Christmas Season - Bali Style

New Years Party supplies for sale . . . on a scooter!

Christmas in our family has always been a big affair - usually 20+ people for dinner, lots of noise, lots of laughter, lots of food, gifts, a Santa piñata (always made by my mom for the kids), and re-gifts of stuff you don’t want (which usually are the cause of a lot of the laughter)

So this year it was Glen and me.  We didn’t bother with gifts - we’ve bought enough things to take home already.  My computer crashed a few days into our time here so all my holiday music was gone - no Charlie Brown Christmas for me!  The local population is predominantly Hindu - a few of the shops and restaurants made a bit of a tourism effort and put up Christmas trees, but it really didn’t have the same feel without all the manic advertising, parties and shopping of home.  And I have to say, I kind of enjoyed not having the obligation I usually impose on myself at the holiday season.  And I really enjoyed being warm, not cold!

Christmas Eve we walked through the rice field to Ubud, and found a little restaurant called Pringgas Grill.  Drinks in Bali are usually stupidly expensive as imported alcohol is very pricey.  A bottle of Bacardi that sells for $24 at home is roughly $80 here, and a bottle of wine that would sell for $10 at home is $60 in the stores here.  But Pringgas had a 2-for-1 happy hour cocktail special, so we decided to live it up and have umbrella drinks.  Definitely a first for Glen - he’s a beer guy.  The restaurant had put little Christmassy centerpieces on the tables, so it felt festive.  We had a delicious meal - Glen had Balinese spaghetti, and I had Balinese tropical chicken.  Wish I had those recipes - fantastic!  

Palm leaf decorations hanging from the ceiling.  My daughter thought
they were fish skeletons when I showed her the picture.  There were poinsettias
on the tables and some pretty red fabric on the support poles so it was quite festive.

Christmas Eve fancy drinks

Our most expensive dinner in Bali.  $55.76.  
$24 of that was for 6 drinks.  We had 4 appies
and two dinners for $32.

This chicken was superb and beautifully presented!

Not one beer tonight!  Feeling festive.

Christmas day was spent poolside, walking through the rice fields and then we went out for dinner to a local restaurant called Nomad’s (a recommendation from our friend Erik at the Lodtunduh Sari) and had Balinese tapas for dinner.  Absolutely delicious.  The lights in the restaurant went out just before dinner was served, so we couldn’t see what we were eating.  No matter.  It was yummy.  Loved the little banana-leaf boats that each individual tapa was served in.

The view from our table - a typical open air restaurant.

Appies

Green papaya salad. This is for you Tina Vanderlee!

Children outside the restaurant playing music and collecting
money for Galungan - which coincides with Christmas this year.  It
definitely added to the atmosphere. 

Christmas dinner - assorted tapas in banana leaf boats.  Delicious!

Emptied banana leaf boat.

The Christmas tree at Nomad's   Very creative

A Christmas gift from the restaurant.  It was filled with tea leaves.
What a nice thing for them to do.

Anne and Glen having Christmas dinner at the open air restaurant.
It was a beautiful warm night!

Boxing Day we decided to package up all the goodies we’ve purchased here and get a couple of boxes ready to ship home.  Yes, yes, I know we’re trying to de-clutter our lives.  But the lure of a good deal has been hard to overcome here!  A few of the things in the storage locker will need to go in order to make room for the new stuff.  And then we had a little visit with our friends at Lodtunduh Sari and the general holiday season was done.  

At the post office - this man literally sewed a waterproof covering
on both of the boxes we were sending home.  He used a blanket
stitch & plastic thread for those of you who want to know :-)

December 27 was the Kuningan festival here for the locals - it’s 10 days now since Galungan, and it’s time for the ancestral spirits to go back to their spirit home.  It’s a big temple day for the locals - more rice on foreheads, people all dressed up, and a lot of shops and restaurants were closed. 

We were invited with the English ladies (Sadie and Avril) to go to the villa of our new Australian friends (Louise, Randle, Majella and Jazz) for the afternoon - had a wonderful time drinking tropical cocktail creations made by Majella, getting to know each other, making light of each others accents and finally all deciding that we will spend New Years Eve together!  While we were there, the local villagers paraded by for Kuningan  It was a crazy long parade.

Jazz and Majella

Villagers parading by for Kuningan ceremonies

Beautiful open air kitchen/living/dining area at the Aussies villa.

Second floor balcony for the two bedrooms
and two bathroom upper floor.

Our fabulous new Aussie friend Louise with her daughters in
the background

Majella - a whiz with a blender, fruit and booze!  No two drinks
were the same all afternoon.

Glen and Randle escaping the women and sharing a brewski or 5

New Years was great fun - a truly international celebration with English, Australian and Canadian friends all enjoying a delicious Balinese dinner that was organized and ordered in by the Jones family.  We lit firecrackers, laughed, danced to the iPhone, and some swam.  

The local man who places offerings at the Aussie's
villa 4 times a day.  Here he is with the evening ones
getting ready to put them around the home.

A really bad photo of all the women. The men declined to be involved.

Majella taking drink orders

Dinner has arrived.  There were 8 of us.  It cost
about $50 for all the food and delivery.  There
were leftovers!  And it was delicious.

Jazz and Louize fighting over firecrackers.  Maybe not a good idea???

Probably trying to convince Glen to dance or something

Bintang beer bottle - perfect firework holder

Yes, it was classy all the way

Avril said something very British and Louise couldn't stop
laughing.  

Avril can't believe Louise is laughing at her.  She doesn't know
Sadie is laughing behind her back.

Glen is supervising the lighting of the big finale - three
firecrackers at once!

We look much better here.

Ummmm . . . firecracker safety Randle?  

Stunning display of light

An incredible show

Yes, we're dancing to the iPhone.  I think it was Elvis.  It
wasn't very loud so we added our own vocals.  

Ginger plant beside the pool.  

At 9 pm, we wished each other a happy Australian New Year, and by 9:45 we were on our way home to bed.  A fine end to what has been a fine year!