Selamat siang (the greeting for lunch time)
Today we're working on learning one word in Bahasa. The word for today is "yes". The way to say that in Bahasa is "ya". Heh.... I think we've both got it! LOL
As I type this today the birds are calling to one another in the jungle of trees that envelope our little garden area making it truly feel like a private sanctuary.
This morning our upstairs neighbours finally arrived. We have yet to really meet them but do know that they are a couple who are originally from the Netherlands and currently living in Spain for 1/2 the year. The other 1/2 of the year they spend here in Bali where they have a villa in a village about 20 minutes drive away. They also rent the upstairs of Rumah Kita during their time in Bali so they have a place both in town as well as away.
It is so tranquil here this morning that it is hard to believe that all hell broke loose in the yard overnight. Neither Lynda nor I heard a thing but very very early this morning a bunch of crazy monkeys descended on our little oasis. Pasek tells us there were at least 8 of them plus their babies wreaking havoc in the yard. They were using the trees around the house to climb atop the house where they would use the tiles and the corners of the roof to hit their coconuts in an attempt to open them. As you can imagine...this is NOT good for the roof or the tiles and so I guess Pasek and Ketut were out here chasing the little buggers away! Once the light of day was truly upon us they hauled out ladders and began the task of chopping branches that are close to the house and that the monkeys use to access the roof. Too bad we were sawing logs and missed all the action! It would have been fun to see. Well.....maybe not now that I think of it....I'm not sure I'm quite ready for 8 or 9 monkeys running amok in close quarters! Pasek has a slingshot hanging by his door always at the ready to chase away the little buggers when they come around - what does that tell you?!
But speaking of monkeys.....Lynda has really grown in her confidence on the fear of monkeys front. The first day she was out on her own she asked a guard near the monkey forest to escort her past the single little primate that was sitting on the sidewalk blocking her way. Yesterday, she just marched right through about 1/2 dozen of the little buggers. She has shifted to a place where she knows who is boss and they better keep their distance!
We had a lot of rain yesterday afternoon and through much of the night. This morning was gorgeous but now that it is just after noon a drizzle has started to fall again. We're taking this as a sign that today is the day we're meant to purchase umbrellas. We've been putting it off but today will be the day. You may remember Lynda's faux pax with the old guy who told her he wanted 60,000 IDR and she didn't as yet have her $ conversion figured out. Her belief that he wanted her to pay $60 CAD for an umbrella resulted in her very strong response of "no". Perhaps today we will make our way back to his store and do some negotiating on his $6 CAD price.
Until we do though....I think I'll just put my feet back up and settle back with my book as the gentle rain that is falling today continues to feed the earth that supports this lush reality. This quiet rain is so different from the torrential downpours we've had on other days. This one sounds more like wind in the leaves and is almost something that could be described as a very heavy mist. It's more than a mist in that there are actual drops of water falling but they are few and far between so even the ground isn't getting all that wet. It's actually very calming so....till later.....
.....we're back...... Enjoyed an amazing setting for a lazy late lunch and in fact ...for the entire afternoon. There was a break in the heavy mist we were having and so we decided to go check out this restaurant not too far from here that is set right on the edge of a rice field. As usual, lady luck was smiling on us again today and within minutes (maybe even seconds) of our arrival at the restaurant the skies opened up with a downpour! It was coming down so hard we actually changed our mind which table we'd sit at as the ones near the outside were going to get wet!
Sitting there listening to Balinese music playing on the restaurant speakers and the sound of the rain falling on the roof and in the surrounding paddies....it could not have been any more tranquil. Did I mention we had the entire restaurant to ourselves? Well we did! There was a beautiful Buddha statue sitting at the edge of the restaurant right at the place where it meets with the rice fields. Honestly folks...this is the stuff movies are made of. Oh ya...Eat Pray Love...this was the place she found "love". Neither of us has been so lucky just yet but heh...we've got a while to go so who knows. LOL.
I did get lucky with one thing today though....I got to see a gecko....the kind that I keep referring to as a squeaky toy. He was on the wall in the restaurant and I got to see him run across about 15 feet of it before he found a place to hide behind a big cupboard. He was brown and about a foot long. Yesterday we learned that they are considered very good luck if they come into your place so people are happy to have them there. We also learned that if they bite you they will NOT let go. Can't say that thought makes me feel to happy to see them inside though! But then for so many places the inside is really the outside so I guess they can go where they want.
With the rain came cool refreshing breezes off the water of the rice paddies. It was so beautiful. We sat there sipping lemongrass tea and when the rains stopped we watched a beautiful young woman dressed in a gorgeous purple sarong (who works in the restaurant) clean up around the patio of the restaurant. With each heavy rain comes a bit of mess to clean up. There are leaves and very wet offerings in need of removal strewn randomly about. The way she swept the leaves into her dustpan was almost relaxing and maybe even a bit hypnotic. It seems people here move slowly and with intention in all that they do. We liked this place so much that we stayed long enough to have a few quick card games, read a little out of our books, and enjoy a dessert of black rice pudding. If you've never had this....go out and look for a place you can get it NOW.....it is amazing! By the time we were ready to stroll back to our place the skies were clear and so no getting wet for us today.
Tonight we decided it was time to see another cultural performance and so opted for the Legong and Barong Dance at the Palace. What a show! Please believe me when I tell you that no matter what I write here it will not do justice to what we saw.
We were trying to figure out how many people might have been in the troupe (including musicians) and our best guess is more than 30...probably close to 40 in fact. The musicians were on stage for the entire 90 minute performance and they never stopped playing. All were seated on the floor. There were drums and a guy playing some kind of tambourine sounding shakers. There was a guy playing a stringed instrument that sounded like a high pitched violin. The rest of the musicians were all playing something that I would describe as a xylophone. Interestingly, they were all playing in different octaves and at different speeds. The lowest octave had the slowest beat, the mid range had the medium paced beat, and the highest notes were played so quickly that sometimes you couldn't even see the hammer that was hitting the keys move....it was just a blur. Believe it or not but the guys playing those instruments hardly ever looked at the keys either. I don't know how they were able to hit the right one. I know they've likely done it a million times but still, I can't imagine how they didn't strike the wrong key.
Once the dancers began to come out the show became even more mesmerizing. The strength of those dancers, their muscle control, the years of practice they must have put in to be able to do what they do are all worthy of note. And then there were the costumes! WOW...just WOW! In addition to there being dancers in the performance, there was also a story that was being played out by the actors, dancers, and musicians. In a nutshell it is a story of bad guy goes after good girl and in the end good wins over evil and the girl is saved. But along the way there are monkeys and dragons and characters of all shape and size. Speaking of the monkey that was on stage tonight...he was amazing. I mean we knew it was a man in costume but he moved like a monkey and his costume was great....it was easy to believe he was a monkey! Both Lynda and I were reminded of another play we saw a long long way from here. It was in San Cristobel, Chiapas, Mexico and it too was a cultural story that included animals. In that show I still think some of the animals (especially the jaguar) might have been real! But I digress...back to this show and specifically the dancers. They all (men and women but especially the women) are able to use their bodies to tell a story. Their feet are out-turned and placed just so. Their legs are bowed and their knees bent much of the time. Their backs are arched and their behinds stick out a bit. And then it gets to the really crazy parts! Their arms are like liquid they're so graceful. What they do with their hands and fingers seems impossible. They're able to move digits independent of others at the same time as they're doing the bendy arm thing as well as sustaining a perfect shimmy of their shoulders for a crazy long time. Oh yes...and then there is the head that seems to be disconnected from the body for part of the time at least. They can slide it from side to side at will. But my favourite part of all is their faces and eyes. They have a lot of eye makeup on which really accentuates the eyes and makes them seem larger than life. They use their eyes and facial expression to create this dance that is disparate from their bodies. Honestly....all in all it is something that has to be seen to be appreciated. I am feeling really lucky to have been able to see this tonight! And...I got to have a lemon bintang which helped make the little plastic chair I was sitting on a little more bearable. Actually, as much as that little plastic chair wasn't comfortable at all, I completely forgot about it for at least part of the show as I was transfixed and transported to wherever it was that those performers took us. What a great show!
Walking home from the palace tonight was so pleasant. Monkey Forest road was pretty quiet. Most of the stores were closed and there was a wide array of music coming from the many restaurants and bars that we passed along the way.
Its been a great day.....till next time.....
L & L
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