This is a question I am becoming unable to answer after a few days exploring the countryside of Bali. Villagers have impressive walls around their houses and amazing archways that you enter to get into their compound. Once inside you find several temples and small pillars, ornaments and other objects that tend to be gold. Hiding behind them, somewhere is the living quarters -probably extending quite a way back, since the houses seem to have plenty of land. In between will be a water feature and plenty of plants as well as offerings that are laid fresh every day.
We have seen this everywhere, and it extends to hotels too -most of which also seem to be temples at first glance. And when we actually find a temple that is a temple and not a house -and though there might be thousands of houses in an area, there are still hundreds of temples- the temple is deserted, but still impressive. There is clearly no shortage of stone in Bali. We have been taken aback with how beautiful the area is, and now I understand the popularity and legend that has arisen over Bali.
Yet, despite over 20 years of regular and extensive tourism, this large island (over 130 km wide, and over 40 km long), does not seem to have been that affected. Granted we have seen minimal poverty (presumably other parts of Indonesia are much worse) and the government seems to have invested in the road system (still only single lanes, but they are all tarmac), but most people are living their usual, rural life. All over we saw people working in the fields, carrying bushels of something-or-other on their backs as they walked along the roads, and children kicking balls in the roads. Yes, a lot of people are getting an income from tourism, working in cafes, restaurants or hotels, or as tour guides or ticket agents, but it does not seem to have changed the way of life dramatically for most people. This is not exactly what I was expecting.
Then again, Ubud, the 'other half of the Bali duopoly' as the Lonely Planet calls it (Kuta is the beach half and Ubud is the culture/countryside half), is also not what I expected. Initially thinking that a village would be a village I was disappointed to find several long streets packed with motorbikes, cafes and guesthouses. But behind these, most of the guesthouses look out onto paddy fields, and quickly one can escape the 'village' to explore. Has tourism growth here been responsible? Compared to most other places, it seems so. Has it affected the locals? It does not seem that it has.
The other intriguing element to Ubud is the range of accommodation. There is plenty of mid-range accommodation of around 20-40 dollars a night (often with swimming pools), but limited below that, which is pretty expensive for backpackers. But most westerners here are not backpackers (who might only stick to the beaches with more nightlife) but mature travellers or families. Indeed, most rooms come with a double bed and a spare bed; and there is an outrageous plethora of expensive resorts around Ubud -some are several kms away- which cost upwards of 300 dollars a night with gorgeous views and various perks. As can be expected, there are quite a few british people here, but they are totally outnumbered by the Australians, on the streets at least. I do wonder who make up the patrons of the upmarket resorts? In the big scheme of things, I suppose they are not that expensive, it's just they seem unnecessary. Most of the accommodation in Ubud is wonderful, our's is exceptionally so. The rooms really do feel a part of a family's house with most hotels having only 10 rooms meaning you feel like being in a homely environment; and if you are lucky, like we are, one that is quiet and away from the noise of the motorbikes storming past all day long!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Re: Black snow and a vision of hell
p.s. the BBC has a photo show of Bromo and me and Dad are in the photos!
Check out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12074769
In the middle is me in a black jacket looking behind me to talk to Dad who is wearing a beige cap -you can just make us out. Our photos are better though -will upload them soon.
Check out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12074769
In the middle is me in a black jacket looking behind me to talk to Dad who is wearing a beige cap -you can just make us out. Our photos are better though -will upload them soon.
Black snow and a vision of hell
Let me start by wishing you all a Merry Christmas and say that, shortly, I will going to bed after waking up at 4am this morning, and 3am yesterday morning -however no more early mornings are planned so some later nights will be in the pipeline!
The first 3am rise was to head to the top of Bromo, a volcano that erupted a few weeks ago and still spewing ash everywhere. It is one hell of a site. We'd spent the previous afternoon at a guesthouse near the top of the crater and were being rained on by black ash constantly. The poor staff were cleaning windows, sweeping floors and even sweeping the roof (the ash can get heavy, especially when wet). We'd also ventured out for a walk to see the craziness outside... several inches of black ash had covered all the fields. I think some people replanted vegetables a week or so ago, after the initial eruption subsided but they all got covered again. Some great photos of the fields though will be uploaded soon.
As will the photos of what we saw ridiculously early that morning. Behind one was a vision of hell, everything was black, trees had collapsed or were drooping. Black ash swirled in the wind, especially the ash blowing off of the trees, and roads were covered in a foot of solid black sand-like ash. In front of us was an amazing site: a massive crater which 3 other smaller craters in it. One of them was Bromo, with black ash billowing out and rising into the atmosphere then blowing across miles and miles of nearby villages. Even at Probolingo, the nearest large town, an hour drive away, their was a light ash-fall.
This morning was a trip to another volcanic crater; this one a sulfuric lake that was a beautiful deep turquoise color that was very rewarding after a tough climb at fairly high altitude. The locals dig out the sulfur in solid form, as it comes out of the geyser on the side of the crater and then carry it down the mountain on their shoulders. A horrible job.
This afternoon, i saw something i have never seen before... and it took me a while to work out exactly what it was. We were sitting on a ferry, waiting for it to leave when we saw someone swimming next to the boat shouting. After a while we worked out that he, and two others (who were wearing fins), were actually begging and would swim like crazy to get the coins as they started sinking once they were thrown overboard. It did seems somewhat desperate, and not that safe, but it was kind of interesting too. Most ironically, they were the only beggars i have seen in 3 days in Indonesia, which, on the whole, is more developed, tidier, cleaner and with better infrastructure than I expected. Although a few bones were rattled on the road down from the volcano this morning, and a few bags fell out the van as the boot door swung open!
It has been a wonderful trip so far -special- and more updates to come!
The first 3am rise was to head to the top of Bromo, a volcano that erupted a few weeks ago and still spewing ash everywhere. It is one hell of a site. We'd spent the previous afternoon at a guesthouse near the top of the crater and were being rained on by black ash constantly. The poor staff were cleaning windows, sweeping floors and even sweeping the roof (the ash can get heavy, especially when wet). We'd also ventured out for a walk to see the craziness outside... several inches of black ash had covered all the fields. I think some people replanted vegetables a week or so ago, after the initial eruption subsided but they all got covered again. Some great photos of the fields though will be uploaded soon.
As will the photos of what we saw ridiculously early that morning. Behind one was a vision of hell, everything was black, trees had collapsed or were drooping. Black ash swirled in the wind, especially the ash blowing off of the trees, and roads were covered in a foot of solid black sand-like ash. In front of us was an amazing site: a massive crater which 3 other smaller craters in it. One of them was Bromo, with black ash billowing out and rising into the atmosphere then blowing across miles and miles of nearby villages. Even at Probolingo, the nearest large town, an hour drive away, their was a light ash-fall.
This morning was a trip to another volcanic crater; this one a sulfuric lake that was a beautiful deep turquoise color that was very rewarding after a tough climb at fairly high altitude. The locals dig out the sulfur in solid form, as it comes out of the geyser on the side of the crater and then carry it down the mountain on their shoulders. A horrible job.
This afternoon, i saw something i have never seen before... and it took me a while to work out exactly what it was. We were sitting on a ferry, waiting for it to leave when we saw someone swimming next to the boat shouting. After a while we worked out that he, and two others (who were wearing fins), were actually begging and would swim like crazy to get the coins as they started sinking once they were thrown overboard. It did seems somewhat desperate, and not that safe, but it was kind of interesting too. Most ironically, they were the only beggars i have seen in 3 days in Indonesia, which, on the whole, is more developed, tidier, cleaner and with better infrastructure than I expected. Although a few bones were rattled on the road down from the volcano this morning, and a few bags fell out the van as the boot door swung open!
It has been a wonderful trip so far -special- and more updates to come!
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Films about prostitutes and how England needs more bribes
When Beijing is blue, Beijing is blue. Last weekend, and this is not as rare occurrence as the media might make out, Beijing's skies were as blue as almost anywhere you could find in the world. It was perfect for enjoying some gluwein (since it is just a few degrees above freezing) -which is mulled wine- at the annual German Christmas market along with various sausages, beers, gingerbread men and the like. An enjoyable experience as always, after a few hours, most of us were left wondering why so few mugs of mulled wine seemed to have such a substantial affect on us!
Today, I can enjoy the apartment, which has finally had heating since it was turned on by the government 2 weeks ago, and has a floor. For a couple of weeks i had a hole in the living room whilst workers tried to identify the source of a leak, fix it, and then re-lay the floor. I can also enjoy some excellent TED videos (www.ted.com), one of which by Denis Dutton i highly recommend spending 17 minutes of your time watching. He talks about Beauty -where it comes from, and how it is defined, arguing it is not so much in the eye of the beholder as ingrained in us through evolution with a clear purpose. His explanation of the role of beauty to attract us, in finding beauty in things done well and in how across the world we all find similar forms of nature beautiful is very compelling and interesting. Another, by Aaron Huey, reveals the disturbing truth of the native Americans' situation today, and how the US has created the problems.
Over the last 2 weeks, there has been a Nordic film festival on, and I have managed to watch 5 of the films -some, such as the experiences of a Chinese entrepreneur failing to build a conference center in Sweden, one about Dole's use of dangerous pesticides on its banana plantations and one about a brothel in Germany with 200 prostitutes were very interesting. A couple of others were also good: how the Norwegian pension fund tries to get companies it invests in to clean up their acts, and the role of the media in Italy's society. Some of the directors were also in attendance answering questions, though interestingly, for the films that are quite activist, neither of the directors approached the films with the aim of creating change in society -they just wanted to make interesting films -and the side-affect is often that the films lead to change. This was interesting in the context of how much effort would be made to use the films to create change; and whether the films were better because they were not purely aimed at creating change, unlike certain films made by charities or governments.
And the highlight of today? The news: ENGLAND 2026 BID TO BE BASED ON BRIBES AND POISON. Check it out if you still need consoling after Thursday's disappointment! http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/sport/sport-headlines/england-2026-bid-to-be-based-on-bribes-and-poison-201012023312/
Today, I can enjoy the apartment, which has finally had heating since it was turned on by the government 2 weeks ago, and has a floor. For a couple of weeks i had a hole in the living room whilst workers tried to identify the source of a leak, fix it, and then re-lay the floor. I can also enjoy some excellent TED videos (www.ted.com), one of which by Denis Dutton i highly recommend spending 17 minutes of your time watching. He talks about Beauty -where it comes from, and how it is defined, arguing it is not so much in the eye of the beholder as ingrained in us through evolution with a clear purpose. His explanation of the role of beauty to attract us, in finding beauty in things done well and in how across the world we all find similar forms of nature beautiful is very compelling and interesting. Another, by Aaron Huey, reveals the disturbing truth of the native Americans' situation today, and how the US has created the problems.
Over the last 2 weeks, there has been a Nordic film festival on, and I have managed to watch 5 of the films -some, such as the experiences of a Chinese entrepreneur failing to build a conference center in Sweden, one about Dole's use of dangerous pesticides on its banana plantations and one about a brothel in Germany with 200 prostitutes were very interesting. A couple of others were also good: how the Norwegian pension fund tries to get companies it invests in to clean up their acts, and the role of the media in Italy's society. Some of the directors were also in attendance answering questions, though interestingly, for the films that are quite activist, neither of the directors approached the films with the aim of creating change in society -they just wanted to make interesting films -and the side-affect is often that the films lead to change. This was interesting in the context of how much effort would be made to use the films to create change; and whether the films were better because they were not purely aimed at creating change, unlike certain films made by charities or governments.
And the highlight of today? The news: ENGLAND 2026 BID TO BE BASED ON BRIBES AND POISON. Check it out if you still need consoling after Thursday's disappointment! http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/sport/sport-headlines/england-2026-bid-to-be-based-on-bribes-and-poison-201012023312/
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