Defining Happy

For my last day in Bali I booked a half day tour of the island. The first stop on the tour was a stop at a factory to see how traditional batik art and clothing were made.

I also watched craftsman make silver jewelry and elaborate statues out of a single piece of stone. The skills of these people are beyond amazing and the skills are passed down from generation to generation which I think is great.  I was left speechless after watching all of the hard work that goes in to something that is so simple to purchase for such a small price.

I had lunch at a semi outdoor restaurant overlooking a field of luscious green rice terraces. The breeze had my fro flowing in the wind and the sounds of the traditional bands and the swaying of the plants and trees were music to my ears. The birds glided in a choreographed motion and the clouds which looked to be painted to perfection had me feeling like I was sitting on a movie set. The trees far off in the horizon appeared to be nothing more than a mirage.  I don’t know if I had an out of body experience or something but at that very moment while sitting completely still in the restaurant I was overcome with a sense of calmness that I just can’t explain.

After lunch I was taken to a place that produces cacao powder, nutmeg, and a slew of other spices. The most interesting product of them all would have to be lawak coffee. I’ll pause for a minute while you all get your vomit bags. You just might need them after you hear how this coffee is made.

Step 1: This strange looking animal below eats this little fruit looking thing. It only eats the outer portion and does not digest the bean inside.

Step 2: The bean ferments in its stomach along with all the other crap its been eating.

Step 3: Theeeeeen….the animal relieves itself at the bottom of the cage and out comes the bean covered in stank yummy goodness.

-Sick yet?-

Steps 4-9 -: They wash the coffee bean in hot water, then dry it, peel it and remove the outer layer, roast it, then ground it in to a nice powder. The entire process is done by hand.

I figured I’d do something daring and try this coffee even though the thought of me eating something that was once laying up in a stomach of a ratchet looking animal then covered in shit poop almost made me lose my lunch. I’m not much of a coffee drinker so my opinion has no weight at all (unlike all the rest of my clever opinions 😉 ). The coffee after it is turned to grounds smelled lovely…no seriously. The taste, however, might have been better had I not been sifting thick coffee through my teeth as I sipped. Maybe that was leftover poop. J/k. 😉  Apparently this coffee is very expensive in the states.  I doubt I’d ever try it again but I definitely enjoyed the overall experience.

So after the interesting coffee experience we headed to the monkey forest which was definitely wild. I’ve been to a “monkey beach..monkey this and monkey that and there would be like two lonely monkeys in the whole place. Well monkey forest was a forest FULL of monkeys. Everywhere! It was cool to see how they interacted with each other and with strangers.  My highlight of that portion of the tour was watching a horny monkey hop on another monkeys back and go to town like he had just got out of jail. It was great. And because I was so amused I snapped a photo to keep in my personal collection to share with you all 😉

Next I was taken to a theater to watch traditional dancers do their thing in a lively show. My camera was acting up so I didn’t get as many clear pictures as I would have liked. The chanting they did reminded me a 90’s hip hop beat that was mixed with an old 70’s jam. So dope! I grabbed some video on my camera and also recorded the sound on my phone. Just in case I want to come out of retirement and become the illest rapper again 😉

The night ended with dinner at a restaurant who had been notified in advance that I was vegetarian. They served a three course meal and also had dancers there as well.  Although the dinner was nicely plated it was mediocre at best.  My pallet is still dying for some earth moving vegetarian food.  Le Sigh

The whole tour was only supposed to be 7hrs but lasted 9.5. For only $40 (It was normally $30 but the added a surcharge since I was solo)with dinner included I’d say that was a pretty good deal. A very nice end to my trip to Bali.