Bali - Java stereotypes

Feeling like zombie today I dragged myself down to the gym and sweated away on the running machine. Nothing like sucking in air and getting the old circulation moving. Many people hate gyms and I can understand why, but I still think more people in Bali should do exercise. There is definitely a pattern, where I will meet a pretty young waitress, or handsome waiter, and 2-3 years later they have put on 20-30lbs and look like crap.

Boredom and sitting around all day eating nasty goreng, is going to give you a figure like someone 20 years older.

Today after my session was finished I strolled down the street to get a glass of carrot, beetroot, ginger juice, to cleanse my insides. While there I chatted to a young Balinese waitress and we started talking about food. She gave me the tip that there is a great warung in Tuban, which is very cheap. Its located in the small gang across from Supernova. She told me that most Balinese like padang food as it is almost the same as Balinese food. She said the Javanese food isn’t so good and that Javanese people have some strange ways. Very interested to learn about these, I let her tell me the differences between Bali and Java. She said that the Javanese wash their clothes in a bucket, then use the same bucket to wash the food. “Its okay for you to eat the rice that the Javanese sell, because it will go straight through you.” she said, “but you can never give that rice as an offering to the Gods, not even one time.”

She went on to tell me Javanese use cheap chickens that died of natural causes, instead of fresh healthy ones, and for good measure that they are responsible for all the litter (the beach right now is a disaster after the remnants of Cyclone Glenda).

Interesting little insight into local prejudices.