Bali Tour Guide

"We want to see beaches, we want to swim, we want to visit town and mountains, and maybe litlle bit shopping and we want to be back by three" said Patrick. Patrick is from Perth, Como to be exact. "We don't want to see Barong dance, and we don't want to visit temple" Sandra, the wife added. When I asked why, they replied. "We've seen Barong dance and we've visited all temples!" All temples? "Yes, we visited ALL temples." So, we decided to go to Nusa Dua beach first. On this tour, there was Patrick, Sandra, Michelle, Ben(Michelle's boy friend), and Harisson (grand son from other dauther who did not join the tour) I met Patrick a couple of years ago on a cycling and cooking tour. I was the cycling tour guide and since then exchange few emails. Patrick was an investment manager who invested in stocks and real estate."I have some staff working for me, but I also work, I also push the button myself." The drive to Nusa Dua...

Some people ask me where I took the photo of the banner of this blog. As you can see there, it's a photo of rice teraces. I took this photo several months ago in Jatiluwih on harvesting time. There smokes flying on the air since after harvest, the Balinese farmers burn the remain of the rice plants. Ok, that's a quick post. I am at Jatiluwih now in the car waiting for my clients who are still busy taking photos. .

Jamie is a painter who were very amazed of Bali, of the rice field and of the banana trees. Why banana trees? I asked. Because it made him relax, he said. Huh? But a part from that, he and his friend Jim, were amazed by the Balinese ladies. Why? Because Balinese ladies have strong neck. They carry anything on their head. "Is this right, Putu?" He asked. "According to a book I read, it says that Balinese ladies are strong but Balinese men are artists because they can paint and carve." Well, refering to myself, I can't dance, I can't paint, I can't carve, I can't play Balinese music, I don't think it is quite right. But I can type with ten fingers, and understand a bit of html, php and css (if that counts). So, the last three days tours were great eye opener for Jamie and Jim. While touring they always try to spot Balinese ladies with who carry things on the top of their head. We saw a Balinese ladies with basket on her head. We also saw other thin...

I don't know that a food without garlic nor onion can be edible (haha). At least in Bali, since here you usually have the basa genep (the complete spices) in almost all kinds of food prepared in Bali kitchen. Usually a cooking would have everything. Tumeric, onion, garlic, salt, chilli, pepper, galengal, and ginger are present in the cooking. When Ser Chim ( a client from Singapore) arrived in Bali, he pinpointed some of the restaurants which he searched from the Internet that served no onion and no garlic. I know the idea that onion and garlic are not good if you are studying meditation, but don't really meet a lot of people who avoid garlic and onion. Ser Chim was one of them. To start, we went to a small restaurant at Jalan Raya Kuta called Happy Budha. The restaurant looks like a shop more than a restaurant. When we stopped there, there were not so many people eating there. Well, there were about five tables around. As I looked at the menu, I just quite amazed because the...

Even if you never surf in your life, even if surf The Net is all you do, there is no reason not to try learning surfing. Just head to Kuta beach. That's the best place to start. Enroll to the surfing school is better than spending whole day trying to figure out how to stand on the surf board yourself. Their professional instructor will teach you how to lie on your surf board and then quickly stand on it. Don't worry about being drowned, because at first you will do it on the sand on the beach. When they think that you are good and lying and standing, it's time to hit the water. The first challenge is there to conquer. You need to be able to walk or swim into the further area of the sea from the beach. The dark skinned Balinese instructors will show you how to dodge the wave so you can pass it smoothly. So, there come the very big wave. It is coming toward you. And at the right moment, you will need to stand on your board. And enjoy the ride. You feel lifted. In no time,...

Come to Bali at Galungan day and you will notice something different. All the Balinese house have bamboo poles decorated with flowers, leaves, and fruits. The Balinese families walk on the village streets, ride their motor bikes, to go to Balinese Hindu temple. Children giggle as they are allowed to wear their best clothes. Galungan day (every 210 days) is the day the Balinese celebrate the victory of Dharma against Adharma (goodness against evil). It is the victory of one self againts all the bad emotion such as anger, greed, jealousy, and you name it. It is also a celebration of prosperity. The Balinese express their gratitude toward Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa or the Almighty God by praying and erecting Penjor (the bamboo pole with flowers, leaves, and fruits) in their houses. It doesn't end here. The celebration of Galungan day will continue for the next ten days. The tenth day is called Kuningan day, it is another joyful day for gratitude to the God. Sent from my Windows Mobile® ...

You can put anything on your motorbike in Bali as long as it fits (this is true as the time this post is written : September 19th 2009). Like this photo. There was a bunch of baloons for sale carried on a motor bike. There were so many baloons so it occupy half of the road. Just like the size of a car. If you driveor ride a motor bike in Bali, you need to be ready for the unexpected traffic such as this. (pst, this is a final warning to you, next time you will probably see something more strange than this!). Here is a list of what people carry on motor bike in Bali: 4 to 5 passengers (father, mother, son, daughther, and puppy). box of chickens dogs goat (has to lie in between two persons) fire wood piled to five meters high anything, even baby elephant I never seen the last item, but theoritically it is possible. :)