Once again heading off to Bali and have the bags full of bits and pieces to take to friends over there as well as my few standard articles of clothing and girly essentials. I had also picked up a couple of the cheap dvd players on sale from Strathfield. My friend K was also travelling with me and she was armed with her girly stuff plus a few kilos of dog bikkies for our favourite hounds on the beach.
Usual drinks at the airport, an uneventful flight and through to customs. Silly me declares the extra bonus $5 bottle of alcohol so customs officer decides he might like a look through all my baggage - big questions on the dvd players, why have 2, how much are they etc? I say one for me to use and the other one for my friend in Bali, but very cheap only $29 - you can see the price tag on the box - he hauls out the box and there is the price tag saying $49 - doh! I am by now prepared for yet another trip to the ‘office' but my explanations seem to placate him and I am finally waved through. My friend is briefly stopped so the customs officer could just do a quick dip of his arm into her luggage and of course the one thing he comes out with in his hand is the one box us girls don't really want waved around the airport, they both have a good laugh and she and I are finally heading outside.
This trip we have arrived just before Nyepi and my good friend's Mum has asked me to come to the village in East Java once again, and this time K has decided to come along to experience village life as well. Just a quick explanation here, my friend and his family belong to the approximately 3% of Javanese who are Hindu.
We arrived in Bali Thursday lunchtime and caught up with everyone for dinner and then headed off to the village Friday morning - apparently 9am is a good time to be travelling east (who am I to argue with the moons/stars/sun and Hindu logic?) so we took off at the allocated time from Kuta.
So anyway, my friend's Brother in Law has driven the Kijang down from the village the day before (6 hour drive) and the next morning we head off with 7 of us in the car: Brother in Law, Nephew, my friend's brother, me, my friend, my travel buddy K, another friend from the village (M), and apparently another relative wants to be picked up in Negara to go to the village for Nyepi. We get caught up in pre-Nyepi ceremony for about an hour just near Kerabokan and get to see some of the local Banjar security boys directing the traffic. They are a spectacular lot in full black and white Banjar attire and black wrap around sunnies - would definitely not mess with any of them - just wish I was quick enough to get a photo. All is well for the next couple of hours, beautiful scenery, chit chat etc. Next there is a loud bang and clunk and we pull over to find the suspension spring has broken. Two hours later my friend has managed to make temporary repairs and we are off again. Stop near Negara for late lunch and then collect Cousin who has also brought along her daughter - we are now up to 9 in the car and only able to travel at about 40kph due to suspension.
We cross the ferry and are travelling through East Java and it gets dark so on go the lights, next thing the smell of burning and sparks are spotted under the dashboard. Many investigations and attempts to drive on result in the gauge melting in the dashboard. A little further along another loud thump and car swerves off the side of the road with the suspension spring well and truly broken, just past a bridge but on a blind bend where trucks come racing off the bridge - probably worst spot in Java to break down. We all push the car off the side of the road and have to put up warning branches etc to try and slow the traffic down but so many near misses I was having a heart attack. Local family who live in a house on the bend come out and chat and then tell us how often vehicles miss the bend and end up ploughing through the garden. There is a metal barrier erected about a foot outside the bamboo walls of the house, but no way would I ever sleep a wink in that room. Phone calls to a friend from the village and then wait 3/4 hour for him and another friend to arrive in 2 vehicles from near the village.
Anyway 15 hours after setting off from Kuta we arrive near the village, I usually stay in the house in the village but have decided to stay in a hotel close by this trip as the house would be rather crowded with all the other visitors and relatives. Next day we head to village and big hello from everyone - was good to see them all again (and the new baby who has arrived since my last visit). We did have a wonderful time in the village, loads of people coming to say hello, big feasts and celebrations at night and my friend's Mum cooking flat out the whole time.
My friend's younger brother is rather outgoing and has promised K he will take her water buffalo riding so next day there he is sitting on top a water buffalo high up in the rice fields, yelling to K to come. I stand one side of the stream and yell and wave directions for her to follow along the tiny slippery ledges between the rice fields till she finally makes it to the top. She is used to horse riding and said do you just steer them with your knees like you would a horse? Ummm, no you just get on and go wherever the buffalo wants to take you, whether it is in a straight line or up and down through the rice fields. Well no way could she get on the other water buffalo as they are so wide, so younger brother gets on and hauls her up and then goes back to his buffalo and they wander through the rice fields, K nearly came a cropper when her buffalo decided to climb down to lower rice field but all went ok and she had fun. Once again a great photo opportunity but too far away from my nice safe viewing platform on the back verandah. She got a nice graze on her leg climbing off the buffalo and back in Kuta people would ask what happened, ‘Oh I got that riding a water buffalo' - she got some very interesting looks at that.
Had a party with the local village boys and men in one of those Bales on the side of the dirt track. This little platform with roof and electric light had been built by the locals many years before. It is the local boys hangout and is complete with a wooden bell which was made out of a single hollowed out log about 6ft long suspended from the roof and an appropriately sized ‘donger' for banging against the bell. When the boys want to just hang out and have some drinks they bang on the bell and whoever is interested can come along. It struck me how nice it was to see this little hut which no-one has defaced and still has the original ‘donger' which would have disappeared long ago if it was here in Australia. K, myself and 14 village men ranging in ages from about 25 to 70 all having a few drinks and laughing in the bale surrounded by pitch black - sounds very dodgy I know, but we are perfectly safe at all times in the village. My friend got one of the boys to buy some fish during the afternoon so after drinks were consumed the boys grab coconut husks and find bits of tin, some oil and sambal and kecap manis and a makeshift bbq is built in the middle of the dirt track. Was a great night, although we had to rely on those worse for wear taking us back to hotel on motorbikes. Rather scary especially when our driver decided to overtake a bus with 2 of us on the back - talk about needing the lucky brown undies for that one.
Still in the village and much socialising is being done. I actually managed to have some reasonable conversations this time as my Indonesian has improved slightly and although I probably say things with words in all the wrong order they seem to understand and reply using simple words I can sort of follow. Now some of you know what an animal lover I am and so is my friend K, she has her phone camera and is busy taking photos of the scenery and animals around the house and manages to get a nice close up of one of the roosters who was a bit feather-challenged if you get my meaning, he was ok but just not the best looking chook you have ever seen. We sit back down on the porch and enjoy a drink and the next thing we hear the rooster squawking and my friend's father walks around the corner with flustered rooster in one hand and a machete in the other. K takes off and heads to other side of the house where she waits with fingers in her ears until the deed is done. To her credit, and to my amazement, she actually did eat some of the delicious soto ayam served at dinner time. Told her she should get her camera out again and she would have before and after photos - my commiserations to the rooster, but we did have a good laugh.
My friend took me to the temple a couple of days before Nyepi so I could see the paving he had arranged to have laid as his thank you to the Gods for something good which he had prayed for. The kids were all practicing their traditional music and others were busy making beautiful offerings and decorations for Nyepi, was a very special experience for me.
We also went for a ride to visit the ‘swimming pool' near the village. We had been warned that if we wanted to swim perhaps not a good idea to don the bikinis as women there would generally swim in perhaps long shorts and tops if they swam at all. The swimming pool is basically a huge square concrete pool which is fed in one end from a large stream which then flows back out the other end, constant flow of fresh water and no chemicals at all. The most unusual thing about the pool was that it was filled with an amazing array of beautiful fish, mostly very large and decorative koi. As it was late in the day and fairly cool we passed on the swim and just had a coffee at a little table right beside the pool and watched these beautiful fish swimming around.
The hotel near the village wasn't too bad but they usually cater for Indonesians so are not used to the tastes of westerners. We all met up for breakfast and apparently in Java they just have their coffee black, so had no idea what to do when I ordered Kopi Susu. First came the coffee and then a bowl with condensed milk in it, so I asked please could I have some susu segar for my coffee, she says dinggin or panas, I say dinggin please. Out comes a large milkshake size glass of milk complete with ice and a straw. Now another friend from the village is a rather well-built lad and he had joined us for breakfast as well so I take a little milk and my friend passes the rest over to well-built lad who already has a huge glass of juice as well as his breakfast. I order another coffee and of course out comes another huge glass of milk with ice, once again passed over to well-built lad. You know how they hate to waste anything, so the poor guy was just about bursting by the time we left. As we are sitting in the restaurant, which is surrounded by floor to ceiling windows, I see a small sign on one window which says Awas Kacar - I say to my friend what is ‘kacar', he tells me glass. Next thing M gets up to go outside and walks straight into one of the windows. The caring friends we are we all burst into laughter and he just holds his head and takes off out the door with embarrassment. He said afterwards, that the worst thing was he looked back and saw the kitchen girls all p*ssing themselves laughing as well.
Now back tracking a little here, the afternoon we arrived in Bali M managed to lose his wallet with his Bali permit somewhere on Kuta Beach. He is actually from close to the village as well, but of course if he was to come to the village with us he would not have the permit to get back to Bali again, and no time to apply for a new one as we were leaving next day for Java. Anyway, he decided to take his chances and come to Java and try and get his brother to arrange a new permit from there. Once there he found out the new proper permit would take about 7 days so he arranged that, but in the meantime a friend of a friend works in a government office there and he got him a dodgy one to use for our return trip and then his brother would post the genuine one to him later. I had decided that I would prefer to return to Bali with K and M was also returning with us the day before Nyepi (so that I can loaf about the pool and eat rather than try and stay quiet for the whole day in the house) and my friend and the others were going to stay in the village for another week to spend time with family and friends and join in all the Nyepi celebrations.
My friend's Mum has packed us a huge parcel of home-made snacks, krupuk of various types, banana chips, kacang telur, sticky rice pineapple cakes etc - all made with her loving hands and tasting so much better than anything you could buy. So the 3 of us set off on the train, M armed with his dodgy permit and taking the role of bodyguard for K and myself. We are on a local train so the presence of 2 bule caused many stares and fascination but everyone very friendly when we spoke the odd Indonesian words. Get to the ferry and have to wait about an hour to find the right kind of bus to suit all our needs, big enough to be safe, with aircon for comfort, but also one where we could smoke our ciggies on the long trip back. You actually get on the bus on the Java side, it drives on the ferry and then you just drive off the ferry on the other side in Bali, except for the mandatory stop as you leave the ferry terminal on the Bali side for ID check.
Previous trips I have not had to get off the bus, but the man sitting behind K was very insistent that K and I both get off the bus and walk through the checkpoint. M just got straight off the bus and took off way ahead of us, so we got off and wandered through and met the bus at the other side. M had no problems thank goodness and the bus wasn't checked. On getting back on board K tells me out the side of her mouth she thinks a little budgie smuggling is going on at the back of the bus - a quick peek and I see some women hidden behind a curtain at the back with the luggage. They were being smuggled through (no Bali permits!!) and that if we were spotted on the bus the officials would come on board and it could all end in tears - all a bit like an espionage movie. About half an hour or so later on, the bus passed through a police checkpoint, M panics and dives into the toilet, the other women run up to the back and try to open toilet door which he has locked, they dive behind the curtain again. We pass through no problems, but M tells us his heart was pounding like mad while he was in that toilet.
All smooth sailing after that until we get to Tabanan where the Ogah Ogah parades have started. Being on the tall bus worked to my advantage as I had perfect view of the Ogah Ogah and procession as it passed right beside the bus - got some great photos and videos on my phone camera. This happened a few more times on our way to Denpasar but was well worth the delays. The Balinese just amaze me sometimes, instead of being annoyed with a large bus on the road, they would look up and smile and wave like they were actually pleased to see me.
Got back to Denpasar and took a taxi back to Kuta, quick shower and then out to the streets to see the Ogah Ogah parades. Excellent time and very spectacular, eventually we found a restaurant/bar in Bakungsari Street where we could sip our drinks and watch the parades go by. Nyepi Day just loafed over breakfast and then around the pool. Another good friend (A) was staying at the same hotel and so plenty of company for me. I had my little dvd player and my friend's brother had brought me over all his dvds as well as a few I had bought so after dinner just closed the curtains and watched the tv for a while.
I know roughly what Nyepi is about and while I don't pay too much attention to hooja pooja stuff I have enough respect for it to leave it alone. I turn off the telly to go to sleep and it is pitch black of course. I am lying there and you know how sometimes in the dark your eyes play tricks, so I start seeing these small black clouds about the size of dinner plates passing above me. I think 'you idiot' to myself and turn to focus on the little green light on the aircon so that I can see the clouds are not really there. Well I look at the light and the black clouds keep passing in front of that so it keeps fading, disappearing and then reappearing. I sh*t myself and turn on the bedside light and jump out of bed and go up close and look at the green light - it is on the whole time. I tell you it scared the hell out of me - I almost went and got into bed with K next door. I left the telly on after that for about an hour till 1.20am when my friend sms'd to tell me he was home from the temple. After that everything seemed ok and I just went off to sleep as normal. My friend rang in the morning and I told him about it so he told me a chant I should say in my mind if it happened again and then the spirits would ‘away from you'. It was weird because before I went to my room that night, I was in A's room talking with her and all of a sudden she said, 'oh what was that - something just passed in front of the tv', she just caught it out of the corner of her eye. In the morning I told K about my black clouds (she is like me and doesn't really believe in that kind of stuff) and she said 'funny you should say that, when I turned off the tv last night after a couple of seconds 3 words came out of the tv and then after about 15 seconds it happened again'. Talk about spooky but nothing else happened after that one night - the chant must work!
The rest of the trip was just mainly Bali type stuff, eating, drinking, walking, talking, laughing, sitting on my bum at the beach. A and I went to a little beauty shop just up Poppies 2 a couple of times for a cream bath and massage. A knew the owner from before so we got looked after well and got good discount as a bonus. It was funny, but my friend has given Indonesian names for my 3 dogs, the girl is Menor, the baby is Marmut and the other boy is Monyet. Anyway A said something to the owner about going first and being the guinea pig. The owner asks what is a guinea pig so I pipe up it is Marmut, she then says oh I like the animal that holds its head up and looks around but don't know what you call in English, so I say Menor - and she says that's it! So after that she tells everybody that I speak really good Indonesian - didn't tell her it was a fluke she picked those animals to talk about - haha, all good for the street cred.
Went out a few nights, to Legends, Hulu Cafe of course where the staff and the lovely Inul have big hello for us, to Espresso Bar and my favourite scuzzy place Apache the Reggae Bar. My friend finally arrived back from the village and we had dinner most nights with friends. As it was his birthday on the Sunday a bunch of us had dinner and then to Karaoke Bar where a group of Aussies sounded like strangled cats, why is it that Aussies always think they can sing when they are pizzled?
Went on a nice long motorbike ride to Candi Dasa and then back through the hills via Bangli, Gianyar and then Sukawati and so forth back to Kuta. A delightful trip with spectacular scenery but the bum was rather numb after 7 hours.
Final night was a farewell party (it is almost tradition now with the boys and their neighbours), one of the guys got 6 kilos of fish, his wife cooked the rice and sambals, plenty of drinks and just sitting around the common courtyard and chatting and laughing. They are all a good bunch and always so nice to me and make me feel welcome in their homes.
Flight was delayed an hour or so but back home safely, the dogs still recognise me, the credit card is maxed although I have only bought 4 t-shirts and 20 dvds, situation normal.