2014
Selamat Pagi from ‘The Morning of the World’
29 September 2014
As always on my first morning here I have woken with the very first cock's crow and dog bark to a pitch-black, pre-dawn day. A contrast to the garbage trucks responsible for rude awakenings back home in Paddington.
I arrived yesterday afternoon after a smooth trip to a wonderful welcome in this lovely Bali home. Jasmin and Rosie were the first to greet me. All but Roman were home - (two birthday parties in one weekend - he has obviously settled in well and made good friends fast). Ibu Agung was here too, just about to leave after her Sunday stint here. Looking after this house is a much bigger job now that the size of the family has doubled - the house too, and her salary, accordingly.
Jasmin is gorgeous with her short hair. She introduced me to Rosie, who is still quite tiny, and to the two bantam chickens, Angie and Zeus. She and Roman have raised them from the eggs. There were broody hens belonging to the owner of the house when I was here in July - when the eggs hatched he took them all home but the kids begged for one each as soon as they could leave the mother. They are very tame - Jasmin handles them all the time and they seem to love it. Perch in the frangipani tree by the shrine to sleep at night.
I arrived yesterday afternoon after a smooth trip to a wonderful welcome in this lovely Bali home. Jasmin and Rosie were the first to greet me. All but Roman were home - (two birthday parties in one weekend - he has obviously settled in well and made good friends fast). Ibu Agung was here too, just about to leave after her Sunday stint here. Looking after this house is a much bigger job now that the size of the family has doubled - the house too, and her salary, accordingly.
Jasmin is gorgeous with her short hair. She introduced me to Rosie, who is still quite tiny, and to the two bantam chickens, Angie and Zeus. She and Roman have raised them from the eggs. There were broody hens belonging to the owner of the house when I was here in July - when the eggs hatched he took them all home but the kids begged for one each as soon as they could leave the mother. They are very tame - Jasmin handles them all the time and they seem to love it. Perch in the frangipani tree by the shrine to sleep at night.
Stacy has made the house so beautiful with the wooden furniture they have bought - rough finish with scraps of colourful paint. My granny flat has been decked out fit for a queen! Batik patchwork bed cover (the over-the-top pink, purple, green and yellow frangipani design one that was here before has gone to Roman's room.)
New tasteful, curtains everywhere too (though the bright green ones in Roman's room, like the blue cushion covers on the chairs I bought in July, turned out to be very much brighter than in the sample when the choice was made). The garish pink plastic dish drainer and wash-up bowl have been replaced by wood and stainless steel ones. The dining table and chairs are out on the verandah now, for alfresco dining (we ate there last night) and a small, round wooden breakfast table has replaced it indoors. Looks like there have been lots of shopping excursions since I was here in July. Stacy has loved making a beautiful home for them all. She cooked a splendid Moroccan lemon chicken dish with roasted chickpeas and couscous for dinner last night. Much more elaborate than the simple pasta dishes I cook when I am here - but there is now a proper stove, oven and microwave! Jasmin ate it - at long last she is being more adventurous with food.
For those of you long term readers of these Bali tales, you will be pleased to know another successful rice harvest has just been completed in the fields we look over. By the time I leave, a new crop will be in. And the garden planted while I was here in July now looks like it has been here forever. New pot plants on the verandah and decking too.
For those of you long term readers of these Bali tales, you will be pleased to know another successful rice harvest has just been completed in the fields we look over. By the time I leave, a new crop will be in. And the garden planted while I was here in July now looks like it has been here forever. New pot plants on the verandah and decking too.
School day today. And the others arrive this afternoon. I will go down to their hotel to meet them. I was last in Bali (and Java) with brother Dave and Jen in 1984 - my first trip back to Indonesia in ten years then, after the years with Josh's dad when he did not want to come here. As soon as I left him I was off here like a shot and Dave and Jen came with me! (That trip I left five-year old Josh with his dad and with Mama.) It was so good to be back in my other world! Dave and Jen have been back themselves a couple of times since - and me often three times a year!!
Time for the kids to wake and get ready for school. Will do breakfast duty so Josh and Stacy can sleep in. What a good granny I am!
Masses of temporary bamboo structures at the very sacred Campuan Temple where a rare major series of ceremonies are taking place over several weeks. It is quite a sight from the bridge. Hope to get a photo some time if I can stop there. The Writers Festival changed its dates earlier in the year so as not to clash with the religious festival but it is clashing anyway. Somehow they got it wrong and the ceremonies have started yesterday and will go on everyday till the end of October. Roads are closed for long periods completely blocking traffic. There will no doubt be endless problems at times getting to and from central Ubud and the festival venues up this way, though not in the mornings. Lots of the afternoon and evening events are in town. Everyone will just have to take it as it comes. This is very important to the Balinese and will be a splendid backdrop to the writers festival for all the visitors.
Dave and Jen, John and Ann have arrived, settled into charming Puri Saraswati and are loving it! The beautiful peaceful gardens and traditional bungalows and its location in the heart of town are why I recommend it for friends to stay. It is so easy to make people happy here. Just share the treasures I have come to know and love in Bali - and they lap it all up. (I first stayed at Puri Saraswati myself 25 years ago with family then school groups in the late 80s.) Friends even try to persuade me to run proper tours and make my fortune, but it is like when people say I should take up writing for a wider audience, I only want to show people around (and write for you, the people I care about) – not sure strangers would be interested anyway.
I met John and Ann at Puri Saraswati yesterday afternoon just before David and Jen arrived. Long chat over G and Ts on the verandah, reminiscing on family history - our families have been intertwined for over a hundred years - Ann's grandfather was my father's close friend from boyhood, meeting in the Boy Scouts around 1918!
Dinner at Bumbu, (appropriately named "Spices" for Dave and Jen going off on the Spice Islands sailing trip) for a meal of fusion Balinese /Indian spicy food - a great culinary start to their stay. Joined by Dave’s mate, Jeffrey Mellefont from the Australian National Maritime Museum, also going on the Ombak Putih trip. Added bonus - the huge procession starting just up the street and pouring past us. It meant that John's dinner got cold as he photographed the whole show (in the dark??). I worried about getting back up to Josh's but by the time dinner was over so was the procession and the road had reopened.
We all met up at breakfast again - Josh dropped me off and we all had coffee with him and Stacy as they returned from the school run.
Time for the kids to wake and get ready for school. Will do breakfast duty so Josh and Stacy can sleep in. What a good granny I am!
Masses of temporary bamboo structures at the very sacred Campuan Temple where a rare major series of ceremonies are taking place over several weeks. It is quite a sight from the bridge. Hope to get a photo some time if I can stop there. The Writers Festival changed its dates earlier in the year so as not to clash with the religious festival but it is clashing anyway. Somehow they got it wrong and the ceremonies have started yesterday and will go on everyday till the end of October. Roads are closed for long periods completely blocking traffic. There will no doubt be endless problems at times getting to and from central Ubud and the festival venues up this way, though not in the mornings. Lots of the afternoon and evening events are in town. Everyone will just have to take it as it comes. This is very important to the Balinese and will be a splendid backdrop to the writers festival for all the visitors.
Dave and Jen, John and Ann have arrived, settled into charming Puri Saraswati and are loving it! The beautiful peaceful gardens and traditional bungalows and its location in the heart of town are why I recommend it for friends to stay. It is so easy to make people happy here. Just share the treasures I have come to know and love in Bali - and they lap it all up. (I first stayed at Puri Saraswati myself 25 years ago with family then school groups in the late 80s.) Friends even try to persuade me to run proper tours and make my fortune, but it is like when people say I should take up writing for a wider audience, I only want to show people around (and write for you, the people I care about) – not sure strangers would be interested anyway.
I met John and Ann at Puri Saraswati yesterday afternoon just before David and Jen arrived. Long chat over G and Ts on the verandah, reminiscing on family history - our families have been intertwined for over a hundred years - Ann's grandfather was my father's close friend from boyhood, meeting in the Boy Scouts around 1918!
Dinner at Bumbu, (appropriately named "Spices" for Dave and Jen going off on the Spice Islands sailing trip) for a meal of fusion Balinese /Indian spicy food - a great culinary start to their stay. Joined by Dave’s mate, Jeffrey Mellefont from the Australian National Maritime Museum, also going on the Ombak Putih trip. Added bonus - the huge procession starting just up the street and pouring past us. It meant that John's dinner got cold as he photographed the whole show (in the dark??). I worried about getting back up to Josh's but by the time dinner was over so was the procession and the road had reopened.
We all met up at breakfast again - Josh dropped me off and we all had coffee with him and Stacy as they returned from the school run.
Up to the festival office to pick up our passes and book a special event. Always good to do that early as the volunteers in the Box Office on the computer are beginning a steep learning curve. A slow process, yet from today, and especially tomorrow morning before it all starts in earnest, there will be many hundreds of passes to process and receipts to issue and there will be frustrating queues and delays. I got a one-day pass for Stacy to experience part of the festival and we booked the Long Table Lunch for Sunday - cuisine and writers from across the archipelago, including Ian Burnet on his history of the spice trade. He is leading the sailing trip Dave and Jen are going on.
On to the Neka Museum where I have perfected a "tour" of the development of Balinese art for those who don't know much so they don't have to read all the labels. The wonderful works in Neka's private collection and the beautiful pavilions and garden setting make it the first stop on "Toni's Tour" program! Then down the hill to Pulau Kelapa Javanese restaurant for another spicy meal in a shady corner of their manicured garden. The poor tourists needed some time off after that, though chose to walk back into town while I got Josh to fetch me on the motor bike.
On to the Neka Museum where I have perfected a "tour" of the development of Balinese art for those who don't know much so they don't have to read all the labels. The wonderful works in Neka's private collection and the beautiful pavilions and garden setting make it the first stop on "Toni's Tour" program! Then down the hill to Pulau Kelapa Javanese restaurant for another spicy meal in a shady corner of their manicured garden. The poor tourists needed some time off after that, though chose to walk back into town while I got Josh to fetch me on the motor bike.
Stacy had everyone to dinner last night before the festival gets underway and there will be no time then - she is a wonderful cook and proper home-cooked family meals are now a daily feature of Josh's life! The children have been trained to set the table! I wanted the visitors to come up and see the house with its fabulous extensions and Stacy's flair for decoration while it was still daylight. They were caught up in another massive parade but loved their roadside view from where the taxi was parked as it passed by. Sunset drinks overlooking the rice fields before a splendid meal of duck fillets. Our guests were suitably impressed with it all, as you can imagine. Fabulous night!
Off to show them more of Bali today. Jazz is awake and in need of brekky!