Ubud, Bali - Karma

Rice Fields in Ubud walking distance from our bungalow

"Where you go?"

"How long you stay?"
"Where you go tomorrow?"

It is a bit disconcerting the details which the Balinese want to know about you. They are truly interested and want to make sure that you enjoy Bali. Tourism is big business here and you will notice that because when you go out onto the streets every 5 meters someone will ask you if you need a taxi or try to sell you a sarong. I now own 7 sarongs because I can not easily say no.
There are roughly 250 million people in indonesia, it is the fourth largest country by population and every fourth person seems to be selling sarongs or trying to give you a ride in their car. The first couple of days we thought "Taxi" was the local greeting!

Photo taken at the entry to our driver, Gustis, family compound. I am wearing a new sarong, which, if  tied correctly, does not fall off.

The bali people are very nice and a simple friendly "no, thank you" is accepted. They believe in karma and I did not see or hear any harsh words or anyone even angry.

Even though we drive cars everywhere in North America, New Zealand and Europe.... we decided to hire taxis here in Bali. The traffic is chaotic and the mopeds carrying whole families pass you right and left. Wiping out an entire Balinese family is not something I want to be responsible for. My recommendation is - leave the driving to the locals. They need the money anyway.

Add to the chaos the fact that they also dive on the left, like UK, Australia, New Zealand

Rice fields

Ubud is the cultural center of Bali, it is also located in the heartland of the island surrounded by rice fields, jungles and volcanoes to the north. We stayed 8 nights in Ubud  at the Puri Saraswati Bungalows located next to the palace gardens and temple.

Terrased rice fields near Ubud (Tegallalang)

Rice is harvested 3 times a year. Most families have their own rice fields. 

Uli dressed in Sarong, in front of our bungalow. Sarong and scarf must be worn by men and women going into the temples

We spent many hours in the car with our driver, Gusti, and got to know one another, he even invited us to his home.

No table or chairs for eating. Everyone sits on the clean marble floors. The women spend a lot of time keeping these floors clean!

Gusti and Michelle inside the compound

The families live in compounds of multiple small houses and the family temple. The youngest son inherits the property, the other sons also stay in the compound but the daughters get married and move in with the husband's family. So, in gusti's house there were 4 generations living together along with about 50 birds, a dog and 7 puppies plus a fighting rooster.

Cock fighting is very popular in bali - the rooster has already won 3 fights. How rooster fighting fits together with karma, hinduisum and vegetarianism I do not know but we saw these fighting roosters all over Ubud.

Bumbu Bali

 Finished product of our cooking class

While on the Cook Islands we heard about home cooking classes where you are invited into a home to  cook local food - and have a nice dinner afterwards. It is a nice way to meet other travelers as well as have a good meal.

In Ubud, we signed up for the Payuk Bali Home cooking class. We were picked up at 8 and brought to the market to learn about the different ingredients we would be cooking with: banana leaves, mangosteen, spices and many more.

The cook explaining the spices and fruits available

The cook did not buy the ingredients at this market- he said it was not fresh - not good for tourists because they would get sick. Thank goodness, there are also very clean supermarkets to buy groceries.

Peeling and eating a Mangosteen - very good!

Market in Ubud

We prepared a feast for 30 euros a person including pick up at the hotel.

Among the things we cooked were:

1. Soup ayam - balinese chicken soup
2. Nasi Pitih - steamed rice
3. Sate Tusuk Ayam - satay chicken kebobs
4. Pepes Ikan - steamed fish in banana leaves
5. Bumbu Bali Sauce
6. Peanut Sauce
7. Sambal ulek

Making Bumbu Bali sauce with the "Bali Mixer", which I kept calling Boom Boom Bali. This had the cook and his mates laughing because I think "boom Boom" means something naughty in Bali. Again what learned!

Making peanut sauce is serious business

I look forward to cooking some of these recipes for my friends and family in the future. Except for the rice! To make steamed rice in Bali you 1) soak it 20 minutes 2) steam it 40 minutes 3) soak it in hot water 15 minutes 4) steam it again for 10 minutes.
That is much too complicated for me.