Bali

Selamat! I am in Bali for a week to enjoy a "honeymoon" after Celine's wedding. We stayed for three nights in a crazy lovely place called Chapung Se Bali, which has been around for 8 years and recently built a gorgeous infinity pool with a view of the valley below and of the resort across the way. The food was quite decent, the staff were very attentive (they kindly picked us up at midnight after our flight from Singapore was delayed - and still greeted us very warmly!) and my friend and I have decided that we could quite easily get used to this luxury!! :)  The owner of Chapung Se Bali is a Danish furniture designer who clearly knows how to keep customers happy, and apparently the former GM was from Quebec, woot. 

(For a more detailed review of Chapung Se Bali, see here )

We spent yesterday touring central Bali (Ubud and surrounding areas) with Bali Traditional Tours. Our driver We was very friendly and told us all about his four sisters, his life as a rice field farmer, and of course Balinese culture and local Hindu customs. 

First stop was the rice plantations of Tagallagang. The plantations are both practical and beautiful as the many "layers" or ledges built into the side of the mountain allow farmers to plant rice and to maximise their space and use of water. 

Second stop was the Holy Water Temple. Wednesday was a Holy Day so there were quite a few people in the temple. They come to provide offerings and to purify their bodies in the holy spring (pictured below). The people get in the water from the left side and immerse their bodies/dip their heads at each of the 20-odd water spouts, moving from left to right. Small square baskets with offerings of flower, food, or paper money are put on the ledge before immersion. 

We then stopped at Mount Batur to enjoy the view. Mount Batur is actually a volcano, and the lava remains are quite visible as they cover half the mountain on the side that was visible to us. We asked our guide/driver We how long it would take to cool the lava, and he said, "It happened before I was born, but thank you for the question. I will ask my grandfather!". Guess the last volcano eruption happened sometime in the sixties. 

Our final stop was to check out a batik factory and shop, located in Batulalan, close to Bali's local capital of Denpasar. The space reminded me of the silk factory that I visited with my family in China two summers ago. The batiks can either be hand-printed or stamped using one of the wax-resistant molds pictured below. The process is time-consuming, as you can imagine. The white cloth is first covered with the outline of the drawing in pencil. Then a first layer of wax covers the areas that should remain white. The cloth is dyed in one colour, then dried and then immersed in hot water to wash off the wax. The process is repeated several times to add several different colours.  The traditional batiks have a black backdrop but we saw several examples of newer styles, with the purples, greens and blues that I personally love. 

Bali is wonderful (yes, even though it is by far one of Asia's top tourist destinations - luckily, we came at a good time after the Christmas vacation!) and I am already looking forward to my next trip back here.