Beatific, Bemusing, Beautiful Bali

The incense sweet scent sifting slowly through the warm, moist, enveloping air of Bali upon my arrival made it very clear that I was not in Thailand anymore. Irritable after dealing with the hassle of procuring a visa upon arrival, and frustrated when unable to find my friends that had come to greet me, I did not enter Bali in anything close to an attitude of gratitude. Not unlike the toxins pouring from my pores my bad attitude seemed to permeate the air around me. My scowling brow, overheated skin, and sharp manner did not make a pretty sight. When I gave up being such a bitch my sight started to clear, my manner started to cool, and it finally dawned on me where I was. Beatific, bemusing, bejeweled, bewildering, but above all beautiful Bali!

Checking my ego at the exit terminal, I let myself surrender to Bali, and all its many gifts. I found myself soon surrounded by the wonderful women I had come to join on this amazing adventure, and we were off. First stop? The bizarre bazaar. The bazaar that our hired driver drove us to was set off from the many tourist destinations, and the locals were hungry for business. We found ourselves snaking through the overcrowded aisles with an entourage of local artisans peddling their wares at our heels. At this point I found myself hungry, tired, and culture shocked. We eventually made our way back to the car where I proceeded to pass out. Exhausted, me? Never.

My frazzled nerves and shell shocked mind was soon soothed and centered by the waves crashing to the shore of the white sand beach we lunched at. If I have learned anything in Thailand, it is that water brings me back to my personal center every time. If I am upset, angry, frustrated, whiny, bitchy, whatever—all I need is to get myself to a body of water (ocean, lake, or pool—they all work wonders on my mind, and spirit). It is a great tool to know what my triggers are, it is a gift to know what gets me back to center. After some time ocean-side, a large Bintang, and some Beef Rendang I was golden—a nap as we headed to Ubud didn’t hurt either.

How do I describe Ubud? The only close comparison I have would be Asheville. The winding, hilly streets of this little town are covered in holistic healing spas, shops filled with beautiful jewelry from the local artisans, and more art than you could shake a stick at. Ubud is like Asheville, only smack dab in the middle of Bali—so basically heaven for this curvy, artsy, spiritually minded mama. Our hotel, the Champlung Sari Hotel, was literally a stone’s throw from Monkey Forest—in fact on our third day taking breakfast at the pool side verandah I was joined by three monkeys who were hoping for a little bite of the delicious breakfast buffet. Our room was spacious, with a gorgeous marble bathroom (including a large tub and separate shower), and a little private garden right off our front patio. The grounds were even more beautiful with lush foliage, Balinese architecture, and a wonderful infinity pool. I can already see that my adjectives are a bit lacking, but how many ways can you really say beautiful? Okay, so according to my word processor’s thesaurus there are quite a few ways I am not employing. You’ll just have to forgive me for this.

We found when booking our trip that we would be in Bali at the same time as the Bali Spirit Festival, and although I have to admit that at first I balked (if not for the price of the entire festival, than at the line-up that I had never heard of for the evening music festival), I will say that I was soon schooled. Our first night at the festival started with a two for one drink happy hour special, and god bless them they had Mojitos. No, of course I didn’t take advantage of that—I only had one or two—I think. What can I say of the talent that was featured at this festival? I can tell you that the crunchy, granola-lovin’, hippy fest I was expecting was not what I got—unless I have managed to turn into a crunchy, granola-lovin’ hippy myself—but I seriously doubt it. Hands down the most amazing, surprising, and soul moving music that was featured in the line-up would have to be Delhi 2 Dublin. I don’t have words to describe how amazing this ensemble really is, so I will let their promo video speak fro them. You be the judge.

Delhi 2 Dublin

The rest of my time in Ubud, when I wasn’t busy shakin’ it at night (super grateful for the world beats music DJ set) was spent shopping for a few really beautiful pieces—sorry to say I was packing light with just my weekend/hiker’s backpack so I couldn’t bring back very much. I did procure a gorgeous large silver ring inlaid with mother of pearl, a few sets of gorgeously carved earrings for my modestly stretched ears, a couple of pieces of silk clothing, a moonstone pendant, a couple of beautifully carved hair pins, a delicately carved silver bangle, and a couple of pairs of beautifully carved earrings for some larger stretched lobes that I know could use them. We also wasted a few hours at one of the local healing spas where I received a massage, scrub, moisturizing mask, floral bath, and pedicure (all for about US 20). Oh, and the food! I think my favorite meal in Ubud would have been at Ibo Uku where we enjoyed the local favorite suckling pig—scrumptious!!!

On my fourth day in Bali we departed Ubud, and I can tell you that I was very sad tobe leaving so soon. I will be back. Our driver met us early in the day, and we headed for the village of Takasurin where much of my favorite jewelry is made by local artisans. The ride there was simply stunning, mostly blue skies, the greenest fields and rice terraces you could possibly imagine, and so quiet. We began our adventure that day at Gungkawi, a sacred site of the Bali people, which was just absolutely stunning. A couple hundred steps (or more) leads you into the temple structure where gorgeous carvings, beautiful rushing waterfalls, and some of the most serene setting awaits you. I was moved, transfixed, and inspired. Ultimately I had another one of those moments of intense gratitude that shakes tears from me. However, the walk back up those stairs is no joke—and I was shaking when I got to the top—but for different reasons. We headed up to Mtn. Batur after leaving Takasurin. The road was filled with local arts and crafts there and back that I seriously could have stopped to explore for hours. As it turns out this is the wholesale route, and the goods are only for sale en masse.

It was pouring when we arrived at Mtn. Batur, which is actually a dormant volcano. Our driver had arranged for us to eat at the buffet overlooking the volcano. Once we had settled the rain, and our view had cleared. It was absolutely amazing to be eating a delicious meal overlooking my first glimpse of a volcano. The view was simply amazing, but so was the food! I believe that I may have had my first taste of ear as well. Truly the closest I have come to an Andrew Zimmern (a personal favorite) moment since I arrived in Southeast Asia. The satay was really amazing though. I believe that when most Americans think of satay it is rather bland meat on a stick with an equally bland peanut sauce on the side. Let’s just say that your taste buds have not even come close to true Balinese satay. Spicy, full of flavor, savory, somewhat sweet, complex, and amazing Balinese satay, you just have to try it to know what it really can be like. I plan to take a cooking class when I return to Bali, and if you ask really nicely I might just make it for you. I fully intend to be versed in several different Asian cuisines when I finally make my way back to the North American continent.

We arrived, after only a little searching, at an amazing five star hotel (which the Lonely Planet had listed as midrange—if this was midrange I have never seen what they are considering as upscale). The hotel lobby was jam packed with quirky sculpture, and as we soon found out, so were the grounds. We ended up at the Kamala Pantai Hotel in Legian (although we were only a stone’s throw from Seminyok). Again, the hotel room was spacious, and the bathroom beautiful with a separate shower and bathtub—not to mention the large porch that overlooked the stunning grounds. The curved lanes that twisted and turned around the large property were immaculately groomed with an array of lush, tropical foliage, and an assorted mix of hidden statues around every bend. The hotel’s two pools both boasted an assortment of sculpture, but true to form it was the swim up bar I got really excited about (lame, but oh so true). We ended our evening with live music, and amazingly good Italian food at the hotel’s open air restaurant (that boasted a real wood burning stove for their mouth watering hand made pizzas). The next 36 hours were spent with me budging very little from our wonderful digs. What can I say? Mass hordes of tipsy tourists, streets lined with t-shirts, and assorted other crap just doesn’t appeal to me. For now I am holding my review of Balinese beaches since I did not make it to Ahmed, but instead spent my time at the far more populated and polluted Kuta and Legian. I will leave you with a recipe that I am hoping gets you close to the amazing satay that this island does so well.

Enjoy,

The Epicurious Gypsy

Ingredients:
300 gr minced chicken
5 tbsp spice mixture (see recipe for this below)
5 lime leaves shredded
1/2 cup grated coconut
About 3 tbsp fried shallots
1 tblsp palm sugar
1/2 tsp salt
wooden chopsticks
Mix the coconut, spice mixture, palm sugar, fried shallots, salt and lime leaves together until all ingredients are well and evenly mixed. Add the chicken and knead the mixture together. Add some water or cocounut milk if it is too dry. Take a tablespoon if the mixture and wrap it round a wooden chopstick. Do this until all the chicken mixture is used up. Then grill until golden brown. Serve with stay sauce.
Balinese Spice Mixture
1 tsp whole black pepper
3 cloves garlic
1/2 an onion or 5 shallots
1 large red chilli with seeds removed
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
2-3 candlenuts
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp tumeric
5 tbsp galangal
3 tsp kencur
1 1/2 tbsp ginger
1/4 cup water (used to make it more pastey if too dry)
Grind all the ingredients into a fine paste using a mortar and pestle. If you don’t have one, then use ground black pepper, ground coriander seeds etc. Then place all ingredients in a blender. Heat some oil in a wok and fry until golden yellow in color. Cool before using