Archive for May, 2008
Han Snel’s Retrospective Exhibition: Ubud
Numerous foreign artists have made Bali their home and created their own themes and styles in painting the Balinese and their culture and religion. Bali became an artist enclave for avant-garde artists such as Walter Spies, Rudolf Bonnet, Arie Smit and the most famous being Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur who married Ni Pollock, a renowned legong dancer. The 1920’s saw an artistic flurry on the island and the Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias noted that local paintings served primarily religious or ceremonial functions. Han Snel was another of these foreign artists to grace the shores of Bali. Han Snel was born in 1925 in Scheveningen, in the Netherlands. After his arrival in 1946 with the Dutch military forces he was immediately tasked with fighting Japanese troops and the newly born army of the Republic of Indonesia. As most visiting artists do, Snel immediately fell in love with the island. Like Mayeur, he married a local girl and subsequently applied for Indonesian citizenship and embraced Balinese Hinduism. In Ubud there is an exhibition of Han Snel’s paintings that most visitors who have a penchant for art will like to see.
Date: May 29th, 2008 |
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Bali Kite Festival
There are several main cultural events in Bali that draw the crowds. For instance, the Bali Arts Festival, the Writer’s Festival to mention a few, but it is the Bali Kite Festival that is appreciated by young and old, whether they be international tourists or domestic tourists. The annual international Kite Festival is held in July at Padang Galak area of Sanur Beach and attracts competitors worldwide. Actually, the event is a seasonal religious festival intended to send a message to the Hindu Gods to create abundant crops and harvests. These giant and colourful kites …
Date: May 27th, 2008 |
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Be Aware of Your Wares
Unfortunately, I was robbed last week and my wallet expertly removed from my person. And, this was in Australia!. When I reflected back on my misfortune having lost quite a bit of money, bank cards and the ilk, I realised that in all the years I have travelled throughout the archipelago of Indonesia I never had anything stolen from me. That doesn’t mean that I was untouchable. On the contrary, there have been some sticky situations. I nearly had my shoulder bag ripped from my shoulder by a passing and speeding motorbike rider in Sumatra, lost my passport (I thought it was stolen) in Yogyakarta but one of the locals who was walking behind me picked it up off the pavement returning it to me, and there was a case of bumping into a group of rather mean-looking bikers in Semarang late one night who I thought were going to mug me for sure but as it turned out, they just wanted a chat. In Bali, I did fall foul to a scrupulous money-changer but that was soon resolved by tourist police intervention.
Date: May 24th, 2008 |
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Dapur Alam
Quite accidentally I read about this new eatery in a local magazine a few months ago. Dapur Alam opened in February and has been steadily increasing its clientele mainly due to the high quality of food and, I consider this to be the reason why it has become so popular now with locals, domestic and foreign tourists. Dapur Alam means ‘natural kitchen’ in Bahasa Indonesia. Located on Jalan Patih Jelantik, Dapur Alam is nestled in a gully and can be easily missed. However, you will find most taxi drivers know about the place. I went there with my Javanese wife and a Swiss friend of ours who considered himself a connoisseur of Javanese cuisine having spent some months in Jakarta. The first impression of Dapur Alam is one of warmth mainly because of the two open-air pavilions where people sit and eat, and the general friendliness of the staff who come from various islands in the archipelago. The seating arrangements are purely simple. Wooden benches with mock, marble-topped tables give Dapur Alam that, well, natural ambience. There is even a special playground area set aside for kids.
Date: May 22nd, 2008 |
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Hari Raya Waisak: Indonesia
Today in Bali and across Indonesia is Waisak Day. This is a Bhuddist holiday to celebrate the anniversary of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Bhuddism. To all my friends that are Bhuddist I wish to express…
SELEMAT HARI RAYA WAISAK
Hari Waisak - Waisak Day
Date: May 20th, 2008 |
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Shark Delicacies
For as long as I can remember on my travels I have never imbibed in seafood cuisine that contained shark meat of any kind. As a scuba diver and an environmentalist, I do have a very healthy respect for these beautiful creatures. There are those that don’t considering them the scourge of the oceans. This is not to say that I haven’t had my fair amount of run-ins with them and on one particular occasion, it was almost a fatal meeting with a large Tiger Shark. Even after that I still harbor a healthy …
Date: May 28th, 2008 |
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Silver in Ubud
As most tourists who have visited Bali and travelled to Ubud will know, there are a prolific amount of galleries and one of the most famous being the Neka Gallery, amongst others. A stroll around the side streets and gangs will provide you with the opportunity to visit other fine art galleries. When we think of art it is, more often than not, associated with paintings. But, in Ubud there are galleries that sell other artistic items such as wood carvings, jewellery, stone carvings and silver products. One such gallery for silver items is Studio Perak. This magnificent place also specialises in silver-smithing courses.
Date: May 25th, 2008 |
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Work on the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Complex Halted
Whenever I visit Bali more often than not I get down to Jimbaran Bay and visit the magnificent Garuda Wisnu Kencana complex. As a cultural park, it is no doubt a centre-piece of tourism in Bali The Garuda Wisnu Kencana complex, situated on a limestone hill in Jimbaran, Bali, is an integrated cultural centre with a 140 meter-high statue as its landmark. The whole complex is the brainchild of Nyoman Nuarta, a Balinese contemporary sculptor, who raised the idea in 1992. It truly is a wonderful place to wander around and now that development has progressed over the years the park has some great facilities including an exhibition centre, villas, a group of small resotrans as well as a spacious parking lot to accommodate visitors. The complex’s 140-meter monument consists of a 70 meter-tall base and a 70 meter-tall statue of the Hindu deity Wisnu (Vishnu) astride the mythical bird Garuda. When it is fully realized, the Garuda Wisnu statue will be the tallest statue in Southeast Asia. The statue is to symbolize a harmonious relationship between human beings and the natural environment, as well as the spiritual life of the Balinese people.
Date: May 23rd, 2008 |
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Bali Dogs and their Saviour - Linda Buller
Most of us can well remember the heady days in the 80’s and 90’s when tourism in Bali was its peak. During that time we all noticed numerous, stray dogs virtually being masters of the footpaths and streets. They rummaged through offerings (canang sari), rubbish bins and on occasions were thrown scraps of food by tourists. Then, all of a sudden, these animals disappeared off the streets of Kuta and Legian with no real reason why. I had heard rumours that a lot of them were shot as were a lot if dogs in Indonesia after a child was bitten by a dog in Bandung, West Java, and copped a dose or Rabies and unfortunately died. Whatever the case for their disappearance, these dogs are slowly re-appearing on the streets and I like it. But who cares for these animals that are considered wretched. Fortunately there is an Australian woman, Linda Buller, who has taken up the mantel for these dogs.
Date: May 22nd, 2008 |
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A Lesson from Waisak
Today, Buddhists across the country will celebrate Waisak, to commemorate the birth of the Lord Buddha, his enlightenment and passing more than 2,500 years ago. As in the past the faithful gathering at Borobudur Temple in Magelang and other areas will include those who traveled from other countries, an annual reminder of old creeds that transcend national borders. Today in Indonesia there are barely 2 million followers of Buddhism, or 1 percent of our vast population, though Buddhism is known as Indonesia’s oldest religion, apart from Hinduism. As the state retains its policy of acknowledging only six (from earlier five) religions, those who would otherwise declare themselves Taoists, for instance, are also thought to be included in that 1 percent figure, having officially to be Buddhist on their identity cards as an article in the Opinion explains.
Date: May 20th, 2008 |
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