Today is Galungan, the most important day of the year for the Balinese.
There are a lot of businesses closed today including one of my favourites, Café Moka on Jl. Seminyak. I know the staff are all Balinese and they will be busy visiting their villages and taking part in the celebrations.
I rode around the corner from my house to Jl. Oberoi and ate at The Bakery. A choclatine, jam croissant and coffee cost me 20,000rp. The Bakery is aimed at foreigners and serves a range of bakery items along with a small lunch selection, they also stock cheeses and hams.
Riding downtown I could see the streets were way quieter than a usual Wednesday with penjors dangling at the side of the streets.
On Poppies II some places had signs up for the holiday, other stayed open hoping for a sale. I think businesses that need a lot of staff have the hardest time staying open obviously.
The staff at Circle K were in traditional outfits and told me they were heading off after work to join their families and enjoy babi guling and lawar, the famous dishes. Babi guling means ‘suckling pig’ which is roasted. Lawar is a spicy mixture of rice, pork, salt, pepper, blood etc.
Lunch today was a cap cay at Bamboo Corner on Poppies I. Cap cay ( chap chay ) is a Chinese style dish of steamed vegetable ( cabbage, chili, carrots, peppers and odd bits of chicken etc. in a light sauce. Served with steamed rice mine cost 8,500rp and was good. Koming and Nyoman were color co ordinated and looking forward to getting out of work. Their families live close by and they were excited that it was Galungan.
The beach at Pantai Kuta was fairly busy with tourists, weather was lovely up until about 4pm and I stopped by Bali Learn To Surf to check on them. They were closed to which maybe was a good thing as I was tinkering with the idea of grabbing a board and going for it.
I bumped into Aussie surf legend Paul Callahan in Kuta and he told me he had just gotten over a massive fever. Apparently there’s a virus going around and it’s the wet season that’s the cause. Paul said he got sick after a soaking on the motorbike and not changing into dry clothes. For surfers in Bali looking for a high end board you might check out PC surfboards in the shops.
The nightlife scene here in Kuta nad on Jl. Dhyana Pura is still going strong although the actual tourist level is down because of the season.
[This article should have been posted yesterday but technical difficulties prevented it.]
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Sama dariku Nick. Menikmati liburan ini
Ha ha Barrie, you had me rushing to my kamus and it wasn’t anything saucy!!
Angie, I am a good boy!. Innocence flows through my veins, virtue and goodness are my best friends.
…and I can bullshit with the best of them.
O begitu Barrie?? Saya tidak tunggu bertimu dengan anda!!
G’Day Nick,
Ahh, the one who knows me eh!.
Hi Angie,
Saya harap suatu hari kami akan ketemu. Mungkin di Bali. Barangkali tahun ini. Saya harap begitu.
Tentu saja Barrie dan Cantika, saya harap juga.
I can see, keeping the kamus beside the computer is going to be essential from now on!! I am teaching myself so it is very difficult without some one to practise with. I was in Perth in December and found a great little bookshop (All Foreign Languages book shop in William St, I think??) I found a really funny book called “Making out in Indonesian” It has some really colloqial sayings and even a whole chapter on Street Fighting!! Sure I will need that one! Birani lu sama aku?? Tolong betul saya!!
Hey Angie,
FL Bookshop in William street. Do you live in Perth?. If so perhaps the three of us could meet up one day for coffee
Barrie,
Angie tinggal di Melbourne!!!
Sama saya..
CIAO!
It is the W/end….Yippee off to a Brazillian (not bikini) festival at Federation square on Sunday… A band called Dili Allstars are playing they are FUNKY!!!! Tomorrow I will be staring at our newest appliance wondering how to use it, which arrives tomorrow… A new washing machine!!!!! aaaaaH! Have a great weekend to one & all….
Hi Tracey,
Wow!..what a coincidence!. Yaitu, we have a William Street here in Perth AND there is a Foreign Language Bookshop there. SPOOKY!
New washing machine?…I just use a rock!
Barrie, its not so spooky, I was in Perth. My business partner/best friend lives there, so I am sure we could catch up next (business??) trip but I would much rather do it in Bali!! You have been very quiet about the lovely Candika. Is this her first trip to Oz? What are her impressions?
Hi Angie,
At last I can understand how you have got hooked on the baliblog.I guess I had better get going with my Indonesian Language study.You are not just going to show me up on the phone with your Indo but in the blog as well.Ha ha.Great website Nick.Think I will be up all night reading it.
Hi Allie, Apa kabar (I know, you know that one!) Good to have you here, another excuse to keep in touch hey!!
Allie, WELCOME… heard abit bout you!
Hope you enjoy this addictive site!!!!
Hi Tracey.D,
Heard lots about you too.(All good.)Was great going through wedding pictures.Looks like it was w great day.Hope all is going well for you both.Be great for us all too catch up in Bali soon!!!!
Selamat Hari Raya Galungan…..
This laso should have been posted yesterday, but due to Nick’s technical difficulties, it is late…….