Money Can Buy You A Pair Of Wings

Bernard and I finally met. He congratulated me for my enthusiasm despite the poor weather and promised me aerial shots from his specially mounted camera. I have been planning this paragliding experience for more than a week and had to postpone twice, due to strong winds.

It is still windy today so Bernard said he would fly me himself on the tandem paraglider. He is a fully qualified pilot with 25 years of paragliding experience, so I felt safe in his hands. I went through a quick on-ground instructional briefing and a massive blue canopy was hauled out of a backpack attached to a bundle of Kevlar lines. I was fastened into a harness and the safety clips were inspected by two other men, followed by Bernard himself. Then, Bernard tapped my helmet and said that we were ready to go.

The launch was easier than I had expected. No jumping off rocks or jogging downhill. We simply lifted off and glided away from the cliff. With my feet off the ground, my harness allowed me to settle into a very comfortable sitting position.

The view was breathtaking. The flight zone at Timbis convinced me that I had the best seat in town. We launched off the rugged cliffs to soar over immaculate pristine beaches and blue seas with a bird’s eye view of the waves breaking over the beach and coral reefs below.

I get queasy at heights but there was no fear of falling and the ride was extremely smooth. It was very peaceful but not at all quiet, with the sound of wind whipping in my ears.

During the flight, Bernard explained his control over the glider. He checked if I was doing alright but I don’t think he waited for an answer. Soon, we were whirling and spiraling; plummeting and rising more than I had fancied. My body was being pulled by the wind while my stomach and other internal body parts following only seconds later.

We stayed aloft for almost an hour. I am not sure how high we were elevated but we hugged the coast line throughout.

Eventually, it was time to land and the landing was slow and gentle. The tandem flight was an exhilarating paragliding experience. It was good fun but most of all, it was fulfilling to have experienced man’s greatest fantasy of free flight.  

That Gangly Monkey At Uluwatu

Dear Charles,

I spent some hours visiting the Pura Luhur Uluwatu Temple today. The temple was built from coral rock and set high on the edge of a cliff with a 250-foot drop to the rolling, thundering waves of the Indian Ocean. With the sunset casting hues of crimson, red and orange, the view was really spectacular. Remember that moment at the top of the Cape of Good Hope when my jaw dropped? Well, this was almost close.

Yet, it was the monkeys that stole the show! They are rather cute, if you ask me.  There were masses of them all around the temple grounds and I am telling you, they were something else! They were really sharp and mischievously intelligent. Anyway, I am sure you do not need to be accustomed with monkey behaviour since you live with one.

The thing is, what I wanted to say was, I am sorry. The monkey has your camera.

Yours lovingly,

Wifey.

 

A Sizzling, Technicolour Performance

In Gianyar, just off the center of the island of Bali, the evil mythological god Rangda deployed his most exquisite pair of servants to hunt down Dewi Kunti . Their pursuit is beguiling and enticing.

Dewi Kunti had promised to sacrifice her son, Sadewa to Rangda but now seeks the support of Patih to help Sadewa to flee deep into the forest.

However, Patih is possessed by an evil spirit.

He binds Sadewa to a tree to prevent his escape and as an offering to the evil god. Sadewa’s cries erupted up to a shrill that is heard by Siva, the righteous god. Unknown to Rangda, Siva appears and bestows immortality upon Sadewa.

 When Rangda emerges to receive the sacrifice, he realises that Sadewa cannot be defeated. Instead, Sadewa conquers Rangda.

Kalika, a faithful servant of Rangda is devastated at the loss of her master and challenges Sadewa to battle. She manisfested herself as a boar and leaped and twirled all over Sadewa.

Still, Sadewa is stronger and almost overcomes Kalika, the boar when she transformed into a bird stretching out her vast wings in attack and assault.

Sadewa was still prevailing over the bird but soon the bird took on the form of Rangda, the evil god and Rangda proves to be too powerful for Sadewa. Sadewa then takes the form of a Barong.

 The battle is in full swing  and rages on until the followers of Barong emerges. They are killed by Rangda who flees shortly after. The Barong breathed life into his faithful followers who erupted with cries and howls of revival.

(The Barong Dance is a mesmerizing, technicolour performance about the eternal fight between good and evil. Played on a tiny stage back dropped by a Balinese temple, the tale is chronicled in the Mahabhrata. As it was danced out for me, I was completely transfixed, as my own lyrical version of the dance began to unfold, word for word.)

My Father is Retired

There are some days when you should never reveal your father’s livelihood. Today was one of those days.

North bound to Kintamani, the local guide pulled off to Tampaksiring and decided that I should visit a family-owned coffee plantation.  Nyoman, the youngest of three siblings represented his household to introduce me to the family’s pride – the Abian Sari Coffee Plantation.

"Ma’am, do you know the difference between a female and male coffee bean?”

"Err, no.”

"So, look around, can you tell me which bean is ripe?”

"Err, nope.” (Am I supposed to be seeing beans?)

"Do you go to coffee plantation before?”

"Err, no.”

After showing me around for a bit more, Nyoman led me to their makeshift outdoor kitchen to sample the different types of coffee, tea and cocoa. Here, I met the rest of the family.

"Ma’am, here we also roast coffee. First, we clean beans before roasting and then we grind beans. Have you seen coffee roasting before?”

"Err, no.”

"We also have vanilla, rosella, cocoa, ginseng, cinnamon and passion fruit”, he said in one breath while pointing at several directions. I wasn’t even sure I was looking at the right thing and secretly hoped he did not notice.

"Ma’am, your father own business too in Malaysia?”

"My father is retired.”

Thank you Nyoman, for suffering fools like me.

So, now I know.

These are NOT ripe.

(Dad, if you are reading this and just so you know, I already know what you are about to say.)

Grounded in Kuta

Here’s how my day started and I can tell you that it is not a peachy way to start the day.

I had signed up for a full day para-gliding course and was skipping with excitement, all set for the hills of Timbis. Then, the phone rang.

“Miss Lim, this is Bernard from Exofly. We cancel all flights today. The wind is too strong.”

“Too strong?”

“Yes, we fly giant kites today. Maybe tomorrow. Report say weather tomorrow is better.”

“But, tomorrow I am going to Kintamani.”

“You can call us to check weather.”

“Call you when?”

“Every day.”

“Every day?”

“Ya, every day.”

“Errr… Ok.”

My heart sunk! I was devastated. Suddenly I was grounded, miserable and disoriented.

I glared disappointingly at a stack of tour brochures but it was too late to try to plan anything elaborate. So I decided to spend the day wandering Kuta on foot, to find out what the raves and rage about Kuta was all about.  

Most travel writers have made a “love to hate and hate to love” observation about Kuta.  Many people whom I spoke to prior to my trip have also come to the same conclusion – Kuta is just a mass of tourist and everything touristy. Not worth the time.

I didn’t saunter too far today but I can confirm that Kuta IS just a mass of tourist and everything touristy. But wait a minute, what did you guys expect?

Kuta has evolved to cater for you and I – the tourists. By day, I saw Starbucks, McDonalds, Coffee Bean, Ripcurl, Billabong, Hurley, Ralph Lauren, Crocs, Adidas, Quicksilver and the list of brand-names go on. In all of these shops, there were only foreigners, no locals.

Then, there were also “brandless” traders, selling “I Love Bali” t-shirts and assortment of souveniers. This is not unlike any other tourist destination. Kuta or Phuket, they are all “same-same-but-different”.

Adidas, Hurley and other braded shops scattered all over Kuta.

Tourists shop here, not so much the locals.

This could very well be taken in Phuket.

They even cater for individuals like Mae, and she has stayed in Kuta once!

The beach is littered and the sand, jaundiced. All along the seaside, someone is thriving on the boom of tourism. Buy some time on a jet-ski, rent a beach ball, pay for surf lessons or hire a plastic chair for the 6.00pm sunset. The same can be said of Batu Ferringhi.

Want to sit? Rent a chair!

By night, fancy al-fresco cafes and clubs spring to life. Alcohol, drugs, women and just about any other debauchery are aplenty to create the party scene that you and I look for on a holiday. Sounds like Bangkok to me.

Kuta is not a place to come in search for peace and quiet, and it really should not be blamed for not resonating serenity or originality. Let’s not hate Kuta for what it is not. It deserves to be loved for what it is. After all, Kuta has become everything you and I nurtured it to be.

(Turns out, spending the day discovering Kuta wasn't so bad after all. Now, I just need to figure out what Bernard meant by calling him every day.)

Pork Ribs from Heaven!

Now, I would not be my husband’s wife if I did not post one decent blog about the delicious Indonesian fare. In keeping it within the family, I must mention that this was my sister-in-law’s sole advice to me before I left  - Go makan at Naughty Nuri’s Warong!

Obedient as I am, I went, and oh my-my-my! Can I just say that this is one place that is NOT overrated! The pork ribs are to-die-for! It was tender, juicy, moist and wonderfully tasty!

I cannot remember how I got there so wherever Naughty Nuri is located at Ubud, it is a quaint and unassuming wooden shack with a shop full, full of patrons both local and foreign.

If you are ever in Ubud, you must make a pit stop at Naughty Nuri’s Warong. You do not know what you are missing until you do!

Naughty Nuri's Warung, Ubud, Bali.

My heart skipped a beat at the sight of this.

Taking the time to take this photo was tormentting. I could not wait to dive in!

The Beautiful People of Bali

They come in all forms. Most are Hindus, some are Buddhist and handfuls are Muslims. Some are young, some are old. They can be men or women, rich or poor. Some are dark, some are fairer. They can be petite or large, tall or short. They share with each other, they share with you.  All across the island they are hospitable, warm and kind.

They could not care for your race or religion or if you are spotting your latest pair of Nikes. It does not bother them if you are the next Justin Bieber or if you ARE Justin Bieber. Somehow when you are amongst them, you know that you will not be critiqued or judged. You are simply accepted the way you are.

Everything you have heard or read about the beautiful people of Bali is true.

Random people I met today from Ubud and Mas

Sometimes we are exiles by our own doings and in our own minds with preconceptions about who and what we are supposed to be.