Villa Uma Sapna ideally nestled in the peaceful and serene part of the Seminyak area. Villa Uma Sapna is situated within 5 minutes drive from the famous shops and restaurants of Seminyak and the Legian beach and 10 minutes drive from the airport.

Villa Uma Sapna is Boutique resort with six luxurious 1-bedroom villas. Smart, modern interiors convey a sense of Bali blended with the new contemporary style. Individual units are suitable for honeymoon couples, friends or families. The whole complex can be fully reserved for small groups of up to 12 people. Private villa featuring a private plunge pool, terrace and kitchen. Main swimming pool is available for use by all the guests.

(more…)

Source from “Traces of Gods and Men — Temples and Rituals as Landmarks of Social Events and Processes in South Bali Village” by Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin

The historical scenery of Bali unfold from a third perspective as well: Nusa Penida, especially the region of Dalem Peed, which had (and still has) numerous connections with the southern coast of Bali. These connections are found on various levels, as well as in regard to time. But these levels cannot be clearly separated, since over the years they have become blended in the oral traditions.

Nusa Penida lies off the coast of south Bali. Its steep cliffs and mountainous countryside, with its highest elevation, the Gunung Mundi (529 m), are clearly visible. Even though the island seems within reach, it is difficult to get to because the ocean current is particularly strong, and depending on the season, it turns the crossing into quite a dangerous adventure. The Balinese reluctantly set out on this journey, and during the rainy season, when the waves are particularly high, they forego it completely.

(more…)

One of the things I truly love about Bali is how often the unexpected and unplanned occurs. Our Christmas dinner did not disappoint! Our annual Christmas dinner this year attracted more than its fair share of the unexpected and unplanned.

BUYING THE TURKEY
As we do every year, we went off in search of a turkey. Would you believe frozen Norbest turkeys in Bali? What I already expected would be expensive shocked me. How about a 13.5 pound turkey at US$33.00? As the Balinese are prone to say in less than perfect moments, ‘That is life”, so the turkey went home with us.

THE STUFFING
My plan was to make a very simple old family stuffing…French bread, garlic, onions, butter, salt and pepper…very plain. The staff chopped up the onions and garlic and also a collection of other stacks of stuff I never thought to question, thinking these other ingredients would end up in the sambal, a spicy side dish. (The women at my house are fabulous cooks.) As I melted the butter to sauté the onions and garlic, the staff was busily puttering…doing something. By the time I turned around, the entire collection of stuff was combined with the stuffing ingredients. Included was a LOT of very spicy chilies, daun salam, a green leaf that is impossible to chew even when cooked forever, and who knows what else! Again, that is life. It was POTENT, but, in the end, divine!

(more…)

Today, 12/29/07, Balinese celebrate the birthday of the trees. This holiday is called Tumpek Wariga or Tumpek Pengarah. There a lot some articles in this blog which describe how Balinese express their gratitude to the trees through the celebration of Tumpek Uduh and how this holiday serves as a remainder of the importance of trees for Balinese’s life and also serves as a message for the Balinese to preserve the tree. So this time I will put emphasis on unique mepengarah ritual which is practiced on the celebration of this ceremony.

Mepengarah ritual is a unique ritual in which Balinese give an instruction to the trees (menpengarah means giving an instruction). The ritual is conducted right after the ceremony to honor the god of the trees is finished. Balinese will tap the tree three times to wake it up and give the instruction to it. It runs as follow: Kaki-kaki titiang pengarah, malih selae rahina Galunganne, mabuah nyen apang nged. Nged, nged, nged”; the free translation of this instruction runs as follow “Grandpa-grandpa, I have an instruction, it is 25 days left for Galungan day, produce a lot of fruit, a lot of fruit, a lot of fruit.” In this ritual Balinese inform the trees that Galungan (Christmas a la Balinese) holiday will soon arrive and to celebrate the Galungan holiday many fruits and other and rice will be needed to make offerings which are going to be presented to the God and ancestors in this holiday and Balinese ask the trees and other plants to produce plenty of fruits and rice to fulfill the demand on this resources.

(more…)

One of only a handful of centrally located luxury villas, this stylish Villa Gajah sanctuary is set amidst abundant grounds inside an urban-style village. Villa Gajah is a stone’s throw from the busy late-night cafe scene along Bali’s famed Legian Street. Designed by its owner - an English aristocrat, Villa Gajah features many modern facilities inside a large and open-planned living and dining pavilion with several self-contained structures and customized interiors that set new standards for private villas in the area.

Villa Gajah offers • 3-4 luxurious double bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms • 2 excellent cooks - fully trained in both European and Indonesian cuisine’s • 2 housemaids • 2 gardeners/pool attendants • 3 full-time security guards • 35 meters lap pool • Satellite television • Telephone and Fax • Lock up safe • Masseuse upon request.

(more…)

Before going further on this short article I would like to tell you a place which becomes the setting on this article. It is Banjar Belanjong, a small area in Sanur. If you ever heard about Mertasari Beach, it is belong to Banjar Belanjong’s area and for the archaeologist or the historian maybe knows about the Belanjong Inscription in Belanjong Temple, well Banjar Belanjong is next to it on the west side. Banjar itself is a social-traditional organization based on mutual needs (in good and bad times, such as events involving marriage and death rituals) and the building or hall for the meetings of this group is also called banjar. That’s a little bit about the setting; let’s go to the point of this article which is about borrowing money.

flickr.com/photos/gafl/

In Sanur, there are some good places for borrowing money. They are bank, LPD (Lembaga Perkreditan Desa/the Village’s Credit System Institution) – it is actually like a bank but it is built in a village by the villagers’ agreement. The aim of the institution is to make the members of the village prosperous by giving higher interest than the bank when people save their money. It also gives a lot of ease and facilities to the members of the village when borrowing money because if they save money for a certain amount they can use it as a guarantee to lend money, so they don’t need to use their car, house, or land as the guarantee — and another good place for borrowing money is Banjar.

(more…)