Sunday, April 7, 2013

UBUD: playing with fire



Annnd almost three months after the actual trip, here is the final Bali blog post! Woohoo!

Jaimie signed us all up for a Balinese cooking class for our last full day in Bali. We thought it'd be a fun afternoon activity but ultimately went into it with very few expectations. Let me tell you - we all ended up having a really great time, and I recommend to anyone who is traveling to look into taking an ethnic cooking class. This particular one is rated as the #2 activity in Ubud on Tripadvisor, was only about $35, and so well worth it.

We were picked up early in the morning and taken by our driver (included in the class cost) to the local market. Similar to the outdoor markets of Korea, but louder, busier, livelier.. and everything looked older. Grimy, chaotic, amazing. 

Check out that scale!
Mangosteens! Our driver (and market tour guide) told us that the number of "flower petals" on the bottom of the fruit corresponds with the number of the white "cloves" of flesh (arils) inside :)
Casual construction - similar to Korea, little or no safety gear/harnesses are worn

We were then taken to the rice fields for a quick info session on Balinese rice culture and the life cycle of rice. 

This funny man turned out to the husband of our cooking class instructor, who he called his "ex-girlfriend"
Rice fields and palm forests

Upon arrival at their house, where the class would take place, we were given some lemon-y drinks to sip on while being treated to a mini-tour of their beautiful home. Puspa, the cooking class instructor and matron of the household, was a charming and good-humoured lady who definitely knew what she was doing. The presentation of all of the ingredients was as flawless as their stunning grounds - basically straight out of a food magazine. 

Styled to perfection
This is Puspa, our lovely host
Making coconut oil, which would be used for most of the dishes
All the ingredients were either fresh from the market or picked from their sustainable garden

After an overview of the menu, the kitchen, and the ingredients to be used, we were put to work grinding, chopping, and mixing.

Sippin' on some Bintang on the job
Veggie satays

After doing our part, we were asked to relax and wait patiently for our finished full-course meal.

Admiring the greenery and perfect weather
Oh hey Lenny!
Feel the love
This bold beauty

After much anticipation, Puspa brought over the dishes we helped make. What an entrance!
Again, the presentation of the dishes was spot on.


After stuffing our faces with dish upon dish (it was the best meal we had over our entire trip! But maybe we were a tad biased), we were summoned over for dessert.

Jaimie's and mine
Bali street style no. 2 - Em rockin' them neon Indonesian pantaloons

We returned to our treehouse, bellies full, to watch the sun set on the rice fields.

So many colours in one sky

We wrapped up our evening by attending a Kecak (fire dance) performance at the Arma art museum. 
It started to rain on us but the dance continued, and we watched a visually and aurally stimulating story that we didn't entirely understand but enjoyed nonetheless. Flying balls of fire, adorable chanting Balinese children, and a performer scaring the living daylights of one of the audience members... loads of fun. 


For dinner we opted for something non-Balinese, after our satiating lunch just a few hours prior. Felt kinda funny having pizza for our last meal in Bali, but this kind of thing is hard to come by in Korea - a land of the corn-laden, sweet variety.

The symbol for a jjimjilbang in Korea was this pizza restaurant's logo

After dinner, we packed our bags and took a midnight drive to the airport for our red-eye flight back to Korea. We had discussed with Nathan back in January before our trip that he may be boarding the same plane we flew in on. We had made arrangements to leave a note in his seat pocket, but we majorly lucked out and saw him as he was waiting to board! We said hello and goodbye through the window... I'm so glad we got to see him one last time! :)

Haha

Glad to finally wrap up these Bali photos, it was about time!
Up next, photos from a Chiaksan hike and another family trip to Seoul for the Grimes concert.

3 comments:

Kristen Kay said...

I love love love mangosteens! I had never heard of them until the Philippines.. they are fantastic. I like the tip the guy gave you -- interesting! haha

ophelia's funeral said...

Haha yes they're amazing! I'd never tried them before either, they look like gloves of garlic but they are so yummy and sweet :)

ophelia's funeral said...

cloves*