After the home Hindu ceremony with the Pandit, yes, I’m soaked!

Today my Balinese transformation begins with a cooking class, by Kadek, of course. Yesterday as we were finishing our omelets, we noticed that Kadek brought something different for breakfast for herself. Rice and some kind of greens and tofu. The omelets are great, but why don’t we have that for breakfast? Hm, after she got the go-ahead from Kevin, she said she would get the ingredients and make it today. Yum! Balinese cooking class!

Boil the peanuts, chilis, and garlic

Greens, tofu, and chili mixture before blending

Putting it all together, first tofu, then greens, then sauce. Yum!

She starts with cooking the rice. Balinese rice is white, but not processed, a little sticky but not much. There’s a rice cooker here, so that’s easy. Then she puts a couple of cups of coconut oil in a pan and gets it boiling. When it’s good and rolling, she adds some tofu, a special kind made by her neighbor. When that is fried, she removes the tofu and adds some peanuts, a few cloves of garlic, and some chilis, tops on to the boiling oil. This boils for about maybe 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, in another pan she boils water for the greens. This is water spinach, a relative of the morning glory. She cuts the hard parts of the stem off and slices them before dropping them in the water. They boil for just a few minutes. While everything is still boiling, she puts some shrimp paste on a fork and sticks it in the fire under the pan. When the peanut/garlic/chili mixture is good and ready, she drains the oil and puts it in the blender with some coconut water and regular water, blending until it forms a paste, adding more liquid to make a sauce. Putting the rice in a mold and topping it with fried onions in the middle of the plate, she puts the tofu in a bowl, places greens on top, then covers it all with the spicy peanut sauce. YUM. Best breakfast ever.

This is sooo good!

It’s pretty rainy today, so we just hang out around here, talking and sharing stories. It’s nap time again. Soon we’re getting ready to go to Manik’s for the Hindu ceremony. However, it’s just pouring outside, that tropical rain that just drowns everything. Mitsuyo has her kebaya all ready made from last week, so she is beautiful. My kebaya won’t be ready til Monday, so I have to cobble together a sarong, belt, and shirt that covers my shoulders (no corset required!), which is not cool for temple but is ok for a home visit.

We walk to Mama’s (Manik’s), see her there, and go across the street to get blessed and offer prayers. There are a bunch of people kneeling and praying in one area and a man in a white shirt and pants sitting up on a platform loaded with flowers and food. He’s the priest, or pandit. We go up to the platform, one step down, and wait for the family ahead of us to finish their blessing. Now it’s our turn.

At Mama’s – Manik’s house is right across the street

We step in front of him and he gives us a big smile before he puts on his serious face and begins to speak. I don’t know exactly what he is saying, being in Balinese and all, but he’s got the prayer voice of a good preacher. First the prayer. Palms together, up between the eyes. Break. Palms together, this time with flowers. Break. Put one flower behind ear. Palms together again, with different flowers. Break. Put flower behind other ear. Palms together more flowers. Break. Find an ear that has room for another flower. Last time, palms together with smoke from incense. First part done.

Family Home Temple – first prayer station

Second part begins as we hold our hands open in front of us. The pandit continues speaking. Then he gets a little brush of sticks, dips it in water, and sprinkles it over us several times. We then are instructed (Manik is there, walking us through this) to cup our hands, right over left. The pandit now has a sort of teapot with a long spout and he pours water into our hands. We bring our hands to our mouths and drink. It’s smoky-tasting. Two more times we receive and drink, dribbling a bit in the process. The third time we take the water from our palms and put the water on our heads. The pandit continues his invocation. Hands out again, this time for rice. Grab some rice with your right hand and put it in your left. It’s sticky and a bit wet. Stick some on your forehead, right between your eyebrows. Stick some on the hollow at the base of your neck. Eat some. For the finale, he then takes some long leaves and flowers and makes us each a little headband. That’s it. Big smiles all around.

Then we go down to the second platform and kneel, repeating the ceremony all over again without the pandit. Thank goodness for Manik, or we would be totally lost. Then it’s done. We are wet, but have communicated with the gods, thanking the good and trying to appease the more mischievous. It feels good.

Family compound – second praying station

It’s Mitsuyo’s last night so we go to her favorite sushi place for happy hour. Two for one mojitos and $5 huge sushi rolls. We’ve shared so much, and I’m really going to miss her! Joining us is her friend from Singapore who also stayed at the Nest for a while before doing a bit of traveling. She is interested in visiting a Balinese healer, as am I. We compare notes and want to see the same guy. She introduces me to WhatsApp and we connect. We’ll see what happens later this week.

Inside the family compound

You might be thinking, where are the pictures of beautiful scenery and the awesome temples? That’s for Tourist Julie, and right now that’s not where I’m at. Tomorrow, the Hindu ceremony continues as we are invited to return to Manik’s.

Sushi and mojitos!

Posted with Blogsy

Let’s go! Off to the fabric store!

Usually, when I travel, I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do each day, where I want to do it, and when it will be done. I’ve done tons of research and know just about all of the options. I create and follow a loose, but busy itinerary that will cover every sightseeing opportunity and eating experience to get the maximum “benefit” of each place.

This trip is different.

I have almost three weeks in one place. And not one thing planned. With all of the stuff I had going on these last few months, I have had precious little time to devote to travel planning. I wasn’t even sure until two weeks before departure that I was going to be able to go here at all. I know that there are many things to do, but heck, some people do Ubud in one day, so I figured I’d have lots of time to rest and see what comes up.

The one thing I most wanted to do was to try to be Balinese. I wanted to immediately transport my experience from tourist mode to “I live here” mode. I wasn’t sure exactly how that was going to be done, except to begin in a guesthouse, rather than a hotel or hostel. A guesthouse where my host was someone who actually lived here and knew their way around.

Staying at The Nest was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. And it’s funny, although I’ve learned a bunch from my expat host Kevin, my first real Balinese teacher/friend/tour guide has been the lovely Kadek, who makes our breakfasts, cleans our rooms, and sets out the offerings. We had a talk yesterday and made some plans to go to some of the Hindu temples during the upcoming 2-week full moon ceremony period. Most Balinese are Hindu, so that’s where I’m going to start as I become Balinese. I really know very little about the Hindu religion, except that it’s extremely colorful and they have many gods and great stories for every one of them.

But first, to go to the temple during the ceremony, you need special clothes. Kadek brought some of her mother’s clothes for me to borrow, but alas, they were too small. What to do? Have one specially made, of course! When she was done with her work around the Nest, we hopped on her motorbike and made our way to the market. Not the touristy Ubud market, but the local Gianyar market, about 20 minutes away.

The motorbike ride was a thrill in itself. There are more motorbikes than cars here, and almost everybody has one. Before I left Virginia, I had thought I might rent one just to zip around on, even procuring the required International Driver’s license from AAA. However, after careening down the road on the left side, sometimes almost knee to knee with the motorbike riders next to us, cutting in front of trucks or going around practically on the sidewalk, I think I’ll take a pass. I’m holding on to Kadek for dear life!

We park the motorbike at the market and it is a burst of vendors, colors, and smells. Not rotten or sewery smells, though, Bali smells sweet and full. We wind past the fruit vendors to the stalls inside until we get to her friend’s fabric shop.

Kadek and her friend Mamek at the fabric store

So many choices!

Blue is for jacket, orange is for sarong, orange belt on top, black corset underneath

The kebaya (what women wear) is made up of 4 main pieces. We begin with the lacy fabric for the jacket, the one thing that has to be custom made. What color do I like? Blue. Ok, which blue? So many choices!! Finally we find a color that suits. Now we need a sarong, a big piece of fabric wrapped around like a long skirt. Searching through piles and piles of possibilities we find a gorgeous match. Now the belt, which pulls the whole outfit together. Kadek’s friend finds the perfect one. Last but not least is the underwear. Since the top is lacy and see-through, they use a corset, black, to make sure the shape over the skin-tight jacket is, uh, womanly. Sort of a Balinese spanx, there’s a band around my midsection that must be pulled tight and hooked up, then zip up the middle, flattening the belly while enhancing the bosom. Wow, all this for less than $50.

Balinese tailor

From here, we buy some mangosteens (yummy fruit, I get a lesson on how to choose the best ones) and back on the motorbike, out of the market, back to Ubud, and out to the rice fields where the tailor’s shop is located. It starts to rain, no biggie, just pull out the poncho and we’re good. My grip on Kadek’s hips has relaxed to the point I’m not even really holding on anymore. Just lean into it, yeah.

No one at the tailor’s speaks much english, but they are all smiles and we exchange names. I get properly measured as Kedak gives her directions. The sewing machines are old Chinese models that are operated by treadle. Soon we are finished and with a flurry of thank you’s and goodbyes we are back on the motorbike heading back to the Nest.

Mitsuyo is waiting and we chat a bit then head off to early dinner. This time, it’s a different Mama’s, same street, but a few doors to the right. Mitsuyo is sort of a regular here and knows the owner, Manik. Manik is the 6th Mama sister, the other Mama sister is the 2nd. We eat another incredibly delicious Balinese meal and share stories. A rainbow appears. Wow. We find out that this full moon ceremony begins this weekend with people going to pray at a home temple. If you live in a Balinese family compound, there are 4 or 5 homes surrounding a courtyard where there are various small temples and at least one large one. Manik lives just across the street and we are invited to her home tomorrow for our first ceremony. We’re on!

Back to the room for an early night. I’m starting to feel less western already.

Coconut pineapple chicken soup

Mama’s gado gado, peanut sauce in the middle

Posted with Blogsy

Alu, the Crazy Cat

I've made it across the Pacific and to Gemini's (pronounced jay-mee-nee) house, a quick 15 minute taxi ride from the airport. He's tall, over 6 feet, and is an artist. I admire the pieces he's crafted from driftwood, animal skulls, and pieces of metal.

He tells me the good news is, I have my own bathroom and do not need to share with him and his girlfriend. However, I do have to share it with his cat. Oh, I said, for one night I can have a litterbox in the bathroom, no problem. Don't worry, he said, there's no litterbox. You'll share the toilet. Huh??

This cat, who I will call Alu because I can't remember his name, is quite precocious. He can use the toilet as long as his special seat is down. He can open doors, too, so if I want privacy, I need to lock mine. And he generally causes mischief all about the house.

Since I have two cats at home (one with issues that we won't get into right now), I figured this would be a non-issue. Interesting, really, how Gemini took months using a special litter box for the toilet and then a special seat to train this cat to poo and pee in a place that never needs to be scooped. In fact, while I was writing my last blog entry in his kitchen, he called me to come look as Alu was doing his business (apparently, Alu can only open doors, not close them.) Looking into the bathroom, I could just see the front edge of the toilet and the cat's head above it, seemingly saying, “Whaaat? Can't a guy get a little privacy here?” Too funny.

Imagine seeing a cat face looking around the corner!

So off to bed I went.

Morning came early, 4am. (Thank you, jet lag!) After about half and hour of staring at the ceiling, I decided to get up and take my computer to the living room, the only place with good internet. I put my socks on (no shoes allowed in the house) and padded out to the deserted room. I'm trying to be as quiet as can be, since everyone else was asleep. Well, almost everybody. Here comes Alu, probably fresh from his 4am poo, alive and well. He meows a hello, but I shush him, trying to keep the noise down. I do so want to be a good guest.

As I'm checking my email, he moves on. Good, I thought. Then I hear the rattle of a doorknob. Gemini's doors have the long-handled doorknob, not the bulbous kind. It's easy for Alu to get up on his hind legs, place both paws on the handle, and pull down. Cute, kind of, but maybe not at 4am. If it was only one rattle, then maybe it would be ok, but then, it begins again, this time, more insistent. After the third rattle, the intensity ramps up and it sounds like a crazed convict is trying to get into Gemini's room. Omg, what if he thinks it's me?? This goes on for an excruciatingly long 30 seconds. Then silence.

Alu comes back into the living room with a “what do you think of me now?” attitude. I'm mortified that my landlord is thinking that I'm totally off my rocker and ignore that bad cat. Well, he's not having any of that. Whoosh! Down goes the guitar from it's stand to the floor! Down goes a glass left on the coffee table! Not wanting to be caught at the scene of the crime, I scurry back to my room, leaving my internet behind

The scene of the crime

I try to sleep just a bit more (yawn, oh yes, I've been in my room the whole time!), I got up to take a shower. There are in fact a couple of turds in the toilet, so I flush them (apparently Alu is not THAT clever), and put his seat up. I showered, dressed, packed up and once again took my iPad back into the living room. Alu is laying on the floor, stretched out, eyes half closed, still resting from his 4am adventures.

Gemini is up and offers to fix breakfast. Eggs, sausage, beans, tomatoes, and toast made in a pan. Yum. He shows me his modern Korean kitchen appliance, the rice storage bin. Looks like a trash compactor, but when you pull it out, it holds about 20 pounds of rice at just the right temperature and humidity. Press a button and you get a serving delivered to a cup at the bottom. Cool!

Gemini and the Crazy Cat

I hesitate to do it, but I just can't leave without making sure he knows the 4am commotion wasn't from me. Did you hear?… I ask. What? No, he answers. I sleep with earplugs. This door rattling happens almost every night and I don't even notice it anymore. I am relieved and amazed.

The taxi comes and I am whisked back to the airport, leaving that crazy cat and my new friend Gemini behind. Bali, here I come!

Posted with Blogsy