I was lucky to be able to help out at two of the many literary events at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.
On Friday 7 Oct there was ‘The Language of Love’ at Bridges, a restaurant that has even been heard about by friends in London (see noexpert).
View of bridges restaurant, taken from Champuan bridge
Six authors gave readings over a delicious 4 course meal, where the dessert of chocolate mousse duo (orange and espresso) sent me into rapture. The first reading included an elegant Balinese dance and the others were given against the backdrop of the jungle clad ravine. My favourite was by a Singaporean man who spoke of the love between a blind lady and a deaf man.
My second event was ‘Cocktails with Alexander McCall Smith’ at the Amandari. What an incredibly interesting and amusing man – I can easily see how he writes best sellers, he has a way of making the mundane appear to be very funny. And what a setting the Amandari is
- If you were in this infinity pool looking out, this is what you would see…
The breathtaking view from the infinity pool
Saturday night also featured a street party where festival goers danced to my favourite reggae band, Griya Faria. The five day festival then finished today (Sunday 9/10/11 – what a great date) with the usual free party in the grounds of Antonio Blanco’s museum complete with free food, fire dancers and a well known band. There was a lot of good people, who put in a lot of effort, to make this festival a fabulous success. If you like the idea of coming to Bali for next years festival- it will be held on 3-7 Oct 2012.
Julie in Bali 