My recent edition of Eyewitness Travel’s Bali & Lombok travel guide says that for 2014 the number of
foreign visitors to Bali reached a record number of 3.6 million. Most of these travelers
are concentrated in tourist areas located in the southern third of the island
--- Kuta, Denpasar, Seminyak, Ubud, Sanur, Canggu, etc. There has always been a
strong inflow from neighboring Australia and former colonial overlord Holland;
nowadays, visitors also come from China, Korea, Mediterrean Europe and the
United States. The number of tourists becomes overly evident on the roads going
south from the airport in Denpasar, Sunset Road and other main arteries in the
south. You can also see the crowds in the main tourist towns listed above and
most popular sights, and almost all times of the year.
Bali is paradise to many, but that loaded
concept means different things to different people. Of course there is always
an element seeking The Perfect Beach with cold beer and good, inexpensive food,
and Bali will surely satisfy these folk. Bintang is a delicious beer, and a
tasty, filling nasi goreng (fried
rice with vegetables, chicken, a fried egg and hot sauce) can be found for $1.50. For the aesthete, there are dance,
culture, yoga and spa offerings in Ubud. If retail therapy is your thing, there
are superb crafts created by generations of artisans--- silver (Celuk) and gold
(Mas) jewelry, woodcarving, painting, textiles and clothing ---in dedicated
enclaves around Bali’s southern roads. Rafting, watersports, elephant rides, canyoning,
etc. are there for active thrill-seekers, even without going north to volcanoes
and the national park. Bali offers great vacation options to just about
everyone.
But what about those who come seeking to
learn and even witness first hand what it means to live the Balinese way, those
who want to understand the visually distinctive religious community known as
the banyar, to have the ubiquitous “offerings”
and day to day life explained, to see how families live and share various
duties in their compounds? How can we outsiders look “inside?” What about
interactions beyond the sale of goods and services?
The answer is it’s all there if you want
it, but you need to get off the Tourist Trail. Enter Jack Kennedy and Kadek
Gindere and their properties, Honey Tree
Villa and Honey Tree Homestay.
First, a few words about Jack. He is my new
friend, a neighbor in Maine, and the founding partner of Health Access Sumbawa
(
www.healthaccesssumbawa.org),
an organization that is working to eradicate malaria from three remote villages
on the island of Sumbawa (two islands east of Bali). Jack and his partners have
just built a clinic in Sili, Sumbawa and are having its nurse trained in
microscopy at a WHO-recognized facility this summer.
Jack has been coming to Bali for 20 years and
grew up in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
The story of how Jack met Kadek and his wife Made is worth asking him
about, but that must wait now so we can circle back to describe the Honey Tree
properties.
They are located in the village of
Taman, near Sangeh, about 30-40 minutes northwest of Ubud. This is essentially
an area of beautiful, wild jungle and rice paddies dotted with several small
communities. I lived at Honey Tree Villa
for almost a month in March-April, 2016. It is a private, gated property with
space to sleep three or four people, one air-con room, a lovely pool and
garden, and bicycles. You can arrange to have Made prepare tasty meals at a
very reasonable price or prepare your own as I did most of the time. With just
a bit of notice Kadek will take you where you want to go including airport
transfers (more on this later).
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| Inviting Pool at Honey Tree Villa |
I should say at this juncture that
Honey Tree Villa is not a place for everyone. The villa was designed without
closed walls and ceilings in places, and is partially open to the elements. The
upside of this natural eco concept is you are communing directly with the
beauty of the jungle, and can enjoy private but open showers and the like. The
downside (for some people, anyway) is that you are living with ants, geckos,
beetles, large (harmless) bees, wasps, lizards --- all manner of creatures that
creep, fly and crawl ---- and you will notice them, no doubt. Food must be kept
in the refrigerator. Jaksy the house dog is sweet and mostly lovable, but
sometimes she barks at night, whether you keep her in or out of the house. The
rooster next door makes sure you are up by 5:00 am latest. And you are pretty
isolated. Taxis from Ubud may not know how to bring you home. There is no
shopping very close by except some basic warungs.
There are no boules (white people),
either --- if you like to hang out with folks from The Western World, you came
to the wrong part of Bali. And so far, both Honey Tree properties get only
intermittent internet (Jack is working on that).
But with that disclaimer, allow
me to tempt you with the prospect of stunning local scenery and relaxation in a
cool pool, a peek into local life that is all but unavailable to most tourists,
getting to know these sweet and hospitable people, and discovering the Bali
that may be rapidly disappearing into the modern world, or at least insulating
itself from it. As a bonus, here you can forget about tourist buses, crowds and
traffic. And here’s the kicker: all of this comes at a mere fraction of what
you will pay “in town.” Food and lodging at Honey Tree cost maybe a third of
what I pay at western style accomodations and restaurants in, say, Ubud.
Sounds good, right?
The first thing to do is put
your “Tourist Hit List” away and tell Jack or Kadek about your interests so
they can guide you. There are some spectacular bike rides that can be arranged
so they are mostly downhill and take you
through terraced rice fields, water temples and local villages. Just down the
hill from the villa are springs and a public bath where local people get their
water and bathe. A bit further down the same road is a small barn-size
production facility for fresh tofu and tempe (less than $1.00 bought me six
meals worth, and it was delicious). Jack and I got a great workout at a local indoor
badminton facility (racquets and rental were a few dollars), and this was maybe
ten minutes from the villa by bike. If you want to travel a bit further afield
to visit Bali’s largest waterfall, Kadek will suggest a less crowded time and
if you’re lucky, he will bring along his sweet son, Vico (be sure to try the
breadfruit chips from the warung near the parking area). Of course, trips to
Ubud and other tourist centers are easily arranged if you really want them.
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| Waterfall day trip |
If Made is not cooking for you
there is an excellent Padang restaurant a few minutes away by car, where you
can choose from maybe a dozen options of protein and veg, and have a delicious
meal to eat in or take out for $3-$4. For $3., my “usual” was the excellent
beef, fried chicken, and tuna, with local greens, rice and sambal. I could happily eat there three or four times
a week. Kadek can also bring in a very good chop cay (stewed veg with a bit of
chicken, served with rice) or nasi goreng for a couple of dollars. Or you
can stock a few items from western or local “traditional” markets and cook for
yourself as I suggest above; everything you need to cook and serve is on site.
My arrival in Bali just
happened to coincide with the beginning of the Hindu new year holiday of Nyepi
(Day of Silence). The night before, villagers parade ogoh-ogoh (effigies of
outrageous, giant evil spirits, made from papier mache) through the town after
dusk with torches, and then burn them. There I was, with Kadek and the local
kids helping to carry the ogoh-ogoh and joining the fun. This was a completely
unique experience and great start to my time in Taman.
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| Ogoh-ogoh |
One of the most interesting
moments from my trip was the preparation by Kadek’s family of lawar nyawan, a wonderful but labor
intensive Balinese traditional food made from honey comb, green papaya, kefir
lime, toasted coconut and spices. I had heard about this dish from my friend
Sumadi (of Bali Bird Walks), whose eyes glazed over with rapture as she
described it. Over at Kadek’s family compound (just next door to Honey Tree
Homestay), his uncle showed us where he keeps his bees, demonstrated how he
extracts honeycomb, and then lovingly prepared this delicacy over the next two
hours with the able assistance of Made. He also made curried chicken,
vegetables and rice. Kadek brought in some cold Bintangs. It was a superb dinner
and an amazing learning experience. This special meal cost about $7; Jack threw
in the same amount. Two days later Made prepared tasty banana pancakes for
breakfast for Jack and me topped with some of the honey Uncle harvested. I
think breakfast was $3.
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| Honey Comb |
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| Preparing lawar nyawan |
I asked help from Kadek in planning a trip to a few of the silver jewelry shops in Celuk, including one called Prapen that Cheryl liked so much on our visit here a few years ago. He was a great help, wonderful company and drove the van with expertise and safety. After shopping he took me to an excellent restaurant specializing in duck and overlooking rice fields, and we had delicious crispy duck for lunch. On the way home, Kadek asked if I wanted
to see a good painter’s commune and we stopped by for just a few minutes.
Kadek will help you buy food at
western or traditional markets, change money and generally navigate your way
around the area and things you want/need to do, and his services come with a
pleasant smile and helpful attitude. The price for Kadek’s driving and airport
runs is very reasonable and indicated on the Air BnB sites. He is simply
awesome, and an invaluable guide to Balinese culture. He answered all of my
many questions patiently.
As a bonus, near the end of my
stay Kadek was kind enough to invite me to his friend’s wedding reception in a
small town about 20 minutes away. The bride and groom were very welcoming. The event
was lovely, colorful and a real slice of life.
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| Balinese wedding |
The reader will be interested
to know that most of the experiences described above were unplanned and/or
suggested by Jack or Kadek. And they are some of my fondest memories. After
awhile, I enjoyed tooling around on my
bike, getting smiles or a cheery Pagi! from
the adult locals and high fives from the kids, stopping at a warung for a bit
of veg, a small bag of sugar or a cold drink, watching ceremonies and
offerings.
For me, Bali is singular in its
exotic beauty, color, architecture and lifestyle. Its heady mix of Hinduism and
animism creates an all-encompassing spirituality that is, without exaggeration, a
feast for the senses. And Indonesians are incredibly hospitable and warm,
especially outside the main tourist thoroughfares (where, let’s face it, locals
can get just a tad jaded). On this trip, my third, I was able to dive deeper
for a very satisfying, closer look at Bali, its people and its culture, and I
did it with the help of my friends Jack and Kadek. A different and very special
kind of vacation, and one I will never forget.
