Bali - paradise redefined

Balinese boys relaxing by Taman Ayu Temple on a lazy Sunday afternoon

Balinese woman uses 'clapper' to scare away birds form the rice fields

Whenever I thought of an idyllic paradise, I always imagined a beautiful white sand beach with turquoise blue water. The mass media has done an excellent job painting this kind of picture for us in our minds. After visiting Bali, I've had to rethink my ideas of a tropical paradise. It doesn't just me a peaceful beach in the middle of nowhere. After experiencing the beautiful, lush greenery of Bali I've discovered a new type of tropical serenity. For miles, all you could see were these amazingly green rice fields. Despite all the beauty from these fields, I must be humbly reminded that they are not there to be merely a tourist attraction for me and the millions of people who come to Bali every year, but this is a way of life. I believe when you can make such an everyday aspect of their life into something worth visiting from across the world for, that is when you know Bali is truly special.

Rice Fields in Jatiliwalah, the largest rice terraces in Bali

Pictures from the property grounds of Tegal Sari, our hotel

Once again, coming out of the concrete jungle of Macau into the peaceful hillside town of Ubud, I was quickly refreshed by the lack of pollution and skyscrapers. The tallest building in Ubud may only be three stories high. Coming to Ubud, I knew that it was the cultural hub of Bali. From the descriptions from Elizabeth Hubert's book, Eat Pray Love, I had imagined a small little town in the jungle of Bali. She articulated described how she biked from the medicine man to the gallery to her little apartment where she collected her field work. I was actually a bit surprised when strolling through downtown Ubud and quickly realized how large it actually was. Of course the expansiveness of downtown may have been increased by the intense heat and humidity, which tends to make walking more exhausting than it actually is. Once you get off the main streets of Ubud, which is congested with motorcycles (AKA – the minivan of southeast Asia), there are many quiet alleys dotted with cozy cafes and cute boutiques. Strolling along these roads you can many friendly faces of the local Balinese people.

At the entrance way of Ubud Palace,

the former palace of Balinese royalty built in the 16th century

At Ubud Palace (I especially like the how the moss looks like in this photo)

These statues guard Ubud Palace

Do not be fooled by the quaintness of this town, there is some serious world class food in Ubud for incredibly cheap prices. Sitting in a restaurant with the same type of ambiance as Santana Row, but with the prices of eating at Applebee's (most entrees were less than 10 USD). It was safe to say that we didn't have single bad meal in Ubud. Everything from the classic roasted pig at Ibu Oka to the fancy Italian food in Terrazo to the all organic meal at Nomad - all amazingly delicious and all ridiculously cheap. I think never before had I travelled to such a place where I truly enjoyed every single meal. But also I do think it should be noted that many of the restaurants here do cater to tourists and have hired chefs from around the world to meet the American and European palate. After months of cheap and dirty Chinese food, these types of meals at such affordable prices make it such a special treat. No offense to the Macau eateries, but sometimes you don't want to sit on a plastic stool in a smoke filled 'hole in the wall' with no napkins or table cloth and questionably clean silverware...its good cheap food but sometimes you just need a change of pace without hurting your pocketbook.

The famous roasted suckling pig, a Balinese specialty, at Ibu Oka;

hoards of tourists and locals fill up this tiny eatery for lunch

(Jason you would have had a field day at this place)

Casa Luna in Ubud, Tat with his Balinese paella

Balinese BBQ, poolside at a Kuta Hotel

To get a true local experience, we even picked up super cheap street food

Tat's $10 16 oz. steak at Terrazzo, top rated restaurant in Ubud

Balinese culture is something quite unique in Southeast Asia, but I did note the physical and linguistic similarities to Filipino people. Bali's culture is quite different from the other Southeast Asian countries I visited - Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia. Despite Indonesia having the most Muslims than any other country in the world, Bali is surprisingly Hindu. The majority of the people are devout followers of the religion. Ubud is dotted with mini fruit and flower offering outside every shop and restaurant. These offerings are to appease the Hindu gods and to protect them from evil spirits that may harm their business. In addition, the temples all around Bali are not just a religious center but also a social and cultural gathering point for the entire town. With each town having at 2-3 temples and each household having a shrine, making Hindu temples is actually a pretty good business in Bali.

Main Entrance to Taman Ayu, the impressive Hindu temple in Bali

Balinese style pagodas built in the 17th century;

In the Hindu religion, the pagodas symbolize mountains because in the ancient times the Balinese had to travel high into the mountains to pray and be closer to god; with pagodas they brought the 'mountains' to the people

We were also able to better understand the Hindu religion and Balinese through the nightly cultural shows in Ubud. Many of the local villages put on a cultural show every evening to earn money for their community. For example, in the Kecak show, there were roughly 50 men from one of the surrounding villages. They all came together to perform a special Balinese show in which they imitate monkeys gestures and sounds. It was literally an orchestra of music without a single instrument - only their voices. It was incredible to see the range of ages; from 16 - 70 years old men were all pouring their hearts into the performance - and they do this every single night. With the Legong dancers, these young girls were trained at a very young age the graceful art of this special Balinese dancing. With their huge eyes, arched backs and graceful arm gestures, these girls are the eptiome of Balinese beauty. Watching these young girls performing this ancient balinese dance on stage, I felt there was this clear sense of appreciation for the arts and culture amongst the Balinese youth, as well as a sense of community unity as they earn money for their village. They understand their culture, their history, and their community...which sometimes I feel this kind of understanding, gratitude, and sense of hard work is lacking in American youth.

Legong dancers performing at Ubud Palace

Kecak performers

One thing that especially stands out in my mind is the friendliness of the Balinese, especially in Ubud. Granted I know that in a touristy place, most people must be 'friendly' in order to attract business, I felt that these people just had a generally positive, upbeat attitude towards everything without that feeling they are trying to take your money. At Tegal Sari, the exceptional service is unmatched from any other hotel I've been too. I've stayed in countless hotels all around the world from hostels to five star resorts, and Tegal Sari is in a class of its own for their amazing service. For a mere $50 bucks a night, we stayed in a Balinese wooden bungalow complete with our own patio and hot tub. Tegal Sari's service lacks the number of positive words to describe it. Their staff literally bent over background to make our every wish come true - all at an afforable price. With two dollar entrees for room service and free driver service all around Ubud, Tegal Sari is not just a hotel its an experience. When I left my umbrella in their car when they dropped us off at Legian Beach, the next day the same driver drove 3 hours to return the umbrella to me - free of charge. In addition to the service, the property is amazing. Close to the city center, it is still a quiet oasis amongst the endless rice fields and lush greenery...every shade of green that you can imagine can be found in Bali...my paradise redefined....

The middle bungalow was our lover hotspot

Our view from our patio - rice fields for as far as the eye can see

I think we should all put beds on our patios - its so great for naps in the middle of the day

Legian Beach

Japanese tourists trying to surf

Taiwan – LETS EAT!! (...and reflect on democracy)

Taiwan is still very green and lush
Views from Maokong, just outside Taipei

Going to Taiwan, I was expecting a very clean Chinese city with amazing street food. After talking to many of my colleagues, they said the main thing in Taipei is the street food. You can literally eat 24 hours a day. The accessibility of street food was very apparent. You couldn't turn a street corner without noticing it. When thinking back on our trip to Taiwan, the food is far and away the most memorable aspect. The most prevalent street food was in the street markets and boy did the boys take advantage of that; eating dinner and than proceeding to go to the night market and have another dinner at the food stalls just a couple hours after eating. For me, it was difficult to make room for so much food, but for the boys they were up for any eating challenge. They pushed each other to eat as much as possible till they were going to burst…in some instances they literally did ‘burst’ (Jason and Tat know what I mean...).

This is man filled with sheer excitement...a man and his fried chicken

If it were up to tat he would eat 10 of these fried chickens a day

Continued gorging on street food as the boys revert to OG fob squatting

I too submitted the gorging...especially when it came to the shaved milk ice

The Shilin night market is not merely vendors selling very possible knick knack imaginable, but it was a social mecca for the youth of Taipei. People from 15-25 years of age would go to the night market as a prowling ground to see and be seen. Girls would put on their full face of make up and sluttiest clothes to go to the market. The attire is similar to Vegas club attire - lots of booty shorts and fake eye lashes with dark eye make up. I found it amazing that a street market could literally become a ‘meat market’. Not only those shopping were caught up in the clubbiness of the street market, but those selling the clothes and souvenirs. The boys and I decided that these girls and guys were recruited to work the street market for their hip and super hot looks. Shopping at these stores is not quite like haggling with the old ladies in Mong Kok. Needless to say, you bring your ‘A’ game to the night markets.

Thanks to Jason for this pic of booty shorts galore in Shilin Night Market

Then again every neighborhood we visited in Taipei, I was drowning in the seemingly countless number of teenagers. It may be due to the approaching Chinese New Year holiday, but everywhere we went we were overcome with high school kids – especially in Danshui, a Taiwanese version of the Boardwalk. In Danshui, carnival games and cheap street food attract in hoards of kids, even in the middle of the school day. Out of all the countries I’ve visited so far, I find that Taiwanese youth is the most similar to the Asian American culture in the states. I found this most noticeable in the young women at the night markets, who never exude the conservative Chinese culture that is so prevalent in the mainland and even in HK. With my last trip being to Yunnan, it was amazing to compare the drastically different lifestyles. In Taiwan, the youth no longer even notice their luxuries of living in a first world country. Instead their energies are focused on following the scores of pop stars and Taiwanese dramas and buying the up-to-the-second fashion trends set by the Japanese. Scanning the MTR in Taipei, you will quickly notice that the tech savvy youth of Taipei are not short of the most high tech cell phones, MP3 players, and hand held gaming devices. In comparison to those teenagers living in rural parts of Yunnan, China they realize that means of survival is not just given to you by your parents, but it is earned on a daily basis through hard work out in the fields.

Taipei 101 - the tallest building in the world

Democracy is everything that Taiwan stands for. It is something they fought long and hard for. Going to the tremendous memorials of Chiang Kai Shek and Sun Yat Sen, the leaders of Kuomintang armies who fought the Red Army and Mao, you can see that democratic liberties is not something taken lightly. With the never ending political battles between PRC and Taiwan, I can now understand why Taiwan doesn’t want anything to do with the mainland. The cultures are fundamentally different as night and day. Democracy allowed Taiwan to grow and flourish and its people were able to reap its benefits. Joining the Party would mean giving up their history of political and economic freedom. My mainland students often discuss how Taiwan is not truly a separate country but a state of China. These kinds of remarks are coming from people who have never been to Taiwan. One step into Taiwan you can realize that the Maoist terrorism and the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution were not felt in Taiwan. Chinese history is something cherished and loved here, which is encapsulated in the 5000 years of art and artifacts in the National Palace Museum. Mao was able to destroy all the remnants of ancient China in the mainland in merely 10 years. Democracy provided the people of Taiwan the freedom and liberties to prosper into a great nation. As quoted in NY Times, "Here is a Chinese culture (some contend that it is uniquely Taiwanese) that practices bare-knuckled democracy and has preserved traditions thousands of years old in a way that was impossible to do on the mainland."

The massive Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall; he was the leader of the Kuomintang and democracy against the Red Army and Mao

Monument to Sun Yat Sen, Leader of democracy in China and Taiwan

Lanterns beautifully lit at night

Longshan Temple, the most famous temple in Taipei