The Yak #24 by The Yak Magazine

The lighter and darker sides of Bali, Asia’s fashionable playground

Volume 24 Sep/Oct/Nov 2009

SALT WATER SOUND A SCI-FI LULLABY PEOPLE POWER BOROBUDUR CHENERGY IDR Rp 68.000 : S$11 : HK$50 : €5

restaurant

Jalan Raya Nusa Dua Selatan, P.O. Box 76 Nusa Dua 80363, Bali - Indonesia Tel. +62 361 775 111 Fax. +62 361 775 222 bliss@thebale.com www.thebale.com

Volume Twenty Four

Sept/Oct/Nov 2009 The Yak Sophie Digby, Agustina Ardie, Michelle Lamb Editor Nigel Simmonds Senior Photographer Yaeko Masuda www.yaekomasuda.com Publisher’s PA Katarina Taslim Sales & Marketing Pia Tandjung Production Manager Evi Sri Rezeki Accounts Manager Arthur Chosani Graphic Designers Irawan Zuhri, Novan Satria, Super Stu Distribution Made Marjana, Kadek Arthana, Putu Widi Susanto, Made Sutajaya, Didakus Nuba Publisher PT Saka Wahana Cipta Licence 1.265/09-04/PB/V/99 Advertising enquiries Tel: (+62 361) 743 1804, 743 1805 www.theyakmag.com Email: info@theyakmag.com theyak@indosat.net.id Canggu Club Tennis Centre, Jl. Pantai Berawa, Canggu, Bali 80361, Indonesia © PT Saka Wahana Cipta 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. The Yak will not be held responsible for copyright infringements on images supplied directly by advertisers and/or contributors. So there.

Inquiries: info@theyakmag.com

min 20

The Yak’s monthly e-newsletter is distributed to 20,000 mailboxes every month. To subscribe go to www.theyakmag.com

Cover Credits Photography by Dustin Humphrey/Reel Sessions Model: Olga/Lvdk Hair and make up: Paulina K/Lvdk

con tents 22 24 32 38 40 42 46 48 54

Yakety yak Letter Box

New in the Hood Newbies Unite CULTURE VULTURE Sci-Fi Lullaby INCOMING Navia PASSIONS Johnny Ramli INTERWHO/1 Dee Mytton INTERWHO/2 Regina Schulze-Boysen Fashion Over The Hump FEATURE Salt Water Sound

76 22

66 70 74 76 78 80 84 86 96

ARTSAKE Chenergy

JOURNEYS Xante Gabriela CREATIVE SPACES Pablo Gentile ART MARKET Bali Deco Glass DESIGNS Tricia Kim BEING GREEN Alila Villas Uluwatu VENTING IN A VILLA The Haven THE YAK AWARDS A Hangover In The Making TRAVEL Borobudur

102 106 116 118 122 124 126 130 132 134 138 140 142

SPAS A Proper Pampering FASHION FREESTYLE Style File oral pleasures Envy ORAL PLEASURES Hello MÃ&#x2030;TIS CONSTANT WINING Sweet Sensations BIG SIX High Teas FORK IN THE ROAD Something Fishy OVER THE EDGE Milan or Bust SOUNDS AROUND Underground RAVER'S REVIEW Clubland Electronica JUST DOIN' IT Tennis Time ASTRO YAK Horoscope ad index Find What You Need

76, 74,80 photos: Y.M.

When it comes to staying young, a mind-lift beats a face-lift any day (or so says Marty Bucella); maybe better still is for the mind and the face to be symbolically lifted by beats created by a Numark CD Mix1 and a pair of Bangs (and Olufsen). As we go to print, this party season is almost officially over and wasn’t it quite the high tide of parties, musical moments and venues? The time has come to return to our creativity, enlighten our souls and give our kidneys a break, maybe even hibernate until next year’s deluge of global travellers once again invades our continuous staycation – our etymological revision of ‘stay’ (as in at home) and vacation. For that is exactly the directive that The Yak has been entrusted with – to assist in your creativity, intensify your enlightenment and maximise the enjoyment of your staycation. After all, if it feels like home, it must mean that you live here! Firstly, we lift your mind with our Culture Vulture du jour photographer Dustin Humphrey and follow that up with interviews by the old and new kids on the block, one such kid being Bali’s force de cuir Johnny Ramli from WRKSHP13. We then intend to inspire you with some B/W fashion before giving you sea legs to board five of Bali’s luxury coastal trekkers. Enlightenment comes in the form of Creative Spaces and the artists who mould this island into the images of their mind, from painters through metalworkers. Going Green at Alila Villas Uluwatu is a must before taking a quick review of The Yak Awards V before heading north with Jamie James to one of the world’s most spiritually inspired spaces, Borobudur. We attune body and soul whilst enjoying five star spas as we head back into fashion – freestyle. Clarity is what we get on hearing about Doudou and Said’s new venture, MÉTIS as we aim to satisfy our corporal hunger in Oral Pleasures. After coursing through music reviews and a game of tennis, our final mind-lift comes courtesy of universal resident Dr Deepak with our very own and unique AstroYak. We hope that this 24th issue lifts the parts that other issues have yet to lift, and as always May The Yak be with you… 24

Dear Yak, I hope this email finds you all well over in lovely Bali. I am writing from New Zealand to congratulate you on such a divine publication. I am in the mag business myself and The Yak is always a highlight when we come to Seminyak each year. My partner and I have decided to head back for the month of September instead of August this year as it suits our schedules a little better. I’m certainly hanging out for it, that’s for sure! We have possible plans of spending some time long term in Bali at some stage and already have some great contacts, however I would love to come and say hi when we are next over. I love everything you guys are about at The Yak. We have decided not to stay in our usual villa but are instead in communication with a couple of the villas that were featured in your “Cheap Thrills” story last year. Bring on September and those fabulous Red Sangria jugs at KDT, keep up the great work! Regards, Alexandra. September’s here already so I guess we’ll see you at Ku! Thanks for the support. Dear Yak, Hope you’re well. Is it possible to provide us wth more venue copies at Ku De Ta? We run out really fast. We’d also like some personal copies, if you can help! Regards,

Shaumi Effendy, Ku De Ta.. They go quicker than hot cakes, we know, slipped into oversized handbags and then carted all over the world. It’s our best distribution stream by far! More on the way… Dear Yak, A big thanks for mentioning us in New In the Hood last issue – looks great. The Yak’s looking good – big issue this time round. Well done! Catch up soon. Regards, David, Hikari. Dear Yak, I just wanted to thank you for the great editorial you put together this month. I've received compliments and well wishes from so many friends and contacts. Our pages look fresh and inviting and our sales this month are exceeding our expectations. We know it's due to The Yak because the items we're selling are the ones illustrated in our ad campaign. Thanks! Gabriella Dandelion This is the kind of letter we live for. Yak On.

TONY BLAIR At first we thought it was Saxon from Sentosa Private Villas & Spa (or should we say Sea Sentosa?) who we saw frolicking with the elephants and luxing out at Como Shambhala Estate... but no! It was in fact the grinning former UK PM himself, Tony Blair... so we pressed his flesh with a copy of The Yak, just to be friendly, like. Cherie then promptly pinched it.

Icon Asian Arts A MODERN two-space gallery with a sculpture garden, 50 meters from Seminyak beach. In the front: a rotating collection of textiles, tribal art, objets de form, and antiquities. Ancient jewelry and weapons are prominent. In the back: special exhibitions focusing on a single theme, region or type of object. Beyond the sculpture garden is the Macan Tidur main office. Visitors welcome. Jl. Oberoi 17. Tel: 733875 Yak Map ref: P.8 www.macantidurbali.com

O-CE-N TWO restaurants grace Blue Ocean Boulevard, both part of Outrigger’s sleek O-CE-N Bali. C-Bistro and Lounge serves up true lip-smacking sandwiches, burgers and pizzas as well as salads, prawns and calamari. Sip on a Cinzano, Martini or Pernod to the sight of the kite flyers of Blue Ocean Beach. From 6pm-11pm the upper-deckish Flying Fish Restaurant, with its chic seafood market, offers the Flying Fish Seafood platter – prawns, oysters, mussels, crab and lobster – or go straight to Chef Omakase’s recommendations, the wellloved teppanyaki or sushi. Yes it's time to slurp on fresh oysters and book yourself a bottle of bubbly as the sun goes down. Whether lunch, dinner or sunset cocktails, this prime beachfront location just hits the spot in many ways, not only of the gourmet kind… Jl. Arjuna 88X, a.k.a Blue Ocean Boulevard. Tel: 731162 www.o-ce-n.com Yak Map ref: Q.14

MÉTIS Marvel AN inviting fire-caldron-illuminated portochere greets guests to an entire sensory dining experience in Bali. Inventive French Chef Nicolas “Doudou” Tourneville offers up an enticing new menu borne of the delectable pleasures of living. Prepare yourself to be engulfed in a full seduction of fresh, sumptuous cuisine and flawless service in an elegantly relaxed setting overlooking the tranquil rice fields of Bali. From October the restaurant will provide seating for 160; bar, veranda and terrace lounges for 65; exquisite private cellar dining room for intimate occasions; and a special events facility for 120 of your closest family and friends. The venue will also house a fanciful patisserie for all who love sweet delights. If that isn’t enough to entice you, finish the evening off with a special gift from the gallery and two boutiques. Treat yourself to an entirely sensory experience. Welcome to MÉTIS! Located on Jl. Petitenget No 6. Tel. 847 5481 www.metisbali.com Yak map ref: C.6

Outer Beauty, Inner Calm BALI's culture, traditions and beauty secrets all in one hardback coffee table publication. Dr. Martha Tilaar, Indonesia’s beauty guru, gathered together ethno-botanists, yogis, healers, aroma therapists, herbalists, physiotherapists and even a grandmaster Balian to bring their wealth of knowledge into this book, entitled Bali Shui Pani Amerta. Covering the indigenous science of beauty and wellbeing, find recipes of Balinese cuisine, beauty therapies, how to make your own massage oils, hair masks, herbal hair warps and traditional cleansing juices (jamus). There are recipes for couples and for ladies, there is even a step-by-step explanation of how to give a Balinese massage and how to meditate. So if you aim of staying youthful on the outside and cleansed in spirit on the inside, maybe do it the Bali way. Published by Saritaksu and available at Periplus book stores around the island and nationally.

Word Of Mouth WITH a well-known phrase as a name, the WOM crew has opened a truly unique and inspirational space. Think Pop-up book collection meets polystyrene lamps; Singapore interior design feats roll-up sun beds; Word of Mouth ‘threads’ elbow imported bikinis and toweling ponchos. The WOM range of interior furniture supports the light lunch café with bean-bags strewn around the outdoor terrace. Meet, eat, greet n buy all to the strains of jazz… Jl. Kunti. Tel: 7432565 www.wordofmouthbali.com

New

in the hood

The Red Carpet THIS would of course be the venue of choice for avid readers of The Yak. Serving Champagne, sparkling wine and that Champagne of beers, Corona, it is the place to see those stuck in traffic and be seen by those stuck in traffic (there is nothing more frustrating than seeing someone sipping on a beer while you intend to squeeze your engine through a gap that is narrower than some people’s minds!) The staff uniforms are also the talk of the town, some think Vegas some think organ grinder. Located on the top bend of Jl. Oberoi, a.k.a. Laksmana. Tel: 737889 Yak Map ref. T.8 On The Rocks THE concept of ‘on the rocks’ just got taken to a whole new level, with the opening of the Rock Bar at AYANA Resort and Spa Bali, which coincidentally was the only hotel in Indonesia ranked amongst Asia’s top 15 resorts by Travel + Leisure readers this year. The spectacular open-top bar sits on natural rock 14 metres above the ocean, out of reach of the sea spray but close enough for you to feel like you’re about to leave port. Designed by Yasuhiro Koichi of NOBU fame, the bar is accessed via an inclinator that saves you the trouble of taking 141 steps down – or back up. Sunsets here are magical, and keep an eye out for special events; Third Eye Blind lead Stephan Jenkins just played a set to an intimate crowd when he stopped in en route to the US after headlining the Java Rockin Land festival. Tel: 702222 www.ayanaresort.com Bali Bakery BALI Bakery is definitely on a roll. Opening recently in not one location but two, this Bali institution now caters for Seminyak-ers and Canggu-ites. On the corner of Seminyak Square, and more recently within The Canggu Club, this more-than-just-abakery offers a full lunch and dinner menu, both Western and Asian menus as well as all the slightly carb-infused fetishes that one dreams about: yes, croissants, pain au chocolat, Black Forest Gateau, carrot cake and more than your fill of pastries. Seminyak Square (all day) and Canggu Club (after 6pm for non-members) Tel:755149 Yak Map ref. F.11 & N.2 www.balibakery.com

Jivana Villa ONE step beyond luxury would be a good way to describe InterContinental Bali Resort’s new Jivana Villa. Designed for the rich, the famous or the powerful, this two-storey venue oozes all the trappings associated with the Good Life. Marble floors, sensory system doors, a mother of pearl-tiled Jacuzzi, large private pool, opulent interiors and even a first-floor pavilion accessed by a bridge over the pool from the master bedroom. The smaller, yet equally luxurious, second bedroom is of course for children, your PA or maybe even your bodyguard. Tel: 701888 www.bali.intercontinental.com Tapas On The Beach THE Ocean Bar at The Legian Hotel, undoubtedly one of Bali’s best, has recently launched a range of taste-defying tapas – think tomato with sesame cones, ponzu jelly and chives or homemade Hoisin duck pancakes, grilled squid with tangerine pepper...even zucchini flower with tofu and truffle salsa. Tapas are served from 5pm (as the sun starts to call it a day) until 10pm. The Legian theme nights are also pretty special with a favourite night being Backgammon and Bloody Mary Thursdays. Perfect to ease into the weekend. Tel: 730622 www.ghmhotels.com Yak Map ref. N.8 Linen in Earnest MEN can now dress to impress the ladies. With a slight Ernest Hemmingway Cubano influence, the Nico Perez label brings linen to the fore. Creams, tans, whites, blues, even pinks with either short or long-sleeved shirts match cream or tan coloured pants, all beautifully cut and elegantly cool. Very distinguishing and thankfully far away from the tank top crowd. Located in Deefusion – one of Bali’s top interior design shops on Jl. Laksmana in Seminyak. Tel. 738308 Yak Map ref. T.8

in the hood

New

We Love AMO NEW York style in Bali? This new beauty spa venue brings the Big Apple’s edginess and avant-garde style to Petitenget. Ex-fashion model Navia is tempting LA’s top hairstylists and make-up artists to come to Bali and change the of colour of our hair, enjoy a total makeover and leave us with a touch of their own personal magic. AMO offers a full range of hair and beauty services, manicures, pedicures, acrylic nails, plus fabulous wet and dry massages. The waxing is as Brazilian as you can get…and they even cater for our mini-me’s with manicures and pedicures. Their new secret? An innovative rejuvenating machine that works not only on wrinkles but battles the bulge as well. Book a session before the queue gets too long. Tel: 2753337 www.amospa.com Yak Map ref. P.5

I Want, I Want, I Want! MOVING on up, Bali’s VIP airport arrival service, The Bali Concierge, has expanded their luxury services and now go the whole nine yards. Do you need a boutique hotel or a mega-villa? A helicopter, a seaplane or a private jet? They can even provide you with a personal shopper while he goes golfing…and drive you round the streets of Bali in a limousine. In fact, ask and ye shall receive. Yes, it can all be yours… Tel: 755236 www.thebaliconcierge.com

Rawfully Green THE Green Spa Cafe, on Danau Poso in Sanur, will be open for lunch from Friday 2nd October from 11 -4pm every day except Sundays. They’ll be serving our kind of South East Asian 'RAWfully good food' plus lots of exciting vegan and vegetarian dishes too. The menu will change every month and they will be happy to prepare specials and take-aways to order, so put on your hiking boots and go order yourself a picnic. Guests can also stock up on the old and new range of AllThingsNiceSpice Company products. Tel. 270779

Kendra @ SilQ KENDRA Gallery expands its exhibiting wallspace by opening another gallery within the compound of Petitenget’s funky set of villas – SilQ. Contemporary is as contemporary does, so expect more works of art from up-and-coming as well as established Indonesian artists. For more information, pop in to either SilQ or Uma Sapna, or better still become a fan on Facebook – Kendra Gallery of Contemporary Art. Tel: 736628 www.kendragallery.com Yak Map ref. R.3

Culture Vulture Michelle in Maya bikini, Anna Beck bangle and stylist's own earrings. Sanoe in Shay Todd bikini and stylist's own bangles and ring. 34

NAME rank and serial number please... Dustin Humphrey, photographer, 21/1/75. So Dustin, when did you start taking photographs? I started making photographs when I was about 20 years old. You work with a team? How big is it, and what do they do? I do have a great team Stateside. I work with an agency in Los Angeles called Reel Sessions. I have a great agent, producer, stylist, hair, and makeup people that I work with on a consistent basis. Sometimes the teams get bigger but that is the backbone of my crew. I have recently been working with amazing people here in Bali as well. It is really good going into a shoot knowing you have that support and good chemistry with your team. I also enjoy scaled down shoots where it is just me, the model, a stylist, and a hair/makeup artist using only natural light. We hear you won some awards... Oh… is that what you heard!? Are you really going to make me sound like an arrogant prick? Ha! Yeah I picked up a couple this year. There was the World Photography Awards in Cannes for Best Commercial/ Advertising Photography Photographer. And I just found out last week that I won the PX3 award for best fine art portraiture. And in third grade I got second place for a finger painting. Tell us, what's the worst shoot you've ever done? There have been a few. The one that sticks in my mind the most was when I was shooting a travel editorial article off the coast of Alaska. We were on a boat and got caught in a crazy storm with a crazy captain, who turned out to not be a captain. It was a near death experience. But hardships are the essence of a traveller’s tale.

Californian lensman Dustin Humphrey explores new worlds...and loves the light in Iceland. Go figure.

Biggest budget? Uh…we have a budget? Just kidding. Around US$400,000. Did you have a mentor when you were starting? Actually I did not. I never took the assistant photographer route. I did study photography for a year at University but then I just got on the road and started shooting. My biggest influences have come from the books and magazines that I have read and the photographers that I have followed such as Michael Nichols, Steve McCurry, Richard Avedon, Annie Leibobitz and Steven Mizell. Are you a Canon or Nikon kind of guy? I shoot Canon and Hassalblad. What's best...East or West light? I’m from California, so I’m pretty fond of that West coast light.

Culture Vulture

Far Left: Nicole in Aguaclara bikini and stylist's own Kaftan and bangles. Centre: Nicole in L*Space bikini, Ghetto Couture bracelets, Katrina Kordova earrings and Bubululu scarf. Left: Thania in Lenny bikini, Bubululu scarf and local Bali and Religion bangles and ring.

Culture Vulture So then where's the best light in the world? Iceland in the Fall. It has 'magic hour' all day long. The sun just rises above the horizon and never goes higher all day. It just moves around you. Do you miss film, compared to digital? Yes, I do. Not to say that I hate digital, it has its advantages. But I love the film days. I used to have 20 different stocks of film in my arsenal to use in various situations. It was a lot more in-camera technique then. I still shoot a lot of portraiture with Tri-X 400 black and white film with my Hassablad 501 with my 120mm Macro Lens. Still my most favourite set up. What do you say to models to get them to do what you want? I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t say any one thing. It all depends on the girl. Most models I work with are professionals and they know what to do. At that point it is just a matter of communication and having a good time in the process. What other passions do you have? I like taking old motorcycles, redesigning and rebuilding them. I have recently helped launch Deus Ex. Machina here in Bali, which has been a lot of fun. Building motorcycles, making clothes and learning the other side of the fashion businessâ&#x20AC;Śit has been an enjoyable challenge. What's the most important thing about being a great photographer? Passion. I think that goes for anything in life. Find something you are passionate about and get really good at it.

Photography by Dustin Humphrey/Reel Sessions Hair and Make up by Jeannie Jefferies Styling by Sybil Steele 38

Michelle in Pull-In bikini and stylist's own scarf and jewelry. 39

I nc o m i n g

Former model and actress Navia Nguyen Robertson is bringing New York to Bali with the cutting edge AMO Beauty & Spa. Interview: Salvador Bali. Photo: Yaeko Masuda.

YOUR name please… Navia Nguyen Robertson, age 37…I grew up in New York, first in Long Island, then China Town, then to the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I moved to Venice Beach, California, with my husband, where I had a child. And before you gave birth? Before that I lived between New York and Paris. I was in the fashion business, modelling, and in the film business, as an actress. How long were you in the modelling game? I was a model for years, since 16 years old. I was with Elite Model Agency in Paris, Women in New York, Storm in England and Why Not in Milan. I stopped modelling at the age of 27. I worked with some of the best hair and make-up artists in the world. I’m surprised you didn’t burn out... Yeah, I’m surprised as well. I think a lot of people model too long. I stopped at a good time because it gave me enough time to go back to school and explore new passions. I went to Parsons for design in NYC and then I went to cosmetologist school while I was pregnant. I had intended to start this business in America, but we had our child and decided to open in Asia instead. Is this a husband and wife operation? No, my husband does his own thing, this is all me, I’m the one to blame. How would this salon compare to a New York salon? The aim is to provide a fusion of the best elements of New York and Bali in style and service. I’m going to continually bring in specialists, I have a lot of friends who want to come here and develop their own products, hair accessories, massage oils etc. A lot of my contacts, who were assistants when I was modelling, are now big make40

up people. They will consult us on either hair or make-up. I have a great colour consultant in Los Angeles, so if you’re an actor, you’ll meet with her for an hour and a half and she will go through the whole deal, decide what colours are good for you for photo or film or for going out, create a swatch book for you…and you take that wherever you go, for shopping or whatever…so you can match colours. At a later point I would like to expand our range to offer more complete Medi Spa services, nutritionists and the like…a personal support team for anyone who wants to look their best. It’s amazing to have worked with so many beauty and body specialists who can now share their expertise through Amo to everyone in Bali. There’s kind of a ‘Spa Wars’ going on here and each has its own specialties. What’s yours? Our level of professionalism. Because I have been in the high-end of the fashion and beauty business for a long time, I know the standards that can be achieved. For example, there’s a big difference between a hairdresser and a hair stylist – a hairdresser goes to a trade school, and then there’s the hair stylist, working for three years for free assisting the best people in the business because they want to do something more creative with hair, and they are interested in the way hair looks and how to style for specific people. So the people who I want to bring in here to consult are more hair stylists than hairdressers. The staff here has been trained and consulted to do really great, interesting stuff that comes off the runway, dry cutting processes etcetera. Your local beauty salon can do their version of the manicure and the pedicure or treatment, but there’s a whole new level of how it’s done with a liquid metal that you can put on your nails instead of

acrylic, so that your nails look like gold or silver…all these personal things of high maintenance that I wouldn’t necessarily do, but love to offer, especially for someone who is on vacation or coming here and wants to try something new at a more reasonable price. Also because I’m a girl and I like to have fun! Would you like me to do back-up vocals on that [laughter]? How do you consider the price range comparison? For me it’s not a question of being the cheapest or most expensive, it’s about finding new and better ways to give our customers amazing service at a great price. I have always found success in doing what I love and by focussing on how much I can offer, rather than how much I can take from a situation. You mentioned you have a trademark in Singapore, does this signify expansion? Our company is based in Singapore and this location is our first model for a franchise. We want to create destinations for the global nomad in places that are more on the cutting edge, like Bali, Vietnam, Russia. Ideally that’s my dream. That’s a lot of energy to put out there. Yes exactly, and then expand to the places that will always be on the map: New York, London, Los Angeles. You mentioned to me before that the Vietnamese dominate the industry, how so? Interesting story…when the Vietnamese came to America after the Vietnam War they were put into a relocation camp in Orange County, California, which is now Little Saigon; it’s the biggest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam and the actress Tippi Hedren volunteered at this refugee camp. The Vietnamese women commented on how beautiful her nails were and at that time you would have a

professional pedicure at the high-end, so Tippy brought in her manicurist to teach them in order to have an opportunity to have a job and it exploded to dominate the grooming industry…waxing, manicures and reflexology. Are you saying Bali is not the centre of the world for these things? I’m not saying that the pedicures and manicures are not OK here, it’s just that the emphasis on sanitising or using high quality products is often not so great. So why did you come to Bali? I came here 10 years ago and wanted to live here, but I was too young. This was the place my husband and I would say we would go to when we'd had a bad day…'let’s just give up and go to Bali'…and then one day we just woke up and had a baby and things changed all that seemed important in my rat-race career. I was seven months pregnant and producing my first film. I can’t tell you how many career jobs I did to get to that point. I just couldn’t do it and the energy around Los Angeles can be very dark. None of it seemed important anymore, so we packed up our things and came here. You’ve been open now for how long? Three days [as of early August]. The staff has been trained for four months beforehand…by the way, what is it about you? I feel I can talk to you about anything, I guess you’ve heard that before? Actually, no. There’s something soothing about you. Thanks, you’re embarrassing me now. And on that note, bow me out gracefully with parting words. You can spend four hours here, it’s a New York kinda place, or less than one hour and have a manicure, pedicure and cream bath all at the same time. Very New York. S.B. www.amospa.com

Model mother Navia. 41

Johnny Ramli by Yaeko Masuda. 42

Passions Designer Johnny Ramli had nothing left to lose, so he moved to Bali to create bags, jewelry...and a shop called WRKSHP13 that celebrates the individual over the indistinct. MY name is Johnny Ramli, which is the name I like to go by. I’m Chinese, Indonesian from Sumatra, age 37, and I moved here to Bali six years ago from Melbourne, Australia. How long were you in Australia Johnny and why? Five years. I studied fashion design there. Did you have experience in that field before you went to Australia? I was in retail, but before that, I was in marketing in Jakarta and doing advertising, and after the Indonesian recession I moved to Australia. When did the designing bug kick in? That’s quite a turnaround... I always wanted to do it, but before it was about family pressure. They paid for the schooling. I made my own money and went to Europe to study as well. Your forte is in designing leather bags? My first business was producing creative bags…plastic, jewelry…and then it developed into more bags, leather. I’m

more of an esoteric designer. How long has WRKSHP13 been in operation? Since January 2009; seven months to date. Do you export? I have a distributor in Europe and Australia, that’s for jewelry and bags. Before I opened my shop I had outlets in Lily Jean and Magali Pascal, and from there I started wholesale. Do you plan to expand? No, for me I try to stay far away from the other shops because I do everything by myself. I use what I love. If I use an old Dutch Indonesian coin, I will use the coin to incorporate what I like, what I collect. There’s a lot of pieces in my jewelry range, things from all over the world. The plastic bag that I designed, I brought to my tailor and had him put on a black handle. I’m spontaneous, I do what I think at the time. So you’re basically an artist in that respect? Yes, I think that’s the best way to be...it's all

about what comes rather than what you draw, that works for me as a designer. As an artist you have a canvas, it doesn’t matter, it’s white. Do you do strictly individual pieces? Maybe for one design I do different colours, maybe three, that’s it for a shop like mine. Did you have a plan to open up a shop when you came here? A lot of my customers…also my friends… liked my pieces, so I decided to open a shop, and that’s how it all started. Why Bali? After Australia I went to Europe, travelled for six months, came back to Indonesia, spent all my money, went to Jakarta and didn’t like it, came back to Bali and never left. I had been everywhere else; I had nothing left to lose, so I stayed. Tell it like it is. Just be yourself and be spontaneous. Love your calling card. Thanks. S.B. www.johnnyramli.com 43

Dee Mytton by Yaeko Masuda. 44

InterWho/1 In the beginning there was Villa Kubu, one of the first of the leafy pool party pads that appeared in a place called Seminyak...when it was still more trendy to call it Legian. Salvador Bali talks to the girl behind it all on her past and present, and her plans for metaphysical healing. Photo: Yaeko Masuda.

YOU'RE on, what brought you to Bali? Actually it was by default, I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go and I really didn’t realise how fantastic my choice was until much later on. At the beginning I couldn’t afford to live anywhere else. That’s interesting because I remember your first little villa party, what year was that? The year 1999, maybe 2000. I was at your party but I never met you…how long after that did you decide to build another villa, and how did that come about, if you couldn’t afford it? When I say I couldn’t afford it, I meant I knew I needed some kind of an income, so I knew I had to create that because I didn’t have any qualifications! So you’re a spoiled brat? I was a photographer, stockbroker and the rest I’m not going to tell you! But really I didn’t think I would be good value for anybody else. So I had X amount of money and I had to make that work, considering what I’m like. I could have run out of that money very quickly, had I not figured out some kind of a cash flow, and basically what could I do without really being busy doing it [laughter]? How to succeed in business without really trying, I saw that show...what year was this when you started building? Ninety-nine, it was quick, but the right time, right person. You went from one to two and how many do you have now? I built 16, but only 14 of the compound. You just mentioned some of your

background, would you elaborate on that? It’s really boring! Not to the readers, they want to know how to succeed [laughter]… I think you have to learn the art of delegation; maybe that is one of my fortes. Well beforehand that wasn’t the case. No it wasn’t, it developed. So how did you gain your wisdom points? Advice please… Just be completely open and give the power to somebody and give him or her the power and tell them how great they are at doing it. I believe you were married before you came here, what were you doing during that period? I was doing photography for magazines and doing edititoials for models and things like that. So you are just being a humble sponge here, that’s quite a responsible job, it doesn’t come easy…plus the credentials. Yeah, but there was no competition in those days and you invented one yourself, that was in Singapore. How long in Singapore? Two years. Those were the dark room days, when you had to do your own developing. When you came to Bali why did you pick this area, here a chick there a chick and the cow jumped over the moon…I mean we're talking funky, no roads and the like? I was really sick of the city life in Hong Kong, and, well, you don’t see the silver lining and then one day you wake up and

say, my God, I’m so lucky. That wasn’t really my question, but I like the answer. That’s another angle stepping in, I don’t know how I got so lucky in that perspective, I don’t want to go into the details, it’s boring business stuff that worked out only through luck. I was thinking that you had some vision? No, no absolutely not. I wanted to call this Legian. Seminyak wasn’t the place in those days, but they wouldn’t let me. Balls said the Queen if I had two I’d be King [laughter]. What were some of the ups and downs? Because we’re not citizens of Indonesia we’re always on somebody else’s plate. Growing up in the Western world it’s your God given law to have land and the law is on your side, so if you cheat etcetera, they have to give you you’re money back, but here you’ve got to work more from the heart. From the heart? I didn’t expect to hear that, this is a first for me, most people would say who you know and who you ----. That’s the big learning curve, if you can get it right, you can get it right anywhere, they train you well here. Guess so, if you don’t have patience, then you become one, right? Was it your designs that were put to paper? I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but I have to give the credit to Ross Franklin, he’s done a great job and he has this amazing ability with space. When you walk into one of his houses it always feels good.

That is the bottom line. Yeah, he took this weird piece of land and made it feel good. He got the space right. Did you take any part in the building standards, such as quality, space and so on? Yes, yes I did. I would only hire experts on quality, plumbing and electrical at the beginning, the fundamentals, I didn’t want anything crashing down. I didn’t have a clue as to how to build a house. I really didn’t, but I had say in materials. And now? I’m still amazed, completely blown out by the beautiful designs and work that keeps popping up all over the place, it’s limitless. And even though I think I know what I’m doing, I still think that people are going five steps beyond the norm here and it works really well. A lot of magical stuff here, I don’t put myself on that level. You’ve just completed building a spa, what’s the deal on that? Lots of treatment with seaweed and hot rocks and oil dripping on foreheads – a lot of feminine touches, infrared saunas and three massages. And the name? It's called Spa Envy. Right. And how are the bookings? We're doing real well at the moment. There are three levels of treatments, facial hot stone massage, beauty treatments, then deep healing, infrared sauna, colonic cleansing, metaphysical healing. Let’s start with the hot stone work...how does that go? The stones are heated up in hot water while you are being massaged with 45

temperatured oil, then the hot stones are used in the massage process and as each area is massaged the stones are placed on your body, wherein the stone heats up your body, which raises your temperature. So it’s actually very healing. It’s just like the infrared sauna, something like an artificial fever. Everyone knows that a fever is good for you; it means you’re healing, releasing the toxins. What it does is burn out all the pathogens that are running around your blood. When you have one of these massages it’s really quite hot, and as you’re sweating a bit, it’s a different type of massage from the norm. It is really deep, right down to the bone. That leads to the next level, deep healing? Deep healing is in the above category. I would say next would be colonic cleansing and fasting – the colonic cleansing is only available to the villa guests by the way, I don’t think I have to elaborate on the reason for that! The theory by Bill Lipton is that the membrane of the cells is the 'brain' of the cell, because when they take the DNA out of the cell, the cell is

still attracted to food and repels toxins. When you stop eating for seven days, that membrane is getting washed with water and not needing to eat the nutrients that are coming by, so it gives it a rest, enabling it to sort the toxins from the membrane, like a big washing session. I’m a big believer. If you do it every six months for three-and-half to seven days, then you can eat and do whatever you want and you don’t carry around the toxins that you ingest. That leads onto the third level, metaphysical? Right. Sometimes you have a health issue and you don’t know why you can’t get better… Intellectually you know but emotionally there’s a blockage, is that what you mean? Exactly. Your emotions keep getting treated and you’re reacting instead of going through it. Sometimes there’s somebody from the outside that can help with that, definitely with patterns. Let’s say your legs are hurting and you don’t know why their hurting. You try to remedy the

situation by studying and going to all the therapists, and still it doesn’t get it out. Usually a metaphysical healer can come in and find that maybe it’s attached to an emotion…and if you don’t visit that emotion, which is buried, it is going to stay there and that’s where they come in. They are very clever at finding whether it’s this or that time or past lifetime, which is rare. I’m sure there’s a lot of karmic energy that comes across, but usually you deal with this lifetime. Do you have people associated with your spa who do this? Yes, they are amazing healers. I presume you have to make an appointment with them? It sounds pretty heavy. You have to make an appointment, yeah. I never really believed in it until I decided to do it myself. I had been on a path for 10 years and I’ve done everything from selfdevelopment courses to chiropractic and osteopathic treatments, vibrating plates and Pilates…everything. Some health issues just never budged, and through these metaphysical healers things started

to move again. I was absolutely astounded by how amazing it was. It really worked. We as a human race are bold enough now to embrace and accept this now. They’ve been saying this for centuries; scientists are just trying to find a logical reason. What products do you use in your spa by the way? Shankarra, which is an international brand, organic and natural, a non-profit organisation used by Madonna no less, and that money goes to help children in South America in the areas where the products are being harvested. It’s nice to have these lovely products and to know that you are helping someone. The other product is local, organic, harvested and made in Bali, essential oils by this lovely lady called Mary Moon, yeah, so one local and one international. Parting words? Detox to retox. We also sell lovely Cucumber Martinis and Go Gee, just in case you’re feeling a bit too healthy.

www.villakubu.com

InterWho/2

God bless the Japanese, says Regina Schulze-Boysen, the brains and beauty behind Bodyworks Spa. Photo: Yaeko Masuda.

REGINA, let’s start with your age... Are you serious or what? You can’t ask me my age! Ah, vanity…ok, when did you first come to Bali? I came from Bonn, Germany, after my graduation in 1975, 18 years old. You can figure out how old I am if you want. But before that I travelled with my father a lot – he was the German ambassador. We moved to a different country every three years. What kind of business did you have in mind when you came here? Business? Nothing, I was a schoolgirl. I came here on holiday. I went back to university to study for a few years, came back after four years in 1980, then back and forth and I did what everybody else was doing, which was some kind of business, clothing or furniture export…whatever. Was anybody really doing any kind of serious business back then? They were starting to. Furniture, forget it, but T-shirts, yes, that’s what I started to do. I started off not with a suitcase, which most people were doing, I went straight for a shipment of three to four hundred kilos and sold that off in Germany. So I did that for six years, which went really well. After eight years, more or less, I started having kids, I couldn’t travel anymore, I had to make money here in Bali and I didn’t want to follow in my father’s footsteps. I wanted them to live and go to school in one place. You know, a home. What made me stay was that Bali had a little bit of everything and we were interacting a lot more with the Balinese. There weren’t too many Javanese in those times and the few

foreigners that lived here made it so nice. There weren’t microwave houses and you knew where everybody’s house was all over the island. Would you like to go back? I would pay a lot of money just for one day. At what point did you start the spa business? At that time there was nothing, so I came up with the idea of a massage place. Everybody thought you were crazy –you could get a massage on the beach or at home for pennies. They thought I was crazy anyway! I was one of those people that came home after work tired and exhausted in the evening and I wanted a massage and you couldn’t get one at that hour in the evening. It wasn’t that easy to organise quickly… or they wouldn’t show up, because of ceremonies and the like. So it made sense to me, some place you could walk into from nine in the morning until the evening. It started with one shop on Jl. Raya in Seminyak with five people and we did everything ourselves, washed the sheets, cleaned the place, all of it. At what point did the spa take off? Within six months. It was the Japanese that put Bodyworks on the map, for which I will be grateful for the rest of my life. For two years, 80 percent of the customers were Japanese. Why didn’t you keep the shop on Jl. Raya? It was too small and it started too get too noisy and we wanted to build a bigger and quieter place, which is now in Petitenget. Again people thought I was crazy, there was nothing on that road, just jungle, and

nobody would go that far out. It was a good thing we kept the other place open because I did struggle for about a year, and then when the other place took over as the area started to build up we closed the other shop…actually they both worked, but I didn’t have enough time to keep both places running properly. One thing led to another and we started to become more sophisticated, added all kinds of treatments, sauna, experimented with a few things in-between that didn’t work out. Now we have 90 people. There was also a Bodyworks in Gili Trawangan; there were over 110 or more people working for the company. We would take more people if I could find them; it’s very hard to find qualified people. The customer is always right, but it’s hard to teach the Indonesians that concept, it’s hard for them to understand. How do they see it? They see it as customers trying to get away without paying. They have this weird idea about criticism and they tend to fight back automatically. Do you have a school where you train your staff? No, I don’t like to train them from the start, because you never know if somebody is going to become a good massage therapist or not. Some have good hands and others don’t. You could train somebody for three years and they still wouldn't be able to do it properly. I test them, they have to have three or four years’ experience. Where do you find that? Hard to find, I teach them other things, so for me massage schools are a complete

waste of time. What about the explosion of competition? I think competition is very healthy, but I don’t really have that kind of competition. The big hotels have beautiful spas, but they lack character and are sterile, that’s what people tell me all the time. And their prices are outrageous. So no competition, really. All in all there’s not that much. I’m very content, I don’t want the business to grow, and I’m not into franchise. All is well in my world. I tried really hard to create a relaxing ambience, music, not your normal spa elevator music…I go around and chose music I like, plus a lot of minor details which I think make the difference. So it’s a personal business? Yes, very much so. How long has Bodyworks been in business? Bodyworks birthday will be very soon. We started in 1994, so 15 years. Are you going to celebrate it? Oh yes. At Waterbom park. Now that sounds like fun, you’re going to need bodyworks if you don’t invite me! Do you have plans in the future to go in other directions? Yes. Something that has nothing to do with Bodyworks. I want to do work with the Orangutan Society. I want to put time and some of my money into something worthwhile. Time is too short. What would be your philosophy of life? Follow your heart. Short but sweet and that’s the way to do it. S.B. www.bodyworksbali.com 49

Bring on the endless Balinese summer... Photography by Dustin Humphrey/Reel Sessions Model: Franzeska Styling: Sybil Steele

Fashion Swimsuit by Indah. Bracelets, necklaces and rings, stylist's and model's own. Headscarf by Kalayn. 51

Far Left: Dress by St Isidor. Jewelry, stylist's own. Centre: Shorts by Indah. Earrings, stylist's own. Left: Tank by RVCA. Bottoms, Topshop. Scarf, Indah. Jewelry, stylist's and modelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own. 53

Above: Dress by Indah. Bracelet, Badgley Mischka. Necklace, stylist's own. Rings, Anna Beck. Centre: Shirt and hat by Indah. Accessories, stylist's and modelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own. Far right: Local necklaces. 54

Fashion

Feature

w s

Some wise soak once said that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made'. And you know what? The old dog was probably right. All aboard. Text: Hannah James. Main photos: Yaeko Masuda. With thanks to Captain Freddie and Kelana.

Johnny Depp owns one. So do Bono and Tiger Woods. Brad and Angelina are looking at buying one. Nicolas Cage, poor guy, recently had to sell his (apparently). Sir Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra were very partial to spending time on the one owned by Aristotle Onassis. Luxury yachts have forever been the playground of the rich and powerful, the famous and privacy seeking. And why not, when you consider exactly what a lies behind the sleek, gleaming lines of the not-so-average 50-metre plus ‘superyacht’ version of this once-everyday form of transport? As one yachting enthusiast puts it: “Being individually designed by the best minds in the world and then hand-built by skilled craftsmen, luxury yachts are like huge pieces of living sculpture that glide over the world’s oceans.” Quite. Take the legendary 99-metre Onassis’ yacht, Christina O. Based in the south of France and now available as a private charter yacht, she boasts room for 36 passengers in 18 en-suite five-star-fitted cabins, covering three decks, all connected by a glamorous marble railed spiral staircase. Add to this a Jacuzzi, mosaic-tiled pool, spa centre, fully equipped gym, three public lounges, dining room and full satellite communication and TV capabilities. Now wrap around with huge teak deck spaces, throw in a helicopter pad and various water sports vehicles, finish off with a crystal-clad Martini at the famous Christina O bar and it’s easy to see why anyone would be happy to hop aboard – seasickness be damned. Of course, the south of France is, well, the south of France…a long trip to Bali by anyone’s standards, by sea or otherwise. Besides, at 455,000 euros per week, Christina O sails a little deeper into the pockets than most of us can afford, perhaps. Closer to home, and the realms of possibility, there are a number of boating options cruising the seas surrounding Bali. Whether you’re looking for a quick flip across the straits to the Gilis, a one-day water sports expedition, an overnight romantic getaway or a week-long total break from reality, these boats have it. For sheer size and luxury, the 50-metre Silolona comes closest to the ‘superyachts’ spoken about in yachty circles in such hushed,

reverent tones. But that is pretty much where any similarities end. For Silolona, the dreammade-reality of Patti Seery – whose “goal was to create a traditional hand-crafted vessel that speaks of the history of the Spice Trade and embodies the spirit of the Indonesian archipelago while ensuring the highest standards for safety, comfort, service and cuisine” – is a triumph of old-fashioned wood over modern metal, art over technology. The story goes that, an American expat wife in Indonesia, Patti decided to share her good fortune living in such a location by taking private groups on discovery tours of the most remote corners of Indonesia. Often the only way to access such beautiful places as the islands of Tanimbar, Kai and Papua was by traditional local fishing boat, or Phinisi. Patti’s affection for Phinisis grew with every charter she did…until one day a Phinisi she had hired left her, and 16 tourists, stranded in a traditional village with no hotel, not even a restaurant, in sight. Never one to be left behind, Patti decided it was time to build her own. The idea was to build the ultimate Phinisi, “the ideal vessel for visitors to the archipelago to experience the strength and beauty of the traditional cultures, the genuine warmth and sincerity of its people, the power of the landscape and the whisper of the ancestors,” explains Caroline Payen, Yacht Charter Manager. To accomplish this goal, “A mutually respectful bridge between the knowledge and skill of the traditional boat builders and modern Western marine technology had to be established.” With the help of a marine design firm, Patti learned all she could about Phinisis, including their faults and design flaws. After using the traditional design, but improving the keel joint and transforming slightly the hull to have a more stable boat, Patti presented the written plans to the Konjo boat builders of Ara village in South Sulawesi. The result, a hand-crafted work of art, and a boat considered by the builders themselves the finest and most innovative Phinisi ever built, was launched in July 2004. Today, Silolona, with her three luxury en-suite cabins, indoor and outdoor lounge areas, five-star dining facilities, sun deck, crew of 17 including a dedicated Padi Diving Instructor and expedition leader and all the

Silolona

Raja Laut

Amanikan

Feature

w s

of any length that go anywhere guests would like, and private day cruises out of Bali. Why wouldn’t you get onboard? “Spending time on board a yacht is about as far as you can get from the pressures of work and day to day life,” encourages Dickens. “You can go where you want, when you want and see and experience things that you wouldn’t on land. Particularly in Indonesia where you have thousands of islands, bizarre animals and strange cultures only reachable by boat.” Something Amanresorts also understands if the launch of their custom-built, 32-metre luxury coastal cruiser, Amanikan, is anything to go by. Amanikan, “a cruiser that fuses the romance of spice trading vessels with luxurious modern amenities,” as Aurora Kessler of Amanresorts describes it, “is the newest addition to the fleet at Amanwana, a luxury tented hideaway on Moyo Island in Indonesia.” Introduced just this year with the launch of the 2009 Komodo Expedition, a seven-night adventure through the pristine wilderness and waters of Indonesia’s Komodo National Park, Amanikan features three air-conditioned above-deck cabins; a foredeck with an outdoor dining and bar area and extensive dive facilities. The masterpiece, however, would have to be the sweeping 270-degree views from both inside the master cabin’s wraparound windows and a large private sun deck. The same views spread out before you from the second cabin on the main deck, but if that isn’t enough, the Amanikan crew is also more than happy to set up a bed under the stars for you on the bow of the cruiser. Peel your eyes away from the view long enough and you’ll see that Amanikan offers charm aplenty on board too with what Amanresorts describes as a “rustically-elegant cruising environment.” Furnishings are custommade of teak, rattan and other locally sourced materials, with teak decks complemented by fabric and upholstery that is largely crisp white to add to the tranquillity of the sailing experience. Each cabin also boasts vaulted ceilings over two metres high, a spacious feature unique to Amanikan. Equipped for both short and long-haul trips, Amanikan boasts all the usual amenities – such as an onboard dive instructor and dive equipment for up to six guests, and the smaller thoughtful touches that make it a truly

Feature

accompanying facilities, offers an exceptional level of luxury and service. Wherever you want to explore in the Indonesian archipelago, Patti will provide you with a hand-crafted itinerary for her hand-crafted miracle of luxury boating to take you there. Silolona is not alone sailing the seas in luxury, though. At 31 metres, Raja Laut may be slightly smaller in stature, but certainly makes up for that in sailing capabilities. Taking guests on luxury cruises since 2006, having done the first Bali season in 2007, Raja Laut sets itself apart with a design that “combines classic lines with very real sailing capabilities,” explains Will Dickens, director of Borneo Tall Ships, Raja Laut’s home. A wooden gaff-rigged schooner, it boasts five sails and a top speed sail of 11 knots, “bestowing on guests the freedom to make choices about exactly where they want to sail and what they want to do.” Of course, given that this is a luxury boat and all, Raja Laut is beautiful as it is capable. Dickens paints a dreamboat picture of an “entire boat made of wood in different shades, finishes and types to give a rich and natural feel”. Six double en-suite cabins, spacious living, dining and lounging areas complete with hi-tech entertainment and communication options, and a dedicated crew of seven, including a dedicated PADI and SSI Dive Instructor, mean that even if you don’t know where you want to sail to at top speed, there’s still plenty to do. Raja Laut even boasts eight complete dive sets, 30 sets of snorkelling equipment, two sea kayaks, waterskis and a wakeboard… “Yes, there’s definitely a unique sensation of adventure and freedom when on board,” laughs Dickens. At the same time, in spite of all the modern gadgets, “there’s a feeling of stepping back in time on board. Gaff-rigged schooners were once common throughout Asia, in a time when sea-faring trade connected the East to the West, so whilst we have modern facilities on board – satellite communications, air conditioning, scuba diving and top class service, the Raja Laut still emanates a sense of discovery that can be associated with those first explorers and traders.” Only with much better food, five-star service and flushing toilets. Raja Laut, which means ‘King of the Sea’ in Bahasa, runs private charters, overnight cruises

Feature

Pamela

Black Pearl by Orly

luxurious environment – such as cocktails and five-star dinner under the stars and a 70kg ice machine to ensure cool drinks on hot days. All this before you’ve even laid eyes on any of the natural wonders of the Indonesian archipelago. Of course, not all of us have the luxury of seven days to track down Indonesia’s wonderful wildlife – be it above or beneath blue waters. Or the big bucks required for such trips, either, for that matter. Which is where the 11.5-metre Pamela private charter catamaran comes in. Offering daily whole day customised cruises, Pamela can get you places fast in luxury and comfort, while still being completely affordable – “the best water experience for your dollar,” as owner, renowned fashion designer Paul Ropp, puts it. Pamela has been providing safe family fun for up to 12 people for the last 15 years. Built in Bali, with the help of technical and nautical engineers and a design team and plans from America, Pamela was “the first project to be done in Bali using two traditional Bali fishing boats as moulds.” An added bonus being that, as a catamaran, she is generally more stable and faster than most other monohull vessels. Named for a friend, who also happened to be the beautiful wife of a good friend, “a beautiful woman, just like our new catamaran,” Pamela offers custom-designed expeditions involving “game fishing, snorkelling, surfing, day or night trips to the Gili Islands or just boating the beautiful waters of Bali, Lombok, Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan. The crew, professional Indonesian sport fishing charter boat fishermen, are enthusiastic teachers and more often than not that big one never gets away. And if it does, there’s always the extra special comfort of four deck mattresses or a specially set up double cabin. Fast? Check. Safe? Check. Comfortable? Check. Affordable? Check. Beautiful? Check. Of course, no boating feature would be complete without at one least boat with the moniker ‘Black Pearl’. Although not a luxury yacht, the powerboat that is Black Pearl is undoubtedly the most luxurious way to get from Bali to the Gili Islands or Lombok in a rush. A 14.5-metre purpose-designed transfer

vessel to Gili Trawangan, “Black Pearl is not only a beautifully finished vessel, it is also purpose fitted and designed for this crossing,” explains owner Britta. Operational since April 2009, Britta decided it was time for her company to focus on powerboats after falling in love with the Gili Islands and building a weekend beach shack there as an escape for her and her children from their busy life in Bali. “Our company traditionally operated Phinisis, but sailing on traditional sailboats across the strong currents of the Lombok strait can take anything up to 10 hours. A speedboat, going up to 36 knots, was the perfect solution.” Now Britta, and her customers, “can go to paradise any time I want, and the paradise starts with departure! It is so nice to sit on the deck and enjoy the sun, the wind and the ocean… Black Pearl is especially comfortable thanks to her big deck space and chill out area,” enthuses Britta. Plus, “she’s really sexy – I love black powerboats!” The Black Pearl departs from Turtle Island for Gili T every morning at 9am, with complementary breakfast served on board and free pickup from your hotel offered as standard. Four luxury VIP seats, including all beverages, pickup and breakfast, are also offered per trip. With all this talk of boating, and luxury boating at that, we’re inclined, once and for all, to follow Mark Twain’s advice: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Silolona: www.silolona.com Tel: +62 361 287 326 Raja Laut: www.rajalaut.com Email: info@rajalaut.com Amanikan: www.amanresorts.com Tel: +65 6419 3808 Pamela: www.sailboatbali.com/pamela_boat Tel: +62 361 780 0293 Black Pearl: www.baliaqua.com/black-pearl.asp Tel: +62 361 461 322/805 2165

Feature

Chen at work, by Yaeko Masuda. 68

Artsake

Master sculptor Chen works in heavy metals, wants you to forget he's there and has a team of 40 people. Oh, and he just sold a piece for a million bucks. By Salvador Bali.

READY for blast off? My name is Lee Ny Chen…I am Indonesian, Chinese, from Solo. I think I’m 35 but in reality I’m 42. Married with three children. Your background? I finished high school 22 years ago, then I went to art school, college. Have you always been in the arts? It’s not so important where I studied, but from whom. My mother designed jewelry, and that was a big influence. When did you start to sculpt? Twelve years ago. Before that I was an interior designer. From that I learned a good deal about interior equipment. It would have been impossible for me if I didn’t have experience in interior design, because sculpture is a map of the interior and I learned about the proportion, about the space…the three dimensional medium. So you’re self educated, you learned from the universe, your own concoctions? Exactly. What kind of sculptures did you do in the beginning? Oh, I’m too old to be telling this kind of story! I feel something and do something, doing it very seriously and with

concentration. Was it for fun? Did you have an idea to sell your sculpture? For passion. Business was going well and I had space and time to play. I was very lucky, a client appreciated my work and wanted it, and that changed my life. The universe gave me a big kiss. Where are your sculptures in the world today? I started in Bali, then mostly sold to collectors…Martinez, Dubai, Monaco, some hotels, Marriott, Four Seasons. How long has your store on Jl. Oberoi been in existence? Five years now, and one on the bypass. Do you do special projects upon request? I just make what I think is right. I take into consideration what’s needed. Yes, it’s my job. Do you work solely with stainless steel? I have been, but to be honest, I’m getting a little bit bored, so I’m upgrading to titanium. It will be on show in six months. Is it easier to work with titanium? Oh no, you must use high-tech technology; we work with oxygen masks, special suiting and in large spaces. 69

When you say we, how many people are involved with your sculptures? Forty people. Forty? Are you putting us on? I control the quality and the movement of the style, after that I have assistants. If I do just one sculpture by myself it would take a year. Now in three months we can finish four sculptures. My team is split into 10 people per sculpture. So each group works on a separate sculpture, not all on one? How much input do you do? About 30, 40, 50 percent, depending. Do you draw out your concepts beforehand? No, that’s too difficult for me. I don’t think about that. What I think I do, and then free-flow. Spur of the moment? Yes, yes. What about your assistants, do you incorporate their ideas as well?

Photo: Yaeko Masuda. 70

We work as a team and respect each other. What kind of price do your sculptures command? From $50,000 for a small one. I sold a big one recently to a Russian for $1,000,000. One million dollars, God bless you! You don’t have to think about paying your rent for a while then. I don’t think about what is in the bank. I love what I do, everybody must be happy. You can ask my staff…that’s my responsibility, to be happy. Chen is nothing, being me is getting respect, time is nothing. I really hope I can keep people happy with my creations. Working with the universe... Yes, I’m still trying to understand it 100 percent. Do you have other outlets for your work? Yes, already I have a partner setting up marketing for the global market. We’ll be doing exhibitions all over the world. We’re

just finishing a book for the majors. Did you paint a lot before sculpting? Before I liked painting, but I realised I needed more of a challenge, the harder the better. Painting for me is twodimensional. I think I have more skill. I need more compellability and more challenge of skill. Open-minded, working with my team. Do you do interior design anymore? No, it’s too simple for me, too materialistic. What do you think about when you sculpt? Honestly, I don’t think about anything, just my emotion. So you do it for you and the client perceives what they will? Total freedom, no name. I tell people it’s your emotion, what you think. All people have their own imagination. Trailing off, what do you say? About life? Be honest, have a great heart, care…that’s the most important thing. www.chenergy.biz

Artsake Photo courtesy of Chenergy. 71

Journeys

ante

Xante Gabriela lived with the nomadic Penan tribe in Sarawak to paint and write about their extraordinary and fastdisappearing way of life. Photo: Yaeko Masuda.

Journeys

YOU"VE got quite a story, I understand…where are you from? I came from a generation of English that never lived in England. We lived in India, the Mediterranean, but everybody was sent to England to go to boarding school. So from Greece to Rome to California…Mum and Dad divorced and I just made the circuit every year. So you became a citizen of the world? That’s a nice way of putting it. That’s why I live in Bali. It’s one of the only places I feel at home. You meet so many people like me. Where was your last embankment before coming to Bali? Venice Beach, California. I was doing art exhibitions and made enough to escape. What kind of painting background do you come from? I started painting when I was five. I have a grandmother by the name of Rita Hail, she’s 75 now and still paints like a maniac from morning till night. She was my mentor and I adore her. So I wanted to be just like her, a painter and a writer. I was chosen by institutions, painting schools, between the ages of eight and 16. I escaped and am never going back to institutions for the life of me. Ah, a true artist in the making, a rebel without a clause… I started surfing in Mexico, and painting, and I learned a lot from other painters, and by reading. From Mexico I had this terrible need to fit in to society and I went to Milan to be a fashion designer. I worked for this gay designer, and then I fell in love with a guy. That was a complete disaster and I ended up in Los Angeles working for Ralph Lauren. I can’t tell you the sort of stories, so I ended that too. I went out with Bobby Weir of the Grateful Dead for a while and during that time he told me about this nomadic tribe called the Penan, who seemed to be the most wonderful people in the world. But I didn’t have the courage to go find them and no idea where to start. I began to imagine what they might be like, which was, by the way, completely wrong. I thought they would

Journeys

be tall black people. They turned out to be tiny little Asian Pigmies. I smoked about three billion cigarettes while painting and I read this book by Victor Frankl, a holocaust survivor, and there was this beautiful quote that changed my life. “Don’t ask the world what is the meaning; the world asks you what is the meaning.” I asked myself what was important to me, and my first thought was the tribe. I had to find them and do portraits. It became a ridiculous obsession. Realistically I didn’t speak the language and I didn’t have enough money, but two months later I found myself in Bali. I ran into Lawrence Blair and he told me where I could find this tribe. Considering I didn’t have much money I was told I should find and bring shotgun shells, because shotgun shells are worth a lot in the forest. What he didn’t mention, either because he didn’t know it or he didn’t think it was relevant, was that the reason these were incredibly valuable was because they are illegal. I didn’t know that. When I got to Borneo I couldn’t buy any, so I persuaded two small Chinese men to go buy them for me, and then I smuggled them into the rainforest and through an X-ray machine. By the grace of God I got through. I traded the shells with tattooed headhunters and it was absolutely fantastic. I then managed to persuade them to give me one of their sons to guide me to find the nomadic Penan, which was also illegal, but that made it all the

Xante with the Penan, 2002. more exciting. So, 12 days later, without any feet left and starving to death, I met the most wonderful, sweetest tribe, like a bunch of Dalai Lamas walking around. It was so beautiful, one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. I managed to persuade these people to carry 40 kilos of oil paint and all these ridiculous things, books on Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt, which they all loved. How long did you stay with them? For three and a half months the first time, but it seemed like a year. A lot of these people had never seen a white person before, let alone a white woman. They live in the rainforest and they have nothing, truly nothing. They have no houses, just little shelters made from leaves and sticks with the wind coming through and it’s freezing cold and you’re soaking wet; literally nothing to eat, especially if you’re a vegetarian, as I am. I ate roots and leaves smashed with a stone. It was as uncomfortable as you can imagine. You’re covered with mosquitoes like you’ve never seen before, big, really big, like silver dollars, and tiger leeches that just bite you and you just sit there with blood around your feet and there’s nothing you can do. I was completely weak, but in heaven, even though I was a whining and complaining little brat. They would come and bring me things and comfort me. 74

There was never a time you felt afraid or threatened by this tribe? I was quite afraid of the headhunters at the time. The headhunter that brought me to the tribe told them he would have raped me…“She is a white woman and I would have raped her, but I thought of God…” he said. I understood some Malaysian. He was from the Kelabit and these people are completely different. Sounds like yin and yang, brown rice and seaweed verses meat-eating cannibals… Yeah, the Kelabit are four thousand years old. Do they actually eat people? You hear about that. They constantly insult each other about eating people. But I don’t know. It’s rumoured, but they definitely cut off people’s heads. Hopefully that’s illegal now. To say the least! How did you get to know them? You just walked in? As I arrived we ran into another tribe from Indonesia that were going to a logging camp for work. Unfortunately most of these tribes sell off parts of their land. What happens is, during the rainy season, the river overflows, so trying to get from A to B is difficult. Just before we got to Penan there was a river we had to cross before nightfall, otherwise we would have been stuck. It was a very dangerous situation. It was the only time I was strong. In every other situation I was a pathetic cripple who had to be helped in every possible way. I’m a very strong swimmer and I ended up helping a little girl who couldn’t quite make it, so I arrived as something of a hero, except I had no toe nails left. I arrived barefoot. My arms and legs were covered and infected by leech bites and insects and scratches, but that was okay. They had this root for drunkenness, like a remedy for a hangover. It’s also an antidote for the poison darts. Eventually I was given my own set of poison darts and I was given my own blowpipe which was made for me so I could run around. Were you bare chested? Yes, quite often. It’s standard, only the teenage girls wear tops. Tell us a little about the Penan and their way of life… The real clan, the nomadic clan, generally a family of one, two or three…they like their privacy, and one family will be just far enough away from the other. They come together in big groups, but they are very free. It’s all about freedom, nobody has authority over them and they have no authority over anybody else, they’re as free as birds. When they want to communicate with each other they leave message paths, and they will put a stick in the ground and do something around it, put a leaf and it’s a message to the next Penan coming along. They also tie knots…I did this once and it was a lot of fun for me. We met this Penan and said we would meet again in eight days, so we each tied eight knots in a piece of vine. That was our appointment calendar, and every day we untied a knot so we knew when we had to be there. They have these communication systems; they meet up, but they’re free. And another thing…when they kill an animal, it has to be a wild animal. It’s totally unethical to kill a domestic animal because it’s so easy and you’re breaking the trust of the animal. If you kill a wild animal with babies, you have to capture and look after them until they’re big enough to be set free back in the forest, again because they don’t kill domestic animals. So this was the first of two trips…that was for when and how long? That was in 1983. The second time I went back…ha, ha…that was to save the Penan tribe and the rainforest. I had no idea what I was up against. To save the Penan tribe? In what respect? The problem they face comes from a combination of big business and government. Corporations want to buy timber; the government wants to license pieces of the forest for money. The political thing…if you join the party, I’ll give you a piece, that kind of thing. These people just don’t see the real value of the rainforest. So your bleeding heart waved its flag? Sounds like Gorillas in the Mist. I wish I could have been that effective. You certainly have my vote. Can’t wait to read the book. S.B. http://xantegabriela.com

Creative Spaces Pablo Gentile. 76

pablo

Bali-based sculptor Pablo Gentile calls it: anything goes with anything. Interview by Salvador Bali. Photos by Yaeko Masuda.

Pablo, when did you start to pursue sculpture? Actually it started when I was a kid. I started playing around with clay, silly putty, building blocks or whatever…maybe it started in kindergarten. You’re primarily known for your painting. Which do you prefer for your own satisfaction? It’s a lot more convenient to work in paint. You can hold on to canvases, you can exhibit them and sell them, but sculpture – at least the way I work – you basically need to have commissions in order to begin. Most of the pieces weigh tons. The logistics of building pieces and then putting them up for sale is expensive and it takes up a lot of space and a lot of time. At the beginning you didn’t do it on commission? No. In the beginning I made little objects and forms and then started assembling them all together, sort of for my own amusement. Sometimes I would paint them, that’s old school format in the traditional sense, you have a form and you put it into space. Today sculpture extends to things like performance, installation, cyber and inside-out stuff where the space inside a piece is more important than the outer form…whatever you take for granted has been proven opposite! Now it’s been blown out…the space, the forms have been opened up to include the space or even just the space, so space itself becomes sculpture. So what we say is…sculptures here in Bali are actually objects that people create for one reason or another, and they are statuary, that’s one traditional approach to it. Beyond commissions as an artist, what do you do to satisfy yourself? I experiment with all kinds of forms, trying to find forms that I’ve never seen and it’s not easy. Paintings start on the wall, roll

down the table and on to the floor, the dog walks over them, the roof leaks on them, and they become incorporated into a living environment. I call it sculpture for lack of a better term. At the end of the day everything has been done, and it becomes a question of context. Duchamp took the urinal, which he bought in a hardware store, and he put it in the Louvre and said this is sculpture and it became so. This was a major moment for the world of art because suddenly a ready-made object was put on a pedestal into the context of a gallery or a museum; it took on a whole other persona when it was seen that way. So it’s a huge subject to consider that anything you see doesn’t even have to be transformed in any manner, all you have to do is see it in the context of it being sculpture. So you have living sculpture, people working in plants or water, people working in air, light, this is a far cry from people working in sculpture in the traditional sense. After 50 years of doing it, I’m still somehow a beginner. I would love to see the work evolve. I make things all the time, totally for myself and a few close friends who see what I’m doing, but I have little if any commercial success with that stuff, because people want objects they can buy and own. In a sense that makes the work a lot more pure, since it’s removed from any considerations other than the resolution of a particular problem I maybe working out with a particular piece. Galleries here have financial considerations and have to sell objects to stay in business. So here in Bali we’re a bit back in the old thing. What about sculpture you do outside of Bali? I’m lucky enough to have a few architects and designers who are familiar with my work, so I get pieces commissioned. Anything to get the work realised and

seen! I have one piece that is 17-metres long and two-and-a-half metres in height and it’s made in green terrazzo, but I had to explain that it was inspired by the way the rice terraces were stacked on top of each other with all those contours and sharp edges. The geometry, colour and flow were my real inspiration, but I had to put it into a more understandable context in order to have it realised. So I did that for a hotel project in a soft flowing yet angular and precise sculptural form. Their consideration was to have a work of art that separated one area from another and yet was still visual and had its own impact. So it was still visual and had that impact. I often have to sort of trick the clients into getting art when they actually have some sort of decorative utilitarian purpose for the piece. So it is up to me to do something thoughtprovoking. I think the difference being that I have to include a certain poetry that makes it happen. So there are all these things to consider, and how to sneak a little art in at the same time becomes the main one. You know what they say about horticulture, “you can lead a whore to culture, but you can’t make her think!” What materials do you work with? Steel, stone, wood, those are the most immediate to put pieces on. I have a lot of assemblages that are made of broken furniture, found objects, auto parts, whatever works. I have pieces that are kind of paintings and kind of sculpture, because they hang on a wall and yet they can be viewed as objects, which means it’s not a picture of anything and it’s not an abstract, it’s three-dimensional form, which might qualify it to be more than a painting. Point in fact, anything goes with sculpture. Yeah man, anything goes with anything.

www.gentilefineart.com 77

Art Market Bali Deco Glass blends high-quality craftsmanship and an eye for the abstract to produce glass sculptures that inspire. Text by Shelley Putri. Photo Yaeko Masuda.

Who’s not seen the stunning light-filled modern glass barn on Sunset…and probably wondered about its purpose too? Hard to miss and deservedly so, this is the showroom of the Bali Deco Glass Company, a firm that specialises in producing high-quality glass sculptures, panels, wall-hangings, stained glass windows and many other weird and wonderful objet d’art. The company was founded by Albertus H., an Indonesian gentleman who has been producing these works of art for more than 20 years, moving to Bali 12 years 78

ago he designed and built his space six months ago. Each of his pieces is totally different, and most are commissioned by his international client list ranging from Japan, Australia, America, the UK, France and locally in Bali, Java and Jakarta. Inspired by nature, people, architecture and interior design, Albertus uses black sand that is then blasted and formed initially into panels. It is cut, etched, sketched, beveled, coloured, stenciled and textured to achieve the right shape, pattern and design. Everything is done by

hand, and a slip of the tools can destroy a masterpiece. Albertus employs 35 people, most of whom he has personally taught to become artists in the manufacture of glass sculpture. Each piece takes approximately two weeks to make and prices start from around Rp6 million++. Many hotels and spas buy his artworks for lobbies or restaurants, some etched with bamboo or lotus flowers. Or maybe you fancy a gorgeous glass woman in a bikini relaxing on the beach? And a few well-informed friends may just point out to

you that this was the company that made the coveted Yak Awards trophies for a certain recent high-profile event… Ever restless and constantly inspired, Albertus is now moving on to designing and constructing a small electronic shopping mall, a villa/studio and a similar glass building to his showroom for a French couple opening an antique shop on Sunset…he is an innovative interior designer, creating furnishings and designs for hotels and villas in Bali. Glass is his passion, and this passion becomes our glass…

Designs

triciakim

COULD you tell us your name and a bit of your history? Age forty something…I come from Solo, South Korea, and at age six I went to school in the United States, New York and New Jersey, public schools. Then to Parsons, New York and Paris. That was at the age of 21. Then it was back to New York, then to San Francisco, where I studied woodworking and jewelry. Then back to New York again where I studied as an apprentice with a goldsmith. That’s where I learned how to work with gemstones, 80

Parsons graduate Tricia Kim of Nagicia Jewellery works in sculptural form on organic themes…with a deserved following. Photo: Yaeko Masuda

diamonds and 18 carat gold. I went on to do granulation, which is an ancient Balinese technique…balls fused one by one. Would you give me a little bit more detail on that? I was doing that and then molding them, granules that are about one millimeter in diameter, tiny little balls. Imagine putting out tiny little floral patterns on domes and then molding it. So I would do these masters in silver, then I would mold it and cast it in 18 carat gold and implant.

Nobody was doing such detailed casting, these were mountings for earrings and rings and gemstones. Was this your own company? Yes, with another woman, that was in 1991, it really didn’t fly. How did you end up in Bali? I worked for another manufacturer in high-end jewelry and John Hardy found me. I mailed him a post card with these granulated pieces, they interviewed me and then again a year later and they took me to Bali, and that’s how I got here. How long did you work with John Hardy? Two and a half years, that was from ’97 to ’99. Have you been here since then? I took a year off and travelled around South East Asia, then came back to Bali and started to do my own thing. Let’s get on to your own thing. Describe it if you will. I’m doing sculptural jewelry based on organic themes, exploring the themes of roots, which someone just said looks like twigs. I’m also doing butterflies and dragonflies. Manufactured? Yes, and I also do custom work, wedding bands and one-of-a-kinds. Have you done tradeshows? Not as yet, but looking in to it now. You’re independent and small right now, so where do people find your work? I wholesale or I’m online. I have an outlet in Ubud, Treasures. I’ve been selling there since the beginning for nine years. I have a loyal following there.

Do you work with the Balinese? Balinese and Javanese, I’m not on the John Hardy high-end yet, thousands of dollars, but I’ll get there. So you’re no cheap date? I want to get an investor so I can do gold and diamond collections. Everything I’m doing now in silver can easily be transferred into gold. Looking for a store as well. Would you agree with me that the workmanship here outshines most places, and how do you feel about competition? I’m happy that designers are opening up shops and not being so paranoid anymore and yes, without a doubt, it outshines most places. Ah so, brainstorm. What would you say to a collective designer jewelry show right here in Bali? If everybody’s complaining about getting ripped off, if everybody got together like any other trade show such as in Singapore etcetera, I mean the limelight is on Bali these days. Major conferences, concerts, trade shows, fashion shows. Why not a Jewelry exhibition? Wow, that’s a great idea, could be done during Bali Fashion week, accessories and such. You could be the ringleader! You’re a very funny guy, but it’s true. There are still tons of great things being made here, only for export, really high-end pieces that nobody will ever see here. Parting words? Om Shanti, Shanti Om. Live for the moment. S.B. www.nagicia.com

Being Green

A l i l a

u l u w a t u Photography by Yaeko Masuda. Alila Villas Uluwatu opened quietly in June this year with 84 villas, two restaurants and a pledge to be greener than the emerald isle itself. Designed by award-winning design firm WOHA, the property's eco-friendly framework has made it the first in Bali to meet the rigourous Green Globe standards, setting it apart by following an entirely environmentally friendly fabric. 83

Being Green

This page and left: The property's Indonesian restaurant The Warung serves Balinese-inspired cuisine. 85

Venting In A Villa

H A V E N Lou Nietunz gets pampered to perfection at a surprising resort.

For more than a while now those arriving at Bali’s beloved airport will have seen the parking-toll-booth alligator-doors preaching the arrival of The Haven. Surely by nature of this aggressive marketing tactic, along with the imposing name, something big must be in the works. Having just recently celebrated their soft-opening, we thought it prudent to take a peek at this new behemoth of a resort that has quietly emerged from within Legian’s sleepy Jln. Arjuna interior. Accessed by a discreet backstreet lobby and valetserviced underground parking lot, The Haven quietly welcomes you to an oasis of modern resort luxury tucked away behind the façade of old bungalow lanes. The newly finished selection of luxury suites and villas will soon be joined by a 100-room hotel to complete the grand opening. Heavily taxed from a weekend of social-butterflying, we opted for the in-room massage-on-arrival option, which turned out to be the best decision of our weekend. Led by the friendly room-escort, a large central pooled courtyard stretched back between the two suite-towers to a complex of thatched-roof villas at the back. Running water features abound throughout the Ziggurat-style rock-walls and we were soon at the door of our destination. Two massage beds had been arranged to welcome us at the door of our one-bedroom villa. Quilted bathrobes awaited in the closet, and soon we were horizontal gazing at the floor through the cushy-customary bed-holes. Despite the child-sized disposable massage-garments, the Atma Spa team have really done their research on how 86

to make you feel good, and the on-arrival-option is the quickest way to put you in relax mode. Providing a focused menu of therapeutic treatments and aromatherapies, the A-Team here are trained professionals that test and tune your body’s limits. A great combination to try is the Deep Tissue treatment, soothingly extended by the Warm Stone massage. Seminyak traffic and the worries of the day become an instant memory as these practitioners ply their trade on your beleaguered booty. Waking up on the other side of sunset with totally rejuvenated bodies, we were gingerly led to the nudiststyle transparent bath-quarters. A sunken-bath of floating red blossoms glowed at us through the glass walls. As my date smiled and disappeared beneath the petals, I felt like Kevin Spacey in American Beauty. The jumbo-sized basin truly lets couples stretch out together and there is no issue of not getting enough water here. Encased in glass like the Mona Lisa on the other side of the bathroom, the high-tech Tata Kermode has more controls than a jet-ski, and is designed to pamper your backside better than a car-wash. Multiple fan-directions and temperature settings let your derrière do the talking, and given the proper practice and attention this could someday become an Olympic sport. Back into our puffy bathrobes, and bedside-dining was the new order of the hour. Sliding onto the dark-grey fur bed-cover, the roomservice menu read like a Who’s Who of the in-house culinary starlets. We started with the fresh tomato and pumpkin soups, which were beyond compare, followed by a Rib-Eye

Steak with Couscous and the Seafood Platter chased by Black Rice Crepes. Each of these were divine in their own right, but the crepes somehow stole the show; traditional yet deliciously updated. Feeling clean, cozy and cuisined, we popped a cork and took a tour of our indoor-outdoor environs. A personal lap pool shimmered beyond the sliding glass doors, and though the new foliage is just taking root, the gardens are set to bloom. The king-sized bed features a secret studyalcove behind a carved-lattice screen which is Wi-Fi ready, should one require any online-action, and an apartmentstyle kitchenette is ready by the front-room entrance for any home-cooked favourites. Dining out or room-service is the recommended dinner option, it seems, as evening dining in the courtyard can get a bit noisy from all the suite-balconies that look down onto the area. The same courtyard, however, is lovely for the breakfast buffet in the mornings, while the suite-lovers are still snoozing. All in all, we were truly surprised by The Haven. Despite the heavy marketing gusto, the product is sound and lives up to its name. Achieving a savvy mix of Balinese tradition and modern minimalism, The Haven takes ethnic-chic villa-living one step further. Set back behind the main Seminyak thoroughfares, and just minutes from the beach and best restaurants and clubs, the location is prime for long-weekenders and couples. Just don’t forget the key to a good stay here; massage-on-arrival.

www.thehavenbali.com

live on the

edge

Sinaran Surga, a private estate in the Bukit area, knows no limits in offering Bali’s newest & most exclusive residential experience: • Spectacular cliff front location with uninterrupted ocean views. • Private access to pristine beach. • Luxurious design by Diastana Design Bali. • A suite of 3 spacious and luxury residences, available for rent or purchase, soon officially on the market.

E. info@sinaransurga.com • W. www.sinaransurga.com

diastanadesign-bali

E. info@diastanadesign.com • W. www.diastanadesign.com

Nyoman Sura. 88

The Yak Awards

we drank too much Champagne....

we came we saw

Text: Katrina Valkenburg Photos: Yaeko Masuda

The Yak Publisher Tina Ardie.

Sophie, do tell, when and where did you hold the first Yak Awards? March 2004, at Paul’s Place. Why on earth did you decide to hold such an event? Another great idea that came from the other side of a bottle of creative juice…I think it was award season in Hollywood and since we are all legends in our own lunchbox we thought Bali deserved its own. What are the parameters to be included in the nominations – are they only advertisers or sponsors? You do not have to advertise to be nominated, you just have to be fabulous. Ten out of 16 awards this year were presented to people who were not actually advertising in the June-August issue of the magazine. How are the categories decided? Categories were decided way back when. We have since dropped Miss Congeniality and The Bud side of the awards. Who decides on the nominees? Nominations are decided both by The Yak executives and past winners of awards (if we hear back from them!) We ask

And Jimi came too...

them to send us their top five in their own category. We then put our nominations in the overall mix and come up with the final five that go online for everyone to vote on. How do you come up with the winners? Through the online voting – tabulated by Bule Fusion this year – and The Yak executives. Who votes and how many did you receive this year? Initially there were 3,246 votes submitted, 59 abandoned and 356 partial votes captured by the system. Upon review of the data, we realised that there were several duplicate votes. We matched email addresses, removed duplicate responses from the matching email, leaving only one response per email. Thereafter, we removed all incomplete responses, which resulted in a final count of 2,141 unique votes. Thank you Bule Fusion! The Yak Awards have been held in some pretty fab places (2004 Paul’s Place; 2005 Loloan Restaurant; 2007 Sentosa Private Villas & Spa; 2008 Ku De Ta; 2009 Sentosa again) do you know where The Yak Awards will be held in 2010? Not yet…I haven’t quite got over the last one! Nor have I.

And the winners were… • Best Newcomer: The St Regis, Bali. • Best Retail Space: Quarzia, Oberoi. • Bar of the Year: The Living Room. • Best Villa: Villa Bali Asri, Seminyak. • Best Spa: Como Shambhala Estate. • Best Resort: The Balé. • Best Sunset Venue: Frangipani Lounge at La Lucciola. • Best DJ: Niina. • Yak Man of the Year: Michael Franti. • Yak Woman of the Year: Rosalina Norita, Bali Creative Community. • Fashion Designer of the Year: Putri Mertaningsih N., Dinda Rella. • Chef of the Year: Oscar Perez, The St Regis, Bali. • Ad Campaign of the Year: Envy at Holiday Inn Baruna. • Best Community Services Award: Eco Bali Recycling Program, Bpk. Ketut Mertaadi. • Best Event: Earth Day. • Outstanding Achievement Award: Aldo Landwehr, Designer/Architect (awarded posthumously).

A grand entrance, courtesy of Bloomz.

The Yak Awards

Having attended three Yak Awards, including this year’s biggest-bash-to-date at Sentosa Private Villas & Spa, I was interested to learn more about its inception, vision, philosophy and longevity, so I chased down the magazine’s managing partner Sophie Digby and posed a few questions on behalf of all Yakkers and Yaksters.

Jasmine Mireki.

The Yak Awards

Jasmine Mireki.

Nyoman Sura.

Supercozi.

Those coveted awards...by Bali Deco Glass.

And the winner is...

Nyoman Sura.

The Yak Awards

The night was long...

Aldo was remembered with a posthumous award.

The Yak Awards

matur suksma... The Yak Awards 2009 would not have been possible without the awesome support of our sponsors (and of course you, the readers of The Yak). So here they are, take a bow...

Travel

This transcendently beautiful mountain of sculpted stone is the largest Buddhist monument in the world.. Text: Jamie James. Illustrations: Stu.

100

Travel

Making lists of the world's most impressive monuments is an irrational and ultimately pointless enterprise: who has seen all the wonders of the world? And what would the criteria be? Yet scribblers have been at it since the second century B.C. when a Greek poet named Antipater of Sidon came up with his canonical seven, now all gone or reduced to rubble except the pyramids of Giza. If Antipater had lived a millennium later, he would surely have put Borobudur, the astonishing stone mountain of exquisitely wrought sculpture in Central Java, on his list. No construction of the preindustrial era makes a more wondrous impression. Alfred Russel Wallace, one of the most well-traveled men of his day, wrote of Borobudur in 1869, in The Malay Archipelago (a book usually cited minus its melodious subtitle, "The Land of the Orang-Utan and the Bird of Paradise"): "The amount of human labour and skill expended on the Great Pyramids of Egypt sinks into insignificance compared with that required to complete this sculptured hill-temple in the interior of Java." Aerial photographs of Borobudur convey its stupendous mass – nearly two million cubic feet of fine-grained, mellow gray stone quarried from local riverbeds – but fail to give a sense of the monument's transcendent beauty. Often described as the largest Buddhist monument in the world, Borobudur rises to a height of 400 feet, nearly as tall as Cheops' pyramid, in a series of concentric terraces. Its walls are lined with exquisitely carved bas-reliefs illustrating episodes from the life of the Buddha and his teachings, amounting to more than a mile of continuous sculpture – and that doesn't include 504 life-size statues of the Buddha. Borobudur was built at the end of the eighth century under the supervision of an architect named Gunadharma, whose name survives in the same legendary realm as that of Imhotep, Egypt's first pyramid-builder. Gunadharma erected

his masterpiece around an existing hill; then the reliefs were carved in situ. The pilgrim was meant to proceed along the symmetrically arranged galleries on a symbolic spiritual journey, moving upward from terrace to terrace, each level representing a higher plane of consciousness, until he finally reaches enlightenment at the summit, which is capped by a large stupa, or dome. One of the most intriguing aspects of Borobudur's architecture is its hidden basement. In 1885, a Dutch architect named J.W. Ijzerman, while working on a restoration project at the monument, found cracks in the ground-level processional pathway that surrounded the base. Sensing a Howard Carter moment, he ordered the path to be excavated. There, under 16 layers of stone, he discovered sculptural panels that had been deliberately concealed for a thousand years. The 160 secret reliefs, as beautifully carved as those on the exposed, upper galleries, depict the workings of karmic law. Evil actions, from gossip to murder, are vividly portrayed alongside the hellish torments that punish them; virtuous actions are paired with their heavenly rewards. Explanations for why these panels were immured in stone range from the mundane (the first basement had to be shored up to prevent subsidence) to the mystic (with sufficient concentration, the adept might be able to read the reliefs through the stone). Like its Egyptian predecessors, Borobudur poses many enigmas to archaeologists. One visionary, slightly mad aspect of its design is that the ground plan, visible only from an aerial perspective, is a perfect mandala, a symbolic schema of Buddhist cosmology that serves as an aid to meditation. Or perhaps the monument represents a lotus blossom, a nearly universal image in Buddhist art. In 1931, a Dutch artist named W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp proposed the whimsical theory that the plain surrounding Borobudur was once a lake, and the monument was conceived

as a lotus flower floating on it. His hypothesis became less fanciful in 2000, when archaeologists found stratigraphical evidence of a paleolake in the area. Borobudur received pilgrims from distant lands for about 200 years, until it was abandoned, apparently rather abruptly – another enigma. Conventional wisdom in Indonesia holds that the monument's decline came with Java's conversion to Islam in the 1400s, but by then the great stone lotus had long since fallen into desuetude. It was never completely forgotten, but in the Islamic era it acquired a sinister reputation, and visits there were taboo. By 1811, when the British began a brief period of sovereignty in Java, Borobudur lay hidden under volcanic ash and jungle vegetation. The new governor of the island, Thomas Stamford Raffles, just 30 years old, dispatched an expedition to locate and excavate the legendary monument, commencing the modern age of scholarship and study of Borobudur. A wave of restorations of varying degrees of ineptitude began at the turn of the 20th century, culminating in a thorough makeover from 1975 to 1982, sponsored by the Indonesian government and Unesco, that stabilised the foundation and restored all 1,460 sculptural reliefs to sparkling condition. Today, Borobudur is once again thronged by visitors, many of them Buddhist pilgrims; saffron-swathed monks from many nations are always there in gentle flocks. Yet as an architectural celebrity, the monument remains strangely under-exposed. Indonesia's tourism ministry reports just over a million visitors annually, including the domestic market, mainly students bussed in for the local equivalent of the senior-class trip. It's a paltry number compared with such Asian rivals in the world-wonder racket as Angkor Wat and the Taj Mahal, with which it easily holds its own. Yet true to the philosophy that built it, Borobudur rises serenely above such vain, earthly striving.

101

Spas

f i v e s ta r s pa s

Stressed, sick, sullied and desensitised, we headed to some five star spas to be soothed, squeezed pampered and spoiled. God bless Bali...

104

The Laguna Resort & Spa. 105

Spas 106

Como Shambhala

The BalĂŠ

Batu Karang

Mango Tree, Kupu Kupu Barong

Holiday Inn, Baruna

St. Regis Bali

Karma Kandara

Theta Spa 107

www.dindarella.com 108

www.paulropp.com 109

www.hussy.com.au 110

www.puravidafashion.com 111

www.bodyandsoulclothing.com 112

www.bodyandsoulclothing.com 113

K&I Tel. 737025/736477 114

www.lily-jean.com 115

www.dandelionkid.com 116

www.puravidafashion.com 117

Oral Pleasures

e n v y Tickled yet intrigued by Envy’s cheeky award-winning opening ad campaign, my date and I ventured through the sleepy back streets to Tuban’s newest dining destination for an up-close look at the menu and to find out what all the buzz is about. Located at the beach front of the new Holiday Inn Baruna resort, this modern al-fresco brasserie is a sexy cocktail of colour and style. Mixing old-style Italian culinary favourites along with art-deco design and state-of-the art fixtures, this venue invites you with a decidedly different personality. Glowing meteorite-styled garden lights are scattered across the garden and patio areas which slowly change colour with your mood. Of course with all the different people romancing around, the rocks must get confused, but hey, they’re just rocks. As we sat down to some good old candlelight, we were met by the friendly cabana-styled waiter. The cocktail menu, it turns out, is nothing to sneeze at, unless you try the Peppered Strawberry Margarita. Created by Bar Solution’s front-man, Steve Collinson, the cocktail selection at Envy is notably beyond expectations. Standouts include the Toasted Pink Grapefruit Martini, the Asian Mary or the GM’s fave, Bourbon and Grape Smash. Beautiful glassware and presentation seal the deal here and leave you wanting more. Attention to fruit and spice choices make the selection exotic and innovative. 118

Delightfully buzzed from the sunset and Grapefruit Martinis, we settled in for the kill, perusing a globe-trotting list of starters under the emerging stars above. While seafaring-Italian is one of the specialties and a dazzling array of pizzas glow under modern suspended ovenlamps, there are many more comfort-foods choices from around the planet. A fun approach to the menu has been achieved, even with choose-your-own styled lunch menus to be enjoyed poolside or in the lounge garden. "You came on the right night," said our waiter; an outdoor Capoeira show was about to begin in the garden. This takes the cultural palette even wider, and Caparinhas were in order. Starting with the Poached Citrus Jumbo Prawn Cocktail and Tuna Salad we opted for the ocean fare to begin with. The prawns looked almost unnaturally large and I suspected steroid-use, but my date assured me they were natural. After further inspection and man-handling, the prawns were divine. It turns out the chef-de-cuisine here spent some formative years in the Italian port of Torino, and of course brought back some Old Country know-how. As the Senzala Troupe capoeiristas darted and swayed to the entrancing rhythm and vocals, shadowing each other on the grass, the main course arrived. Opting for some local flavour, I went with the Balinese Pork Loin while my date ran off with that old Italian favorite, Pasta

Envy is so not your average hotel restaurant…writes Lou Nietunz.

Primavera. Both were prepared to perfection, and as we shared bites of each other’s dishes, I was reminded of Lady and The Tramp. Though there could be a few more choices on the dessert menu, or some DIY combo-possibilities, the limited palette is potent nonetheless. Sharing the Lemon Tarte between us was just the right way to finish with Macchiatos. After the capoeira performance, the mood gradually shifted up a notch with Acid-Jazz and Chill-House supplied by the energetic in-house resident, DJ A’an. The music policy again seemed to be decidedly different. Whereas in some hotels you may be tortured by Richard Claydermann or taken on a loop of Return to Yogya, at Envy the vibe is international and after-dinner selections turn refreshingly upbeat. All-weather JBL speakers are also scattered through the garden areas, which make for upscale ambience in the outdoor lounges. A great choice for romantic sunset dinners, private events, or warm-up cocktails before hitting the town, Envy has brought some of her own magic back to the South Kuta strip. Bookings are advised as this naughty drink-ordine getaway may soon lose her “secret” status.

www.envy-bali.com

Nicolas “Doudou” Tourneville by Yaeko Masuda. 120

Oral Pleasures

mÉtis Kitchen cousins Doudou and Said are on the move to a spanking new premises that promises to reinvent Bali's dining scene.

Said, you’ve been at it here for some time…then and now, what has changed over the years? Said: The competition, the prices, the Rupiah and us. That’s what we want to get to…us. S: Just getting older. Doudou got married, I’m still single [laughter]. Has the menu changed much over the years? S: We always keep the same style, but of course we are always changing dishes and ways of cooking. We’ve heard Kafe Warisan is moving…but the name is not? S: It’s been 12 years, since 1987, and the contract is up. We’re moving to Petitenget, which is just around the next set of lights, keeping it in the area. The name will be MÉTIS, which means a mix of origins, like president Obama [laughter]! We’ve had plans to expand for some time, largely due to the restaurant’s success, but our biggest problem has always the parking, so it wasn’t a big decision to move in the end. As far as the name Warisan is concerned…well, it belongs to Warisan, not to us. Will the (former) Kafe Warisan continue as a restaurant? S: Doudou and I will no longer be a part of the management team at Warisan. Our focus will be MÉTIS. Will the food in your new restaurant be the same? S: A few classics and guests’ favourites will remain. You’ll just have to make a reservation to find out for yourself, and to taste Doudou’s new creations! Will it be just a restaurant? S: It’s going to be a restaurant; it’s going to be a gallery, two boutiques. One will be a jewelry shop and the other women’s accessories, a cake shop and an upstairs private room that holds 100 people for groups and special occasions. Also a wine cellar for private dining for 12, wine tasting and private dinners; and a bar lounge…small plates like fresh oysters, succulent cheeses and other savory treats. You’re building a city? S: It’s big. Doudou, you’ve been married how long? Doudou: Five years. S: You’re not going to talk about my private life I hope! 121

Oral Pleasures Well everybody knows that [laughter]! OK, back to the subject. What will the decor be like? S: Contemporary colonial, warm and inviting with updated Indonesian accents. What mistakes have you guys made over the years? D: Part of the reason we’re moving is to plan for the customer, with smoking areas and the like. We’re focused on the complete experience to keep the customer satisfied. It’s the attention to detail, flawless service and seduction of flavours that will set us apart. Will there be music? S: We will have a DJ booth, but not dancing. Chill-out music, jazz etc, and of course we will have a large parking lot, so no more headaches there! When do you plan to be open? S: October 2009. What other ventures have you guys been involved with? S: We have Bali Catering Company, which has become a very big success dealing with private functions, weddings and villa parties. In front of the catering building on Jl. Petitenget we have a gourmet shop as well, where you can buy gourmet food, and as an extension of the shop we have opened the Gourmet Cafe, which is like a French restaurant, early dining café. For sure that’s a full plate, but I have a sneaky feeling there’s more? D: Clothing! We knew it…so you guys are buying up the island [laughter]? Are there going to be any surprises, something new? S: Yes, we’re going to have High Tea with a nice selection of sandwiches from 11 in the morning until two in the morning, and every now and then live music, jazz or piano, new DJ’s… Sounds like you have everything covered? S: Unfortunately we still cannot get certain foods and ingredients, but the government has come a long way, so we look to the future. And so indeed do we... AND NOW IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Why Chef Owner Nicolas “Doudou” Tourneville dislikes carrots... “One thing you will never find at Kafe Warisan and that’s carrots. That is except for classic dishes. My parents had their own garden and there was always a fight over carrots, so I guess I developed some kind of phobia. I would always do my homework in the kitchen and by the age of 10 I was cooking steaks, fried eggs, pastas, mashed potatoes and pancakes. Because I was a bad student I wasn’t allowed to go on vacation, so I was sent to a village in the south of France to build houses. I was 14 then. The man I was to work with was a friend of my parents, but there was really no work. It was boring. Here I was in a little tourist village that had a small classic French restaurant with an advertisement for a waiter. I applied for and got the job. I made my first money and fell in love with the restaurant atmosphere. I was fortunate, God granted me with a living that I love to do. 122

Fresh out of cooking school my father found me a job in England at the age of 18. There were jobs available in England where one could learn English and have a lot of experience and fun. I went back to France for military reasons, and then back to England for another year and a half then back to France again, where I became bored to death. There was a chance to work for the French embassy in Algiers, so I took it. I worked there for four years and eventually I was established as a professional chef. From there I was introduced to the French embassy in Jakarta. I came to Bali and I thought to myself, how lucky it must be for people to be able to work and live on this island. From then on I found myself in Bali once a month. The parties were endless, but I couldn’t find a restaurant to satisfy my perception of a good meal. There was a birthday party in Jakarta, where a mutual friend introduced me to Said. At the time Said was the chef at the Bali Bird Park, so we had something in common. The French government had a major setback in finances and my pay was cut to a fraction and I had no choice but to leave. I had to realise my dream, which was to have my own restaurant, so I approached Said and asked him if he would like to start a restaurant. He thought about it and later on agreed. I would be the chef and Said would be the restaurant manager and P.R. man, since he knew the Bali scene. I had to go back to France to finalise the end of my contract with the French government, and during that time Said called me and told me that Kafe Warisan was up for new management and I had to come if I was interested in negotiation. I came and then the nightmare started. We were cooks and knew nothing about the restaurant business in general. The first day we opened we received the menu from the printer at 7pm that night. That should give you an idea of our organisation. Financially we started with $20,000, which disappeared in no time. Bills up the wazoo, but never for a moment did we doubt ourselves. So as time and the restaurant progressed, table by table was added…and now we can look back with a smile.” AND HOW MANAGING DIRECTOR SAID Alem COOKED CAKES... “My brother was a chef; I caught the bug from him. I started cooking behind my mother’s back. Every time my mother went to the market, I went into the kitchen. My first endeavour was making caramel, which I did that at the age of seven. Then I made cakes, good, bad and indifferent. I was working as an apprentice by the age of 15 in Normandy, France. I didn’t like school, so as soon as I graduated I started travelling and working in ski resorts, from the south of France to Australia. Then to Bali for one week. Somehow one thing led to another and I never left. In order to survive I had to create venues, so I did catering for private parties, a croissant home delivery service, then chef at the Bali Bird Park. Then I got involved with another restaurant called Santi, where I introduced Couscous. Kafe Warisan was a happening place at the time but only for weekend parties, not for the food. I started helping out there doing whatever needed to be done. Eventually the people who owned Kafe Warisan lost interest and were looking for new management. Knowing the people and the place I jumped at the chance and I called Doudou in France and he came with knife, fork and pan.” S.B. www.metisbali.com

Said Alem by Yaeko Masuda. 123

sweetsensations Katrina Valkenburg laments the demise of her inheritance...and a once all-conquering varietal: Reisling. Photo: Yaeko Masuda. In the late 1990s I was involved in organising many wine events both in Australia and internationally. One such event was called the World Riesling Summit and was designed to increase awareness and appreciation of one of the great white varietals that had been much maligned and ignored by the consumer for decades. So we assembled some of the world’s greatest Riesling producers to show off, talk about and compare their wines. They came from Germany, Australia and New Zealand, bringing with them their samples and spent over a week immersed in and co-joined with a common love – Riesling. My contact for the German contingent was a man by the name of Christian von Guradtze, from the esteemed house of Dr Bürklin-Wolf of Wachenheim. When I first telephoned to speak with Christian there was a peculiar silence and then he muttered, “Valkenburg, any relation to P.J. Valkenburg?” to which my response was positive, as these are the initials of my father. “Hmmm” he said, “you mean your father was entirely responsible for the downfall of German Riesling?” Of course, there was no one man responsible for the decline in Riesling sales and the man in question was certainly not my father but a man who shared the same name (*see end of story). The market for Riesling in Germany, and for that matter internationally, had declined – the consumer had snubbed Riesling. There were many reasons for this consumer ennui. Riesling had been the biggest selling white wine in the ‘white grape boom’ of post World War II, but there were so many different styles it caused utter confusion. Was the consumer purchasing a dry and crisp or a semi-sweet or sweet wine, or something in between? American occupation troops in Germany were partially responsible for changing the production method from the dry style to a product with a high level of sweetness (residual sugar), which resulted in a wine that was out of balance. Often a different grape variety was used, was of doubtful quality, had low extract and high grape yield. As a result, Riesling’s image became generic, in the commercial sense. Some of these so-called Rieslings were produced in Germany, where it is permissible to add sugar (remember Blue Nun or Leibfraumilch?) and some of them were produced in Australia, came in a bag inside a box (commonly referred to as a bladder) and had not one ounce of Riesling in them. For some completely absurd reason, any white wine could be called Riesling. A good 124

example being Lindeman’s Hunter River Riesling, which was actually a Semillon. The only apparent reason for calling it Riesling was the overwhelming popularity of this mighty grape. By the late '70s, many of Australia’s greatest Riesling vines had been pulled out of the earth and replaced with Chardonnay, and by the early '80s the everyman-flavour was Chardonnay.

One of the major problems that fine Riesling producer’s faced by the mid-1990s was a market with a memory of overly sweet, fruity wines, hence the international support for a combined effort to turn this perception around. Originating in the Rhine region of Germany and cultivated as far back as the 1400s, Riesling is one of the aromatic grape varieties, along with Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Gewürztraminer. The five “F”s describe Riesling at its best: Fruity, floral, fine, finesse and finish. No other white wine can produce such different wine styles from dry and austere, to semi-

sweet to extremely sweet. Rieslings are wonderful when young and fresh with excellent acid balance, particularly from the cooler regions, and they mature wonderfully and develop very appealing complex characters even after 40 years in the bottle. But Riesling is an unforgiving, delicate grape that bruises easily and does not take lightly to being bullied around. If the fruit’s damaged by machine harvesters or the truck carrying the fruit to the winery turns over, say bye-bye to the vintage or send it to a bag-in-the-box producer. Top-end Riesling is therefore handpicked, which adds considerably to the overall cost of production. To produce great Rieslings, the winemaker needs grapes with very low skin tannins (called phenolics, these are what make your cheeks pucker). Vintages need to be clean and disease-free with no humidity, no rain at the wrong time and the vines shouldn’t get stressed. The ultimate aim of the Riesling winemaker is to maintain aroma and bouquet, and allow the flavour that Mother Nature imparted on this varietal to do all the talking. There are a squillion reasons why Riesling is loved by connoisseurs and winemakers alike, whether they are consumed whilst young and fresh when they’re fruity and aromatic with a crisp, dry finish, or whether they have gracefully aged in a cool dark cellar and show honey and toasty characters. Riesling is seldom oaked and is therefore not going to fight with too many cuisines. It’s fabulous with hot, spicy Indian or Indonesian and is just as friendly served with oysters au naturale or a barbequed chicken. For whatever the reason, good Riesling has been notoriously undervalued when compared with other white varieties. And while we may be paying more for it, Riesling remains one of the best value wine varieties on the market today. *Family folklore maintains that the Valkenburgs were displaced from their little town in the Netherlands (Valkenburg, near Maastricht) by the Spanish in the late 1600s. Half of them escaped to western Ireland to grow potatoes and eventually run a hotel (our mob, sigh… weep, weep) and the other half went to Germany to grow – as I discovered a mere 400 years later – Riesling. Oh me, oh my, why wasn’t that me? Wine on! Katrina Valkenburg is a wine consultant and educator. All correspondence to katrinav@mac.com

Oral

pleasures

HIGHTEAS&Holidays Shelley Putri gets high on High Tea... The Samaya, Seminyak. For those of you that haven’t had the pleasure of visiting The Samaya, for afternoon tea, this is an absolute must. Sitting with friends on the deck overlooking the Indian Ocean with the waves crashing on the white sand, I chomped away merrily on delicious, dainty sandwiches; healthy, wholemeal scones served with locally made mini-jams and cream and small pastries filled with a creamy, lemony crème patissiere. We were totally spoilt as, instead of having only one choice of sandwich, Johannes W. Makatita, the Senior Manager of The Samaya insisted that we sample the three different varieties that the Chef provides for afternoon tea here. Egg, smoked salmon with dill and cream cheese and cucumber and onion. The bread was cut wafer thin, so that even those on a diet would be tempted to try ‘just one more’. Free for guests, afternoon tea costs Rp140,000, including impeccable service. Tel. 731149 Yak Map: M.7 Biku, Petitenget. Owned by the charming Asri Kerthyasa, Biku has firmly established itself as a destination unto itself since opening just eight months ago. Why a tea house? In Seminyak? Asri realised after living here for 31 years that she had never once had a decent cup of tea…so, with the help of her oldest son Tjok Gde (himself something of a tea master) and the rest of her family, she began to blend her own. The other reason for Biku is that Asri’s favourite meal of the day is High Tea…and having researched the concept at The Observatory in Sydney, The Ritz in London, The Pierre in New York and the Crillion in Paris, she came up with a totally unique menu. Biku’s famous High Teas are fast becoming legendary, consisting as they do of a choice of Biku exclusive teas, scones with jam and cream, finger sandwiches (with, yes, the edges cut off ), mini quiche and some of the best cakes, cookies and desserts I have ever tasted. Presented on a glass tiered cake stand by one of Asri’s delightful staff, the cost is Rp65,000+ per 126

person. Biku also offers Children’s Tea Time, including the prettiest Fairy Cakes and Fairy Bread at Rp35,000+. Biku doesn’t only serve tea. Asri calls herself a ‘home cook’ and the menu ranges from comfort food such as Shepherd’s Pie, Sausage and Mash and Fish and Chips to salads, grilled fish and meat, pasta and other great main courses. All followed by rhubarb crumble or pavlova. Biku is not for the faint hearted or those on a diet! And they have a decent wine list. Tel: 8570888 Yak Map: O.5 Tugu Bali, Canggu Being an arrogant bule I was of course under the impression that High Tea consisted of finger sandwiches, scones with cream and jam, and fairy cakes…not so at the Hotel Tugu. Escorted into the magnificent, tropical garden, we were offered a tempting array of Indonesian bonne bouche, laid out ready for us to experience. The charming GM, Sebastian Liebold, assisted by his equally charming staff, explained that High Tea was served every afternoon at 5pm, anywhere in the hotel or garden…even on the beach. Tea can be enjoyed by guests of The Tugu and it is included in the room price, but the hotel also welcomes visitors at Rp85,000++. We tasted a selection of savoury, tiny fried and steamed nibbles followed by a sweet selection, all of which were delicious. These were followed by a refreshing cold soup made from pumpkin, jackfruit, banana, coconut milk and palm sugar. The Tugu offers a choice of 25 teas, both local or imported, and no less than 14 different coffees, including Irish. All the ingredients are bought locally and are fresh every day. Tel: 731701 Bali Deli, Seminyak. For those of you who haven’t yet discovered Bali Deli, you are most certainly missing out. Carrefour and Bintang are all very well for basic foods and household products, but try finding your favourite brand of wholegrain mustard or Bird’s custard and you’ll most certainly be out of luck. Not so at this Bali institution. Opened six years ago, the deli

stocks an incredible selection of fresh meat, fish, cheeses, readymade dishes to pop in the microwave as well as sushi and a great choice of organic veggies and fruits, not to mention a very extensive wine department and bakery. Tea here is a sort of American affair. Choose from a selection of teas, coffees or smoothies, followed by a huge hot dog in a freshly made soft bun with just the right amount of mustard and ketchup; followed by the famous Bali Deli Club Sandwich, which was excellent, stuffed with cheese, bacon, tomato, lettuce and mayo and cut into bite sized triangles. Delish! Now for the difficult bit…you have to choose your own pastry. This is not easy. Everything is wonderfully yummy. Glistening strawberry tarts filled with crème patissiere, squidgy chocolate brownie cake, apple and banana crumble cake, American cheese cake and lots more, all crying out to be eaten. We sat outside in one of the lovely bales and stuffed ourselves silly, all for around Rp85,000+. Great value. Tel: 738686/88 Yak Map: Y.10 WEST END CAFÉ, Ubud. There is something about Afternoon Tea that brings back memories of a happy childhood, and this newly opened café on Jl. Raya Sanggingan in Ubud does just that. The inspiration behind afternoon tea here was simply that the charming owner of the West End Cafe travelled frequently to the UK with her family when she was a child. In between sightseeing, shopping and walking, the family would always stop for a refreshing cup of tea, sandwiches and scones and cake. The Café is clean and fresh, the wall murals give the feeling of sitting in a secret garden, painted in pastels and mixed with stained glass panels to give a feeling of light, air and al fresco eating. The menu is fabulous. Tiny bite-sized sandwiches with substance stuffed with old fashioned egg mayo and lettuce; roast beef tenderloin with salad; onion and creamy garlic aioli; the classic BLT and joy of joys, they have just introduced the NY Reuben. The salads are really fresh and tempting. The Classic Cob and the monster

Chef’s Salad is big enough for two. Followed by scones with jam and cream and rounded off by walnut fudge brownies, Key lime cheesecake or the moistest carrot cake, this must be one of the most civilized meals of the day. The West End Café offers 15 varieties of tea as well as homemade lemonade and iced teas. The full Monty costs Rp100,000+, well worth it. Currently open from 11am6pm. Shut on Sundays! Tel: 978363 The Legian Hotel, Seminyak. The Legian Hotel is in a class of its’ own. Part of the GHM Group, it quickly became an institution and is definitely one of those places that, once experienced, is never forgotten. I was met in the stunning lobby by the delightful Communications Manager, Astrid Djuansah, who led me to the Ocean Bar for our afternoon tea. What a view! The cool, shady bar overlooks the Indian Ocean, you can watch the waves crashing on the white beach forever. Ever different, The Legian serves a super tapas selection for afternoon tea. Executive Chef Dorin Schuster, who has won many international awards, has produced a choice of six delicious finger snacks that are served in the Ocean Bar every day from 5pm to 10pm. Tapas ranges from Rp60,000 to Rp90,000 and a glass of red wine is around Rp100,000 +. I had to taste them all of course, indeed it would be rude not to. So Astrid and I ate light and airy vegetarian Samosa with a yoghurt dip; grilled honey squid; crudités with pepper relish and aubergine jam; crispy chicken wings with peanut sauce; rice paper rolls with lime and chili sauce and tempura tiger prawns with chili salt. Each one was better than the last and the tastes were all completely different. The sauces were tangy with just enough spices to complement each delicious dish. Served in small baskets lined with banana leaves, these goodies are freshly made each day with local ingredients. It goes without saying that tapas is best enjoyed with a glass of something. Tel: 730622 Yak Map: N.8

Fork In The Road

GoneFishing We felt in need of something fishy...so we sent Hannah James to the beach, newspaper in hand.

Isola, Sanur Beach

High road

For a posh-nosh version of ‘seafood on the sand’, Isola Bar & Restaurant on Sanur beach has recently undergone a facelift that includes a significant Italian slant to their menu. Stick to your standard red snapper with the traditional Indonesian sambals and portion of rice by all means (Isola’s chef and menu are nobody’s fool). Or, because change is sometimes as good as the holiday you’re on, you could try a fillet of snapper, flavoured by an entirely different Continent, nesting on a bed of garlic and rosemary potatoes and washed down by a saucy cocktail straight out of a trendy street café. The rest of the menu sticks to this recipe of Indonesian staples vs their Continental cousins, the premise being you either like it spicy (as our waiter kept insisting he did and that, being in Bali, we should too) – or you don’t. Whichever version you choose, rest assured that Isola’s chef knows a thing or two about seasoning – subtle flavours never overpower the palate or the main ingredient and he never resorts to chilli for chilli’s sake. It’s not as tactile, or indeed as ‘seafoody’, an experience as Jimbaran beach but, to be honest, with Isola’s prime view of the moon rising over the water you’ll be hard pressed to even remember what you ate. www.isolabali.com

Low road

Nyoman Café, Jimbaran Seafood Yes, it’s touristy. But take your head out of the sand long enough to smell the coconut-fired barbequed seafood and you’ll realise that, like all tourist attractions, the seafood warungs right on Jimbaran Beach are touristy for a reason. There’s nothing quite like an evening watching the sun go down over the ocean as you dig your toes into the sand and your teeth into prawns, crab, red snapper, clams and calamari straight from the waves to your plate. The question isn’t whether you deign to frequent such a ‘tourist trap’ (snobs); rather, it’s which warung you choose, on which end of the beach. The string of warungs, some sitting so close to each other you might pick one but end up at another without even knowing it, are practically interchangeable: it’s all fresh, it’s all from the ocean, and it’s all got that smoky coconut flavour. That said, everyone has their favourite Jimbaran Beach spot. In a snap survey, however, the most-often mentioned would have to be Nyoman Café. While the massive group tables may put some off, Nyoman’s is packed for good reason. Having feasted (it’s the only way to describe a seafood dinner in Jimbaran) at at least six warungs here before, it would be safe to say that while none disappointed, all did seem to be using exactly the same spicy sauce on every single dish: clam, calamari, red snapper, even the token veggie dish – one sauce. At Nyoman’s you can expect distinctly different flavourings on each of your choices. The crab especially is basted in a sauce most haute cuisine chefs would be salivating over. You also know that, due to the restaurant’s popularity, the fish on your plate was flapping not too long ago…and that, as any great chef will tell you, is the most important ingredient when it comes to a really great seafood meal. That and sand between your toes of course. Nyoman Café – Jl. Four Seasons, Jimbaran Beach.

128

Wedding Bells

Wine Barrels, Valtellino 132

The Bvlgari, Milan

Villa Melzi, Lake Como

Sophie Digby indulges in marvellous Milan and loves it in Lake Como...

TravelLing can sometimes be fraught with challenges. Thankfully, on a recent trip to Milan for a wedding and a subsequent side trip to Lake Como, I only encountered two of any real consideration – that’s if we don’t count getting off at the wrong train station in the middle of nowhere… The first was justifiably frustrating due to my inability to communicate (after all, talking is my life’s blood). I made a feeble attempt at speaking Italian, or at least trying to be understood as I spouted Spanish with a faux Italian accent. Not only did it not get me very far, it didn’t even get me to where I wanted to go. By the way, Como ‘Borgia’ is not a lakeside village of any description whatsoever! The second challenge was drinking the water…no I jest, it was in fact the opposite – the real challenge was choosing which wine to drink and where to drink it. So let’s start with the first tipple in Milan – Prosecco, Italy’s own ‘Methode Champenoise’ made from the grape of the same name – sipped within a few steps of Verdi’s crypt, also known as the Casa di Reposo per Musicisti Fondazione Giuseppe Verdi. (The stunning mosaic within the crypt is by the multiform painter and sculptor Ludovico Pogliaghi.) It was this ‘vino spumante’ that accompanied the historical jaunt around Milan. The Plazza del Duomo, bordered by the third largest church in Europe, is overlooked by a Ku De Ta–esque rooftop bar called, creatively enough, ‘Il Bar’. Tapas of four types of mozzarella balanced the bubbles beautifully before the next historical stop, the Pinacoteca di Brera. Founded in 1809 by Napoleon I, it is said to contain one of the foremost art collections of Italian paintings, Caravaggio, Tintoretto and Raphael; Renaissance and Baroque; Quattrocento to Rococo. Having absorbed a generous amount of religious art history it was time to visit Peck – a world-renowned food and wine emporium. The below-street level enoteca (wine repository) houses over 3,800 different labels – not all Italian. The most expensive bottle of red wine was actually

Over The Edge

M i l a n o r

BUST

French. We longingly fondled a bottle of Romanée Conti 2005 that was going for a mere 4,000 euros, then happily left with a couple of bottles of vintage Valpolicella for 85 euros each, having just sipped on a bottle at the private bar. In Bali, in this day and age, one can safely say that this Valpolicella would probably be on the wine list at well over three million Rupiah, if one could get it at all, so a bargain at the price! The next stop on the architectural, gastronomical tour was Lake Como, Varenna and Villa Cipressi, located on the east side of the lake. This 16th century villa was converted into a hotel in the 1800’s. The original façade and architecture was everything one imagines it should be. The modern day, functional interiors were…less so. But it was the call of the lake that mattered. Bellagio and the neoclassical summer residence of Francesco Melzi, ex vice-president of Napoleonic Italy. Villa Melzi, with its landscaped, sculptured gardens was built by architect Giocondo Albertolli in 1808, and although the fantastic grounds are open to the public the house itself is not. Walking, however genteel, generates a thirst and one that could only be quenched in one place, the Trattoria del Glicine in Cernobbio, on the south west side of Como. (Cernobbio is also home to the famous Villa D’Este, built in 1558 by Tolomeo Gallio – a Cardinal no less. What was that about a vow of poverty?) Run by the Pozzi brothers, and mainly frequented by Italians, Glicine is famous for Mediterranean cuisine in the summer and Alpine cuisine in winter. Following the seasons, fresh water fish, wild alpine mushrooms and game birds top the bill at this established eatery. Also of note is the wine cellar, with over 900 labels. We started with a Stahler 2005 Weissburgunder, followed by a Barbera d’Alba Torriglione 2006. To accompany we had the smoked duck breast, the culatello – a more up-market version of Parma ham – and bison tartare, followed by guinea fowl, lasagnette Verdi, porcini trifolati a.k.a mushrooms and a whopping medaglione di filletto di manzo, or steak; then a dessert and macchiato. This pleasant four or more hour lunch was delightfully rounded

off with a bottle of distinction – a Moliss, Barbera d’Asti Superiore, courtesy of chef-owner Mario Pozzi and accompanied by a signed copy of the Le Torri della Cucina recipe book, in which one of his recipes represents the bastions of Italian cuisine, hence its title The Towers of the Kitchen. One cannot come this far and not visit the vineyards of Valtellino. Our destination was a little-known winery called Sandro Fay. The young Marco Fay is lovingly making one of the top reds of the Lombardy region using the Nebbiolo grape – their Ronco del Picchio Sforzato has won numerous accolades from the experts. With wines starting at 12 euros – and in the time it took to taste the whole Fay range – a number of half cases were packed into the car with a return booking for Lake Como. Sadly Ronco del Picchio Sforzato has sold out – even online! The car packed with wine and totally sated with Lake Como’s architecture, it was time to head back to Milan and tough it for one night at The Bvlgari Hotel. The hotel is elegant with understated chic as only estilo Bvlgari can be. The staff was good-looking and in stylish uniforms. What most impressed was a very sexy, custom painted, matt black Ferrari 430 Scuderia sports beast parked by the main door. This is definitely where, and how, the other half live, steel brokers for the most part, I gather. So, what were the outstanding aspects of Bvlgari Milano? The garden setting is ideal for sipping Bloody Marys with sherry, (a pot of tea is 12 Euros, a sherry ten, so go figure). The indoor pool for its glistening aquamarine gold-blue, tailor-made, handcrafted ceramic mosaic tiles, the Spa for its tranquility, the mini-bar for including out-ofthis-world Tuscan chocolate and ‘The Bed’. In fact once you get in a Bvlgari bed you will find it almost impossible to get up. Oops, I just missed my flight! Peck – Via Spadari, 9 Milan. Trattoria del Glicine – Piazza S. Stefano, Cernobbio. Bvlgari Hotels and Resorts – Via Privata Fratelli Gabba 7b, Milan. www.bulgarihotels.com 133

GOINGUNDERGROUND

Darren Emerson is so low key these days you’d be forgiven for missing him at a recent Bali gig... Lou Nietunz had a chat.

SO Darren, would you say you grew up in a musical household? My Mum and Dad were always playing music. Dad was sort of into Gladys Knight and soul and disco and more soulful stuff…and this was in Hornchurch, Essex, east of London. They gave me a record deck when I was three. It was a Pilot 7-inch, and I used to just play records all the time, but I never thought then that this would happen. Thinking back now, I see where I got the bug from. What was your first 'concert moment', when you knew that music was your calling? The first concert I went to, properly, was at The Lyceum when I was 14. It was Afrika Mambaata & The Soulsonic Force. At that time it was more about the original electro sounds and GoGo music and TroubleFunk and stuff like that. So then, when I 16 or 17, I finally got some Technics, and a mixer…a proper mixer, and that was it, I was off! So who would you say were your main influences when you were growing up? In the early days I went through a phase where I was playing a lot of 7-inch records that I didn’t even know. There was definitely a lot of Beatles, and then the more soulful stuff that my Mum and Dad got me into, like Stevie Wonder and Motown. As I got older, I got into 134

Kraftwerk, and a lot of the other electronic stuff was coming from that. Then, when I was 16, because I was out with older people a lot and had started going out in London…there was a club called Future that Paul Oakenfold used to run, and they had an alternative night on Thursdays, which was actually Balearic beats…that’s where the Balearic thing comes from. You know, during the early Ibiza scene, these guys, like Johnny Walker, Oakenfold and Nicky Holloway, they would come back to London having heard Alfredo play Grace Jones and The Cure mixed up with House music, which was just coming through, and they would mix alternative with House music. A lot of it was guitar-based, it was always very open. So then, when I was 18, I bumped into a guy called Rick Smith, who was living in Essex and working with a band, and he was looking for a DJ. He had heard about me and he wanted to hook up to get more into the dance music scene, but he didn’t have a clue. He said his brotherin-law was looking for someone, and he had a studio. For me as a DJ the next thing up that you do was to get into the studio. So Rick, me and him got together and I was playing and telling him what was good and what was bad, teaching him basically, and he was teaching me about studio work as well, so we were both sponging off each other. Anyway, at the time I was offered a job with Perfecto, which was Paul Oakenfold’s label, which was for five years. So I took Rick with me to the meeting because I knew he had the experience, and I was a young kid, and I didn’t know what they wanted.

Paul Oakenfold was like, why have you brought him here? And I was like, well, I don’t really know much about your offer. I think basically he wanted me to do all his remixes for him and shit like that, do all the grunt-work. I can see that now, in retrospect, so I was lucky to have Rick with me, and he said five years is a long part of your life to sign away, and pretty soon after that Rick became my partner, and we became Underworld. So what did you bring to the table when Underworld first started out? Well, I was the DJ. They were musicians – very good musicians in the traditional sense. The fusion worked well, it worked really well. So they were from the same town as you were? No, no, they were from Wales. But Rick fell in love with a girl from Essex, you know, and that’s how he moved to Essex. And how long were you together from that time? I would say 10 years, when the albums were coming out. So while it was happening were you continuously bunkered down in long sessions? Well, because I was still deejaying a lot, I was in and out, and it was more like Darren Emerson’s band at the time. The reason everyone started to look at this band was because it was Darren’s band. Otherwise it may not have been where it was, you know? Because I was already doing well back then, I was doing a lot of London clubs, I was doing a residence at Ministry of Sound, and we did our first live gig in the booth, and it worked. With 5,000 people looking at it, we got known, otherwise we wouldn’t have been there. So then it sort of snowballed, and got bigger and bigger, and we ended up doing Glastonbury Festival on the Pyramid Stage, and that was like the

ultimate sort of gig. And when it ended? Well…I just felt, or started to feel, that it was too much of a slog…towards the end. I just felt, I knew, I had done everything I possibly could, all the best gigs…I was out with Sasha in Uraguay, doing the GlobalUnderground Tour and I was just getting stressed about going back and forth and I just thought to hell with it. I’m going to go back to just being a DJ, you know. We still keep in touch. Me and Karl bump into each from time to time and say hello. So now you’ve been back on your own since when? Since 2000. Are there any other artists you would like to collaborate with in the studio? Me and Marshall Jefferson (from Chicago) are going to be doing a House track. And I’ve worked with Puff Daddy, I worked with Bjork, as well as Bono and the boys. And we always just sort of see where it goes. Actually I’ve been writing some stuff and…oh yeah…do you know a guy called Jamie Cullum? Me and him have got a band. That’s another thing, I forgot about that! Where would you say were your best gigs? Probably in Japan at Mount Fuji, for a festival called Rainbow. It was all foggy but just amazing. I played first and then with Underworld. But doing Glastonbury back in ’98 on the main stage, for me, that was a dream. And finally, what’s your favourite footwear? Definitely not Birkenstocks! They make my skin go so hard, and they’re a bit out of fashion these days. So I guess just flipflops. And trainers. That’s what I wear the most. www.darrenemerson.com

Raver's Review

Album: Dragonfly in the House Artist: Various Label: Defected Clubland connoisseur and UK label powerhouse, Defected, have recently joined forces with Jakarta’s very own homegrown super-club, Dragonfly, to launch a double-CD compilation that is a luxurious taste of things to come. Defected label-boss and AM:PM:Records veteran Simon Dunmore teams up with Dragonfly resident DJ Joyo to take turns on this outing to bring you the very latest quality Defected House selections for a big city, big-room tour-de-force. Joyo warms things up in laid-back sexy style with dance floor appearances by Dennis Ferrer, Danism and DJ Gregory, among a rocking roster of others. The vibe is soulful, deep, big and warm, kind of like Jakarta, once you get to know it. There are plenty of vocal anthems and even some diabolically deep Jakarta-style moments, like the Sandy Rivera instant classic Whatever, and the first CD actually flies by faster than you might expect. It’s as if Mr Dunmore gave Joyo the keys to his Ferrari and said, take it for spin, would you? Great for warm-up drinks or cruising the strip,

Joyo serves up his menu with panache and positivity. If the first CD is for the ladies; vocal and warm, the second is more for the fellas; harder and more tribal. Simon Dunmore’s selection digs deep, through old-time favourites such as Blaze and Jamie Lewis all the way to present-day headliners such as Copyright, Brian Coxx and David Penn. The vibe is also more Balearic overall, but

that doesn’t mean any lack of fat, chunky bass-lines and futuristic city soul. When Copyright returns us to the 90s with their rework of Soul2Soul’s Roots with Jazzie B, you remember how the great House tradition once began many light years ago. Mr Dunmore also seems to have done his homework on what makes Jakartans tick, with just the right balance of hardness and fun. Bingo Players Vs Chocolate Puma do delicious damage to Disco Electrique, which again takes you back yet forward at the same time. Dunmore’s subtle homage to the classics can be found throughout this mix. One can only hope the next Defected excursion to the Big Durian is not too far off, and judging by the magic made here, more spells are brewing. This album also celebrates five years in the business for Dragonfly, and is available in limited edition at most major music stores across the country. Don’t miss out on this fine timepiece, and if you’re in the big city for a long weekend keep an eye out for more top headliners coming to Dragonfly. L.N. www.ismayagroup.com/dragonfly

Album: Junior Artist: Royskopp Label: Wall of Sound Returning to the forefront of Scandinavian Electronica, the Norwegian duo of Torbjorn Brundtland and Svein Berge, otherwise known as Royskopp (smoke mushroom), are back with their third studio album. After many accolades and awards from their debut album Melody A.M. and follow-up The Understanding, these partnersin-sublime have produced another superb album that some say falls somewhere between the first two albums. I would tend to agree, but this one shows wider range between soft and hard, light and dark, and journeys triumphantly beyond previous outings. Combining their signature mix of orchestralelectronic-rock-trip-hop, the Junior album steps out with a giggle on a chirpy note with the Parliamentfueled Happy Up Here. Once again, it’s tickling to hear classic ’70s Funk elements fall into place so seamlessly within modern-day Electronica, yet maintain the original fun-loving attitude. While not so much a full track as a musical intro to set the tone for the album, we must remind ourselves we’re being led back to the quirky popfjords of Scandinaviaahh! Swedish siren Robyn lends her soaring vocals to 136

the hit single Girl and the Robot, which darkly bubbles with classic filtered Abba-esque basslines, employing a darkness and urgency all it’s own. Vision One is a croaking-synth-washed downtempo rock masterpiece. Laid-back rock drums heave back and forth with the swell and shrink of filtered-breathing. This Must Be It picks up the pace in ’80s fashion somewhat reminiscent of Simple Minds before turning rock-orchestra with the techno-

string-led Royskopp Fovever. Things turn Pretty in Pink-ish on the next number with the floaty lyrics of Lykke Li on the melancholy Miss It So Much, before turning a darker trance-tone for the seething space-hop Tricky Tricky. Anneli Drecker’s intoxicating vocals return in lilting fashion for You Don’t Have A Clue, which stirs up the stratosphere like a marriage of Leftfield and Kate Bush; simply sublime. The vibe relaxes again with some beautiful ambient harmonies on Silver Surfer before getting back in the gritty saddle for the seminal True To Life. From there, this dynamic duo takes one final victory lap outro with It’s What I Want, a farewell that somehow resembles Pet Shop Boys doing chorus, but still leaves you wanting more. While you may sometimes feel like you’re in an Apple commercial, that’s just because Apple likes Royskopp too, so you may be having some commercial flashbacks. There’s a certain undeniably pleasurable quality to the music by these Bergen boys. Strange yet fascinating, joyous yet sad, flawed yet perfect. L.N. www.kickinthepeanuts.com

Just Doin' It

silverservice It's Commonwealth Bank tennis time again in November with a ramped line-up of world class stars to tickle your fancy.

Our money's on dear Agnes.

Want to impress your friends? Then make sure you watch the action at the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, taking place at the Bali Convention Centre, Westin Hotel, Nusa Dua, between 4th and 8th of November. That’s where and when you’ll be able watch the rising tennis stars of tomorrow, before most people know they’re around. Then, when they pull off a spectacular victory at Wimbledon, you’ll be able to turn to your friend and tell them you already know how good they are because you saw them right here on this paradise island. One of those rising stars is 20-year old Hungarian Agnes Szavay. She qualified for the Tournament of Champions by lifting the title in front of her home supporters in Budapest as she held off the challenge of 2008 Bali champion Patty Schnyder. Introduced to tennis at the age of six by her parents at their local tennis club, she likes to play on either clay or hardcourt, and says that her biggest weapon is her serve. As part of her training 140

she goes swimming and does athletics, and away from the courts she enjoys playing any sport where a ball is involved. She likes pop music, naturally, and in quieter moments she likes to read. Her favourite book is the autobiography of the person she most admires, Lance Armstrong, because of his successful fight against cancer. Another young star is Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai. She won her first career title in Strasbourg earlier this year to put herself on the Road To Bali, but she might not have become a tennis player at all. There are some who believe that tennis players, or anyone that plays sports, are doing so because they are not very smart. They should think again, because Aravane was keen on being an astrophysicist and despite becoming a tennis professional it is still something she wants to pursue when her playing days are over. Her Arabic background is revealed when you discover that she won two tennis gold medals at the Muslim Women Olympic Games in Iran, and as well as French and English she speaks Persian

and enjoys Persian poetry and music. But the Tournament of Champions is not only about new names, and the $600,000 event will also include more experienced campaigners such as Austrian lefthander Sybille Bammer. In winning Prague this year, she became one of just two mothers in the last two decades to win a singles title on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. The other was Lindsay Davenport, who won Bali in 2007 and then followed up with two further wins the following season. Now 29, Bammer has been enjoying the most successful season of her career with wins over opponents such as Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska and Anna Chakvetadze. Unurprisingly, Bammer’s most memorable experience is giving birth to her now eight-year old daughter, Tina, who was a favourite in the player lounge before she had to leave the tour to attend school!

www.commbanktennis.com

yak

Astro

moodofthemoment

By Dr Deepak | astro-deepak@usa.net | www.astronlp.com | Skype: drdeepakvidmar

The difficulty of prediction with astrology is that just one energy can manifest in at least half a dozen different ways. I will guess all six and then it comes out number seven, which I didn’t think about, but it still fits. This month starts off with a grand cross that would make Conan the Barbarian weak in the knees and then it finishes things off with Saturn-Uranus going exact opposition again. This is a 46-year cycle. WWII (1942) and end of Soviet Union (1988) are the last times they were conjunct. The flu Pandemic of 1919 and the Vietnam War/New Age resistance was in 1965 when they were in opposition. What this is now is a return of the economic crisis we saw in October 2008. Now it is back again in a deeper, more permanent way. The second wave.

You are the pioneer looking for a new land to explore, the mountain climber looking for the highest peak to reach, the warrior looking for the grand battle to fight. The Pluto/Mars opposition brings you a surge of energy now just in time for the challenges to come. This surge of energy may support you or it may oppose you and it doesn’t matter which one will come. Your whole life is about energy and what happens is just an opportunity to let it out and let it flow. Jump now and let the pieces fall where they may.

taurus

Maybe you don’t know where you are heading in life, but there is the intuitive feeling that the ordinary and mundane will just not fit. What you see around you does not have the right colour and what you hear has too low a tone. It is the higher realm that your heart is opening to and it is a cosmos of grace into which you are stepping. It is not about being comfortable or secure anymore. It is about living your life according to the highest ideals embedded in your soul. Change the friends that hold you back from this.

gemini

Back and forth between security or take-a-risk, between the tried-and-true or the creative unknown. Thinking, thinking, moving, moving back and forth. Some of you born in the middle of the month want to quit your job, but it would cost you your home. Money issues happening, maybe with home or children. In the midst of all this is the vision and the dream of a spiritual community far away in a foreign land. It doesn’t have to be the one that isn’t there anymore. It could be another one. Follow your dream because they are the only thing permanent in this world.

142

Mars transiting in your sign during this time adrenalizes your whole system and your impulses become strong. No more patience in your life for the next few months and everything needs to be now. Less thinking about the needs and moods of others and more attention to your own goals and desires. On the one hand, it can give you the power to get things done, or on the other hand, bring a powerful opposition from others into your life. The ultimate purpose is to give you the push to change your life and out of the ruts of routine you cling to with such attachment.

libra The more stable and centered you become, the more the ground shakes beneath your feet. What a paradox. You grow up and mature and the world regresses back into teenage years again. It is a puzzle that cannot be solved with the mind. The best approach is to party and have fun with your friends. Celebrate and let the world do what it may for now. In November, the Saturn transit begins and for a couple of years you will have to pay attention to practicalities and the mundane. For now, be creative with your friends.

leo

scorpio

cancer

Sometimes it is good to remember that we are all helpless, hopeless, and have no choice. We are just an itty bitty little part of the universe that is much, much bigger than we are. This is not a good time to get things done in the world or to try to force your way. Surrender to that which cannot be changed and relax. Stop trying to prove yourself and relax. You don’t need to prove yourself now anyway. Venus transit in Leo gives you a shining aura and people love you just the way you really are without you having to earn it or prove it.

Conformity or creativity is the question. Live your life according to tradition and expectations, or live your life according to your own feelings and impulses. Live your life according to ideals and goals not yet arrived or live your life according to what is here now. Not easy to decide. Use the knowledge you have gained through your own experience and you will be opposed by emotional beliefs. Best to be silent about what you really know and to dig deeper to find the secret beneath the secret you do not need to share.

virgo

Happy Birthday in more ways than one. If Saturn in Virgo has been holding you down, the Uranus opposition is about to break that up and set you free. It may not be comfortable. It may be a shock and a surprise. It may be unexpected and unsettling, but that is the way freedom comes. By November, the Saturn transit is finished until it comes back 28 years from now. In January, a year-long Jupiter transit will give you good fortune and lift your spirits. By 2011, a 14-year Neptune transit will bring you such a meditation that you won’t be able to tie your shoes anymore.

sagittarius It’s a choice between being right or being true. What is right is in comparison with what other people think and believe. What is true does not involve comparison at all. It involves only you. What is right comes and goes, but what is true always remains. By November, the decision will have been made about the dilemma between house and home and then you will know if you take that trip to this unknown Shangri-La you have been dreaming about. It’s the only place you can be true and don’t have to be right.

capricorn

You are in the midst of a revolution, my friend, and the ultimate battle happens between Past and Future and it happens this month. It happens in your work, it happens in your home, and it happens in your relationship. Time to let go of that which doesn’t work for you anymore and to do it in a different way, a much more drastic different way than you have ever done before. Double back down the trails you have taken to see where you have taken a wrong turn and then do it again in a different way.

aquarius The dream is beckoning, but logic and practicality is holding it back. The dream is beckoning, but you have to stop to tie your shoes. The dream is beckoning, but daily duties and routine tasks eat up your time. It is a beautiful dream and one that should be honored, but not right now. Wait until November and things will become more clear. Avoid any optimistic speculation with your money and show some patience with the mundane things that have to be done. The dream is within you and there is nowhere you have to go to have it happen. pisces You jumped and you changed and you went where no man had ever gone and now there are obstacles that make it seem like you have to pay the price and pick up the pieces. Ah, just let the pieces rest where they lay. Your Jupiter transit coming in January is going to be such a good fortune that the pieces will pick themselves up by themselves. Any hard times now are temporary and will be lifted in November. Nothing you have to do and no problems to solve. Just sit back and surrender to the movie unfolding all by itself. You yourself are okay and eternal. Time never ends.