Taman Nusa and a Dining Experience
Taman Nusa is located in Gianyar-the same area as the Bali Bird Park and the Kemenuh Butterfly Park. If you're skipping around, please see the separate post about the birds and butterflies. We tied all three of these spots together in the same day. There was a 1.5 hour drive to the farthest spot- Taman Nusa- and then we backtracked getting closer to the hotel at each stop.
Taman Nusa is labeled as an Indonesian Cultural Park set in the lush natural beauty of Bali. I think this is code for high heat and humidity. It was really warm! At one point I told B it looked like he had sweat running down his pants. I was also very sweaty after our 2.5 hours here. The site fills over 37 acres and covers homes from all 34 provinces.
At Taman Nusa you can see around 60 authentic buildings showcasing modest village life from all parts of Indonesia. Some are actual buildings each over 100 years old but most are not that old. There were people wearing traditional garb, playing instruments or working on crafts in various areas. I tried my hand at batik tulis for a few seconds. I do think I'd like to try it for real. Melted beeswax is used to draw a design onto the cotton fabric using a special tooled called a canting. Dyes color the fabric. The wax is later removed. The application of wax and dye can be repeated as many as 3 times for super complex designs. Possibly more. I didn't want to work on the artist's fabric very long - I didn't want to ruin it!
Every one of the buildings are built well above the ground to keep inhabitants away from wild animals, flooding, etc. As a result, we had to climb a lot of stairs!
It was interesting to see how different the various regions construct their homes and to learn which other cultures influenced the construction. Early in our visit we picked up a tail. He was a guide of some sort for the place. When he first approached us, we both assumed we'd entered his assigned station and he would stay put but this was not to be. He walked with us for the rest of our visit. I'd put the app for the place on my phone but we really didn't need it because we had our own personal guide.
Papua. The Asmat and the Dani people. The dome house is called Honai and is for men. Two other types are for women and livestock.
Bajawa. East Nusa Tenggara. Similar to the Amarasi. Main professions are farming and weaving as well. Intricately carved exteriors.
Lio , East Nusa Tenggara.We got to see this weaver creating cloth using a device that was basically created from sticks of wood. Amazing! All done by hand. The roof of this one is made of dried grasses. The sides of the home are mostly open to encourage socializing.
A Bali interior- the kitchen.
Probably Maluku Islands.
Mamasa, West Celebes. Home is over 100 yrs old. The number of jaws and horns indicates social status. The more, the higher the social status.
Minihasa, North Celebes, North Sulawesi. Zinc tiles used instead of clay. Locals associate clay over the head as living underground—something that isn't done by the living. The zinc roof is used elsewhere for the same reasons. There are two front staircases. During a marriage proposal ceremony the groom enters on the left. If she agrees, he exits on the right. If she does not agree, he exits on the left.
Tana Toraja, South Celebes. The Bugis people. The area is mountainous. Toraja home is called a Tong Konan. Always built in pairs. The small one symbolizes the husband/father/male and is used as a grainery or for dry storage. The large one symbolizes the wife/mother/female and is used as living space. Similar to Mamasa, buffalo horn adornment symbolizes social status. Customs dictate the the deceased be placed in stone carved burial sites. Wood effigies called tau tau are placed in the cave overlooking the land.
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Kalimantan Selatan ( South Borneo). This traditional house is called Bubungan tinggi and refers to the steep roof. There are several levels to the house and guests enter at the level appropriate to their status.
We saw quite a few old sewing machines. All the same brand- Butterfly, made in China. I doubt any would be operational. It's a pretty harsh climate for metal if not well maintained. This one is solid rust. I have rusty binder clips in my desk.
Pelamban, South Sumatra. Rumah limas is a "pyramid house." This was strongly influenced by Persian and Chinese cultures. Over 100 yrs. old.
Minangkabau, West Sumatra. Rumah Gadang is over 100 yrs. old. The overall shape resembles a water buffalo's horn. The upper room is for girls. Only the wealthy and royals can afford to build this type of home.
Saw several interesting plants too! Kelengkeng and jeruk bali!
At the end of the journey through Indonesia, there is a museum which is filled with textiles, wayang, weaving and embroidery. This is Usus embroidery and is made of satin. It's from Lampung.
Traditional weapons of the Dayak people of Kalimantan (Borneo).
Wayang suket from Central Java. This set of puppets are the characters from "Pandawa Five and Kresna." Pandawa means Princes.
After the museum, it was seriously time for a cold drink at the onsite restaurant.
Bali Dining Not on the Beach
We had lunch one day at a crispy duck place called Warung D'Sawah. It sits in the middle of rice fields. (I had 1/4 crispy duck- Fried) and B had 1/2 bebek betutu (roasted duck). This was also crispy duck but the sides were different. We stopped here after Taman Nusa so we needed to re-hydrate. I'd ordered an iced tea or something but that didn't seem to be enough so I also drank an entire very large kelapa muda (young coconut water). This was au natural, not chilled or anything. I really prefer it as es kelapa muda (iced young coconut water). The lady took a machete and cut the coconut open and stuck in a straw. It was thirst quenching!
One evening our driver must have had plans because he suggested we dine at a seafood and chinese restaurant near our hotel called Bubu. It turns out that the restaurant will shuttle you to and from your meal. It was really pretty. Great atmosphere.
The place looked nothing like this on the outside. I wanted a prawn dish- salt and pepper prawns or something like that. The minimum order was 500 g (1.1 lbs). The prawns came as whole prawns which isn't really a problem when they are just steamed plain, but these were covered with a sauce. Messy! And I couldn't finish them. B helped. He had scallops and it was a fairly small portion. We had just about finished the prawns before his scallops were delivered so it worked out fine. And despite the name, these prawns weren't salty.
