essentialactivities
2. Welcome sight:
A gateway at the
Batukaru temple
down the ravine. That in itself would have
been a tad embarrassing, but the fact that
on her way up she was carrying two huge
sandstone blocks on her head really put us to
shame. The work she was engaged in is labour
intensive and not particularly rewarding. Each
rock is worth 4,000 Rupiah and to put that in
some sort of context, if you spent US$150 on a
hotel room for a night you’d have to carry
475 rocks up to pay for it. We will certainly
be sticking to our day job and suggest you
do the same.
In awe of the ladies, we left them to their
work and jumped back aboard for the
next stage of our journey that took us
through the area that saw one of the very
last post-World War II battles between the
Balinese and Dutch forces. We moved on
along roads that until recently were mere
riverbeds, but while there is evidence of
recent improvements in infrastructure here
it hasn’t automatically led to widespread
movement of people. According to Putu,
village life in Bali is still incredibly insular, with
hard work and a strong sense of community
meaning most people stay within the
“We have been to Bali many times, but never done anything
like this trip. A wonderful trip by 4x4 to some remote parts of
Bali that you wouldn’t normally go (to).”
thisfish, www.tripadvisor.com
confines of their village despite increased
access to the outside world. Indeed he
told us many only leave their village once
every six months for special occasions. It is
one of many anecdotes on the nature and
workings of Balinese village life he shared
with us.
By now we are traversing countryside with
mile after mile of glorious rice paddies, and
our next stop will allow us to explore them
at close quarters. We stop at a traditional
Balinese family compound to be met by
Made, our host. We’re introduced to his wife
who is busy making temple offerings and
then to his mother who is busy in the kitchen
whipping up a batch of rice flour pancakes
in her traditional fire-fuelled oven. Thankfully
there is a plate of some she made earlier
and we add some coconut and palm sugar
for a delicious morning snack.
While on the one hand we were in a family
home, it transpired we were also in a market
garden that is staggering in the variety
of its produce. Cows and chickens have
their own role to play, while around them
mangosteen, the infamous durian fruit,
thyme, lemongrass, oranges, cocoa and
more were all growing in such a small area.
Coffee is another locally sourced plant
and we took a seat to enjoy some only
to spy a familiar face looking down at us
from a photograph on the wall. Legendary
footballer Zinedine Zidane had paid a visit a
few years ago.
After testing some more kitchen produce by
way of delicious biscuits, we followed Made
for a stroll through his rice fields, enjoying the
peace and fresh air and watching transfixed
as his children chased around trying to catch
dragonflies – apparently very tasty when
fried with a certain mix of herbs and spices.
We’re not sure whether we wanted to be
offered that particular delicacy but it was
irrelevant as it was time to take our leave of
Made’s wonderful family and press on to our
next destination.
The Jatiluwih rice terraces are UNESCOrecognised and they provide yet another
stunning landscape to drink in, but the
terraces are more than just a pretty view of
farmer’s produce. The irrigatio