Kuban Magazine Sophie Digby, Nigel Simmonds Agustina Ardie
issue sEVEN FEB/MAR/APR 2015
Marketing & Sales Indrie Raranta Production Manager Evi Sri Rezeki Design Stuart Sullivan, Irawan Zuhri, Ida Bagus Adi Accounting Julia Rulianti Distribution Made Marjana, Putu Widi Susanto, Gede Swastika, Untoro, Didakus Nuba Publisher PT Luxury In Print Licence AHU/47558/AH/01/01/2011 Advertising Enquiries Tel: (+62 361) 766 539, 743 1804, 743 1805 www.kubanbali.com info@kubanbali.com, sales@kubanbali.com
On The Cover: fallenBROKENstreet shoot in Byron by The Ă–, captured by Justin Crawford. Model: Miriam Adler.
You know the drill. No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced electronically or otherwise without prior permission from the Publisher. Opinions expressed within this publication are those of the authors not the Publisher. The Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not comply with the magazine's design criteria. KUBAN will not be held responsible for copyright infringements on images supplied directly by advertisers and/or contributors. And that's that. Do it. Or don't do it.
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KUBAN Magazine Kompleks Perkantoran Simpang Siur Square, Jl. Setia Budi, Kuta, Bali 80361, Indonesia PT Luxury In Print
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AS I write this eight of our brothers are down in the field. Brothers of the pen – murdered in a murmuration of those who would drag humanity back into the Dark Ages. Ages in which a woman is a powerless irrelevance. Where dissent means death.
Life does go on and may we take this opportunity to wish you a happy, safe, and rewarding 2015.
By the time you read this the act of murder at the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris will be old news . . . but the lessons we are continually being asked to learn in the wake of such atrocities are timeless.
We head to Waterbom Park to check out the latest and greatest spine-tingling rides and other activities that have made it one of Bali’s most loved places to cut loose on fun in the sun and fab food in a super-friendly environment. (In Indonesian and English).
On Bali in 2002 and 2005 we were tested by those who acted as spearheads for the Legions of the Ignorant. We passed those tests in solidarity. We chose to stand together and not give in to the temptation for retribution based on belief systems. We grieved the loss of our loved ones whose passing taught us to love even more fervently. We absorbed the attempt to rescind our hard-won freedoms and in doing so we became more free. Our brothers and sisters of the pen will never be gagged. We will never surrender our right to pursue the truth. An holistic truth that is not strangled by those who have a vested interest in narrow interpretations. In January three million people marched in Paris, peacefully. Three million voices proclaimed that we refuse to live in fear. Three million voices proclaimed we would not be intimidated by ignorance and senseless violence. There are many, many more millions – indeed billions – of us who will stand up for the inalienable truth that “women hold up half of heaven”. That freedom of speech and expression is an inalienable right in societies that aspire to enlightenment, not the darkness of dictatorship. JE SUIS CHARLIE
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In this first issue for the new year we’re serving up a veritable cornucopia of words and images.
Staying with the aquatic theme, our Steph leaps into the big blue and gives us the skinny on the sport of free diving that, over the past few years, has grown dramatically in popularity on our island. Ondy Sweeting gets down to tin tacks with reformed rager Adrian Reed – restaurateur, entrepreneur and a man who has chosen the middle path in life. Our pictorial spread, Her, teases out some links between youth and womanhood. Check it. For foodies our focus is on the bounty of the sea – Holy Crab! And other sweet spots to laze away in fine repast. Of course, the coldest beer is always best so we send our intrepid correspondent out on a mission to find some cool spots and cold brews. Monez is a young up-and-coming Indonesian artist. This article, in Bahasa, takes a look at the world through his eyes and images – bagus sekali. And in keeping with our desire to bring more local people into Kuban we also spend some time with Ary in a bilingual piece that gives the good oil on this young man’s burgeoning media adventure. There’s fem fashion galore and a whole lot more. See you on the inside . . . enjoy the ride. A.H.
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Food Holy Crab Batman!
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Food Sexy Seafood.
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Feature Hatten Wines.
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Feature Sun Chasers.
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Matinee Time.
Freedive. Photo by Oli Christen.
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IN
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Nous Sommes Charlie
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In The Mix
Gear
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Interwho
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Local Heroes
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Local Heroes Meet Monez.
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Heaven and Hell.
Passions
Feature
Fashion Fashion
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Ary and crew at Revolta Motion.
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Out
Waterbom keeps the thrills coming.
Motel Mexicola's Adrian Reed.
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Breathless Freediving.
Gear up for the sand and sunshine.
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Fashion It's Her.
News from our favourite peeps, perps and pups.
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Movie
In Bound Rainydaze and Sundays.
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Feature Cold Beer. Oh yes.
Byron Babe.
S.K.A.I Beach Club PADMA Resort Bali at Legian is proud to unveil Bali’s newest hotspot, S.K.A.I Beach Club, located directly on the sands of Legian Beach. The name stands for Sunset Kocktail Alfresco Indulgence, and they are already taking sun-downing to new heights with their island-elegant design, signature cocktails, delish cuisine, and chilled out ambience. The beach club is divided into a stylish indoor dining area and an alfresco terrace with sun loungers, cabanas and an infinity swimming pool facing the ocean. Tantalising delicacies on offer include the Air-dried Spanish Chorizo & Pepperoni Pizza, Tequila Ceviche of Salmon and Scallop, and the Mexican Steak Sandwich, and you can wash them down with designer cocktails like the Blue Peach Energy or Forbidden S.K.A.I. www.padmaresortbali.com Box My Plaga Go on why not buy some Carboardeaux? Finally we can get three litres of Plaga for a fabulously reasonable price and have the ease of storage and it certainly won’t be running out after we pour four mates a glass or two each! The Plaga White Blend is a quality un-oaked wine with aromas of green apple, mango and pineapple with notes of honey, best enjoyed with fish or white meats. Their Red Blend – of which we have heard good reports all round, especially value for money – is also un-oaked with aromas of red fruit, such as plum and strawberries with a long finish, and of course recommended with a hearty steak, burger or even boeuf Bourgignon. Each box is equal to four bottles of wine Available at the Winehouse on Kerobokan and at other licensed outlets. Tel: 0361731217 www.plagawine.com Loving Legian HIPSTERS have a new place to hang out on Legian at De Basilico Kitchen and Bar on the ground floor of The 101 Bali Legian. Featuring three different areas including a breezy deck, sleek bar, and rustic chic dining room next to the open kitchen, this happening 100-seater spot offers creative cocktails and culinary delights from the grill every day of the week from 5pm to 11pm. Grab an al fresco seat for some serious people watching, chill at the bar with a tropical inspired tipple, or enjoy fine international fusion cuisine in an ultra modern yet unpretentious setting. www.the101bali.com
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Buckets and Bibs From the Deadliest Catch right to your table, it’s time to put on your bib and expect to get messy, really messy. Outstanding Louisiana cuisine using world-class seafood comes direct to your trestle table. Set in a twostorey, air-conditioned sleek and chic atmosphere, The Holy Crab brings fun and feasting to all the family. No utensils, no plates, just claw crackers and shell openers, buckets and bibs. Albert (owner and executive chef ) says what makes them stay a claw above the rest is their wide variety of seafood, their signature THC sauce and their unique serving style… Open from 5pm – 11pm daily. Tel: 0361 474 1391 www.ersons.co.id
Gong Xi Fa Cai GOLDEN Lotus Chinese Restaurant is ringing in the Year of the Goat in style with special menus and performances to usher in prosperity and good fortune. For Chinese New Year proper, they will be presenting a Chinese Barong Sai show on February 18, and a Chinese Duo performance on February 19, both starting at 7pm. For the month of February through to March 6, they will also be offering their special Ye Sang menu featuring a Chinese Salad and Salmon Filet, as well as the full Hong Wan Salmon Yee Sang Set Menu for two, which comes with delicacies like the Braised Fish Lips and Scallop Soup, Stir-fried Beef Saigon Style, crispy Roasted Duck, Braised Abalone with shrimp topped with crabmeat sauce, Szechuan Fried Rice and chilled Golden Lotus Mango pudding. www.balidynasty.com
Up, Up, On And On Waterbom WE have our swimmers in a twist about the four newer, innovative and more exciting rides coming to the park in the very near future . . . and more importantly the peeps behind the slides will be launching the very first Flow Rider. What is that you ask? It’s a stationary wave. If that ain’t rad not sure what is . . . stay connected. www.waterbom-bali.com Born In Britain, Now In Bali Cider – a.k.a scrumpy, as it’s known in deepest darkest England – is fast becoming a popular choice amongst the Bintang and wine crew. Albens, as Indonesia’s very first true cider is labeled, boasts Albens Cider Original – with an authentic sweet and sour flavor; Albens Mango Cider – exotic and tinged with mango; and Albens Strawberry Cider – with a burst of exciting sweetness and a luxurious pink silhouette. At 4.9% alcohol it’s a thirst-quenching alternative that doesn’t knock you out too early in the day! Available at over 1,000 outlets throughout Indonesia, all you have to do is “ask for it by name”. www.albenscider.com If It’s A Moscato It’s A Must If you fancy something fresh and fruity with accents of pineapple, melon and dried peaches with a touch of spritz (very light bubbles) then prepare your taste buds for the newly-arrived Dragonfly Moscato. This sweet, sexy wine has only 8% alcohol so is fabulous to quaff at any time of day or evening; by the pool or at the bar; with spicy Asian fare or tout seul with your gals pals… (this wine is not restricted to women only – but we like to think of it as crisp, clean and refreshing with a slight tingle – just like the women we like). Available at reputable establishments and direct from our Cellardoor. Tel: 0361 767422 www.TwoIslands.co.id/dragonfly
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Starkers SEEN as an underdog in a market bullied by three major breweries, the Stark label is fast becoming a lager to be reckoned with. Their varieties, based on Belgian White, include Wheat, Dark Wheat and a Low Carb variety – which is low on sugar but still retains a five per cent alcohol level – so it’s more fun and less fat. All natural with no preservatives, this homegrown beer is big on flavor and freshness . . . unlike the big boys who have a harder task of quality control once the bottle has left the building. So head down to their own branded bar/restaurant/nightclub – Stark’s House Bali on Jl. Legian, near Sky Garden – to taste the best of Bali beer straight from source. Stark is available at other bars and retail outlets around the island, and, in fact, all over Indonesia. Tel: 0361 766689 www.opco-indonesia.com
DMZ OUR first modern taste of “trick art” or trompe d’oeil, 3D paintings on pavements throughout Europe has crossed the waters and has now been replicated by new-kid-onthe-block, DMZ. Following themes of ancient Asia, ancient Egypt, marine, equine and other quirky visuals, painted by a team of talented Korean painters, this hangar–like building welcomes all ages to bring themselves, their friends and a digital camera. Pose in front of the trick art in question and become part and parcel of a real live 3D image. Open daily. Tel: 0361 8496220 www.dmzbali.com
Dare2Wear The brainchild of Norwegian Trudi Christensen and born in Oslo in 2011, Dare2Wear is an extension of Trudi’s love for all things sport. Having spent many years in various types of sporting apparel she understands what fabrics work and the importance of fit. With these things in mind, she has created a colourful, feminine and joyful collection for all shapes and sizes. Consistency, fit and quality at the right price are top priorities for Trudi. Dare2Wear garments are made from organic cotton, lycra and microfiber, and made under her watchful eye in her own factory. When you take a trip to her shop in Jalan Batu Belig you will also find a range of limited edition bikinis, casual clothing and shoes – all with a sense of playfulness. www.dare2wear.com
Bahasa Classes atYut’z Restaurant-Bar Now there’s even more reason to hot foot it down to Yut’z Place, along Legian’s intriguing “Rum Jungle”. Due to a growing demand to learn Bahasa on the island – and in a most generous giving back to the community gesture – irrepressible owner and mein host Mimo has launched free Indonesian Bahasa classes for all his fabulous friends and numerous tourists that regularly frequent this legendary restaurant and bar, or anyone else who wants to join in and get to grips with Bahasa – all are most welcome. That’s right, weekly Bahasa classes are all free and on the house, so whether you’re a long-term resident needing Bahasa for working purposes or a visitor to the island wanting to brush-up basic vocabulary skills, there’s simply no excuse for not learning Bahasa. Set-up at the rear of the semi-open, breezy restaurant, informal morning classes run daily Monday to Saturday from 10am for about hour or so; with two professional native language teachers tutoring vocabulary, writing and conversational Bahasa. Classes are divided into three levels determined by student’s initial language skills, with each student attending one or two classes a week. By three months on, you could be proficient in basic Bahasa, and a year on, it could well be reaching fluency levels. As a new iniative, classes are dependent on demand and general student turn out, so keep up to date with on-going developments on Yut’z Place website or Facebook page; better still, pop in for lunch or dinner (“Best steak in Bali since 2001”), and a drink and chat with amiable, Cairo-native Mimo. Tel: 0361 765047/ 08123951454 www.yutzplace.com
Bali Adventure Tours GRAB your oars and get ready to be thrilled with an exhilarating rafting adventure on the spectacular Ayung River, river kayaking. Or enjoy a mountain bike tour from Mount Batur volcano and wind your way down through 26km of lush valleys, through Balinese villages, past temples and rich green rice fields. For the less adventurous you can take a tour of the jungle in Taro atop one of their elephants. You can enjoy a twilight elephant safari through the misty forest at dusk after you enjoy the elephant talent show and then return to a fabulous dinner Pachyderm Palm Grove by the lake. If you prefer to relax and be pampered then you can take advantage of the Safari Wellness Spa which boasts elegantly appointed male and female treatment and spa bath rooms all overlooking the elephant relaxation pads and parklands through the privacy of cleverly designed windows. Stay in the multi award winning Elephant Safari Park the luxury 25-room safari-style lodge where you have the exclusive experience to interact, feed, ride, observe, learn, play and stay with 29 beautiful Sumatran elephants. The lodge is for everyone to enjoy from elephant lovers, children and families and for those want a romantic getaway or people who enjoy peace and tranquility. It’s also a perfect venue for weddings and honeymoons. www.baliadventuretours.com
9'4 Harrison Concept Color Orange Opaque by Deus IDR 15.500.000 id.deuscustoms.com The Tugu Palms Color Jet Black by Deus IDR 680.000 id.deuscustoms.com
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interwho
ONDY SWEETING ACHIEVES DÉTENTE WITH FORMER BAD BOY ADRIAN REED. Photo: Lukas Vrtilek.
RESTAURATEUR and agent provocateur Adrian Reed is a changed man. While he may have shed his raison d’etre as the Bali party scene’s uber bad boy, he still sizzles with energy and crackles with creative pizzazz. The trapeze act that Adrian throws out daily is likely to include surfing, yoga, meditation, running what are possibly Bali’s hippest hangouts like Motel Mexicola, plus planning, designing and developing new ventures. He eats too. And chills with friends – but more often, colleagues and business partners. With curling tentacles in some of Sydney’s funkiest diners such as Bucket List, Icebergs and Da Orazio Pizza + Porchetta in chic beachside Bondi, Adrian appears to have a Midas touch. Even his pop-up restaurant and bar, Salty Seagull’s, packs ‘em in with fabulous food, fantastic music and quirky interiors. Not to mention Thursday night’s rockabilly crab racing. His first foray into Seminyak stardom was with Motel Mexicola, which caused joyous uproar among blissed out expats who promptly installed themselves into the groovy grounds and refused to move. Nearly two years on and there they remain partying beside some of the most beautiful tourists on the island. Now with a tract of land in Canggu and another in Petitenget, the 35-year-old Australian greets the sunrise with a clear-eyed vision that sets the stage for an expanding Reedian empire. “We are going to bring Da Orazio Pizza + Porchetta to Bali next to Metis and I’m working on another project near Deus in Canggu, which will be more like an upscale Mexicola with a hotel space,” he says. With De Orazio partner – and master of the Melbournestyle dark arts of food and mood – Maurice Terzini, the duo have engaged Rome-based smoking hot design studio Lazzarini Pickering Architetti to develop this Petitenget gene pool from which more eateries will flow. Da Orazio Bali will be an impressive outfit that will see the light of Bali’s brightest long before the end of the year is nigh. “My brain just keeps going and creating. I love new projects. It is what keeps me alive and motivated. New challenges are thrown up particularly during the initial setup and design period, which is all mine,” Adrian says. Trailing a string of triumphs, Adrian admits he “fell into food” when he returned to Australia from Mexico in 2009 and opened Rojo Rocket in Avoca on Sydney’s far north coast. Little did the
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former estate agent know that he was paving his way to Indonesia with fish tacos and tequila. “Bali is an amazing place because we have more scope to develop something unique, as we did with Mexicola and Salty’s. Sydney is a bit like that now and all of these hipsters are doing some fantastic things because of it,” he says. Outside of his own ventures, Adrian’s favourite spots on the island include Barbacoa, Sarong and La Favela. “La Favela is one of the most creative fit-out concepts that I have seen anywhere internationally. It is the result of a creative genius,” he says. Extreme energy and focus in business is not frayed when it comes to Adrian’s inner life. “I was the worst bad-ass party guy on the island and while I know that people will not believe it, but I have changed and pared myself down to a very conscious state,” he says. Drifting toward the end of 2014, Adrian started to question himself about his lifestyle. “To be honest, I didn’t know why it was, but I needed to know why I was behaving in a certain way. I had to work out what I was doing.” A regime of introspection and change through meditation and yoga, plus some tectonic shifts in lifestyle habits and the new, improved, Adrian Reed has landed. “I have done a complete turnaround and I find it amazing to be so deeply aware. These few months have been intense but the reward is exceptional,” he says, “I have stripped myself down to become super happy. I feel like a million dollars.” This is a uniquely Bali story that has emerged from his childhood of surfing holidays in Kuta with his parents in their small apartment. An apartment that no generous enticement from their son – in the form of a luxurious and sprawling home – can make them give up. “They just love visiting Kuta and getting out on the sand and having a beach walks at sunset. They really enjoy the simple life,” Adrian says. Perhaps the same could be said of their stripped back and pared down boy who still puts surfing at the top of his list of favourite things. www.motelmexicolabali.com
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local heroes
laurie osborne TUNES INTO THE video VIBE THAT IS REVOLTA MOTION. indonesian text by ayundari gunansyach.
Ary.
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WHO, and what, is Revolta Motion? We are a creative house and video production studio based in Bali. There’s myself, Ary Aditya, project director, Ishimine Cindy, my producer, Khalil Amanillah, my senior editor, and Pepen Ependi, Ari Diana and Adam Bachtiar, my offline editors and the heads of the production team. Where are you from, what’s your background and how did your team find each other? I’m from Bandung, West Java. I was born there, and Bandung is my comfort zone. I love everything about it – the weather, food, the friendly and creative people. I studied graphic design & multimedia at Universitas Widyatama, and my interest in videography began there. Nearly everyone in my team is a friend from uni. We have the same passion. What does Revolta Motion specialise in? Revolta do everything video production-related, from pre-production to online finishing. We split the team in post-production, for offline/online editing, animation and sound mixing so it’s like an all-in-one solution for the client. What is your philosophy? My philosophy is to do what other people cannot, and make the best of it. What’s your initial team approach to working with a new client? How do you tailor each marketing plan? Approaching a client has its own trick. Sometimes we get a very strict client, sometimes we get a very slow client to work on. My wife, Ishimine, in her role as a producer, helps me approach clients when I’m very busy at the studio and she has a very good sense of marketing. How does that differ from, say, a wedding video? Well this year we are trying to make a new formula that will differentiate us from other wedding video companies who make seriously beautiful videos with a story that makes the client cry at the end. We will amaze them, make them cry and laugh at the same time. Do you ever add motion graphics to wedding videos? Do clients ever ask for that? Yes, once . . . it was a pre-wedding video, interesting because most clients never ask for it. I was really excited because it was the first time a wedding client asked for mograph and we surely love a challenge. Do big clients often have preset ideas about their needs that you feel could be improved upon? Do you sometimes need to open their eyes to new possibilities? Some of the big clients have their own creative teams and there are some areas that we can’t touch but many are really open for new ideas. It takes time to develop and we need great presentation to convince them. Sometimes clients can be clueless and that’s perfectly fine, that’s what we are here for. We can still inspire them to see the many possibilities for their projects. How much more freedom is there with a music video production? Music videos are my favorite form of production. You can throw any of your ideas into the production and editing process. The possibilities are endless and it’s like making art. There are no rules and as long as the client is happy, you are good.
SIAPA dan apa Revolta Motion itu? Kami adalah creative house dan video production studio yang berbasis di Bali. Terdiri dari saya sendiri, Ary Aditya sebagai Project Director, Ishmine Cindy sebagai Producer, Khalil Amanillah sebagai Senior Editor, dan Pepen Ependi, Ari Diana, serta Adam Bachtiar, Offline Editors sekaligus mengepalai tim produksi. Darimana asal Anda, background apa yang Anda miliki, dan bagaimana tim Revolta Motion saling menemukan? Saya berasal dari Bandung, Jawa Barat, kota kelahiran saya, dan Bandung merupakan comfort zone. I love everything about it – cuacanya, makanan, para orang-orangnya yang ramah dan kreatif. Saya lulus dari jurusan Graphic Design and Multimedia di Universitas Widyatama, disanalah ketertarikan saya pada videography dimulai. Hampir semua tim Revolta Motion adalah teman kuliah, kami memiliki passion yang sama. Apa spesialisasi Revolta Motion? Revolta mengerjakan semuanya yang berhubungan dengan video production, dari pre-production hingga online finishing. Kami membagi tim menurut bidang kerjanya, yaitu post-production, offline atau online editing, animasi, dan sound mixing. Servis yang kami tawarkan adalah solusi all-in-one untuk klien. Apa filosofi hidup Anda? Filosofi saya adalah melakukan hal-hal yang tidak bisa dilakukan orang lain dan menjadi yang terbaik ketika melakukannya. Apa pendekatan yang dilakukan tim Anda ketika mulai bekerja dengan klien baru? Bagaimana Anda menyesuaikan setiap marketing plan? Mendekati klien punya trik tersendiri. Kadang kami bertemu dengan klien yang strict, kadang juga bertemu klien yang santai. Ishmine, istri saya, dalam perannya sebagai produser, membantu pendekatan ke klien ketika saya sibuk di studio, ia juga memiliki insting yang bagus di bidang marketing. Apa yang membedakan karya Anda dengan wedding video lainnya? Tahun ini kami mencoba untuk membuat formula baru yang beda dengan studio lain yang juga memproduksi wedding video yang sangat indah, dengan latar cerita yang membuat klien-klien menitikan airmata di akhir video. Kami akan memancing decak kagum, membuat mereka menangis, dan sekaligus tertawa pada saat yang bersamaan Apakah Anda pernah menambahkan motion graphics di dalam wedding video? Apakah klien bisa meminta hal tersebut? Pernah, satu kali… sebuah video pre-wedding, sebuah proyek yang seru pengerjaannya karena kebanyakan klien tidak meminta hal tersebut. Saya sangat excited mengerjakannya karena itu adalah pertama kali wedding client menginginkan mograph dan kami tentunya menyukai suatu tantangan. Apakah klien besar sering memiliki ide tersendiri tentang keinginan mereka yang Anda pikir bisa dibuat lebih menarik? Apakah Anda kadang merasa butuh membuka mata mereka kepada ide-ide baru? Beberapa klien besar kami memiliki tim kreatif sendiri dan ada beberapa area yang tidak bisa kami sentuh, namun kebanyakan mereka terbuka akan ide-ide baru. Butuh waktu untuk memproses sebuah proyek dan kami harus memberikan presentasi yang luar biasa untuk meyakinkan mereka. Beberapa klien tidak punya ide sama sekali dan itu sangat wajar, karena disitulah kami berperan. Kami masih bisa menginspirasi mereka untuk melihat banyak ide lain untuk proyek mereka. Seberapa bebas Anda berkarya dalam sebuah produksi video musik? Video musik adalah proyek favorit saya. Saya bisa memberikan ide apapun kedalam proses produksi dan editing. The possibilities are endless dan rasanya
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local heroes What’s your favourite piece of work to date? What best encapsulates your aesthetic? My fave will be the project we working on now. It’s a video documentary for the Nat Geo people. We are collaborating with a very talented director and photographer, David Murrell, and senior producer, George Muskens, from DragonSlayer Asia. Lots of professionals are getting involved and we are learning a lot. For aesthetics, I love my work on music videos as there is much more freedom to explore any visuals. How long does it take to create the motion graphics for a piece like The All New Honda Beat commercial, which seems very intensive? For that project, one of the production companies in Jakarta hired me to do the motion graphics. It took two weeks to do the keying and animation. It’s always fun, especially when involving many creative people on a project. What are your usual working hours? Like Batman, I work mostly at night, and sleep in the early morning. My lovely wife motivates me to work in the mornings, almost like a normal person, and reminds me to have much healthier habits. It’s hard, but I’m getting there. What do you do when you’re not geeking out at work? Bar-hopping, watching movies, enjoying the sunset, playing games with my boy, trying out new places we’ve never been to before, making fun projects of our own . . . experimenting. A lot of your clips are posted on Vimeo, which is blocked in Bali. What’s your view of Vimeo being blocked here? I’ve stuck with Vimeo because it has more professional content and the video compression is a lot better than YouTube. I don’t understand what my government was thinking by blocking Vimeo. They are missing the big picture here – the importance of this site is for the creative industry, especially video makers to show their reel online. The internet is the most powerful media for “creativepreneur” cycle industries. But we have YouTube as well for a backup . . . let’s just hope they don’t block that one too. Are there any challenges being based in Denpasar? Yes. There are always some challenges, no matter where we are, but I embrace challenges that motivate me to do better and to dare more in doing something out of the box. Challenges are the key to a creative mindset. It’s a dream for all production companies to have their business based in Bali, but the market here is not big yet. We get most of our projects from Jakarta. I like Bali, the traffic is still alright compared to Bandung and Jakarta. We get to enjoy the beach, and we get to know many people from around the world. What are you working on right now, and what does the future hold? My team and I are busy doing post-production for an international TV programme. In the future, we have a new music video and commercial project. Hopefully, all will go well this year. What’s your dream project? Making a short sci-fi movie. www.revoltamotion.tv
seperti sedang membuat karya seni. Tidak ada aturan yang harus diterapkan dan tidak ada masalah selama klien senang. Apa proyek favorit yang pernah Anda kerjakan dan apa yang paling bisa menyalurkan estetika menurut Anda? Favorit saya adalah proyek yang sedang kami kerjakan saat ini. Sebuah video dokumenter untuk National Geographic. Kami berkolaborasi dengan director dan photographer yang sangat bertalenta, David Murrell dan senior producer George Muskens dari Dragon Slayer Asia. Banyak talenta profesional yang terlibat dan kami banyak belajar dari mereka. Untuk estetika, saya senang mengerjakan video musik karena kebebasan berkarya yang bisa di-explore. Berapa lama waktu yang dibutuhkan untuk menyelesaikan motion graphics seperti iklan The All New Honda Beat, yang terlihat sangat rumit? Untuk proyek tersebut, salah satu perusahaan produksi di Jakarta menugaskan saya untuk untuk mengerjakan motion graphic-nya. Butuh waktu dua minggu untuk mengerjakan keying dan animation. It’s always fun, terutama ketika melibatkan banyak orang kreatif di dalam sebuah proyek. Jam berapa biasanya Anda mulai bekerja? Seperti Batman, saya biasa bekerja di malam hari dan tidur saat matahari terbit. Istri tercinta memotivasi saya untuk bekerja pada pagi hari, seperti manusia normal, dan mengingatkan saya untuk menjalani hidup yang lebih sehat. Susah memang, tapi saya sedang berusaha. Apa yang Anda lakukan saat sedang tidak mengutak-atik pekerjaan? Bar-hopping, menonton film, menikmati sunset, bermain dengan putra saya, mencoba tempat-tempat yang belum pernah didatangi, membuat proyek pribadi saya… bereksperimen. Anda banyak meng-upload video di Vimeo, yang sudah di-block di Indonesia. Apa pendapat Anda tentang hal tersebut? Saya selalu menggunakan Vimeo karena banyak video profesional yang dapat ditemukan di website tersebut, dengan video compression yang jauh lebih baik dari YouTube. Saya tidak mengerti apa yang ada di pikiran pemerintah ketika menutup akses Vimeo. Mereka tidak mengerti kegunaan website tersebut untuk industri kreatif di Indonesia, terutama video makers untuk menayangkan video reels mereka online. Tapi kami masih memiliki YouTube channel sebagai backup… semoga pemerintah tidak menutup akses YouTube juga. Apa ada tantangan tersendiri dengan lokasi studio yang berada di Denpasar? Ya. Tantangan selalu ada dimanapun kita berada, tapi saya menyukai tantangan yang terus memotivasi saya untuk lebih baik dan lebih berani dalam melakukan sesuatu yang berbeda. Tantangan adalah kunci bagi creative mindset. Banyak production company yang bermimpi untuk memiliki basis di Bali, sayangnya pasar di Bali belum terlalu ramai. Kami kebanyakan mendapat proyek dari Jakarta. Saya menyukai Bali, macetnya jalanan disini masih lebih baik daripada Bandung dan Jakarta. Kami bisa menikmati pantai dan kenal dengan orang-orang dari berbagai belahan dunia. Apa yang sedang Anda kerjakan saat ini dan apa proyek selanjutnya? Saya dan tim sedang sibuk mengerjakan post-production untuk program TV internasional. Selanjutnya, kami ada proyek iklan dan video musik. Semoga semuanya berjalan lancar di tahun ini. Apa proyek impian Anda? Membuat sebuah film pendek bertema sci-fi. www.revoltamotion.tv
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Tidak ada pesan yang merangkum semua karya, karena setiap karya punya tema sendirisendiri.
MEET BALINESE ILLUSTRATOR, GRAPHIC AND PATTERN DESIGNER, MONEZ.
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Florto.
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Siapa itu MONEZ? Saya adalah illustrator, graphic designer, dan juga pattern designer. Saya tinggal di Denpasar-Bali. Saya suka mengkombinasi elemen tradisional dan modern ke dalam karyakarya saya. Sebagian besar karya-karya saya terinspirasi oleh cerita-cerita rakyat (urban legend), dan dunia monster. Beberapa artwork saya telah dipamerkan di dalam dan di luar negeri. Karya anda memiliki ciri khas yang kuat dalam warna dan karakter. Bagaimana anda mengembangkan ide-idenya? Pada dasarnya saya suka dengan ilustrasi-ilustrasi klasik, baik itu ilustrasi pewayangan maupun ilustrasi China/Jepang klasik. Karya-karya klasik sebagian besar diciptakan berdasarkan cerita rakyat dan legenda yang ada di masyarakat tersebut. Untuk warna mereka menggunakan warna-warna alam, sehingga menjadi warna yang sangat khas. Hal itulah yang menjadi dasar dari karakter dan warna pada karya-karya saya. Bagaimana bisa anda menjadi kontributr artis produk Wacom?. Untuk Wacom, itu bermula dari sekitar tahun 2012 saat saya ditunjuk untuk mendemonstasikan produk terbaru mereka. Akhirnya sampai sekarang kerjasama kami terus berlanjut.
Anda ingin berkolaborasi dengan siapa?. Saya akan senang sekali jika berkolaborasi dengan James Jean (tertawa). Siapa idola anda? James Jean, Mary Blair. Bila bukan sebagai illustrator atau desainer, anda ingin menjadi apa?
Ada pesan2 khusus dibalik karya anda?.
Business man atau Teacher.
Tidak ada pesan yang merangkum semua karya, karena setiap karya punya tema sendiri-sendiri.
Karya terbesar apa yang menurut anda pernah buat?.
Apa Pendapat Anda mengenai Dunia Illustrasi di bali?. Pertumbuhannya sangat pesat dibandingkan dengan 10 tahun yang lalu. Kalau dulu saya kesulitan mencari teman untuk diajak sharing tentang digital painting, kini sudah banyak sekali yang bisa diajak sharing. Perkembangannya sangat pesat, dan penuh semangat. Apa anda punya ketertarikan lain selain dunia ilustrasi?. Saya suka bermain skateboard dan hampir 9 tahun, tapi bukan skater extreme, hanya untuk fun dan sosialisai.
Saya pernah terlibat dalam pameran estafet keliling dunia dalam rangka peringatan seorang legenda surfing, Jack O’Neill. Namun hanya karya saya saja yang ikut, saya tetap di Bali memantau perjalan karya itu melalui internet. Saya juga pernah terlibat dalam perayaan ulang tahun BATMAN di Jakarta, saat itu saya dan beberapa illustrator Indonesia ditunjuk untuk merespon logo Batman. Siapa artist illustrator terbaik di Bali saat ini menurut anda?. Banyak talent baru bermunculan. Semua berkarya dengan style mereka sendiri, seru sekali. Apa bayangan Anda tentang MONEZ di masa depan? Saya ingin mengembangkan bisnis ini lebih maju lagi, kedepan saya ingin memiliki sebuah studio yang berisikan kumpulan illustrator-ilustrastor hebat, mengerjakan project besar, bersenang-senang, dan banyak uang. Terima kasih Monez atas ngobrolnya. Sama-sama. Sukses selalu buat KUBAN Magazine. www.monez.net
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Iron Lady.
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Fish. Left: Monstero.
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fashion x-factor child, your birthright beckons stardust memory a singularity formed in delicious duality beginnings . . . no end in sight insight will come playful processes on the learning curve joyous romps unburdened by the burden of time at least for now look upwards in wonder your smallness is a blessing in the vastness find humour amidst the sternness of storms
growth, not by proxy but by precocious perusal your soul warms the cockles of hearts your spirit yours to define awareness expanding ever outwards as galaxies expand silken threads of inner beauty we hear your roar we revel in your vibrant power reverberations in the molecular modicum on the swings and roundabouts of modernity in the give and take that determines the nature of love
Photos: Lukas Vrtilek Models: Inka Williams (Balistarz), Tristan Iskandar (Balistarz) Stylist: Angie Angorro; Production: Best In Bali; Make Up Artist: Tomas Moucka. 32
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Clothes and accessories, selection from these fabulous shops: NAMU Jl. Petitenget 234x Petitenget, Bali, Indonesia 80361 www.namustore.com DRIFTER Jl. Oberoi #50 Seminyak Bali, Indonesia 80361 www.driftersurf.com JEWEL ROCKS Jl. Petitenget No.1A, Seminyak, Bali, www.jewelrocks.com
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passions eat streets
Down, down, deeper & down.
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S T E P H A N IE M EE
P L U N G ES INTO THE WORLD OF F R EE D I V I N G O N B A L I . photo s by O l i C hr i s t e n .
PICTURE this: You are floating on the surface of the ocean wearing just a wetsuit, fins and goggles. You take a few deep breaths using your diaphragm to fill your lungs to capacity, and on the last breath you slip beneath the surface and glide down to the sea floor. On your way down you pass silvery schools of fish and coral formations, and after a few powerful strokes, you sink softly into the sand. Without the Darth Vader-like breathing sounds of scuba, you are instantly aware of the silence and serenity of the deep, and the lack of bubbles means you have a direct line of vision to the fish and marine creatures at your fingertips. A deep sense of calmness sets in, and you feel both incredibly liberated and deeply connected to the watery playground around you. This is freediving, and people from around the globe have been practising it for centuries. Yet at the same time it is a relatively new recreational sport to hit the underwater scene in Bali. In 2010 the only freediving school in Indonesia was at Manta Dive on neighbouring Gili Trawangan, but today you can find an ever-increasing number of professional freediving schools scattered around Bali. Also known as apnea, freediving is essentially diving where you rely on your own breath capacity and control, and it has been described by some as one of the most euphoric experiences you can have on land or sea. Records show that divers in Ancient Greece used breath control and weights to descend to great depths to collect valuable resources like sponges and coral. During wartime the ancient Romans employed a special group of divers called urinatores who would dismantle underwater barricades and sabotage enemy ships. Perhaps the most famous freedivers are the Ama from Japan and Korea, who began collecting deep-water pearls, oysters and abalone over 2,000 years ago and still carry on the tradition to this day. Freediving as a competitive sport can be traced back to 1949 when an Italian fighter pilot and accomplished spear fisher named Raimondo Bucher made a bet that he could reach a depth of 30 metres underwater on a single breath. His success and that of
subsequent deep-water divers prompted a plucky young lad named Enzo Maiorca to really push the limits, and he went on to break the 50-metre barrier despite scientists saying it was physically impossible. One of Maiorca’s biggest competitors was Frenchman Jacques Mayol, who was the first freediver to reach a depth of 100 metres and an influential force on the evolution of freediving as we know it today. Mayol and Maiorca’s friendly rivalry was depicted in Luc Besson’s blockbuster film The Big Blue, and although it was heavily fictionalised, the film remains a cult classic among diehard divers. Today freediving is utilised for practical pursuits like fishing, resource gathering, and the scientific study of marine mammals like whales and dolphins. It can also be incorporated into many hobbies and sports like underwater photography, synchronised swimming and surfing. Then of course, there is competitive freediving where divers compete to break records for depth (no-limits apnea), distance (dynamic apnea), or timed breath holding underwater (static apnea). Ask any freediver what drew them to the sport, and most of them will say it was the Zen-like sense of tranquillity they felt from their first dive, plus the freedom of movement that you just don’t get in scuba diving. Matthew Smyth of Apneista, Bali’s first freediving school, says: “In freediving you are connecting with the underwater environment in a more intimate way. Fish and other creatures are not scared off by the noise and movement of scuba bubbles, and you can move through the water in a much freer way making interactions, especially with big fish, much more natural.” Basic freediving techniques include breath work such as training your diaphragm muscles to push oxygen deep into your lungs and relaxation exercises to encourage longer breath holding, plus equalisation methods, proper weighting, and streamlined swimming. Apneista offers courses ranging from introduction courses for beginners all the way up to a freediving instructor programme. “Apneista has an individual-focused approach to freediving that is firmly rooted in science. The courses we offer combine techniques
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passions Freediving Schools Apneista Located just steps from the ocean in the small village of Jemeluk in Amed, Apneista offers friendly, noncompetitive classes based on the SSI (Scuba Schools International) freediving curriculum. Classes focus on technique, comfort, and safety procedures, and they also incorporate yoga routines specifically designed for freedivers. Class sizes are purposely small so that the qualified instructors can adapt each training session to individual needs. www.apneista.com Freedive Flow Freedive Flow is based in Sanur, and they offer AIDA (Association Internationale pour le Développement de l'Apnée) courses. AIDA oversees championships and world record attempts, and they create international standards for safe and efficient freediving techniques. The courses hold a maximum of four students per instructor in open water sessions, and each session is taped on HDvideo, so you can analyse your dives together with your instructor. Freedive Flow can also arrange deep-water courses in Amed and Tulamben. www.balifreedive.com Fusion Freediving Founded in 2011, Fusion Freediving offers courses that range from intro classes for absolute beginners to advanced classes for experienced freedivers. The courses follow the SSI and Pure Apnea curriculums, and they take place in Fusion’s state-of-the-art freediving centre and in the water in Amed, or at their secondary location in Sanur at the Rip Curl School of Surf water sports centre. www.fusionfreedive.com Apnea Bali The professional freediving classes at Apnea Bali utilise the SSI and Apnea Total systems, and the centre also offers personalised one-on-one training sessions, competition preparation, and workshops on specific freediving skills. Each of the experienced instructors here is fully certified and comes from a water sports background, and they work closely with students to tailor the classes to each student’s unique abilities and goals. www.apneabali.com Manta Dive Gili Trawangan’s favourite dive operator, Manta Dive, was the first in the country to offer freediving courses and they are still going strong. The comprehensive classes here include an intro freediving course, static apnea training, and advanced freediving, and each class includes theory sessions, breathing techniques, depth training sessions, fun dives, equipment, and course materials. www.manta-dive.com
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from competitive freediving with insights from meditation and yoga,” Matthew says. “Students can expect to learn the science of the breath and the body in water, the mechanics of moving fluidly in the water, and the huge importance of the mind in everything we are and do.” Controlling the mind is an important facet of freediving, as it can be easy for panic to set in when the body is deprived of oxygen. But what many people don’t realise is that the human body actually has an amazing built-in mechanism to adapt to the underwater world. As soon as your face is immersed in cold water, a reaction called the mammalian diving reflex occurs, which slows your heart rate down by about 10 to 20 per cent. This helps to preserve oxygen by reducing oxygen flow through the bloodstream. Moreover, as you dive deeper, your body shifts blood from your limbs to your vital organs like your brain and heart, and your lungs temporarily fill up with blood plasma to prevent them from collapsing under the pressure. This is why freedivers can reach great depths and stay underwater so long without causing irreparable damage to their bodies. With such a profound effect on the entire body, freediving may seem like a particularly physically demanding sport. However, like scuba diving, the sport is accessible to anyone with the desire to give it a go. Oli Christen of Freedive Flow in Sanur says: “Freediving as a competitive sport is a marginal occurrence. There are very few people who actually train to gain numbers and titles. The majority of freediving happens on a recreational level for the fun of it, or applied as a training form, as in modern surfing. “The only requirement to enrol in a course is to be able to swim. So, yes, the out of shape smoker is just as welcome
to freediving as the Olympic swimmer. The first few miles under water are all about relaxation and technique anyway, performance comes later… much later.” When Oli set up Freedive Flow in 2011, he saw mostly backpackers signing up for the courses, but today he sees a broad spectrum of students. “I get requests from whole families, or by dive centres, surf schools, or even business schools asking how to implement freediving in their programmes,” he says. “One of my favourite jobs is to train surfers to their maximum breath hold capacity. Surfers are by definition quite well trained athletes, and it’s fantastic to see their progress from entry-level to breath-hold-pro in an amazingly short time.” Apneista also sees the full gamut of first-time freedivers. Matthew says: “We get all levels; from people with a fear of water to experienced spear fishermen who already dive deep; from very fit to not very fit at all. And from all walks of life from CEO’s of oil companies to striptease artists and professional soldiers.” According to the Apneista team, Bali is the ideal spot for freediving for its warm waters, easy shore access, varied dive sites, rich underwater life, and friendly dive community, which may explain the dramatic increase in interest over the past few years. For those who have not yet tried freediving but are curious to take the plunge, Oli says: “Freediving is a very honest teacher. You learn how to relax ‘on demand’, but get your butt slapped immediately when you try to cheat or get cocky. That being said, it’s impossible to explain the bliss of being underwater on a breath hold. The experience truly starts in the first moment you try for yourself.”
Feeling blue.
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FEATURE
rush hour
Turn on, tune out, drop in.
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waterbom rocks stephanie mee's world. indonesian text by ayundari gunansyach.
Chances are during the rainy season you’re going to get wet anyway, so you may as well go whole hog. That was my thinking when I set off with some friends for a trip to one of the wettest and wildest places on the island – Waterbom Bali. Set on 3.8 hectares of tropical gardens in the heart of Kuta, Waterbom has been thrilling guests of all ages since 1993 and is still going strong. In fact, the park was recently voted the #1 Waterpark in Asia and #5 Waterpark in the World from the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards. Add an EarthCheck Silver certification for exemplary environmental efforts, and you’ve got a pretty impressive venue. Our motley crew for the day included three adults and one 11-year old, and we knew that at a park of this calibre we had to get there early to avoid the queues. After a quick check-in, we were all suited up to hit the slides before the clock struck 10. As we set out we could hear the sounds of rushing water and screams of exhilaration. The first slide we braved was Boomerang, where we embarked on a rubber raft, twisted wildly around a loop and careened down a 20-metre drop that shot us up the side of a half-pipe. At first it seemed like the raft was going to fly straight over the edge, but gravity prevailed at the last minute and we swooshed back down into the pool. Next up was the infamous Climax. Winning maximum points on Waterbom’s rating scale for speed, drench and thrill, Climax starts in a small chamber hovering 16-metres above the ground, and then deposits you through a trapdoor for a stomach-dropping vertical journey followed by a lightning fast swoop upwards through a tube and back down through a series of loops. To break up the adrenaline rush of the slides, we stopped at the
Di musim penghujan Anda pasti akan kebasahan saat keluar rumah. Kalau begitu kenapa tidak sekalian berbasah-basahan, berenang, dan bermain? Itulah yang ada di pikiran saya ketika memutuskan untuk keluar dan memberanikan diri menempuh perjalanan menuju Waterbom yang berada di bagian Selatan Kuta. Berdiri di atas tanah seluas 3,8 hektar, Waterbom telah lama memanjakan pengunjungnya yang terdiri dari berbagai macam usia, sejak tahun 1993 tepatnya, dan masih terus menjadi tujuan favorit di pulau Bali. Bahkan Waterbom dinobatkan sebagai #1 Waterpark di Asia dan #5 Waterpark di dunia dari TripAdvisors Travellers’ Choice Awards di tahun 2013 dan 2014. Hari itu saya mengunjungi Waterbom bersama tiga teman dan seorang anak berusia 11 tahun. Kami semua tahu bahwa untuk menghindari antrian masuk yang panjang di sebuah waterpark sebesar ini adalah dengan datang lebih cepat. Setelah check-in – yang cepat dan mudah, kami langsung bersiap untuk mencoba atraksi-atraksi yang ada sebelum jarum jam menunjukan jam 10. Sementara bersiap, kami dapat dengan jelas mendengar gemericik air dan teriakan-teriakan penuh excitement dengan jelas diantara rimbunnya pohon. Slide pertama yang menjadi pemberhentian kami adalah Boomerang. Di slide ini, kami harus menaiki rakit karet, berputar di sebuah lingkaran, dan dijatuhkan setinggi 20 meter di pipa terbuka. Saat dijatuhkan, awalnya terasa seperti akan melayang jatuh dari tepian, tetapi gravitasi bumi menyelamatkan kami dan rakit berjalan kembali di jalurnya sebelum masuk ke kolam renang. Lalu kami menuju Climax yang memenangkan poin terbesar di Waterbom untuk segi kecepatan, kebasahan, dan thrill. Climax dimulai di sebuah ruang kecil yang naik 16 meter tingginya dari permukaan tanah, lalu kami dihadapkan pada trapdoor yang mengirim kami dalam suatu perjalanan vertikal ke bawah, diikuti oleh tukikan super
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Water Blaster booths where we catapulted water balloons at bullseye targets, getting each other absolutely soaked in the process. The Euro Bungy was also too good to pass up, so we cajoled each other to do flips and somersaults as the device flung us a heart-racing nine metres in the air. Finally we hit up Waterbom’s four newest slides. Constrictor is the longest waterslide in the world and it offers a swiftly winding tube ride above the trees. The Green Vipers use Silk-Tec technology to shoot you along a series of slick twists and turns, and Python can fit up to four people on a circular tube that surges and swirls its way down a dark passage and then slings you across a six-metre open-air span. Of course, Waterbom didn’t earn its accolades for slides alone. Turn down nearly any path and you find food stalls offering ice cream, popcorn, churros, and hot dogs. Wantilan food court serves Indonesian, Mexican, and Japanese cuisine, and at reggae-themed The Shack, you can chill out for hours at rustic wooden picnic tables with cold beers, tropical cocktails and tasty bar snacks. With so much on offer you might think that it couldn’t get any better, but Waterbom is setting the bar high once again. Keep your eyes peeled for its new slides opening in 2015 that are sure to get the adrenalin pumping and the good times flowing for both young and old. www.waterbom-bali.com
cepat mengikuti bentuk slide, dan melewati beberapa lingkaran sebelum menghampiri kolam renang. Untuk mengurangi adrenaline rush dari slides yang ada, kami berhenti di Water Blaster booths, di mana kami melemparkan balon-balon berisi air ke target-target yang ada, kami semua berbasahbasahan di permainan ini. Euro Bungy juga sayang untuk dilewatkan, maka kami saling memberanikan diri untuk berlompatan dan jungkir balik setinggi sembilan meter. Terakhir kami mencoba empat slides terbaru Waterbom yang menambah keriaan waterpark tersebut. Constrictor adalah waterslide terpanjang di dunia, menawarkan open-air tube ride yang tangkas, lebih tinggi dari pepohonan. The Green Vipers adalah body slides dengan teknologi Slik-Tec yang mengantarkan kami di perjalanan penuh kelokan. Lalu ada Python yang cukup untuk empat orang dalam dalam sebuah circular tube yang menyentak dan berputar melalui sebuah lorong gelap dan memasuki bagian open-air sebelum mengirim kami meluncuri jalur sejauh enam meter. Tentu saja Waterbom tidak mendapatkan begitu banyak pujian hanya karena permainanpermainannya. Hampir di setiap pojokan Waterbom kami menemukan kios makanan yang menyajikan snacks seperti ice cream, popcorn, churros, dan hot dogs. Wantilan food court menghadirkan pilihan hidangan Indonesia, Mexico, dan Jepang, dan di The Shack yang bertema reggae, Anda bisa bersantai di meja-meja piknik dari kayu rustic ditemani bir dingin, tropical cocktails, dan bar snacks yang lezat. Dengan begitu banyaknya hal yang ditawarkan Waterbom, Anda mungkin berpikir Waterbom tidak mungkin menjadi lebih menyenangkan dari ini. Namun jangan lengah dan terus ikuti kabar terbaru dari Waterbom untuk slides terbaru mereka di tahun 2015, yang pasti akan memompa adrenaline dan menjanjikan good times baik untuk tua maupun muda. www.waterbom-bali.com
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The slides just keep coming at Waterbom.
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Photography: Justin Crawford Styling: The รถ Models: Miriam Adler and Jacob Boylan shot on location in byron bay All hats fallenBROKENstreet available at a.muse and Drifter in Bali. All clothing vintage from a.muse. Sunglasses by Prisoners of St Petersburg
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R a i ny daz e weather not up to its usual standards? DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE TO STAY COOPED UP INSIDE, WRITES STEPHANIE MEE, who steps out for a spot of indoor action.
Bowling and Bouncing at Canggu Club COME rain or shine Canggu Club is a prime spot for families and friends of all ages. Besides having some of the best sporting facilities on the island, the Canggu Club was recently revamped to include a water park and a separate building with a ten-pin bowling alley, custom designed trampoline centre, and restaurant and bar. Strap on your two-tone shoes and get the ball rolling at Strike Bowling where each of the six lanes has plush leather seats, computerised scoring systems and state-of-the-art automatic pinsetters. There are also special props for kids (and adults who want a bit of a boost) like bumpers to prevent balls from winding up in the gutters. During your game you can also fuel up with cold beers, cocktails, light bites and family-size pizzas. Of course, you could forget the shoes altogether and hit up Bounce Bali Trampoline Centre for off-the-wall antics in a room covered in spring-loaded trampolines lining the floors and walls. The frames of the trampolines are covered in two-inch-thick safety pads, so you don’t have to worry about snagging a spring, and you have your choice of free-bouncing or joining one of the group games like basketball or dodgeball. Tel: 0361 848 3939 www.cangguclub.com Box Office Hits at Beachwalk XXI WHAT better way to pass a rainy day than to take in the latest Hollywood hits on the big screen? Located on level two of Beachwalk Bali, Beachwalk XXI is a branch of Cinema XXI, Indonesia’s largest and most modern movie theatre chain. Using only the most advanced audio and visual technology, the cinema
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screens the hottest new movies on the international circuit, as well as Indonesian and Asian feature films. There are three studios at Beachwalk XXI and you have your choice of deluxe or premiere seating. The deluxe studios feature plush seats, plenty of space and world-class screens and sound systems, while the premiere studio has just 50 seats, business class reclining chairs, blankets, and a special VIP lounge. To get the best deals on tickets, visit the cinema between Monday and Thursday when the deluxe studio seats go for IDR50,000 and the premiere studio seats are a steal at just IDR75,000. Tel: 0361 846 5621 www.beachwalkbali.com Dancing ‘Til Dawn at Sky Dome Super Club IF you are seeking some after-dark action in Kuta, simply follow the masses to Sky Dome Super Club for an evening of cool cocktails, killer beats by local and international DJs, and nonstop party action. This ultra chic nightclub can hold up to 3,000 revellers, and their top-of-the-line sound system and high-tech laser lighting ensures that the dance floor is always heaving. No matter what night of the week you go, there is sure to be something happening, as they have a regular event line-up that includes the popular University Nights and famous International DJ Series. For those who need a break from the dance floor, Sky Dome Super Club is part of the 61Legian Sky Garden super complex, which means they have eight venues under one roof to choose from. Get caught up on the footy at George’s Sports Bar, chill out with friends old and new in the Romper Room, or grab some bites at the ESC Urban Food Station. The complex stays open until the
Bowled over at Canggu Club.
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in bound
Heavenly Spa.
early hours of the morning, which is great in the rainy season because you won’t have to worry about sleeping through another beautiful sunny day. Tel: 0361 255 423 www.61legian.com Holistic Healing at Heavenly Spa by Westin AN overcast day is a great excuse to treat your self to some serious pampering, and there is no better place to indulge than the luxurious Heavenly Spa at The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali. Here they concentrate on holistic wellness with a range of healthy activities like yoga and meditation, as well as divine body and beauty treatments that draw inspiration from traditional Balinese healing rituals. Treatments at Heavenly Spa include exfoliating body scrubs, moisturising wraps, purifying facials, and soothing massages. They also offer a range of salon services including crème baths, waxing, manicures and pedicures. Professionally trained spa therapists administer all treatments, and they use locally sourced products like seaweed, coffee, volcanic mud and sacred stones from the Ayung River. Be sure to get there early for your appointment so you can take advantage of the Himalayan salt sauna, steam room and hydro pool. To get the full spa experience, book yourself in for one of Heavenly Spa’s Balinese rituals that have you blissed out from the very beginning with breath balancing exercises, incense and meditation. Depending on the package you choose, the treatment continues with a combination of a body scrub, mask or wrap, massage, facial and hand and foot treatment.
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Epicness at Sky Garden.
For those visiting with little ones, the spa is currently offering a special Mother and Kid Pampering Break promotion where mothers get a onehour massage with your choice of a body scrub or manicure and kids get a 45-minute massage, twinkle toes and fancy fingers treatment, or a mini-facial and temporary tattoo for just IDR1,950,000 for one adult and one child. Tel: 0361 849 8888 www.heavenlyspabali.com Quiz Night at Gracie Kelly’s OUTDOOR activities may be out, but you can exercise your mind every Tuesday and Thursday at Gracie Kelly’s quiz nights. Step into Bali’s first and only authentic Irish pub and you can feel the craic flowing as punters gather over Guinness at the long wooden bar and diners tuck into hearty plates of traditional Irish pub fare. Resident band the Rais Paddies add to the atmosphere with lively Irish tunes as the quizmaster prepares to challenge you with his mix of eclectic questions. Tuesday night is fun for all ages at the Family Charity Quiz, where questions are geared towards both young and old. Thursdays are perfect for those holding a fount of useless information with the General Knowledge Quiz. Great prizes are on offer for those who can outsmart the rest, and proceeds from the evening go towards local charities. After the quiz, the band keeps on rocking and the Jameson keeps on flowing. Tel: 0361 752 403 www.balidynasty.com/hotel/restaurants-and-bars/gracie-kellys
Villa
Palma
Genteel style • Gracious living
Fully-staffed, elegant, colonial-style 4-bedroom pool villa on a quiet cul-de-sac close to Berawa Beach
V
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l
l
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palma www.villapalmacanggu.com
info@villapalmacanggu.com Jl. Subak Sari No.8, Berawa Beach, nr. LV8 Resort, Canggu, Bali, Indonesia
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T: +62 81 236 301330
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+62 81 734 7389
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tom hickman HEADS OUT in search of . . .
. . . because we can't live without it.
GRACIE KELLY’S THE Irish pub of legend is famed for its warm welcome, enthusiastic singing and Guinness. Gracie Kelly’s delivers all three in style. The welcome was turbocharged by the sweet air-conditioned chill that calmed my sweat and prepared me well for the first (and truly) cold beer of the evening – a pint of draft Kilkenny. The beer was perfectly cold, smooth and darkly tanned - a promising opener on my mission to find the coldest beer in Kuta. GK’s – a Kuta legend – turned out to be a strong choice for the first stop on a journey into the heart of coldness. The barman was clearly Irish in a Balinese body suit: charm personified. Meanwhile an old guy who looked just like my dad was summoned up from the audience by the band and smashed out a few lines of country and western. Maybe I'm too young for this joint? The Balinese lead singer, in thick Aussie accent, dove headfirst into A Land Down Under. Respect #retro. www.balidynasty.com SKY GARDEN I FANCIED a quiet beer next but instead ended up in Sky Garden. Down the Legian strip from Kuta central SG has been corrupting young Australians for years. Up on the roof is a feast for the senses but the beer, a 330ml San Miguel, is a sub optimum cool and I'm hot. It's a little below room temp. The pumping hip hop-fuelled energy here is too much for this poor little lager shipped all the way from Spain. I love the tree growing out of the central bar – it really is a garden in the sky but dang I forgot my singlet and truckers cap. Next time. Now for a local Bintang . . . that's more like it, chilly cold. And the music . . . smokin'. www.61legian.com
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SURFERS’ BAR I AM greeted with a Bali Hai – in fact make that a pair . . . it's happy hour. Just gone 10pm in Kuta and the party has barely started. The beer gets a lowly six-out-of-10 coldness rating but luckily the live music is a 9.5 and buy-one-get-two helps ease the pain. It will have to do and I'm still barely 20 per cent into my journey. They say Kuta is a state of mind and we'll see what Seminyak has to offer my inner backpacker tomorrow night. In my search for the Colonel Kurtz of beers I'm not that far down the Nung River. Roll on bar four . . . YUT'Z PLACE FINALLY a properly quiet beer in Yut’z Place – a coldness rating of eight-out-of-10. They must have known I was coming. My Heineken is guarded from the heat by a neoprene stubbie holder. Not much to report: beautiful bar service (they threw in a Limoncello on ice) and a Buddha-like calm. The beer tastes great. Clearly Dutch beers travel better than Spanish ones. www.yutzplace.com STADIUM CAFÉ NO BETTER place to start day two than a sports bar – paradise for the armchair quarterback. The beer: a draft Bintang Pilsener served up in a traditional pint pot. Australia’s cricketers were busy hammering India on the eight big screens I could see from my position at the bar. Located right on the Tuban main strip this open-air beach bar-style restaurant has a superb relaxed vibe and makes a great afternoon hang out spot. How cold? A 7.5 – an iced glass would have helped but a pint never stays cold for long in Kuta!
Party on a Pot Head.
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MOTEL MEXICOLA A CORONA Extra so cold I could have sworn the slice of lime cracked a thin layer of ice as I pushed it down towards the beer. Nothing in Kuta touched this place for pure style. Motel Mexicola is as authentically Mexican and luckily no drug cartels or gang warfare here. Its ocean hacienda-style is smart yet down-to-earth and the staff are great. I’d arrived excitedly early and was kept company by some great tunes and an attentive team. Lined by booths surrounding a raised stage this makes a great dinner venue . . . or, like me, somewhere for an upmarket early evening beer and tapas. (PS: Go for the Tapas de Res and try to grab a table on the roof.) www.motelmexicolabali.com POTATO HEAD OKAY, so we’ve all heard of it – it’s where your parents go to relive their 20s or your mate takes the girl he is trying to impress. I thought I’d check it out before I headed back to my spiritual home in Kuta . . . finding the coldest beer is hard work. Yes they do cold beers, yes they are very cold, yes the DJ is awesome, yes the view will impress the girl you want, yes it makes me want to be rich.
Shame about all the “olds” trying to be cool – most of them even brought their kids – and they wonder why we all turned into party animals! www.ptthead.com GRAND BARONG PHEW – back in one piece to the town where the singlet will never go out of fashion, tattoos are compulsory and the party is 24/7. I stop at the Legian resort hotel, Grand Barong. Just off Poppies and recently sexed up, it sports an infinity pool plus waterside bar. I decide to order James Bond-style . . . throw on my board shorts, dive in and swim underwater to the bar: “A beer please barman”. The Bintang is no prize-winner but cold enough and who’s to complain. Happy days! Gracie Kelly's: Service 9/10 Atmos 8/10 Coldness 8.5/10; Sky Garden: Service 7.5/10 Atmos 8/10 Coldness 8.5/10; Surfers' Bar: Service 7/10 Atmos 7/10 Coldness 6/10; Yutz’s Place: Service 9.5/10 Atmos 8.5/10 Coldness 8.5/10; Stadium Café: Service 8/10 Atmos 7.5/10 Coldness 8.5/10; Motel Mexicola: Service 9/10 Atmos 8.5/10 Coldness 9.5/10; Potato Head: Service 9/10 Atmos 8/10 Coldness 8/10; Grand Barong: Service 8/10 Atmos 7/10 Coldness 7/10
Draughted.
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eat streets
holy crab! stephanie mee rediscovers her roots and comes out of her shell. Photos: Lucky 8.
ANY restaurant that urges you to forget your table manners, forget forks and spoons, and just dig in with your bare hands is pretty ace in my book, and even more so if the menu consists of premium seafood and icy cold beers. So when I heard that Jakarta’s famous Louisianainspired seafood restaurant, The Holy Crab, was opening a branch in Bali, I was first in line to get in. Being the Nova Scotian girl I am, I know a thing or two about crustaceans and Cajun food. Nova Scotia is famous for its lobster as well as its historical connection and culinary contribution to Louisiana. Cajun roots and cuisine can be traced back to the 1600s when French immigrants settled in Acadia, the area now known as Nova Scotia. Here they resided peacefully until 1713 when Acadia was granted to the British, who promptly decided that all residents who refused to bow to the British government would be deported. The majority of French-speaking exiles ended up in Louisiana where the term ‘Acadien’ was shortened by English speakers to Cadien, and later to Cajun. Despite my love of lobster and my hometown Cajun connection, I have never actually been to Louisiana, so I enlisted a friend to join me for the feed. Hailing from Texas, Neiman had crossed the border into Louisiana more times than he could count, so he assured me he would know the real deal when it came to Creole cuisine. Located on bustling Jalan Petitenget, The Holy Crab is easy to spot with its bright white two-storey exterior, gleaming walls of windows, and ample parking area. Inside the feeling is fresh and modern with brick walls and exposed pipes painted white, and fun and funky chalkboards proclaiming the seafood on offer. Guests have the choice of sitting at the inviting wooden bar, one of the well-spaced tables, or in one of the roomy booths along the walls. The menu and concept is the brainchild of executive chef and owner, Albert Wijaya, who spent many years studying food science and culinary arts in America. After experiencing numerous handson Louisiana style feasts, he decided the concept would be perfect for Indonesia. After all, eating by hand is part of Indonesia’s culinary culture, and seafood is a staple in this multi-island nation. The first thing we noticed upon being seated was how warm, welcoming and well spoken the staff were. Not only were they offering
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up a mix of cheerful Balinese and southern hospitality, but they were quick to explain the ins and outs of the menu to us. All of the seafood at Holy Crab is imported from either the US or Canada or sourced locally, and each dish is priced per 100 grams. Options include snow crab legs from Alaska, Nova Scotia lobsters, Dungeness crab, king crab legs, or local crawfish, mud crab, shrimps or clams. They also offer snacks like crispy fish fingers, onion rings and deep fried chicken wings, and sides like sausage and sweet corn, which Neiman assures me are a must at any Louisiana seafood feed. Once we decided on a few favourites, the staff laid down a huge piece of white paper on the table and set us up with paper towels, plastic bibs festooned with bright red crabs, and the only utensils we needed: mallets, metal crackers and scissors. Soon we were taking off our rings and rolling up our sleeves as the staff came out with plastic bags filled with saucy seafoody goodness and ceremoniously dumped the concoctions on our table. First up were plump shrimps smothered in a chunky garlic sauce followed by mud crab and massive king crab legs doused in the house special sauce. Finally, a trio of crayfish, corn and sausage completed the spread. As an added perk you can customise the heat level of your sauce to your liking. At Neiman’s insistence we opted for mild (which prompted me to openly question whether he was a true blue Texan), but if I had it my way, I would have gone for the mouth searing and slightly masochistic Holy Moly. Medium and spicy are also on offer. At this point I should mention that this is definitely not a first date place, unless you consider making a huge mess a great first impression. This is a free-for-all, cracking, snapping, slurping and munching kind of spot where you dig in with gusto and do what you have to to extract that last tender morsel of delicate crab meat or silky lobster roe. By the end of the meal we were sated, yet still salivating over the freshness of the food and the intensity of the sauces. For both of us the meal surpassed the test for the quality of the crustaceans and the authenticity of the Cajun flavours, and it definitely earned a place on the list of memorable meals. At The Holy Crab getting messy is a given, but it sure is worth it, and a whole lot of fun. www.theholycrab.co.id
Bibs provided.
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eat streets
susan hu CHECKS OUT SOME OF the ISLAND’S top SPOTS FOR A SEAFOOD feast.
Hotel Komune Bali WHAT better place to drop anchor and indulge in a leisurely seafood feast than next to the sea? Hotel Komune Bali is one of our favourite spots to chill out for the cool breezes, laid-back vibes and tasty cuisine. It also doesn’t hurt that the restaurant is front row and centre to the famous Keramas surf break, so you can take in some sick swells while you sup on that snapper. Set on 180 metres of private lawns that spill down to a nearly deserted black sand beach, Komune makes for a scenic spot to spend the day reclining on a daybed next to the pool, soaking up the rays on the wooden sundeck overlooking the ocean, or sipping on cocktails in the beach club while watching the waves roll in. Come nighttime the tunes kick in and spotlights shine out onto the sea so surfers can keep riding at Bali’s only night surfing spot. At the restaurant the mantra is simple, tasty, and fresh, and the chefs stay true to this philosophy by using fresh produce grown in Komune’s own organic garden, premium meats and locally caught seafood whenever possible. The menu includes Western and Asian gourmet delights like healthy salads, spring rolls, pizzas and pastas, as well as a tempting selection of fresh seafood. We suggest seafood lovers start with the Tuna Sashimi lightly seared and dressed with mild wasabi and soy, or the Chilli Salt Calamari served with homemade citrus mayonnaise. For mains the Seafood Risotto is a good bet as it comes with generous lashings of rock shrimp, calamari, tuna and snapper, and the Seafood Platter is great for sharing with its tempura prawns, crumbed fish goujons, calamari, snapper satay, and squid sticks. Tel: 0361 301 8888 www.komuneresorts.com/keramasbali Jimbaran Fish Market SWITCHED on chefs in Bali know that the best place to get ridiculously fresh seafood is the Jimbaran fish market. Jimbaran was once a simple fishing village that centred on the market where locals would come from far and wide to snatch up the freshest catches of the day. Although the area is now home to some of Bali’s most luxurious five-star hotels, the fish market is still going strong and
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is renowned for having the widest selection of fresh seafood on the island. The best time to visit the Jimbaran fish market is around 6am, as this is shortly after the fishermen drag in their hauls straight from the sea. Included in their nets and at the stalls are still wriggling fish, crabs, lobsters, prawns, mussels, and squid, and you can expect to rub elbows with some of Bali’s most famous fine dining chefs as you bargain with the vendors for the choicest specimens. For those who can’t wait to get home to sample your purchases, there is a grilling station at the market where cooks will barbecue up your seafood for a small fee. Of course, you can also try fresh seafood from the market at one of Jimbaran’s ubiquitous seafood restaurants lining the beach at Jimbaran Bay. No matter which eatery you choose, you can expect to find tanks of live lobsters and crabs, as well as fish like red snapper and grouper, plus clams and mussels on ice. Pick your favourites out of the array, and the staff will grill it up and serve it to you at your table directly on the sand with accompaniments like steamed greens, rice, French fries, soy sauce, sambal, and garlic butter. Golden Lotus Chinese Restaurant LOCATED in the Bali Dynasty Resort, the award-winning Golden Lotus Chinese Restaurant is renowned for its elegant oriental dining room and authentic Szechuan and Cantonese cuisine including a sizeable selection of enticing seafood dishes. Step into the air-conditioned dining room and you are treated to old world Asian charm with soaring ceilings, rich wood panelling and hanging lanterns emitting a warm glow. Guests can opt for one of the spacious tables in the main dining room or a more intimate experience in one of the private dining areas behind carved wooden screens. Popular menu items at Golden Lotus include the Seafood Dumpling Soup in a light but flavourful broth, fiery Pan-Fried Szechuan Prawns, whole steamed Grouper in Golden Sand Sauce, and the exotic Shark’s Fin Soup with Dried Scallop and Crab Meat. Those who prefer turf over surf can go for the crispy Golden Lotus
Steamin' at Bali Dynasty.
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eat streets Peking Duck or the Fried Beef in Black Pepper Sauce. To sample a wide variety of Asian delicacies, stop by on a Saturday between 10am to 2:30pm for the Free-Flow Dim Sum Lunch where you can indulge in their bountiful buffet of classic Chinese dishes like Steamed Prawn Dumplings, Sweet Corn and Crab Meat Soup, and Crispy Squid with bottomless cups of Chinese tea for just IDR135,000 nett per person. Tel: 0361 752 403 www.balidynasty.com/gl Bale Udang DINING at Bale Udang is akin to visiting a traditional Indonesian kampung, and a particularly scenic one at that. Set on a massive freshwater pond filled with koi fish, the restaurant features thatch roofed bamboo huts hovering over the water, each with its own private dining table. There is also seating in the tropical gardens and in the semi-open main dining pavilion next to the pond. Udang means shrimp or prawn in Bahasa Indonesia, so it should come as no surprise that this particular delicacy is their specialty. Seafood lovers swear by their signature dish, the Udang Bakar Madu, a generous portion of shell-on prawns grilled to perfection and drizzled in a delicate sweet honey sauce. You can also get your prawns boiled, deep-fried, sautéed, in soup, or slathered in sambal or sweet and sour sauce. Besides succulent shrimp, Bale Udang also offers a variety of fresh catches like crab, squid, and whole fish seasoned and served just the way you like it, along with Balinese and Indonesian favourites like barbecued beef ribs, crispy fried duck, and chicken satay. Side dishes range from fried rice and noodles to tempe, water spinach with garlic and chillies, and corn fritters, and you can kick the heat up a notch or three with your choice of seven different sambals. Tel: 0361 882 2000 www.baleudang.com Sushi Tei WITH its sleek white dining room, rotating sushi bar, and sublime sushi, sashimi, and sake, Sushi Tei has become a Sunset Road icon for Japanese food fans from around the globe. Snag a seat at the bar and grab tasty bites as they pass by, settle into one of the cosy booths, or dine under the stars outside on the terrace. They also have a brand new location on level two of Beachwalk Bali for those who are craving a sushi fix after shopping. Seafood purists will love Sushi Tei’s sashimi platters piled high with glistening slabs of salmon, melt-in-your-mouth tuna belly, and tender octopus. Appetisers include whole Grilled Smelt, Takoyaki octopus balls, and Spicy Scallops, and nigiri and maki fans will find all your favourites like Unagi (barbecue eel), Hamachi (yellowtail), Salmon Skin, and Spicy Tuna. However, Sushi Tei is most famous for its innovative culinary creations made with premium ingredients and presented with flair. Try the Salmon Tornado Roll, fresh raw salmon wrapped in nori and rice and topped with a delicate nest of fried shredded potato strands. The Aburi Salmon Roll comes with crab stick and soft shell crab topped with half broiled salmon and tuna floss, and the Mix Inari has an intriguing mix of tuna salad, sweet bean curd and seaweed. Tel: 0361 780 7288 www.sushitei.co.id
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Ah Yat Abalone SINCE its humble beginnings more than 20 years ago, Ah Yat Abalone has grown into an internationally acclaimed chain of Chinese restaurants with 25 venues across Asia. This has been due in part to founder and chef Yeung Koon Yat’s authentic Cantonese menus, modern creations, and his focus on fine seafood dishes. As a member of the exclusive Le Club des Chefs des Chefs, Yat knows what it takes to produce winning culinary combinations, and his talented team do just that at their new location at the eco-chic Rimba Jimbaran. The interior of Ah Yat Abalone is one part contemporary class with custom made furniture and artworks, and one part traditional Chinese appeal with classic table settings and waitresses adorned in cheong sam dresses. You can’t miss the huge built-in aquariums with more than 100 different types of live seafood on display. Once you have made your selection from the tanks, the culinary crew will prepare your dishes to your liking and serve them with your choice of sauces. As the name suggests, the specialty here is abalone and guests will find many types to choose from including Japanese Crown’s Amidori Abalone and Dried Green Lip Abalone from Mexico. Other enticing seafood dishes include the Deep Fried Sliced Cuttlefish in Spicy Salt, Doubleboiled Sea Cucumber Soup with Yellow Morel Mushroom, Baked Cod, and Lobster Sashimi. Queen’s of India SINCE opening in Bali in 2004, Queen’s of India has garnered a huge following of loyal fans who cannot get enough of their rich sauces and substantial portions. Helmed by Punjab native, Puneet Malhotra, and staffed by a crew of Indian chefs, each of the Queen’s outlets in Kuta, Seminyak, Nusa Dua and Ubud offers authentic traditional dishes from all regions of India. In addition to divine vegetarian and meat options, they also offer a solid spread of savoury seafood dishes. Each meal at Queen’s begins with a complimentary serving of crispy papadums accompanied by mango chutney, spiced mint sauce and pickled onions to nibble on while you peruse their extensive menu. Whet your appetite further with a starter plate of Fish Tikka, decent-sized cubes of fish marinated in herbs and cooked in a hot tandoor oven, or some plump Black Pepper Prawns. Continue your Indian seafood smorgasbord with a delectable main like the Fish Goa Curry, a winner with heat seekers for its fiery and tangy sauce, or the slightly milder Fish Makhanwala with fish cubes coated in an aromatic butter sauce and garnished with cream. For a real treat, try the Jumbo Prawn Hyderabadi cooked with spinach, cashews and rare spices, or share a Fish Sizzler platter with your choice of Mint, Black Pepper, or Hot Chilli sauce. Queen’s also offers unique culinary journeys that combine exciting adventures around Bali and fine Indian fare. The journeys include wildlife tours, cycling, rafting, trekking, kayaking or paragliding trips, cultural excursions, and cruises, and with each tour you get either an Indian picnic lunch or dinner on location or a lavish meal at one of their restaurants. Tel: 081 249 249 249 www.queenstandoor.com
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Hatten has been quietly winning accolades for its wines.
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hats off to hatten LAURIE OSBORNE WRAPS HIS LAUGHING GEAR AROUND SOME TOP-NOTCH LOCAL WINES . . .
IN 1994, the first and only Balinese winery began with an experimental vineyard in the north of the island. More than two decades later, the familyowned brand of Hatten Wines is more than another local success story. Defying the popular notion that quality wines cannot come from the Asian tropics, Hatten has been taking home the top awards from international wine competitions. So, where did it all go right? Perhaps it’s got something to do with the abundance of sunshine, clear mountain water and rich volcanic soil found in The Island of the Gods. As Bali doesn’t have traditional hot and cold seasons, finding ways to produce wines has had its challenges as well as some early advantages. “We’ve discovered ways to grow grapes all year round and harvest three times a year,” Brett Woodhouse, Hatten’s Aussie sales director, says. “As soon as we cut the grapes, it’s only four months until the next harvest.” Unlike traditional vineyards, the vines are trained into an overhead trellis system called a pergola. “What is most important for vines is underground water, which we have in our vineyards,” Hatten founder, Bagus Rai Budarsa, says. “The pergola system we use takes care of providing shade to the grapes, and workers, and allows us to have a few varieties of grapes which are not traditional wine grapes, but have made us some great wines over the last two decades.” After taking home seven medals from the China Wine and Spirits Awards last year, Hatten Wines went on to scoop The Best in Show Award at Decanter Asia Wine Awards in Hong Kong. “Every competition that we enter, we seem to win. We took a rosé, our sparkling Jepun, to a competition in France against the French wines and we got a silver,” Brett says. The local Probolinggo Biru and the French table grapes AlphonseLavallée and Belgia have been found to grow best in Bali’s climate. Having discovered the ideal varieties of grape, perhaps Hatten Wines’ greatest remaining challenge is convincing the island’s expats to try a local wine without prejudice. “There’s an outdated snobbery there. Some people will say they simply won’t drink a local wine,” Brett says. “It’s a great shame that expats in particular aren’t more experimental. Australian wine drinkers, for example, are used to drinking the bold heavy red wines or the very fruity Chardonnays. They taste the local wine and it’s different. “I want people to understand the wine. It’s not going to be the same as the wine they might get back home. It’s going to be a different grape variety, different climate. It’s got its own taste. We’re not trying to make a wine that tastes like a Chardonnay.” It’s this need to educate the world about equatorial wines that has seen Hatten take the unusual step of helping out its competitors with advice
in order to elevate the reputation of wines throughout Southeast Asia. Bali is the strongest winemaking region in Indonesia but throughout the New Latitude there are increasingly well-respected wines from parts of Vietnam, Thailand and India. Despite recently joining the Asian Wine Producers’ Association, there’s a lot of Aussie know-how at Hatten. “We’re proud that we have an Australian winemaker working for us. He’s a 30-year-old from South Australia. His mother lectures on winemaking, and his whole family is involved in the industry,” Brett says. Back in 2007, Hatten began introducing Australian wines to Bali by importing juices vinified in Bali. A separate brand, Two Islands, was forged to celebrate the relationship between Bali and Oz. The range includes a lively and fresh Chardonnay, a floral and fruity Riesling, a ruby red peppery Shiraz and a full-bodied, fruity flavoured Cabernet Merlot. With a capacity for bottling 5,000 bottles a day, the Hatten winery is located further south in Sanur. The state-of-the-art facility and distribution system is designed so that every bottle leaving its 56 large wine tanks arrives at shops and restaurants undamaged by exposure to heat or sunlight. “The problem with imported wines in Bali is that there’s little control of how it gets to the consumer,” Brett says. “It goes from their distribution centre to a dock, then it’s shipped to another distribution centre to a retail outlet. There’s a lot of risk. Compare that to a locally grown wine in Bali that’s made here and you know you’re going to get a beautiful wine.” In 2014, Eddie McDougall, the energetic Hong Kong/Aussie wine judge brought his television how, The Flying Winemaker, to Hatten Wines. At the end of the show’s 12-month production, Eddie had tasted over 600 wines from around the world and had to nominate his top twelve. Perhaps surprisingly, Hatten Sparkling Tunjung made the cut. “Never in my lifetime would I ever have thought Bali could produce an award-winning sparkling wine, but this wine has won multiple awards and, in the process, has stumped some of the most famous wine judges from around the globe,” The Flying Winemaker himself says. “Zingy, textured with complex characters, plus a nice bit of pear flavour completes this dark horse of a sparkling wine.” With so much international praise in the air, it’s about time Hatten Wines garnered more love at home. The next time you see Hatten on the shelf next to an over-priced Aussie import, why not check your palette for subtle hints of outdated preconception before taking a bottle home, pouring a glass and deciding for yourself ? www.hattenwines.com
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feature
LAURIE OSBORNE gets high on bali's sunsets.
Rooftop Dine & Music Lounge, THE 101 Bali Legian ONE of the liveliest rooftop venues on the island, this fourth-floor venue at the 101 Bali Legian offers panoramic urban sunsets, with fireworks often following as scheduled events kick into fifth gear. Every Wednesday and Friday, Sky Pool Bar on the floor below merges with Rooftop under the mantra: “party, sunset, swim and dance”. With music this booming, you may find yourself on your feet rather than reclining on the sunset cabanas spread out on the deck. Open every day from breakfast until midnight, Rooftop is a sunset venue located right in the heart of the action and with a strong Kuta spirit. Jalan Legian no. 117, Badung, Bali Tel: 0361 3001101 Velvet & Hypnotized (VH Bali) FROM the gleaming rooftop of Beachwalk Mall’s third floor, Velvet offers perhaps the best sunset view in Kuta. The sweeping deck’s panorama reaches out to beyond the Bukit from any one of its spacious tables or sofas. As a live band plays, guests kick back and order from a huge collection of cocktails including timely signatures such as Sunset Candy and The Graveyard: a reworked long island iced tea made with black beer. If you’re still around after sunset, free-flow Bintang is only IDR60k from 9pm through to midnight, Wednesday to Sunday. Together with its adjoining laser-lit nightclub, Hypnotized, Velvet forms an indoor/outdoor symbiosis known as VH Bali that can hold up to 900 people. With the potential for things to escalate quickly, Velvet offers a classic Kuta sunset. Kuta Beachwalk, Level 3, Jalan Pantai Kuta, Kuta Tel: 0819 995 869 99 IP-Pool Bar, Pullman Bali Legian Nirwana A DAILY pool party known as Sunset Sip kicks off at 5pm every day of the week at Pullman’s IP-Pool Bar. Mingling partygoers take in striking pinkand-blue sunsets from the rooftop venue, which has the potential to provide either a relaxing or turbocharged start your evening, all depending on what you decide to order. Cocktail insiders opt for the Cucumber Martini or The Pullman Connection, a blend of Absolut vodka, Midori, lychee liqueur, pineapple and sweet-and-sour while favourites from the food menu include ceviche of mahimahi and the grilled jumbo prawn salad. 1 Jalan Melasti, Bali 80361 Legian, Indonesia Tel: 0361762500 Komune Beach Club ALTHOUGH facing the sunrise on Bali’s east coast, sunsets at Komune are worth writing home about due to the absolute beachfront, friendly service, extreme surfer-watching and ice-cold pitchers of sparkling house sangria. A stroll through the organic, tropical gardens gives way to a stunning bar, restaurant and pool right on the volcanic, black sand beach. Overlooking a
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popular surf break, Komune Beach Club is designed as an all-day hangout, but is most alive at sunset. When the tide pulls low, the rock pools and crystal clear lagoon are perfect for swimming and snorkeling. Jl. Pantai Keramas, Gianyar, Bali Tel: 0361 3018888 Sunset Lounge Sunsets over Legian Beach are truly legendary and it’s hard to beat the view from Padma Resort’s aptly named Sunset Bar, where a live band plays soothing reggae standards from 5.30-8pm. Groups can be found gathering during sundown at large tables and intimate cabanas where staff deliver happy hour drinks (5–7pm), tapas and pizza specials. Watermelon Sun-grias compete with an extensive list of mojitos that include a Ras-Gerry-Jito where Ketel One vodka meets pureed raspberries, lime juice, lime wedges, mint leaves and Sprite. Sunset Lounge does not accept bookings, and it’s wise to check it’s not raining before you head out the front door as it will be closed. In February 2015, a brand new beach club is opening next door to the Lounge that will entertain the sun-kissed long after the sun has gone down. Padma Resort, Jl. Padma No. 1, Legian Tel: 0361 752111 Karma Beach Bali SOUTH-FACING sunsets are still spectacular when you’re at one of the only truly private beach venues in Bali. Hint: always make a reservation. Reached exclusively via an awe-inspiring inclinator that travels down the face of a stunning limestone cliff, the bamboo restaurant serves Mediterranean, Asian and Indonesian sunset snacks, with fresh fish plucked daily from the Indian Ocean. Grab some popcorn on Mondays because it’s Movie Night, with films beginning as the sun begins to set over an ocean backdrop. Karma Kandara Resort, Jalan Villa Kandara, Banjar Wijaya Kusuma, Ungasan Tel: 0361 848 2222 Infamy THE rooftop bar on third floor of The Stones Entertainment Center is infamous for its table-service Infinity Jacuzzis, which boast bubbly sunset views over Kuta Beach. You’ll know you’re in the right place when you look up from Jalan Pantai Kuta and see brightly lit staircases, a large LED screen and Vegas-style neons. Up to 200 guests watch the sun disappear from daybeds, couches and oversized Ottomans. There are always drink specials, but the martinis a big hit any time of the day or night. The Stones Hotel Kuta, Jalan Pantai Kuta, Kuta Tel: 0361 766 100
Karma Beach Bali.
The Pullman Bali Legian Nirwana.
Velvet & Hypnotized Bali.
The 101 Bali Legian.
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movies
M a t i n e e
The Water Diviner
The Imitation Game
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t i m e
by drew corridore.
If only they’d titled the film differently . . . Perhaps, though, the blame for this can be laid at the feet of screenwriters Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasio. Russell Crowe makes his directorial debut in the film and also stars in the lead role as Joshua Connor – an Australian outback farmer who has a knack for finding water with divining rods. The Water Diviner opens with Connor finding water in a parched landscape and digging a well. But his relish is short-lived when he returns home to his wife, Eliza ( Jacqueline McKenzie), who is inconsolable after losing her three sons to the Turkish Gallipoli campaign in WWI. Promising to bring his sons home, Joshua embarks on a post-war voyage to Turkey – a voyage born of grief and destined to become a transformational journey through life and death, love, and an understanding of “the other”. The film is beautifully shot in Australia and Turkey – where Joshua lands and is inveigled by the precocious Orhan (Dylan Geogiades) whose mother, Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko), owns and runs a small pension in Constantinople (Istanbul) – a conflicted love interest ensues because Ayshe’s husband went missing during the war and her brother-in-law wants to take her as a second wife. Joshua makes it to Gallipoli and finds his sons – through
dubious means related to his water divining abilities. The flashback battle scenes are redolent and realistic and reveal a plot twist that might or might not be predictable. What The Water Diviner does is tell the war story from the perspective of the Turks as much, if not more, than British and their allies. The Turkish officer, Major Hasan (Yılmaz Erdoğan), is central to Joshua’s enlightenment about what really happened during a relatively sidebar conflict in what was supposed to be “the war that ended all wars”. And the continuing action elements of the movie involve the visceral enmity between the Ottoman Turks and the Greeks. The attempted mystical elements of The Water Diviner are the weaker points of the film. The fact that Russell Crowe is excellent at playing Russell Crowe can be somewhat distracting if one has seen most of the movies in his portfolio. And if one has, it might mean that he’s probably got the necessary chops to keep people coming back. As a director, the writing has let him down slightly. But The Water Diviner is certainly watchable, even educational . . . on the whole, enjoyable in a serious sort of way.
So, you reckon you’re a dab hand with computer technology . . . might even be able do a little bit of hacking? There are many stories about the adroitness of North Korean and Chinese hackers, among others, these days. But to date no one has even come close to the hack that saved an estimated 14 million lives and shortened WWII by a couple of years. This was the breaking of the German cypher, the Enigma Code – a code thought by the Axis powers and the Allies to be unbreakable . . . the code that was central to the Nazi military effort. Enter Cambridge mathematics alumnus, Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), who is recruited by newly formed British intelligence unit, MI6. The British have procured an Enigma machine – they just don’t know how it works. Cryptanalysts had been working for years at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire to crack Enigma without success. Turing proposed a different methodology that involved creating and building a machine to decode and imitate Enigma transmissions in concert with the Enigma machine that had been liberated from the Nazis. He created a team of cryptanalysts around him based not on mathematical ability but on the ability to solve a crossword in a very short period. Enter Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley) – smart as a whip and standing up to the
chauvinist attitudes of the times. Women’s rights is one sub-plot of The Imitation Game, another is that Alan Turing was a homosexual – illegal in 1940s and ‘50s Britain. The Imitation Game is a quintessentially English piece of cinematic drama – underplayed, and underpinned by the power of intellect. The cast is entirely believable in its interactions and it is easy to imagine the same cast providing a thoroughly entertaining Imitation Game stage production. The script maintains a surprising pace given the main premise of the movie. It isn’t spoiling to say that Turing’s machine and the minds around it finally crack the code but at this point another morality play ensues – who controls the information that is coming in from Germany, and how to act upon it without alerting the Nazis to the fact that their code is cactus . . . For those who have been brought up on a diet of guns, fast cars and fisticuffs this probably isn’t a movie for you. But if you want some substance and an historical perspective on the man who created the device that eventually became known as the “computer”, give it a go.
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heaven & hell ANDREW E. HALL CATCHES UP WITH AUSSIE WORDSMITH AND WAVE RIDER, PHIL JARRATT, WHO HAS PUBLISHED A NEW BOOK,BALI heaven and hell. PHIL, the water or the words? “The back story is that fairly early on I realised I wasn’t good enough to be a competitive surfer – I might win a heat here and there and have some fun – but I wasn’t going to make a living as a surfer,” Phil says. “I loved hanging around the surf culture and the act of surfing so much that I had to develop a career for myself that would encompass it. So I trained in journalism and as soon as I possibly could I started looking for a job at a surfing magazine.” Phil landed a position with a Sydney newspaper but, soon enough, was contacted by the publisher of Australia’s iconic 1970s surf magazine, Tracks, Albert Falzon, who had also made the seminal Australian surfing movie, Morning of the Earth. This meeting led Phil (who went on to become the editor of Tracks), indirectly, to his first Bali trip – some 40 years ago – and is the juncture that kicks off his book: Bali Heaven and Hell – Bloodshed, Chaos and Corruption, Free Love, Great Surf and High Times Under the Banyan Trees. I’ve read pretty much everything written about Bali from Covarrubias and Vicki Baum, to Fred Eiseman and Colin McPhee, Dr A.A.M. Djelantik, Diana Darling, Adrian Vickers . . . I’ve even read Bali Raw, which is a load of old cobblers – don’t bother. Bali Heaven and Hell is a richly researched, beautifully articulated time travel that begins with the dastardly acts carried out in Kuta on Saturday, October 12, 2002, and the heroic responses of the surrounding community. Phil allows us to see the aftermath of the bombings through the eyes of those survivors who were closest to them. And the actions of selfless individuals to put in place a plan where there wasn’t one. Then we head back millennia into Bali’s aga past – before the arrival of the Majapahit refugees from Java in the 12th and 13th centuries – and head onwards to the time of the Dutch VOC slave traders. Our journey has begun. In some ways Phil used the Bali bombings as a metaphor for a history that has, at various times and for various reasons, been soaked in blood – from the puputan (ritual suicides) of Balinese royal families in the face of Dutch aggression in the first decade of the 20th century, to the “anti-communist” pogrom in what has been termed “The Year of Living Dangerously” in the mid-1960s which left thousands upon thousands of Balinese dead. In counterpoint, Phil chronicles the rise of the tourism industry (in the early 20th century), and the advent of the “expat” on Bali – with an emphasis on the arrival of large numbers of surfers in the 1970s and '80s – and examines the impact they all had on Balinese culture and society. “Over the summer of 1971-72, although Albert Falzon’s Morning of the Earth was still a few weeks away from its theatrical release, the Australian
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surfing cognoscenti was fast becoming aware that it contained some revelations about the wave potential of Bali.” writes Phil in Bali Heaven and Hell. The trickle in the '70s, that was to become a flood, of wave riders gathered in the losmen that were scattered along a pristine Kuta Beach where they rode the perfect reef break and beach break for hours a day. And fostered a culture that was quickly adopted and embraced by Balinese surfers. Bali Heaven and Hell also traces the evolution of Western entrepreneurism and altruism on the island . . . and demonstrates that these two activities, especially when they operate hand-in-hand, have brought a degree of indigenous prosperity to places in which it otherwise might not exist. But Phil’s book also sounds a warning that the infrastructure (such as it is) on, and the natural environment of “The Island of the Gods” may well crumble if incessant development and an explosion in tourist numbers are allowed to continue unchecked and unregulated as has been the case to date – especially during the past decade or so. Bali Heaven and Hell is a loving, sometimes harsh, and enlightening story told through a myriad of hearts and minds – it should be read by anyone who shares Phil Jarratt’s passion for this place. “My wife and I usually spend two or three months a year up here – I think a lot of expats assume that I’m rather impertinent to have written this book . . . because I’ve never been an expat,” Phil says. “I tried a few times, failed – leased land, lost it . . . the usual thing – but I never lived here in the 40 years I’ve been coming to Bali. “A couple of (well known) expats probably think, ‘who does he think he is’, but I’ve probably got more of a detached view. I’m not going to suggest that long-term expats are all tropo . . . but they do have a fairly internalised way of looking at things.” Phil’s objective was to write a story that is as accessible to the shortterm visitor as much as the “Baliophiles” and long-term expats. “I started out from a personal perspective wanting to write a book about the Bali I’ve known over 40 years, and the changes for better and worse,” he says. “. . . I wanted to talk to all the people who’d come here – the baby boomers – largely as surfers after the release of Morning of the Earth. So I started to write that story but decided there were too many holes in it. “I just kept getting sucked in and drawn back into the history of the place.” The result is a read worthy of any visitor – or expat – on Bali. Bali Heaven and Hell is available from amazon.com. Jessica Montford assisted in compiling this article.