Bali High.....Life in Bali

This guy is praying to the gods and is offering them 'canang'. The canang (the most common type of offering to the higher dieties) comes in several shapes and sizes and is made from coconut leaves. Bananas, sugarcane, peanuts and a little portion of rice is placed inside the canang. Also include in the offering is a little pack that contains betel chew ingredients. A sampian is placed on top of the pack of betel chew ingredients and flowers are placed on top of the sampian (a coconut leaf arrangement). A dab of shredded pandanus leaf, and a bit of wood powder on which is placed a dash of fragrant oil, crowns the flowers. Canangs are offered to the gods in order to thank them for granted favors.

This Balinese Family living in a small village near the foot of a volcano called Mt. Batur makes a living from selling coffee to the local market and the tourists. Planted in the family's small garden are spices, cacao trees and loads of coffee trees. We were given coffee and hot chocolate samples. A chat with some of the family members revealed that business have been 10x slow since after the Bali bombings. Even the supposedly 'tourists peak season' wasn't a peak season at all. No matter what the current realities are, this family looks at the future with hope in their hearts. In the meanwhile, the family continues to reminiscent the good old days.

This tourist is exploring Pura Besaki also known as the Mother Temple, Bali's holiest temple. Pura Besaki is a big temple complex (comprised of 22 interralated temples) built on the southwest slope of Gunung Agung, the island's highest mountain and believed to be a source of divine power. (A Balinese Legend tells a story about the last erruption of Mt. Agung and how it destroyed all the nearby villages, but spared Pura Besaki.) This tourist looked genuinely interested while absorbing the magnificent view of the temples in Pura Besaki. Notice the sarong he is wearing. In Bali, everyone must wear a sarong before entering a temple.

These Balinese Musicians are playing Javanese and Balinese Gamelan music. Gamelan is a term used for the different types of orchestras in Indonesia. The instruments in a gamelan include: gangsa(s) a type of metallophone consisting of several tuned metal bars which are hit with a mallet (each bar producing a different note of a different pitch), tuned bronze gongs, drums (which are used in pairs because Balinese people believe that two drums, a male and a female should be used together), one or more flute, bowed and plucked string instruments, and sometimes singers. Indonesians believe that gamelans are sacred and have supernatural powers and each instrument is guided by the spirits (That's why they have to take off their shoes when they play the gamelan and stepping over-it is a big NO NO.) It is believed that some gamelans are very powerful and exert power over nature when played.

The Balinese life-style is slow-paced, simple and very laid back. We were sitting in Nomad, a Balinese (fusion) restaurant we frequented when I took this picture. (To me, Nomad is ultra cool for a lot of reasons and one of them is the super cool Jack Johnson songs they constantly play on the background. Jack Johnson's songs are super chilled, mellow and exquisitely soothing.) This Balinese woman is sitting at the side of the road in front of her store, watching the world go by while waiting for costumers. Life is simple, but very wonderful!

This Balinese woman owns a store somewhere inside The Pura Besaki temle complex. She sells Balinese paintings and Balinese crafts in her small store. While waiting for costumers, she busies herself with cutting and cleaning leaves used for wrapping tobacco. She was humming a soft melodious tune when I passed her by. To her, life is simple and she has no pretentions, nor does she try to coat it with something that it's not.