Cuban nights in Bali

On Saturday 15th September I made a fruitless trip to Ubud, the famous “arts village” in Bali’s central highlands.  Well, “fruitless” in the sense that I went to purchase some items but on arrival I was told they no longer stocked, even though I had rung to check on their validity days before.  But the trip was anything but a waste of time.  I was accompanied by 2 staff and 4 students from Undhira (Universitas Dhyana Pura at Dalung if you are new to this blog).  We had a most enjoyable time out together.  Only one of our party was Balinese, the others were from Java, Sumatra, Papua and Timor Leste – we were “multi-provincial” and “international”.

 

We couldn’t leave until morning class and staff duties were over, so at 12:15 we set off and made good time to our first stop for lunch. Ibu Oka is famous far and wide for her wonderful Babi Guling, the crispy skin, spit-roasted, seasoned pig.  We ate at her new restaurant in Mas, once a separate town, now an outer southern suburb of Ubud.

Daniel and Vivi enjoy refreshing coconuts at Ibu Oka’s restaurant.
By the evening’s end Daniel was the unchallenged “Coconut King”.

Justi gives a big smile from the balcony

 



My knees were never good enough to permit this degree of
flexibility. It’s quite common to see people squatting for
long periods, doing all sorts of things (even dozing).

 

OK. We see the sign. So what's next?

Justi admires the view of Mt Batur at Kintimani

Same spot, Isobel’s turn. Mountain hasn't moved.



From Kintamani we descended to the area around Penglumbaran where there are many Agrotourism businesses providing visitors with the opportunity to see many coffee, cacao and many spices growing in the fertile lower slopes of the volcano.  We stopped at “Tirisna Bali”, took the guided walk and then enjoyed local coffee and spiced tea blends.

 

The Luwak - master coffee producer

This is the Luwak – the civet which eats the coffee beans and passes the poo which is collected to make the world’s rarest and and most expensive coffee.  Do you wonder who first thought of collecting the pooh to make the brew.  Whew!  I don’t think the idea would have come to me.

 

After the “coffee break” we travelled further south towards Ubud, stopping again for views of the rice terraces and also more the fields of mixed agriculture – palms, rice and other plantings.



N.E. of Ubud. A view across the rice field and coconut
plantations for a rare glimpse of Gunung Agung.

Some of Bali’s beautiful rice terraces. They may be man-made,
thus “artificial”, but they look so wonderfully “natural”.

 

We arrived in Ubud late in the afternoon and were able to see the outer courtyard of the Royal Palace (Puri Ubud) with its splendid doorway to an inner courtyard.

 

In the outer courtyard of Puri Ubud, the Royal Palace.
In the absence of a coconut, Daniel guards the crisps.

 

As we left the palace I looked across the main road and was astounded to see that the site of the recently thriving Ubud market was now a demolition site.  How things have changed since I was there just 2 months earlier.  Although the market structure was a bit of a shambles in many respects, that chaotic structure did add to the "experience" of shopping there.

 



What a surprise. Just two months ago that was the site
of the thriving Ubud market. Now it’s a demolition site.



In the brief period of twilight we briefly entered the grounds of the cafe Lotus to see the Lotus pond and front wall with entrance to the Pura Taman Saraswati (“Lotus Temple” or “Ubud Water Palace”). The stage was being prepared for the evening dance performances. I’ve been here several times during the day, but not in the evening when the residual daylight and the artificial lights produce a most attractive scene.

 

Pavilion within the grounds of the Pura Taman
Saraswati (so called “Lotus Temple”).



Yani and Vivi check phone photos, or messages, or whatever.
No, we didn't go into the Starbucks coffee shop!



The Lotus pond, and entrance to Pura Taman Saraswati with
the dance stage being prepared for the evening performance



Yani and Maria enjoying the surrounds

 



A private pavilion at the Cafe Lotus – a wonderful
setting for dinner and a dance performance.



From the Cafe Lotus we walked a black “short” kilometre to Cafe Havana in Jalan Dewi Sita which runs between Monkey Forest Road and Jalan Hanoman, the two main north-south roads.  On one (MF Road) the traffic runs (crawls) north and on the other the traffic moves south.  The day’s outing was prompted by the wish to visit this cafe to acquire 2 of their famous hats (the revolutionaries' black beret with red star).  In a  phone call to the Cafe in the week before the trip I was informed that the berets were still available.  This was not to be the case as I found out when I asked the waiter.  Sorry – we can no longer get supplies.  The manageress confirmed the bad news so I left with empty hands, but not an empty stomach.  The Cafe is famous for its Cuban cuisine, and for the Cuban band “La Bomba” which plays there most nights.

 





From the cafe web page – staff wearing the
cap which is now part of their uniform



 

(L-R) Daniel, Vivi, Justi, Paul, Maria, Isobel and Yani at
the Cafe Havana, Ubud. Daniel with another coconut.

Cafe Havana - salsa dancing demo by staff



The Cafe Havana waiters (muchachos) and waitress (muchachas), kitchen and bar staff, give a lively performance of the dance Salsa Rueda (Wheel).  And they were all wearing the caps which I had come to buy.  I offered to buy "second hand", but they wouldn't part with that significant and distinctive feature of their uniform.

 

After this display we could no longer resist that wonderful toe-tapping, hip-swaying music from the band “La Bomba” and we tried our hand (or rather feet) at some simple Salsa dancing as we followed the lead of our waiter – dance instructor.  Justi was braver, and more able, than the rest of us and tried out some more involved steps.  The instructor was surprised  to learn that she had not tried this style of dancing before and praised her abilities and rapid learning.

 

Justi impressing the dance coach with
her style at her first attempt.

 

 

Justi in action.

After a selection of tapas, mains and a couple of shared desserts we reluctantly left the cafe for the drive back to Dalung.  As we left Ubud the big red car was ahead of us, dropping off some patrons.  The Cafe offers a free pickup and delivery service, provided you live in one of those rare areas where the streets are wide enough to permit this large car to manoeuvre. 

 

Yani, Maria, Isobel and Justi grace the bonnet
of the big, red car (a 1963 Chevy Biscayne)

 

Is Justi checking the driver’s door?
Darn, it’s locked!  She'll have to walk.

Although I came back without the desired caps, we had all enjoyed a wonderful day out, delicious food, and captivating music.  Ah, the memories!

 

Paul in Bali
Sept 2012

 

Cafe Havana in Ubud:  http://cafehavanabali.com/index.html

A Day Out with the Birds

Yesterday (9/9/12) the campus car/bike parks were buzzing with the sounds of motor cycles arriving.  The difference from the normal traffic noise was very marked (especially for a Sunday).  The birds were singing.  Not the tiny, drab sparrow-like birds which hang about in the trees waiting for the chance to raid the rice fields.  These were loud and complex bird songs.  The sports field was the venue for a regional bird singing competition.  Whilst I’ve seen the caged birds lined up at past Agricultural Shows, on those days the judges seemed to just examine the birds for physical characteristics.

 

Exhibitors / contestants brought their birds in large covered travel cages in the backs of cars, or held then as they rode in on their motor cycles.  There was barely a space left in the car/bike parks and cars lined the entrance road.  This was clearly a big day. 

 

Many birds arrived by motor cycle - a
tricky business in a bit of a cross wind.

Vendors were selling lunches, snacks, drinks, T-shirts, bird supplements and all sorts of things as the predominantly male crowd came into the contest area.  It was amusing to see groups of “macho” looking men whistling to their birds and spraying them down to keep them cool. 

 

Widi, our IT team leader watches proceedings. 

 

An owner sprays his bird to maintain
its comfort and peak performance.



This bold T-shirt design had me stumped until I
 found out that Zosterops is the scientific name
 for birds of the Black-capped White-eye family

A Bali bird-fancier t-shirt - the perfect gift

The birds were kept under wraps most of the time – apparently not seeing other birds in the pre-match build-up is a performance-enhancing trick.  Covered cages were hung from trees, fence posts and cages were stacked around the campus.   

An owner plays a bird song to encourage
his bird when the warps come off.

Owners and cages were all around the oval

Cages ranged from simple wire cages to the ornately decorated. I don’t know if the cage encourages greater performance.

 



A simple functional cage containing a Red Anis bird

Here's a more elaborate cage. But
does it inspire the bird to sing better?

Although the competition schedule listed 24 categories of competition and covered several types of birds (including canaries and love birds), the most abundant bird type was the Punglor Merah (Red Anis bird) for which there were 5 categories of competition including “Bintang” (not the beer, but the “Star” Bird).  Prize money for the higher classes was up to 1.25 million Rp (approx $125 which is a huge amount to a person who could earn just 5000 Rp per hour).

The Punglor Merah or Red Anis bird.

 The Red Anis bird seemed to be the most favoured bird in the competitions, and I was told it was because of that bird’s superior characteristics.  Don’t take what I write as absolutely correct as I’m merely trying to report what I (think I)heard from some of the competitors.

 

According to researchers for BIRD INDONESIA, the Red Anis is the 3rd most popular pet bird species kept by people in Denpasar and several cities in Java.  Chirping practice sessions are held almost weekly and competitions held most months in the larger cities with bird fanciers.  It’s all a bit staggering for a novice like me!  Apparently the birds are quick learners and good mimics of other birds, and they develop a repertoire of chirps and swaying movements which are encouraged to produce good match performance.

 

I saw a roughly translated set of notes describing the birds, their feeding and training regimes, and health care.  It said that the birds were “prone to lust” and could get easily bored unless stimulated by new surrounds and experiences.  The notes also gave feeding tips to maintain pre-competition fitness – caterpillars, crickets (sometimes just the heads but whole bodies at other times).  Clearly this is a highly competitive and complex practice.

 

This Red Anis is clearly not  bird to be messed with
(from web site of Indonesian Bird Hobby group)

In the competition events I observed about 30 cages were hung on the frame of the shading canopy and the covers were removed. 

 

Judges listen to the song and watch the bird
movements from beneath the hanging cages

 

 

 

Beneath each cage was a plastic chair with a holder attached to the top back of the chair.  The judges moved around, pausing below each cage to listen and observe the volume, variety, rhythm and continuity of the song, and also the “buzz” - the novelty of body movement (the bird, not the judges).  If impressed, the judge left one of his coloured “flags” on the chair.  Scrutineers tallied the flags at the end of each round to find the winner. 

 

 

A judge awards a flag to a bird

 

Beyond the canopy and outside the surrounding fence the owners would whistle, wave their arms and do other things to attract their bird’s attention so it would maintain a potentially prize winning performance.  I asked one of the owners if his performance at the fence made any difference to the bird, and did he think his bird even noticed him.  He told me that he had a bond with the bird and it would watch for him and respond.  Well, maybe.   Frankly I’m not convinced, but I’m just a first-time attender, and a complete novice, so what could I possibly know about these mysteries of bird behaviour and man-bird bonding?

Owners trying to encourage their birds,
but I'm not convinced the birds knew.

On YouTube an example of a performance by a Red Anis bird can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwB3QH-cYAc&feature=player_embedded

 

Although the Red Anis clearly had numbers on its side, I was more taken by the “green bird”.  Clearly I’m not a well informed bird song aficionado.  A little Wiki-assisted research led me to believe that my preferred “green bird” is in fact the Cucak Ijo, but I shall refrain from boring you with bird-talk after exhausting you with facts about the lusty Red Anis.

 



I liked "the green bird" - a Cucak Ijo

Eventually the schedule ran out of events or the birds ran out of song and the competition was over.  The judges announced the not-always well received results, prizes were awarded and the bird owners packed up and went home. 

Eventually this owner loaded 8 cages.

Off they go - there'll be another
competition somewhere else soon.

The arena cleared quickly apart from a few men who stayed around for a chat.

"Winners are grinners".  This exhibitor shows me
his certifcate and 100,000 Rp prize money as a 3rd
prize winner in one of the "popular" categories.



The last exhibitor leaves the grounds.  Some folk just
have to give a wave whenever there's a camera about.

What did I learn from the day’s experience?  Not a lot about birds.  But it was another reminder of how carried away enthusiasts can get about their passions, and that the competitive streak runs deep in people who find their outlets in a great variety of ways.  I felt like a novice watching some mysterious ritual at times, but overall being out with the birds was all good fun.

Wisuda 2012

During each of my 3 visits to Dhyana Pura I’ve been present for the Wisuda.  On past occasions the 2 components of Dhyana Pura had separate ceremonies.  The PPLP awarded its certificates and diplomas quite separately from the STIM (management school) which awarded degrees (see 2010 and 2011 archive entries).

 

This year was different. The PPLP (the tourism and hospitality training centre) became Universitas Dhyana Pura (or Undhira – Bali) last year and this year the 2 “wings” celebrated a joint occasion.  They had separate Yudisiums (or is it Yudisia?) but a joint Wisuda.  Wisuda, Yudisium – what are they? 



With some of the members of one of
my 2011 classes after the Yudisium

 The Indonesian practice is to hold an internal ceremony for students where they receive statuettes, medallions and the like. Here they listen to talks about vocational prospects and hear a lot of practical stuff. That is the Yudisium and with us it is held on campus.



Happy graduates hold their statuettes at
the Yudisium for STIM graduates (Ayu and
Stefani in centre).  Ayu may have been the
the first student I spoke with in 2010.

The Wisuda is similar in intent (but very different in content) to the Award granting ceremonies we are used to at Australian universities.  The students are able to invite families, they are robed (different types of “toga” for the graduates and the certificate students) and the girls are elaborately and beautifully dressed,  The University Senate members come in academic gowns, and guests are welcomed by the traditional Balinese dancers who perform to music provided live by the Gamelan orchestra.  It is a big and colourful occasion followed by lunch for the guests.

 

Naturally there are speeches but there are also prayers,  the singing of the University hymn (Hymne Guru - Teachers' Hymn) and march.  The students also recite an oath of allegiance to there Alumni institution (Undhira) and the nation.   In that respect it is quite unlike a corresponding Australian occasion.

 

I have attended 2 University graduation ceremonies of my own, and one for each of my sons Michael and David.  Now instead of graduate, or parent I attend as a teacher and take great delight in seeing the successful outcome of the work of the teaching staff on campus.  It was a real pleasure to see students I had taught gain their qualifications, and it also brought confirmation of some predictions I made to myself after first encounters with some of the classes.

 

This year the Wisuda was held on Friday 7th September at the Inna Grand Bali Beach Hotel.  This large hotel was built on the “monumental” style in the Sukarno era (60s) on the beach front at Sanur, to the east of Denpasar.

 

Its size so appalled the local people that eventually laws were introduced to prevent another high-rise like it.  Now buildings are limited to the height of a tall palm tree – about 4-5 floors.

 

Regardless of other considerations (size, location, external appearance), I can say that the main auditorium (Agung Room) and the restaurant areas are comfortable and reasonably attractive.

 

No function in Bali (be it a Wisuda, a wedding, or
opening of a cafe) would be complete without a 
large number of these congratulatory placards.

 

The 4 volunteer teachers (3 from Adelaide) and one from Japan were highly visible in the red shirts provided for us. 

Bu Jan (UW volunteer for 6 months) and Bu
Laurel (a 2011 volunteer; in Bali for a couple
of weeks) with VIPs before the ceremony.

 

The escort for the academic procession
assembles, ready for the ceremonial entry

 

 

Closest to camera:  Toar, Pricilla, Stefani
and Suryani wait for the presentation

 

Ayu and Vebriana - new graduates

The Dhyana Pura dancers welcome guests.  Two of the dancers
are students from one of my 2011 classes - with makeup and costumes I find it quite difficult to recognise them.

Same students as above - now with their degrees.

 

Probably the biggest cheer was for Barnabas who has studied for
years whilst working at Dhyana Pura.  He has been a great help to
me in many ways, and is always a careful and knowledgeable driver.

Two of the outstanding students lead the new
alumni in an oath of dedication and allegiance.

 

A new face amongst the photographers.  One
of our High School students helps her father,
the regular photographer for campus events.

Ni Made Ayu Pertiwi ("Tiwi") was an outstanding
student  and prize winner.  I'm not surprised as
last year she impressed me with her attitude.

Some of the Kantor Depan (Front Office) class.  They were
a good group to teach, and a fun class. I was sad to lose
them after a few weeks because of a timetable change

 

Serani ("Ika") - one of my students in the
past 2 years with "not the boyfriend".

Perhaps the greatest reward was after the ceremony when one of the students I taught last year asked my to come and meet his “sponsor”. I wasn’t sure what he meant but he quickly introduced my to a German hotel manager who had sponsored 2 students to complete their 1 year course in “Tata Graha” (Housekeeping studies). He said the boys spoke of me and he wanted to meet me thank me for encouraging them in their study activities. For me that was a real honour to hear. I've spoken with teachers about the special deep satisfaction they have experienced when hearing from some unexpected source that something they did or said, often without knowing at that time, had a special impact on students and encouraged them to enjoy learning and reach their potential.  In just a small way now I have shared that feeling in a very humbling way.  Fuad – if by chance you ever read this, I thank you for the reward and the honour you have given me.