Lazy Day and Kitamani (Feb. 6, 7, 2015)

Feb. 6, 2015

Today was a bit of a lazy day. It was really hot outside, and Yulia had some things to do, so Reza and I basically hung around his place for most of the day. We actually did one cool thing though. Reza had to go somewhere in the morning, so I bought some WiFi time from the place he lives, and caught up with some FT’s and calls to my loved ones. Totally enjoyed that, and spent two hours chatting, blogging and catching up.

Then, when Reza returned, he said that some Balinese people were having a ceremony just down the street and that we should go and see it. He said that it was the traditional burning of a dead person, in a public, and huge gathering. There is a sort of park area near his place that this ceremony was taking place. All of the family are in attendance, all in traditional dress, as well as a Hindu priest, and full traditional band that plays xylophones, gongs, and interesting flute type instruments, throughout the cremation. The dead loved one is brought through the city, to the burning site, in a brightly colourful and decorated carrying apparatus. The wife and eldest son are carried in chairs for this pilgrimage to the cremation site, and everyone else walks along. People join to pay their respects, along the way, even if they didn’t know the person or family. It’s really quite interesting. 

Anyway, we went there and everyone seemed really happy that we had come to watch. They allowed me take photos, and the band all smiled when I asked them if I could take their pictures. There was food, ornately decorated tables, and all the people dressed in their colourful traditional costumes were mulling about, while the priest said some words, and the body was placed in this cool bamboo open air bed with a canopy roof. Under the bed, a strong torch, something like a welding machine was inserted and a huge fire caught underneath the body. One man was in charge of using sticks and shovels to push whatever it was he was pushing around, so that the fire could evenly burn it. All the little kids and other people were happily in attendance while this was going on, and no one was crying or looking upset. The man just kept moving things on the bed, around, in order to keep everything burning properly. There was a lot of smoke, and fire, and thankfully the wind was blowing away from us. I was a little scared of what I might smell. You who know me well could only imagine that scenario!

Reza made breakfast 

The ceremony band

The place where the body is burned

The fire being torched under the bed

This is how they bring the body to the
site being carried by people

The fuel cart with protective/lucky dolls

So, other than yoga, starting a drawing from Reza’s open air stairwell overlooking the street and lovely trees, I didn’t do much else today. The ceremony was really spectacular and I would bet I won’t see something like that again soon, or ever.

Feb. 7, 2015

Today, Yulia came over around 9:30 this morning and we all had coffee. Then we got ready for a road trip we had planned to go to Ubud, and Kitamani. It was a lovely day, though it did rain for part of it, but we were in her van, so it didn’t really matter.

View on drive up

Same

Temple View

Alley where I met th guru

Overlooking the valley

First we went to a temple in to take a look. We met a very interesting guy selling these really nice paintings he had made. Though I didn’t get a photo of him, he had long hair piled on top of his head, and on his left hand, his nails were all at least four inches long, and black, with edges that curved over. He was a dancer and started to dance for us, and show us how he used his nails as a focal point to look at, then opened his eyes really wide to accentuate the dance. It was really funny, but also very intriguing. He almost looked like some kind of swami or guru, dancing with his bare feet, and rings on his toes, the nails, the wide eyes and long piled up yogi hair, in a sarong. Oh, and selling his paintings. Anyway, he was quite the sight. I ended up buying one of his small paintings because they were really very beautiful and super traditional.

Then we went to see a Holy Springs that are supposed to keep you young if you bathe in them. Well, when we got there, the water was super dirty, with things and fish floating around in it, and was cold on top of that. We opted not to bathe in it. I said that diving and doing yoga were going to have to work for me, to keep me young.

Me at Holy Springs

Scary tunnel we walked through

Lots of stairs

Next we went to a place overlooking some rice terraces, that was on the top of a mountain. It was absolutely beautiful. It was raining at that point so we just took some pics, then got back into the car, to go to the city of Ubud.

Rice terraces

Ubud was really cool. It’s a very touristy town that boasts lots of spiritual events, yoga, meditation and more. It was a lovely place, though I have not seen that many tourists in Bali since arriving. I think this is a town that a lot of people go to visit when they come to Bali. Yoga and meditation are quite popular, but expensive there. None the less, it was really nice to see this town and have a look around.

Oh, on the drive up, we got pulled over two times for a police check. In Indonesia, the police are very corrupt and if they pull you over, they will often find things wrong in order that you pay them money. Yulia was driving and of course because she had two foreigners in the car, they started asking if she was a tour guide etc. If so, she would need a special license for the car to do this. She said that we were all just friends. Then they asked her if the car was rented. It was, as she just moved here and rented it for herself to get around. She knew enough to say that it was her uncles van and we were all just friends, and that she wasn’t getting paid to be our tour guide. One of the cops even made her stay at the back of the van, outside, then came to ask me if I rented this van. Reza piped up in Indonesian and told him that it was our friend’s van and we were out for the day together. Since they couldn’t find anything that we were doing ‘wrong’ they had to let us pass. It wasn’t scary, just inconvenient, and corrupt. 

Reza, Yulia and me at a jewellry shop

If a foreigner is pulled over on a motorbike here, they will often have to pay the cop a lot of money to get through. As a result, I put most of my cash in my bra, so that if I have to open up my wallet in front of the police, there is only a small amount of money. Yulia said that if that’s all they see, then they will take that and not press the matter. So, now I have small money in my wallet, pockets, and most in my bra in case. Good to know how things work so you don’t get ripped off unnecessarily. Also, most police don’t speak another language other than English, so speaking French or Italian might also be an option. Since they are busy when doing spot checks, they are most interested in the money and if they can’t communicate with you, they tire quickly and wave you along. I just hope not to have to deal with it at all, but am glad that I saw it in action and now have an idea how to deal with it. It is illegal here for them to do that, but all of them still do it anyway. There is a department in the government that deals with Police Corruption so at least it’s not permissible.

Yulia's lunch

Reza's lunch

Us at lunch....Warung 

Anyway, an adventurous fun day had by all. We saw many beautiful sights and scenery along our travels, had good food, and enjoyed each other’s company.