Sailing - Balanise Style

I went sailing on Thursday (17/11/2011) but more importantly it was Balanese style; what a buzz!  It was in a "Jukung" which is one of those 12 footer, out-rigger type vessels commonly used by the local fisherman with what I would describe as a lobster-claw shaped sail (like a lateen rig).   These days of course, the fishermen have traded in their sails for outboard motors, but the boats are still the same shape except of course for the fact that, because they no longer use a sail, they can erect a shade structure over the central part of the boat.

The sailing version is of course only used by tourists these days, but other than that my boatman (Wyan) assured me that it was the real McCoy.  The boats are predominatly timber but include bamboo as well for things such as  the out-rigger floats, mast and sail boom .  The hull is made of a single piece of Mangrove tree wood that is hollowed out the hard way, with an adze and chisels, and I think he said it takes about 6 months to carve it out.  It was a very well made vessel; the hull was very smoothly finished inside and out, the various joints required to make up the out-rigger arms were neatly done and what small amount of carving there was, was well finished.  The other thing I liked about them is the way the bow is shaped in the manner of some sort of fish and the stern in the shape of sort of fish tail and then of course their brightly painted colours (I like bright colours), they really do look great (note that the shape and colours were still used on real fishing boats but their hull and outrigger floats were made of fiberglass).  Funnily though, the sail on my boat was made out of, and you'll never believe it, the same sort of synthetic woven material that rainbow bags and chook food bags are made out of, however, not one to be deterred, I didn't let it diminish my experience.

The boat struck me a being quite stable in the water but Wyan told me that they're only good in swell less than 1m high, any more and they can tip over.  I can't imagine how you would right one of these things if it did go over.

We set sail from the lovely beach in the village of Senur which is on the south east coast of Bali.  This side of the island and in particular Senur is where the tourist water sports are conducted primarily because there are no waves on the beach due to a coral reef which is a couple of kilometers off shore.  The beach sand is also the nice yellow colour that we're used to back home in Australia, unlike many of the other beaches  we saw in Bali (like at Seminyak on the west coast where we spent our last 4 nights) where the sand was black volcanic sand which tended to turn your clothes black also. 

Anyway, we set sail.  The breeze was light but the boatman assured me that it was strong enough to take us to a turtle farm that was part of the package ($400,000 Rupia = $40 AU).  The going seemed to be a little slow when we set off and it wasn't long before the boatman had a paddle in his hand to help us along.  I noticed another in the bottom of the boat and so I asked him if he'd mind if I helped him paddle; he was a little surprised at my suggestion.  The paddle was about 1200mm long and 100mm wide, it was easy to use but I can recall being told that when rowing or paddling timing is important, in other words everyone needs to time their stroke so that they pull together.  Timing was a challenge for me and I found myself looking over my shoulder to see when the boatman was beginning his stroke.  I eventually got the rhythm which was slightly quicker than I would naturally choose but it felt good to know we were pulling in time.  We did this for about three quarters of an hour before we found a slightly better but not fantastic breeze.

We crossed the main river and landed on the southern side.  We walked the short distance to the turtle farm, which I discovered was not so much a farm as an animal shelter/hospital for turtles; apparently, turtles are protected in Indonesia.  They appear to do a good job but with few resources.

The return leg to Sanur was quicker than the first because the breeze had picked up.  The change in speed brought a smile to Wyan's face and more importantly to mine.

Now and then I turned around in my seat thereby facing the stern so that I could chat with Wyan.  He seemed like a very nice fellow.  In spite of the fact that his english was poor we still managed to converse reasonably well.  We talked about the usual things, our families, our job, and other things we enjoy.   He was good company.

I was surprised at one point to observe a real fishing boat but with an out-rigger on only one side and that the men were using paddles to propel the vessel and not a motor (being completely absent).  My boatman told me that this was just a paddle cannoe as distinct from a sailing cannoe.

I had a great time and would recommend this traditional Balanese experience to anyone who wouldn't mind a relaxing time on the water.  For me, it was better than having a massage!

Ubud Hotel "Green Field"

View of the rice paddies from our room

We left Green Fields hotel the other day after spending a week there. Originally, we were only going to stay four nights but when we saw the lobby and then our rooms we decided that we should stay another few nights to make it a week.

The lobby is an open building and which overlooks a large lotus pond.  The restaurant  is open on one side and has marble flooring.  We're not the types to dine out much at home in Australia, so eating at the restaurant was a treat. We loved their food, the menu was diverse and the service always came with a smile.

View of the lobby looking across the lotus pond

View of the lobby overlooking the lotus pond

 

The place lived up to it's first impressions.  The driver from Green Field who picked us up from the airport, in a near new van, was pleasant and chatty all the way to the hotel, which gave us both a good feeling about what to expect.  He was typical of all of the staff, so friendly and interesting to talk with.  Most of the staff apart from grounds staff wore beautiful traditional outfits which added to the Balinese feel of the hotel

       

             Julie one of our waitress's  

Agung another of our friendly waitress.s

Our room 406 (below) was decorated in Balinese style and more importantly we liked all of the rooms had a terrace or balcony overlooking the rice fields. It was so beautiful and peaceful.  We even walked out into the rice field one day when they were harvesting, threshing and winnowing rice, they were all so friendly.

    

Typical artwork in rooms.  Painted by owner who is a well known artist

There was a free shuttle service at call into and back from Ubud central. They were even able to recommend and book tours for us and we even paid them to drive us to a wood carver, silversmith and batik workshop.

The restaraunt

Water melong juice and the fancy water melon
cutout they put on the glass $2

Enjoying a young pinapple

They absolutely magnificent infinity salt water pool set in amongst traditional style Balinese buildings, again over-looking the rice fields.

   
  




This is the other room we stayed in on the last night it was a 1st story room.

 

We also spent one night in this room #515

 

View of rice paddies from the balcony of room 515

  

Our special thanks go to Huipin (Registrar), Agung and Julie (waitress's) and Aria and Batu (Drivers).

If you're planning on going to Ubud, stay at Green Field, you won't be disappointed and it's very affordable.

(some of the attached snaps are courtesy of TripAdvisor)

Elephant Walk

Male elephant (foreground) & Nellie our elephant, behind

There was a film made in the 1940's titiled "Elephant Walk", it was a film set in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in which a house of a wealthy tea grower was built in the traditional walking path of the elephants.  The elephants were none too pleased about this and towards the end of the film they succeeded in trampling the building down (mind you the building was a substantial stone building) and the owner concluded that it was better to build in another location, much to the relief of his new life.  Basically the film was about the unforgettable memory of the elephant.

Rosie seated on Nellie with Keeper Abu

We went walking with, or more to the point on, an elephant today but I forgot to ask the elephant keeper (who's name was Apu) about the elephant memory, needless to say Nellie (it was a she elephant) knew exactly where to go and what tricks to perform.  This is probably not surprising given that she's probably done the whole thing about a thousand times.  You see, elephants live for about 80 years but retire from work at 60 years of age so its any wonder they have good memories.  Nellie, our elephant was 27 years old so she still has a few years up her sleeve.  She and Apu have been together for 14 years and both of them came to Bali from Sumatra about 9 years ago, mainly because the pay is better and the work is much easier on his elephant (I forgot to ask him if the elephant belongs to him).  However, Apu had to leave his wife and son behind to look after his mother and besides he only has one room to live in which would be difficult for them all.  Furthermore, although the pay is better than in Sumatra, it is more expensive to live in Bali, we could tell that he is quite torn.  He works a 9 day week and has 3 days off for a festival once a month (I think thats what he said).  He and Nellie are partners for life.

An elephant eats about 250kg of vegetable matter and drinks 100litres of water per day.

This was a truck at the elephant park that looked like it'd been in a fight with an elephant.  This is what most of the trucks in Bali look like.  Now I know what causes all the damage.... elephants!

Some Sumatran elephant facts from a-z animals.com

The Sumatran elephant is a sub-species ofAsian elephant which includes the Indianelephant, the Sumatran elephant, the Sri-Lanka elephant and the Borneo elephant. The Sumatran elephant is extremely rare today, with estimates in 2000 putting Sumatran elephant numbers at just over 2,000 individuals.

As its name suggests, the Sumatran elephant is found exclusively on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. However, the Sumatran elephant population has severely declined as they have lost more than 80% of their naturalhabitat to deforestation for palm oil plantations.
The Sumatran elephant has smaller ears than the African elephant and the Sumatran elephant also has a more curved spine than the African elephant. Unlike the African elephants, the female Sumatran elephants very rarely have tusks, and if the female Sumatran elephant does have tusks, they are generally barely visible and can only be seen when the female Sumatranelephant opens her mouth.
The Sumatran elephant follows strict migration routes that are determined by the monsoon season. The eldest elephant of the Sumatran elephant herd is responsible for remembering the migration route of its Sumatran elephantherd. This Sumatran elephant migration generally takes place between the wet and dry seasons and problems arose when farms where built along the migratory routes of the Sumatran elephant herds, as the Sumatran elephantscaused a great deal of destruction to the newly founded farmland.
Sumatran elephants are herbivorous animals meaning that they only eat plants and plant matter in order to gain all of the nutrients that they need to survive. Sumatran elephants eat a wide variety of vegetation including grasses, leaves, shoots, barks, fruits, nuts and seeds. Sumatran elephantsoften use their long trunk to assist them in gathering food.
Due to their large size, Sumatran elephants have very few predators within their natural environment. Besides human hunters, Sumatran tigers are the primary predator of the Sumatran elephant, although they tend to hunt the smaller Sumatran elephant calves rather than the much larger and stronger adults.
Female Sumatran elephants are generally able to breed by the time they are 10 years old, and give birth to a single Sumatran elephant calf after a 22 month gestation period. When the Sumatran elephant calf is first born, it weighs about 100 kg, and is cared for not only by it's mother by also by other female Sumatran elephants in the herd (known as aunties). The infant Sumatran elephant remains with its mother until it is around 5 years old and gains its independence, with males often leaving the herd and female calves staying.
Today, the Sumatran elephant is considered to be an animal that is in immediate danger of becoming extinct due to the fact that Sumatranelephant populations have been declining at a critical rate. Sumatranelephants are thought to be suffering primarily due to habitat loss in the form of deforestation and hunting for their ivory tusks by human poachers.

School's In

 We visited a two schools in Ubud today (something it appears that tourists don't do).  One was an elementary school and the other a secondary school.  It was a special day of the month so students all wore traditional clothes, they were all beautiful looking children, but then the balinese are a beautiful looking people anyway.  The two headmasters and teachers were very gracious in allowing us to interrupt their teaching.  The student's gave a big OH when Rosie told them that she was a teacher and that she taught Indonesian and they were very surprised when she addressed them in Bahasa Indonesian (the Indonesian official language).  One class we visited had 37 pupils but a teacher told us that some of his classes had a many as 45.

Secondary school teacher

Rosie taking an interest in a students work

Classroom teacher

The School Quadrangle

There are over 700 students in the elementary school and I imagine that if they were all there at the one time they would easily fill their quadrangle.  Fortunately they seem to teach in shifts with the younger students finishing at 10am (i think) and at this time the older ones start

This photo shows children practicing the national flag raising ceremony.  This is very important in secondary school and the school Principal decides whether they pass or fail.  It involves marching and proclaiming allegiance to their country.

Just as an aside, the national flag of Indonesia, which is known as Sang Saka Merah-Putih ("The Sacred Red-and-White") is based on the banner of a 13th century Empire in East Java. The flag itself was introduced and hoisted in public at the Indonesian Independence day ceremony, on 17 August 1945.  The flag is in every classroom.  They are very proud of their flag.

This photo shows the library and although you cant see the whole room it still gives you an idea of the few resources they have available, but everything is in good condition. Surprisingly they use the same numbering system as we use in Australia.

We are very thanful for the hospitality shown to us at the two schools in Ubud.