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A Farewell to Friends, Plus Why Your Ice Cream Is So Thick and Creamy
Monday May 1, 2006
Today we said goodbye to a wonderful couple we met in Bali plus we paid a visit to Nusa Dua: beach-lounging capital of Bali as well as a place to find the secret ingredient to diet shakes and ice cream.
A Balinese man harvests seaweed.
We said goodbye today to a wonderful couple we met here in Bali: Maria and Nuno, who are from Lisbon, Portugal. After 3 weeks in Bali – one of which was spent on a boat tour searching for surf on the surrounding islands – they are headed home. We had a wondeful time getting to know them. Mariah, besides Portugese, speaks English and German fluently. She works for Eastpak, a backpack manufacturer, where she started as a translator but has recently moved into sales and forecasting. Nuno owns a surf school in Portugal – Surf Lab – , where he coaches young surfers, grooming their abilities in the beachbreaks of Lisban. He himself is a very good surfer; a smooth goofyfoot and wave magnet in the water. It’s sad to see them go but we’ve exchanged contact info and promised to look them up should we find ourselves in Portugal.
Maria and Nuno
After saying farewell to Maria and Nuno we headedoff to Nusa Dua, a resort town on the Bukit Pennsulia. Nusa Dua was conceived in the 1970s to attract tourists with it’s good beaches and sparse population. It was intended to provide tourists with everything they could need – or want – during their trip; thus, the area feels very sheltered from the real Bali. Nusa Dua took a big hit in business after the 2002 tourists bombings, and while business seems to have increased, it still feels like a paradise lost.
On the drive from Bingin we passed through Kulah village, where the people were busy getting ready for the big ceremony on the 3rd of May. The road was lined with arching bamboo poles – perhaps 20 feet in height – ornately decorated with tassles dangling from the tops. Music emanated from homes just to the side of the road.
Framed between fancy hotels and temple lined cliffs, the long sandy beach of Nusa Dua is the perfect place to sit back and relax. Kai was a it restless beacuse there was no pounding surf or anything dangerous he could subject himself to, but I was very happy swiming in the calm waters here. The water was much cooler, though still pleasant, than the other side of the peninsula; a refreshing change to the at-times-too-warm water in Bingin. This is also the windward side of the peninsula, so the air was noticeably cooler. The beach has a restaurant, a bit pricy at almost $6 for lunch, but conviently located and they have chase lounges out front in the shade. You have to pay for the newer ones but the old ones in the shade are fine and free.
Down the beach from the white umbrellas and chase lounges, a large number of Balinese were scurrying about so we walked down the beach to get a closer look. A labyrinth of fences stood in the shallows of the water, and Balinese men, women, and children kneeled in the water along the edges working fastiduously. Upon closer inspection they were harvesting seaweed. They grow it here, using the fences to corridor their crops from the waterflow outside. They first collect small amounts of seaweed and then plant it along the fence in neat little rows. The seaweed, in this controlled environment, grows much faster. They then harvest it, replant small amounts, and repeat the process over and over. This type of seaweed they harvest for Carrageenan – an emulsifying agent – which is used to thicken many foods, including ice cream. The seaweed, all seaweed in fact, is edible, and we each sampled a little bit. It had a crunchy texture and surprisingly light taste; it wasn’t very salty as one would expect.
The seaweed is brought to shore in boats, where it is then carried up the beach in baskets.
After rinsing the sand off us we headed into the main part of Nusa Dua, passing upscale hotels catering to western tastes. There are many beach front restaurants that offer cuisine from all parts of the world, including Greek and Japanese. The restaurants here are a bit pricey so we drove further up the road and found a nice little noodle house with cheap prices. We had chicken noodle soup with fresh-made chineese noodles. The fresh noodles were a nice change from the instant Mie noodles found most places in Bali.
That’s about it for now. Please keep posting comments, they are what make this site so much fun for us.
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Comments
It’s amazing how folks travel to the other side of the world, just to have “western” food they could get at home. Sometimes being on a budget is a much more life enriching way to travel. Very interesting about the seaweed too. I’ll think of you as i dig into my Phish Food tonight!
Em
Hi, Great pictures and what an exciting trip you are having. Douglas & Sturges uses seaweed to make a molding compound that is not bad for making mold of your skin and body parts. Look forward to seeing more of your adventures. Best regards, John
Hi Julie, I love reading about your view of Bali. Of coures you would be lead to something connected to ice cream! The pictures are wonderful. I had tried to imagine what sea weed farms would like before, when I read about them. I wonder if in Japan it’s more automated.
I’m sure you’ll miss your friends from Portugal. If you decide to head in that direction, I have some sites I would really like you to visit. My sister Linda is still working on her book about our geaneology. As you know my father’s family is from Portugal and the Azores. I love checking your site hoping for a new post. I share them with everyone at Palcare. You know how scared they all are of technology, so don’t expect anyone to leave you a post, but we all share your adventures, even Joan! She still hasn’t won the lottery for us. Oh well.
George and I are going out tonite to celebrate with Mark and Jan. Today is Mark’s 50th birthday. Love you both. Dianne
Hey Kai and Julie!
The pictures are beautiful. I envy you. This trip is surely a dream come true for both of you. I will check back with ya’ll later.
Carole
Wow! I envy you two. What a wonderful way to travel. I am enjoying reading about your adventures. It’s about as close as I can get. You both are great writers. Maybe if I went on a seaweed diet…......on second thought, forget it! I’ll go with the ice cream.
Hmmm, the “at-times-too-warm water”.... JB, you know that’s not nice to share with those of us sitting at our desks at work.
I agree Katie, I can see Julie’s smile getting wider as she pictures our office-bound bodies getting paler from lack of sunlight, while she gets tanner by the day. And now we said goodbye to the winter rain (finally!) and gone right into summer fog. Grrrr! Hope you are enjoying that warm water girly because there is surely none here!
I like to see the pictures of Kai surfing (down the mountains on the top of the waves) and Julie swimming. Take more.
Roy
Ice cream. See? I always new that ice cream was good for you—it has seaweed in it and seaweed is good for you. So ice cream is kind of like eating sushi, sans fish.
I can rationalize anything.
Julie B—I am going to the dump soon and I think of you. You and mountians of carpet scraps that somehow make you so happy. Miss you!
Hi! I just got back to work and you can’t imagine how surprised I was to see a picture of me and nuno in your website! It was very hard to come back, especially when you leave behind such a great island, culture and also friends. I can imagine you waking up early and having breakfast… those delicious pancakes… I just wish I could snap my fingers and be there… well, that is at the momet impossible, so I just want to tell you that it was wonderfull meeting you both and also that you are welcomed anytime. Love, Maria
Hey Julie & Kai,
It is wonderful that you have met so many gracious and fun people along your journey already. It is nice to see all the beautiful and interesting photos you are taking. Thank you for sharing your trip with all of us. I hope that your highest and best continues to unfold before you effortlessly. I look forward to more photos and stories.
Seaweed and ice cream…strange.
Joy and Blessings,
devin
Hi Julie and Kai. How is the surfing, Kai? I am over at Aunt Marty’s house in Upper Lake. We are going to go to Ukiah and look for civilization and yoga classes. ;) What else is new… I moved again! Back to Tomales. So Kai, when you and Julie return, maybe we’ll find some time to hang out and surf together. I met this young woman named Savannah who is born the day after me (another Capricorn, Julie!) and she used to be a surfing champ down south. I am hoping she might teach me how… we got to know each other at Rainbow’s End Farm, the permaculture farm in Occidental. Your blog is just outstanding. I love reading it, and your language is entertaining to read. Both of your turns of phrases, etc. It’s just the same way when you talk, so reading your blog definitely brings you closer to us. I love you. Talk with you soon…