Bali hi!

We have surfaced from Southeast Asia and have crawled ashore on Bali.

We were in mid-winter in Southeast Asia and the weather was very warm and dry but the temperatures were just shy of unbearable.  Somehow or other we crossed the equator and arrived in Bali in mid-summer aka the rainy season.

a view of the volcano from the beach near our hotel

This is the slow season in Bali for a couple of reasons.  When I mean slow I am not referring to the pace which Balinese move.  I don’t think I have seen people who move slower.  It is like all the turtles that died got reincarnated as Balinese. 

The first reason is that the majority of their tourist comes from Australia.  Australia is just heading into summertime so no one has a reason to come to Bali.  How many people go to Hawaii or Mexico from Canada in mid-summer?  None of the sane ones do.

The second reason is the humidity. This explains both the slowness of the business and slowness of the locals. The boundary between the ocean and the air is a bit blurred right now.  I think I saw a Russian submarine drifting above the hotel two nights ago but it was New Year’s Eve, so I am not 100% sure.  One of the things about humidity is that it is a very small step from water in the atmosphere to water falling from the atmosphere.  You go from feeling wet and sticky to being just plain wet very quickly.  We have had thunderstorms daily and they are spectacular.  There is lightning followed by thunder with no perceptible gap.  I think that means the lightning is right here, right now which is NOT a comfortable thought.

The Rain in Bali.  This is the road outside our hotel.  Notice Telen's feet are not visible.

High humidity brings other problems.   They are called flies.  These flies are not biters. They are annoyers.  They land on you in tickly little flocks and, I think, drink your sweat.  Unlike mosquitoes, which love Telen, these flies seem attracted to me. Flies love the smell of excrement or dead meat.  So the flies are both annoying and very uncomplimentary.

I am mourning the loss of my newfound sexiness.  In Southeast Asia women found me to be attractive.  No one really knows why.  Research is being done.  Here in Bali I am just one of a myriad of old, overweight westerners.  It is demoralizing when you discover that your attractiveness is no longer to women but to flies.

Our first experience with the beach here was not good.  The water was full of garbage.  It was mostly plastic bags but Telen did come across the seat from a car.  The water here is almost body-temperature and to have plastic bags with undisclosed content floating by is just creepy. Apparently during the rainy season garbage come down the river and empties into the ocean and, if the current is right, it drifts to the beaches.  After that I was thinking that we might change our plans but I was willing to give it another try.

Our first visit to the beach.  There is lots more of this in the water.

The next day, when we went to the beach, it was immaculate.  I am not sure how.  The water was clean and the jetsam on the beach was gone.  I have this image in my mind of a horde of Balinese sweeping along the beach picking up all the garbage and hauling it to the dump up the river… 

Bali is one of the richest provinces in Indonesia thanks to tourism.  It is certainly a contrast to Southeast Asia.  In Southeast Asia it was rare to see anyone who was overweight – other than myself, of course.  Here it is not as common as in Canada, but it happens.  We also see people wearing glasses and having braces on their teeth.  Both of those things are way too expensive for people in SE.

Balinese people are very warm and friendly.  They always want to chat with you and one of the first question is “where are you from?” and second one is “how many children do you have?”  They ask questions that we, in our cool and distant society, would consider invasive.  They do it with such charming smiles and such warmth that it feels more like they want you to be their friend rather than being nosy.  They don’t seem to put on a façade like we do at home.  They let you know how they feel rather than pretend everything is “just fine, thank you”.

At the New Years party, put on by the hotel, the staff was having a better time than the guest.  All of us stiff westerners were sitting properly in our chairs trying to loosen up by drinking loads of booze. In contrast the hotel staff were singing and laughing and “groovin’” to the music.  They were relaxed, sober and unselfconscious and very obviously enjoying themselves.

A young soft-spoken Scot that we met, named David, asked the band if he could play some music with them.  I thought, “Oh great – someone who thinks he is a great Karaoke singer is going to get up there and do a cringe-worthy Frank Sinatra song”.  I could not have been more wrong.  David transformed into Elvis and the audience transformed into a swarm.  The whole audience stormed the dance floor and the staff was frenziedly pulling tables back to make room.   I could see the band looking at David speculatively and thinking that maybe they should have played that kind of music initially…

So far Bali has shown us her moist side.  The humidity is high, the rains torrential and the perspiration is continuous.  The ocean is warm and wet but so is the air so there is some ambiguity about which one you are in.  However, she has also shown us a hint of her beauty as well – the lush jungle, the sandy beaches, the magical evenings and the unique culture.  The bugs, the bats, the frogs and the flowers all add a feeling of the exotic. 

Ok, maybe not the bugs – they just add a feeling of crankiness.

Telen writes:

I managed for once to stay awake for the New Year’s midnight gong because the Balinese sure knows how to celebrate.  For 2 days before New Year’s Eve, we watched workers setting up an elaborate stage near the back of the hotel dining room, along with all the special lightings and stage decorations.  The evening started off with a buffet, featuring a roasted suckling pig (an Indonesian specialty).

The Suckling Pig.  Notice the resemblance to Rand?

Then, the entertainment started.  We were treated to a number of traditional dances accompanied by a dozen musicians playing various Indonesian instruments.  I really enjoyed watching these dances even though I did not understand most of the symbolism.

Rand demonstrating how NOT to do traditional Balinese dancing.  

  Later, another band came on stage, playing western music.  The lead singer had a very beautiful voice but the songs just did not seem to arouse the audience to get up and dance…until our Scottish friend Dave played Elvis!  After midnight had arrived, we heard lots of fireworks outside.  Indeed, it lasted for a good half hour.  Apparently fireworks are very cheap here.  The locals just love them whenever there is an opportunity.  Interestingly, I read that on Bali, there is a festival or celebration almost every day somewhere on the island since there are many Gods in Hindu culture.  One of them is called Nyepi, meaning a “day of silence”.  Nyepi is the Hindu New Year, usually falls some time in March.  For 24 hours from 6 am to 6 am next day, the entire Bali population observes silence.  There will be no work, no traffic on the streets except for medical emergencies.  People would fast, meditate, and reflect.  Use of electricity is kept to a minimum.  Tourists are to stay in their hotel rooms that day.  For 2013, Nyepi will be on March 12.  Thank goodness we will be gone by then!