West Bali Eco Travel Trip

The first part of the trip, on the main Denpasar - Gilimanuk road, is a fight for space between kamikaze Javanese tour buses and foul smoke-belching juggernauts. The road quietens down a little after passing through west Bali's capital Tabanan, giving the driver a chance to look out for the right-hand turn onto the small road to Gadungan village. Be prepared to enter another world - peace reigns in the extensive rice, cocoa and coffee plantations that cover the slopes of Mount Batukaru !.

After passing through a few small villages surrounded by endless rice terraces, the road climbs slowly upwards, hemmed in on all sides by cocoa trees with strange-looking fruit growing straight out of their trunks. Except for the odd farmer on a motorbike, a stray dog and chicken or two, there is no one around and the total silence is a very welcome change. The increasingly potholed road winds ever upwards and, because there is no one to ask, a strange feeling of being lost in the forest creeps in. Suddenly, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, the sign for Sarinbuana Eco-Lodge appears through the greenery - what a relief to be able to leave the car and follow the narrow path to the lodge that disappears down into this man-made food forest.

Fifteen years ago, Norm vant Hoff first came to Bali to visit one of his sister's friends who was married to a Balinese. He found this beautiful piece of spirit-infused land by chance and later, when he met Linda, his bride-to-be in Australia , he brought her back with him to Sarinbuana. She immediately fell in love with the place and stayed on to help him to build the lodge and to turn his dream into reality.

Linda is now a Certified Organic Inspector and Environmental Studies teacher in her own right, responsible for the home schooling of her two sons. They help her to run this incredibly beautiful property next to the natural rainforest with the most stunning, uninterrupted, panoramic views on the island. On a clear day, Linda says that she can see the waves breaking on the cliffs below Uluwatu Temple on the Bukit!.

At the moment Norm spends most of his time in Aceh, helping to implement his sustainable sewage and waste-water designs, while Linda, outgoing and extremely capable, busily works on marketing for the lodge, putting the menus together, looking after everything her lodge guests need, tending the vegetable garden, and looking after numerous animals. She also facilitates school camps for children, from third to 12th grade, who come to learn about food forests, sustainable farming, first aid for poisonous snake bites and even how to make rudimentary furniture from coffee wood!

Caring for the environment is one of the top priorities at the lodge, where only pure natural products are used for cleaning and pest control, the 'grey water' from the kitchen and bathroom sinks is re-used for the garden, as is the so-called 'black water' sewage that is non-chemically treated and used as compost for the special waste-water garden. Linda & Norm actively promote sustainable eco-tourism in Sarinbuana, and have worked with their local community to implement a 'no bird-catching' policy and have recently implemented the protection of 800 hectares of the Batukaru rainforest, with help from Seacology.

Guests arriving at Sarinbuana for the first time think they have died and gone to heaven. It is a place where even the most jaded Bali residents can enjoy the simple life and is most definitely a haven for stressed-out ex-pats, although there is a wireless connection in the restaurant for those who just cannot go anywhere without their laptop.

Try to organize a very special weekend at Sarinbuana with friends. Take over the three-bedroom Jungle House and enjoy a few days surrounded by rainforest. The food is healthy and beautifully presented by Ketut - the live-in chef - so expect lots of tasty, freshly cooked meals.

Alternatively, come alone and stay in the cosy one bedroom Rumah Manis and sit on the terrace, that seems to defy the laws of gravity, to just relax and recharge those overworked and partied-out batteries! With such reasonable prices (from U$33.00 for one person or U$38.00 for two, plus 10% govt. tax charge, including breakfast and with drinking water from the spring provided free of charge) and overall value for money, it would be quite easy to book in here for a month or two!.

What to do? Nothing at all. The wonderful air is like champagne, so breathe deep and just enjoy the beautiful views, listen to the (sometimes deafening) birdsong, watch out for the Bali Black Eagle soaring high over the mountain or spend a peaceful afternoon reading in the secluded bamboo tea pavilion.

If relaxing is not your thing, bring the hiking boots, socks, hat and sunscreen to take one of the many interesting treks available. Head to the natural waterhole or choose between an hour long 'Food Forest Walk', with a local guide, to discover the many different species of herbs, spices & fruits that grow in the soil of this very fertile area, or take a gentle walk through Sarinbuana village - the highest village on Mount Batukaru . Climb the 20 metre Eco-tower that has views all the way to Java, or for those who are as fit as a mountain goat, and not daunted by steep, narrow tracks, the six to seven hour trek to the summit of Mount Batukaru (2,200m) could be just the thing to get the adrenaline flowing!

Evenings up in the mountains are cool - Linda would like to put a fireplace in the dining room-cum-kitchen - so remember to bring the pashmina and socks for firefly watching or, if you are lucky enough to find one, there can even be glowing-fungus spotting before dinner!

Afterwards, nestle down under a comfortingly heavy duvet with a good book and fall asleep to the night calls and rustlings of the myriad birds and animals who live happily in one of Bali's only two remaining pristine rainforests!

Bali Culture - Nusa Dua Fiesta 2007

Yes it’s Fiesta not Festival. The Bali Tourism Development Committee (BTDC) has changed the theme of this year’s Nusa Dua Festival….I mean Fiesta, sorry! For four days between 18-21 October, you’ll be able to enjoy a host of entertainment including traditional Balinese music and dance, great food, fashion, arts and more, all conveniently located in one place at the Peninsula complex. Get ready for some serious fun.
For more information call (0361) 771 010

Bali Culture - Ubud Reader's & Writer's Festival

Over the last four years, the Ubud Reader’s and Writer’s festival has established itself as one of the richest events on Bali’s calendar. Multicultural in the broadest sense, it brings together more than 80 writers from 16 different countries, including performance poets, travellers, children’s authors, political activists, mystics, artists, correspondents, scientists, spiritualists, chefs and essayists each of whom has been generously gifted with the gab. Between 26 – 30 September, festival goers will be able to take part in a broad range of workshops, seminars, literary lunches, social gatherings and performances. The theme this year is ‘Sekala & Niskala’ – the realms of the Seen and Unseen whose interaction informs so much of life in Bali. And, indeed for all of us. Here’s a very brief snapshot of just a handful of the literary figures in attendance. www.ubudwritersfestival.com

Kiran Desai
Winner of one of the most prestigious literary accolades in the world, the Man Booker Prize 2006, Kiran Desai is the author of two critically acclaimed novels, ‘Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard’ and ‘The Inheritance of Loss’. It is the latter novel, written over the course of seven years and published in August last year, that has catapulted her wholesale into the limelight. The Inheritance of Loss deals with colonial legacies and how they have lingered, morphed and manifested in the ‘globalised’ world of today. In her estimation, the airbrushed vision of multiculturalism masks countless impotencies, hybrid identities and sheer wrongdoings related to imperialist expansion.
Kiran Desai can be seen in conversation with author Shashi Tharoor for an intimate cocktail evening at the Amandari, Friday 28 September 1830 - 2030

Kathy Reichs
Kathy Reichs brings more than 30 years experience as a forensic anthropologist to her hugely popular mystery novels featuring the heroine Temerance Brennan – a forensic anthropologist whose lifestyle is not dissimilar from her creator. Her first novel, ‘Deja Dead’, won the 1997 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel. She’s written eight more since then and has been translated into more than 30 languages. In 2005, Fox network started airing a show based on Reichs life, whose protagonist was named Temperance Brennan.
Kathy Reichs will host the final Literary Lunch, relating how her own life experiences have been channeled into her work. Sunday 30 September 1130 -1400 The Viceroy

Miles Merril
Originally hailing from Chicago, Miles Merril is a performance poet who uses everything at his personal disposal to bring his words to life – intonation, gesticulation, movement, props, humor and sheer on stage charisma. Accompanied only by a peripatetic saxophone, he spins darkly comic tales of night and passion, filled with rhythm and musicality. In his spare time, he works as a journalist, produces, directs, takes photographs and generally finds ways to unleash his creativity.
Miles Merril will conduct a slam poetry workshop for children aged 14-17, drawing on elements of hip hop, spoken word, physical theater and more – Sunday 30 September 1000 – 1400.

Somaya Ramadan & Iman Mersal
Somaya Ramadan has already published two successful collections of short stories and an award winning novel. As a translator and cultural/literary critic, she has put a great deal of energy into developing a history of women in the Arab world.
Iman Mersal started publishing poetry at sixteen and has four collections to her name. Currently holding an assistant professorship at University of Alberta, Canada, her work is deeply concerned with issues of diasporic identity.
Samaya Ramadan & Iman Mersal will host a literary lunch, reading from their works and evoking the spirit of the ‘Thousand Nights and One Night’. Friday 28 September 1130 – 1400, Chedi Club

Laksmi Pamuntjak
A renaissance woman if ever there was one, Laksmi Pamuntjak is a sometime classical pianist, entrepreneur (she’s behind Jakarta’s hugely influential Aksara media outlets) political columnist and most recently poet and novelist in both Indonesian and English. Her 2005 collection of short stories, Diary of R.S – Musings on Art, won the Herald UK Book of the Year prize, and she also published Perang, Langit dan Dua Perempuan (War, Heaven and Two Women) a treatise on violence and the Iliad in the same year. Her second poetry collection, The Anagram, came out in March 2007.

Sarad

sarad, originally uploaded by Farl.

The idea of the sarad as a backdrop for the wedding cake came to me when I saw a calender featuring the colored rice decorations. I knew I had to have one custom-made for our wedding cake. Largely ceremonial in function and not at all eaten- it is edible but quite bland- the sarad epitomizes communal spirit. It is an art done together by women of a community.


Uploaded by Farl on 13 May 07, 8.05PM ICT.