ngaben (cremation ceremony)

Cremation is a happy event, something to be celebrated in Bali because it helps to free the spirit of the dead from this world. Interestingly though, the body of the deceased is not necessarily cremated at the end of the ceremony. In addition, the cremation ceremony does not necessarily take place immediately after death. The ceremonies are very expensive and most times, the family needs to save money before they can hold the ceremony. In some cases it may take 3-4 years before the body is cremated, and until then the body is buried. As far as I understand, there are also certain periods when a cremation ceremony can be held every year.

A few weeks ago however, there was a cremation ceremony in Ubud for someone who died about three weeks ago, which was considered to be quite soon. The ceremony would be followed by the actual cremation. Tourists were welcome and cameras were allowed as long as we respected the local dress code of sarongs and no bare shoulders.

The ceremony was said to start around 12pm, but preparations around the house of the deceased started as early as 8am. The street has been cleaned, bamboo platforms were built, the bull and the cremation tower were brought to the area. Around noon time, the crowd got bigger, with families of the same neighborhood  (banjar) bringing food and offerings. Also the Gamelan group of the banjar started to prepare to play music.  Again, when everything was ready, the ceremony started suddenly. Everyone was in a very happy mood, a lot of chattering and laughing and the pace of the entire event was really high.

We started walking from the house towards the Monkey Forest, where the cremation would take place. The cremation bull was leading; sometimes we were walking in a fast pace, sometimes even running. In crossroads, the people carrying the bull were turning clock-wise several times and often shaking the bull vigorously. I later learned that this was to shake-off any remaining evil spirits that might have been still around. In some of the points that we passed, they were spraying water on the crowd by hoses. 

It was the middle of the day, sun high up, humidity rising, the pace frantic, the loud Gamelan music almost hypnotizing and the crowd just too much... I was already overwhelmed by the time we reached the cremation area in Monkey Forest, I can't imagine how the local guys carrying the cremation tower must feel. Once we were in the forest, everything was placed at certain spots and preparations began. It was time for us tourists to rest, but the actual work for the Balinese attending the ceremony just begun.

There were many steps and each looked very detailed. First the cremation bull was opened and ladies with long hair approached, dipping their hair into the bull. It was quite interesting but so far, I never got a chance to learn what that symbolizes. Then the priest approached the bull and started the preparations; it had multiple steps all very detailed and requiring a lot of details. I was once again amazed how it was handled in a very organized and elegant way, all the while everyone was having fun and using this as an opportunity to socialize. It was really a celebration, not a mourning. Everyone smiling, greeting one another, men smoking in big groups and not even one solemn face, let alone anyone crying. The preparation around the bull took more than an hour, then finally the body, which was wrapped heavily in white fabric was lowered into the bull too. As the bull was closed one again, men started to set up the mechanism to ignite the fire. I learned that wood fire was used in past, and sometime for really big ceremonies (such as a member of the royal family) it sometimes took months to tower up enough wood appropriate for such a big event. About a year ago, a member of the royal family passed away and I was told that it was the biggest wood tower and the cremation ceremony ever in Bali. But nowadays things seem to get a little more practical and environmentally friendly; fire was ignited from 2 flame-machines attached to industrial-sized LPG canisters. Of course first the bull was insulated via metal panels to ensure that fire would not spread around.

The wave of the flames in addition to the midday heat was too much. Plus, all of us oblivious tourists who got too close to the fire to get the best photo shoot were covered in ashes due to a reverse wind... Once the fire lost its blaze and Balinese started spreading around and eating I felt it was also time for me to go. The whole experience has been new; see a lot of happy faces celebrating the death of a loved one, the impeccable Hindu ceremony a lá Balinese, the very welcoming attitude towards tourists and their intrusive cameras.

Lesson learned; to stay away once the cremation fire is ignited unless you are sure about the direction of the wind.

nyepi (balinese new year)

It's been so long since my last entry. I had a very interesting month, which beyond consuming me totally, was also very difficult to express in writing. I attended 2 levels of Cranio Sacral Therapy training with Leonid Soboleff which changed me at a very deep level. If ever I feel resourceful enough, I would love to write these experiences sometime.

Tuesday was the first day of the Balinese new year. The preparations and the celebrations started much earlier though. About two-three weeks earlier, the Ogoh-ogohs were already being built. Ogoh-ogohs are paper-mache monsters, representing the bad and the evil spirits coming down to earth. They are made in enormous detail and with a lot of decorations, and mostly the artists of each neighborhood produce them. Although I have seen a few little ones produced by little kids, looking no less spectacular than the grande versions. As far as I understood, each neighborhood raises its own funds through donations of the residents and then uses that money to make their own ogoh-ogoh(s). Ogoh-ogohs are meant to be scary and evil looking. On the second day of the new year, they are burned to represent purification of the earth from the bad spirits.

About a week before to the new year, some cleaning and offering ceremonies (the Melasti Ritual) were held by the beaches. A lot of fruits and flowers were offered to the gods. I was lucky to observe this ceremony both in Seminyak and in Candi Dasa on different days. It was more fun in the afternoon, when all fruits came back to the shore due to the opposite tide. It felt like the god of seas were offering something back to its believers.

Three days before the Nyepi, on Tumpek Landep another ceremony was held to purify everything metal. Originally, this ceremony was dedicated to weaponry, however nowadays more emphasis seems to be placed on other metal goods, such as cars and motorbikes. Oh well, any tourist spending 2 days here can see how important his/her motorbike is for the Balinese, so the transition from magical swords to bikes seem only natural. I was invited to pray in the family temple and make offerings too. The energy was just amazing, I could feel my palms buzzing. it was probably due to the unified field of energy on the island since everyone was praying at the same time. 

The day before Nyepi is when all the action takes place. Most shops and cafes closed early afternoon. We knew that on the day of Nyepi everyone would be home, observing silence so supermarkets and bakeries were raided. Traditionally one is not supposed to light a fire on Nyepi, which also means no cooking.

Prior to the festivities, I've asked at least 5 people when and where the Ogoh-ogoh parade will start. No two answers were the same. It wasn't only me, a few other friends also had no idea despite asking locals or long-time expats around. Finally one of my neighbors, who's been visiting Bali repeatedly for 20 years was able to give a satisfying answer. He said “Nobody knows the exact time, because the ceremonies have their own dynamics and they start when everything is ready”. Fair enough... Around 5:30pm a friend texted me to say that the ceremonies on Hanoman street were about to start. Armed with my camera, I walked there. I could feel the excitement in the air, most of it coming from the kids. They were all dressed for the occasion (later I figured that each neighborhood would have their “teams”, dressed the same way and managing the Ogoh-ogoh parade for their area.) In addition to the people carrying the Ogoh-ogohs there was the band playing the music, at least one person managing the traffic (mostly of the bystanders, as streets were closed to car traffic long ago) and two or more guys with long sticks, making sure that Ogoh-ogohs don't touch the electric wires during the parade by lifting the wires up by their T-shaped sticks. On the first glance, the whole ceremony seemed to spontaneous, especially with lack of timing or information. However there seems to be great effort and organization behind it.

The kids tried to paint on scary faces, however it seems that whatever they do, the Balinese kids always look cute. 

The parade did not start until sunset. Announcements were made in Bahasa Indonesia and also very thoughtfully in English about the ceremonies and the route of the parade. Then it started. The music, the fire, the shouting, the dance... It was a spectacular and most of the times, we felt it beating in our hearts. The Ogoh-ogohs were marching (or more accurately, being marched by their teams on bamboo platforms) until a certain point under the street light, then the one in the front was turning clock-wise 3 times and facing the Ogoh-ogoh behind, a dance representing the fight between the two started... When the fight was over, the two teams were continuing with the parade and the next two Ogoh-ogohs were replacing them. The energy and the spirit was simply amazing. 

It was the best new year celebration I ever had; I was free to walk between parades of different neighborhoods, could take as many photos as I wanted, didn't need to drink and eat senselessly and was surrounded by the spirit of the Island of Gods...

Talking about taking photos, this was one of the rare events that my good old Canon 40D disappointed me with its ISO capabilities. This disappointment increased further as a friend was able to shoot perfect handheld photos at ISO 6400 without any grain using his Nikon D700. This was the third time in the last 6 months that I've witnessed a Nikon camera having a better performance in natural-light settings. I am already convinced that Nikon does a much better job with flashes. Had I not invested so much in Canon L series lenses, I would have seriously considered converting to Nikon.

The celebrations ended around 10pm around the football field. After chatting with some photographers, I went back to my place not to leave it for another 32-33 hours.

During the day of Nyepi, everyone in Bali, including non-Hindu population and tourists must observe silence. Ideally, there are also 4 rules to observe; no fire, no work, no entertainment and no traveling. One should spend the day in silent retrospection, considering the sins s/he committed the previous year and what s/he ca do better in the new year. Isn't this a much better way to start a year, instead of waking in the middle of the day with a great hangover and an upset stomach?

It seems however that as long as they do not disturb the others around, the tourists are allowed to entertain themselves. I was also lucky that my family provided 3 meals for me on Nyepi. It would have been ideal to spend the entire day meditating, however I chose the “silent entertainment” option and watched 5 movies from my laptop with headphones. Looking back, I could have taken my brain out of my skull and put it in a blender instead, but I guess that wasn't a bad start for a first-time Nyepi observer.

Since there were no cars and no fires on the entire island on that day, the sky was so clear and so blue. The “no fire” option extends to the evening as no light, so except for the occasional candle or the flashlight, the whole island was in darkness. So especially the evening sky was amazing, we were blanketed by millions of stars.

A night of high-energy celebrations, followed by silence, clarity and darkness was simply a great experience. A few friends have escaped to Java as they did not want to be locked in their homes for Nyepi. I am glad that I stayed and would feel very lucky if I ever I can be in Bali again for future Nyepis.

cabbages and condoms

This is the last entry about Thailand - better late than never. 

I've read about Cabbages & Condoms in the Lonely Planet guide and wanted to give it a try for good Thai food.  The place and the food was well above my expectations. It was quite pricey for Bangkok standards but well worth a visit for a dinner. I was especially impressed with the decorations and the ambiance and would like to share some photos.

bangkok - by night

The highlight of the Bangkok experience actually came the day I returned from Vipassana. There was another fárang; Benny in our meditation group, who also needed to be back in Bangkok only for a day to pick up his passport from the Indian embassy. We shared the same hostel room. After 12 days of no contact with the outside world, I was hungry for some online time. Benny however was craving for some Falafel, followed by an Indie movie. What are the chances of staying in the same room with someone else who craves Middle Eastern food and even knows places to get good food? If anything, this was some good coincidence. We checked some movie theater schedules while discussing some Bangkok experiences, when at some point the subject came to the red light districts of the city and what they offer. Benny said that everyone in his country who visited Bangkok rumors about the “ping pong shows” (I later figured that it is a generic name given to the shows where trained girls shoot things like ping-pong balls, bananas, arrows etc out of their vaginas.) His previous attempts to find a club with such a show have failed. As crazy as it sounded at some point I found myself agreeing and thanks to the internet we identified the red light districts (there are 3 in this city) and noted down names of few clubs. It was surprising for me to find a lot of information on the internet on the clubs, the shows, ratings, scams etc, I thought all that sort of information would be more word of mouth or somehow publicly less available. I was worrying about the impact of a ping pong show on my recently cleaned Karma just hours after finishing a Vipassana course. One thing for sure however, was that it would be more interesting than some Indie movie.

After9pm, we headed out for Soi Cowboy behind Sukhumvit and started looking for the Long Gun club. A few people commented that it was one of the few scam-free clubs with reasonable drink prices. The whole Soi Cowboy was a shock to me. Too much light, noise, crowd, prostitutes, … Having more experience, Benny was pointing out which one was a real woman and which one was a “lady boy”. There was no way for me to tell the difference. I couldn't even stare for that long

We went in the club and were seated. There was already a striptease show on the stage. The girls looked bored and were more interested in watching themselves in the mirrors around the stage. It was very uncomfortable for me and for a long time I couldn't even look at the show on the stage, so I started scanning the audience. Realizing that I was the only non-Thai woman along the audience did not help me feel more comfortable at all. I tried to chat a little with Benny so that I would justify not looking at the girls but except politely responding to my questions, Benny didn't seem very eager to divert his attention from the stage. Seriously, why was I there? What on earth got into me so that I was in the middle of the most anti-feminist actions? Why was I watching women undressing and even worse, other men paying to see them do that? And all that just 12 hours after finishing a Vipassana course??? I asked Benny if we could leave and he answered “no way, I didn't come in here to see a regular strip tease, I will not go before I see the ping pong show” Ok then, all I could hope was that the show would start soon.

Around 10:30, the stage was prepared for the show and the waitresses started distributing balloons. Two girls appeared on the stage, totally naked. The show started with girls blowing whistles from their vagina. Then they were shooting little arrows at the balloons. I explained at great length to Benny how core muscles as well as mula bandha helps the girls to that... He seemed genuinely interested so I went on and on.. It was a very good way to keep distracted from the show. While I was babbling, the show ended with girls simultaneously shooting out bananas... Horray, it meant that we could leave now!

In memoirs of strippers or escort girls, I read that there would sometimes be women coming to such clubs with their colleagues or male friends and making fun of the strippers... I can't understand that... I cannot ever criticize them on the way they choose to earn money. I can't even know if it's their choice. It was just too much for me to be there, to be a part. I have to admit that I was curious about the red-light district action of Bangkok, but the whole experience was more of a discomfort for me and I was quite relieved when we were out of the club. Benny seems to have rationalized the whole thing by saying that sex shows and prostitution is a normal thing in the Thai culture and it's the Westerners who have a negative stigma to it... It's just too much for me to buy in.

bangkok - by day

Many people have scared me off Bangkok, saying it was dirty, ugly, messy, full of crime, full of prostitution, nothing to do (unless of course you are a fárang visiting the city for what the prostitutes can offer). However Bali was calling! I needed to reapply for an Indonesian visa and as I was already in Thailand it made sense to apply there instead of going to Singapore (in case anyone needs that bit of information; if one applies to a social Indonesian visa through the Bali Mode agency in Singapore, it is issued within a day, costs 150$ and no paperwork is needed from the applicant. Applying from anywhere else in the world directly at the consulate for a social visa usually costs about 45$, takes 3 to 5 days and occasionally requires a little more hassle and documentation depending on the mood of the consulate staff that day). I wanted to apply myself instead of paying to an agency, so I planned a super-short stop in the city, squeezed between Chiang Mai and another Vipassana course in Kancanaburi.

The “first time in a new city” observations started kicking in when I was already in the bus terminal. It was relatively clean, quiet and organized.

As the taxi was heading towards my hostel, I expected to see extremes; for a city that stretches about 20 kilometers in each direction from the center and hosting some 7 million people, Bangkok appeared quite relaxed to me. My little adventure with the taxi driver confirmed that too.

I spent the first night in my hostel; it was my first real hostel experience where I would be sharing a bunk-bed dorm with 9 other travelers. The massage school in Chiang Mai was also dorm but it was free of charge and all of us were there for the same purpose, spending almost every awake moment together. There were only 6 of us that night and the number kept decreasing with each passing night.

Since I had very limited time in Bangkok, I decided to be touristy for a change. I went to visit the Bangkok Royal Palace and the temple on the grounds. I like the cities where there's efficient public transportation. Especially any type of metro cheers me up, be it underground or sky train. It makes me feel that I'm tuned to the fast pace of a real metropolitan. I like taking my time, walking everywhere in the uneven pavements of Ubud as much as I like switching between 8 different lines of metro in Tokyo to get to where I want to go. It's good that I don't have to choose; I don't have to be totally urban or totally rustic; both appeal to me in different periods of my life. And now I needed that city pace. I got the early symptoms in Chiang Mai, where I was visiting the huge supermarket behind the school everyday and gazing at the shelves with some longing of “choice”. Bangkok has it all from tuk-tuks to sky train; now that's what I would call an efficient transportation network.

The entire city of Bangkok appeared to be one big open-air market. The city constantly pulsed in street stalls, plastic stools gathered around a mobile satay station and night markets. Especially the people running those mobile eateries are jaw-droppingly skilled in chopping, cooking, serving in what's only centimeter squares of space. So efficient, so space-saving, so chaotic and so fun... In between palaces and temples, I spent my entire day eating fruits, drinking coconut water or orange juice from those stalls. Bangkok made me feel thankful that I am a vegan and there's a (relatively) limited variety of food that I can have in the streets. Otherwise, I would have easily gained a ton of weight even in two days.

The touristy experience was fun and made me photorgasmic after a long long time. Temples, street markets, riverside stalls, skyscrapers and whatnot. There's so much to shoot and one cannot possibly screw up. The repetitive patterns, the angles, the lines, the contrasts are just amazing... All photos turn out to be good in this city. Moreover people don't seem to be camera-phobic. I point my camera and smile, they smile back and let me shoot whatever I want to shoot. I was out on the street over 14 hours just absorbing and trying to digitally record what this city has to offer. 

One of the highlights of my first day in Bangkok was dinner. My last visit to Dubai was in late September and I haven't had any Middle Eastern food since then. Not that I'm complaining, I was ecstatic with all the Som Tam in Chiang Mai or the organic salads in Ubud. Still Tabbouleh held and will always hold a special place in my heart. I found the “Little Arabia” of the city, which lies around Soi 5 of Sukhumvit Road. There, the scene quickly changes from Asian to Arabian. Hotels with Arabic signs, Egyptian restaurants, shisha places, Arabic couples (of course the man in shorts and t-shirt, the wife in full abaya), oud shops, … After checking the menus of a few restaurants I decided on one and ordered tabbouleh and hummus. I can't say that I particularly missed the whole Arabic scene, but the tabbouleh tasted yummy, even though it was nowhere near the original.

The second day, I started out even earlier and visited the Wat Pho temple. 46 meters of golden Buddha was literally lying in front of me. As much as I wanted to continue walking around and shooting photos, I had errands to run for the next steps of my trip. Before entering my first Vipassana, I left some loose ends which kept me worrying every now and then so I had to make sure that the following 20 days are arranged and confirmed before I step into the ashram again. That meant more city center, more urban resources and more shopping malls, ... 

2 days in Bangkok was as fast as the blink of an eye and felt more like a trailer than the movie itself. (This comes from a person who spent 3 almost months in Bali and yet didn't manage to see half of the island!) I was out on the street as long as my feet carried me, and slept just 4-5 hours a day, but still the time didn't feel enough for anything. I loved the city but my skin hated it. Already on day two I had terrible acne from the pollution. With all the exhaust fumes, neither were my lungs happy. Bangkok freshened me up and reminded me of the fast-pace life beyond the yoga mat.