All posts tagged Bamboo

Musical poetry at Dragonfly Village

In the midst of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival I performed poetry, along with Yaniq http://yaniq1.wordpress.com/ who played guitar. This was part of a ‘Spiritual Creative Writing Day’ held at the beautiful retreat, ‘Dragonfly Village’ out in the rice fields.

On arrival we walked past the swimming pool, where the golden flames of a giant bonfire were dancing against a moonlit sky.

Barefoot, we climbed the stairs into the natural bamboo and wood framed building and reclined on comfortable floor chairs (well, they were legless – and no, I don’t mean drunk, as this village is a health retreat and they don’t even serve beer!)

Yaniq singing ‘Ticket to Paradise’

Our host, Eagle, welcomed us next to the flower petal mandala she had made on the floor. The pink, cerise and purple heart had Balinese offerings (canang) inside.

Singing next to the flower petal mandala

We chatted about Eagle’s successful day which had already featured talks, via skype on the big screen, from authors around the world – America, Canada, France, Thailand and then there was myself from England and Yaniq from Bali, Indonesia.

Her other guests for our evening session were Italian, German, English and American – a small, but multi-national, group.

I read poems that fitted with the spiritual theme… ‘Valley of Meditation’, ‘Stone Buddha’, ‘Alternatives’, Who Is It’, Living Consciously’ and ‘I am a Bridge’.

Are you ready for another poem?

Yaniq then joined me for musical poetry that we performed together called, ‘TMTTT’ (Meditating), and then he continued to play and sing for us with his own new material, ‘Smile’, ‘Ticket to Paradise’, ‘Lost in a Hammock’, ‘B’cos of You’ and more.

It was a lovely evening and I was pleased that my friends, Sandeh and Ulrika had joined us as well as Karen, who works for the British Embassy in Jakarta.

Karen was here to promote a campaign called, ‘Great’ (putting the ‘Great’ back into Great Britain). It’s about encouraging people from Indonesia to study the creative arts and do business in Great Britain. I couldn’t help suggesting that a reciprocal link would be a good idea too – i.e. get people from the UK to visit Indonesia, and Bali in particular, in order to study the incredible range of arts and culture here, and bring some much needed funds into Indonesia!

Anyway, we gave away free smiles 🙂 during the evening, – if you would like one, just click here.

4 Comments

by julieinbali on 17/10/2013 • Permalink

Posted in CULTURE, MUSINGS - Thoughts and reflections..., PHILOSOPHY, SPIRITUALITY

Tagged Bamboo, Books, Creative, Health, Meditation, Music, Nature, new songs, Performance, Poem snippet, Retreat, smiles, Spiritual

Posted by julieinbali on 17/10/2013

https://julieinbali.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/musical-poetry-at-dragonfly-village/

Triangular bamboo and glass door

After our visit to the tallest bridge in S.E. Asia at Pelaga (Plaga), we went deep, and I mean deep, into the depths of a very steep valley where we eventually found the Bali Eco Village – and what a find it was.

Built from bamboo, inside and out, this ‘village’ is very green indeed.

The exterior of the main building is mightily impressive and unique. Even the roof is made of bamboo!

And I was just as impressed by the interior.

Walking through the triangular door, past the net curtains and into this spacious structure with its lofty bamboo walls reaching high up to the pinnacle, I got the sensation of nature’s grandeur, on the inside.

The grounds were delightful too

We were shown one of the bamboo houses that you can rent

where even the curtain hooks, staircase and chair was made of bamboo

We took a deep breath of fresh, clean air as we admired the view from the balcony…

and was shown around the spa and yoga studios (yes they have two studios, one for morning and the other for afternoon sessions).

Once again, I take my hat off to the versatility of bamboo.

Click if you want to see a Green School made of bamboo or read a poem about bamboo or see a bamboo orchestra.

5 Comments

by julieinbali on 19/08/2013 • Permalink

Posted in MUSINGS - Thoughts and reflections..., PICTURE GALLERY

Tagged Bamboo, Eco-friendly, scenery, Views

Posted by julieinbali on 19/08/2013

https://julieinbali.wordpress.com/2013/08/19/triangular-bamboo-and-glass-door/

Bamboo instruments (Jegog gamelan)

It was the eve of a full moon when Sandeh and I went to the Jegog performance in Pejeng (a village near Ubud, famous for its ‘Moon Temple’).

Jegog gamelan – giant bamboo instruments

Jegog is both the name of these large bamboo instruments and the loud, energetic, bass-rich music they produce.

Jegog players

We were entertained by the orchestra and dancers, who wore brightly coloured silks under a clear night sky.

T’was a full moon

In my garden I have a small version of Jegog, called a rindik, and this bamboo instrument has decidedly more delicate tones.

You hum it, I’ll play it

I can play the basics of one Balinese tune on the rindik called, ‘Merah Putih’ (it means Red and White = the colours of the Indonesian flag).

Hand carved Jegog

But these giant Jegog are something else, they really take a lot of effort to play.

Like huge organic xylophones

Are you wondering how I know that?

Well, at the end of their performance, some of the audience were invited to take part in the orchestra. Sandeh and I both got picked and we soon realised how tiring it is to play these heavy instruments, which demand speed and power!

This Jegog gamelan troup, called ‘Suar Agung’, come from the west of Bali.

They’ve been performing in Japan annually since 1984 and have also toured through Europe.

According to their website, “Jegog was created in the early 20th century within the farming communities of Bali’s least populated province, (Jembrana) but was banned in the 40’s by its Dutch rulers who feared the bamboo tubes could be used as weapons of uprising against them”.

– Indonesia finally got independence from the Dutch in 1945 after approx 350 years of colonial rule.

In another post I will write about traditional gamelan music – not made of bamboo, but metal.

Jegog music was first created in the early 20th century within the farming communities of Bali’s least populated province, but was banned in the 40s by its Dutch rulers who feared the bamboo tubes could be used as weapons of uprising against them. – See more at: http://jegogsuaragung.com/index#sthash.wYGz3LCU.dpuf

1 Comment

by julieinbali on 09/08/2013 • Permalink

Posted in CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SPIRITUALITY, MUSINGS - Thoughts and reflections..., PICTURE GALLERY

Tagged Balinese culture, Bamboo, Music

Posted by julieinbali on 09/08/2013

https://julieinbali.wordpress.com/2013/08/09/bamboo-instruments-jegog-gamelan/

The Sasak people of Lombok and their culture

The Sasaks are the traditional people of Lombok who live in villages straight out of another time, another place.

Our village guide explained many aspects of his people’s fascinating life and culture, as we wandered through the earthy pathways dotted with wooden houses – no concrete roads or brick buildings here.

Rice is drying on the floor outside the Sasak house

We were invited into a traditional home with its extremely low thatch roof (made of alang alang).

The reason it’s so low is that it forces visitors to bow before entering, as a mark of respect to the owners. I guess it also stops the tropical rains from coming in at an angle.

Bow before entering

A newly wedded Sasak couple will live together inside the house until the first child is born.

Then things change for the man.

He will still be allowed inside the house, but will sleep on the balcony on his own, while the woman and child sleep inside the flimsy walls.

Balcony of a Sasak home

The one roomed spartan house contains a kitchen, which no western cook would be able to deal with – I challenge you!

Kitchen inside flimsy walls

The kitchen might not be state of the art, but I’m sure the food cooked in it is delicious.

The room also has a bed – but please forget your pre-conceived ideas about the purpose of such a piece of furniture… as this bed is not for sleeping on!

A bed – never slept upon

The bed is used for praying only (and, by the looks of it, storing the odd sack of rice too).

So the mother and children actually sleep on mats on the floor. You can just see the mats up there in the rafters.

Please come in, out of the sun

Yaniq walks across the threshold from the balcony into the room… ahh, so now I understand the real meaning of that word.

You ‘thresh’ some rice and to stop it getting blown away by the wind you put a wooded section under the door to ‘hold’ the rice in place i.e. keep it in the storage area, in the room. You can see that Yaniq is stepping over the lower wooden part of the door frame – the threshold.

Now the floor itself is interesting, it is made of a mixture of clay and cow dung (no bullshit – really cow dung!).

Step into the past – stepping on smooth, contoured cow dung!

Their belief is that man was originally made out of clay so it is fitting to have this for the foundation of the house. In fact, pretty much everything here comes from nature.

Lumbung – Rice barn

There are no windows in a Sasak house, but the lumbung, rice barn, has a bamboo window.

View of the side street

The Sasak people are primarily rice farmers.

The rice is dried on the ground and then stored in the rice barns (lumbungs). They do also make some wooden artifacts and the women weave. Oh yes, and then there is tobacco…

Tobacco drying in the sun

The Sasak people really know how to get the most of what is available in the environment… even bamboo nails are used to link the wooden/bamboo parts of the walls together.

Man living in, and with, nature – chickens and motorbikes!

Our Sasak guide put my number into his phone (a Blackberry) and is going to let me know when the next Nyale festival will happen – I hope I can make it back there for this festival which celebrates the return of the colourful worms of the sea!

1 Comment

by julieinbali on 18/04/2013 • Permalink

Posted in CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SPIRITUALITY, MUSINGS - Thoughts and reflections..., PICTURE GALLERY

Tagged Bamboo, Eco-friendly, Nature

Posted by julieinbali on 18/04/2013

https://julieinbali.wordpress.com/2013/04/18/the-sasak-people-of-lombok-and-their-culture/

My favourite greenery / scenery

Here is one of the biggest leaves from the plants in my garden – the banana leaves are actually much longer, but then they are trees whereas this is a plant.

You can eat the fruit of this giant plant in my garden

Quetela grow in the soil at the base of this plant – which you can eat (you can also buy Quetela crisps in the shops – not cheese and onion or salt and vinegar flavour… but, well… Quetela flavour!)

This picture shows the view from the top of the steps, leading to my house, right down to the lower part of the garden where we have a bale (like a gazebo with a thatched roof).

View from top of my garden

The bale is a lovely relaxing place to sit and eat breakfast or drink afternoon tea.

On one side of the bale are banana trees, with their excessively long leaves.

Banana leaves are often used for cooking food in (smoked duck in banana leaf is my favourite), or as a plate to eat food off of and, of course, they are used for offerings to the Gods too.

Long banana leaves

The view, beyond the garden on the other side of the bale, is an exciting mass of jungle full of different greens… (spot the bamboo on the left)

Jungle backdrop

I love driving around as there are such wonderful scenic routes full of greenery too…

Travel up towards the volcano and see fabulous rice terraces on the way…

Or maybe we would stop by at Goa Gajah (the Elephant Cave) and wander around its jungle clad pathways…

Need somewhere to stop and relax awhile, maybe drink a coconut with a rather nice and peaceful view…

Get to the top of the volcano and stay in a rustic lodge which nestles in the mountainside overlooking a temple and…

have this stunning view of a volcano from your balcony…

I’m actually an agent for this characterful property which can sleep up to 6 (ideally family or a group of friends), or you can also book it for just the two of you – a romantic setting with a tranquil lakeside and volcano view. Contact me on rumahjepun@outlook.com for availability and rates and click here for more pics.

Then maybe I will go back to my garden and pick a papaya fresh off the tree.

Don’t you just love greenery!

2 Comments

by julieinbali on 12/01/2013 • Permalink

Posted in MUSINGS - Thoughts and reflections..., PICTURE GALLERY

Tagged Bali, Bamboo, Banana, Eco-friendly, Garden, Nature, Papaya, scenery, Travel, Views, volcano

Posted by julieinbali on 12/01/2013

https://julieinbali.wordpress.com/2013/01/12/my-favourite-greenery-scenery/

Honey inside my chair

I found myself stuffing paper into small holes in the bamboo chair on my balcony.

This is because a quite a few flies appeared and it seems that they made a nest inside the bamboo and were making honey in there! Honey that is actually more expensive than bee’s honey.

However, I really didn’t want to encourage a swarm of honey making flies to hang out just below where I sit every day, however expensive the honey is. So I continued to discourage them by stuffing the holes, leaving just one for them to escape. The plan must have worked as I haven’t seen any more flies worming their way into the bamboo.

On the subject of bamboo this link will give you a little more info about the uses of bamboo – for humans not just flies!

It’s looking better and better everyday

Plumbing, ceilings, railings, ceramic tiles and bathroom fittings – yes, it really is starting to look like a home now.

There is still lots to do but it is fascinating to watch the daily progress. In the last few weeks ceilings have been put up and painted (I love the way the Balinese make decorative ceilings with two different heights – see room pic).

Decorative ceiling

My ceiling on my balcony is made of woven bamboo (called bedek) which is attached to a layer of plywood. It’s a simple, effective ceiling and I love the natural look of it.

Rather important things like the septic tanks were finished a few weeks ago and the pipes have been linked to the house.

The bathtub, toilets and washbasins have been delivered and water is available from taps.

The taps are fed by the water tank on the roof, which gets water pumped up to it from a 40 meter deep bore hole, see this link for more about that.

While the tiler is doing his job, two women are varnishing window frames. The carpenter is constructing a railing from individual pieces of wood. The plumber is laying pipework. Other builders are busy plastering outside walls while still others are pouring cement into the hand made wooden framework which will eventually become the fishpond in my bathroom. At the same time the labourer is delivering whatever materials are required. All this activity and no one ever seems to get in any one else’s way!

: Balinese style decoration above my door – in the hands of a skilled craftsmen

Orderly people would probably be pulling their hair out because things are hardly ever actually finished. Workers go from half finishing plastering a wall one day and the next day they will be working on something else. But it’s absolutely fine as it is all coming along swimmingly.

I hadn’t realised the number of processes in building a wall, here’s the recipe:

sandwich the bricks between even measures of cement
add a lavish layer of plaster
top with 2 layers of ‘mill’ (mill??)
smother with a 1 layer of ‘calcium’ (I kid you not)
decorate with 2 generous coats of paint (well okay, I knew about paint, bricks, cement and plaster… but mill and calcium?)

Anyway, I’m concentrating on the upstairs, which is my living space, and hope to move in asap. Then, once the two downstairs rooms are finished, I hope guests will flock to Bali for their holiday and decide to come and stay at my very centrally located house, surrounded by nature’s beauty.

The wooden railing is half finished and downstairs will be plastered next

It is a fabulous experience to watch your dream house being built, brick by brick, process by process, step by step – in such capable hands.

Once again I thank Pasek for everything from overseeing the workers, ordering materials which arrive precisely when they are needed, explaining processes to me and coming up with great new ideas and solutions to any potential hiccup before it materialises.

Sifting sand while singing

As you can see, Ibu has also been working on the house (and not just sifting sand! – she is incredibly strong, and has a great singing voice too especially with a song called Juli and Romi – an Indonesian version of Romeo and Juliet!)

For an up-to-date look at the house click here.

4 Comments

by julieinbali on 16/04/2012 • Permalink

Posted in PICTURE GALLERY

Tagged Bamboo, New House

Posted by julieinbali on 16/04/2012

https://julieinbali.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/its-looking-better-and-better-everyday/

My favourite eating experience

We lounge against cushions on a wooden bale (gazebo).

Below us lies a pond, dotted with pink unfolding lotus flowers, which stretches out to greet the rice paddies. The green fields of young rice meet the distant jungle, framed by a big sky.

Yaniq sounding the miniature kul kul - to order more beer

Sitting above a lotus pond surrounded by nature’s sights and sounds – bird’s, frogs the trickle of water – we eat delicious bbq’d local fish served on banana leaves (no washing up!).

Eating Balinese style means just using the fingers of your right hand – no cutlery in sight. Teasing the soft fish from the bones and scooping it up with a little rice and vegetables in your fingers is a wonderful natural experience. Dipping it into the spicy sambal mixture and then popping it into your mouth directly from your fingers means there’s no contamination from the taste of a metal fork on your tongue and no washing up!

Local fish dish served in banana leaves

The setting, the food and the way of eating is natural.

Even the way of calling the waitress to ask for another bottle of beer relies on nature – you use a wooden stick against a piece of bamboo (like a minature kul kul).

Don’t worry about your sticky fingers you can easily clean them at the outdoor washbasin.

See the outdoor washbasin made of stone in this stunning restaurant setting - minutes before the rain came

Hmmm, think I might go for lunch at ‘Janggar Ulam’ again tomorrow…

Janggar Ulam is in the village called Teges, which is a short distance from Ubud, past the turning to Mas, you will find it on the right hand side of the road, just before the large expanse of rice fields.

For other interesting restaurants to eat at click here

4 Comments

by julieinbali on 06/02/2012 • Permalink

Posted in MUSINGS - Thoughts and reflections..., PICTURE GALLERY

Tagged Bamboo, Food, Garden, Views

Posted by julieinbali on 06/02/2012

https://julieinbali.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/my-favourite-eating-experience/

When big sis came to Bali

Its been nearly a year since my sister Linda, and her husband Corky, came to Bali. So it’s about time I put some pictures up of their visit. We had a great time together and they stayed for a week near my home in Ubud and another week in Candidasa right by the sea…

On a traditional Balinese fishing boat (jukung)

Aren’t these boats so cute looking with their painted faces and bamboo stabilizers…

Arriving by boat

The thunderous ocean
she is my neighbour
a fragile relationship
we keep

She is a thief
steals pebbles and sand
threatens my foundations
with the deep…

At the beach - it took Corky a long time to decide on this hat - but it really suits him

Linda playing Rindik on the beach

This nice sounding bamboo instrument, Rindik, is often used in Bali and Linda made a really good job at playing it (the pianist in her came out). You might hear Rindik in hotel lobbys, shops, restaurants and, of course, while you are sunbathing on the beach – the Balinese man will also bring you a coconut if you are thirsty.

Linda and I at the infinity pool

If you spot little black marks in the above picture it’s actually half a dozen birds that kept swooping down.

Linda in Amed - with sailing boats in the background

Corky and a humongous tree in the Monkey Forest

This particular Banyan tree (Beringin) grows on both sides of the steps, so you actually walk through its downward growing branches. (There are over 400 monkeys in the Monkey Forest where this picture was taken – but I only spot one monkey in the pic – hahaha)

Linda and Corky at a Royal Cremation

Ahha, a cremation… that deserves a whole separate write up. But here you can just see the lower part of the tall tower (bade) that was about to be paraded through the streets from Ubud Palace to the cemetery. Linda and Corky were lucky to be here for this huge event.

Linda and I - colour coded!

Linda and Corky…. I hope you will come back and visit again soon!

2 Comments

by julieinbali on 05/01/2012 • Permalink

Posted in MUSINGS - Thoughts and reflections..., PICTURE GALLERY

Tagged Bamboo, Poem snippet

Posted by julieinbali on 05/01/2012

https://julieinbali.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/when-big-sis-came-to-visit/

Christmas week in Bali

Christmas started with being kidnapped by my friend, Inggrid – forcing me to drink Rainbow cocktails and insisting that I played pool and table football (known here as foozball) until the wee small hours – well it would have been rude to refuse to be kidnapped wouldn’t it.

In front of the tree with Inggrid at Melting Pot

In front of the tree with Inggrid at Melting Pot

Rainbow cocktail at Boom Boom

Its great to watch this cocktail being made and poured, as all these coloured drinks come from just one cocktail shaker!

Christmas eve with Sandeh, who lives in Ubud and Ian & Helena who are here on holiday – I hadn’t seen Ian for years:

Sandeh, Ian & Helena and me on Christmas Eve at Cafe des Artistes

On Boxing day Yaniq and I had one of the best fish dishes I’ve ever tasted (local fish cooked in honey!) at a lovely restaurant, called Janggar Ulam, overlooking a lotus pond and rice fields where you sound the bamboo in order to get served:

Just hit the bamboo for service

Yaniq - Laid back or what!

Surrounded by Christmas

This woman had just been in a film shoot where she blended into the painted background! Later on she sang in a local bar, Napi Urti, – good voice!

Painted lady!

Yaniq also played guitar with Fredi Marley and they played a song with my poem/lyrics, called Bali, click here for the lyrics

Yaniq with Fredi Marley - playing 'Bali'

Rudolph on my wall

And a very Merry Christmas was had by one and all! – I hope you had a good one too.

Julie in Bali

All posts tagged Bamboo

Musical poetry at Dragonfly Village

Triangular bamboo and glass door

Bamboo instruments (Jegog gamelan)

The Sasak people of Lombok and their culture

My favourite greenery / scenery

Honey inside my chair

It’s looking better and better everyday

My favourite eating experience

When big sis came to Bali

Christmas week in Bali

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