2014
Where are you Noah when we need you?
7 October 2014
Awoke early to a massive inundation in our front garden today, alerted by Jazz yelling frantically at my window. And another is starting tonight after it had drained away during the day. The entire front area was knee deep in flood water, an overflow from the big drain covered over by the concrete road out front, no doubt caused by a build-up of rubbish (read plastic!) It hadn't even rained locally but it must have been raining up in the hills north of here. It was quite picturesque in the early morning light with the reflections.
Josh called the owner of our house who came straight round. Not sure what they did but some of the concrete "manholes" were opened up and maybe some rubbish removed, but something more drastic needs to be done if this is going to happen regularly when it rains elsewhere. We had to roll up our pants and wade barefoot out to the car to leave for the school run. Maybe some of the fish from the pond escaped and have not found their way back, but the turtle appears to be safely back "home", after no doubt having had his horizons expanded. The neighbouring shacks suffered worse flooding as the water went right through their mud floor homes. Our house and granny flat are built up high on a concrete plinth and this prevented any muddy water from getting to the back and entering the swimming pool, thank god!
So the festival is over and Ubud is returning to normal - me too, I hope! However the temple ceremonies are continuing, with the climax on Wednesday for the full moon. As is often the case, I missed saying goodbye to some friends if I did not happen to see them at any of the sessions or events on the last day. Attended the session on food with Ian Burnet talking about spices along with one of Indonesia's leading TV cooking personalities, Bondan Winarno, interviewed by Janet de Neefe, the festival founder and Ubud restaurant owner, herself the author of two books on Indonesian food.
Winarno’s latest book is 100 Best Street Food of Indonesia (sic) and we went to his book launch later in the day. He had brought in a street vendor from the nearby town of Gianyar to make little green rice flour balls filled with melted palm sugar and rolled in coconut - a popular treat! An Aussie restaurant owner from Seminyak (Sarong) did the launch, talking about the need to get Indonesians interested in cooking their own dishes again and not relying on Indomie (2-minute noodles). I got the impression his restaurants take simple street food, jazz it up and charge foreigners exorbitant prices for it!! Anyway we learned a lot about street food - Dave bought the book, so expect some exotic delights next time he and Jen ask you to dinner!
So the festival is over and Ubud is returning to normal - me too, I hope! However the temple ceremonies are continuing, with the climax on Wednesday for the full moon. As is often the case, I missed saying goodbye to some friends if I did not happen to see them at any of the sessions or events on the last day. Attended the session on food with Ian Burnet talking about spices along with one of Indonesia's leading TV cooking personalities, Bondan Winarno, interviewed by Janet de Neefe, the festival founder and Ubud restaurant owner, herself the author of two books on Indonesian food.
Winarno’s latest book is 100 Best Street Food of Indonesia (sic) and we went to his book launch later in the day. He had brought in a street vendor from the nearby town of Gianyar to make little green rice flour balls filled with melted palm sugar and rolled in coconut - a popular treat! An Aussie restaurant owner from Seminyak (Sarong) did the launch, talking about the need to get Indonesians interested in cooking their own dishes again and not relying on Indomie (2-minute noodles). I got the impression his restaurants take simple street food, jazz it up and charge foreigners exorbitant prices for it!! Anyway we learned a lot about street food - Dave bought the book, so expect some exotic delights next time he and Jen ask you to dinner!
Not just a launch but a lunch too - a Long Table one! It was a festival special event - i.e. we paid real money to attend a 5-star restaurant where two renowned Indonesian chefs treated us to their specialties from across the archipelago - a duck salad, beef rendang, several tasty salads and pickles, a spicy tempé dish, an even spicier chicken one, barramundi, rice in coconut milk, with pannacotta (not Indonesian!!) and fresh fruit for dessert. Good local wines too. It was all exceptionally well prepared and the chefs came out and talked us through the menu. And while we ate, various writers read from their works or, in the case of Ian Burnet, told a tale from spice trading days, the story of Pierre Poivre who succeeded in smuggling out nutmeg seedlings (a crime punishable by death) and, after several failures, succeeded in growing them in Mauritius. He could well be the Peter Pepper of the tongue twister rhyme who "picked a peck of picked peppers". Sunday was the day after Saraswati Day, when one bathes in ritual waters to absorb her wisdom, so we heard tales of the beautiful goddess of Wisdom and Knowledge (the theme of this years festival). She is my personal favourite in the Hindu pantheon.
Just before the lunch, I heard a panel of writers expounding on the art of short story writing and reading from their works. Turned out to be one of the best of the literature sessions I attended! The young Indonesian girl was so perfectly bilingual she translated a story that she had just written, directly into English as she read it off her iPad! One could witness the benefits of having these young Indonesians connecting with writers from elsewhere in the world at festivals such as this - and vice versa. All the young writers on the panel were so interested in what each other had to say. Though of course it works best when they are bilingual.
After the book launch late in the day I left the others at their hotel and came home and went straight to bed! No need of dinner after that splendid lunch nor did I need any more human company. Escaped to my granny flat!
Ann and John flew back to Perth this afternoon so I spent the morning with them at Puri Lukisan to see the Lempad exhibition. The paintings of this extraordinary Ubud artist who lived from 1862 to 1978 (117 years old, to save you the maths) have been collected from all over the world for this exhibition. I have only ever known the ones in the Neka collection. Then a farewell lunch at my favourite Ubud spot, Terazo, built in old Dutch coffee house style. It is now their favourite place too!
After the book launch late in the day I left the others at their hotel and came home and went straight to bed! No need of dinner after that splendid lunch nor did I need any more human company. Escaped to my granny flat!
Ann and John flew back to Perth this afternoon so I spent the morning with them at Puri Lukisan to see the Lempad exhibition. The paintings of this extraordinary Ubud artist who lived from 1862 to 1978 (117 years old, to save you the maths) have been collected from all over the world for this exhibition. I have only ever known the ones in the Neka collection. Then a farewell lunch at my favourite Ubud spot, Terazo, built in old Dutch coffee house style. It is now their favourite place too!
Dave and Jen leave tomorrow for the coast - they fly off to Ambon in the Moluccas on Wednesday to start their Spice Islands sailing trip on the Ombak Putih with Ian.
Coming days will see me getting back into my translation work to try to meet the deadlines for works selected for next year’s Frankfurt Book Fair. Or that is my very best intention!
Coming days will see me getting back into my translation work to try to meet the deadlines for works selected for next year’s Frankfurt Book Fair. Or that is my very best intention!