Journey to Bali (7.): How do you live on the island of the gods?

23. 01. 2019
6th international conference of exopolitics, history and spirituality

Our Western world certainly has many advantages. From a material point of view, we can say that we have enough. The less the world on the Island of the Gods is full of supermark, it is all the more dominated by the ever-present magical nature and, above all, the spirituality that will penetrate you in the first minutes of the capital city…

This article is probably the last one to write with my legs on the ground or rather in the country behind seven mountains and seven oceans - in Bali. :) I'm coming home to Prague tomorrow. But it will certainly not be the last line of what it is. There is still a lot of things that I would love to tell you, whether in the articles I have written so far, and in the videos we will be making on this trip.

It is three weeks that have passed like water or rather that frequent rain. I was afraid of how I could handle it, and now I don't even want to go home. It's beautiful! There is great energy that has helped me to change my mind on a lot of things, to make a difference in myself - to relax from old life programs - to be a little further away ...

And so in this narration, let me introduce you to the life of the indigenous people I have encountered during those few weeks. As you already know, it is not just about beautiful nature, nice beaches and temples in important places… There is also a lot about the community of people who live here and make a wonderful synergy with the Island of Gods - the interplay of friendship, of joy, love and harmony…

There are a number of villages in Bali, which mainly focus on artistic activity. They are mainly in the southern and central parts of the island. Thanks to the local natives and great guides in one person who took us, we have come to all the key places of artistic industry.

Village of Batuan: painting

Painting in Bali has undergone significant evolution. It was and still is fundamentally influenced by Western painters who have found their new home in Bali. Surely, there are mixed regional and mythical archetypes that have deep roots in the history of the island, as well as modern Western elements. This creates new styles and artistic procedures that breathe with its complete originality and the freshness of ubiquitous positive energy. Works of art also capture everyday life and tourism.

The best-known local works are made up of shades of gray carbon, which are now accompanied by red-hot moments. Frequent motifs are then a bird Jalak Bali time Gunung Agung with the morning sunrise.

Local painter Raja, originating from the Baltic island of Ubudu, was known for its openness and friendliness to tourists. Thanks to him Ubudu became the center of the artists who stayed there. There are three museums in Ubudu where you can see the art of painting both local and foreign artists.

Celuk village: processing of gold and silver

Celuk is a frequently visited tourist destination, because here local people are processing gold and silver for beautiful jewelry. They are truly exceptional professionals with a sense of artistic rendering of ornaments and symbols that once again refer to the local genius locy, even though they have also undergone a peculiar development.

Everything started with a group of Slamoande families and a desire… Their activity grew and from their picturesque village growers became producers - jewelers. Thanks to them, at first the small social group and the area itself changed from a growing place to a place full of art with an undisguised emphasis on tourism. As a result, the region of Ubud has become, especially around the villages of Celuk and Kuta, the areas with the highest income per population in Bali. Celuk Village is strategically located 5 km from Denpasar on the way to Gianyar.

Besides Celuk, there is also Batubulan, which is famous especially for the Barong dances and the masters of the stonemasons who have a great control over their sculptural craft.

 

Village Tohpati: batikování

For me, one of the most beautiful encounters with contemporary art and culture in Bali was in the village of Tohpati; a village whose domain is batikování. They paint different textures and objects of mythology or create ceremonial (ritual) robes.

They first paint the pencil patterns on the canvas, then the individual lines draw wax, and then the fabric is dyed. It's a very detailed hand job! Once everything has been processed, it goes to wash to wash the wax from the plate. The finished product can be purchased directly on site.

Watching the production of batik was a beautiful and wonderful experience.

Agriculture
The main crop in Bali is clearly rice. It is grown almost everywhere, whether on straight fields or terraced fields on the slopes of hills. You can get rice here to eat in all possible ways. You will often encounter that the fields are cultivated manually with minimal use of mechanization. It feels the human approach ...

I am a vegetarian and I must say that I was completely captivated by the great variety of exotic fruits. Dozens of new flavors reminiscent of sometimes known things from home with a pinch of something unexpected. Fruit salads, roasted bananas and or smoothie drinks I love! :)

Fruit is really big enough. All you have to do is walk down the main street and you'll find a large selection booth at almost every corner. An interesting experience was to taste local bananas. Not only is the variety of species more varied, but they are really much tastier than those I know from home. It cannot be described, it must be experienced! :)

On the other hand, if you like to eat vegetable salads, then you will pay for it. In restaurants or hotel canteens, this is the food for those more expensive.

How to live in Bali
We bought one batiked tablecloth and scarf worth about 700000 IDR. The Bali 30 staff will be at this cost. The average daily wage is 36 CZK / person. Compared to our circumstances, people can earn a very small income in the amount of 50 CZK / day. Government officials or hotel employees earn from 130 CZK to 220 CZK / day. Taxi drivers here seem the best. Their income is around 1320 CZK / day.

The view of the tourist can be very cheap in Bali. On average, 10000 CZK should be enough for a month (roughly 6000000 IDR - and now you are millionaires :)). It is certainly dependent on the location and also depends a lot on whether you know where to shop and have an idea of ​​prices. He has to bargain everywhere. The differences are great.

For example, bottled water in a store costs from 5000 IDR to 25000 IDR. Beware of local retailers in the markets. They sell cocoa for IDR 160000, but the fair value for which you can buy it is IDR 10000. So really bargain, bargain and don't be afraid to set your own prices! :)

 

People in Bali

They are very grateful and smiling. From the waiter through the cleaning lady or the vendor in the booth. They are very patient and humble. Also inventive and some of the best drivers for me! ;)

Surely here you can come across busy vendors especially when you are out of the main tourist season.

Their surrender to the gods is so real and absolutely natural. Every day they worship the gods by giving only small sacrifices. Everyone has their place where they go to give tribute to higher beings. Those richer have their smaller temples near their homes. Ceremonies are their daily bread.

Only natives can enter the local temples. In every part of Bali some rules of rituals differ ...

Ubiquitous garbage

Maybe everything is balanced in some way. On the one hand, this world is full of beauty in love and harmony, on the other hand, it suffers greatly from Western influences with which the locals do not know so much. It is a lot to be seen on the ubiquitous plastic wrapping, which usually rolls somewhere in the mainstream seclusion, but also on beaches or lush vegetation. Local people are not used to plastic. They do not understand that they will decay for decades and that, unlike bio-waste, plastics will not get rid of them. In short, plastics are rolling everywhere. :(

I asked myself what they were doing, whether they cared about it, and whether they were going to deal with it somehow. I understand that they do not see it as their problem because they can not. One said to me: "This is coming from another world - it is washed out by the sea or from neighboring islands." They are partly right. The sea is landfilled. The glittering plastic islands really exist! I saw them and it was really scary.

I was very sorry when I walked along the otherwise beautiful beach where heaps of plastic waste were heaping. All the more sad was the fact that several plastic bags were stuck on my feet trying to swim in the sea. Like from a plastic horror movie. Of course it's not just Bali! It's a global problem. It applies to all of us… We cannot imagine the life cycle of things we create.

The good news is that at the turn of the year 2018 / 2019, more and more states and business corporations joined the initiative to limit or totally ban disposable plastic packaging. Typically, it's about sachets, plastic bags, cutlery and plates. Everything can be replaced with things that you can use more than once.

Plastics have become a major domain for the last few decades. Yet we have been able to overwhelm our planet in such a short time. The impact on the environment, the life of the animals in the sea, and so on us, the people themselves is huge ...!

Journey to Bali

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