Noilly Prattle: August 2016

Saturday, August 20, 2016

15 Images of Candidasa, Bali

the Indian Ocean

sunrise




















training for 45 km. relay race
lotus lagoon























Vincent's (best restaurant in Candidasa)

beating the heat in the lotus lagoon


















not Vincent's























banana tree (they're everywhere)

dressed for a festival (formal Balinese wear)




























also dressed for the festival (young performers)

Lotus
























at a warung (small local restaurant


same warung







































Thursday, August 11, 2016

Bali, Summer 2016 (Day trip around Karangasem Regency)

     Bali, in the popular imagination, is the quintessential tropical island paradise. The notion probably comes from the movie “South Pacific” with the theme song “Bali Ha'i”--a mystical unreachable island.


"Bali Ha'i" (in my imagination)


motorcycle gangs?
       The real Bali, a province of Indonesia, is quite reachable however. It may not be “mystical”, but it certainly fulfills many of the basics of a tropical paradise. It is located in the Indonesian archipelago just east of Java a few degrees of latitude south of the equator. It has beaches, mountains, volcanoes, swaying palms, soft sea breezes, bananas and coconuts and monkeys. It is also too touristy in some places and has fallen victim to heavy traffic of cars, trucks, busses and motorcycles. So, paradise, accordingly, is how you see it and where you find it. It's like gold, you have to pan for it.

Komang Suarjana
       A couple days after arriving in relatively remote and unspoiled (from the honky tonks of Kuta) Candidasa on the southeastern coast of Bali, we hired a car and driver for a day trip around Karangasem Regency that included a tasting of Kopi Luwak (a unique type of coffee), a traditional village (Thengahnan), a water palace (Tirtaganga), the palace of the King of Karangasem (Puri Agung) and a chocolatier set deep in the jungle (Uforia). Our driver named Komang Suarjana, a friendly charming young fellow, was a patient and knowledgeable guide who was full of information about the places he took us to and insights about Bali and Balinese traditions and customs.

Kopi Luwak


they call it "poop coffee" - here's why;
"luwak" is the Balinese name for the civet . . .basically the above "explanation" says

that the luwak likes to eat the ripe coffee fruit; its digestive system is pretty fast
so the coffee beans remain intact in the droppings; the beans are then picked
out of the droppings and cleaned before hand roasting; certain enzymes in the civet's digestive tract reduce the level of acid in the beans to produce a very clean smooth
coffee taste--like fine wine.


a luwak 
after the poop is removed the beans
are cleaned and roasted by hand








Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in
the world - featured in the movie "The Bucket List"






















Thengahnan


village meeting place - serves as a village council -
a village chief is elected every 5 years
summons bell tower and gate
to the meeting place


kids will be kids - trading cards
















village temple gate - one cannot enter
unless wearing traditional garb - a sarong



















a village artist - etches on palm frond


the artist:s work





















Tirtaganga


water palace garden - home of a local king in the early 20th Century
former palace, now a restaurant
fantastic statuary












walk on water














Puri Agung


entrance gate to Puri Agung
inner garden - entrance gate in background



garden pool with a Garuda statue and Frangipani tree

Uforia


euphoria in the jungle - odd place for a chocolatier


UFOria chocolate
       Upon returning to the hotel we were greeting by a cute, bespectacled elephant sitting on the bed. Imagine that! The proverbial 800 lb. elephant in the room.


Welcome back!

Friday, August 5, 2016

China – Winter 2016 (Dance)

     The local Naxi ethnic minority people in Shuhe and Li Jiang love to dance. They get together in large and small groups and dance together round and round in large circles. If the dance is in the evening it will be around a bonfire, but the steps and rhythms are the same.

FIRST DANCE, LI JIANG


afternoon in a Li Jiang park
       The first group circle dance we saw was in Li Jiang. One afternoon we were attracted by the sound of music and discovered several large group of people dancing in an open space just inside the city gate. They were very friendly and having such a good time that I was tempted to take them up on their invitation to join in, but figuring I would look foolish not knowing the steps I declined.



SECOND DANCE, HUI FENG INN, SHUHE


Hui Feng staff ladies dance in the inn courtyard 
       The second dance was one held in the courtyard of our hotel in Shuhe, the Hui Feng. The staff set up a small bonfire in the courtyard and mostly the older ladies of the staff danced round and round the fire with an occasional guest jumping in and out of the dance. The steps and rhythms of the music and dance were similar to those we had witnessed in Li Jiang, but the light of the bonfire gave it a more mysterious ambiance.







THIRD DANCE, "MUSIC SQUARE", SHUHE



"clubbing" in "Music Square"
       The third dance. We had heard about a bonfire dance being held in the evenings in one of the squares in Shuhe. One evening we decided to go and have a look. When we arrived at the square it was still light enough but the bonfire was crackling away and the circle dancing had begun. The crowd was very large and it was a sort of public clubbing scene adapted to the traditional circle dancing as we had witnessed the previous evening in the hotel courtyard and in Li Jiang. But, unlike the older women who danced in the courtyard, this scene was much younger and it was a lot of fun to watch. We finally threw in the towel and joined in the dance although: 1) we didn't know the steps, 2) we hadn't danced in years, and 3) I wasn't sure if I could dance with a titanium pin in my hip. But, what the hell, you only live once, and we danced round and round for a couple of numbers, probably out of step with the folks who knew the moves but it was great fun anyhow.  

SHUHE BY NIGHT

       Shuhe looked very pretty and exotic at night when we returned from our "dancing" to the Hui Feng, which, itself, looked rather calm and serene. And in that mood, I come to the conclusion of my China - Winter 2016 journey. 


a clear spring runs through it - commercial center of Shuhe
with food stalls, shops, restaurants, night clubs, etc.  














gate to the Hui Feng Inn

entrance courtyard (one of three) and lobby of the Hui Feng Inn

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

China – Winter 2016 (The Old Actor)

the old theater
    There is a wonderful old character in Li Jiang. He is enthroned, in royal robes and crowned with the most remarkable hat, sitting in front of an ancient theater. I later learned that he was an actor who used to perform in the now closed theater he sits in front of. The door is open, it is dark and gloomy inside and there is dogshit on the floor. The old man ekes out a living by posing for photographs with tourists—still treading the boards in a way. The street--perhaps the most legitimate of all stages.   

The Old Actor

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

China – Winter 2016 (Naxi Classical Music Concert, Li Jiang)




THE VENUE: LI JIANG

Li Jiang Source Park and Jade Dragon Mountain


Li Jiang Ancient Town
Li Jiang by night



Li Jiang - the concert hall

THE ORCHESTRA

Naxi Classical Music Orchestra
     We made an arrangement for Nongbu (our Jade Dragon Mountian and Tiger Leaping Gorge tour guide) to pick us up at the hotel at 7 o'clock to take us to Li Jiang for a Naxi Classical Music Concert. The group of musicians, several of whom are in their 80s, play classical Chinese instruments and songs from as old as the 8th Century. Music being music, you have to hear rather than write or talk about it. I made of recording of a Naxi song written and sung by Nongbu in the car on the way to Li Jiang. It was a rather good introduction and mood setter for the Traditional Naxi Music Concert. I recorded a few of the pieces and took some photos, but mostly just enjoyed listening to the unusual (for us) music. The old gentleman singing in the linked video was especially comical. All in all, it was quite a fascinating and enjoyable evening. 

THE LADY AND GENTLEMEN OF THE ORCHESTRA