Around The World in a 60s Daze...: Bali Ha'i

Lorraine with Hindu God, Bali

Dear Family and Friends,

Bali Ha'i. South Pacific. That exotic and romantic story, play, and movie of interracial love popularized an unattainable place of innocence and happiness, the island of Bali Ha'i somewhere in the South Pacific. In the movie the song Bali Ha'i, as sung by Bloody Mary, was a haunting, enticing call of enchantment, but it was also a tantalizing call to anyone who had travel thoughts. As did I, in 1958, when the movie was released.

Bali Ha'i May Call You,
any Night, Any Day,
in Your Heart, You'll Hear It Call You:
"Come Away...Come Away."

Well, Bali Ha'i is a fictional place, so it wasn't a place I could have gone to even if I had the opportunity. In any event, at some point the Indonesian island of Bali became Bali Ha'i for me. (In James Michener's novel Tales of the South Pacific, on which South Pacific was based, Bali Ha'i was apparently based on the island of Aoba in Vanuatu.)

After leaving Australia, Lorraine and I spent three days in Singapore and then flew on to Bali. I first visited Bali in 1987 with Kara and then revisited in 2005. Having traveled quite a lot after 1987, and always fearing that revisits are seldom as exciting as the first, I had worried that Bali would disappoint when I arrived in 2005. I need not have. I was again enchanted, enough so that Lorraine caught my enthusiasm. And so here we are.

Bali, just 8 degrees south of the equator and only 150km by 120km in size, is home to 3.2 million people. All the major islands of Indonesia are quite unique one to each other, linguistically, culturally, ethnically. Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world and the world's most populous Muslim-majority country. But Bali, just one of the 17,508 islands that make up this country, stands out as almost 95% of Balinese are Hindu.

Putting Out Morning Offering. Ubud, Bali.

Balinese Hinduism is apparently a mélange of Indian Hinduism and Buddhism, with a dollop of animistic traditions of indigenous peoples thrown in. What one sees is none of the caste differentiations one sees in India (although castes do exist), but rather the sweetest most gentle rituals of religious devotion. Every morning and every evening, offerings are placed in countless small temples, niches, doorways, on the handlebars of motorbikes, or any other place where I presume they think necessary. Throughout the day women and children can be seen making the hundreds of banana leaf offering 'dishes' which are to be faithfully put out. Offerings seem to consist of a dab of rice, a few bits of fruit, maybe some flowers; not much, seeming to ensure the people don't go short. Or the gods don't get fat.

Another interesting aspect of Balinese culture is that everyone is named one of four names which are based on birth order. The first born is Wayan, the second Made, then Nyoman and lastly Ketut. Regardless of sex, these are the names. If a fifth child is born, it's another Wayan. So families of three will often have three Wayans, mother, father, and first born child.

Kind Villa Bintang Resort - Bali

Gnome in Kind Villa Bintang Resort Garden

Bali endured 150 years of sometimes bloody occupation by the Dutch, ending in 1949. This was followed by more than a decade of internal conflict which only ended in 1967 when its founding President, Sukarno, was ousted and a 'New Order' government was installed. Till then, paradise it was not. But Bali with its white sand beaches, gentle peoples, tropical climate (with year-round daily temperature an almost certain 31 degrees), and its profusion of arts, is now a magnet for tourists from all over the world. (The 2002 Bali bombing at famous Kuta Beach certainly dampened tourist enthusiasm, but new visitors are now streaming back.)

Lorraine and I first spent four days at the Kind Villa Bintang Resort in Nusa Dua Tanjung Benoa, an area full of resorts, shops and restaurants near the southern tip of Bali. We were well pleased with our digs, right on the beach, lovely large pool, great buffet breakfast and all for $45 Canadian per night. Dining out in Bali is a distinct pleasure. Service was always excellent, even in modest establishments one could expect crisp white linen and attentive servers who, we were told, had all gone to school to learn their trade. Traditional Indonesian/Balinese food, nasi goreng, sates etc. are available everywhere, of course, but so is the full gamut of international dishes. Variations on apparently the same theme, which were often on offer, were dishes called 'chicken golden blue', 'chicken gordon blue', and maybe the most popular, 'chicken goudron clue'.

We did have several tropical rain storms, the first we loved, the next not so much, and the full day one not at all. But Lorraine was in her element browsing the shops and having toe nail treatment and a massage at a nearby salon. In spite of the rain breaks I had lots of time by the pool and at the beach.

Balinese Tropical Rain Storm

After a side trip to visit neighbouring Lombok and Trawangan Islands (more coming) we spent two nights in Ubud, the artistic capital of Bali. Balinese are renowned for their diversified and sophisticated art forms ranging from music and dance to painting, carving and sculpting. We arrived in what might be charitably called a bemo, it was a wreck. We were dropped off on Monkey Forest Road. At 7:30PM. In the dark. In an absolute downpour. And without a reservation. We had been unable to make a reservation from Gili Trawangan, so while Lorraine relaxed in a restaurant, I braved the deluge to find a place to stay. Our preferred choice, Sania's House, was full. But after stubbing my big toe in the dark, and with the help of the young guy at Sania's, fortunately we found a room at the neighbouring Sayong Guest House. Lorraine makes few demands on our travels, but a good bed is essential for her. Unfortunately, as charming and attractive as Sayong was, the bed wasn't. However we did stay the two nights, Lorraine helped in her sleep by the two pillows she travels with.

Full of art, carving, fabric, handicraft shops, and countless temples, many almost overtaken with moss and tropical plants, Ubud deserves much more time than the one full day we spent there. I have posted a few pictures to flickr hopefully they catch a bit of the flavour.

Street Life. Ubud, Bali.

Lorraine & Friend

Vespa in Ubud, Bali.

Sayong Guest House, Ubud.

On to Lombok

A Lombok Local

But instead of staying in Bali we had caught the ferry across the Lombok Strait which separates Lombok from Bali. This deep strait crosses what is known as the Wallace Line, named after Alfred Wallace who first noted the difference in the fauna of two major ecosystems, Indomalyan and Australasia, which the strait divides. Although not a long distance, it took us from 7:00AM until 3:00PM to get to the resort town of Senggigi where we were to spend two nights.

There are basically three ways to get to Lombok: by air, by the Gili Cat (a fast ‘ferry’ to Gili Trawangan and then to Lombok), or by the regular car/truck ferry from Padang Bai on Bali to Lembar the terminal on Lombok. We chose the latter and the trip was a bit of an adventure. Maybe ordeal is a better term. Our pre-arranged taxi did not show up, so at the last moment we had to take a meter taxi. We did arrive at the Padang Bai ferry terminal just before 9:00AM, on time, and soon had our tickets. But boarding involved humping our bags up two ships staircases, almost steep enough to be called ladders. It was an uneventful but seemingly long five hour crossing. After humping the bags back down, at Lembar we were met by the usual rabble of taxi drivers, all shouting to get fares. We did select one and by the time we arrived in Senggigi and checked into Graha Hotel, we were two tired travellers.

The famous dog - but white.

Handsome Chanticleer Rooster.

Smaller than Bali, some 70km side to side, top to bottom, Lombok with 3 million people has only slightly fewer inhabitants. Like Bali, it is lush and tropical. Also like Bali, it has an active volcano. Unlike Bali, the people of Lombok are almost entirely Sasak, akin to the Balinese but unlike them in that they practice Islam. There are reportedly 1,000 mosques on Lombok (‘mosskees’ as our taxi driver called them). This decidedly gives Lombok a different character. The 5:00AM call to prayer is guaranteed to be heard no matter where you are staying. And the streams of young men heading off to noon prayer, prayer rugs slung over their shoulders is a memorable sight. But really the most visible difference between the two islands is the horse carts that are still being used in Lombok. There are thousands of them, all brightly painted, canopies on top, and all pulled by little ponies. Along with the horses, goats, cows, some donkeys, chickens, ducks, and lots of dogs are everywhere. Lorraine is quite fascinated by the dogs. She recently saw a TV program on dogs. Apparently all dogs can be traced to the original breed in Egypt, but these dogs are direct descendants of them. Stocky, about 16" high, usually jersey-cow brown, and they seldom bark. The most distinguishing characteristic, though, is their tail which curls up almost in a complete circle over their back. On the other hand, I am taken by the handsome roosters which strut about like chanticleer, white and black feathers, bright red comb and black tail. At 5:00AM when they compete with the muslim call to prayer, I'm not quite so fond of them.

More Lombok Locals

Lombok has struggled to be an alternative to Bali as a destination for surfers, tourists and travellers. We had a comfortable hotel in Senggigi, but evidence of economic difficulties are everywhere, closed shops and boarded up buildings. One sign said it all, I thought, ‘For Sale, Bangkrupt’. We spent one day and two nights on Lombok using our one day to take a tour with our new good friend Afung and his friend Iwen in his Isuzu. We toured around Materam, the capital, visited Sukarara a small Sasak village full of weavers, and then visited Lingsar, a combination Hindu/Muslim temple. It is surely a rarity, but it does reflect the fact that Balinese Hindus ruled Lombok until the Dutch arrived after which it became Muslim. Our guide around the temple, Jahar, was a Muslim but he took pains to tell us “not fanatic”.

Sukarara Village Lady

Typical Housing, Sukarara

Rambutan Seller, Lombok

Lingsar Temple, Lombok

Offerings at Lingsar Temple

Lingsar doors looking out

Lingsar doors looking in

Graha Hotel Pool

Sukarara Village Lady

Sukarara Lady at Village Well


Lorraine in local attire, Sukarara

Linsgar Temple Gate

Market Seller, Lombok

Gili Trawangan

The next morning we left for Gili Trawangan, one of three very small islands off the northwest coast of Lombok. Tourists and travelers regularly refer to them as the Gilis, but in fact ‘gili’ in Sasak means ‘island’ so it’s a bit of double speak. Trawangan is somewhat more developed than the other two Gilis, Menos and Air, and so most people end up there. The sky was overcast and the wind quite blustery for our crossing in a small outrigger boat, so it was quite rough, but veterans of many crossings to Savary we both managed the one hour trip with no difficulty.

On arrival we engaged a horse cart (there are no cars whatsoever on the Gilis) and in short order we had checked out a few places to stay, settling on Samba Sea View Villas. Owned by a young local couple, Sam and Saba, it had just opened two months prior and it was lovely. Right on the beach, a nice little pool, comfortable bed, who could ask for more? Well, fresh water showers for one, and Samba has it, whereas most places on Trawangan do not. Also Samba had a backup generator that kicked in any time the island power went down. And that was regularly and often.

There are only 1,700 inhabitants on the island (two mosskees) and usually thousands of tourists. But Trawangan defines laid back. With only horse carts and bicycles, lots of good restaurants, white sand beaches, excellent snorkelling (though the water was too rough while we were there), it is no surprise that so many make the trek here. With no police on the island, one popular item on many menus is ‘bloody fresh magic mushrooms’. They can be ordered many ways, in omelettes, on pizzas, I have even seen magic mushroom milkshakes offered.

After four days of lolling on the beach, that ended our time on Trawangan, and after the two nights in Ubud, so ended our trip. It has been great traveling with Lorraine, she is a wonderful companion and she really does make few demands. And she has been insistent on paying her half, she is regularly withdrawing money from ATM’s. I know it is to be sure she has enough money, but I also know she takes considerable pleasure in getting the receipt that shows she has a balance of several million ($1Cdn is worth 11,000 Indonesian rupees).

So, Bali Ha’i? Well no, as I said, it does not exist. But Bali is a wonderful substitute. And Bali Ha’i beer is available everywhere in Bali and Lombok, and we did have more than a few. I hope you are all well.

Merv.