Bali Long Weekend Part 2

Waterblow / Musim Pasifika

The next day Pak Dewa picked us up and then suggested a change in order for the day. We had given him our plans and he used his "local knowledge" to fine tune it for the best experience.

The waterblow was pretty hard to find, but on the plus side, we had a nice long walk on the beach to find it. The first actual sign was a tiny one and we were nearly there already. The sign is that horizontal board nailed to this tree.

We actually depended on Trip Advisor comments in order to locate the waterblow overlooks. Thanks to the people who wrote how to walk there. This statue was mentioned in the helpful directions.

Just a few warnings about viewing the waterblow:

Once at the overlooks area there were two viewpoints. One was blocked but many folks were out there already so we quickly ran out, snapped a couple of photos and then rapidly retreated to the other view point which was not blocked. Way, way off in the distance in this photo is our hotel. It's the orange roofed building in the distance, across the bay.

What an interesting vending machine. Drinks rated from acid to alkaline!

We are fortunate that we are not considered foreign tourists at all museums. Because we live here we get to pay a reduced entry free. You just have to ask and show your VISA. Yay!  At many places, however, we still have to pay the foreign tourist rate. Boo hoo.

The Musim Pasifika is not a very large place but their website says they have over 600 artworks and cultural artifacts. It was very interesting and I wish photography was only allowed everywhere. It was allowed only in two of the galleries. Several galleries covered various European painters who spent time in and painted in these islands.  In another gallery, a 19th century painter named Raden Saleh Sjarif Boestaman (1811-1880) was highlighted.  Of Arab-Javanese descent, he is considered the first modern painter from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). He spent about 20 years away from the islands studying in several European locations.  Some of his paintings were once displayed at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Studying a lion tamer's cats led him to incorporate wild animals in his paintings. That was something new and probably made him famous. While in Europe and after returning to the Dutch East Indies, he painted nobleman portraits. Apparently he made a good living as an artist. Here is the house he built on his return!

Here are a few photos from the "approved for photography" gallery which was labeled "Premiere Art of Vanuatu and Pacific Islands."

Ritual masks from Vanuatu.

From the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea here is some shell and teeth money. (B comment- don't ask where the teeth came from).

Ritual puppets from Vanuatu.

Since we were nearby, we stopped for a look around at a well regarded shopping spot. We didn't stay long. Souvenir shops, restaurants and somewhere further away were high end retail stores. We did get to see one of those places where fish give you a pedicure! yep, you put your feet into a tank with water and fish and they descale your feet, etc. The customers sit out front of the shop so other potential guests can see how it works. It was fun to watch but it must be ticklish.

Here is an interesting photo from along the beach. Photographer's shadow on the lower left.

Bali is famous for kite flying. Here are a couple of guys with a very large kite on a scooter. It's so long the front can be seen in the front passenger window.

 Here is a kite flying team, all in red, coming towards us.

The black specks in the sky are the best I could do in attempting to capture kites in the sky. I needed a better lens ! We saw so many kites in the sky. Fun! Keep in mind these kites are the size of trucks! They are 10-15 m across , fly many hundreds of feet up, and require a team of 15-20 people to manage.

Bali Long Weekend Part 1

Because we'd been to Bali back in 2014, this time we took a different approach. On our earlier visit we contracted with a tour company to provide a guide and driver with a set itinerary designed by the tour company.

This time we contracted directly with a driver (recommended by a friend) and we determined the itinerary. There is a large, newly opened causeway/tollroad and we made good use of it. We crossed it at least 8 times during our short visit.

Our first day started early. We departed the apartment at 4:15 am. I know, you are dragging out the really big violins, feeling so sorry for us having to get up early to fly to Bali. The flight is only 1 hr 45 min or so, but it's a bit of a trek to the airport and we prefer to allow a lot of extra time for flights. Off we went and we arrived at (Bali)Denpasar Airport about 10:15am (just a little late). We found our driver, Pak Dewa, and off we went to the hotel. We were pretty sure our room would not yet be ready so we planned to leave our carry-on bags with the concierge. Our next stop was lunch at a seafood place. The tables were positioned on the beach itself.

The wave action was fabulous! Here are just a few.We were at table 38.

In this one you can see occasionally the waves nearly reach the front tables.

The food was really nice as well! Fresh caught tuna grilled for two! (B note: One placed their order based on size and type of fish or seafood desired. Originally I was going to get tuna and P shrimp but the smallest tuna they had was 1.5 kg so we decided to share. The tuna came with rice, vegetable, and sauces. Yummy and more than enough for two.) 

We were time limited to watch the waves because we had to be in Sanur by 2:00pm. Destination? Sanur Jewelry Studio. We took an afternoon silversmithing class. B quickly came up with an idea (for a pendant for me) but I struggled to find just the right design for a pair of earrings. Design in hand, the class teacher and an assistant helped us to cut, press, file, sand, solder and polish our projects. Several hours later we were finished! Done! Back home I added a little touch or two and findings to the earrings and a chain for the pendant.

By the time the class was over we were pretty tired so we had dinner at the hotel and crashed. This meal was practically on the beach. We had one of the best tables, just at the edge of the restaurant platform. You could step right off onto the sand. We ate here a second time so I could have my chicken dish again. Yum!

A few green things

It has been a relatively quiet time following our rapid fire back to back trips between April and July but there are a few things worthy of mention in this latest set of posts.

First, I must share this cake which was on the cover of a cookbook I saw in a bookshop here. It is far too green in my opinion but is probably a Matcha green tea cake. Green cakes here usually are Matcha flavored/colored. And it is covered with Oreos.

These 2 drinks qualify for green due to green ingredients even though the overall "look" might not be very green. The drink on the right is called a crystal mint. It's just soda water with a little mint syrup and a mint leaf. The drink on the left is called a Moscow Mint Mojito. That has lime, mint syrup, soda water and mint leaves. Both were tasty. The crystal mint spurred me to buy a bunch of mint and make my own syrup so I could put a little into a glass of soda water and create my own homemade crystal mint drinks!You only use a touch of the syrup for a refreshing drink!

Here's a full fledged green drink.  It's a Matcha Green Tea Latte! B thought it was pretty good!

A Little Bit of History

I recently came across a couple of articles about the history of this archipelago. I thought I'd share just a few of the major events of the last 5 centuries.

1. Our city recently celebrated it's 490th anniversary this year- that means the city was founded in 1527!

2. Note, however, that the first reference to any settlement at the mouth of the Ciliwung River ( where the city is located today) dates back to the 12th century- a port for the Hindu kingdom of Pajajaran.

3. Dutch traders were first here in 1596. A couple of years later shipments of spices were sent from the islands back to The Netherlands. Nutmeg, cloves and mace were the most luxurious and expensive spices in Europe and were only available on the Banda Islands.  In 1602 the Dutch East Indies Co (VOC)was formed in Amsterdam. In 1610, permission was given to the Dutch to build a warehouse in the Chinese section of this city. Eight years later the Dutch turned the warehouse into a fort and raised the city and subsequently founded the city of Batavia on the same site. As the spices were transplanted to other locations, reliance on the initial source became less important and the Dutch switched to commodities like sugar and tea.

4, The city wall of Batavia was constructed ( 1635-1645). One wall still exists and is part of the Maritime Museum.

5. Things were pretty good for the Dutch throughout the 17th and 18th centuries but in 1799, the VOC was bankrupt in part due to corruption. The Dutch government bought out remaining VOC shareholders and established a colonial administration in the Dutch East Indies.

6. By the 18th century, living in the city became less desirable and populations moved inland and away from the mouth of the river.

7. In the early 19th century (1811-1816), the Dutch East Indies came under British rule, but later Dutch authority was restored. We drive on the left here due to this brief period of British rule.

8. There are few landmarks still existing today but we've seen some of them including the old Town Hall built between 1707 and 1710. It is now a history museum. Check very early posts for photos of the old town square and some other old buildings.

9. Jump to the 20th century.In 1928 it was declared that the country was one people, one language. It was the first time the concept of a national language was introduced. It was significant because it attempted to unite a diverse group of peoples with over 300 difference languages and dialects.

10. Between 1942 and 1945, the Japanese occupied the Dutch East Indies. During this time the name of the city was changed back to what it is today. As the second world war ended, Indonesia sought independence- August 17, 1945. The Dutch didn't really want to lose the Dutch East Indies, but they ceded independence and Indonesia became a republic.

11. The name "Indonesia" was adopted from a term coined by James Richardson Logan in an 1850 edition of The Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia.

11. We are seeing the start of the decorating leading up to Independence day on August 17. We've seen the first of the red and white bunting! There will be buntings, flags, billboards, banners,flowers, lighted figures and other lighted displays. We will also see a lot of fireworks from the apartment!

Out and About

During Idul Fitri when tens of millions of citizens leave the city we had a few "nice sky" days. Here's one photo. We don't see this very often!

Overpasses.The new circular road interchanges near us have been approved for testing. Next weekend they will have a "soft opening" allowing at least some vehicle traffic. On Independence Day here, August 17, the President will officially open the roads. The whole structure has 2 large circle routes with 4 smaller pre-existing loop routes within it. I can't see the smaller ones from the apartment window. I've noticed various activities on the elevated roadway. I took this photo early in the process, but the number of trucks kept expanding to the right as you look at this shot. Maybe they were putting weight on it as a test? The odd thing was that they didn't have the trucks along the entire elevated section.

Since the "weight" test, we've seen the lighting being worked on. On the undersides of the roadways there are lights that can apparently be controlled by computer to change colors, blink, create a rainbow-- you name it. Maybe the lights are only for the official opening ceremony? I don't think they are necessary and may in fact be an unnecessary distraction for drivers passing under the overpasses. There are a few pole lights to light the roadway itself. At this point we are hoping that the big ceremony on August 17 is on this section as we will have a terrific view. We're hoping for fireworks as well! The other loop is off to the left and we can see part of it as well.

Cool stuff for kids. We saw this cool jungle gym setup for kids while out and about. B pointed out that it would be practically impossible for a child to fall through more than one level of this structure. It looked like great fun for the kids.

There was one lone boy in this side.

Cars.New cars are commonly seen in the malls here. They can have a few or many depending on the mall. They have a staff ready to talk you into a purchase. Recently we arrived at a mall just at the opening time and were able to look at the cars without being stalked by eager salespersons. We even snapped a photo of the sticker price to share. We saw one of these. How about that price?

Interestingly, the sign is in English. The price is labeled "off the road." I'm not at all sure what that means. Suggestions are welcome.

Miscellaneous

This post includes a bunch of comments and photos most of which are totally unrelated to each other. Sorry for the lack of continuity.

Ever had sorghum "popcorn?" I recommend that you try it sometime . A friend gave me a bag of sorghum because she was leaving the country. On the package it suggested turning 1/4 cup of the sorghum into a sort of popcorn. I thought, "Why not try it?" It worked nicely and it tasted exactly like popcorn. The popcorn itself is much smaller than corn popcorn but nice! We'll do it again.

My friend who gave me the sack of sorghum arrived here about the same time we arrived. She introduced me to the crafty group I enjoy so much. I'll miss her. We had a going away luncheon for her recently. Every dish had a handcrafted turnip rooster on it! This one also had sauce leaves on the plate. Fancy!

Two pretty drinks.Neither one of us can remember what the drink on the left was called or what was in it. As for the the one on the right, we remember it had watermelon in it.

B very happy working on a Sudoku or two on a recent flight

Lastly,  I saw this photo of Jupiter (the upper of the two photos below). I recently opened a water gallon and found stuff floating in it (lower photo below). Think the two look similar??? Maybe we didn't land on the moon after all?  Hmmm...