The Yak #32

Volume 32 Sep/Oct/Nov 2011

IDR68,000 : S$11 : HK$50 : A$10 : €5

HU'U BAR

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from our farm to your plate.

Kafe Batan Waru

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Siam Sally

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Cinta Grill

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baligoodfood.com

Volume Thirty Two Sep/Oct/November 2011 L u x u r y In P r in t

The Yak Magazine Agustina Ardie, Sophie Digby, Nigel Simmonds Publisher's PA / Sales & Marketing Riri Suwito Production Manager Evi Sri Rezeki Graphic Designers Irawan Zuhri, Novan Satria, SuperStu Accounting Julia Rulianti Distribution Made Marjana, Kadek Arthana, Putu Widi Susanto, Made Sutajaya, Didakus Nuba

On The Cover. Niah wears a ring by Ornamenta.

Photography D.Hump. Hair by James Sutton / Essensuals Bali. Makeup Anja Buerck. Stylist:Georgina

Publisher PT Saka Wahana Cipta

Amanda Solomon.

Licence 1.265/09-04/PB/V/99 Advertising Enquiries Tel: (+62 361) 844 6341, 743 1804, 743 1805 www.theyakmag.com Email: info@theyakmag.com sales@theyakmag.com Canggu Club Tennis Centre, Jl. Pantai Berawa, Canggu, Bali 80361, Indonesia © PT Saka Wahana Cipta

You know the drill. No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced electronically or otherwise without prior permission from the Publisher. Opinions expressed within this publication are those of the authors not the Publisher. The Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not comply with the magazine's design criteria. The Yak will not be held responsible for copyright infringements on images supplied directly by advertisers and/or contributors.

min

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P: 80 supplement No More Heroes

Andrew E. Hall on iconic decline.

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Yakety yak

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Words From On High 15 minutes Hendrix Nicked My Jacket new in the hood Shopping and Stuff Out of the box Inside Jobs culture vulture Belly Boards questions, questions Bob Moore artsake Filippo, Filippo yak fashion Fallen Angel

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interview Belinda Kazanci duoview Abhi and Valentina incoming Leticia Balacek travel Cuba Libre interwho Happy Salma incoming Master Wong! interwho Martin East members of the cloth Mr. Zimi

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Introducing the newest restaurant to Potato Head Beach Club, Lilin conceptualizes in the authentic taste of home cooked Asian cuisine. Polished with wooden walls and a long wooden communal table, Lilin reconciles a simplified atmosphere that highlights comfort and intimacy in gatherings, while leaving out its colors to the vibrant flavors of its tapas menu.

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Contact RSVP 0361 4737979 reservation@ptthead.com www.ptthead.com Lilin Restaurant Potato Head Beach Club Jl Petitenget Seminyak 80361 Bali, Denpasar

134 138 146 148 150 152 154

interview

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Shivaloka spas Bliss Out venting in a villa Ayana On The Cliff oral pleasures Heidi Flanagan oral pleasures Good Will Hunting oral pleasures Evo-lution big six Pizza!

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constant wining Pool Party Fashion freestyle Client Collectibles just doin' it Ana Ivanovic sounds around Charles Webster ravers review The Cars and Bob M. astro yak Star Struck advertiser directory Who's Who

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Invention, investment and innovation; Russian, European, Australian. Bali is welcoming the world of Villamageddon…As the roads get bumpier, trash piles ride high and fingertip technology sweeps through the land, there is a whispering ‘in crescendo’, a growing wave of discontent, a watchful community poised to improve, implement and use IM (instant messaging). There is MSN, Skype and Yahoo; Facebook, LinkedIn and the tourism-world’s most interesting, accessible-to-all, and at times, cryptic critic, TripAdvisor. From glowing reports of a boutique hotel to Mr. Unknown complaining (about a restaurant) that there was “a fish scale in the…fish dish” of all things! Maybe the ‘tripper’ was hoping to enjoy a reconstituted can of “what-once-was-crab” [it tastes like chicken!] or prefers his steak made from reconstructed soybean…?

Here at The Yak we hope to be your very own trip advisor. We try to be sensible, sensual and essentially destination sensitive. So in keeping with our Yakitude, this issue we keep it simple, simmering yet simpatico. And to that end we start with Jimmy Hendrix stealing Salvador’s jacket – very TripAdvisor worthy, had it been around then. Our Out of the Box will put you on the right track to purchase a mebel or two before we head out and take you by the hand to Deus Ex Machina to get you hooked on belly boarding. Next up, our Culture Vulture asks irreverent pop artist, Robert Moore, about his darker side, then turns to Filippo Sciarscia about the gentler side of talent. We trip on through our Fallen Angel fashion spread before totally recommending you check out our Yak Awards theme of this year. The pages then turn and we have the pleasure to introduce you to the couple from W.O.M and an Argentinean artist called Leticia. Since we are in the southern Spanishspeaking hemisphere we head north to the top destination on our cruise critic list, Cuba.

Our advice? Get there soon! Getting five star ratings are Bali-based actress and filmmaker, Happy Salma; Master Duncan Wong – Madonna’s very own yoga instructor; and jewellery maker to the stars, Shivaloka. Mr. Zimi tips us off on what to wear before we take it all off and give you feedback on being blissed-out in spas. We then create a ‘culinary trip list’ and take you to meet those who wear the toques behind the cuisines of COMO Shambhala, Ku Dé Ta, and Evo. Then it is time to get downright picky for pizza with our Big Six before we plan which jugs of alcohol we will mix for our pool pollster – five stars to us! Outstanding and top of the class goes Ana Ivanovic, who won last year’s Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, so this year we are blocking our diary from November 3rd to 6th to head down to Nusa Dua’s Westin Resort. All that of course, after we have read, and rated, what the upcoming planets have in store for us in Astroyak. The best trip advice we can offer? May The Yak be with you!

ERM...

A couple of cock-ups in the last issue. This first one goes to Atrium Restaurant & Bar: Dearest Simon – we are truly gutted and now grounded for having typo-ed your surname in our last issue. Blaby by name and Blaby by nature (and not Balby!). The culprit has been drawn and quartered. And apologies to Cubby House Kids Club – Top spot on Bali for children: Lets get it right kids! It is Rp.100,000++ for the first 90 minutes! And your favourite morsels are served all day (they do not only feed you from 12-4pm as was written in last issue). Better still, if you mention The Yak you'll get a Rp.50,000 voucher for Atrium Restaurant & Bar – and don’t forget every fourth visit is free with CHCK’s Loyalty Card.

Dear Yak, Oh Lordie! Just had to say I LOVE your new website and the ‘furtherance of shenanigans’ online! Fabulous image!

Richard, Bali.

Shenanigans are what we’re all about. More to come . . .

Dear Yak, The new electroyak online is yakalicious, I’m devouring it with great relish, every pixel and bit of it.

I've Tweeted and Facebooked it so all can partake of its amazingness.

Bravissima!

Susi, Bali.

Thanks Susi. To be sure we’ll be in touch when we need to find words that no dictionary has ever thought of . . .

Dear Yak, Your new website is fab, fab, fab – can't wait to read properly on the train home tonight – will be my regular read on my journey to London.

Emily, UK. We like to think we have a bit of an edge on The News of the World . . . what’s your phone number?

Dear Yak, Gorgeous new Yak this month – again – Well done.

Thanks a lot.

Jocelyn, Bali.

Dear Yak, Love your on-line site – even more on it than in the mag itself in some features. Gorgeous . . .

Neil, Bali.

YakINTHElapOF ... Richard Gere We preferred him when he had it all going on in American Gigolo and wasn't such an Officer and a Gentleman (and of course there was that evening with his ex-wife Cindy Crawford, who left the Four Seasons with a copy of our Editor's book clutched to her décolletage), but nevertheless we were honoured to press a copy of The Yak into Master Gere's fleshy paws during a recent trip to Bali and Borobudor. A karmic encounter if ever there was one.

ELEGANT TRADITIONS • EPICUREAN ATTITUDE

R E S TA U R A N T

•

BAR

•

GALLERIES

Jl. Raya Kerobokan No.38, Kerobokan, Seminyak, Bali T +62 (0) 361 731175, 7492796 E info@warisanrestaurant.com www.warisanrestaurant.com

15 minutes

J i m m y H e n d r i x s t o l e m y j a c k e t

A big night out in the Big Apple sees Salvador Bali relieved of his jacket by a young musician named Jimmy James.

IN the mid ‘60s I was one of two resident DJs at the Salvation Night Club, which was one of the hot spots on West Fourth Street and Seventh Avenue in New York City. The other DJ was a guy called David Tyles. He was an American but lived in a fantasy that he was English, with British accent and all.

Where was I? Damn, it was my night off, so I was just looking around the club – which was designed in a circular fashion, Greek style, with pit dance floor and box-type seating on three levels, with an alcove V.I.P. section.

In the alcove sat a lonely-looking figure, Jimmy Hendrix.

Jimmy and I had met a few years back at a club on Fiftieth and Broadway called the Cheetah – a big place in the style of Studio 54 with three stages that rotated, three bands playing in succession, one of which was The Blue Denims.

They sucked, big time, but one of the members was a friend of mine and I promised to check the band out.

The Cheetah at that time was fairly empty and I'd parked myself on the side seating arrangements. A lanky, skinny black guy, with greased-down long hair sat behind me and he tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I wanted to share a joint. I took a couple of tokes and he introduced himself as Jimmy James, and added that he had seen me cruising around the club scene and Greenwich Village and that he was a musician.

He had just gotten fired from the Little Richard band for wearing a loud shirt, which was the start of an hilarious conversation.

Meeting here and there on the club circuit and in the village our friendship continued.

So there was Jimmy on his lonesome at the Salvation . . .

“What’s happening man?” says I. “You look like something the cat dragged in.”

Hassles with his old lady, he said.

The Salvation wasn’t happening that night and the vibe was low, so I suggested we go to this new club that had opened on Eighth Street in the East Village called The Electric Circus. Some friends of ours were playing there – the Chambers Brothers – and they were riding high with a hit song called Time Has Come Today.

Jimmy had a limousine waiting, with his trusty driver Joe – crazy bastard, Italian guy who was always saying and pointing, “this is the man, this is the man”, with Jimmy always shaking his head in a “give me a break” attitude.

Across the street from the Electric Circus was a used clothing store, one of the more innovative in those days, and it was owned by two guys, Fred and Marty. Fred was outside the store when we arrived and he called us over; I introduced him to Jimmy and he got excited, then started ranting about his new shipment of clothes that had arrived and was in the warehouse around the corner. He said we had to see the stuff. I looked at Jimmy; he shrugged his shoulders, so we went.

True to his word, Fred did have a great assortment of clothing – Hawaiian shirts, which I loved, Mexican and South American vests, plus, plus, plus.

Jimmy picked out an assortment of duds. Me too. And then I spied a West Point military jacket. I tried it on. It fit like a glove.

Jimmy liked it as well and asked if he could try it on. It fit him too and the bickering started – but first come, first served . . . the jacket was mine.

Off to the Electric Circus and Jimmy jammed with the Chambers Brothers – talk of the town the next day. Before the night was done, we had gone back to Jimmy’s room at the Warwick Hotel, both of us sloshed on booze.

Jimmy’s closet was open with an array of rainbowcolored new fashion clothes from Carnaby Street in London.

Velvet slacks, laced shirts and all kinds of psychedelic jackets, patchwork boots and a coat that really caught my eye, black silk, with stand-up Edwardian collar, laced in gold with matching cuffs and gold buttons.

Trying on the jacket and looking in the mirror and imaging I’m a British rock star . . . Jimmy, laying on the bed with eyes half closed, says, “Hey man, how about we trade for a while?”

Cool, no problem, says I. Well there’s another story about Jimmy’s Edwardian jacket.

It was stolen, but I got it back and returned it to Jimmy and, in turn, he gave it to Paul Caruso (a drummer in Boston band The Atlantics).

What The Fuck!

Then there’s my West Point Jacket in a photo with trimmed fur along the lines and cuffs, with Jimmy’s arm in the air with his guitar.

I never did get my jacket back.

Roasting The Blend Maca Villas and Spa have recently opened the first bean-roasting bijoux coffee shop on Bali. The people behind Ippolito import the beans from the top growers in the world, waft the fabulous scent of coffee-a-toasting through the air and bring the steaming cups of Java elegantly to our tables. Not content with just that, the folks at Maca add an airy, light, yet air-conditioned Asian-fusion eatery called Mase to their 25 luxury pool-villas. All divinely located in the new trendy 'hood of Petitenget. One really couldn't ask for more...

Tel: 4739090

2R's Celebrate, debate, discuss and perform – that’s what the folks at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival will be doing from October 5th to 9th. Determined to uphold their status as one of the "world's top six literary festivals" - despite myriad challenges - and continue on their quest to promote literature, understanding and shared humanity, this year's event will be filled with workshops, readings, book launches and slams; literary lunches at legendary hotels; panel sessions, performances and cocktail parties. Join the likes of Alexander McCall Smith, Juan Gabriel Marquez, Benjamin Law, Professor Tim Flannery and Trinity (a.k.a the Naked Traveler)! To enlighten your literary

Yak Map Q.4

Coming Soon Canggu Plaza is set to become a well-sought-after landmark. Ideally located near the Canggu School, the Canggu Club and a vast array of residential properties, this tasteful shopping plaza is set to be Canggu’s fashionable gathering place. Six unique structures mix the old with the new; the joglo, gladak and limas with modern design. Canggu Plaza has come to the top of the list in “most wanted shop space”. www.cangguplaza.com

self, hop on line and sign up for UWRF's newsletters, download their programme and purchase yourself a few days of consorting with the literati.

Tel. 7808932

www.macavillas.com

www.ubudwritersfestival.com

Artist + Canvas + Paint = Art Aptly named, The Gallery opened it voluminous art space in August on Jl. Sunset.

Following a duo philosophy of promoting new talents and widening the scope of well-known artists, the focus is on modern art with a Balinese accent or flair. Pricing is excellent for the unknown works and affordable for the finer pieces. Private collectors, interior designers, dabblers in art collection appreciate the plus 300 square metres of gallery space. Even more, they value the on-site artist’s studio where they can see the maestros at work. With almost a decade of experience, the eyes behind The Gallery are a welcome addition to the commercial art scene of Seminyak.

Tel: 731738 www.thegallerybali.com Yak Map Y.8

Photography by Jean Paul Nacivet

Yak Map M.1

Ode To The Colony London's posh Eton Square meets Montecarlo in this delectable cabochon of a hotel. Tucked away just off the beach front of Seminyak's Kayu Aya Street, 20 colonially inspired rooms have been built around a 16-metre central pool. Colonial opulence in whites, creams and caffé lattes blend with well proportioned aristocratic furniture. The Colony Hotel, probably the most elegant boutique hotel to join the banks of boudoirs in the ‘hood.

Tel. 4736160 www.thecolonyhotelbali.com Yak Map O.7

The Holy Mission of Fashion

What's On At The Westin

If you are looking for a lifetime commitment, then I suggest becoming a fashion addict,

What can one do with $13 million? Revitalize, revamp and reinvent. The

a conquistador in search of the grail of cut, design and flair. The designers at Evelyn Ruth

guest rooms at The Westin Resort, Nusa Dua, are set to revive and renew any

are on such a quest and are carving out an erudite niche in Bali's burgeoning rag trade.

tired, wander-weary soul who chooses to check into this luxury beach-front

Exotic and luxuriously hand made leather jackets, vests and an inspired collection of

resort. The rooms have been designed for honeymooners, business or leisure

handbags share the stage with structured dresses, luxe tops and classic bottoms with a an

travelers and of course for families needing space and quiet! The 334 sleek and

indispensable range of belts, shoes and jewelry. Evelyn Ruth's petite boutique is located

sophisticated rooms come complete with the Heavenly Bed, iPod connectivity,

between two of our favourite watering holes, Hu'u Bar and Potato Head Beach Club.

bedside master switchboard and audio visual entertainment.

www.evelynruth.com

Tel. 771906 www.westin.com/bali

Yak Map O.6

Boutique Art & Bikinis 69SLAM has opened a new store, this time in Kuta (Jln Legian No.61) and now has a total of eight concept stores on Bali. The youngest store of the family has a totally unique feel about it. Having worked together with graphic artist Yaz and the team from The Lightbox, this new store melds the loud 69SLAM prints with Yaz’s fun, mirrored-lightboxes in what is 69SLAM's first ever "boutique art" partnership. The shop showcases a continuously evolving mix of 69SLAM underwear, swimwear and apparel and the latest highly popular Summer 11 swimwear and underwear lines are jumping off the racks so be sure to check them out. This is 69SLAM's 'growing global' year with new stores opening in Reunion Island, Portugal and Russia, just to keep you in the loop! www.69slam.com

Yak Map T.8, V.10

Decking the decking Nusa Lembongan, the new 'IN' place for those that want to get off-island from an island...go figure! Just east of Bali is Lembongan, the most popular of the three Nusa ilslets, Penida, Lembongan and the smaller sister, Ceningan.

Top sanctuary on the island is Batu Karang Resort & Day Spa; luxury villas with waves, beach view and spa...and here maybe I should mention the sun setting behind Bali's Gunung Agung, not visible from Bali! Recently BKR addded to their already upper-deck lifestyle by creating The Deck Cafe & Bar - serving gourmet baguettes, panninis, pies, pastries, pizzas, salads.. and the ever-so tempting home-baked cakes... and sweets. Gelato ice cream, ice cold beer and awesome cocktails as the sun sets behind Bali's most famous volcano is something one doesn't even have a time to write a postcard home about.

Carpe Diem!

Tel. 0366 5596376

www.batukaranglembongan.com

Trotting out the Bistrot From 17th century Paris to the shores of Bali and into the capable hands of restaurateur Daniel Vanneque of The Living Room fame, Bistrot L'Entrecote (originally made renowned by the Gineste de Saurs family in 1959) is ready to help us stake out the steaks and fry out the frites with lashings of black peppercorn or Béarnaise sauce. This 'in homage to', street-side eating venue open for lunch, serving salad, steak and - you guessed it - french fries, all for Rp.95k++ (there is grilled catch of the day if you don't do meat) with desserts being served 'a la carte'. Heading up the Bistrot's kitchen is Marc Francois who is, of course, in charge of keeping the authentic, authentic. Just one word of warning, and in authentic Bistrot-style - no reservations required or allowed! Look out for the wine-coloured awning halfway down Jl. Lasmana.

Tel. 4734533

Yak Map Q.8

El Kabron ‘Cabron’ in Spanish can either be complementary or abusive - this cliff-top Spanish, hacienda-style chiringuito (eatery), has wooed the Seminyak crew and won! Chef Marc Torices, of the three-Michelin-starred resto of Sant Pau in Barcelona, has donned his hat and is cooking up a veritable smorgasbord of all things Iberian. Apart from the outstanding food, the view plays just as much a part in making El Kabron a memorable, weekly-must-do on everyone's sunset dance card. Cliff-top - watch as the sun slips as easily into the sea as the caipirinha or sangria slips between sun worshipers’ lips. This new venue is so amazing that, in the complementary sense of the word, one has to say Cabron!

Tel. 7803416

Located off Uluwatu's Jl Labuhan Sait on Jl Pantai Cemongkak.

Sacred Scents Bali’s first perfume has hit the shelves and it is intoxicating indeed. Appropriately named Bali Temple Flowers this 100% organic perfume uses a mix of essential oils taken from the most sacred flowers of Bali that are used in daily temple offerings. The oils are then shipped to a well known perfumery in New York where they are formulated into a high quality perfume. Like the offerings that are its inspiration the scent aims to “redress imbalances of the body, mind and spirit”. The perfume is said to come with a warning to those that dare to wear it, Bali Temple Flowers: “may cause confidence, bliss and heightened sensuality”. Sold worldwide and through the website (wwwbalitempleflowers.com) as well as specialty boutiques and spas throughout Bali. www.balitempleflowers.com

Brunchability Ladies may lunch but we all know that boys love to brunch and where better than at Fire - W Retreat's main venue for all things ‘grillage’? Sundays fashion themselves into a first class offering of all things carvery - well accompanied by freshly shucked oysters, glistening seafood, eggs in so many styles that the hand trembles as the mouth waters. Choose between an all-inclusive bevvy package or, if Saturday's hangover is too dire, put the glass down and head to that fabulous fresh juice counter.

Tel. 4738106

ww.whotels.com/baliseminyak

Yak Map N.4

Green Village Green is as green does . . . greening our world begins at home for Elora Hardy, creative director of the Ibuku bamboo company. Her Green Village project is 25 minutes from Ubud and within walking distance of the renowned Green School campus. Raised on Bali and educated in the US, Elora honed her design skills as sole print designer for fashion icon Donna Karan.

Homes are designed and built around the natural contours of each plot and feature rare riverfront locations with views of Bali's volcanoes. www.greenvillagebali.com

sharp and sheer cuts a new edge with a modern twist on old themes.

The 'Shipwreck' sun lounger from Word of Mouth is made from fibreglass, polyurethane and waterresistant fabric. And it looks cool too. Available in various colours. www.wordofmouthbali.com

The Karimata low cabinent by Carlo innovative furnishings comes in black glossy teak, www.carloshowroom.com.

Milan Circle Mirror, Vinoti Living, www.vinotiliving.com

Aluminium tray by Alessi. Ashtrays by Philippe Starck for Alessi. Bola lamps – leather filled with rice by Horacio. Kriptonite shelves. www.sksbali.com

Namu, www.namustore.com.

Above: Bench by Warisan Furniture, www.warisan.com.

Below, left to right: Table Lamp by Uma Casa, www.umaandleopold.com; Warrior of Light Pendant by deLighting, www.de-lighting.com; HL Abstrak Lancip by Alabaster, www.alabasterlighting-bali.com; Bespoke, www.bespoke-bali.com

Cul tu re v u l tu re

STA S O N METIME D UP .. S . d YO gr re U D Ph ips w c ON ot w or ’T os ith ri EVE by be dor N To ll e nee m y b ge d Da oa ts TO w rd to ki s ns . .

There’s more to surfing than finding a good wave, making the drop, standing up for your first cutback . . . going for a huey-sponsored cruise. Sometimes you don’t even have to stand up . . . and some reckon this gets you closer to the action, closer to the face, closer to mother ocean . . .

The ancient Hawaiians first developed “pipo” boards – short surfboards made from solid timber – upon which they lay down (knelt, maybe) and took on the mighty breaks pounding that island chain.

They were the ancestors of “The Big Kahuna” – Duke (his given name) Kahanamoku – the father of “modern” surfing,

All boards available at Deus Ex Machina.

Culture vulture

who rode long boards (sometimes unkindly referred to as “planks” these days), also made from solid timber, that he crafted himself. But (often) sans the fin which gives a board a modicum of controllability. The Duke brought the art of surfing to a world that, until he came along, was confined to the Hawaiian Islands.

Along came Bob Simmons (1919-1954) who thought it was a good idea not to be completely out of control when careering down the face of a wave – especially one that broke onto a razor-sharp reef – and, so, came up with the idea of adding a fin on the underside at the back of the board. A revolution that made the sport/lifestyle accessible to lesser mortals than The Big Kahuna – who was also an Olympic swimmer, amongst other things.

But Simmons added another aspect to his surfboard-making – he shrunk the boards down to between four-and-a-half feet and five-anda-half feet (surfers have yet to go metric – and rightfully so; it just doesn’t sound the same) . . . a return that resembled the original “pipo”. Boards were still crafted from solid timber though.

The so-called “mini-Simmons” is still a current incarnation of those boards. . . . Jump-cut to the advent of fiberglass, Styrofoam, and Californian, George Greenough – who took the art of riding Simmonsstyle short boards to new heights. And refining the art of how to make ‘em.

Greenough is, arguably, the architect of the modern “belly board”. He developed the design to achieve the ability to be more and more “radical” on the face – to get closer to the curl, to get a heightened sense of speed . . . to get up close and personal with an unstoppable force.

Whether laying down or kneeling, these boards provided an alternative to stand-up surfing . . . an alternative that appealed to many – especially those who witnessed Greenough’s antics on a wave. He also used his short boards to assist in his filming of the action in memorable surf movies, Endless Summer and Big Wednesday, among others.

Nowadays – as is the wont of extreme sports practitioners – there are surfers who stand up on belly boards . . . just because they can.

And on Bali, if you wish to have a go at short-board surfing, you can get a board that is made locally by Deus Ex Machina.

Bugger Eat, Pray, Love . . . Lay, Kneel, Stand baby.

68

questions

left: Mr Moore. above: crop flags. Top Right: Surf at flat rock. Right: little monkey.

69

questions

culture vulture

Bob – do you mind if we call you Bob? Sure, Bob is good . . . Beelzebub is better . . . I will accept Mister Bob in formal occasions . . . much prefer the ‘Prince of the Infernal Darkness’ or ‘Lord of the Dance’.

Right you are. You strike us as a very hands-on artist . . .

Yes, that’s what I do, I make stuff with my hands . . . . . .and you strike us as a genuinely good person who is approaching serious work from an irreverent corner of the world. You’re not precious about art, are you? But you are clearly very good.

Well that is a fine compliment. I try my best and sometimes I do get it right.

Tell us about where are you from and how you grew up?

Okay, good question – I was born in the epicentre of “boganism” [Australian for rough and ready types who drive the sorts of cars that attract attention from the police], west of Brisbane. Son of a preacher man – loved the lord but put one foot into the darkness. I love V8s generally with a four-barrel Rotchester pouring fuel down its guts. Spent far too much of my youth building and drag racing Holden 308s (with not much success). Chasing girls (with not much success). Had some tragic haircuts in the '80s. Played in some really bad bands with total suck names such as Perfect Secret – that was truly embarrassing.

Why am I telling you this?

When did you decide you were an artist?

The burning bush that I encountered on my 40 days and 40 nights in the desert told me quite emphatically to “go forth and paint the colour blue” . . .

Plus. . . my career as a wedding singer had taken a huge downturn in an incident known by the investigating officers as “the ‘89 Frankston wedding riots”.

The father of the bride didn’t appreciate my version of Hurts So Good that I sang to the mother of the bride between the maid of honour’s speech and the cutting of the cake.

He took to me with a partly-lit candelabra and smashed my Gibson Flying V over the wedding presents table as I pushed him into the six-tiered tiramisu wedding cake.

The ensuing riot, which resulted in the burning of the wedding marquee and things done with chairs that will never be spoken of again, had a huge impact on Tony and Sharon’s special day.

Please don’t ask me anymore about that – it is a dark chapter. I really don’t like talking about it . . .

OK. What’s the strangest commission you’ve ever had?

For real – I was asked to celebrate the Royal Australian Air Force’s 75th anniversary by making some pictures – they let me loose amongst the F1-11s in an Australian high security defence facility for two months.

I was so tempted to tag [graffito] one of those planes!

You seem to work in many media. We’ve seen your work on surfboards, on tables, in shops . . .

Yep, I do. I like to call it ‘right tool for the job’.

Shit, that’s a great motif for a tee shirt . . . hang on I already used that one for Mambo . . .

Who collects your work, and what kind of following do you have?

People who are very good looking with exceptional taste and anybody who really wants to give me money

left: Vacancy. Take Away. public address system.this page: beauty. gth0351

questions yellow GTS.

to keep me in the lifestyle I have become accustomed to.

Your studio reminds us of an old print workshop . . .

Thanks – old print workshops are cool. Yeah, there’s a lot going on in that space. . . . and we get the impression you would have no trouble knocking up a table for us, or fixing a car.

Not to sure about the tables . . . always have me some trouble making the legs all the same length. But as for cars – give me a quarter-inch imperial spanner and some fencing wire and I can make anything run.

You’re moving into landscapes too, which is surprising to us, given that much of your work has a more ‘pop art’ kind of feel . . .

Not surprising to me, as I have always been a landscape painter. It’s just that most of my more graphic stuff is commercially reproduced, so that’s what most people see.

I’m having a show of landscapes at the Deus Gallery in October.

I will send you an invite . . . please come as I need all the friends I can get.

You were one of the early Mambo crew – tell us about that.

Mambo-Shmambo . . . it was good in its day but then it went horribly wrong. I was there from the start to the end. I was a significant contributor to its rise and its downfall.

What process is currently fascinating Mr Moore?

Wax and dye – those two babies are floating my boat right now . . . and fish tacos – God how I love them.

And where would you put yourself in terms of your development as an artist?

One word: “retarded”. I am an artist with special needs . . . please don’t laugh, its wrong to take delight in someone else’s misfortune. I think the Germans have a word for that – those crazy Europeans have a word for everything!

If you had your time so far again, what would you do differently as an artist?

Here’s how it rolls . . . if I had my time again of course it would be different because you know you can’t repeat yourself exactly. What I mean is that if, let's say, I drop my keys at a crucial point on my second time around, where I didn’t on my first, I could suddenly wake up as a brain surgeon with a passion for collecting 18th century clocks or a manufacturer of fine door handles – you know the ones with the fancy inlay details on the knobs . . .

But to be honest with you . . . I am truly blessed to wake up with myself everyday and lead the life I live. I wouldn’t change a thing.

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artsake

Filippo Sciascia's work bridges worlds in his quest for answers.

Sophia's airplane 5.

artsake Filippo, and right, Illuminance.

artsake

Filippo, how long have you been an artist?

I have been interested in creating things since I was young, using any kind of media I can lay my hands on. I have always been particularly attracted to painting and drawing and consider the creative process a source of life itself.

Can you describe to us the nature of your work?

During the past 10 years I have drawn inspiration from many areas – philosophy, anthropology, mathematics and science (to name a few) – and used the concepts as a starting point for my artistic projects.

I am trying to portray the essence of things; of nature and eternal creation. Trying to grasp these fundamental elements is integral to my installation/video works, and to my painting.

Have you ever been anything other than an artist?

What is an artist in this day and age? I have always been a creative person but I don’t, necessarily, call myself an artist . . . more of an inquirer.

How important is the dialogue that goes with your art in terms of explaining it to a viewer?

The dialogue with people who view it is interesting, but not the most important thing. What I am actually trying to do during my conceptual development is attempting to explain myself . . . to myself. I like it that people think my work is nice, interesting, that they like it and that we can share something. But I never create with an audience in mind. I’m not trying to teach or to show something to anyone. I’m a bit reserved and shy in that respect.

What place does abstract and installation art have in today's society? Why do we need it?

Art has no boundaries, whether it be abstract, installation or filmic. It has always been important – throughout the millennia to the present.

Humans have always been creators, have always had the urge to represent the natural gestalt. Primitive stone carving, even hunting, is an expression of this. As soon as a child is presented with a pencil and paper he/she begins to scribble, to possess the space that is defined by the paper with colour and form. It’s entirely amazing, but natural – with no teaching necessary. It’s life.

How much time do you spend in Bali, and why do you choose to do so?

Around four months at a time. The rest of the time I am traveling to Milan and other places where I have exhibitions. I’ve been based on Bali for about 12 years and it is an important place for me – a place far away from the chaos of modernity; a quiet place where I can have the conversations with myself about how to move my art forward.

Your work is evocative and mysterious, as if it's trying to tell us something about the nature of our lives. Why do we feel this, would you say?

The attraction of opposites. Rise and fall. Light and dark. Endlessness.

Is your art a search for answers as to why we are here as individuals and as a race?

I guess you could look at it that way. I look at life through the lenses I have already mentioned and I suppose it (life) makes a certain sense to me. But I have always expressed myself through art, especially painted images. It’s probably because with other mediums, like writing or talking, I’m not so comfortable. I’m not good at them . . . in fact I am very bad.

How do children react to your work?

They will react like everyone else – no two will react in the same way; some will not react at all. Same as adults. I’ve heard so many different opinions about my work – even if those opinions are about the same piece of work . . . some completely absurd and stupid; some contemplative and intelligent; and everything in between.

How would you describe your personality?

I would say a mixture of shy and proud. Ugly (laughs) but certainly unique. I am good at what I do . . . but not the best, of course. I maintain a sense of the fun I’m having working in the art world. But if I’m to be honest, I prefer other people to describe me . . . if they feel they have to.

What's your routine as an artist?

My routine is obsessive. Obsessively trying to come up with new ideas.

Even when I am not in my studio or actively involved in a current project, this mind of mine is ALWAYS there.

What processes are you currently using?

My media evolves in parallel with my conceptual development. It’s a diary, day by day. For better or worse if you keep a diary, you keep writing.

If you're not in your studio close to Ubud, where would we find you?

Call my closest friends and you’ll find me. Friendship is very important to me and real ones – close ones – I can count on the fingers of one hand.

They take care of me and I take care of them.

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my, my, what's a girl supposed to do? clothing designer, store owner, musician, song writer and singer... what's next for belinda kazanci?

interview

songstress. photo by Edmond Keshishyan.

interview

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B.K. by Mher Ajamian.

BELINDA, tell us about you...

I was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and moved to the US when I was nine. I currently live in Los Angeles. I have played the flute (both classical and jazz) since I was 10 and sung since I was very young. My band, Echocell, came together in 2000, and I have been writing songs and singing with them since then.

At what point did you get the music bug?

I can remember spending a lot of time in front of an old record player with headphones on as a kid.

Other kids would be outside playing and I'd be glued to my record player listening to old Turkish records. While in school I was always is some way involved in music. Whether it was singing in a choir, or playing jazz, I looked forward to it more than anything. After college I realized I wanted to pursue music as a career and that’s when all other things took second place and I started really focusing on writing songs and performing.

How do you approach your song writing?

I do write my own songs yet I love to collaborate with different people I admire and am inspired by.

Co-writing for me has so much magic in it. That exchange of ideas between writers and the energy that is created in working with someone else can give you a result much bigger than working on your own. I've worked with different producers and arrangers over the past 10 years and I’ve had the honour to work in some great studios in Los Angeles as well as New York.

What do you see as your major musical achievements? How do you feel when you perform?

With Echocell I've written four albums and performed what feels like a million times over the course of many years, mostly in California. With our new record we hope to start a European tour.

I've been a vocalist on songs in major films such Bangkok Dangerous with Nicholas Cage and My Best Friends Girl with Kate Hudson. I've had the pleasure

of working with different electronic musicians as a vocalist and as songwriter on dance tracks. When I'm on stage I feel at home. It is the place where I can express myself freely as an artist and connect with the audience. Being on stage sometimes feels like you're naked – especially as a singer... you’re allowing the public see a deeper part of who you are. This takes more courage than one can ever imagine. That feeling of being on stage is unlike anything else. It’s freeing, it’s inspiring, it’s connecting not only with yourself, but with the world around you.

Where has the music taken you travelwise?

I haven’t been able to travel much with the music but this year I have a feeling that’s going to change.

I did have the pleasure of performing at Bar Luna in Ubud with Navicula this past June, which was so much fun! The new Echocell record that we have been working on for the past year feels like our best work yet. We've had the pleasure of working with amazing musicians such as Simon Katz from Jamiroquai and Gorillaz. We produced and recorded most of the record in New York and worked with the amazing Dave Darlington who has worked with artists like Sting and Bjork. It’s been a blessing to work with such professional and humble musicians.

I'm eager to take the songs on the road, and across continents.

Future plans?

We never know what the future holds but so far we’ve been getting a great reaction to the new songs. I hope they will go far and our fans will connect with them.

Any disappointments?

There has been a major shift in the music industry over the past 10 years. Record labels are no longer pumping tons of money into bands to develop them from the ground up. This could be seen as a disappointment but I see this as an opportunity.

The artists growing up in the music industry now

have much more of a say in how their music is shaped and where it will go. This makes it more difficult because you have to work harder and hustle more than ever but it all comes down to what you really want at the end and how hard you are willing to work to have it. With the expansion of technology anyone has the ability to make music right in their own bedroom with a laptop...but this doesn't mean anyone can make great music, or timeless music, so the ones that are still authentic to themselves and their art and work hard to get there will survive – at least that’s my belief.

What's your philosophy in life? We're always keen to know...

I love the saying: “Sometimes you have to throw your hat over the fence and figure out how to get it later.” I have lived like this and continue to some degree in different aspects of my life. We have to follow our inner voice and do what we love.

Sometimes that doesn't guarantee the easy path but at least we will not fail ourselves in the end by listening to our true calling.

Do have a message for the world?

Do what you love, not what you are supposed to do, or have to do, or someone thinks you should do it. Imagine your life as an empty canvas. What do you want the colours to be? What do you want to paint on it? It’s up to you and you are the one who is going to have to live with it when it’s hung up on your living room wall. When you write, as an artist, you do it to capture and hold a chapter of your life in the palm of your hand. Every lyric, every melody, every spark of idea, has a life of its own – as it comes from experiencing love, anger, joy, pain, heartache, loss, all those emotions that make us human. When a song is born it becomes a part of you, and every time you hear it you get to relive that same moment over again.

duoview

Valentina Audrito & Abhishake Kumbhat have it all going on.

I just came here on holiday and stayed. The more time I OK, detail please on your backgrounds! spent here the more I appreciated the architecture and the Val: I studied architecture in Italy and Barcelona, did one spaces. year in the States at high school to learn this god-damned Abhi: We’re influenced immensely by Bali, our lives are in language [that would be English]. I went to the Polytechnic Bali, but we don’t necessarily adhere to the global view of of Architecture in Tunisia then Barcelona for three years on what Bali is. an exchange program, and then Turin, where I majored in Val: True, this alang-alang and so forth. Bali is many more architecture. things. To an artist it relates in different ways according to Abhi: I grew up in Malaysia – high school there – English the person who receives the information, but I think that we and American. I did well in one and not in the other . . . are seeing in a broader sense what Bali does to you in terms ended up in America studying finance and marketing. of understanding spaces.

So Abhi you had nothing to do with architecture?

Abhi: Acknowledging and respecting it, and again bringing No, but I loved it, loved it, even more after I met Val. it forward.

How did you meet her?

And you, Abhi, when did you arrive?

We were introduced by a friend at Ku Dé Ta. I moved here 10 years ago and still consider myself fairly When? new to Bali. I originally came on holiday 17 years ago . . . I That would be nine years ago. ended up running away from a life that was absolutely not Val, what brought you to Bali? me. It wasn’t just getting away from something, though, but I’ve been coming with my parents since I was a kid, so I also wanting to be here. knew Bali and my parents had a small house here. One day

duoview

Val: Most of my days are in the office designing. If a project How long have you two been married? appears, that’s my first priority. Abhi focuses on the running Abhi: Seven years with two children – a seven-year-old boy of the shop, the business end. and a two-year-old daughter – Leon and Chile.

So what’s next?

When did the business take off?

Val: We would like to have incredible people in place and Val: The business end didn’t really start together until we go on holiday. opened Word of Mouth – which was two years ago now.

Abhi: I agree!

Until then the architectural office was already open but I Would you take a job that doesn’t provide artistic was working on that by myself. gratification?

So basically you were both doing your own thing . . .

Val: I’m in a position where people understand me, and Abhi: Sort of, but always in each other’s business somehow. some jobs I do not accept. Some times if I have a good Were you making money then? connection with a client who is forward in his thinking, it Abhi: We never make money. comes down to feeling.

Val: We were total failures in everything possible that we Future plans? tried. I opened the architectural office in 2005. After a year Abhi: Opening up our own hotel where all the things we’re or two we started to design some furniture that we took to doing work together – the architecture, the food and the some international fairs, like Milan. So we started to do that shop, plus providing accommodation. and other design work, including fashion.

Philosophy of life?

Abhi: Yeah, so a little bit more professionalism came into Val: Doing things very much on instinct, getting out of the play. Val was of course full on when she started, not so scheme of how things are supposed to be done. We like to professional. It’s what we really have to go back to do – this play a little bit more with it. Going about life doing things madness that we have created, between the bar, restaurant, that you are passionate about. friends and the fashion. Actually we really need to get back Abhi: People who are most important to me and what’s to design. We’ve become managers and supervisors rather going on in my life. S.B. than what we were. But at the same time we’re constantly doing new things. Valantina, for instance, has just designed and completed a residence of a thousand square meters that has been upgraded, this to my knowledge is the first house of its kind.

W.O.M Homespun...with a twist.

i ncomi n g Busy bee L.B. At The Alila Ubud.

Leticia Balacek doesn’t have time to be bored. she’d hate it if she ever was.

Leticia, what's your story?

I come from Buenos Aires, Argentina. My mother is an artist and my father a businessman – he has a ceramics factory. I am the only child. Middle-class family. They divorced when I was six, but I grew up in both houses. My father loves sports and risks. My mother loves discipline. Both are amazing cooks and like to travel. I got all their talents! As almost all Argentineans, we come from European immigrants: My father´s family is from Czech Republic and my mother´s side a mix from Italy, Spain and France.

What about school?

I went to a very progressive primary school and one of the best secondary schools. I was a professional swimmer from 11 - years - old till 17. They were great years. I traveled a lot with my team, national and international. I came to understand what

friendship is, how to work in a team and also as an individual. I’ve also always loved the arts – my mother used to take me to museums and galleries. I hated it at first, but with age and time I got addicted. I was always great in mathematics, never studied and got the best scores. Architecture seemed, at the time, the best combination between art and technique. I finally chose it after I went to Barcelona with my father and saw Gaudi´s buildings for the first time. I realized architects can do beautiful things.

So you’re an architect and an artist, how do you reconcile the two?

The creative process in architecture has a lot to do with art. We always say that the difference between sculpture and architecture is that architecture has a function. I think it’s totally fascinating, but

InterW ho Film, Leticia Balacek.

sometimes you need to take distance, to learn other processes in order to work with another perspective. Art can help to make architecture more plastic. On the other hand, in my drawings, photography or collages you can perceive the hand, the lines, of an architect. In an exhibition at Sika (Gallery, Ubud) I presented some photo collages from social housing in Bangkok – it was a strong critique of that kind of anonymous architecture.

Which way do you think you’ll progress in the future? You seem to be developing in several ways . . .

I love whatever is creative. I even started my own culinary project with a friend before I came here, which we did for about a year. We cooked in other people’s houses and we started our own “Art and Cook” events. A year ago I started designing jewelry.

I guess the mix is the best, and with imagination you can meld everything. The clue for me is not to get bored and to explore many fields. For now I could say travelling, art and architecture is my future (and the best kitchen for myself and special guests). But I really don´t know, I never have a plan.

I thought I would go to China or Brazil after Bali, or Europe. But now I´m so happy here, I don´t need to move for now.

What’s your favourite style of architecture?

I am convinced that architecture determines part of your life. So we, as architects, have a lot of responsibility. I like to work with sensible materials, and do as much as I can with as little as possible.

Restrictions make you more creative. I am procommunication and nature, thus I always like open spaces. I like to mix materials, nothing minimal but not baroque neither – old and recycled with

very sharp and new stuff. It always depends on the location, the program, the client...

Are you a technical architect, do you get your hands dirty as well?

Well, not my hands but yes, my feet! I did site management and I like it a lot. I´m good at management and there are a lot of details that you can solve on site. Although men are most likely to work at that, nowadays there are more and more women on site. You need to go to see things on a scale of 1:1 to understand drawings and to solve problems and to come up with different ideas.

Besides, in Argentina on Fridays there is always a barbecue on construction sites, and you never want to miss that!

Form or function – which influences you more?

Both. I think it is a mistake to work separately. In synthesis. The meaning of architecture is “the art of building” or “building art”. Technique and design go hand by hand.

What’s your design process?

In architecture I find the site location the most important thing and the beginning of my design. I need to complete research first – how is the place, population, views, orientation. The program comes afterwards. But I am very intuitive and I like to play a lot. I like to work with my hands, either a collage or a model. At the beginning I might not have a rational idea – I try not to have preconceptions – I prefer to surprise myself. Then, when I see some shape, I start developing that. I do a lot of sketches by hand.

I never start with the computer – it’s a great tool for later. In the beginning it can really make you stiff, lose your freedom. And then I go back and forwards, plan, views, space, structure. You need

to work with everything in parallel to make it one thing. In my artworks I love to draw with pen, live, to catch the real moments. I need to draw fast and since it is ink, I cannot make mistakes.

When was the last time you saw a building that took your breath away?

The Green School near Ubud. I was amazed by the different uses of bamboo. You can explore each material and use it in a different way, and they’ve done this so well. I also love their view of education, and how it should be – free, interactive. Architecture is not only about making something nice but understanding the space and how you live in it. On Bali, with all the amazing views and locations, there’s really no need to make anything very complex. If you understand the place and the landscape, you already have everything. For example, I got really impressed with one basic wooden bungalow in Bingin, south Bali. You just need a secret spot and a good terrace.

What are your favourite structural materials?

It totally depends on the place. I think it is always more intelligent to work with local products because they work better, people know how to work with them and they are cheaper. You can find good solutions in everyone. Good details are the most important.

What’s your philosophy on life?

To change, to have new projects, to explore new things, to appreciate every little detail in simple things. To be surprised, to have good friends, to laugh a lot and, why not, cry a bit as well.

TRAVEL

Cuba's sultry seafront capital belongs to the romantic past, writes Joe Yogerst. Photography D.Hump.

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Who's on First?

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TRAVEL

"Playing the violin is a lot like courting a beautiful woman," says Fernando Ortega as he slips into the opening strains of a traditional Cuban love song. "It's got to come from the heart. Otherwise the act is meaningless."

It seems an incredibly old-fashioned declaration, completely out of step with the, often, harsh pragmatism of the modern world. But then again you've got to consider the location. Fernando's place of work, where he gently caresses the horsehair strings each evening, is a candlelit restaurant overlooking the Havana waterfront.

In nearly every respect, Cuba's sultry seafront capital (the Caribbean region's largest city with 2.2 million people) harks back to a different time.

Not just the hackneyed Havana of the 1950s, but a dozen different ages spread across 500 years of urban history.

You can mount the bastions of Castillo del Morro, the huge coralstone fortress that guards the entrance to Havana Bay, and gaze down on waters that once harbored treasure-laden galleons en route from Mexico to Mother Spain, their holds packed with silver, gold and other New World riches.

You can stroll through the leafy Plaza de Armas and hear nothing but the sound of your own footsteps and the clippity-clop of a horse-drawn carriage making its way down a cobblestone street, an experience that instantly transports you back to the 19th century when Havana was governed by wealthy and erudite Spanish elite.

You can lounge away an afternoon on the terrace of an art-deco gem called the Hotel Nacional – while the house band plays a geriatric rumba – and pretend that it's suddenly Prohibition again and those conspiratorial fellows smoking stogies and sipping mojitos at the adjacent table are none other than mobsters Al Capone and Meyer Lansky (both of whom frequented the Nacional during the 1930s).

Or you can slip into silk jacket and Panama hat for a midnight time trip back to the 1950s at the city's celebrated Tropicana, a sprawling

Car heaven.

TRAVEL

outdoor nightclub that features Latin big band sounds and some of the most exquisite creatures in Cuba prancing around in little more than feathers and sequins.

"Our man in Havana belongs – you might say – to the Kipling age," wrote Graham Greene in 1958. "Walking with kings and keeping your virtue, crowds and the common touch." And it's still that way. Well, maybe not keeping your virtue. The Cuban capital has enough vices to keep purgatory burning busy until the end of time. But Greene's overall thrust still holds true: Havana is a city that savours, almost worships, the past.

More than anything else, the cacharros (jalopies) reflect the city's time-warp ambience. Despite a recent influx of European and Japanese vehicles, classic American cars continue to rule the capital's streets and Cuban highways in general. Often packed with a dozen or more passengers, these four-wheeled anachronisms – big fins and bumpers gleaming in the tropical sun – provide an essential service in a country that's always been chronically short on public transport.

Packards, DeSotos, Chevy Bel Airs, Buick Centuries – spend enough time in Havana and you're likely to spot just about every 50s make and model. It's a wonder how they remain roadworthy after all this time.

"We're cannibals," says Ricardo Cuevas, who pilots a vintage Oldsmobile 88 for a taxi service.

"Cacharro owners are always hunting for other cars to scavenge parts, especially for the engine. And all of us, we are excellent mechanics."

But Havana isn't just old cars. It's also a haven for old buildings. The city boasts the greatest wealth of Spanish colonial architecture in the western hemisphere - a treasure - trove of churches, palaces, citadels and mansions wedged along narrow streets or looming over palm-fringed plazas. The vast majority of these bygone beauties are found in Habana Vieja (Old Havana), which roughly covers the area of the original Spanish settlement. But newer neighborhoods like Habana Centro and Miramar also boast their fair share of faded queens.

With assistance from UNESCO (which named Old Havana a World Heritage Site in 1982) and other international organizations, Cuba's National Center for Conservation, Restoration and Museums has identified more than 900 structures of historic importance. Much of the revenue from hotels, restaurants and galleries in the old town is plowed into restoration efforts, an ongoing effort that will take decades to complete.

Although much of the more recent renovation concerned buildings along the Malecon waterfront of Habana Centro, the initial phase focused on the old town's most important squares. The ancient and venerable Plaza de Armas dates from 1519, when the city was founded by Diego Columbus - son of the famous explorer. The plaza is surrounded by incredible colonial buildings, including the wonderfully restored Palacio del Conde de Santovenia (now the posh Hotel Santa Isabel) and the hulking Palacio de los Capitanes Generales where the Spanish governors once reigned.

During the week, the plaza remains quiet as a church mouse. But on weekends, the cobblestone quad transforms into a much different

creature – an outdoor antique book market and an impromptu venue for the city's best buskers. Covent Garden come to the Caribbean. You never know what you're going to find on any given day: Salsa, circus or even classic ballet. And if your feet fatigue, retire to one of the sidewalk cafes on the plaza's southern flank where ice-cold beer is always close at hand.

Footsteps away is the even more spectacular Plaza de la Catedral, a cobblestone masterpiece framed by Italian renaissance-style palaces and the imposing baroque facade of San Cristobal Cathedral (completed in 1777) where the elder Columbus was once buried. Another open space flanked by wonderfully restored colonial structures is the Parque Cespedes (or Tacon) along the old town waterfront, another venue for outdoor cafes and a daily art market that features many of the city's best young painters.

Another local trademark is the jinitero or hustler. The literal translation of this Spanish term is someone who rides, like a cowboy or cyclist. But in Cuban slang it refers to someone who "rides" a tourist or foreign visitor for money or favors. You can't stroll across Parque Central in the old town or amble down La Rampa avenue in the bustling Vedado district without hearing their eager chorus: "Wanna buy cigars? Need a place to stay?

Looking for some company?"

Their whispered promises are a direct link to the city's black market or bolsa – a vast underground economy that operates outside of state control. Depending on your particular needs, street hustlers can be a huge help or a minor nuisance.

But even if you don't employ their service, jiniteros are always game for a little friendly conversation. "How can you call it the World Series?" asks a hustler perched on a wall outside the Hotel Ambos Mundos, where Ernest Hemmingway once lived and wrote. He's talking about baseball, of course, one of the abiding passions of local life. "Some American teams – they've got Cuban players. Good ones, too. Incredible! But without a team from Havana it can never be a world series. Don't you think?"

One way to beat the touts is ducking into one of the city's superb museums. The Caribbean is known for fine sand rather than fine art. But Havana is a startling exception, a holdover from Spanish colonial days

A hustle here and a hustle there...

TRAVEL

Downtown . . .

when Habaneros considered themselves the most refined urbanites in all of the Americas. A leafy boulevard called the Prado – created in the 19th century as a scaled-down version of the Champs-Elysees – has evolved into the city's unofficial museum row.

The Museum of the Revolution – housed in the former Presidential Palace – details more than a hundred years of Cuban struggle against both foreign and domestic oppression. An entire room is given over to the memory of legendary guerrilla leader Che Guevara, often hailed as the supreme martyr of the Cuban Revolution. In the museum gift shop, tourists clamor for T-shirts, key chains and postcards bearing his bearded, long-haired likeness. But you really have to wonder what Che himself would have thought of all this – transforming his radical image into a capitalistic cash cow.

Looming directly behind the rebel shrine is Cuba's National Museum of Fine Art, which reopened in the summer of 2001 after a three-year renovation. Without doubt, this is now one of Latin America's finest art collections. The modern wing houses a treasure trove of homegrown art, from the cubist masterpieces of Wilfredo Lam (a Picasso pupil) to the revolutionary pop art of Raul Martinez who surely must have drawn his inspiration from Andy Warhol.

The museum's international collection, housed farther up the Prado in a meticulously restored Belle Epoque palace, includes many works that were left behind by Cubans fleeing the revolution or expropriated from wealthy families after Castro came to power – the first time that such items have been displayed in public.

"Art" of a much different sort is on display at the Fabrica de Ron Bocoy, the city's most important rum producer. Some of Cuba's finest libation is produced within its hundred-year-old walls.

"Cuba is famous for three things," says distillery guide Yemsis Cardoso as he leads a group of visitors on a factory tour.

"The world's most beautiful women . . . the world's best cigars . . . and the world's finest rum."

Cardoso leads the way down narrow wooden stairs into the bowels of the building, where the precious liquid is aged in huge oak barrels.

"We produce four types of Cuban rum," he explains. "Carta blanca is aged three years, Carta Oro is aged five years and Anejo is aged seven years," he says.

He hesitates a moment, his lips twitching, waiting for someone to ask about the fourth variety. And when someone finally does, he breaks into a wide grin.

"Isla del Tesoro (Treasure Island) -- which is aged more than a dozen years and available only to guests of Fidel Castro. So unless you are having cocktails with our president tonight, I am sorry to announce that you will not be able to sample it."

You don't have to be a world leader to savor another of Havana's eternal pleasures: Cuban music. Song is everywhere - on the streets, on rooftops, in people's homes and on their lips - most of it homegrown, born and bred on this largest of Caribbean islands, synthesized from African slave rhythms and Iberian harmonies and then blended over five

centuries of post-Columbian history into distinct Cuban tunes. Rumba and mambo. Salsa and Latin jazz.

As music aficionados the world over discovered with the release of The Buena Vista Social Club album, music is not exempt from the Cuban time capsule. The performers might have aged, but the tunes themselves remain largely unchanged from pre-revolution days. And once again, like nearly everything else in this timeless metropolis, that's what makes it so compelling.

Many of the city's cafes and bars boast some sort of house band, sometimes two or three. And they do not restrict themselves to evening performances. One of the great joys of exploring Havana is being able to pop into places like La Lluvia de Oro (The Golden Ring) or La Dichosa (Lucky) in the middle of a sweltering afternoon for some live music. Kick back a few cuba libres and let your mind wander back to whatever age knocks your socks off.

"Here was a place where anything might happen. Here was a place where something would certainly happen. Here I might leave my bones," wrote Winston Churchill after an 1895 visit.

Despite 40 years of political turmoil and economic austerity, Havana retains that aura. A city that floats like a dream on the aquamarine Caribbean, where your own imagination is the only limit.

TRAVEL Cuba's infectious spirit.

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Faces of a fading dictator?

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Qu esti ons interwho

happy salma is full of life, motivated and inspirational, writes andrew e. hall.

The world’s a wonky old place but once in a while you get to meet someone whose energy and enthusiasm can make a believer out of you.

Belief that maybe things are going to work out okay after all.

Indonesian actress, model and filmmaker, Happy Salma, is such a person – she’s a very cool lady with a great story.

Happy was born in Sukabumi, Java, at some point in the past (obviously, and in respect of the fact that a woman’s age is none of our business). One of her fondest childhood memories occurred when she and her Girl Guide (Pramuka) friends were having a sleepover at their school. Happy’s dad arrived at the school on his Vespa in the evening with a home cooked meal (her favourite) – concerned that his daughter had been chatting too much and not eating enough.

He stipulated that the food was only for her . . . but I suspect she shared it anyway.

“I’ll never forget about that,” Happy says.

“My father was very strict and insisted on the values of honesty and fairness . . . of being a good person . . . and when he came to the school I was surprised and saw that he cared very much.”

He obviously led by example because when he discovered corrupt activities in the company he worked for, he reported it and faced the consequences that often befall honest people in a, sometimes, dishonest world.

It was through her father, also, that Happy was introduced to the world of theatre and music because of his

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involvement in performing arts at high school and university – an interest he carried into later life and passed on to his (six) children.

“So all us kids were always playing and singing and dancing . . . I was always encouraged to express myself,” she says.

Happy finished high school and went on to gain an economics degree from Trisakti University in Jakarta. That’s the short story of her adolescence . . . but read on friends because she was actually mind-blowingly busy – as if school and university weren’t busy and challenging enough . . .

“My parents encouraged all of us to do anything we wanted to do, so at 15 I got a modeling job for a magazine,” Happy says.

“I entered competitions for singing and performing . . . everything I could.”

At around 17 Happy began appearing on the radars of television producers of the soap opera genre.

“One of them asked if I would like to try acting,” she says.

“Step by step I learned how to do this kind of work . . . just try, why not!”

Thus, Happy’s already hectic life became more so.

“In my first role I played a secretary who was being intimidated by someone in the office, so I had to do a lot of crying,” she laughs.

“It was a very good job because it was my first role and I played an important character and I earned good money.

“I thought, oh wow, this is good, this is fun!”

Happy ever after.

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interwho Don't worry, be...

So from her late teens into her early twenties Happy was a high school student, model, an increasingly popular soap opera star, a university student/graduate and . . . a kindergarten teacher for goodness’ sake!

“Did you ever sleep?” I ask.

Laughs again.

“I was really full of energy and my life was so colourful . . . wonderful, I wanted to learn everything,” she replies.

But there was a downside to Happy’s increasing prominence in the public space – an affliction that plagues most societies. Jealousy. Mostly women, Happy says, but men also, would say unkind things simply because she was “beautiful, sexy, and successful”. In the case of some men this form of unkindness was a (rather pathetic) response to the fact that Happy was far too busy to entertain the notion of having a boyfriend.

“It hurt me sometimes because I was working really hard and had to have strong (self-) discipline to do all the things I was doing,” she says.

Happy was still a teenager when the Suharto era came to an end and, because of the values her father had instilled, she had little fondness of the regime’s way of governing. It was an exciting – and at the same time somewhat scary – period to be a young, idealistic Indonesian. To be part of the generation that risked life and limb to change the status quo.

“So how did you feel when the dictatorship finally came to an end?”

“Euphoria!” Happy says.

“Euphoria, but also fearful of what might happen in the future – I was afraid of what the future held for my parents, my family, my friends.”

The events surrounding the Reformasi also gave Happy food for thought about how those momentous events should be interpreted, and eventually remembered, by the Indonesian people – particularly the younger generations. And set her to thinking about what role she might play in preserving the memory of the times for future generations.

Happy’s view of her career shifted in a subtle way.

“I always struggled for my art – to do the best job I can and to find new ways of expression – so I wanted to explore other avenues outside of modeling and making soap operas,” she says.

“I wanted to write, to make films, to work in front of and behind the camera, to work in the theatre.

“But it’s not as if I wake up thinking I’ll do this or that today, no, it’s all about process – following the process to move into new areas. In this sense I’m inspired by writers like Pramoedya Ananta Toer and his ideas.”

Pramoedya – now deceased – is one of Indonesia’s most prominent (anti-colonialist) authors who, at a party celebrating his 80th birthday, famously referred to Indonesia as “a continent of corruption”. He was

held without charges for 14 years on the prison island of Buru under the Suharto regime – during which time he wrote a series of novels that became known as the Buru Quartet that were banned by the dictator.

Moving forward a few years, Happy finally found time to fall in love and got married to Tjokorda Gus “Max” Kerthyasa – a member of the Ubud royal family (whom you can read about in the July issue of The Bud magazine).

“Max (a professional photographer) also struggles for his art so we are able to bounce ideas off each other,” Happy says.

During one of their honeymoons Happy and Max were discussing the Reformasi and its relevance to the younger generation of Indonesians who, they thought, were more interested in frivolous entertainment pursuits than the kind of activism that freed the country from Suharto’s grip. They agreed that a signature event in the reformation struggle was the armed intervention by paramilitaries at a student demonstration at Trisakti University – Happy’s old alma mater – in May 1998, which saw four students killed. Happy and Max decided it would make a sound basis for a movie that might serve to preserve an important piece of modern Indonesian history.

All being well, the Trisakti movie will begin shooting in 2012 – with Happy following her processional instincts as the movie’s producer.

Earlier this year Happy found herself at the Cannes Film Festival in France because she won a movie award – for a film called Tujuh Hati, Tujuh Cinta, Tujuh Wanita – at the Indonesian Film Festival.

“Indonesia had a stand in Cannes promoting our industry and I was part of our delegation which was very exciting,” Happy says.

“I watched so many films from around the world, met so many people and learned so much that gave me more confidence about my own involvement in movies.”

These days Happy no longer works in soaps, preferring to focus her talents on the film genre. But you can be assured she won’t stop there – she’s seemingly unstoppable.

“Who are your heroes?”

“My parents of course; (Raden Ajeng) Kartini (a pioneer of the Indonesian women’s rights movement) – I love her; Pramoedya; and (former president) Sukarno – because he is really our founding father,” she says.

“I admire people who are activists, who are positive, and who use their time to try to make the world a better place for others.”

So if you’re looking for a role model for your kids you could do a lot worse than point them in the direction of Happy Salma.

incoming

Skin tight duds and twisted.

cage fighter turned celebrity yoga master duncan wong kicks it around with dennis sweeney.

Duncan Wong is the enfant terrible of the yoga world. A former boy soldier of the Ashtanga (yoga) army, Duncan escaped and joined the circus. His list of clients reads like a glitterati roll-call with names like Madonna and Sting flying him in him for private lessons. His brand of yoga encompasses martial arts, house music, Thai massage and uncontrollable laughter. His mission in life is to awaken the spiritual athlete in all who study with him. His classes leave you in a state of physical exhaustion but extreme mental highs. He describes himself as a yogic love warrior; in his own words, “warriors are the guardians of peace . . . be a peaceful warrior.” He will be teaching in Bali in October: details are on his website www.yogicarts.com Rumour has it you are half Scottish and half Chinese – is it true that half of you wants to get drunk and the other half doesn’t want to pay for it?

This is not a rumour. I'm actually one part Scotch, and that's not a drink; the good part (laughs).

You mix yoga with martial arts and massage . . . would yoga be yin, martial arts yang, and massage a bit bisexual?

Well, as you know, everyone is a little gay, don't you think? What I mean is that all men and women alike enjoy watching a beautiful woman. And everyone can appreciate a fit man, at least out of respect for the care and work it took to achieve wellness. And of course anyone who practices martial arts needs yoga and everyone who practices yoga and martial arts needs a good massage. The trinity of our ancient wisdom cultures on earth share common ground that dates back to prehistory as it were. It's all a mystery that we will unfold together at my Yoga Fun in the Sun Beach Retreat in Sanur in October.

A lot of blokes won’t do yoga because it looks a

bit gay. How do you dispel this myth?

Blokes listen up: bars are full of mental cases that chain smoke cigarettes, wear layers of clothes and make-up, and talk about their hair. Yoga classes, on the other hand, are full of scantily clad, sweat soaked, skin tight garments . . . all warmed up with, like, one gay guy in a packed and proximal group of juicy females in animal poses. With their hormones and pheromones flowing like a river. Difficult math?

Wellness has its benefits. I myself found yoga as a place of tenderness from a life of ring fighting. Many cage fighting friends blow off steam and awaken their feminine side with yoga.

I wanted to do yoga but went to a Bikram hot yoga class and all the blokes were wearing Speedos. Is this really necessary?

Yes. You must wear Speedos when you practice Bikram yoga. That's the Bikram Yoga rules. Or, you could probably get away with sporting a traditional lungi yoga diaper, which is pretty hot . . .

If I do yoga will I meet more chicks?

If your intention is respect and you come with a correct demeanor this is guaranteed.

Is yoga good for your sex life?

Is there a difference? Real yogis learn first to control their body, which is what refines a proper lover, and then they learn to control their hearts and minds, which defines a grown man. Is yoga about being a circus contortionist and bending yourself like a pretzel? If that's what you're into. Yoga, by definition is a state of being, and the yogic practice can provide the tools and a vehicle to get you into the right space and time in your life. It all depends on what aspect of the practice you focus on. The yoga body is comprised of five koshas, or layers, being the body, mind, heart, energy and spirit. Addressing every part of ourselves is the least we can do.

Do yogis only eat rabbit food and why?

Some yogis live by the ahimsa, or non-harming path, which includes a vegetarian diet. I try to live a sustainable diet and lifestyle that creates the least harm whenever possible. Of course we are each entitled and accountable for our moment by moment choices. The ultimate yoga is to smile to strangers, I sense.

If yoga is so beneficial to your disposition then why is India such a mess?

India, like yoga, is the perfect paradox: at once the most superficial and spiritual experience one can possibly have; like life itself!

You recently taught in Germany. The Germans have a very logical way of thinking and have difficulty understanding irony and sarcasm. Do they understand and appreciate the subtleties of yoga or is their approach very machine-like?

German yogis are fun loving and possess depth of spirit, just as the Japanese yogis do; in other words, out of every culture on earth, there is always a population of conscious spiritual athletes who call themselves yogi.

Japan is going through some hard times at the moment – do you see yourself living there forever or would you consider moving somewhere different . . . like Bali?

I relocated my new family to the farthest southern point and opposite coast from the (Fukushima) nuclear disaster, but one is never too far from plutonium. I am thinking about Hawaii as another island community to develop in the near future.

Bali is paradise and always a welcome location for lifetime sharing. www.yogicarts.com

interwho

Martin East. DJ. Music man. Actor. And all round good geezer. He speaks to Salvador Bali.

MARTIN, spin the record . . .

I’m Martin East, age 44, born in London, moved to Bali 18 months ago. Before that I lived in Los Angeles for 12 years, left in a huff and a puff from one part of show business to another.

Getting ahead of yourself, more on the back track please.

I am from East London, and my name is a nom de plume, my real name is Brown – raised by my dad, a Scotsman, and his best friend was called East. I was quite bright in school and ahead of the class, so I skipped a lot of classes, ha, like three days a week, too boring for me. I lived in a blue-collar neighborhood and I got out of it by going to drama school, learning to be an actor, and landing some television work. I did some movies – I was in Titanic, which took me to Mexico and went to the premiere of the movie. I ended up on a television show called Babylon 5, sweating my nuts off in a prosthetic forehead for a couple of weeks in Sun Valley. I was 30-years-old at the time.

interwho

Any music in your background?

As a kid I did musicals – singing with the London Boy Singers – choir stuff. I had the bug but in my neighbourhood, in the '70s, I quickly conformed to the expectations of my peers and played football and did manly things, so to speak – no acting or singing, picked it up again at seventeen.

Okay, let’s get out of London . . .

I moved to Los Angeles – it’s kind of weird there; it offers a kind of mirror to the self; confronting. I worked out why I was acting and had no passion for it. What was I interested in was the nightlife – clubs and dancing. I was always the first on the dance floor.

Needed a lot of attention?

(Laughs), yeah, exactly, went to a few parties and heard a few friends who were DJs, who were abysmal – so bad technically, but still making money. I didn’t want to become that kind of stereotype, but I didn’t want to be waiting tables either, so I gave it a go. I gave it a spin at a party for 80 bucks after learning my friend’s records. I had no real equipment so I got drunk and faked it. Someone came up to me at the end of the gig and asked me if I wanted to DJ in Butterfly – which is a pretty big club on Sunset Boulevard. I did it, and then started playing Tuesday and Saturday nights, a happy accident.

You found your niche there – so how long have you been DJ since?

I’ve been DJ-ing 13 years – and loving it.

There’s a whole culture around it. Back in the day everything was vinyl. I used to go to the record store every day and if they moved a

record in the store I knew they’d moved it.

Things have moved on in the clubs since then . . .

Just before I came to Bali I had a lot of success in South Africa. I got into the tribal South African dance music. I played in the townships there and young black kids liked my music – lots of white people just don’t get it. It’s the most vibrant place I’ve ever played in – clubs in the back of people’s houses and other obscure venues. Every place I was told not to go, I ended up in and actually never felt safer in my life. They were so appreciative of the fact that you came to their community.

How did you end up on Bali?

I came for a gig at Oceans27 and then I went to look up an old associate that I worked with in Los Angles – he was the GM at the Rock Bar where he did parties. We ended up chatting about what he had going on there – I had some really good ideas and we started to work together, and here we are.

In my day when I wanted people to dance I’d put on Motown or Stax records – it was a given . . .

I’m the exact opposite of that, I wanna make people dance to stuff they don’t know.

Not so much the record label but the groove?

There are two kinds of DJs, in my opinion.

There’s guys out there who go on the internet and download someone else’s chart – basically they’re playing someone else ideas. There’s the other kind of DJ who comes from the tradition of New York, who take people on a journey.

Do you contribute to the music world?

Yeah, I have a record label based in Los Angeles

and I’m working on a project here with another English guy, Chris Pen. We work with an Indonesian singer, Kutniah, and we have a song out . . . also just getting ready to play in the UK and Australia.

How do you feel about the new school, as opposed to the old school, of music?

We’ve lost the art of being a curator . . . curators of music are gone. If I had a song now I could just give it to you . . . we could find a way to exchange a file and in that sense music, itself, has never been more alive. But the music business is dead.

It deserves to be dead. It was based on music sales or sheet music, royalties, from a model from 1910, and still doing the same in the 1990s.

Where do you see the music heading?

Like the porn industry. People will always pay for quality – the porn industry is similar to the music industry in the sense people started to get it all for free. So they learned to give you enough to get you aroused, but not to be satisfied. In the end though, people will always seek out quality.

Future plans?

I’m going to London next week doing a cinematic project based on alternative electronic rock thing that I’ve just finished up in Los Angeles. There’s a group of dissipated songs I’m trying to make into a concept for an album . . . then to London to do some dance tracks that we’ll release this summer on my label, House.

Your philosophy?

I live my life from one moment to the next.

I do plan ahead, but I let life happen to me just as much as I happen to life.

Zoe and Jimi.

members of the cloth

From real estate, property and finance to fashion, design and fuddled names, zoe and jimi paul are stamping their brand on the baliscape.

'Mister Zimi' is an unusual name for a store – where did that come from?

Zoe: About seven years ago when we were coming here on holiday, people always got our names confused, Zoe and Jimi, so we decided to combine them: Mister Zimi.

Have you had any training in fashion design?

I have a real-estate background and worked for a radio station in advertising. Coming to Bali frequently, I had some clothes made for myself – the kind of thing I wanted to wear but couldn’t find elsewhere. I couldn’t help thinking other women were looking for a certain type of look that they hadn’t been able to find either. Then my friends started asking me, “next time you’re in Bali can you get this made...” then their friends and their friends, and that was a good excuse to come here more often. We made leather jackets to order and that’s how it all started. It grew organically from that, but no designer background So everything is made to order – how does that work?

We’re online and we sell to Australia and other countries as well.

When we return to Australia we have ordering days based on our sample range. We bring the orders back to Bali and have the goods made. We do pop-up shops as well.

What’s a pop-up shop?

A shop that pops-up for about a week and then it's gone. We rent a space for a week, deck it out, do some promotion . . . now you see it, now you don’t. It compliments the online business very well and it brings the customer to see and try on the garments.

So you’ve come a long way from when you began . . .

We had no idea what we were doing, but now we’re full-on, this

is our business and it’s exciting, we’re getting bigger and bigger and we’ve hired a PR person. The good thing about it is, no one else is doing what we’re doing.

Is everything made on Bali?

Yes, no big manufacturing process – Balinese villagers and some Javanese – individual and personalized. We’ve been using these guys from day one and they understand the way we do our business and are really responsive.

Jimi, some background please...

I worked in property and finance. We decided a year and a half ago to give it a shot full-time and since then the business has grown a lot quicker than we anticipated.

What skills do you bring to the company?

Basically the business side of things, but I do contribute to fabric designs and so forth.

What’s your target market?

Bohemian ‘70s/’80s style. We do two seasons a year, nothing specific to weather; ages from 15 to 70 . . . just depends, it’s not about fashion per se, it’s more of a feeling for what will work.

I feel that if you’ve got style you will be able to wear our stuff forever.

Do you sell accessories as well as garments?

Yes. We do boots, flats, gladiator sandals, leather bags, silk scarves and cute purses.

What's your philosophy for a successful business?

I want to work to live, not live to work. Back in Melbourne I was working from seven in the morning until seven at night and I would come home and see Zoe for four hours . . .that's no way to be.

interview Jewelry maker to the stars...swathimaa's ideas are stardust.

Swathimaa, let's start with your name. Where's it from – and where are you from?

I was born in Berlin and have lived most of my life in beautiful places around the world, including spending many years at an ashram in Southern India. That's where I got my name 'Swathimaa'. It was given to me by my teacher and good friend, Sri Kaleshwar.

When I asked him what it meant he said, "always dazzling star". I found out later that in India's astrology, 'Swathi' is the name for the brightest star in the sky.

Tell us about your jewelry and how you came to design it.

I was first introduced to Rudraksha beads, the core element of our jewelry, in India.

They are seeds of a blue fruit that grow on the Rudraksha tree indigenous to the Himalayas. They're widely revered by both Hindus and Buddhists and considered sacred power objects. Traditionally, they're strung on a necklace called a 'mala' and used for meditation and healing. They really have an amazing power and there is a variety of Rudraksha, some very rare, that have specific channels to influence your life, both spiritually and materially. The inspiration to design soul jewelry came when I had a spiritual center in Hong Kong and offered Rudraksha malas to my students for their mantra meditation practice. In researching malas that were already available, I found that while many seemed to have a certain beauty, they were lacking in power. In order for Rudraksha to produce the fullest effects, their real power has to be unlocked by specific mantras and energizing techniques. That's the secret. My teacher, Sri Kaleshwar, who is considered one of the most powerful saints in India, shared this knowledge with me and gave me his blessings to create sacred jewelry.

Where does the name Shivaloka come from?

'Shivaloka' is a Sanskrit word meaning "where Shiva resides." Shiva is also called Mahadeva, the great God. He is the embodiment of pure consciousness. We took Shivaloka as our company name because the core ingredient of our jewelry is the Rudraksha. Rudraksha translates as "the tears of Shiva" which he gave to the world out of compassion for mankind's suffering.

Do you truly believe jewelry can be imbued with spiritual powers?

Absolutely. I understand people's skepticism because how it works is a mystery.

But, personally, I've not only experienced amazing things with them, I also hear the feedback from our clients. We choose the specific components of our jewelry because they've been proven to be an uplifting source for those who wear them. It may take an "inner" eye to recognize the mechanisms but the effects are something everyone can experience. There are 6,500-year-old scriptures, like the Shiva Puranas, describing their spiritual uses and effects. Sacred jewelry is an ancient science, based on research and direct experience. It's also recommended as a powerful remedy in Vedic astrology.

There's a few famous names wearing your pieces, how did the celebrity connection come about?

A lot of it is word-of-mouth. Steve Tyler found us through a healer in LA. Cindy Crawford

heard about us from a stylist and gives many of our pieces as gifts to friends. We connected with others like Roberto Cavalli, Lenny Kravitz and Karolina Kurkova at the Paris and Milan fashion shows. And we met Paul Haggis, Gerard Butler, Moran Atias and many others through sponsoring charitable events such as the Artists for Peace and Justice fundraiser for Haiti held at the Cannes Film Festival. It's great that they appreciate our jewelry and what we are about and are inspired to spread the word.

If we're not in Bali, where else could we buy your jewelry?

Our jewelry can be found on our website – www.omshivaloka.com – and at stores in Hong Kong, Phuket, the US, Australia and Europe. Our store in Ubud is where people can purchase the jewelry at factory-direct prices, as well as view and purchase new designs before they can be found at retail venues around the world.

We hear you can use them in conjunction with a mantra? Do you 'instruct' your customers in how to use the jewelry?

Yes, when asked, we do. For those who are interested, we recommend using the jewelry in combination with a mantra so that it makes it an even more powerful object.

Energetically, when a mala is charged through meditation, it holds that power for a very long time. It is said to last for up to seven generations. So, traditionally, people pass them down as family heirlooms.

Do people ever buy your pieces simply as jewelry, without any thought of the reason it came about?

Of course. Not everyone comes to the store with a spiritual intent, not consciously anyway. Many come because they want something beautiful that goes with their outfit or to buy as gifts for family and friends. And that's great, too, because we know the jewelry will positively influence their lives just by wearing it – whether they believe in it or not. Certainly, beauty is an inspiration and it's lovely to see that what we create is appreciated for that as well.

How do you feel about making a commercial venture out of something based in the spiritual dimension? Is it good for your karma?

Essentially, karma is a law of balance. And spirituality is about creating more positivity in your life and in the world. I mean, if you knew of a beautiful shortcut to get to your destination, wouldn't you take it? That's what spirituality offers. And an exchange is necessary to receive those benefits. There's a common misconception running in the world when it comes to spirituality and materialism. People think they contradict each other, that money isn't spiritual. But, money is a 'shakti', a power, an energy that comes or goes, depending on our karma. It's neutral. It's how you use it that makes it positive or negative.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years' time?

With God's grace, that's a future brighter than I can suppose right now. Personally, I'm grateful for today.

Swathimaa.

spas Katie Truman does the hard work for you and researches the very best of the best palaces of pamperology.

SO you’ve got more black roots than Oprah, your hair feels like a last-century batch of alang-alang, your chakras are all over the shop, or you just simply want to be pampered, soothed and nurtured? The good news is: you’re on the right island to put right all the above and second, you’re reading the right article. The Yak takes you on a fiendishly useful round-up of Bali’s finest spas because, after all….. you are worth it.

The Spa @ Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay Essentially holistic, Four Season’s The Spa offers deeply nurturing and balancing experiences. Combining Asian treatments with global ingredients, they incorporate local traditions that celebrate the healing and cleansing benefits of water, sea salt and crystal therapy. Prime examples are their therapeutic Signature Water Rituals – Marine Algae, Bio-Rhythm and Mimpi Manis (Dreaming Waters).

Four Season’s idyllic beachside setting also helps: treatment suites, like the resort, reflect traditional Balinese architecture within gorgeous gardens surveying Jimbaran Bay. Foreshore Rituals, like Ocean Opulence (120min) – with warmed sea shell body massage – get up, close and personal to nature in beachfront traditional bales, soothing with natural acoustics of waves and waterfalls. Superior new additions include Night Fire Yoga (75min; Saturday) illuminated by flaming torches at their oceanfront yoga pavilion and Manitini sessions, a sublime concoction of outdoor mani’s and pedi’s, Martinis (like Pomegrana-tini) and your BF’s – why didn’t someone think of this before? www.fourseasons.com/jimbaranbay Anantara Spa @ Anantara Seminyak Bali Slap-bang on Seminyak beachfront, Anantara Resort is hipsville personified and their chic fourth - floor spa offers personal iPod connection, terrazzo stone baths and partial Indian Ocean views. But their indulgent treatments regress to more traditional Asian leanings, fostering balance, radiance and serenity. Spa products are hand-made in-house, 100 per cent natural and chemical-free, using freshest indigenous ingredients – from sandalwood and alang alang to vanilla pods, freshlygarnered from west Bali jungles. The latter, constituting exclusive Vanilla Magic Oil, features in Rooftop Signature Massage – blissful long strokes with acupressure.

Facial Treatments include Fresh Fruit Rituals, with beautifying Indonesian tropical fruits such as fresh avocado and candlenut, while Body Rituals has Balinese Coffee and Carrot Conditioner, incorporating soft volcanic mud: an original Anantara recipe for an invigorating scrub-down. Naturally, Thai-owned Anantara features well-known Thai

Herbal Compress, combined with body massage of warmed herbal the oils. The Kid’s spa menu features a baby massage and multi-day packages offer daily yoga sessions. www.anantara.com/ www.bali.anantara.com Yak Map P.11 Fabulously Feet Foot salons can be accused of being clinical, generic – even “down-market.”

Not Fabulously Feet, a Singaporean professional foot spa franchise, which now (thank the Gods) is open in Seminyak. Totally dedicated to pampering foot care, this new generation foot spa welcomes with stylish surrounds, bold colours and funky comfy seating – they even provide a kid’s sweet store.

Self-proclaimed “Foot Pamperologists,” Fabulously Feet takes foot pampering to an art form with Nirvana-like foot massages and masks, accupression techniques and pedicures, with an exclusive range of custom-made products (also retailing) to heal and revive tired, swollen feet, unspeakable bunions, tough-as-old-leather heels, or after-effects of sky-high, Manola Blahniks. A soothing aromatherapy foot bath precedes ‘walk of sensations’ and treatments with personalized IPods. Playful packages include ‘Departure – Leaving Bali in Style’: pre-flight deluxe foot pressure massage to activate circulation, plus take-away jet-lag pack, with FF’s famed jet-lag gel and lotion. www.fabulouslyfeet.com Yak Map Y.11 Luxe Lounge Spa @ Sentosa Private Villas Luxe Lounge Spa beautifully fits in with their base of luxurious Sentosa Private Villas and Seminyak – sleek contemporary style, with rich timbers, terracotta and earthy-toned furnishings. This tranquil, polished sanctuary also emanates its essence: modern Indonesian deluxe treatments infused with western techniques.

You won’t find any lulurs or borehs here; instead, contemporary signatures, like Metrosexual Menu – right up Seminyak’s street (literally), “designed for male spa enthusiasts” and Alternative Therapies, featuring (for brave souls), Colonic Hydrotherapy – this also incorporated in 3-hour, Detoxification and Hydrotherapy.

Aesthetic Treatments feature Tui Na Facial Massage and Cooling Jade Roller, based on ancient facial rolling techniques of jade – new for Bali. Massage aficionados will love Luxe Lounges’ strong, modern takes on ancient techniques; try the restorative Traditional Balinese Massage, with scent-sational lemongrass and orange oils.

Signature packages include Symmetry Couple’s Experience and wicked Chocolate Fondue Body Indulgence (2hrs 15 min) – heaven (or hell) for weightwatchers. www.balisentosa.com

Tugu Hotel.

spas Theta Spa.

Amo Beauty Spa Savvy gals (or guys) in dire need of serious beauty overhaul or basic grooming, hot foot it over to Amo – a hip hive of activity in upcoming Petitenget.

The creation of former US model, Navia Nguyen Robertson, this expat/celeb haunt is a full-services beauty parlour for women, men and children, from root retouches to Bridal Make-up, offering quality salon products and expertise.

Order from the Juice Bar, tap into WiFi on your Blackberry, and get cracking on looking hot. At the intimate mani-pedi-hair salon, recline into the line of black leather armchairs while a posse of therapists, file, buff, moisturize and paint feet and hands, or get stuck into extensive hair care. Upstairs private rooms offer signature Amo Scrub, a scrumptious skin revitalizer, where volcanic clay body masks are washed off by multiple rainwater showers, or sensational facial treatments, Diamond Head Microdermabrasion and Hollywood de rigueur, Oxygen Facial. There’s also children’s mani-pedis, extensive men’s waxing menu, ‘Red Carpet Ready’ Package and brand-new Reflexology Suite. www.amospa.com

Yak Map O.5 The SPA @ The Bale Hidden away in uber-stylish The Bale, The Spa mirrors the boutique resort in its minimalist, contemporary design, balancing and rejuvenating body and soul concept and no kid’s policy. This little gem offers an eclectic range of spa treatments and holistic therapies, with authentic massages, body and facial treatments inspired

by Balinese and Indonesian healing rituals – some with avant-garde twists. Natural products highlight the islands’ gorgeous bounty. Signature treatments include Crystal

the private spa.

Healing Hot Stone Therapy and Seashell Massage, incorporating Hawaiian lomi-lomi techniques – both resulting in complete bliss. Fab facials include Pearl Infused, with pearl and marine extract, while special packages include Balinese Rice Body treatment (120min), with organic rice body scrub. Complimenting the serene wellness, the Spa’s Bliss Restaurant dishes-up health-giving, organic cuisine, while the discerning Wellness Menu offers Yoga and Meditation, plus ‘Masters in Residence’ programme. www.thebale.com Spa Alila @ Alila Villas Soori Sandwiched between rice terraces and black-sand beaches, in secluded Tabanan, Spa Alila is a secret sanctuary within already private Alila Villas Soori. A luxurious, earthy-hued cocoon tucked under a water body, Spa Alila balances naturally with sublime spa rituals and deeply therapeutic massages (including traditional Balinese ‘Sayang, Sayang’ nurturing techniques) administered by experienced therapists.

Facials, massages, scrubs and wraps come with indulgences like heated terrazzo massage beds, while all-day Spa Packages offer personal therapists and unlimited pampering. Complimentary yoga classes and hair spa, derived from Indonesian beauty traditions, also feature.

Signatures include Toning and Anti-Cellulite Body Ritual (150 min), incorporating seaweed wrap, or Four-Hands Massage, where two masseuses harmoniously blend Balinese long-strokes, acupressure and Swedish-style, deep tissue massaging. Nourishing products are 100% pure and natural from indigenous produce, including Alila’s signature cold-pressed virgin coconut oil. www.alilahotels.com/soori

bali sentosa.

alila soori.

four seasons resort.

the laguna.

spas Laguna Spa and Villa @ The Laguna, Luxury Collection Resort & Spa Starwood’s Luxury Collection Spas highlight destination indigenous experiences and Laguna Spa and Villa, inside Nusa Dua’s sprawling Laguna Resort, is no exception. Housed in a classical Balinese dark-timbered retreat, complete with courtyard bathing of stone Jacuzzi and cold plunge pool, traditional local treatments feature pure coconut-fest signatures, Laguna Kelapa Ritual (120min) and Lengis Nyuh hair treatment, plus natural island products.

But this sumptuous health, beauty and wellness centre also presents a smorgasbord of lavish global treatments, from age-old therapies like Kalari (Indian) Massage and exclusive Holistic Treatments with resident holistic therapist (like 3-day Cleansing Programme and Bayu Sakti) to ultra-modern, face and body care with advanced Futuresse and BABOR products. Couples should book the ultra-private Spa Villa, offering sensuous indulges like Sweet Dreams, Late Night Spa Treatment, or beachside bale, for hand-made chocolates, cocktails and Moonlight Massage. www.luxurycollection.com/bali Remède Spa @ St Regis Bali Within St Regis’ opulent confines, Remède Spa soothes with a 2899sqm haven of serenity, complete with koi ponds, diaphanous butterfly projections and ethereally elegant treatment rooms. Impeccable standards run from highly-trained therapists to exclusive Remède spa products.

The gourmet-style menu features Rituals, Massages, Facials, Body and Face Treatments and Holistic Treatments – some island-derived with traditional approaches. Signatures include world-exclusive, Bloody Mary Inspired Ritual (a treatment, not a drink) paying homage to St Regis’ trademark cocktail and Remède Customized Massage, combining Shiatsu, Swedish and deep-tissue techniques, enhanced with warmed paraffin. Hydrotherapy sessions in Aqua-Vitale Pool are insanely relaxing; sea salt-water and targeted massage jets help boost circulation and eliminate toxins – plunge in the cold pool afterwards. Holistic and Wellness regimes include “Rebalance,” Herbal Cures with the holistic consultant and sunrise yoga. Superior Salon services take excellent care of men’s grooming. www.stregis.com/Bali Theta Spa by the Sea A divine, independently-owned oasis within Ramada Bintang Bali Resort – alongside Kuta’s quieter shores – Theta’s funky Asian-contemporary setting contrasts with its emphasis on traditional Indonesian rituals, remedies and (strong) massage methodology. Nature is a constant ingredient: in approach, setting and ingredients – fresh organic herbs, seasonal produce and purest essential oils.

Some rooms are glass-encased, directly facing the ocean: loved-up luvvies should book a chic Couple Spa Room, heavenly for sunset-glow flower baths a deux. For foot, hand and head indulgences, like Theta Foot Ritual, try the sunshine-drenched

Communal Room, with IPod-wired, comfy loungers. Theta is one of the best spots to experience Indo traditions like Royal Javanese Lulur or Island Inspired Massage (based on centuries-old “Pijat” stokes), but modern offerings include convenientlyclose-to-the-airport, post-flight, Jet-lag Regulator. Bali-style serene and refreshingly relaxed, they even stock Champagne to accompany treatments – now that’s bliss! www.thetaspa.com

Yak Map C.14 Waroeng Djamoe Spa @ Hotel Tugu Bali Overlooking Canggu Beach, Hotel Tugu Bali celebrates old Indonesia’s history, art and culture: wildly atmospheric Waroeng Djamoe Spa meanwhile connects to the mystical East, with centuries-old Javanese and Balinese authentic therapies, rituals and treatments combining spirituality with healing. Island-sourced organic ingredients and oils, based on ancient traditions, include Tugu’s Juara products.

Treatments take place in five intoxicatingly charming Kamars (chambers) – plus outdoor ‘gubuk’ – separated by labyrinth-like stone walkways: like Tugu, adorned with antiques and artworks. Signatures include Gemulai Penari Bali, eight-hour massage and bathing ritual based on traditional Balinese dance movements, and profound meditative therapy, Pijitan (massage) Mantra, within mystical Kamar Mantra. Deep healing massage with warmed virgin coconut oil and steamed herbal compress, mantra chanting and finale, Hindu blessing – and stress begone!

Tugu’s newly revised menu delves deeper into Balinese spirituality, customs and cerebral healing, with Soul Blessing, CranioSacral Healing therapy and temple Pray Session. www.tuguhotels.com

Yak Map O.1 The Private Spa Wellness Center With Stress Prevention Application (SPA!), this holistic Zen-den in Seminyak’s heart offers ground-breaking, personalized healing, beauty and wellness ‘Treatments’ which involve traditional rituals and advanced technology therapies.

A contemporary-style, serene sanctuary, differently themed treatment rooms (Indian, Moroccan, Thai, etc) plus Recovery Lounge frame the signature focal point, Vitality Hydrotherapy Pool. This Indonesian exclusive uses bio-energized water (as does Herbal Hamam and Vichy Shower) and offers various hydrotherapy treatments, like Detox Revitalizing with Bio Water Ritual (four hours plus).

Other unique highlights include balancing Chakra Alignment, with pre and post-treatment Prognos Vitality Diagnosis (scientifically measuring bio-energy imbalances) and trademark Dancing Silk Art Movement. Environmentally proactive PSWC has their own on-site laboratory producing freshly sourced, organic products (which also retail), but results-driven Facial Care features spa care world leader, Pevonia Botanica, combining finest ingredients with techno-advanced formulas.

Outstanding My-Oxy Caviar De-aging, pure caviar-based anti-ageing treatment, visibly reduces lines and wrinkles – put another way, wipes years off your face. www.privatespawellnesscenter.com Yak Map U.11

venting in a villa

Rachel Love is spoiled rotten as she luxuriates in Ayana's Cliff Villa.

It’s 8am and I’m still smiling at the “Good Morning Rachel” message that has been spelled out in pebbles and flowers on the pool terrace of my Ocean View Cliff Villa at Ayana Resort and Spa. I learn later that my personal butler had tiptoed into the Cliffside garden at 6am to prepare this sweet surprise for me. The catchphrase for the Villas at Ayana is ‘A Luxurious New Awakening,’ and my own luxurious awakening continues with a Floating Champagne Brunch. I slip into my plunge pool for this, and enjoy a magnificent feast of smoked salmon, cheese, tobiko, toast and eggs, a big bowl of strawberries and cream, orange juice, coffee and, of course, champagne, served on a floating tray.

Ayana’s splendid Cliff Villas represent a ‘resort within a resort’, entered via an exclusive lobby that appears to float upon a moat. My one-bedroom thatched villa has a private 11-metre plunge pool, a relaxation gazebo, an elegant living room, a bedroom fit for a king and queen, and a palatial bathroom with a soaking tub for two, complete with an ornately carved stone surround. In fact, the bathroom is so huge it took me ages minutes to find the shower. The stylish interior of my fancy pad is characterised by creamy-white palimanan stone, dark wood, rich fabrics and some beautiful local artefacts, while the picture of opulence is completed with all of the latest modern comforts.

It is the service, however, that is truly extraordinary. The dedicated 24-hour butlers at the Villas at Ayana have all undergone extensive training in the finer points of etiquette by the UK-based Guild of Professional English Butlers, the same organisation that sets the standards for the British Royal Family’s staff. Adhering to the traits and principals of the profession, the butlers are discreet, unflappable, loyal, dedicated, flexible, and able to cope with any demand; they certainly know how to make their guests feel special. Their duties include tasks such as unpacking luggage, pressing clothes, drawing rose-petal strewn baths, making restaurant and spa bookings, and checking rooms to ensure that nothing has been left behind. An exceptionally high level of attention to detail is paramount, yet the real skill of these butlers is the ability to think on their feet, which means anticipating what guests will want even before they know it themselves. When I arrived, my butler lent me a mobile phone so that I could call him whenever I needed

him, but it turned out that I never used it because he was always one step ahead of me.

The previous day, after a tasty lunch at Sami Sami – the resort’s Italian restaurant, I spent an afternoon at the spa, which is known as Thermes Marins Bali. Here, I took a journey through the gurgling, humming channels and water corridors, therapeutic jetstreams, microbubbles, water massages and aqua-beds of the Aquatonic seawater therapy pool, followed by a relaxing hot shell massage. Later I sipped a classic mojito while watching the sunset from the gravitydefying Rock Bar (are there really enough adjectives to describe the venues at Ayana?), and relished a seafood dinner at the sand-floored Kisik restaurant on the cliff edge. On each occasion my wonderful butler escorted me to my destination and was ready and waiting with a golf buggy to transport me to my next port of call or drive me ‘home’ to my villa.

Today – sadly my final day at Ayana – I participate in a unique perfume-making workshop at the L'Atelier Parfums & Creations studio, which is set in the grounds of the resort. Under the guidance of French perfumer Nora Gasparini, I answer a short questionnaire which determines my preferences and personality traits, after which I select the essences, fragrances and raw materials with which to create my own blend of perfume. The result is a 30ml bottle, labelled with the funky name of my choice, inside a sleek leather travel case.

Even as I get ready to check out of my villa, the surprises continue to flow, and my butler presents me with an unexpected wrapped gift of a decorative candle. I learn that guests at the villas are spoiled with a gift on a daily basis, so those who have stayed for a week or more might just need an extra baggage allowance when their finally board their planes home.

Happily, my trip home only involves a short car journey, which means I can enjoy the surprises of Ayana Resort and Spa as often as I like. www.ayanaresort.com

you time.

heidi hi.

oral pleaasures

Heidi Flanagan joins Uma and Como resorts as Executive Chef – praise be, writes Sarah Douglas.

Heidi Dallas Flanagan loves her new life. Her Road to Bali story began as a child. Returning to the island as executive chef for luxury resorts Como Shambhala and Uma Ubud is the realisation of a dream, which has loomed larger over the past two years.

“I’ve been coming to Bali since I was a child on vacation with my parents. I think I’ve been 15 times,” she says.

“The last couple of trips, though, have left me with a feeling that I would like to live here, and work here, and when the opportunity arose it was like a dream come true.”

Working for two properties with very different culinary profiles has its challenges and Heidi is excited about all that entails.

Including gaining a mastery of raw food, which is a highlight of the Como Shambhala menu. In this case she bows to the greater knowledge of raw food guru Diana von Cranach and the experienced team at Como.

“I have been cooking since I enrolled in catering college at 17,” Heidi says.

“I’ve travelled and cooked in Australia, London and Ibiza and have lots of experience with Asian food but raw food is new for me and I was worried at first that it would be a hurdle.

“Luckily I have such great support and a talented team in place, so I am learning while working, it’s a great opportunity.”

A Northern beaches girl from Sydney who grew up in the surf, Heidi has come most recently from a very sophisticated culinary experience with a young group in Sydney that opened three wine bar restaurants in quick succession.

She was executive chef at all three over the past few years. “ First we opened in Kings Cross in Sydney - the Gazebo Wine Garden - then not long after that I moved to the Crown Street Winery which was a huge success and a massive undertaking,” she says.

“When I saw they had plans to open on Manly Beach it was like a sign that I could be closer to home and I took that one on next. It

was exhausting and lots of fun but my Bali visits made me realise I was ready to move on.

“I started coming home with the Bali blues, it was time to try.”

Heidi is the typical Australian beach girl with fair hair and freckles who says what she thinks and is happy to roll up her sleeves and work together with a team. Being a woman in this environment is a cultural leap that she is well aware of.

“I have to watch my ‘p’s and ‘q’s here. There are definitely cultural differences that need to be addressed, but that is part of the experience, and I knew very well what it would be like, which made it easier to slip into it.”

While Como Shambhala has a high profile as one of the island’s most luxurious health-driven resorts, Uma has a lower profile and yet foodies know about this place. With a Neil Perry-trained executive chef, the menu bears his influence. Heidi doesn’t plan to mess with success but rather to slowly add a little of her own culinary personality in keeping with the profile and the team she has grown to respect.

The food at Uma is a wonderfully evocative mix of Asian styles including Chinese, Indian, Thai and Indonesian that includes some uber-elegant dishes like deep fried duck eggs served with sweet pork and caramel sauce, and a deconstructed red curry that features a grilled wagyu steak atop a flavourful curry sauce created from an traditional family-style recipe.

At both resorts the hallmarks are the freshest produce, high quality ingredients and skilful cooking. With six restaurant menus to oversee and a large team in the kitchen, Heidi is relishing the challenges and is enjoying her new life in Bali.

Having worked the stoves constantly since she was 17, Heidi still maintains she loves to cook and as far as the stylish brand of raw food at Como is concerned, she is happy to learn.

“It isn’t rocket science after all,” she laughs.

oral pleasures

Ku Dé Ta Chef Will Goldfarb makes the divine seem simple.

Luxurious, sweet, multi-layered and divine – these are the creations of one of our finest pastry chefs, Ku Dé Ta’s Will Goldfarb.

Renowned in his home-town of New York as one of the most creative pastry chefs, he has called the kitchens of Ku home for almost two years. With a team of 12 dedicated members, they create every detail of their desserts from the sorbets to the macaroons, the pastries, cakes, meringues and jellies to name a few of the luscious components of the celebrated dessert offerings.

A martini glass with layers of textural classics from a dribble of fruity olive oil on the base to a creamy white chocolate mousse that floats on top, to a layer of flavourful lime jelly topped with a light-as-air meringue, with a final flourish of tiny basil crumbs and sea salt, speaks volumes about the delicate and delectable offerings that decorate the menu.

The trick of the most successful desserts is to make the complicated seem simple, to take a variety of flavours and textures to titillate each and every tastebud.

So says Will Goldfarb, whose creative desserts are in a class of their own.

“I have been here almost two years and in that time we have increased the degree of difficulty in these desserts. I aim firstly to create dishes that taste delicious and look good yet also are a spectacle for the diner, something of an event that they can enjoy and that involves the senses.”

Part of the Ku Dé Ta team of chefs – who have put this restaurant on the map as far more than a party venue - Will

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says that they get along well, each bouncing off the other, working together to create menus that compliment each other.

Nowhere is this more evident than on the dessert menu. With evocative names like the Pina Colada - a frothy concoction that is visually theatrical and packs a real flavour punch. Home-made pineapple ice cream, on top of a slice of coconut cake, sprinkled with macaroon crumbs, decorated with shards of creamy toffee and topped with a foam that encases real bubbles of rum – it is a spiked fantasy that combines the best elements of the classic cocktail.

Yet another new entry on the menu is the palet d’or – a seemingly simple dessert of milk chocolate mousse adorned with frozen twigs of mango and passionfruit coulis. It is not until the mousse is cut into that the real finesse is revealed. A layer of tangy mango serves as a base, layers of passionfruit and mango compliment the creamy mousse and shards of chocolate create yet another textural layer. It is a triumph.

Will has increased the degree of difficulty with each season’s menu and his team, he says, meets the challenge every time, to create every element so that it appears simplicity itself.

“We have a lot of groups who come in and they may choose the whole dessert menu . . . we play with the composition so that the colours, the range of serving dishes and the flavours all play off one another. It is meant to be a spectacle but it all comes down to does it look good, does it taste good.” Job done. S.D.

naughty but nice.

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Mama Mia.

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oral pleasures

all change is good at evo, writes Sarah Douglas

IT was time to shrug off the Thai tag and shake things up.

Sentosa Private Villas’ restaurant, EVO, and its executive chef Bill Collier, had just the recipe. Bill has found his calling here, recreating dishes he grew up with – authentic Italian recipes that speak volumes about the passion for ingredient-driven food.

Americans have devised their own style of Italian food, based on wonderful home-style cooking but somehow transformed over time. Dishes have adapted to changing tastes, yet still always hark back to the original. Bill is a native New Yorker who grew up in Greenwich Village. His roots go straight back to Sicily and so does his cooking, learned from his grandmother and his mother.

Thus the new incarnation of EVO comes with set of recipes inspired by mama, who was inspired by her mama, and so on as long as the family remembers. Taking the dishes he loved growing up as inspiration, he has created a menu that speaks lovingly of the past but feels entirely modern.

“It’s all about making authentic home-style dishes, then tweaking them and plating them so that they look and feel contemporary,” he explains.

Waxing lyrical about these dishes arouses a whole new level of passion – it’s infectious, this talk of fabulous slow-cooked sauces and wine soaked marinades; of fabulous salumeria and perfect tomatoes.

Sharing plates is typically Italian – many families sit down night after night to giant bowls of pasta and vats of sauce, cooked all day. Bill has developed

a menu based on his experiences. And the dishes can be shared or served a la carte.

His menu begins with Qualcosina – little things.

These include some dreamy crostone with toppings like lobster cream and poached hen (he only uses hens as the meat is sweeter); Arancini, rice balls served with a long cooked ragu, and more. He claims that the beauty of this menu is that all things are familiar but never pedestrian.

“This is not the Italian food you find so often in local restaurants,” Bill says.

“We source the most authentic ingredients and prepare the food as simply as possible. Some of these recipes need twelve hours of cooking, some mere minutes.

“But we have strived to serve high quality, honest dishes full of flavour.” . . . dreamy meat dishes, including a range of steaks, to liberating pasta dishes and a great range of seafood using fresh local varieties prepared with Italian attitude.

There is plenty of attitude in this menu and this is where the New York state of mind is most evident.

With a resort running at full capacity, he has a captive audience, but EVO also attracts a fair share of diners from beyond the hotel.

Lunch offers a lighter, shorter menu. Dinner is a slightly more serious affair, but Bill doesn’t take it too seriously. This is food he loves to eat and food he loves to cook, it doesn’t take long to realise that this is something pretty much everyone will love. Viva Italia!

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oral pleasures

Life is too short to eat bad pizza – follow us. By Sarah Douglas.

Café Marzano Born of three generations, Marzano laid claim to the best pizza on Bali. The café was then sold and standards seemed to drop but thankfully for pizza lovers, another Italian took to the ovens and the pies are almost as good as the original. Unassuming and delicious, Marzano packs in punters because it is cheap, cheerful and they turn out a mean pie in minutes. With a perfect crisp, thin crust with just the right amount of chew and slightly charred edges, Marzano stays with the familiar toppings and doesn’t venture down any gourmet sidetracks, and that’s why we love it. Melting mozzarella, tangy tomato sauce and a saucy Italian to cook it, the wood fired oven is blasting all day long and the Mediterranean blue and white theme has us reaching for the raffiaclad chianti – if only they had it. Washed down with a slightly improved wine list, the menu also offers simple pastas, calzones, simple salads and friendly cheerful service.

Tel. 8744438.

Yak Map S.13 Zanzibar The daddy of Bali’s Italian restaurants, Zanzibar has evolved from a simple seaside Italian eatery into a two-storey, modern classic. There are times when a skimpy pizza simply won’t do and this is the time to head for Zanzibar and enjoy a class act. Italian owned and with an Italian in the kitchen, the pizzas are both classic and ingredient-driven. More Roman and robust than some but the crust is always perfectly turned out, chewy and flavourful with generous toppings to make this more of a meal than a snack.

Zanzibar also offers a full menu of Italian favourites, good grills, big organic salads and an ocean view.

Tel. 733528 Yak Map R.14 Word of Mouth They don’t even call it a pizza, but rather flat bread, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fabulously delicious and creative. Like everything this Italian/

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Malaysian couple does from furniture to fashion, retail to architecture, the food at this funky bar/ café cum showroom, is designed to provide a little surprise and some visual entertainment along with sustenance. Vegetarian toppings include chargrilled zucchini with raisins, pine nuts and feta; prosciutto, pear and dried figs and caramelised onion, feta and parsley. Word of Mouth’s Italian-inspired menu is compact and full of flavour, with plenty of offerings to share or accompany one of their fabulous designer cocktails or a nice glass of wine. Very urbane and modern, these flat breads appeal for flavour and fun.

Tel. 8475797 Yak Map W.10 Sasa Sasa is so sweet and homey, it is often overlooked for its flashier cousins. But do not be deceived, the food here is excellent and the pizzas are a perfect example of the attention to detail and the love that you can literally taste in the food. Named for its owner, Sasa is a Naples native, the home of pizza and he can relay the history as well as the challenges of making pizza here, finding authentic ingredients from the 00 flour to the correct mozzarella. The mosaic-tiled, wood fired pizza oven holds pride of place on the terrace of this Oberoi Road restaurant. It’s a beauty.

The toppings are very trad but offer plenty of variety and with classic sensibility the toppings don’t overload the pie. The crust is crisper than some, with a lovely colour. Some interesting variations feature ricotta and creamed spinach, four cheeses and a spicy diavola with fresh birds eye chilli. The menu, the service and the pizzas are offered with classic Italian style and the ingredients remain as true to the original as is possible.

Tel. 736638 Yak Map T.7 Pizza Boy New boys on the block, two friends have opened Pizza Boy on the road to Canggu and have modelled

their business on the success of the simple pizza pie. This seems to have struck the right chord with locals as a steady stream of pizzas head out the door in their signature red and tan boxes. The menu of toppings offers a great variety for the pizza lovers.

On a thin, flaky crust with just the right amount of charring, simple toppings like the margarita are satisfying in themselves - add some Italian sausage and onion it takes on more flavour; a prosciutto and rucola topping atop the margarita is luxuriously piled high and is the star item on the menu. With almost twenty flavours to choose from there is something here for all pizza lovers. Best of all they emerge from the wood-fired pizza oven bubbling to perfection and are shipped out, or eaten in within moments.

A small menu of interesting salads and satisfying pastas will suit non-pizza-lovers. Eat in or take away.

Tel. 8225137 Evo With the redesign and creation of Sentosa’s signature restaurant, Evo’s elegant Italian menu features a small range of pizzas that are slim and sexy. On a perfect double fermented light-as-air base, the New York-born Italian chef, Bill, has shunned all thoughts of a New York style pizza and gone back to his Sicilian heritage for inspiration. Evo’s advantage in the pizza stakes is his luxurious ingredients. Here he creates the tomato sauce from marzano tomatoes – just cooked and mashed with onion and garlic to flavour – a little salt and that’s it. He buys a low moisture mozzarella that helps the crust to remain crisp, and varies it with fresh bocconcini to play off the other ingredients. Toppings include his in-house pepperoni, made to an old recipe, white anchovies which are distinctly different from the tinned variety most often found. Fresh cherry tomatoes, cured in-house, pair with delicate squash blossoms.

Bill describes Evo’s pizzas as familiar but never pedestrian.

Tel. 730333 Yak Map O.6

constant wining

p o o l p a r t y Katrina Valkenburg enjoys some adult fun at the pool.

For some people pool parties evoke memories of a childhood long passed, of hot summer days, balmy nights, gentle sea breezes, games and laughter.

Although I too have similar memories, I have a couple of additional ones that make me quietly giggle whenever I think of them.

I grew up in the swinging ‘60s in Sydney at a time when pools had become quite commonplace. My best friends had a kidney-shaped pool, now terribly passé, and it was the best babysitter our mothers had – we would frolic for hours on end while they prepared lunch, sipped on cold glasses of Mosel and sang along to the heart throbs of the day, Andy Williams and Johnny Mathis.

On balmy evenings, they would hold cocktail parties to which my brother and I were always invited, presumably to keep their own children happily entertained.

We loved performing for them – one of my favourites was 'mermaids and lost sailors' which never failed to elicit chuckles from the assorted guests, no doubt due entirely to our complete innocence.

After we were sent to bed, the party would continue on as the parents took to the cool waters and become more voluble with hilarity that would crescendo to high pitched squeals as they splashed about doing who knows what?

Many years later I discovered the adult fun that could be had in a swimming pool, preferably in the tropics where the temperature remains that of the human body all through the night.

The ingredients required are as easy as: 1. Good friend/s 2.

Plastic glasses 3.

A pitcher full to the brim with desired quencher (see below): You can now buy all manner of attractive plastic glasses and pitchers, including wine glasses, high balls, beer steins, Champagne flutes and tumblers. What no one wants is a broken glass in the swimming pool, which recently occurred at my house. The pool needed three whole days to be drained before removing the glass and refilling – which took another four days.

Requiring yet another 24 hours clearing the water of

sediments, it meant I was ‘out of water’ for eight days – way too much time away from the fun and games provided by mummy’s little helper. If the long days and even longer nights have addled your brain and you are without inspiration, here are a couple of my favourite pool party recipes: The Campari Blush A truly refreshing cocktail that’s extremely quick to make and even quicker to imbibe.

Start with adding crushed ice to a good sized tumbler, add a healthy quantity of vodka, wave tonic over and add a good dash of Campari to the top giving the drink a pretty blush. Add a slice of orange or lemon.

Night and Day This cocktail should not be stirred so that the layers of different ingredients come at the drinker one by one.

Add the ingredients in the following order to a large wine goblet filled with crushed ice.

4 ½ tbsp champagne or a good, dry sparkling wine like 3 tsp cognac 2 tsp Grand Marnier 1 tsp Campari Sangria made with Rosé In recent years, sangria has made a much-welcomed comeback to the Island of the Gods, most notably abundantly available at Ku Dé Ta. The trick to making a really memorable (or unmemorable) sangria is to marinate your desired fruit (strawberries, cranberries and oranges not only marinate beautifully well together but they also look gorgeous) for as many hours as you’ve got up your sleeve in a good strong spirit like rum or cognac (or both). Add the wine, a little orange juice and top with a spritzer such as soda (Sprite may be substituted for those requiring a little more vim) then fill to the brim with loads of large ice cubes.

NB: There are a zillion styles of rosé on the market.

My preference for this sangria would be a medium bodied wine that is just off dry. A great example available in Bali is the Leyda Costero Rosé made entirely from Pinot Noir grapes.

Planter’s Punch 3 tbsp white rum (preferably Bacardi) 8 tbsp orange juice 8 tbsp pineapple juice

1 tbsp Grenadine splash lime juice 3 tbsp dark rum Fill half a highball glass with crushed ice – add ingredients in order apart from dark rum, stir, then float the dark rum on top. Garnish with anything sliced.

The Dreaded Bali Long Island Iced Tea (best served after 6pm and before midnight if you want to survive the party).

2 tsp white rum 2 tsp vodka 2 tsp gin 2 tsp silver tequila (white) 2 tsp Cointreau juice of one lime 2 tsp coconut sugar syrup (recipe follows)* 6 tbsp coke Stir all but the last ingredient well with ice for about 30 seconds in a pitcher to chill. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice cubes and a twist of lemon. Add chilled cola and finish with a sprig of fresh mint.

NB Don’t be put off by the quantities listed. 2 tsps doesn’t sound like much but when you add them all together it packs a mighty punch! *Coconut sugar syrup Add equal measures of coconut sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring slowly to the boil until the sugar is well dissolved - around 3-5 minutes. (If coconut sugar is unavailable, substitute with caster sugar.)

The Quintessential Pimm’s No.1 Cup Cocktail For my money, this is the best all round Pool Party Cocktail, it looks pretty in the glass, has loads of flavour and you can nibble the extras as a snack without having to get out of the pool. Put all ingredients into a large pitcher, fill with ice and Bob’s your Uncle – you’re off and running…..or splashing….or……or ….. or …… ½ bottle Pimm’s No. 1 Cup (based on London Gin) A good splash of gin (not essential but desirable) Equal measures lemonade & ginger ale A few mint leaves, sliced oranges & finely pared cucumber rind.

Wine On. Katrina Valkenburg is a wine consultant and educator. All correspondence to katrinav@mac.com

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just doin' it

ana ivanovic

We spoke with Serbia's tennis dynamo about her life, loves and fears.

Ana, when did you first pick up a tennis racket?

It was just before my fifth birthday. I was watching a match on television with Monica Seles. I was at home in Belgrade. During a commercial break they showed an advert for a tennis school. It looked like so much fun so I wrote down the number and asked my mum to take me there. I kept on asking and asking and eventually I went there and I fell in love with the game straight away.

We read that when you were young, you used to train in between bombardments . . . and during the winter in an abandoned swimming pool.

What was it like at that time in Yugoslavia?

Looking back, it wasn't easy. But at the time we didn't know any better, so we just made the most of what we had. I know it sounds crazy, but to practise in that swimming pool was still a privilege, and always the highlight of my day.

You mother attends almost all your matches.

How does that make you feel? What influence does she have on your game?

All of my family give me incredible support and I'm very grateful to them for that. My mum has travelled a lot with me throughout my career and she has been the perfect travel companion – like my best friend, and a shoulder to cry on when needed!

She has definitely supported me emotionally and has been a big help in my career. But she does not get involved in my actual tennis and I appreciate that. Of course we talk about tennis a little, but she prefers to leave things like technique and tactics to my coaches. I think this is the correct approach.

Is tennis a sport for the privileged, would you say?

Not really. If you look at the world rankings there are many players from Eastern Europe who did not come from wealthy families. But their talent and determination took them to the top. Of course it's great if you can have the best racket, new strings and balls, but the equipment isn't so expensive compared to golf, for example, so I think tennis is quite accessible. One of the biggest problems is that sometimes there are not enough courts for kids to play on, and that’s where money can be a factor, because obviously you will have a better chance if you can afford to

pay for courts and not just use them for free.

Do you get nervous before a big game?

Definitely. But I think it's a good thing, because it shows that you care very much about each match. So I would say . . . positive nerves.

What kind of mental preparation do you do for the big matches?

My preparation is the same for all matches, no matter if it's first round at a smaller event or a Grand Slam final. I think that routine is important.

I usually practice around two-and-a-half hours before a match, then have a light lunch. The hitting won't be too intense. During practice the previous day my coaches and I will usually have talked already about tactics for the match, but we'll talk again while eating. After eating I usually go to the locker room to relax. I tend to be on my own at this time, listening to music, reading a book or playing Sudoku. Then about 20 minutes before I am due to go on court I begin my warm-up routine with my trainer.

How many hours do you play tennis per day, and what other disciplines does your training routine include?

It really varies, depending on if I’m at a tournament, training, or working more on fitness. During the off-season it can be three or four hours a day, but not more than that, because I also work a lot on fitness. Fitness takes many forms. It can be simply using a treadmill or weights in the gym, or working on core strength. I also do fun things like swimming and in the past I’ve done some kickboxing, surfing and beach volleyball.

What separates a world-class tennis player from other professionals? By which we mean, how do you become a true champion – is it just about talent and drive?

There are many factors and actually talent is just one of them. Discipline, determination and drive are also very important. And it’s important to have supportive people around you, because you can’t achieve it on your own, even though tennis is an individual sport. You maybe need a bit of luck too. But the most important thing is to have self-belief and to never give up.

What music did you listen to as a

kid and who do you love now?

I’ve always been a fan of pop and also Serbian music. These days I listen to bands like Kings of Leon, Rihanna and Lady Gaga.

And here’s one . . . you’re driving alone along a deserted road late at night, no-one around, there’s a large injured animal in the road blocking your way. It can’t move and is dying . . . if you turn around it’s a five-hour drive back and you’ll miss your tournament. What do you do?

Well, I think the best thing to do, even if you didn’t have a meeting or tournament to go to, would be to call the emergency services, so hopefully they would be able to save it. Unfortunately I don’t think I would know how exactly to save a dying animal!

What’s your philosophy in life?

I’m a very positive person and very determined.

I am also very goal-orientated and I believe in setting challenges for myself, which you can achieve with hard work and the support of others.

I like to be surrounded by people who are also positive and like to have fun and share a joke.

Tell us about the lowest point in your career and how you overcame it.

I would say it was probably losing in the first round of the US Open two years ago. I had never lost in the first round of a Grand Slam before and I even had a match point that I did not take. I smashed a few rackets for the first time and it took me some time to get over that loss. But the great thing about tennis, and other sports, is that there is always a new opportunity coming. I suffered a little with my emotions for a few weeks but then I had another tournament and a chance to put things right, and to forget about that defeat.

If you weren’t a tennis player, what would you being doing do you think?

I find psychology very interesting and would like to study it. So maybe I would do something related to that, or languages, which I also enjoy.

www.commbanktennis.com

sounds around

The Yak catches up with UK House-music producer-pioneer Charles Webster, recently on the island to perform at the annual Junction Summer Music Fest.

SO Charles, how did you first get into music? Musical family?

I was into music from the very start. I don’t remember ever not being obsessed by music, both the listening to and the making of. I didn’t have a musical family, we had a piano and it wasn’t played very often, but my family really loved listening to music. My parents had really good taste and I have strong memories of music on the radio, around the house when I was growing up.

What was your first concert moment – where you knew you wanted to create music for people?

The first live gig I saw was a package of Subway Sect, The Slits and The Clash in Derby in the UK. I remember travelling from school on the bus; it was quite scary at the time.

I think it was bonfire night and people were throwing fireworks in the queue outside the venue. I think I was 12 years old, things were a bit more relaxed in those days! With seeing those bands and feeling the energy I knew I wanted to be a musician, but I think I already knew that after watching live music on TV all the time.

How did you end up in San Fran for more than a while? Did it affect your musical direction?

I chose to relocate to San Francisco in the mid ’90s just for a change and to try to make a new start away from the scene in the UK. I had been making music for a while by then and I wanted to try different surroundings and California had always attracted me, with its music, history and climate. I think it did affect my musical direction; I was able to experiment and be myself out there and be inspired by the different vibe and cultures of that beautiful city.

What’s the most challenging aspect of what you do?

I think the main challenge is to not bore yourself with the same old ideas. I believe as a producer you have to progress as your audience progresses, not change your style for the sake of it, but just come up with new ideas and sounds and to learn new tricks and ways of expressing.

How do you see the advent of the Net on the music industry – 10 years ago and now?

I feel the Net is a double-edged sword for music. In one way it enables people to make music and access music very cheaply and quickly, but in another way it makes it all too easy, and I feel it cheapens the production process and the value of music, therefore lowering the standards and peoples’ expectations.

You just recently performed at The Junction Fest here on Bali – what were your impressions?

I loved coming out to Bali, it is a place I have always dreamed of visiting and I never thought it would be the type of place to get a DJ booking. The festival was great, very friendly atmosphere and not such a huge impersonal event (like many of the festivals are these days). All in all, it was amazing – I only wish I could have stayed longer!

What’s in the pipeline at Miso Records?

Lots of new projects with various vocalists – Cathy Battistessa, Diviniti, Shana Halligan, January Thompson, Terra Deva...too many to list really! Also two new album projects, a new Charles Webster album and a new jazz project I am doing with a great friend of mine, Peter Wraight, plus loads of remixes for Atjazz, Tracey Thorn and others. Also a new compilation for the South African market.

What’s the funniest situation you’ve had navigate in your line of work?

One of the worst, certainly not the funniest (but I can smile about it now it's over) was my recent trip over to Bali. The flights in Europe were crazy because of some extreme weather, so my nice little one-day trip to get to Bali took three days in the end, with me having to buy a new ticket for the last leg of the trip...There are always odd things happening in the DJ lifestyle – strange people and situations, you can never call it a dull profession.

What is the best gig you’ve played & best record you’ve made so far – and why?

As for best gig, that's a tricky question as lots of them have had their moments. The afterhours gig in Bali was a lot of fun…I did play for 10 hours in Japan once – I really enjoyed that one, and Japan is my favorite country to visit (though Bali is now a close second).

As for favourite record, that is tricky also…I guess my fave is my next album, as it is sounding exactly the way I want it to sound. Stay tuned.

What’s your dream?

Same as everyone’s, I guess. I just wish people could try to get along with each other a little better and stop being so selfish. The world could be a wonderful place for everyone, if people learned to share a little.

What’s your favourite footwear?

Sperry Topsiders and Gucci loafers.

www.charleswebster.net www.misorecords.com

raver's review

Artist: The Cars Album: Move Like This Label: HEAR Music /Universal

Artist: Bob Marley & The Wailers Album: – LIVE Forever: The Stanley Theatre, Pittsburgh PA September 23rd, 1980 – Deluxe Edition Label: Tuff Gong / Island Records

Back from the hinterlands of success in the ‘80s and long-term anonymity, the maestros of New Wave and art-rock are back from a 24-year hiatus. As if returning by time-machine – their sound is as if they never left. While lamentably missing the original bassist and vocalist, Benjamin Orr – the sound and feel overall is completely, unmistakably, instantly classic Cars.

Despite strong-worded affirmations that a reunion would never happen, fate got the better of lead-singer Ric Ocasek, and he finally succumbed to what would be another musical rite of passage. What started as cob-web clearing session between the original band-members, quickly turned into another meeting of the minds - this time with the help of star-producer Jacknife Lee. An affirmed Cars fan, Lee assisted as producing half of the tracks, while the band produced the rest at Ocasek’s home-studio.

Many thirty and forty-somethings will return to their highschool dance days, or cruising-quests upon hearing this album. Beginning with familiar dork-rock machinations on Blue Tip, the band picks you up for a melancholic return to yesteryear. It’s amazing how music has the power to transport you through time, and while

the familiar riffs and attitude return as strong as before, it will be interesting to see how the album fares in today’s world of online foolery and short-attention-span theatre.

It seems simplicity is key to the Cars’ formula here, no bells and whistles needed, maybe some hand-claps. While some of the new riffs resemble some of the old ones, it’s more a return to an old friend’s lexicon or vocabulary, rather than rehashing old stories. Just when you think it’s the same, as Too Late resembles their classic hit Tonight She Comes, it changes, leaving you pleasingly piqued yet satisfied. It‘s refreshing to see an older-hand’s take on today’s world, and although Orr’s voice is missed, Ocasek and the fellas have stepped it up a notch to do his memory justice.

This album is in fact one of the bravest band comebacks in recent history, and a global tour could easily arise from it along with all their previous hits. The Cars’ sound is just as pure, nervous-energy filled and addictive now as it was two decades ago. I wonder who their nutritionists and personal trainers are – because these guys haven’t aged a bit, maybe just a little bit darker and wiser.

Once more returning from a time long before, Mr Marley’s magical brand of reggae-mastery has been re-bottled in vintage fashion with this double-CD time capsule of goodness. This performance is particularly poignant as it would become Marley’s last on-stage recording before his untimely death.

While some may say his waning health can be heard during this performance, it is more a testament to his and The Wailer’s strength and professionalism to forge on through with a gritty last dose of wonderful wisdom.

Marley had collapsed in Central Park two days prior to this performance, and with a darkly direct diagnosis in the back of his mind, he still got up, stood up, and did his fans right with a sold-out arena as last witnesses to his message. Listening to his opening intro on Greetings, you cannot tell the man is in any pain as he skanks into Natural Mystic.

This recording also captures that transition into the 80’s where quirky keyboards and wawah peddles give that early-R&B flavor in places. The tightness and looseness of the Wailers and the I-Threes is also paramount, and you can tell how versed and relaxed they are with each other. The entire atmosphere of the concert is captured

beautifully, with a slowly grooving smoke cloud and all.

The interplay between band and audience is like a revival, and the vital connection is captured so clearly.

The difference (and benefit) of live albums, is that they capture all the on-stage interplay and improvisation, that you won’t hear on studio recordings, where everything is more safe and measured. Some of electric guitar riffs here are reminiscent of Santana, and the Rock-side of this reggae-equation is stronger than usual. Maybe arenas of people just bring out the best in musicians, and make each performance matter that much more to the artists.

And so it should be.

While there is an admitted eeriness at times in listening and knowing this would be his last liverecording, it also seems that Marley’s vocals are extra-clear as if to say “don’t miss my meaning”, compared to his other live albums. There is wistfulness that blows through the air here, leaving you once again captivated by a pioneerman with band whose music will truly live forever, and wishing only that you could get to know them better. A true collector’s item.

www.thecars.org

www.bobmarley.com

astro yak

moodofthemoment

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

MOOD OF THE MOMENT. We are the 24th species of human being that we know about and new ones are being discovered all the time. We are the only one left standing and we don’t know why the others disappeared and became extinct. We are not the best, not the smartest, and not the peak of evolution. But we’re all we’ve got right now . . .The seas have risen and fallen and mountains too. The Pluto-Uranus square that started at the time of the Fukushima nuclear disaster will peak in 2013. The next time you feel the ground shake beneath your feet, you may look around you and ponder the impermanence of all things. Now, what was it you said you wanted in life?

Freedom. You have to have it. Freedom from authority or control.

Freedom to explore every opportunity and to see how green the grass is on the other side. Freedom from security or relationship.

Freedom to be whoever or whatever you want to be, when you want to be it.

Freedom from fear. Freedom to go beyond your own limitations. Uranus-Pluto time.

There comes this incredible urge to get out of the box. The paradox is that the instructions on how to get out of the box are written on the outside of the box.

taurus

You are supposed to be comfortable. It is correct for you. This is a period of abundance for you and good feelings about yourself. The fog of where to go and what to do has lifted and if you look around you now, you can appreciate what you have got. It is enough. You can be content. This is how you become comfortable, to appreciate, to be content, and to feel good about yourself. The juice is being with children now. Maybe being the wise old story teller or being a child again yourself is the way. Maybe contacting that part of you that is always eternally innocent.

gemini

Well, first thing to say is to maybe put some attention on your spending habits. Tendency now to impulse buying or more than usual outflow. The more important thing to say is that the more you learn, the less it is going to make sense. Hard to put it together and make meaning out of it all. The more you talk, the less you will be understood. The more you listen, the less you will hear. It is a time of strong curiosity for you. You have to know and yet you do and yet you don’t.

The paradox is that a little guardian angel is guiding you through all this.

cancer

Well, well, well, aren’t we moody today. Best thing is to go out

and spend some money on yourself and get into a shopping satori. You tend to be too cheap with yourself. Always saving for a rainy day so much it would take a monsoon to loosen up those tight pockets of yours. Take yourself for a date, splurge on yourself, treat yourself to the goodies of life. Your natural inclination for security can sometimes make you a little bitchy. Let go and let loose. Security doesn’t work too well in a world like this anyway. Spend the money and enjoy. It is not the last. There will be more.

leo

Go for it. Strike while the iron is hot. The time is right and the stars are with you. Put your energy into it. Follow your plan, honour your ambitions, and respect your ego. Be a little self-centered about it because once you have what you want, you tend to be very generous with it. We all benefit by your self-centeredness. Your job is to go out and get it and then to share it with others. Beautiful. We love you for it. One strategy in all of this is to associate with those who already have what you want and that puts you in the window of opportunity. Somehow it rubs off.

little rain must fall. The question now is if it is acid rain or bird pee. Now is a time when you tend to be too hard on yourself, to blame yourself for what others do, to be self critical and fault-finding with yourself.

It is okay to get into this space. It has its value. But don’t linger. Get into this space, get the facts and get out into another space of forgiveness and tolerance. Love yourself anyway. You deserve to be here as much as the trees and mountains.

scorpio The more you share, the more you receive. This is a people relating time now. Time to be friendly to others and to let others be friendly to you. This includes partners and lovers particularly.

Remembering to be romantic is good.

Remembering to be generous is good.

Showing your vulnerability and letting yourself receive are good. Coming closer to the other is coming closer to yourself.

The time is ripe to feel joyousness in the presence of the other. The paradox is that the more you expand, the eternal question arises, “Is it better to give love or to be loved?”

is the builder. The whole infrastructure needs replacing, the ageing bridges, the rotting pipes leaking methane beneath the city streets, the ageing nuclear plants. Capricorn is about making a plan. Disinformation and changing presumptions make that impossible.

Capricorn is valuable for the building of civilization, but is at a loss when it is falling down. This is a time when you cannot rely upon anything outside of yourself, even more than before. The juice for you now is to learn how to play.

aquarius

sagittarius Happy Birthday Beloved. The paradox now is that all of that analytical good-boy thinking and accumulation of facts and techniques has led you to a point where all of it becomes kind of mystical.

Think you have been mystical and dreamy before? You ain’t seen nothing yet. The big dream is on its way. Neptune transit is coming. The solid ground beneath your feet dissolves, but somehow you are able to walk on water. Save your pennies, save as much as you can, and then use those savings to take the long journey to the Garden of Eden that calls to you.

There is more juice for you now in washing the dishes and cleaning out the closet than in contemplating the meaning of the universe. Hunker down. Pay attention to the little things of daily life. Use your microscope and put your telescope to the side for a while. Remember the story: “Master, what did you do before enlightenment?” . “I chopped the wood and carried the water,” the Master said.

“Master, what do you do after enlightenment?”“I chop the wood and carry the water,” the Master said. It is the ordinary that you don’t see any more that is the most extraordinary of all.

You already know.

You already know what you need to know.

The trouble you get into is trying to explain it to yourself or others. Mars going into Leo, opposite your sign, indicates others get angry with you for no good reason you can understand. You are not competitive. You are not angry or greedy or arrogant. You are deep within your subjectivity and you have found a truth which cannot be explained or understood with words. Loads of planets coming into the Ninth House.

Good time to be a professor or to travel to a far, far place to hear a guru say what you already know.

libra What to say. Hard, crazy times are sometimes hard, sometimes crazy, sometimes both. Into everybody’s life a

capricorn

pisces You are so precious. If anyone is kind and caring and remembers people’s birthdays, and gives little thoughtful gifts, it is you. It is because you are born without much ego. It is so you can melt and blend with the other without the ego getting in the way. Your life is about love, not about materialism that keeps us apart. Your life is about surrender to the cosmos and all that is. Neptune entering Pisces now dissolves the ego even more.

You become part of everything except where you are. Good to have friends and partners that love you and protect you. You are precious and worthy of all the love we can return.

virgo

Capricorn is about time. We have run out of time. Capricorn

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CLINIC BIMC Tel: 761263 www.bimcbali.com Page 157 Yak Map F.12 EVENT ORGANISER Pro Motion Events Tel: 287250 www.pro-motion-events.com Page 184 HEALTH, SPAS & SALONS BIMC Beauty Clinic Tel: 761263 www.bimcbali.com Page 185 Yak Map F.12 Fabulously Feet Tel: 8475764 www.fabulouslyfeet.com Page 157 Yak Map Y.11 Pevonia Botanica Tel: 270660 www.pevonia.co.id Page 143 Prana Spa www.pranaspabali.com Page 136 Yak Map W.10 The Private Spa Tel: 731648 www. privatespawellnesscentre.com Page 143 Yak Map U.11 Theta Spa Tel: 755726 www.thetaspa.com Page 23 Yak Map C.14 HOTELS & VILLAS Alila Villa Soori Tel: 8946388 www.alilavillassoori.com Page 137 Batu Karang Tel: (0366) 5596376 www. batukaranglembongan.com Page 158 Bidadari Private Villas & Retreat Tel: 9000401 www. bidadarivillasubudbali.com Page 131 Como Shambhala Tel: 978888 www.como.bz Page 107 Four Seasons Resort Tel: 701010 www.fourseasons.com/ jimbaranbay Page 118/144 Green Village www.greenvillagebali.com.

Page 17 Maca Villa

Tel: 739090 www.macavillas.com Yak Map Q.4 Page 49 Semara Villas Tel: 8476661 www.semararesorts.com Page 119 Yak Map N.5 St Regis Tel: 8478111 www.stregis.com/bali Page 24 The Amala Tel: 738866 www.theamala.com Page 32 The Bale Tel: 775111 www.thebale.com Page 32 The Elysian Tel: 730999 www.theelysian.com Page 65 Yak Map P.10 The Haven Tel: 738001 www.thehavenbali.com Page 64 Yak Map V.1 The 101 Legian www.the101bali.com Page 64 Yak Map E.12 The Laguna Tel: 771327 www.luxurycollection. com/bali Page 16 The Menjangan Tel: 0362.94700 www.themenjangan.com Page 32 The Stones Kuta Tel: 766100 www.thestones-kuta.com Page 58 Yak Map C.12 Uma Ubud Bali Tel: 972448 www.como.bz Page 145 Villa Babar www.balivillababar.com Page 33 Yak Map O.1 Villa Kubu www.villakubu.com.

Page 145 W Retreat & spa Tel: 4738106 www.whotels.com/ baliseminyak Page 31 Yak Map O.4 MEDIA / PRINTING Island Communications Tel: 282010 www.icommbali.com Page 184 Mango Vision www.mangovision.tv

Page 181 The Bud Magazine www.theyakmag.com Page 130 Yak Map M.1 Indonesia Printer Tel: 021 6618501 www.indonesiaprinter. co.id Page 119 MISCELLANEOUS Bali Cleaning Service Tel: 7803587 www.balicleaningclinic.com Yak Directory Bespoke Tel: 9003025 www.bespoke-bali.com Page 107 Commonwealth Bank Tennis www.commbanktennis.com Page 40 Hypo Espresso Page 179 Rim Cargo Tel: 737670 www.rimcargo.com Page 118 Yak Map T.8 Limcharoen Legal Adviser limcharoen.com Page 80

Rotary Club Tel: 4731701 www.rotarycanggu.org Page 184 Yak Awards Tel: 8446341 www.theyakmag.com Page 92-93 YPod Tel: 8446341 www.theyakmag.com Page 12-13 Zapp Design www.zapp-design.com Page 106 Yak Map Z.3

PROPERTY Elite Havens Tel: 731074 /738747 www.elitehavens.com Page 1 Yak Map P.8 RECREATION Canggu Club Tel: 8446385 www.cangguclub.com Page 175 Yak Map N.1 Cubby House Kid’s Club www.cubbyhousekidsclub. com Yak Directory Yak Map N.5 Waka Experience www.wakaexperience.com Page 81

GALLERY Reservo Art Tel: 737949/968, 732856 www.reservo-art.com Page 35 Yak Map O.7, R.7 The Gallery Tel: 731738 Page 73 Yak Map W.7 RESTAURANTS & BARS Atrium Restaurant Tel: 8476661 Page 119 Yak Map N.5 Bali Bakery Tel: 755149, 738033 www.balibakery.com Page 183 Yak Map F.11, P.7 Bali Good Food www.baligoodfood.com Page 18-19 Yak Map D.13 Biku Bali Tel: 8570888 www.bikubali.com Page 72 Yak Map O.5 Cafe Bali Tel: 736484 thecafebali@yahoo.com Page 72 Yak Map Q.7 Chandi Tel: 731060 www.chandibali.com Page 45 Yak Map Q.7 Cocoon Beach Telp: 731266 www.cocoon-beach.com Page 51 Yak Map Q.13 Divine Wonderland Tel: 730759 Page 37 Yak Map R.8 Hu’u Restaurant, Club & Bar Tel: 4736443 www.huubali.com Page 10-11 Yak Map N.6 Ku De Ta Tel: 736969 www.kudeta.net Page 3 Yak Map N.8 Mama San Tel: 733072 www.mamasanhall.com Page IBC Yak Map U.7 Ma Joly Tel: 753780 www.ma-joly.com Page 159 Yak Map C.14 Potato Head Tel: 737979 www.ptthead.com Page 29 Yak Map N.5 Queen’s Tandoor Tel: 765988, 732770 www.bali.queenstandoor. com Page 185 Yak Map D.14, U.10 Sea Circus Tel: 738667

Yak Directory Yak Map N.7 SOS Supper Club Tel: 737773 www.SOSaSUPPERCLUB.com Page 155 Yak Map P.11 Sticky Fingers Tel: 8090903 www.stickyfingersbali.com Yak Directory Yak Map O.1 Taman Wantilan Tel: 701010 ext 8223 www.fourseasons.com/ jimbaranbay Page 144 The Junction Tel: 735610 Page 80 Yak Map Q.7 Warisan Restaurant Tel: 731175, 7492796 www.warisanrestaurant. com Page 36 Yak Map U.4 Warung Mie Tel: 701010 ext 8105 www.fourseasons.com/ jimbaranbay Page 118 Word of Mouth Tel: 8475797 www.wordofmouthbali. com Page 41 Yak Map Y.10 SHOPS 69 Slam www.69slam.com Page 43 Map T.8, V.10 Baik www.baik.it Page 8 Yak Map T.8 Bamboo Blonde Page 59 Yak Map S.8, U.11 Biasa Tel: 730308, 8878002, 0217182322 www.biasabali.com Page 6-7 Yak Map V.12 Body & Soul www. bodyandsoulclothing.com Page 28 Yak Map V.13, V.14

By The Sea www.bytheseatropical. com Page 50 Yak Map E.13, S.8, V.9, V12 Carlo Tel: 285211 www.carloshowroom.com Page 27 DeLighting Tel: 420512, 7447041 www.de-lighting.com Page 25 Yak Map T.8, V.10 Deus Ex Machina Telp: 3683395, 735047

www.deus.co.id Page 14-15 Yak Map O.8 Eight Degrees South Telp: 701650 Page 106 Yak Map W.5 Farah Khan Tel: 4731789, 736621 ext 7711 www.farahkhan.com Page IFC Yak Map O.4, N.8 Gourmet Garage Tel: 701650 Page Tracing Paper Hatten Wines Tel: 767422 www.hattenwines.com Page 157 Yak Map F.12 Indivie Shop Tel: 730927 info@indivie.com Yak Directory Yak Map V.1 Lily Jean www.lily-jean.com Page 2 Yak Map V.11 Mien Tel: 4735964 www.mien-design.com Page 131 Yak Map N.5 Milo’s Tel: 8222008, 731689, 735551 www.milos-bali com Page 20 Yak Map O.8 Nico Perez Tel: 738655 Page 4-5 Yak Map S.8 Paul Ropp Tel: 734208, 731002, 974655 www.paulropp.com Back cover Yak Map T.8 Platform 18/27 Tel: 738746 www.platform1827.com Page 158 Yak Map U.8 Periplus www.periplus.co.id Page 181 Yak Map F.13/P.7 Puravida www.puravidafashion.com Page 39 Yak Map U.12 Quarzia Tel: 736644 www.quarzia.it Page 47 Yak Map O.8 SKS www.sksbali.com Page 9 Yak Map T.8 Vinoti Living Tel: 752723, 732202 www.vinotiliving.com Page 144 Yak Map F.13 Warisan Furniture Tel: 701081, 730048 casa@warisan.com / living@warisan.com Page 21 Yak Map W.1