The Green Village in Bali helps to stay in touch with nature

By: Latitudes 

Located about 25 minutes outside Ubud, Bali, is the Green village. The two hectares of land along the Agung river offer luxurious villas with a combination of style en environmental sensibility. All villas are made of bamboo, each one is unique and designed to fit in the surrounding landscape. The village is based on the concepts of staying in touch with nature and incredible craftsmanship.

Bali’s Galungan food

By: Mila Shwaiko

I was born on the day before Galungan, the most important religious festival in the Balinese calendar, which marks the ten-day period when deified ancestors descend to inhabit their former homes. I’ve always had a love for, and strong attachment, to food— especially Balinese food. This is something that everyone in the compound where I grew up knows and delights in teasing me about.

According to Gung Rai—a close neighbour who has known me since my birth and who has never treated me as anything but another of her own children—it’s pantas (only right) that I’m this way. “It’s fitting that a child whose oton [ceremony held 210 days after a child’s birth and marked every 210 days thereafter] is on Penampahan Galungan loves food so much, because it’s the day when it all gets prepared and cooked,” she says.

Frankly, I think my passion for Balinese food has little to do with the day of my birth and everything to do with Gung Rai’s cooking. I used to get up each day at about 6am and go straight to her kitchen. It was a dark, warm space, with bamboo and rattan workbenches, dominated by a large mud-brick fireplace. Every surface near the fire was covered in a fine layer of soot, even the masses of cobwebs high in the rafters. By this time of the day, she’d already have been to market and be half way though preparing the day’s meal. She would give me a plate of freshly steamed rice for breakfast as I sat and watched her at work.

The food would be cooked in big, soot-blackened pots, balanced on the top of the fireplace. I’d poke the embers and feed the new fire with coconut husks. I loved to make the flames flare up and the sparks jump; I probably made a complete nuisance out of myself, but she never minded or paid me any negative attention. In later years, the packed dirt floor was replaced with white shiny tiles; a fridge appeared and the wood fire was replaced by a gas stove. But the family made a unanimous decision that the food didn’t taste nearly as good as it had before, so a new fireplace was built in the empty space behind the old one. The shiny new kitchen seems to get used less each year.

Bali’s Sashimi Tuna Journey to the World’s Biggest Fish Market

Five local Indonesian wooden longline vessels enter Benoa harbour within the space of two hours. They have been fishing for yellowfin and bigeye tuna in the Indian Ocean for the past week and will offload today to a simple processing facility beside the quay, TFK, for export overnight to Tokyo, Japan. It is the third day of the New Year, and the world’s biggest fish market, the Tsukiji wholesale market in Tokyo, Japan, will open again on Saturday, 5th of January 2013, two days time. The captain and crew of the boat know that this is jackpotday, the day the highest price will be paid for a bluefin tuna, and are hoping that their fish will also get a good price. And their surprise catch of this trip is a 150 kg Southern Bluefin tuna which, given its size, will have a high fat content and so be very valuable.

Rain Stoppers

May to October is Indonesia’s dry season. By the end of October, though, the rains are approaching and the pressure mounts. Last year in Bali, the sun stung our skin and the night-time heat was oppressive. Although it’s hard to remember when we’re drenched now, people say that Bali’s getting hotter every year:

Nyoman Wargita came out of his house in Jalan Katrangan, Denpasar, his face wet with perspiration. Bare-chested and wearing only a sarong, he carried a crying child in his arms: “Kleng… it’s so hot,” he said, “My child keeps crying and can’t sleep because of the heat. The Denpasar climate feels like a desert.”

May to October is Indonesia’s dry season. By the end of October, though, the rains are approaching and the pressure mounts. Last year in Bali, the sun stung our skin and the night-time heat was oppressive. Although it’s hard to remember when we’re drenched in January, people say that Bali’s getting hotter every year: “Before, the dry season wasn’t like this. The days used to be warm enough, but the nights were cool. But now, day and night are just as hot as each other,” said Ketut Setiawati, Wargita’s wife.
Still sweating, Wargita offered an explanation: “This is because there are so many trade expos being held in Bali. They’re using special lasers to chase away the clouds, so the rains don’t come.”

Scorching sun? Expos? Lasers? What’s this about?

Balinese Food: Some Balinese Culinary Treats you have to Try

By: Prima Frambawati

Visiting Bali is simply not complete if you don’t explore the Balinese cuisine. The Indonesian stereotype is that Balinese are too busy performing the many daily Hinduistic rituals and traditions to cook. Actually the opposite is true. Food often takes the center stage during ceremonies and celebrations.

Balinese food is known for its spiciness and enthusiastic use of bold flavors. The basa gede is an essential Balinese spice paste that consists of different spices for different dishes. It always incorporates sweet, salty, sour and spicy ingredients. Just like everything else in Bali, it’s all about the balance and harmony between these flavors.

These are some essential Balinese dishes and tips on where to enjoy them.

Ubud Guesthouses & Homestays: Rice Paddy Views to Remember

By: Prima Frambawati

Ubud is widely regarded as the cultural capital of Bali. It is also host to international events like the yearly International Ubud Writers and Readers Festival that will be held in Ubud on 3-6 October 2012. The peaceful town, set amidst green rice paddies, is a haven for yoga enthusiasts, artists and nature lovers alike. Ever since Ubud’s appearance as the backdrop to Gilbert’s  soul searching journey ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ its star has risen.

Whether you want to enjoy the still tranquil natural surroundings of Ubud, stand in queue for the now famous medicine man Ketut, or visit the fantastic Ubuw Writers and Readers festival, you will need a good bed to lay your weary head. There is no shortage of homestays and hotels in Ubud. Yet, during peak months and during major events, these fill up fast. Here’s a list of affordable and unique homestays in Ubud to help you on your way.

Ubud Writers & Readers Festival 2012

The Ubud Writers & Readers Festival 2012 has chosen as its theme This Earth of Mankind: Bumi Manusia, from the title of an epic best selling book by one of Indonesia’s greatest contemporary writers, Pramoedya Ananta Toer. This Earth of Mankind is the first book in Pramoedya’s historical fiction series The Buru Quartet, first published by Hasta Mitra in 1980. The story is set at the end of Dutch colonial rule and was written while Pramoedya was a political prisoner on the island prison of Buru in eastern Indonesia. Pramoedya’s life on Buru was one of deprivation, hard labour and physical cruelty. Denied even the most rudimentary writing implements, he ingeniously narrated the work to his fellow prisoners, who communicated it throughout the prison population.

A Plate of Fried Rice

By: Sita van Bemmelen

Yesterday, I drove my older sister-in-law, Mbok Raka, to my youngest sister-in-law’s house. I always love to go to my stout and cheerful youngest sister-in-law, Bunik, because she is such a wonderful source for gossip about our family, not holding back the sensational, sad, sordid, and sometimes funny details.

The Unsettling Proximity of Death on Bali: Fierce Fire and Cool Bones

By: Sita van Bemmelen

The first time I witnessed a ritual washing of the corpse, it was a rather confrontational experience. However, that was not the only time, I felt uneasy. But before I come to that, let us first have a look at what happens after the ritual washing: the sequence of a cremation.

On the day of the cremation, the chest with the remains of the deceased will be brought out of the family courtyard and put in a container (wadah) placed on the side of the road. That container can be an elaborately decorated and multistoried tower, for which Balinese cremations of royal families are so famous. But often it is a much simpler affair. The wadah will be hoisted on a rack made of bamboo and carried to the cremation field called setra by as many men as needed, depending on the weight of the tower. They can number up to a hundred men. Usually the wadah is brought to the setra around mid-midday, so one can imagine how heavy the task of the bearers is.

Villa Emerentiana on Bali for Rent or Sale

Advertorial

Make the most of your stay in Bali and rent villa Emerentiana. This villa for 6 is located on the scenic Bukit Peninsula, near Kuta and the airport of Denpasar. Are you looking for comfort and privacy? Then Villa Emerentiana is the place for you.

The villa has a private garden, pool, 4 bedrooms and all the facilities you need to make your stay in Bali unforgettable. The villa is for rent by the week, month or year. Sale is also an option.

Facilities & Layout

Villa Emerentiana has a central living room with a wing on both sides with one big bedroom with a double bed and a connected smaller bedroom with a single bed. The two smaller bedrooms give access to the bathrooms.

Behind the living room you will find a big indoor kitchen with all facilities. The 20 m² living room is simple but tastefully furnished. If you open the big folding doors a 180 degrees view over the pool, terrace and garden awaits you. The terrace is located between the living room and the free form swimming pool. The fenced garden has a lawn, flowers and trees and gives you a lot of privacy. This makes Villa Emerentiana very suitable for families with children.