Bali welcomed us with a storm. Our first night it rained heavily, pouring down all night long through to morning, the thunder booming in waves and shaking our little bungalow. Reminded me of NYC in the days and weeks following 9/11, when fighter planes would fly over the city, breaking the sound barrier. It rains almost every day, sometimes light showers while the sun shines, sometimes hard rain with dark and roiling clouds, but we haven’t had another storm like that first night.
We arrived at the Denpasar airport the afternoon of Thursday, March 1st, after some 24 hours of flying. After showing our visas, collecting our bags and passing through customs, we exchanged US$200 for 1,780,000 Rupiah at one of the many money exchange places with sales people calling out for business. We were greeted outside by a gentleman named Wayan (the four primary Balinese names are Wayan, Made, Kutun and Nyoman), a driver sent by Bali Purnati, and were relieved to temporarily hand ourselves over to someone else’s navigation.
Even in the airport, stepping off from the plane, we could feel the heat and humidity. It feels surreal to be here and I’m not sure why. Maybe because it’s been so long since I’ve been so far from the U.S. Maybe because it’s Bali and it feels so incredibly like the Bali I’ve seen in movies and imagined and didn’t think it could really be this lush and green and thick-aired and beautiful. My favorite flowers, frangipani and jasmine, are abundant here as are bouganvillea in orange, white and deep pink. Palms, coconut trees and other fat-leafed green plants and trees crowd the roads and gardens and it feels tropically prehistoric. All of the buildings and homes, even the smaller, poorer houses, are works of art, centered around garden courtyards and designed like simple temples with slanted roofs and peaks built from tiles, stones and home-made bricks.
The drive to Bali Purnati took us past lots of art shops, “esthetic” spas/salons, and “antique” furniture stores with carved wooden chairs, benches and tables. There were also signs for McDonald’s “McDelivery 24/7” and Dunkin’ Donuts. Further in we passed several painted egg studios and shops showing off ornately painted eggs - chicken, goose, ostrich and wooden - with images of Ganesh, dragons, dolphins and more.
The lane demarcations on the road seem to be just suggestions and people honk to let you know where they are, rather than to ask you to move. About 75% of the traffic is people on mopeds and motorcycles. There seem to be several near-misses, but I have yet to see an accident and everyone’s body language is laid-back, and perhaps that’s the trick.
Bali Purnati is fantasy come to life. Our bungalow is incredible, a solitary structure a flight of outdoor stairs above the ground. Dark teak (I think) wood, sparsely decorated, king-size bed with white sheets and a mosquito net, a pack ‘n play for Willa (which she has yet to use, preferring to sleep in bed with us since we left Austin - I’m sure we’ll pay for this relaxation later), a balcony overlooking the lawn and garden, and a giant bathroom. Our meals are served downstairs at a table in the open air, just beneath the bungalow, so our dining area has a ceiling, but no walls.
The food at Purnati is delicious, making it difficult to venture out. Continental breakfasts of toast and homemade jams and marmalade seasoned with cloves, fresh fruit - watermelon, papaya, green melon, banana - with lime juice to squeeze over, a pot of tea for Johnny and rich, dark coffee for me, and freshly squeezed juices: pineapple juice, a mixture of banana and papaya juice and our favorite, lime juice with crushed mint, a non-alcoholic mojito. For lunch and dinner, we have rice with vegetables: string beans, cabbage, some sort of broccoli rabe/bok choy, carrots, tofu, and all of it spiced and seasoned with ginger, garlic, diced red chilis and other good things. There’s usually an accompanying chicken dish - fried and dusted in coriander powder, curried, stewed, roasted - delicious, but very tough like the chickens in Africa. This afternoon’s came with heavily spiced and gingered tofu rolls. Dessert is more fresh fruit with lime juice to squeeze over. Purnati is my rehab from constant eating and excessive amounts of food. The staff here are incredibly accommodating and bring Willa small bowls of boiled tofu and string beans, which she eats in addition to our rice, fruit and some of our seasoned food, which we’re pleased she doesn’t find too spicy.
PAPAYA JAM
Papaya (or peach, mango or plums) mashed to your preference
sugar
cinnamon
cloves/star of anise
water
Bring to a boil and simmer until jam is formed.
There’s a large, stone-tiled swimming pool that drops off into a jungle of trees before rising again into rice paddies. It’s loaded with chemicals to keep the algae at bay and so stings your eyes, but Willa doesn’t mind the taste.
Johnny’s currently working on several projects. One involves manipulating strings tied around the smooth black and grey stones that are so plentiful here. The stones are hung above the ground in a pendulum-rigging and he moves them around like string puppets. It’s beautiful and hypnotic to watch. Another is creating circles in the pool by dripping water from different containers hung from bamboo reed. He also draws and sketches with the homemade red brick, the ones used in so much of the architecture here.
Bali Purnati is just outside of Ubud, a pretty town full of tourists, clothing and jewelry shops, artists’ studios, galleries - many of which showcase oil paintings of Buddha and sexy ladies from 80’s album covers (think Duran Duran’s Rio), yoga studios, a marketplace, bungalows to let, hotels, restaurants, cafes and a palace that features traditional dancing in the evenings. We watched some of the young girls (ages 6-11, or so) wrap up rehearsal before going off with their mothers, who pick them up with a motorcycle helmet under one arm and a bag of groceries under the other. The Balinese version of soccer moms.
We go for long walks almost every day, through rice paddies, navigating our way around the maze-like, narrow grass paths, to the river where people bathe, wash clothes, collect stones, cool off, and around the neighborhoods, learning the back roads and alley ways. Everyone is very friendly, greeting us with Halo! and Halo, Baby! to Willa and we’re frequently asked where we’re going to which we respond, “jalan, jalan,” we’re walking. We’re a bit of a curiosity as there aren’t many Balinese out walking and we’ve got Willa in her pack.
We walk through the narrow streets, bordered on each side by walls behind which homes structured like temple complexes spread beneath the palms and tall bamboo. Dogs sometimes meet us at the doorways and barked at our heels. Skinny, short-haired, knee-high dogs, all cousins. Other times it was children that appeared. On bikes they followed us chattering in Bahasa with an occasional ‘Halo’ or ‘How are you?’ or ‘Where you go?’ We would chatter back in English or bits of Bahasa and they would laugh.
There are chickens on the sides of the roads as well as dogs that have scary barks and chase after us. Cows also share the fields of the road, and they’re all the same warm brown with mid-length horns that point back and reigns (?) that hook through their noses.
The houses are enclosed in walls and we catch glimpses of the inner courtyards and homes when we walk by the front entrances. Outside of almost every home are offerings of beautifully woven origami-like boxes of grass, filled with flowers, sliced bits of fruit, usually papaya, and burning incense that has a wood-y, spiced smell. Though Indonesia claims the world’s largest Muslim population, most Balinese are Hindu.
Coming up on March 18th, is Nyepi, the Hindu Balinese New Year, which also marks the end of the rainy season. Along the roads going into town, in various halls and temples, people are constructing giant people, monsters, from bamboo and reeds, styrofoam, steel and wood, fabric and wire, and paper mache. Some of the giants have claws for fingers and toes, tails, dragon-like faces, scales and/or feathers. The day before New Year’s, there will be parading and celebrating in all of the temples and along the roads. The next day, the 18th, is the day of silence, when no one works, plays music, makes any noise, so that, supposedly, when the evil spirits descend upon the island, they’ll think it uninhabited and leave Bali safe for another year. We’ve been watching the giants in various stages of construction and are looking forward to New Year’s.
Side note: just finished Jhumpa Lahiri’s THE NAMESAKE, a last-minute purchase in LA before heading for the airport. It’s wonderful and inspires to write and cook. Recipes to try: Rice Krispies mixed in a bowl with chopped red onion, peanuts, salt, pepper, lime or lemon juice, thin slices of green chili pepper, mustard oil and chili powder. Turkey rubbed with cumin, garlic and cayenne then roasted.
The other day, Tina and Matias, a German couple here from Berlin, rented a car and invited us to come with them to Ulu Watu and another beach for the day. We avoided Kuta as a water main broke a few days ago, leaving the whole area stinking of waste. The first beach we went to, Nusa Dua, was south and east. We had to pass through a security checkpoint and then entered a world of manicured rolling lawns, security guards scooting around on mopeds and tourists walking the wide, uncrowded streets in big sunglasses (no one wears sunglasses here), bikinis, short skirts and shorts. Nusa Dua holds several top international hotels and a beach made for postcards and stock photos. The sun and white sand were blinding and overwhelming with their heat. We ate our way through several food vendors (I could drink bottled Fanta and Coke with every meal), swam in the warm, salty ocean, Johnny had his near-death experience that I can’t yet bear to write about, got back in the car and went on to Ulu Watu.
GADU GADU
Served by street vendors at the beach and in town; made to order for 5,000 Rp (approx. 50 cents)
With a large mortar and pestle grind into a paste:
2-3 small red chilis
garlic clove
ground peanuts
small slice of sweet lime that includes a bit of the rind as well as the pulp
small chunk of tomato (okay to include seeds and skin)
water or broth to liquify a bit
salt to taste
Mix paste with
cubed tofu
rice cake (mashed together cooked cooled rice, cut into cubes)
lightly boiled bean sprouts and chopped cabbage or bok choy (some sort of greens)
lots of ground peanuts and a brown sauce, resembling hoisin.
Sprinkle with crispy, fried onions and serve. This was made for us with all ingredients at room temp, but would also probably work hot.
DOCTORED RAMEN NOODLES
Make the broth, adding red chili paste, chopped scallions, sliced carrots, cabbage and the noodles. Top with a fried egg.
On our way to Ulu Watu, we missed our turn and happened upon an incredible temple crowded with monkeys on the high cliffs overlooking the sea. We had to wear our sarongs and chitenges, belted with a gold sash in order to enter and one of the gatekeepers asked us if we’d like to buy some food to give to the monkeys. We politely declined and she then asked if we’d like to buy her services to keep the monkeys away. Hunh?
The temple, its stonework, the layout, the cliff-side wall were magnificent and with the wind-blown trees, it looked as though we could have been in Japan. The monkeys creeped me out, especially the grabby, hyper ones and the professional models, with their self-conscious lazy slouches and insouciant expressions. The baby monkeys were pretty cute, though.
Went on to Ulu Watu, the entrance to which is hidden with heavy foliage, lots of steep steps, dilapidated surfer shacks, more steep steps, and then... Heaven on earth. Giant rocks form archways you walk under to get to your private beach, water so clear you can see each shell and jag of coral beneath, flat ocean leading to island reefs covered in bright green moss and grass leading to crashing waves. In the guidebooks, Ulu Watu is described as a great beach for surfers, rather than for swimming, so, fortunately, it’s not well-attended, except by surfers who are way out beyond the reefs. Swimming in that cove was one of my favorite moments with Johnny & Willa. We will definitely return to Ulu Watu.
Scratch the “Purnati is my rehab” from food comment above. On this morning’s walk we found a little shop that sells small fried crispy cakes of savory dough with peanuts and delicious doughnuts. Simple, fresh dough with dark chocolate and sprinkles on top. Served out of tupperware and costing only pennies. Unfortunately, it’s only about 2 blocks away.
