James Waldron's 6foot6 Indonesia travelogue

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Indonesia:

Stories and images
by Jim Waldron

Fully planning to start in Bali and tour Indonesia overland towards Thailand two things got in my way. I liked Bali too much, and there were riots throughout the surrounding islands. So I rather stayed put.

Stories

The Water-bottle Boats
Recycling, marine design, aquaculture, who would have thought
one guy on an island could be up to so much

The Travelling Cynic Observes
Some insights around the islands
I give you good Price! - Cheap fun in Indonesia
Luck drives a big Boat - Marines take a holiday
Does somebody smell smoke? - Death is a big party

New Technology, traditional inspiration
An article I wrote about technology and art
Balinese Painting and Technology

Photographs

Some favorites

See them all at once
Look at thumbnails of all the photographs from this country.
Each picture was made with the Agfa ePhoto 1280 digital camera.

Cremation Ceremony, Kuta, Bali, Indonesia
Does somebody smell smoke? chronicles my first dip into traditional Balinese culture, a cremation ceremony in a local village.
CremationFire
CremationBull
CremationProcession

Tana Lot, Bali, Indonesia
One of Bali's most revered religious locations Tana Lot is also a huge tourist draw. With the temple perched on a tiny island, it makes a picturesqe sunset location, which is fully exploited by the local vendors, who have colonized a nearby cliff and filled it with a dozen or so restaurants and open-air pubs. Rush hour starts thirty minutes before the sun drops into the sea, and closes fifteen minutes later when the mosquitoes swarm.
Sunset2
SurfDam
Temple

Jimbaron Bay, Kuta, Bali, Indonesia
When 5000 U.S. Marines hit a freewheeling tourist town on the southwest coast of a tropical Island it's usually because of some pressing military need. The USS Bellawood was just here for a quick vacation, but ready to assist evacuation of American Citizens if the sporadic riots in Indonesia got any worse. The only real impact it's visit made was a large shadow in the bay at sunset, and a number of Marines spending the evening with the local police as their hosts.

See the story Luck drives a big boat, to meet one Marine Seargent helping to keep the world intact.

Reflection
Sunset
USSBellawoodDeck
Wave

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Ubud is the arts center of Bali, home of painters, sculptures, musicians, and a whole host of local artisans plying their wares to tourists and exporters from around the world.If you visit Ubud, remember to buy anything you remotely fancy. The quality gets no better anywhere in asia.
IdBaliUbud_
Garudacarving
Monkeygod
StoneCarving

Tampaskiring, Bali, Indonesia
Gunung Kawai is a temple a little different from the hundreds that dot Bali. Carved out of stone from the valley of a brisk-flowing stream, Gunung Kawai's monuments are etched out of bedrock, as opposed to built by bricks or stone. The result is reminicint of Egyptian monuments. Surrounded by Rice Paddy terraces and lofty palm trees, Gunung Kawai was the most peaceful, inspirational holy monuments I visited.
Monument
RiceTerrace
RiceTerrace2
Tomb1

Batur Volcano Trek
Finding yourself astride an active volcanic ridge is a moment when we humans realiize our relative insignificance in this world. I was having just one of these moments, staring deep down a glowing rock sulphur vent, when mother nature decided to emphasize my tiny priority on the planet. When you hear of a ten second tremor shaking the ground, it might not register fear in most people. But when it happened atop that ridge and shook my pelvis, which was some three hours walk from any sort of road, it reinforced the point that the earth is a big, powerful rock.

Batur most recently erupted in 1997, sending lava flows a few kilometers down it's side, but not threatening any village. Most had moved away to a safe distance over the several hundred years of intermittant activity. Still, a number of locals have made Batur their marketplace. Persistant men and boys follow each climbing party happilly offering Coke, Sprite, even boiled eggs to the tired tourists.

Sunrise
VolcanoActive
VolcanoRestaurant
VolcanoRidge
VolcanoRidgeFog

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Antonio Maria Blanco and studio
Blanco is one of the longest-term expatriate artists residing in Bali. Arriving in 1942, marrying a local Balinese woman, befriending Princes, and painting in his spare time, Blanco remains one of the most colorful characters in Ubud. He is happy it ramble on about any topic you suggest, but usually guides the subject to one f his theories on life, love, and the future of the world
BaliUbud_BlancoNudeRecline.jpg
IdBaliUbud_BlancoNudeStand.jpg
IdBaliUbud_BlancoPortrait.jpg
IdBaliUbud_ContrempYoung.jpg

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Funeral Preparations at my Homestay
While staying at the Brahmandya guesthouse in Ubud, the grandmother of the host family passed away after a long illness called time. Within two or three hours the place began to fill with villagers in bright dress bearing offerings and manpower to complete the necessary preparations. At the height of activity I counted over 70 people businly working. The men concerned themselves mostly with securing raw materials, like bamboo, coconuts, and palm fronds, to hand make both the coffin and funeral stand. It was amazing to watch all the handwork , and detail of their movements and creations. The women were busily making huge numbers of offerings to the gods out of palm, rice, duck, coconut and bamboo. THis spectacle differs quite remarkably from the funeral rituals in my town, and the sense of community was amazing.
IdBaliUbud_FunTeam1.jpg
IdBaliUbud_FunTeam2.jpg
IdBaliUbud_FunTeam3.jpg
IdBaliUbud_FunTeam4.jpg
IdBaliUbud_FunWomen1.jpg
IdBaliUbud_FunWomen2.jpg
IdBaliUbud_FunAbst1.jpg
IdBaliUbud_FunAbst2.jpg

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Richard Winkler, painter and studio
In the historical method of becoming a successful Balinese expatriate painter Richard Winkler moved from Stockholm Sweden, married a Javanese woman, and settled in Ubud looking for inspiration from the local nature and people. Winklers abstract, erotic previous work was clearly being influenced by the new surroundings. He has chosen to experiment with traditional Balinese topics: the jungle, workers, bathing, and marketplaces, interpreting them in his own style. It will be interesting to see his work's development over the following years.
IdBaliUbud_WinklerErotic.jpg
IdBaliUbud_WinklerPortrait.jpg
IdBaliUbud_WinklerProgress.jpg
IdBaliUbud_Winklerstudio.jpg
IdBaliUbud_Winklerstudio2.jpg

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Around town
Even I could sense something around Ubud that draws artist to spend their lives there. The mood around the village is calm and happy, the weather is temperate, even cool, and everywher the jungle and rice fields are lush, green and inviting.
IdBaliUbud2_Bamboo.jpg
IdBaliUbud2_Garden.jpg
IdBaliUbud_BaliBabe.jpg Id
IdBaliUbud_Ooga1.jpg
IdBaliUbud_Ooga2.jpg

Gili Trawangan, Lombok, Indonesia
Water bottle boats and Seaweed Farming
Read the story about the Water Bottle Boats

IdLombokGili1_BoatBeach.jpg
IdLombokGili2_BoatBottles.jpg
IdLombokGili3_BoatWaterline.jpg
IdLombokGili4_Checking.jpg
IdLombokGili5_OverHarvest.jpg
IdLombokGili6_SeaweedDone.jpg
IdLombokGili_BoatBow.jpg
IdLombokGili_BoatWide.jpg
IdLombokGili_Checking3.jpg
IdLombokGili_Collecting.jpg
IdLombokGili_GrandmaHarvesting.jpg
IdLombokGili_Muscles.jpg
IdLombokGili_Pullboat.jpg
IdLombokGili_SeaweedGirl.jpg
IdLombokGili_SeaweedGranny.jpg

See the other places