Paradise, with a few additions

This post will give you an idea of the pace of life in the Gilis for the rest of the trip. It involved reading, playing ukulele, beach walks & snorkeling around our hotel area.

Here is the view:

The camel shaped, driftwood lamppost that greets visitors: The shady spot to chill by the ocean, sweet with bees from all the fragrant flowers (the landscaping was incredible):
Ahh, paradise. But perhaps there is more that one could add to paradise? Perhaps a giant, boat shaped (now defunct) outdoor disco? Perhaps a giant, boat shaped outdoor disco that hovers over a heart shaped pool?

Perhaps it could be accessorized with a crocodile head festooned with fins and deer antlers?

And dolphins jumping over sea foam?

And perhaps the effect would be all the better if a bird-turtle was put on the head of one of the dolphins?

For relaxation, peace & entertainment value, I highly recommend the Hotel Savanah/Salobai!

Snorkeling in the Gilis

Finally kicked whatever viruses were rattling around me out, or at least mostly out of my body. The victory celebration involved booking a snorkeling excursion in a glass bottomed boat. I thought that a glass bottomed boat was superfluous given how clear and beautiful the water already was, but I had no idea how cool it would be to see the shallow, crazy colored water through a giant window:

The list of promised animal sightings did not disappoint. The most majestic being the sea turtles. I followed one that was as large as the hood of my Honda Accord for a bit. The patterns on it shell were repeated on its head- the rectangles and trapezoids of armor.

Still no Nemo sightings (i.e. clownfish), but all kinds of tropical fish (sorry no underwater camera to bring this all to life…)

The 3 Gili islands are flat, with a dry climate. Lombok, looming just a few miles away looks very different, the mountains seem to trap more clouds & condensation. When I first glanced at this view I thought it was snow accumulated at the peak!

I was to find out from friends who visited Lombok after this trip that the climate and landscape is more like northern California, minus the kajillion people.

Below is a shot of my favorite, well, the only pirate boat around the Gilis. It's either a pirate boat or the creepy boat in the movie "Dead Calm."
To test the limits of just how healthy we were, we took the long way around the island on our bikes to get home. Even though my bike had a nifty rat trap, it did not have nifty clean gears or fat tires. So I ended up pushing the bike through plenty sandy spots. The ocean views did not vary much from our home hotel, but the path at times was charming:

Sick in the Gilis

Gili Trawagan upon arrival showed lots of temptations: fish laid out ready to be grilled, calm aquamarine waters, the promise of sea turtles, reef sharks, and stingrays on snorkel trips, and unfortunately I can’t take advantage of any of it. I’m sick, holed up in my (thankfully) AC hotel room, going through packs of tissues and local Tylenol.

Luckily when we arrived we slogged all the way to the northern tip of the island for a room,

and lucked out on a deal with this isolated, but sweet bungalow:

Arrival in the Gili Islands

Decided to take a side trip to the Gili Islands with my friends. I sprung for the 80 minute boat ride over the 6 hour boat ride to avoid the possibility of getting seasick in front of my friends.

80 minutes is a world of difference from the beaches near my home in Berawa- no waves, white sand instead of black sand, and no constant whine of mopeds. There are no motorized vehicles on the island, the 3 options of transport being 1) foot 2) rusty and sand-clogged bicycle 3) horse cart:

Note the surfboard on the roof!

For an overview before I plunge into my overview, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gili_Islands

Procession Near Kedungu

I went to one of my favorite surfing spots, but unfortunately the waves were mush. On the way back we had to pull over to let a procession, somehow related to Galungan pass by. Thankfully I had my camera charged up.

Here they come, It seems like the whole village is on the way. Flags with sacred colors.


Here you can listen to what the music sounded like going past:

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They’re carrying a barong (monster): At the end there were some lucky families on mopeds. Ohhh, these guys are going to be in trouble for straggling behind These guys even more so in trouble! There they go to the beach to pray...

Miss Lassi

Traded in my board Made, with whom I never truly fell in love, and bought from a friend a battered green & yellow Mini Malibu which rides much better than sexy Made. I’ve named my new board Miss Lassi as she’s colored like a bruised mango, ready for a Lassi. Also because she’s sassy.

The Start of Galungan

Galungan, is the holiest holiday period in Bali, much like our Christmas week in the west. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galungan

It kicks off with men slaughtering a pig on a Tuesday morning. I saw a huge, white pig being dragged into the street post-slaughter on my way to the Green School yesterday. The preparations that went on for the rest of the day were extensive- Wayan was sent to buy certain decorations for the Penjor (you'll see pics of them below), as well as coconuts: Here the offerings are starting to pile up in the specially decorated area of Wayan’s house: Every adult was called into help, though I was told the women were up most of the night cooking & prepping: Here the neighbors were erecting their own Penjor, And you could see them outside most houses in Bali:
When I ask what people are praying about today, most answers are a version of "Good spirits triumphing over evil spirits." Here's to that!

Green School

My (former & future) landlord Wayan drove me to the Green School. I love how his son Neo’s hair always sticks up in back. Wayan’s looking peeved here, but he’s just asking about a hotspot since he’s always working on uploading his pics to flickr and his website. Neo got attacked by the cousins with nailpolish. This picture is just here for posterity. Okay, back to the Green School. It was started by John & Cynthia Hardy who envisioned a school with a wholistic curriculum for young Green leaders. About 20% of the students are locals, and the rest from all over the world. The mission is here: http://www.greenschool.org/our-mission

Classes were winding up for the holidays, so we couldn’t really observe, so all of the photos are of the amazing architecture which incorporates bamboo and other renewable resources.

Here is the kitchen which feeds a staff of 300 per day, note that the plates are wicker (?) lined with banana leaves. Keeps the plastic wrap & foil out of the landfill.


Some of the teachers live on campus, the windows are old windshields which are A) re-used materials B) are made of safety glass which is useful in case of falling coconuts.

This is the bridge that links the administrative side of the school with the classrooms & the "Heart of the School." There is sustainable farming going on both sides of the river. I love how they're using an aloe leaf to shelter a seedling. Solar power is still a cost prohibitive option in this part of the world, so the school created "The Vortex" by diverting the river, it should soon power a large part of the school.



The classrooms are all shaped differently, and open air. But they have a unique solution for those times when the students need to cool off & focus. There are canvas bubble shaped tents cooled, and inflated by a combination of fans & sometimes AC:
Here's what it looks like from the inside:

The centerpiece of the school is still under construction, and will be called the "Heart of School." Here's what it looks like looking up, and sideways at the cool banisters made from the water compartments of bamboo:
If you would like to make a donation to the Green School, which goes directly towards scholarships for local children, you can do so at this link: http://www.greenschool.org/donation For those of you visiting Bali, the school gives tours at 3pm on Mondays & Wednesdays.

As you saw from the pics from this entry http://emilkastravels.blogspot.com/2009/02/new-home-in-canggu.html, my room in Bali is pretty sweet. But I moved to a new room, the main lure being a relaxing, sunny pool. I should have known that it was going to be a sketchy place once I saw the artwork over my bed.

In short, I got out of “the new place” quickly after a series of odd/ick events, and luckily my friend & surf instructor Marcee asked me to house sit while he went on vacation. His place has about 50 well-chosen surfboards, which I love to pull out and inspect. It's also a 45 second walk to Legian Beach, which is a much more touristic scene than my former home in Canggu. It’s been fun exploring another side of Bali.

One of my favorite things about Marcee’s place is that he has a little bat that sleeps above his sink. I’ve never been (knowingly) in such close quarters with an, er, flying mammal. At dusk I’ve caught him/her whirling around the bathroom area before heading out for a night of hunting. Unfortunately, during the day I suspect I'm disturbing his/her sleep each time I use the sink, as I see his/her little ears shifting around while I rinse. I’m hoping that my little friend eats as many mosquitoes as he/she can while I’m in Legian!

My Moped (sorry Mom)

When I first arrived in Bali I would watch, completely horrified from the “safe structure” of a car, what appeared to be crazy moped drivers all over the roads. They never signaled, they merged without looking, they zoomed around cars into oncoming traffic before darting back to their side. The rules were beyond my comprehension, and even worse, they were all driving on “the wrong side of the road.” Well, economy and convenience won out, and I’ve joined the ranks of the crazy moped riders.

Most important rules: 1) Helmet, pants, close toed shoes, long sleeve shirt and rubber palmed gloves. People look at me like I’m crazy in my schvitzy getup, but I’ve seen enough road rash and sunburn to keep me swigging my Pocari Sweat and living with the heat. 2) At any turn, don’t stop unless there are already 3 bikes abreast the road, just slow down and merge carefully 3) on turns look ahead to where you would like to turn rather than at the telephone pole/cow/suicidal chicken/suicidal dog/pothole. Your body will follow wherever you’re looking 4) if you ease off the gas 5m ahead of the speed bump and there’s no reason to do the horse posting motion, unless it’s a truly poorly designed speed bump. 5) make sure your surfboard is tightly tethered into the hooks, or else the jostling over speed bumps/potholes/all sorts of alarmingly regularly occurring irregularly shaped pavement will put dents in the fiberglass.

John Hardy Factory and Lazy Afternoon in Ubud

My friend Isabelle and I toured the John Hardy jewelry factory today in Mumbal http://www.johnhardy.com/. Unfortunately we were too late for the factory tour, but a lovely woman who used to be a Balinese dancer showed us around the grounds and the showroom. It was fun to see how the rings looked on her elegant hands. The showroom is a gorgeous arched structure made completely from Bamboo. John and Cynthia Hardy are huge proponents of building with bamboo as it is a renewable resource with less impact on the environment than wood or cement. http://www.bamboo-inspiration.com/bamboo-building-products.html. I came out with a gift for my mom, and for myself a leaf shaped ring with ladybugs etched inside.
Afterwards I did a quick stop in Ubud, dropping in on the Blanco Museum (unimpressed)
and Symon’s studio (impressed, but what’s the relationship between Brando and Obama?)
I fell in love with the sugar bowl in this restaurant, as well as the view.