well, our trusty driver took us the picturesque (and longer) route from ubud to sideman, where we planned to stay around 5 nights. as we passed through bangli we saw a big cremation thingy ready for use and i remembered reading bangli was known for its copious ceremonies. previously i only had memories of it being famous for its psychiatric hospital. it looked so enticing (bangli, not the hospital) that i almost got ida to stop and find us a place to stay. well, by the end of the day i wished i had
we had come across the dreaded organisasi (cartel) at lake tamblingan and i had read online that one family had accommodation pretty much sewn up at sideman. but the place i was looking for was from a different family and so i wasn't too perturbed.
what ensued was about 2 fruitless hours searching and i am sure phone calls to the other accommodations warning we were coming and to keep the price above the first place's, as the prices really bore little relation to what was on offer at some hotels.
what follows really applies because we had no independent transport. the many accommodations are quite a distance from the village, and as such we would have been at the mercy of the peculiar dinner delivery system run by one of the places and of goodness knows what quality. as luck would have it, the place we wanted to stay was the one furthest away from the village!
had we had our own car we would have probably stayed, but felt a little uneasy after our communications with the people at the "hotels" and their relative isolation.
this is the first time i had felt an uncomfortable general undercurrent and i was quite happy to move on...
sideman village itself seemed really nice, and i am sure we missed out on a great time.
finally, exhausted, confused and hungry, an executive decision was made to drive to padang bai, which we know quite well, to regroup and recharge our batteries before deciding where to go next. we stopped at a great little warung that just sold balinese fish satay and fish in palm leaves. the ladies were quite surprised when we came in, this was apparently a first. when this happens, the prices are inevitably local prices, as there is no tourist culture. drinks and food for 5 people: 24, 000rp.
and too yummy for words, only beaten by made's fish from our trip to lake tamblingan, which he cooked exactly as he does at home.
we just drove on up to the mustika sari at padang bai. another hotel of former grandeur which fits our budget: large pool, aircon,breakfast for 4 people was 335,000 in july school holidays. and one room left. phew. opposite the beach and very close to the blue lagoon. but there is a bore problem in padang bai and the hotel's bore water was really salty. speaking with a local, he said his was, too. we constantly felt like we had bathed in the sea and our clothes never came back really clean because of this.
last year we were here for their giant temple opening festival and its preparations, this year we were there to welcome their refurbished barong. he had been sent to a tukang in gianyar along with thousands of black chicken feathers. each family in padang bai and surrounds donated feathers plucked from their black chickens. this happens every 8- 10 years. his decorations are also refurbished. when he came back a ceremony was held in the middle of the night at the cemetry (handily it is next to the mustika sari) so that rangda stays away.
the kids and i spent a couple of hours there,and even one of the locals was yelling out bosan, (boring),as barong hardly danced, it was mostly rangda and the other witches and went on and on the same thing...
but the kids wanted to stay and the gamelan was exquisite. they loved watching the crowd's responses to the priest in particular.
we were exhausted, but glad to have seen it, and to find out that the locals get fidgety. the kids still talk about that night fondly. barong was beautiful-all those feathers and the setting was extraordinary and this was clearly so important to everyone.
this is long enough now. well done for getting to the end. my email is open if you want to know about where to eat, what to do, the market in padang bai...or exactly what this rangda (or is it ragda?)and barong story is.
next stop: Bangli