with rings on her fingers and bells on her shoes

Legong dance

     The highlight of Bali, for me, was experiencing the Balinese culture. Indonesia is a Muslim country, and all the Indonesian islands practice Islam, except Bali. Bali has been able to retain it’s Hindi faith, and this is evident all over the island. I will have to split this cultural story into two parts. The first part will be about Balinese dance. I spent eight days in the central Bali town of Ubud, and could have easily spent a month there! My days were spent walking in the rice terraces, and looking through the plentiful art galleries. My nights were spent attending Balinese dance performances. These were all breathtaking, magical experiences! I was mesmerized during these dances, but was able to remember to snap a few pictures.

Legong dance

     The dancers practice for years, starting at an early age, and only the gifted ones get to perform in the ‘big’ shows. I enjoyed the performances at the Ubud Palace because of the quality of performers, quality of costumes, and quality of gamelon orchestra. My favorite’s were the Legong dance, the Barong dance, and the Kecak dance. I will post some pictures and let them tell the story.

Legong dance

Legong dance

     Each dancer was constantly moving. From their eyes, and facial expressions, to their head and neck. From their fingers, hands, arms, and shoulders, to their toes, feet, legs, and hips. Their movement was brilliant and stunning!

Legong dance

     The Legong dance was my favorite, as the dancers were breathtaking.

Legong dance

     

     The Barong dance was fun, with the fanciful Barong, and the masked dancers.

Barong dance

Barong dance

Barong dance

Barong dance

Barong dance

Barong dance

     The Kecak Fire and Trance dance was hypnotic with the men chanting like monkeys, dancers twirling among them.

Kecak dance

Kecak dance

     Twice a week, there are dance practices at the Ubud palace for any children interested. The Balinese take dance very seriously, and the children were learning from the masters.

girls's dance class

boy's dance class

     I have not ever experienced anything like the Balinese dance performances, and the memories will be vivid for years to come!

paradise waits . . .

beach at Anturan, Bali

    I’m going to take off my ‘expat’ hat and put my ‘traveler’ hat back on! These next few blog posts will take a detour from land-locked Lao, to some of the islands of Indonesia. With over 17,000 islands in Indonesia, I narrowed my month-long journey to just three, Bali, Nusa Lembongan, and Java. I departed Lao, spent a few days in Bangkok, then flew to Denpasar, Bali. Upon leaving the airport, I was greeted with a fragrant, tropical scent, and a salty, marine air! I left Denpasar, and checked into a room near the beach of Sanur, on the southeast coast of Bali. Taking a walk along the white sands, I felt my skin sucking in the salty air. All my life, I have lived near the saltwater, and I now realized how much my body missed the marine air!

beach at Sanur, Bali

     This blog post will feature the beaches and coastline of Bali. I spent some time exploring Sanur, enjoying live music at night, and strolling the beach by day. I was taken back into my past, to the many times I have spent gazing at the ocean, thinking about life, the universe, and everything.

beach at Padangbai, Bali

     I headed north, to the east coast fishing village of Padangbai, and spent some time exploring the beaches in the area. This small town was slow-paced, and had a relaxed atmosphere. There was live music at night and plenty of freshly caught seafood. There is a ferry to Lombok that departs Padangbai daily, and most foreigners only stop long enough to board a ferry. They missed out on a lovely town, with a vibrant community!

beach at Kalibukbuk, Bali

     On the north coast of Bali, are a number of small fishing villages. I stayed at two of these, each similar, slow-paced, with fresh seafood. Kalibukbuk was the bigger of the two, and had a few foreigners, but most of my days were spent with the local Balinese. Anturan was another town I stayed a while, and I was able to listen to live music in the evenings. September is a low season on Bali, room rates drop, and foreigners depart. This is the perfect time to visit, as the weather is still good! The north coast, at this time, is calm and as flat as a lake.

beach on Nusa Lembongan

     I explored the island of Nusa Lembongan, and spent days walking around this small island. It is located east of Bali, an hour away by boat. Lovely beaches, fresh seafood, kind people, and days spent lazing on the beach! My time on Balinese beaches was meaningful to me, as I started thinking about my life in land-locked Lao. I was able to look at my Lao life from afar, and think about my future. It was great to be eating seafood again, and soaking in the salty, marine air! Balinese beaches are excellent, and I highly recommend this island in September! More to come, as I will soon post about the culture of Bali, and the ancient temples on Java!

beach on Nusa Lembongan with Bali in the distance

I got up and wandered, wandered downtown, nowhere to go but just to hang around

     Pakse is a compact city, making walking my preferred method of getting around. In the mornings, I like to walk through the big market. This is a market similar to the Seattle Pike Place Market, or your local farmer’s market. It is not a Safeway market, or a western shopping center. At this market there is a section with vendors selling vegetables. There are some vegies imported from Vietnam, but, for the most part, the availability is what is in season in Lao. This brings an amazing freshness, as the produce does not travel far from farm to market.

     There is another section of the market with vendors selling fruit. Again, mostly what is available, in season, in Lao. There is a huge variety of colorful, and flavorful fruit in Lao. I’ve sampled a great deal of what is available, and like them all. Well, all except durian. I found it interesting that some of the oranges have a green skin. The flesh inside is orange, however, and quite flavorful. There are no lemons, but some of the limes have a yellow rind, with a lime flavor.

     There is a section selling meat, similar to your local butcher. There are no prepackaged meats here. If you want pork, you go to the pork vendor and they will cut what you want, the same with beef, or chicken. All parts of the animal are sold and eaten, and I mean ALL parts, head, feet, tail, tongue, liver, and intestines included!

     The seafood section has many varieties of freshwater fish. Fish is the main protein source for the Lao people, and an amazing variety is available. There are frozen Vietnamese prawns and squid available as well.

     There are a large number of vendors selling prepared food in the market. Drinks, soups, rice dishes, meat dishes, and deserts. The prices are much less than the restaurants, but a bit more than the street vendors. Table and benches are set up to eat and drink.

     The largest part of the market has vendors selling a little bit of everything. There are vendors selling clothing, fabric, hardware items, cosmetic supplies, jewelry, electronics, kitchen supplies, etc. All the vendors will bargain, there are no set prices. I think this is what the vendors like, the interaction with the buyers. Buying a watermelon or a shirt, is not as simple as paying the listed price because there is no listed price. The buyer and seller take time to reach an agreeable price, and this can be quite fun!

     My morning walk takes me through this marketplace, and continues along the Mekong river, back to my apartment. Most afternoons I take a walk in the other direction, into the center of town. Here I buy street food, all delicious and inexpensive. The Lao businesses are all quite similar. A family will live and work in the same building, with a shop at street level, and living quarters upstairs.

     Walking is not something the Lao people do. They will use their moto to visit a friend two doors down. They will use their moto to go across the street. Thus, sidewalks are not used for walking. Sidewalks are used for parking their vehicles and selling stuff. When I walk, I have to walk on the street. Not what I prefer, but, when in Lao . . .

don't tell me this town ain't got no heart, you just gotta poke around

     Pakse, Lao, the largest city in the southern part of the country, is not a popular place to stay for foreign tourists or travelers. For them, it is more a transit town, to get on to the next place. Busloads of foreigners arrive on the overnight bus from Vientiane, the Lao capital up north. They either stay a night in Pakse before moving on, or immediately hop on another bus out of town. Ahhh, yes, the tourist circuit. It still amazes me how many foreigners carry around a travel guide and go only where the guidebook tells them to go. If they would put down their travel guide for a day and explore on their own, they would find so much more. In this case, Pakse, which actually has a lot going for it!

VIEW OF MEKONG RIVER AND PAKSE FROM 'BUDDHA ON THE HILL'

   
     I moved from the small village I was living, and am now living in a studio apartment in the middle of Pakse. I like this central location, as I can walk a few minutes to the big market. In another direction I can walk a few minutes to the Mekong River. And, in another direction I can walk a few minutes to the center of town. I still have my motorcycle for trips out of town, but, otherwise, it is parked inside my apartment. Pakse is in a good, central location. An hours drive to the west is the Thailand border, so my monthly visa runs are quite simple. An hours drive to the east is the Bolavan plateau, where coffee, tea, and avocados are grown. A few hours south of Pakse are the 4000 islands, a group of islands that are in the Mekong river, as the river here spreads out to about 10 km in width. These places are why the foreigners travel through Pakse, rather than stay in Pakse. The travel guides say there is nothing to do or see in Pakse, and the foreigners don’t bother to find out that Pakse is a lovely city, with loads of stuff to experience!

VIEW OF PAKSE -  'JAPANESE' BRIDGE ACROSS MEKONG RIVER

   
     Pakse is made up of many small villages. In the middle of each village is a wat, a Buddhist temple. So far, I have found twelve wats in Pakse, thus twelve villages. I think there are more wats in the city, some are not seen easily from the street, and I will continue looking for more, on my daily walks. Pakse has about 120,000 inhabitants, and it is located at the confluence of two rivers, the mighty Mekong river, and the smaller Don river. The plateau is visible from Pakse, and with more hills to the southwest, this city is in a beautiful location.

VEGETABLES ALONG MEKONG'S RIVERBANK - PLANTED IN THE DRY SEASON

   
     When I‘m not looking for wats, I enjoy sampling the street food. Many vendors all over town,  make delicious, flavorful food. This is the least expensive food in town, and it has all been tasty! There are local craft shops full of items made in Lao, and the large market has more good examples of what is made in this country. Lao massage is available for reasonable prices, and there is even a sauna in town. Pakse has a golf course, a bowling alley, a movie theatre, and a swimming pool. There are lots of restaurants, coffee and tea shops, and drinking establishments, some with live music. There is plenty to see and do in Pakse!

EXAMPLE OF A STREET FOOD VENDOR

   
     What I like best about living in Pakse, is that I have community here. Westerners from all over the world are living, volunteering, and working here. We get together weekly to share stories and experiences, and to help each other understand all things Lao. This is what I lacked living in a small village, being with like-minded people. I am blessed to have these friends living in Pakse!

THE DON RIVER JOINING THE MEKONG RIVER IN THE DRY SEASON - PAKSE

and i say row, jimmy, row, gonna get there, i don't know

     In October, there is Boun Nam (water festival) also called Boun Suang Heua (boat racing festival). Many villages from around the country, build boats, and have boat races in the larger towns. The small village where I lived, built three boats for this years festival, and will be raced in the Lao capital, Vientianne, as well as Pakse and Si Phan Don (4000 islands). I had a chance to watch the building of these boats at the villages wat, Wat Luang Kao. The process took about four weeks, and I went to the wat every few days to watch the boat-building process.

     The longest boat was 24 meters long, and I watched the tree’s main beam coming down the road and into the wat. The tree was cut on the nearest island in the Mekong river, Don Daeng, and was cut into a squarish beam before transport. One end of the beam was attached to a lao tractor, and the tractor’s cart was placed in the middle of the beam. The villagers came out to watch this, and the atmosphere was festive! The tree was brought into the wat and lifted off the cart. The next day the chain saw came out, with a rip chain, and the beam was cut, freehand, all 24 meters. This was amazing to me, after my years working as a ripsaw operator with precise, technical machinery. This beam was cut freehand with a chainsaw!!!

     I watched the beam take shape using an electric hand-held jigsaw, and an electric sander. Measurements were made, and curves developed.

     The ribs were cut with a jigsaw and sanded into shape. These were screwed onto the bottom beam.

     The boat sides were cut, again freehand, using a rip chain on a small chainsaw. These were attached to the ribs with screws.

     The gaps between the boards were filled with caulk and the entire boat was sanded, inside and out, before installing seats.

     The boat was turned upside down and coated with, of all things, automotive bondo! Traditionally, a tree sap is used to fill the gaps of a boat. The sap hardens and is flexible enough to deal with the expanding wood as the boat is submerged in water. I was a bit disappointed to see gallon jugs of bondo being applied to make an outer shell.

     The entire boat was sanded again and the top rails were installed, voila, one boat complete! the last thing to do would be to paint. Last years boat is the painted one, alongside, in the background.

ashes, ashes, all fall down

     It was difficult finding a title for this blog. I couldn’t find any Grateful Dead lyric dealing with bridges, certainly not fallen bridges. There were no ashes, but the bridge definitely fell down! The first week I was living in the small village south of Champasak, this bridge collapsed. I was outside watering the plants along the front fence, when I heard a large truck coming through town. This was making much more noise than any other vehicles that pass us by. I noticed neighbors running to the street to see what was happening. Well, a large semi-truck with two trailers was passing through Ban Wat Luang Kao! We watched the truck safely pass over the town bridge, thankfully, the structure was steel. The bridge into the town of Champasak, however, was not so fortunate.

THE DAY AFTER - LOOKING FROM ONE END

THE DAY AFTER - LOOKING FROM THE OTHER END - TRUCK LOWER LEFT

     

     This bridge, on the south end of Champasak, crosses Huay Phabang (stream Phabang), with a posted sign reading weight limit 15 tons, and no trucks allowed. Well, full fuel trucks use this bridge, large busses use this bridge, it is the only bridge crossing this stream. The stream was spanned by two steel trusses. The problem was that only wooden beams connected the steel trusses, and these easily broke from the weight. The truck had come, loaded full, on a slow, bumpy road on the other side of the hills. The truck was empty as it attempted this crossing. The driver was ok, but the bridge would take an indefinite time to fix.

BRIDGE REMOVAL PROCESS

STEEL FRAMEWORK REMOVAL

OLD BRIDGE REMOVED - READY TO BUILD NEW BRIDGE

    

     The problem, as my town villagers saw it, was that when the rainy season comes, there will be no way to get to Champasak, Pakse, and the rest of Lao. The road on the other side of the hills is impassable during the rainy season, and this bridge is crucial to road travel for thousands of people. A new road is being built from Champasak to Wat Phou, but is not finished, and the bridge across this stream is nowhere near being built. A detour was made around the collapsed bridge, down the stream bank, across the stream, and up the other stream bank. This worked ok, but would be covered by water during the rainy season.

NEW BRIDGE ALMOST ACROSS STREAM

FINISHED WITH FRAMEWORK

FINISHING TOUCHES - READY FOR USE

     

     We were told the bridge would be repaired in two months, and it was finished in four months, which is actually quite quick for this country (bureaucratic bullshit and the Lao work ethic, make doing anything extremely slow in this country). I was able to watch this process from February to June, from the removal of the old bridge to the building of the new bridge. The detour was a mess, loads of gravel were put down, but it just got packed into the soft red dirt. Crossing the stream by detour was a challenge for motos and bicyclists. Fortunately the rainy season had not really begun, and the bridge was passable before the first rain storm washed away the detour route.

DETOUR ROUTE AFTER FIRST RAINSTORM

     

     I enjoyed watching the bridge removal process and the rebuilding, because most of it was done by hand. Very little machinery was used, other than an automotive jack, pulleys, ropes, and human energy. The broken wooden beams were carried up the bank, the twisted steel frame was torched into pieces and carried up the bank. The new bridge was assembled in pieces and pulled across the gorge with ropes and pulleys, and lots of people. An amazing process to watch!