Palamariu Family Blog

When we left on our trip, hardly did we know what experiences awaited us. It is not to say that now we feel we know better, but at least we have an idea. And it is quite different than that of a trip of one week or even one month. Thinking back on when I was working and used to take a holiday, I would take at least 2-3 months to plan in detail. Well, a trip for one year can hardly be planned the same way…or you would get biggg headaches.

Why am I thinking of this? Well, because we are just 4 days away from our next destination. And I am a bit melancholic as I reflect on how time has past since we first arrived in Indonesia. It was beginning of November 2009. And our habit of being very procedural with organizing our time, with organizing small trips and meeting different people was sooooo strong. We were on a schedule. Too little things were left to chance. “This is the way we are”, we were thinking back then as we took time before going to sleep to be grateful for all he little things we were experiencing.

But from then until now it seems like years have passed by. And this has a lot to do with our Bali experience. At the beginning, there were 2 weeks in which we wanted just to explore. And this was exactly the prelude in which Bali seduced our senses:
- our sight with the beauty of the landscapes, bright traditional clothing and the shiny smiles on people’s faces
- our hearing with the day and night concert of the gheko and chichak lizards accompanied by the chorus of insects and the sound of the gamelan in ceremony days
- our smell with the powerful aroma of flowers, incense and jungle in the rainy days
- our taste with the delicious foods at Dewa Warung, Mangga Madu, Sari organic and the numerous Padang Warungs

And it was no wonder that, following this, we followed our senses and came back to Bali once again. This time for 2 months. And now, looking back on those months, if I am to reflect on what are the most important memories I will store in my memory luggage, there are certain places, people and experiences that I have already reserved a very special place:

Dewa Warung- the restaurant where we feasted on mouth watering vegetarian meals. And especially the best dessert in the world: the coconut pie!
Our numerous lunches and dinners here were moments of sharing thoughts, emotions, happiness, new discoveries and experiences with travelers all across the world. As there are long tables with benches you are “forced” to stay next to people you do not know. And even if you just want to have a chat with your husband, your neighbor will still start talking to you, ask if you like your food or try to guess your nationality. Plus, almost all the backpackers stop at Dewa if for nothing else, they will buy a coconut pie “bunkus” (take away in Indonesian)

Dewa Warung

The wonder of getting up in the clear morning and taking a walk in the rice paddies. In the distance, you can spot the massive volcanoes at 40 kms away, framing the landscape on both sides, and making you feel really small as you trek off the beaten path.

Rice paddies & mont Agung

The Let Go and Go with the flow feelings. Probably they are not useful in all circumstances, but I sure needed to experience them!

Because in the process of growing up, i had developed preferences for a certain clothes, foods, i had became attached to the things I owned and the places I felt comfortable in. The Let Go feeling offered me a new perspective; it’s quite useful especially when traveling and the sequence of events “discover”, “find the comfort”, “head to a new destination” happens frequently. For me it’s just a new way to manifest my freedom.

Whilst the Go with the flow state of mind taught me that using the system to manifest my dreams is much more relaxing and less energy consuming than when I viciously fight against it. It may be a bit generic, but there are so many practical applications.
Simple example: the rules in Bali traffic. One can overtake on both sides. Honking equals signaling. You are responsible only for what happens in your front so nobody looks behind when changing directions. You need to pay constant attention to motorbikes rushing towards you on your own line as well as the dogs sleeping in the middle of the road. Not to mention the black holes in the asphalt that if you are not careful can swallow you and the bike altogether. Now, of course, you can chose to be frustrated, start honking like crazy or “bless” everybody with a curse (which would probably be normal in Romania), but what good would that be? Just go with the flow!

The thundering waterfall in which we immersed and swam and got hypnotized by how beautiful nature can be.

Waterfall

The pitch black sand beach, as soft as a pillow, with surfers riding the waves.

Black sand beach

The wonderful people we met and the community of friends we built around Kubu Merta villa and with which we organized countless events: salsa lessons, movie nights, jam sessions, laughing yoga, karaoke, full moon party, etc.  (We miss you guys!!)

Elsha and Phil, our lovely hosts, who inspired us with their forever young spirit and their playful way of being, not to mention their incredible life stories.

Reading all this, you can probably imagine why Bali is still on our list for 2010. We are coming back with Radu’s parents in August!!

As for now, we have begun the moral and physical preparation for India!

You might be wondering why we have been so quiet on the blog in the last week. I am going to reveal the mystery: we have been exploring the artistic side that hides in our psychologist and engineer soul.

Given the fact we live in Ubud, a small town in Bali world renown for its artistic life, we knew that sooner or later we had to draw our attention towards art. And it all started with the coming of Menno and his djembes in Kubu Merta. Since then, there has been no day without music!
The visitors and even the staff in the villa are drawn by the djembes like a magnet!

Menno was also our teacher, explaining to us how to use the drums, as well as sharing with us the story of how they are built. We had several improv evenings in which we left ourselves carried away by the rhythm and the joy of the sounds and beats. It was great to notice how, after a while, counting the beats for a certain piece harmonized with feeling the rhythm and coordinating the hands!

As Kubu Merta welcomes professional drummers as well as beginners, 3 days before Christmas we had a jam session in which everybody was involved. Some pictures are available here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/CristinaSiRadu/SikhPerformanceAtKubuMerta#

Aside from music, we have also been exploring trash art: creating objects out of waste and decorating them! Together with Anna and Esther, we created Christmas decorations out plastic bottles, carton and lids. Our art was exposed in the lobby of the villa and admired by the visitors, as well as participants in the Christmas party. You can see it here: http://picasaweb.google.com/CristinaSiRadu/TrashArtWorkshop#

Remaining in the domain of painting, we also participated to a highly successful exhibition by Manacika Art Gallery, with the paintings of Indonesian painter Nanang Lugonto. Nanang also gave a demonstration in which he created on the spot the painting of one of the dancers who was performing on stage traditional Balinese moves.
More pictures here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/CristinaSiRadu/ManacikaPaintingExhibition#

All these artistic activities enriched and embellished my heart! Looking forward to our next experiences of this type!

Since we got asked this question several times, we thought it might be useful to give a more detailed description of how it can be done.

And because we just finished a one month stay in Indonesia, here is the list of our expenses:

Visas: 64 euro
Transportation:
a)    Round trip tickets Singapore-Bali: 160 euro
b)    In Bali: 90 euro (includes all the taxi, boats, rental of motorbikes)
Food: 125 euro
Accommodation: 70 euro
Activities: 50 euro (including Internet, snorkeling, massages, etc)
Luggage items: 10 euro

Total: 569 euro

Observations:
-    Regarding internal transportation, you can spend a lot less if you chose to stay in one place
-    In terms of accommodation, we ended up paying for 2 weeks of our stay. Had we used CouchSurfing for all the days, we could have avoided those expenses.
-    Food expenses also can go down even more once you stay longer in one place, as you begin  to learn the cheap places to go

Some more random prices from Indonesia:
1 kg of bananas: 0.4 euro
1 kg papaya: 0.2 euro
1 beer: 1.3 euro
Dinner out in a normal restaurant: 2 euro
1 l of petrol: 0.33 euro
Haircut: 1.5 euro
One night budget accommodation: 5 euro
Renting a motorbike for one day: 4 euro
Street food enough for one meal: 0.5 euro

So, realising that it doesn’t really take a lot of money to travel, when are you coming over?

Healer blessing water

Happy smiley people, with flowers in their hair…temples popping up like mushrooms after the rain in almost each household…daily offerings to the Gods…mystical ceremonies, trance dances and holy mantras…experiencing all this, who would say that Bali is not a mystical place?

But even more, because of Elsha, we had the opportunity to get in touch with another side of Bali mysticism: the healers!

Now, they could not be more different that western doctors. Bali healers rely in their practice mostly on direct connection with God. Most of them live a simple life, meditate and make sure they think good thoughts to keep the connection.
This way they get guidance and know exactly what herbs and oilments to give to their patients.

And the results they seem to get are quite amazing!
Herman, Elsha’s neighbour, had his pelvis bone broken. After going to a healer, he could walk again.
Issac had totally shattered his hand in a bike accident, breaking the bones in five places. He went to a healer who put the bones back in place and gave him a special oil to rub his hand. In 2 days!! he could use it again.

While I was still very skeptical, as I heard all these stories, I thought to try it out myself. So that I could have a more objective opinion.
Therefore, together with Elsha and Phil, I went to Agun, a healer who is able to get in direct contact with the Gods and use their energy to help people. He can also ask the Gods on any question or problem you may have.

So, especially since it was not easy to reach the healer, as they are not commercial and somebody from the village needs to take you to them, I was looking forward to the encounter.

“How is my health?” was my first question.
“You sometimes have a stomach ache because you eat too late in the evening”, came the answer.
True, but pretty general. How many people out there get stomach aches when they eat late?

So, not convinced, i continued: “Can you ask the Gods about my emotional well being?”
“You should relax more”, Agun slowly told me. “You want to do too many things in a very short time. The Gods suggest you should take it easier.”
Now, this was quite accurate. I do want to do a lot of stuff and sometimes get stressed. But it is also general. How many other people in western societies do that?

So, I asked one more question: “How is my parents health?”
“Your father has problems with his stomach when he is stressed and he cannot sleep. And your mother has ticklish feet because of circulation problems. She also sometimes has waterish eyes”
And, as I later found out upon asking my parents, the answer was quite accurate again. And this time, also much more specific.

As it was getting quite late, I had to stop with the questions.

But one thing is for sure: I am now more likely to believe that stories about some of the healers in Bali are true. And that some of them can connect to some sort of energy (or God! Or whatever way you want to call it) and use it to heal and help people.

PS. If you had any similar experiences, feel free to leave a comment.

As we left Lombok Island having had plenty of wonderful experiences, we got to Bali with the expectation that it can only be at least as good. And so far, it sure turns out to be like it!

We are currently staying in Ubud, the cultural and spiritual center of Bali, at Kubu Merta Guest House. It is a very special place, ran by Elsha and Phil, an American couple who had moved in from Hawai!  They are two special people, very young in spirit (even if they are in their seventies), who currently use the Guest House to host Couch Surfers!

Just to give you an idea, here are some pictures:

Yes, I know! It is like heaven! And what was even funnier was that, before coming to Bali, Radu was telling me that he would go to a 5 star hotel to ask for free accommodation. And now, at Kubu Merta, even if we hardly expected it, we HAVE it!

Also, one other great thing: we are currently 11 couch surfers here. An international community in its own right, with people who share the passion to travel and experience new cultures.

And also, because of Elsha, who is an artist and a very creative person, we even did a painting workshop together. On chairs!

Before, I never imagined that a chair can be a work of art! But know I know it is possible. Not to mention the process was incredibly fun. Each of us got to bring our contribution. With no plan. Just a flow of creativity. Somebody drew a circle. Then somebody else added some colourful tiny dots. And the more creative we got, the most ideas starting flowing!

And the result of mixing creativities rooted in different cultures:

Smiles

As you know, one of the goals of our trip is to do volunteering work in each of the countries we go to. Therefore, full of curiosity, we have been searching for such opportunities in Indonesia. And, realizing that when we know what we are looking for, opportunities cannot take long to appear, here is the story of our first volunteering experience at Peduli Anak- Lombok.

To give you some background information, Peduli Anak (in Indonesian: children care) is a foundation which hosts 60 kids. They come from very poor families, many of them taken from living on the street or in landfills. With their parents agreement, Peduli Anak takes the responsibility of offering these children a better future, give them access to education and better living conditions.
They have clean shelters, well taken care of and painted in bright, joyful colors that jump into your eyes from far away. There are special rooms for sports activities, as well as for learning to use a computer. The children have a daily routine, which includes praying 5 days a day, going to classes as well as playing. Peduli Anak also offers the children with a high IQ the possibility to go to private schools.

Regarding our volunteering, we got involved in the children’s play time. Therefore, we played several games with them. The purpose: teach them English! And they were actually very good. For example, as we played mime with them, we were surprised to hear how many words in English they actually knew already. Not to mention that their enthusiasm and energy were so contagious, that we quickly became good friends.

So, with this experience, we had the chance to revisit the fascinating world of being a child once again, with lots of playful and curious smiles, joy and fun. I must admit: I really missed the child in me!

Peduli Anak offered us an amazing present: energy and enthusiasm, hope and inspiration, and the happiness to rediscover childhood!

“Hello! Want some sun glasses mister?”
As a tourist in Indonesia, you get this a lot. Okey, maybe not always sun glasses. But guarantee, if you take a short walk down the street, there will be at least a couple of people trying to sell you something.

And I tell you, it can get pretty frustrating.

Plus, apart from selling, they stare at you!
I remember on my first ever visit to Indonesia, in Padang (very remote place with hardly any tourists), people used to look straight at me as if I was some weird creature!
And they even wanted to take pictures of me. Individuals, families, and even a group of 30 school children have me in their photo albums.

This used to get me pretty annoyed as well.
You know, I wanted my personal space. I wanted to be left alone!

Okey, but why am I telling all this?
Well, because after the past few days of staying in Lombok, I got it: they really don’t have bad intentions!
They are just either very curious and in some cases have never seen a white man before. (come to think about it, if a black guy would go into a village in Romania, he would probably be stared at as well!)

Or, if they always try to sell you something and sometimes ask huge prices, it is largely because they have a big family at home to feed. And some of them live on less than 2 dollars a day. So, no wonder tourists to them are “walking wallets”!

Therefore, with this understanding, I came to a state of acceptance. Or, TII (This Is Indonesia)!
And, I guess, I became a better tourist.

Now, even as people stare and try to sell me things, I can still enjoy a walk on the street.

Accept them.

Smile and say “Hello!”

And move on!

If you are like us, probably not!
But having talked to a few expats in Lombok, here are some interesting facts regarding expense we found out:

-          With 250$/month you can rent a villa with 7 rooms in Mataram, the capital city of Lombok (true, it is not as luxurious as Klaus’s villa, but still!)
-          For 750$/month you can pay for all the expenses (rent, food, schooling, bills, etc) for a family of 8
-          The cost to have a maid in your house can be as little as 50$/month
-          A massage is 2-6 dollars. (and the masseuse will come to your home!)
-          Being a Muslim country, Indonesia’s image in the world is not that good, therefore the Government is making efforts to attract foreign talent. As a result quite a lot of the expats have salaries ranging between 8k to 12k US$

Obviously, there are things that are missing. Like a good health system. Then again, Singapore or Australia are two hours by plane away.

Also, the education system is lacking. This can be compensated by a number of private English schools for expats, where the education level is significantly higher.

How about the social life? Well, in Lombok alone there are a couple of thousands expats living. So there is plenty of this as well. Not taking into account that the local people are quite friendly and you can have a great time with them!

Therefore, taking all this into account, plus the fact that in Europe/US/Australia the cost of living is way higher and for less services, this country offers an incredible quality of life.

So, how about living in Indonesia?

We are for sure thinking about it…:)

Remember our previous post on CouchSurfing? Well, we just had our first hand experience: couch surfing with Klaus in Lombok!

Klaus must have the BEST place in town. Here are some pictures:

Klaus's Villa

Klaus's Swimming Pool

Klaus

But more importantly, Klaus was a GREAT host. Together with his lovely friends, Brian and Helen, they gave us plenty of valuable advice on the culture and mindset of the people in Indonesia.

And as a spicy detail, one of the funniest things they taught us was the phrase: T.I.I. -  This Is Indonesia! The phrase is used to describe anything too hard to comprehend by a foreigner. An example: in a bar, because the door was too small to fit the coke machine, they demolished a wall to get it in. Afterwards, they built the wall back again. TII!

If you are white, you are in the centre of attention. People look at you with curiosity, appreciation and especially the interest to sell you something. They are very friendly (even too friendly for what an European would be used to). When you walk on the street, almost everybody says “Hello!!” and smiles broadly.

Also, when it comes to business, everything has a tax on “skin colour” . White people can be charged even 10 times more. Auchhhhh! If you bargain, you may be lucky enough to only pay twice as much as the normal price.

In terms of the culture of Indonesian people, it is very much rooted in the present. They live only in the moment. So much as they have no past or future tense. And this can be easily noticed in their day to day life. They do not plan. Even in small things, like filling their tank with petrol. They tend to do it on the last minute. Just before running out of gas. And sometimes it is too late. That’s why you can sometimes see people pushing their motorbikes on the side of the road until the next gas station. In Indonesia, this is called taking your bike for a walk!

Moreover, since Indonesia is after all the biggest Muslim country in the world, the dream of most people is to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca and become a Haji. Being a Haji is a social status. As important as becoming a “sir” in England. Therefore even if most Indonesians are dirt poor (some earning less than 2-3 dollars a day), they would do anything to get it. Even if that means selling all their belongings to pay the cost of the trip!!

Nevertheless, even if they don’t have much, they are generally happy people. It is common to come across people having fun, telling jokes and laughing loudly on the side of the road. And when it is raining outside, it is just quite a sight to see children running around naked, happily diving in the mud and splashing each other!