Day 12-13 Bug Bug Village – Klung Klung – Sanur – Sammie and Susies
Breakfast was at Kubu Bali café overlooking the pool, which was a pretty good way to start ones day. As you sat there you could see the cows grazing above the hotel grounds (its fairly steep terrain there, and apparently one of the houseboys was saying one day a cow dropped dead and rolled down the hill into a bungalow! I believe it too). I was flicking through my notes from Filos web site and realized that I hadn't seen anywhere near as much as I would have liked, so Ill just have to come back.
At 9 am, Nyoman picked me up from the hotel and took me to Bug Bug Village (they pronounced it Boog Boog) where we met Ketut all dressed up in his temple finery. I quickly put on my sarong, as this was one of those times it was required. I was able to meet his wife and mother and children although we managed to lose them in the large crowd before I was able to take a photo of them all. I estimated that there were were several thousand people here this day, with a smattering of tourists here as well. Ketut explained that these ceremonies would go on all day but we could leave after the first Kris dance.
Along the road way (closed to traffic for the ceremonies) there were food vendors and stalls selling toys as well as gambling games for the kids! (Dice and squares involved).
As we got closer to the temple, you could see the women and families walking up with their temple offerings, brightly coloured baskets with fruit, flowers, and food balanced on their heads. Ketut explained that these are blessed by the priests, and then taken home later for eating.
The first dance we saw was that involving young 'virgin' girls (unfortunately I didn't catch the name of it). Beautiful gold hairpieces, with multi coloured pieces of cloth hanging down from their waists, over their sarongs/ skirts, they were very striking. There were about 25 young ladies all up. They stood in four rows, linked by a white sash held by each girl doing the same simple dance. Once they had completed one round, the girl at the front would move to the back and they'd repeat the dance sequence again, until all of the girls had performed at the front.
The crowd by this stage has swelled, as the Kris dance was about to start. I had seen elements of the Kris dance with the Barong dance before in Ubud, but this was quite different. The gamelan band struck up their wonderful percussion based music and the Kris dance started.
Ketut said that the men undergo training, to do the Kris dance properly and that the first year that they perform it they do so without the Kris or knife (because its dangerous). The men that perform the dance are in a highly hypnotic trance, and are believed to be possessed by the gods. The self-stabbing is supposed to demonstrate the power of the gods. From this group the priests in the village will select a few men to undergo training to become priests. However, there were also women dancing in a trance here this day, but they are not allowed to do so with the Kris. I couldn't get a clear picture of how the women get to be involved. The trance is also induced spiritually, without taking anything (mushrooms or drugs)
The priests and others monitor the dancers and ensure they do not harm themselves or others and the priests would sprinkle them with holy water at the end of their trance to bring them around (they appeared quite exhausted and often had to be carried away). There seemed to be quite a range in ages- there were guys who looked to be in their twenties up to others that looked as though they may be in their fifties.
It was pretty amazing to watch- as the men danced around and then 'stabbed' themselves the crowd would all gasp, and duck out of the way if the dancer danced too close to them. You really could see the skin being pushed and getting indented under the weight of the blade, so it looked pretty real to me! There was one incident where a man did stab himself in the chest and it was bleeding quite heavily, which Ketut said was very unusual and was definitely not good. The crowd was very unhappy and the priests apparently went and blessed him thoroughly with water and then sacrificed a chicken to cleanse the bad spirits.
This went on for about an hour, with each man doing his dance up to the temple and back, often numerous times before finally ceasing and being blessed with water by the priests.
This would be repeated several times during the day, along with other celebrations but I had to move on. I thanked Ketut for his time and for showing me this aspect of village celebrations (in hindsight, wished Id caught the name of this so I may have been able to research it more).
Nyoman was waiting for me and we were off to our next stop Klung Klung.
Along the way you pass numerous villages and beaches (although Id stopped along these on past trips). If you haven't been along here make sure you stop and look at the numerous salt villages along Kurasamba area, where salt is still being made by labour intensive traditional methods. Further along you will find the Goa Lawah temple (Bat Cave) is one of Bali's oldest temples and is very popular (this day there were about 100 cars parked there with traffic police out directing traffic, and there with many Balinese dressed in their best finery going over to the temple for a ceremony. On my last trip I was fortunate enough to see an albino bat amongst the hundreds of other bats that live in the cave behind the main temple (my workmate who is a wildlife carer with a major interest in bats says she has never seen one in all her years of looking after baby and injured bats).
Klung Klung is one of the former seat of Javanese Hindu kingdom and an ancient royal city founded back in 18th century. Kherta Ghosa law courts were based here, and the tiered art works on the roof of this building depict the punishments awaiting criminals and the rewards for the honest and innocent in painted in the wayang style. You can also see a floating pavilion, lotus ponds and gardens within the walled in complex. There is also a very interesting museum tucked away in a corner with numerous pictures and letters, art works and Balinese artifacts. The museum is show casing Balinese art and culture. It was about 5,000R entry fee and a guide took you around for about 15 minutes (8,000R).
Klung Klung markets are literally over the road from here, and are worth a look. There were numerous stalls selling temple offerings and temple umbrellas - brightly coloured baskets, plates, ornaments, ribbons, and umbrellas. It was probably just as well that airlines have limits on baggage as I love the temple umbrellas (mental note to be really nice to Kay next trip when they have another container to fill with goods!)
There were the usual clothes, sarongs, and household items but also a lot of places selling materials and the women's traditional ceremonial clothing (the lace tops and embroidered lace for making of tops). The materials were available by the metre, which would have been really useful for anyone who was looking for unusual furnishings for home.
Then it was onto Sanur- there is a new 'highway' linking eastern Bali to Denpasar and areas south, which wasn't here last trip in 2002. Its still only two lanes but is wider and recognizable as a close cousin to western highways as we know them – fairly straight, well made at this point in time! The Balinese still drive along them in their usual style – overtaking at will, so you often see three or four cars abreast in two lanes so it would be interesting to know if they accident rate has increased? Along the coast line you can see the ocean and Nyoman said that these areas are popular from about July onwards the ashes from cremations are brought down to the sea for distribution in the water. I haven't got my Lonely Planet guide with me to look up the names of these areas but if you had a car and time Id be stopping in and looking at them.
We arrived about 2 pm at Swastika Cottages in Sanur. Again, Id booked this accommodation via the Internet after my dad stayed there last year giving it a good report. I have stayed at Gazebo Cottages on previous trips but Swastika was offering a $30 US a night price, which Gazebo couldn't match. After wishing Nyoman well and giving him a good tip (he'd been good value as driver and guide) it was off to my ground floor room (large, clean, spacious with air conditioning). Kay had checked in the day before after seeing David off back to Australia and had a room next to me, although she was out in Seminyak with the cargo guys until 5 pm. I adjourned to the main pool (they have two) and ordered cap cay for lunch with a bintang (17,000R) and relaxed till 4pm. I then wandered down the main street of Sanur and found an internet café, before attending to some retail therapy in one of the stalls up from the hotel – a watch 30,000R and 2 unusual stone/ shell necklaces 10,000R each (fancy that - Id managed to spend 2 weeks in Bali without purchasing a single watch!!!!!)
Kay and I caught up over some duty free as you do (her room had a fridge and TV which mine didn't) before setting off in her hired car for her favourite eatery in Sanur called Café Kesuma ( Kesumasari Street, Semawang Beach which is south Sanur- 0361-281392). This place was a real gem- down a lane way off main road near a central statue in road- nothing fancy about the seats or tables, but right on the beach front (you got that sinking feeling once you sat down as seats etched into the sand) and wonderful view over the water. We ordered the fresh grilled prawns with Balinese sauce, which came with chips, salad and complimentary fresh fruit. Along with orange juice and large arak, my bill was 60,000r. We would return for breakfast during our stay!! My only complaint was it was too far to walk to from Swastika Cottages.
Day 13 – Sanur and Sammie and Susie's
Today after an OK breakfast at Swastika Cottages, I headed out for more shopping. Kay had to return to Seminyak to finalise payment of the container. First I went to Hardy Grisars, which is a multi-leveled shop just down the road from the hotel. I was trying to orientate my brain back to beach prices and start on that list of requests I had tucked away in my pocket.
Bottom floor is mostly groceries, and then you have two floors of handicrafts, silver, wooden items, clothes, shoes, and paintings along with a small food hall and play area for kids. No air conditioning. . It's different from Matahari and Robinsons, in that I got the impression there was different stallholders here, and whilst some appeared to be fixed price you could still offer to barter.
Fans x 4 10,000R each
Doll x 50,000r
Fashion T Shirt x 30,000
Beaded zipped make up bags x 2 (four that fit inside each other) x 35,000R
I looked at silver necklaces and jewelry but decided not to purchase yet. They did have a wide range of items.Other forumites say good prices .
I also wandered up to Gazebo Hotel and found the quilt shop I recalled from last trip was still there. Oh Oh. I ended up purchasing a wonderful hand painted heart QS quilt for my daughter for 500,000R. ($75 AUS) These quilts at this shop are truly amazing, and they have a huge range you can view in their albums and order (takes a week to make up). They are well sewn and quite different from the normal Bali quilt ( flowers, batik, patchwork). They had quilts for dolphin and whale lovers, car enthusiasts, sexy girls and guys, numerous kids' quilts including Harry potter and shrek, as well as unusual range of flowered quilts. Upstairs was one of the guys who does the handpainting, he was working on a shirt as they do a range of clothing in the store as well. There goes my luggage allowance and its only day 13. I think they take MasterCard (although it wasn't working the day I picked up my quilt).
The bakery at the Gazebo Hotel was still offering its usual treats so I made note of that for the future. Back at the hotel pool by lunchtime I ordered their spring rolls for a light lunch with a bintang of course (13,000R), before settling in for the afternoon.
That night the BTF was meeting up at Sammie and Susie's about 5 pm. Again, armed with a printout off BTF I grabbed a taxi and took off about 430pm, which dropped me off at bottom of Melasti Street (30,000R) In previous trips I had never actually wandered down onto the beach before sunset and I was amazed at how many people were down there- both tourists and locals with eskys and hawkers galore! Luckily came to the gate OK heading south, and then spotted the SLSC tower behind a tree and then Sammi and Susie (recognized them from photos posted on web shots). Here we spent a pleasant hour or so in the company of BTF R_and R from texas ( these are consummate bali travelers! Escaping the heat in texas despite the time it takes to travel to bali) ; Frank_from_perth and his wife Wilma; Kazza ( Karen) and her son Mitch; Bali_Rock and Bounty_Babe ( Sharon and her daughter Chloe) and friend Jason. I quickly had the back massage, and pedicure happening almost before I opened that first bintang! The hawker sknow how to swoop too so my advice is don't buy anything here unless you really want to otherwise you may get swamped. We missed a few BTF who didn't get to show, but we had a few laughs and exchanged a few stories before our group headed off ( minus R_and_R and Frank & Wilma) to Indonational for dinner which Sharon had booked for 6.30pm. Milton quickly rearranged a table once we realized our missing BTF were a no show for dinner as well, and we settled in for a great dinner after using the ice cold towels to refresh ourselves. My grilled seafood – calamari, fish and prawns with garlic sauce, plus salad and chips was one of the better meals I had during my 3 week trip.All for 40,000R plus 2 arak and orange juices (50,000R). Everyones meals looked pretty good and the place was absolutely packed. No wonder I had trouble getting in again for dinner as its very popular. It was great to be able to place faces to names, and hear others experiences – Sharon has obviously been to Bali many times now and has quite a few Balinese friends whereas Karen was on her first trip.
By 9pm we said our farewells and I wandered off down melasti street and into legian street shop browsing as this was going to be my haunt for the next week as I moved tomorrow to Camplung Mas just off Melasti Street. Again, the few days here had gone too quickly. I hadn't even been to visit the old Sanur favourites Tootsie and Jenny up in Sindhu Beach markets yet nor had I walked along the beach at sunrise. I decided to do this first thing in the morning before breakfast.
By the time I got to Aromas I stopped for a capucchino ( 13,000R) and then caught a blue taxi back to Sanur. Kay and I arranged for meet up about 930 when we would go back to Café Karasuma for breakfast which would give me time to visit the old Sanur favourites Tootsie and Jenny up in Sindhu Beach markets and also walk along the beach early.