Because I took just soooooo many photographs during my five days in West Sumatra, I have made up a slideshow of some of the better ones, which you can look at by clicking...
HERE.
It will open in a new window.
I will write more about the trip later, but it's an amazing place. The landscape is stunning and the people are so friendly. And I only got the chance to see a small part of it.
People told me Padang isn’t amazing. That it’s just a place to go to so you can get to Bukittinggi or the Mentawai islands. Well, I’ve been in Padang for six or seven hours so far and I have to respectfully disagree.
The locals are so friendly, especially the kids. When I was down at the rather pleasant but choppy-looking beach, and walking around, I had an obscene amount of “hello missus, hello mister” like everywhere else because there aren’t that many foreigners visiting here these days apparently. But here the kids were so curious and interested and made the time to have a bit of a conversation with me, either in Indonesian or English. They all wanted their photos taken down the beach at sunset, and they were asking me questions about Australia that I really didn’t have the language ability to answer very well!
Kid: What things are in Australia?
Me: Umm. Many beaches and many animals. It is hot, like Indonesia.
What a compelling description by me! The kids weren’t hitting me up for cash either, which is always refreshing.
Continue reading "Dear Padang. I think I kind of love you in a weird way." »
A family in Ubud working on a penjor, a decorated pole put outside Balinese homes and businesses for celebrations, in the lead up to Nyepi, the Balinese Hindu New Year.
Because of Nyepi, which falls on Thursday, there's a public holiday, so I'm out of the office for a few days (!!!) and I am heading around Padang and Bukittinggi in West Sumatra to do God-knows-what, so catch you later non-existent readers. xx
I wish I could carry stuff on my head skillfully like the Balinese. How sweet would that be?
THIS IS THE BEST PORK EVER. (Sorry Mum, your Christmas roasts are pretty good too. But not quite in this league.)
Babi guling, or Balinese suckling pig, from Ibu Oka's warung just behind Ubud Palace.
AMAZING.
For Rp 30,000 you can get the special with a drink.
It's a mix of crackling, the most tender pork, greens, Balinese sausage, other bits of pig that tasted good but I'm not sure what they were, all coated in Balinese spices served on white rice. It has a bit of a chili kick to it, but not too much.
Apparently they cook up about four of these babis (babi is the Indonesian word for pig) a day and when they have run out, that's it. No pig for you. So don't leave it too late, there's never any pig left by dinnertime. The place is buzzing. Some regular tables out the front, and out the back, low tables with mats to sit on the floor. You kick your shoes off in to the bulging pile before plonking down on a mat to share tables with locals and tourists from all over. The topic of conversation primarily revolves around just HOW AWESOME the babi guling is. There were a few other Jakarta expats there as well, who, like me, were just relishing being able to eat pork, which is not that readily available in the more Muslim parts of Indonesia.
If you go to Ubud, you have to eat this. As long as you are not Muslim or vegetarian or vegan. (Sorry... but there's other good stuff to eat in Bali too for you guys...)
Did I mention that it is absolutely delicious?
One of the attractions in Ubud, Bali, is the sacred monkey forest, home to temples surrounded by greenery, and tons and tons of tourists. Oh, and tons of monkeys running around everywhere too.
The presence of tourists has meant that the monkeys are pretty darn cheeky though. I saw one run up to a man, pull open the pocket of his cargo pants and run off with a packet of Wurther's Originals he had in there. No joke!
So, there are a lengthy list of rules when you go in about how you shouldn't hide food from the monkeys because they will find it, you should be respectful, not tease them, etc.
Rule No. 5 was my favourite though:
I just love the turn of phrase "if a monkey gets on you". It sounds like they might attack. I also love the confusing advice to "stand still AND walk away slowly", and the idea that it might be some sort of monkey hold up, and you should drop your weapons (and by weapons, I mean bananas) and retreat slowly, so you don't piss off the monkey.
I also love that they "trust your visit will be a memorable one". It almost sounds like a threat from the Godfather Monkey or something....
Kids playing with kites at the football field, Jalan Monkey Forest, Ubud, Bali.
Was in Ubud for a couple of days, and caught a performance of Legong dance at Ubud Palace on Saturday night. It was rather cool. The dancers are very expressive and the movements are really intricate. The gamelan band was also very theatrical and skillful. I took so many photos, here are just a few of them.
I took this pic at the airport in Denpasar, and forgot about it. I just found it when looking for something else. It's not a particularly good photo, because it was sneakily taken in the airport toilets. But I remember, delirious with tiredness, chuckling away to myself about the phrase "don't litter disposal into closet".
Does it apply to all "disposal"? If so, where can you go to the toilet?
In Indonesian, to me at least, the sign actually says "don't put stuff inside the toilet bowl".
I realised I never posted any of my pics from visiting Candi Borobudur, just outside of Yogya. It's a pretty amazing temple and I saw it on a stunning blue sky day.
Read more info about it here.
