Old Cinemas

If you follow our photos on flickr then you know that we are into 20th Century Modern Architecture especially Art Deco and Art Moderne. We make a point of seeking out this type of building in our travels and were pleasantly surprised during our 2008/2009 travels in Myanmar (Burma) and India to find quite a number of Art Deco and Art Moderne cinemas.

Some of the Art Deco cinemas in India are well known like The Eros in Mumbai and The Metro in Calcutta and easy to find. But there are many, many older cinemas in India and it's quite likely to run into a gem anywhere. In Burma, it was quite a thrill to come across older cinema in cities which are off the beaten track like Bhamo and Myitkyina. And in Yangon, many of the cinemas have large hand-painted posters.

We find these old cinemas interesting in several ways. First, the beauty of the Art Deco/Moderne stylings. Some are genuine pieces from the heydays of the 1930's and 1940's when both Deco/Moderne architecture and "talking pictures" were symbols of 20th Century modernism and progress. Others are from the post war 1950's and have an International, Tropical or Socialist flavor.

Second, the degree of upkeep of the building sometimes gives a glimpse into local culture and history. Some cinemas are well kept with minimal changes to the original design. Others are sparkling new and renovated to a degree that they have lost their charm. And some are run-down and covered with billboards, some are closed. Each one tells a story.

Third, with the consent of friendly workers we sometimes get a look into the cinema hall which can be a walk back in time to the era of ceiling fans, balconies, and ancient projectors.

I've put together a set of photos on flickr that has most of the old cinemas we saw in 2008 and 2009. Most are from India and Myanmar but there are a few from Laos as well.

The Eros Cinema in Mumbai.


The Metro Cinema in Calcutta (showing Slumdog Millionaire).


The striking Bayint Cinema in Mawlamyine, Burma.

Itinerary 2008 - China, Myanmar (Burma), Laos

Date(s): Location(s): Transport
--------------------------------
1/1: Shanghai -> Kunming: Air
1/2: Kunming
1/3: Kunming -> Lunan: Bus
1/4: Lunan
1/5: Lunan -> Kunming: Bus
1/6: Kunming -> Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma): Air
1/7-1/10: Mandalay
1/11: Mandalay -> Pyin Oo Lwin: Shared Taxi
1/12: Pyin Oo Lwin
1/13: Pyin Oo Lwin -> Hsipsaw (Thipaw): Train
1/14: Hsipsaw (Thipaw)
1/15: Hsipsaw -> Mandalay: Train + Pickup
1/16-1/17: Mandalay -> Bagan: Boat
1/18-1/21: Bagan
1/22: Bagan -> Kalaw: Bus ride from hell
1/23,24: Kalaw
1/25: Kalaw -> Pindaya -> Inle Lake: Hired Car
1/26-28: Inle Lake
1/29: Inle Lake -> Yangon (Rangoon): Fly from Heho to Yangon
1/30-2/2: Yangon
2/3: Yangon -> Vientiane, Laos: Air
2/4-2/6: Vientiane
2/7: Vientiane -> Vang Vieng: Minivan
2/8-2/11: Vang Vieng
2/12: Vang Vieng - Luang Prabang: Bus
2/13-2/19: Luang Prabang
2/20: Luang Prabang -> Nong Khiaw: Boat
2/21: Nong Khiaw:
2/22: Nong Khiaw -> Muang Noi: Boat
2/23-24: Muang Noi
2/25: Muang Noi -> Nong Khiaw (Boat) -> Oodomxai (Van) -> Luang Nam Tha (Bus)
2/26: Luang Nam Tha
2/27: Luang Nam Tha -> Muang Sing: Van
2/28-29: Muang Sing
3/1: Muang Sing -> Luang Nam Tha: Van
3/2: Luang Nam Tha, Laos -> Mengla, China : Bus

Bad timing, as usual

We seem to have started travelling when the dollar is at the lowest ever. It went down close to 10% against the Burmese kyat just during the four weeks we were there.

Ground transportation seems to be up by as much as 100% from three years ago when the LP guidebook was researched.

Surfing in the free world

We are transitting in the Bangkok Airport, enjoying the free Wifi signal here, participating in the modern world.

Guacamole in Burma (UPDATE with photo)

An unexpected culinary highlight in Burma has been Guacamole. Avocados can be seen in the markets everywhere. They are a size between California and Florida avocados. I have no idea how Burmese eat them, but we had guacamole in tourist restaurants 5-6 times. Yumm.... I can eat it everyday.

Fujian, China - Part 1 - Shanghai to Quanzhou

We had such a good trip to Southeastern China last New Year's holiday that we decided to return this year to visit Quanzhou and Xiamen in Fujian Province. Here’s the story.

Dec 29, 2006

Taxi from home to Hongqiao Airport (28 RMB). The 12:45 flight to Quanzhou took off on time. I had the window seat and the passing landscape below had me engrossed the whole journey: the mountain ranges of Zhejiang, the construction of the new high-speed railway from Fuzhou to Xiamen, and the coastline and cityscape of Quanzhou.

I was surprised when the flight attendant produced 2 vegetarian lunch boxes upon our request even though we had not ordered special veggie meals in advance.


Here’s a shot where you can see tunnel construction for the new Fuzhou-Xiamen High-Speed railroad.


As we neared the Quanzhou airport, I could see both the coastal islands and the coastline. The local granite is known world wide and appears to be quarried with no thought to the consequence; aesthetic or environmental.

Beautiful Coastline.


Scars from mining.


Landed at the Quanzhou airport at 2:11 PM. Ignored the transport touts, walked out to a main road, and snagged a taxi (32.5 RMB) for the 20 minute ride to the recently renovated Quanzhou Overseas Chinese Hotel. For 300 RMB per night we got a double room with new carpet and new bed quilts, breakfast included, modern stylings, and a view of the nearby Confucius Temple.

We threw our bags down and headed out the door at 3:05. First stop: the Qingjing Mosque of Quanzhou (3 RMB). Cool - and just a 5 minute walk from the hotel. The first Muslims – missionaries sent by Mohammed himself - came to Quanzhou in about 618 AD.

This mosque is in the Persian style, built about 1000 AD and modeled after a mosque in Damascus. It’s the first Mosque we’ve seen in China that was not Chinese architecture.


After 20 pleasanst minutes in the Mosque, we walked through the back streets towards the Kaiyun Temple (10 RMB). Lots of back-alley activity.

Bamboo basketmaker.

.
Elementary school pickup.


Kaiyun Temple is big complex with twin stone pagodas (no entrance – bummer), monks, monk’s quarters, gardens, new temple construction, 1000 y.o. old trees, a main temple of 100 pillars, and a ship museum.

One of the pagodas.


Closed(L) and open(R) mouthed Guardians carved into the lower pagoda facade.


Gardens


Main Temple of 100 Pillars – no photos allowed inside.


Ship Museum: Ship excavated from nearby harbor.


New Construction


After leaving the temple, we rode a bicycle rickshaw (6 RMB) to the Beimen (North Gate) in search of a vegetarian restaurant that turned out to be closed. In Quanzhou the bicycle rickshaws are the side-car design; that is, instead of the usual symmetric tricycle design – one wheel in front and two in the back - it’s a regular bicycle with a two-seat side car.

Here’s a photo and some video of the ride.





So we rode Bus #3 (1 RMB) back to the hotel area. The one vegetarian restaurant near the mosque did not look appealing so we hit one of the side streets for some on-the-spot, deep-fry, Yunnan-style veggies and a cold beer (all for 26 RMB).



Back to hotel at 7:30 PM.

SLHOTD: “The Mosque was really cool.”
JHOTD: Dinner.

For all the photos from Dec 29, click here.

Japan Trip - Fun with Google Spreadsheets

I've been playing around with Google Spreadsheets. To see a Google Spreadsheet showing our Japan Trip expenses, click here.

or look at the embedded version below.

Nanjing, China - 2006

In September, we spent a weekend in Nanjing, China and enjoyed it immensely. If you want to go directly to the photos, click here. Most have good titles and descriptions.

Itinerary:
Saturday

• Purple Hills Scenic Area with Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum and other nearby attractions
• Fuzimiao and City Wall

Sunday

• Presidential Palace Complex
• Nanjing University

Prologue:

Nanjing was the capital of China during the Republic Period (1912 to 1949) and has loads of interesting things to do and see. I was feeling good about the trip even before it started since we had round trip train tickets (Shanghai/Nanjing - Nanjing/Shanghai) in hand and a hotel booked. It's only recently that one could easily buy round trip train tickets in China. Previously it was part of the travel routine to immediately head to the ticket queue after arriving at your destination to buy the return ticket Now, by paying a small surcharge one can buy both sets of tickets and have them delivered.

Friday, September 15, 2006

The sold-out 16:04 Shanghai to Nanjing train (about 70 RMB each) pulled out around 16:35, over 30 minutes late. Our fellow passengers included one guy with his folding bicycle and another guy with a hand truck full of shoe boxes.

As we passed through Suzhou an attendant came through selling dofu gan (dried tofu) a local specialty. Sun-Ling remembered back to her younger days when she used to ride the train between Hefei and Shanghai. She always looked forward to going through Suzhou as the local dofu gan is quite tasty and not “dry” at all. It’s tofu that has been dried, but then soaked in savory sauces. Yummy! And she added that it seemed they only sold it while going through Suzhou.

Got the usual “Welcome to Suzhou” text message on my cell phone as we approached Suzhou. Do cities do that in the US now?

Arrived at Nanjing Station about 7:20 PM. The new Nanjing Metro is co-located with the train station and we easily found the Metro entrance, bought 2 round, red tokens for 2 RMB each from the automatic machine and rode south 5 stops to Zhong Shan Rd.

After a routine missed turn, we wound up at the Fuchang Hotel, 75 Zhong Shan Rd. This fine art deco hotel was built in 1932; however, now the front facade is obscured by old sycamore trees, and the first floor lobby has been converted into shops.

After first being shown a quiet, back-facing room we opted for a front-facing double with a view of the street for 280 RMB per night, breakfast included. The room had twin beds, frig, safe, electric water heater, TV, closet, reading lights, slippers, desk, chair, toothbrush, and was clean and kept up.

Not too soon for me we headed out to nearby LP-recommended Harry’s Place for pizza and beer. I liked Harry’s Place, not only did they have 20% off on food after 8:30, but also 50% on drinks. The smiling waitress delivered 2 cold pints of Carlsberg, a coconut drink for Sun-Ling, one 9” veggie pizza, one order of home fry chips, and one order of home fry hash browns - all for 92 RMB, about $12 US.

Then back to the hotel to crash.

Saturday September 16, 2006

The plan for the day is Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum and Fuzimiao.

Up at 7:30, into the shower, and over to the adjoining Central Hotel for breakfast. It seems that the Fuchang is an annex of the Central and Fuchang guests can use Central’s facilities. Anyway, an excellent buffet breakfast with spreads of Chinese, American, European and Japanese food. I had an omelet, rice soup, cheese, bread, and coffee.

Then about 10 or so we headed out to catch a bus to Sun Yat-sen’s tomb. First let me explain a crucial fact. Sun Yat-sen’s Mandarin Chinese name is Sun Zhong Shan and he is most often referred to a just Zhong Shan. So Sun Yat-sen’s Tomb is also known as Zhong Shan Ling. Sun Yat-sen is acknowledged by most Chinese (even the Communist Party) to be the founder of the modern China and thus every town in China seems to have a Zhong Shan Rd and/or Zhong Shan Park.

After a detour to a local bookstore to buy a city map, we caught bus #9 and arrived a Zhong Shan Ling about 11AM. The clouds were giving way to sun as we bought our 80 RMB combo ticket (4 attractions total) and set out to climb the 392 wide steps up to the Mausoleum. There were many, many, people; locals and tourist who had come out to the green hills (actually called the Purple Hills Scenic Area) to see the tomb of Dr Sun who died in 1925 and was placed in his tomb in 1932. This monument to Dr Sun is wide open, grand, and reminded us of some of the European palace grounds we have visited.

Then we caught the free tram to the Linggu Temple and Pagoda, Beamless hall, and Tai Yan Kai tomb attractions. The pagoda, said to have been designed by an American, had ~240 steps up a spiral staircase to magnificent views of the surrounding hills and back to downtown Nanjing.

We ate lunch at the Pine Pavilion Vegetarian restaurant near Linggu Temple. 36 RMB for 2 bowls of noodle soup and one cold dish. A sign said there has been a vegetarian restaurant on that spot for 500 years.

After a visit to the Sun Yat-sen Museum, we caught bus Y2 to Fuzimiao, an area with a scenic canal, Confucius school, and tons of shops and restaurants. We rented an electric boat – 30 minutes for 25 RMB – and cruised down the canal towards Zhonghua Gate Castle and back. Then walked back to Zhonghua Gate, an impressive part of the old City Wall, and paid our 20 RMB each to wander around. Nanjing has an impressive amount of its old city wall still standing but exploring it will have to wait for another trip. Then back to Fuzimiao, and eventually after much searching had dinner at a Korean restaurant: 87 RMB for 2 beers, a pancake, and a stone bowl. Taxied back to the hotel. Had a long, long, long, wait for hot water in the bathroom. Why? Why? Why? And crashed.

SLHOTD: Zhong Shan Ling. Very impressive with the 392 steps, blue tile roofs, simple design, and gold letters. Note the old photo of "The Chinese delegation to the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936 having memorial services at Sun Yatsen's Mausoleum just before departure."

John’s miscellaneous notes on the day:
o Missed a great photo of a mobile bicycle repair shop.
o Got an OK photo of a traditional popcorn vendor with bellows and cannon.
o Roasted chestnuts are in.
oWalked by the full St Paul’s Church while we were searching for a restaurant.

Sunday, September 17, 20

Slept in to 8:00 AM .

Over to the Central for a tasty breakfast: omelet, coffee, youtiao (fried breadsticks), pastries, cake, and a cheese sandwich.

Packed our bags, paid the bill, checked out, and left our bags with the front desk. The total bill was for one night only (280 RMB) due to the hot water incident from the previous night.

We started up Chang Jiang Lu towards the Presidential Palace. We stopped at several Republic Era buildings including the Art Museum, Hanfu Hotel, and Culture Center.

Around the Presidential Palace are a brand new library (huge) and a shopping complex called 1912. We walked 340 degrees around the PP before finding the entrance. This gave us a chance to spot the Hot Café with its Che Guevara mural.

We spent about 3 hours touring the Presidential Palace complex - 40 RMB each. It’s very interesting and most sites are well marked and described in English; and there are several Museums. The art deco buildings in Nanjing are cool. There are several in the PP complex and more in other parts of Nanjing. Sun-Ling wants to return to Nanjing to visit all 60 some of them.
By 3PM we were worn out and headed over to the Tea Station at 1912 for a snack: 1 huge mango ice (see photo), 1 Iced Coffee, Tiramisu, and Chocolate black Forrest Cake (83 RMB).

After sitting for awhile, we caught bus #95 to Nanjing University. After a quick tour of the nearby Drum Tower (5 RMB each) we toured NJU from north to south, including the Ferguson Library. Then headed over to Shanghai Lu for some cheap western eats at the Skyways Bakery: Cheese Sandwich and drink for 18 RMB each. Bought some snacks “to go”, took a taxi back to Fuchang hotel, picked up our bags, and road the Metro 5 stops to the train station. Train T717 pulled out on time at 7:24 PM and the rest of the trip was almost uneventful.

SLHOTD: The old photos in the PP museums.

JHOTD: Watching SL eat her Mango Ice.

Bali 2006 - Part 6 - Amed, Lepah Beach, Snorkel and Sail

Lepah Beach, Bali – May 19, 2006

John got up for the 6:30-ish sunrise and walked down to the beach. The whole fleet had been out but boats were coming back in one by one. It takes about 6 men to heft a boat above the tide line. Our local guide Mr. Pauli said they came back early because they weren’t catching any fish.

I had met Mr. Pauli the day before. The locals who do not work for the hotel, hang out on the beach and try to get you to spend some money with them instead of with the hotel which is most likely owned by a foreigner. This makes sense. In some cases, by dealing directly with the locals you are cutting out the middle man. In others cases, you give them something instead of nothing. So guys like Pauli, a local fisherman in his 40’s with good English, approach tourists about renting snorkel gear, going for a sail, etc. Women ask if you want a massage. Even the hotel staff try to make their own deal with you for a taxi or other transport. Our “maid,” a guy in his late 20’s, had photos of various taxis loaded into his cell phone so he could show the merchandise.

I watched the fleet action, took some photos, and then went back up to the 2nd floor balcony until Sun-Ling got up. Only one boat come back with fish. About twenty small fish that were taken by a women who tossed them in her basket and walked away down the beach. No money appeared to change hands.

The fleet returns at sunrise.


Breakfast was included in the room rate so we walked over to the beachside restaurant and had coffee, mixed fruit, and tomato omelets

After some negotiations with Mr. Pauli, we rented 2 days of snorkel gear for 60K RP. We changed in to our swim gear and walked up to the SE point for a decent hour of snorkeling even though the waves were building in the breeze. We saw some cool coral and colorful fish and took photos with our Lomo Frogeye underwater camera (see photos below). After a dip in the pool, we ate lunch at a nearby on-the-beach restaurant: Bintang, papaya juice, and 2 tempeh satays for 44K.

Sun-Ling posing for our Frogeye Lomo underwater camera.


Spent the afternoon being lazy. Negotiated a sunrise sail and snorkel with Mr. Pauli for 180K RP. Took a nap. As there are no ATMs within 50 miles, we changed money at the Wartel. The proprietor did not want my 1996-issue $100 bill, and knowingly pointed to a small sign on his counter that so. Luckily I had an acceptable vintage bill back at the hotel and we received 870,000 RP for it. Capitalism.

A warung is a small restaurant. A wartel is a telephone office.

Dinner was excellent: 1 L Bintang, 1 Sprite, 2 set Vegetarian Dinners with very tasty spicy tempeh, all for 96K.

To see all the photos from May 19, click here.


Lepah Bay, Bali - May 20, 2006

Today’s program: Sunrise sail and snorkel.

Up a 5:30 AM – before sunrise. Met Pauli on the beach at 5:45 and we put in immediately. The mate for the day was his cousin. After motoring for 5 minutes, it was up with the sail and headed towards the fleet which had put in around 4AM. The fleet fishes at night but not all night unless the fishing is great. They go out about 4 PM and come back at sunset. Then they go out a 4AM and come back at sunrise. Of course, that’s what they did when we were there. The rhythm may be different in other seasons.

With its twin outriggers the sailing canoe was very stable but not graceful; lumbering over the waves getting us a bit wet when the bamboo outriggers smacked down and into the waves. The boats are most graceful with the wind behind them in calm water.

We sailed on a reach towards Lombok, the island to the east of Bali, with Mt Anung Volcano behind us in the dark. The sun rose about 6:15, turning the sky purple in front of us and lighting the tip of Mt. Anung behind us.

Sailing at sunrise in the Lombok Strait.


After 30 minutes or so, just as we were approaching the fleet, we did a jibe - according to Pauli the boats cannot tack - and headed back to the so-called Japanese Shipwreck for snorkeling. However, the wreck was not very visible that day so we snorkeled some a bit north and saw some awesome coral formations at a spot called Good Karma Hole.

The fleet was returning in 2 streams. On to the north and one to the south with the sunrise as a backdrop. Spectacular. A regatta.

Back on land at 8:00 am. Just in time for breakfast!

Some various notes about the fishing fleet not included in the above narrative:
o The main catch is mackerel
o Each village has a boat builder
o The sails look like fish
o The outrigger is 3 pieces lashed together with rope.
o The boom and mast are made of bamboo.
o The outriggers are bamboo and are replaced each year.
o One man, one boat.
o The method of fishing is to put hooks some meters apart on a long line with small pieces of cotton (about 1 inch long) as the lure.
o In the recent past it was popular to have the bow of the boat resemble a fish with its mouth open. This has been abandoned in favor of a more streamlines look as the “fish mouth” was hard to maintain – they broke off a lot. See photos.

After breakfast a long nap was in order; then beachcombing, lunch, pool, etc.

To see all the photos from May 20, click here.

Ubud, Bali – May 21, 2006

The trip back to Shanghai was mostly uneventful. We negotiated a price of 250K for the ride back to the airport. After 2 “cousins” piled in the SUV with us, I figured that we were providing a bonus for an already planned trip to Denpasar. Hmm. Although 250K was a fair price.

About halfway to the airport, the driver, let’s call him Schumacher, decided to pass the car in front of him on a downhill no passing zone and was pulled over by the police who were sitting at the bottom of the hill just waiting to pull people over and collect money. I think that 50K rupiah changed hands. Instant Karma. Anyway we made it to the airport in plenty of time to spend the rest of our Indonesian money, win an argument with the Singapore Air counter staff about the number of carry on bags allowed, and catch our flight.

That’s all for our Anniversary trip to Bali. Thanks for reading.

Bali 2006 - Part 5 - Sideman, Tenganan, Tirtagangga, and Amed Beach

Ubud, Bali – May 18, 2006

Plan: Drive to Amed Beach via the spectacular rice terraces in Sideman, the old village of Tenganan，and the Water Palace at Tirtagangga,

Today, our 15th wedding anniversary, turned out to be a great day in Bali!!

Up at 7:00 AM. B-fast at hotel.

Driver and Toyota Land Cruiser arrived at 8:00AM. We paid the bill of 1,200,000 Rupiah, loaded our stuff in the car, and were off.

Headed northeast towards Sideman and some spectacular scenery: rice terraces, ocean views, and volcanoes. Stopped several times for photos.

A one point the driver was stopped at a police checkpoint. I saw him fold a 10K rupiah note over his driver’s license as he stepped out of the car, but don’t know if he actually had to “bribe” the policeman.

Our first stop was at the traditional village of Tenganan (10K donation) is 5km from the ocean with cobbled streets. The locals are basket makers and weavers of traditional double ikat clothe, both are for sale. We walked around this lazy town. The cows were out, the children mostly in school, and the brightly painted chickens were caged. (See photos). Yes they paint the chickens as part of local ritual sacrifices.

Then on to the Tirtagangga Water Palace (6K RP) where we had a tasty lunch, and enjoyed the pools, statuary, and views. We did NOT swim.

Then onto the Amed Beach on the East Coast. We did not have a hotel booked, but we had a listed of possibles that we had picked from Rough Guide so we drove south along the coast, stopping at the possibles to check them out. After some bargaining, actually a lot of bargaining, we settled in at the Lepah Beach Coral View Villas, with a beachside family suite, for $40 US per night. The usual rate is $120 per night. The suite has an upstairs and a downstairs with a garden bathroom in the back, AC up and down, balcony and veranda, two singles down and a king-size up, tub and shower, and hot H2O.

Took a quick dip in the ocean, found some cool seashells, and showered. Then out for a walk in search of a restaurant. First we walked south over the headland to a view of the next bay, then back, finally eating at Cede-Cede:1 Large Bintang beer, Fanta Cherry Red, Grilled Veggies, Veggie Curry, and fried tempeh, all for 91K RP.

The fleet: There are hundreds of outriggers fishing boats along this 11km stretch of coastline. About 50 to 100 of them are parked in front of our hotel on the volcanic black sand beach. The boats are basically sailing canoes (some with backup gas engines) with dual outriggers. The canoe hull is no more than 30 inches wide and 12 to 15ft long. Most boats I’ve seen so far are all of the same design. One guy told me the area of his sail is 5 meters. I don’t know the exact name for the sail rig type, but you can see it in the photos below. Maybe someone will send me a email with the name of the sail rig. Also see the end of this video I shot where you can watch a guy launch his boat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tau7x9OsJIE

We watched the fleet go out in the late afternoon. The local boys use this excuse to go swimming naked, help launch the fleet, and generally have fun. Some of the boys had toy, bamboo, boats they were sailing. Miniature versions their elder’s boats.

SLHOTD: Water Palace
JHOTD: The fleet

Below are 4 photos; one each from Sideman rice terraces, Tenganan Village, Tirtagangga Water Palace, and Amed Beach. To see all the photos from this busy day, click here.

Scenic view somewhere between Ubud and Sideman.


Tenganan: Check out the painted chickens in the cages. Their fate is to be sacrificed in a village festival.


Sun-Ling making friends with the fish at Tirtagangga Water Palace.


View from Lepah headland south to the next bay. Local sailing canoes, jukung, line the black sand beaches.

Bali 2006 - Part 4 - Ubud - Monkey Forrest Preserve, Spa, and Bamboo Gamelan

Ubud, Bali - May 17, 2006

Plan for the day: Monkey Forrest Preserve, Spa, and Bamboo Gamelan performance.

Up at 7:00. Usual breakfast at hotel.

Note to our friends in Florida: The grass on the hotel grounds appears to be St. Augustine grass.

Left hotel at 9AM heading south to Monkey Forrest Preserve. Saw the troupe of monkeys. Ho hum.

Headed out of the south end of the preserve, through the small village, and circled back to East Ubud. Negotiated a car and driver for tomorrow's drive to Amed Beach - 300K RP – about $35 US.

A very tasty lunch at Bali Buddha, run by an expat: Iced coffee, Iced cappuccino, guacamole and chips, avocado sandwich, aubergine on focaccia. All for 90K ($10 US). Also bought 4 bags of coffee to take back to Shanghai.

Then back to The Market. Bought a "fish puzzle" and “hanging monkeys" for Sun-Ling's nephews, and a shirt and a bath set. Back to the hotel for a dip in the pool. Yeah!

After a short rest it was on to the Verona Spa for “Lular Treatment” -- Massage and bath together in the couples room with a view of rice paddies – for 190K RP (less than $25 US). My massage was only OK – not vigorous enough. Then skin cleansing with abrasives. Then the couples bath with oils, flowers, tea, and view of rice paddy. Very romantic! Out of the Spa about 4PM.

Dinner at Bamboo Warung near the football field: Large Bintang beer, Pineapple Arak (local liquor), various curries and veggies (60K RP). Tasty.

After dinner we went to a Bamboo Gamelan performance for 120K RP. Music and dancing. This was lightly attended but I though it was pretty good. I posted some video several months ago. When the performance ended, we went up a tried out the gamelans ourselves. Cool.

On the way home, we extracted another 2 million rupiah from the ATM.

During dinner, with a good view of the football field, I figured out that the local “pick up” soccer game is more like “keep away” than the usual game of trying to get the ball into the other team’s goal. They divide into shirts and skins teams and then just try to keep possession of the ball. The goal posts are not used. Is this common other places – like in the US? Also before starting “keep away” they were playing some kind of “corner kick” game.

SLHOTD: Spa
JHOLTD: Spa + lunch +dinner

Heliconia outside our hotel room in Ubud, Bali.


Finally I get the "right" shot of the beer and its "named" mug. Sun-Ling is drinking a pineapple arak. Bamboo Warung: Ubud, Bali.



Dancers


Male Dancer


More dancers


John tries out the bamboo gamelan

Bali 2006 - Part 3 - Ubud - Rice Paddy Walk

Ubud Bali - May 16, 2006

Today's plan: Do the Rough Guide "A rice-paddy walk through Ubud Kaja", parallel and east of yesterday's walk.

Up at 7:45, breakfast at the hotel, but got a late start on the walk. The temperature was 82F and the skies clear, so we had excellent views of the Gunung Agung volcano and rice terraces.

Stopped around 11AM to chat with a local man, Renta Wayan. He climbed a nearby coconut tree, brought down a coconut, and chopped it open for us. We chatted a bit and gave him 5K RP for his troubles which he gladly accepted. Although not pushy, he became evident that he hangs out by the track to chat up tourists. He could say hello in several different languages, including Chinese.

The rice paddies and terraces were very cool. This time of year - after the harvest - ducks are allowed to forage in the paddies. We saw many ducks. Also, it is the time of year to repair irrigation channels and we saw much evidence of this.

The walk north out of town was not as pleasant as yesterday as today we ran into a small business of some kind every 500 meters or so, each trying to extract money from tourist by selling art, knickknacks, food and drink, etc.

It seems that we missed the turn around specified in Rough Guide and crossed the river by walking in/on an aqueduct instead of a normal bridge. (See photos). So actually the first hour of the walk back was not on any established track, but just a cross country ramble on the rice terraces, generally headed south. It was quite fun. Finally we hit the main track and came back into town on the famous "Graffiti Road".

Ate lunch at the Lotus Cafe: Storm Pale Ale (A local microbrew - yes!), mango juice, nasi goreng served in a pine apple, and tofu curry. Total of 111K Rupiah. The Lotus Cafe has a great view of the town palace with its temple and water garden of lotus flowers. A very relaxing lunch with a fine pale ale.

Next stop was the local Market for some souvenir shopping. We spent about 200k RP on boxes, hand bags, and various pieces of cotton clothing. And finally, a dip in the pool.

Dinner at the Terrace View restaurant near Monkey Forrest. Excellent! Ankor Beer, Sprite, Gado-Gado, Sayur with tofu soup. The night was clear and we had an awesome view of the Southern night sky including the Milky Way. And we were able to "see the Southern Cross for the first time."

Walking back to the hotel, the long way, we checked out some of the local massage places for a possible "couples" massage the next day.

SLHOTD: Dinner and rice paddy walk.


JHOTD: Cold beer hello!


Ducks in a paddy


Sun-Ling drinking fresh coconut water.


Renta Wayan: Linguist, rice farmer, and coconut climber


Great view of the volcano


Local women threshing rice.


A scarecrow to keep the birds out of the rice fields


Ready to harvest


This local is much more graceful crossing the aqueduct than we were. But both Sun-Ling and I made it across with dry feet.

Bali 2006 - Part 2 - Ubud - Campuhan Ridge Walk, Neka Museum, Kecak Dance

Ubud, Bali - May 15, 2006

Today's plan is to do the "Campuhan Ridge Walk" north of town as described on page 203 of our Rough Guide, with a stop at the Neka Museum on the way back to town. And the 7:30 performance of the Kecak dance. A full program!

Up at 7:15AM. Breakfast at Sri Bungalows: The egg and tomato jaffle (a sealed toasted sandwich)was very tasty; the coffee was very bad.

A local woman, accompanied by little one, with her basket of small offerings and joss sticks. Each morning, she will make offerings at the many small shrines located around the hotel.


A shrine just outside our hotel.


Looking at a shine in the courtyard of a neighboring hotel.


We were out and walking by 8:15 and easily found the turn off for the path. Excellent walk up the ridge from the river confluence. Saw several men and women cutting and/or carrying elephant grass.

This is a shot of the Pura Gunung Lebah temple that is by the river confluence.


Women carrying cut elephant grass back to town. The grass can be used for roof thatching.


A grass cutter with hat, pole, and sickle. The pole is used to carry bundles of grass, one on each end.



The same cutter.


Work in progress.


Another grass cutter with a 2 bundles of grass, a pole, and a sickle on hip.



After 30 minutes or so the ridge spread out and we were walking though terrace rice fields. The view of the volcano was so-so as the day was a bit cloudy. Turned left, crossed the river and headed back to Ubud and the Neka Museum. Passed many temples and family compounds.

The ridge top walk looking south to Ubud.


This should be a great view of the volcano but it was too cloudy.


Temple statue.


Just before Neka we saw this guy plowing his rice field.


Just a short while later we saw the Rosetta stone for the world traveler. ;-)


Ate lunch about 12:30 at Nuri's, just across the street from Neka Museum. 51K for one large bottle of H2O, Pepsi, Pineapple Juice, rice w/veggie dish, and Nasi Goreng. The place is run/owned by an American and his local wife.

Then toured Neka Museum - 20K rp each. Seven pavilions with very good descriptions by Rough Guide. Excellent display of modern and traditional art by locals and foreigners. The foreigners came to Bali to be influenced by the Balinese culture and natural settings. Many of these foreigners ended up mentoring, encouraging, and influencing a whole generation young locals artists. Photos without flash were allowed so I took many photos. You can see some of them here.

Here’s one example: “Three Masked Dancers” by Anton Kustia Widjaja


Locals playing “keep away” soccer with “shirts and skins” teams.


Walked back to the hotel, arriving at 3:30, just in time for a refreshing dip in the pool and a shower. Total walking for the day: about 10 km or 6 miles.

Then off to dinner at Gayatri Restaurant: One large Bintang, Orange Lemon soda, chili sin carne (beans and rice), rice and eggs w/peanut sauce (nasi goreng). All for 83,000 Rupiah, about $10.50 US.

The last activity of the night, and maybe the highlight (for John) of the whole trip was the Kecak dance, which we caught in town for 20K rp each. Months ago I posted some video of this a capella performance. Click here. Most excellent and unexpectedly so. Following the Kecak was fire dancing which may have been genuine but it seemed hokey to me.

SLHOTD: Ridge-top walk


JHOTD: Kecak dance