bottle behind the 3 foot long bar, kitchen smaller than a half bath and my host sitting in the corner playing a guitar missing three strings. From the back room comes my ‘waiter’. Eyes so bleary that at first I thought he had cataracts. He takes my order, leaves and comes back 30 seconds later to talk. Asks me where I’m from. I tell him America and he thinks I’m from California. My experience has been that the only thing that the Balinese know about the States is California. The only city they know is San Diego. I used to try to explain what Florida is, where it is located and what I do there but it never works so now I just tell everybody that I’m Mike from San Diego, California. Now my waiter gets into the meat of the matter. He’s a student but was forced to leave school early to support his family and if only he could find a financial sponsor he could go back to school and become a great man. When that doesn’t work he asks me if I’ve ever considered buying a house in Bali. When that doesn’t work he asks me if I’ve ever tried the great smoke they have in Bali. From there he starts to tell me about his American girlfriend who lives in, you got it, San Diego. Her name is W Whale. I tell him that that is one strange name for an American babe. He admits that he might be wrong about the pronunciation but, hold on a minute, he has a card with her name on it. From his scuffed wallet he plucks an American Express credit card bearing the name W. Whaley. I tell him that he is one lucky guy to have a girl so enamored of him that she would give him her credit card. Finally the wheels start turning in his cobwebbed brain. He tells me that I came too early for lunch, the cook hasn’t come in yet and I should come back later. He never bothered me again. The bottom line is always say no. And by the way if anybody named Whaley is looking for his or her missing AMEX card it’s at the ‘Rasta’ restaurant in Lovina.

Karen and I are near the end of our stay here in Lovina. The power went off for a couple of hours last night, which was like totally the most exciting thing to happen since we’ve been here. Luckily our DVD player’s battery was charged so we watched a movie till the lights came on. When the loss of electricity becomes a remarkable event then it surely is time to move on. We head to Ubud in two days. Ubud is the artsy community nestled in the mountains. Lots of galleries, health food restaurants and coffee bars. I hear it’s just like San Diego.

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Photos

Head Gear
Hardy's is the Bali version of Wal-Mart. Parts of the store are dedicated to their Muslim clientel.

Upscale Shopping
The most modern store we've found in Indonesia and also the highest priced.

Bali's KFC
The chicken here makes you appreciate Perdues' affinity for hormones and forced feedings.

The Produce Aisle
Smaller in size and a bit bruised but loaded with flavor.

The Grains
Karen and Sandy peruse the endless varieties of beans and spices.

Morning in Bali
There are rice paddies everywhere and the farmers start work in the early morning darkness to be finished before the shadows disappear.

Sunrise Lovina
Happened to glance outside and caught this beauty. Two minutes later it was gone.

Market Shop
The perimeter of the outdoor market is lined with shops like this one selling durable goods.

Comments

[Linda]

Great review I'm here. Ow !
Great review of Lovina, I've been here twice ow in the past few years , it's like the Kuta of 30 years ago. Everyone struggling to make a living from the Rich tourists.. little do they k iwnthatbif we were rich we wouldn't be staying in a run down hotel on the beach front of Lovina beach we'd be holed up in a 5 star In Nusa día or Elsewhere! Loved your blog , made me smile as I was reading it .

[Mike and Karen]

Your Comment
Thanks for the kudos. It's nice to know that people are still reading the stuff. Enjoy your visit.