Photos for Bhanuswari brochure

Yesterday they started setting up for final photos for the brochure for Bhanuswari Resort & Spa. Since you check out this blog regularly, you get an advance peek!

An original painting of blue butterflies, located in the front lobby












Twin bed guest room

















Desk & chair in guest room















Double bed guest room











Easy chair & small coffee table in guest room















Mirror and vanity















Walk-in shower


















View from the front office








View from the terrace.













Another view with a mountain in the distance








The waterfall.

They also updated the Resort web-site: www.BhanuswariUbud.com!

Christmas in Bali (with photos!)

At the Panorma Hotel, they put up a Christmas tree with lights, as well as a red and white banner saying "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2006!" They also play a recorded medley of Christmas songs, some religious and some Rudolf - with a rather strange constant back-beat behind it to tie it all together.

Several of the restaurants in Ubud have their staff wearing Santa hats. And they are also offering special meals for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's. Usually a 3-5 course set menu with a choice of entrees. Prices range from $13.00 per person at local restaurants, up to $75.00 at 5-star hotels (these include wine). Some have Indonesian food, some Western. I haven't seen any offering turkey, but some have chicken and dressing. I have a reservation for lunch tomorrow at Lamak - they are featuring shrimp & lobster for $36.

There have also been some TV shows with Christmas music. And movies on TV - like "Home Alone" and "Harry Potter"!

So I'm not missing Christmas completely after all!

Progress on the first villa at Bhanuswari Resort & Spa!

The gray concrete blocks on the left are the beginning of the front outside wall.
The red brick walls are for the actual villa.
And the deep dark pit on the right is the future private pool!

On-going progress on Bhanuswari

The furniture is being installed in the remaining rooms, and more finishing touches are showing up. But first...

As you approach the hotel, there is a waterfall before the final right-turn.

Front entrance, looking up at the pergola.

Bottom of the guest stairwell, looking up - the handrail is in place!

Armoire and luggage rack.

A desk and chair.

Standard bedframe (without mattress at the moment), chair (without cushion) and coffee table.

View from a room overlooking the stream.

Tile in the pool is almost complete!

View 1 from the terrace - pillars have been painted, and you can see a volcano / mountain in the distance.

View 2 from the terrace - light fixtures are in place on the pillars. This view overlooks the stream and more ricefields on the other side of the stream.

About the Logo for Bhanuswari Resort and Spa …

In case you are wondering about the logo for Bhanuswari Resort and Spa (see http://www.bhanuswariresort.com/ ), it represents two elements found on the property – rice and butterflies. For those who have never seen rice growing in a field, here it is – almost ready for harvest. It’s basically a grass, and the rice you eat is the seed.

And the blue butterfly? Since the vegetation near the stream is in a natural state, they have an abundance of butteries, of many colors, shapes, and sizes. When here in October 2004, I was standing quietly under the trees near the spring-fed stream, watching white, yellow, green, black-and-orange, and black-and-white butterflies, as well as a couple of dragonflies.

Suddenly I saw a flash of bright blue! Not a sky blue, but a vivid, shimmering blue. But as soon as it registered, I lost sight of it. I remained still, and in a few more minutes, I saw it again, and this time was able to track it. A butterfly in a color I had never seen before – the underneath of the wings were black, but the top was a gorgeous blue, outlined in black.

I came back several times before actually moving, and while I saw many butterflies, I did not see the blue one again. However, it was so beautiful that I suggested they include a representation of it in the Bhanuswari logo anyway.

In early December, when visiting Bhanuswari to see progress on the hotel, I finally saw it again!

A few days later, I went to the Ganesha Bookshop in Ubud – and there was a book on “Butterflies of Bali” by Victor Mason – brand new, published in 2005, with beautiful illustrations by a local artist called “Pink”. I flipped through the book – and I think I found the butterfly!

Here it is, “The Swift Peacock”.

Green, Yellow, and Brown Coconuts

Did you grow up with coconut trees? I did not. When it didn’t come pre-shredded (and pre-sweetened) in plastic bags, I thought coconuts were brown, hairy baseball-to-softball sized things (found in the produce section of some grocery stores).

So I was surprised to learn, during my first trip to Singapore back in 1989, that the brown hairy things are actually the innards!!

Coconuts growing on trees are more like cabbage-to-melon sized, and are smooth outside. And no, green, yellow, and brown are not necessarily different types of coconuts – they maybe different stages of growth, depending on the type of coconut. And even more astonishing, to me at least, they are edible at different ages!!

The young green coconut is more a beverage than a food. The top is cut off (usually with a machete), and the liquid inside is clear and pure – one of the cleanest forms of water, with a very subtle flavor. After drinking the water, you can scoop out the jelly-like pulp. It has a similar flavor to the water, and is slightly sweet. On local menus, it is "kelapa muda" - young coconut.

The yellow coconut also still has a significant amount of water, though it has a stronger flavor – and is not at all sweet. Again the top is cut off to get to the liquid. It is best served chilled, in the shell or in a glass, mixed with a little sugar and lime juice – much more refreshing than lemonade! And the pulp has matured and sweetened. It can be eaten as a fruit or dessert. The yellow coconut is also used in Balinese Hindu ceremonies.

The fully mature brown coconut on the right is almost dangerous – as they do fall from the trees when fully ripe! The smooth outer husk is removed, revealing the familiar brown, hairy baseball-to-softball sized coconut of grocery stores. This is the stage that produces coconut milk. NOT the little bit of liquid inside - that is coconut water and it’s not very nice. Coconut milk is made by shredding the pulp, or “meat”, of the coconut, mixing it with water to soak, and then squeezing out the resulting liquid. Sweetened, this is what gets added to pineapple juice to form the base of pina coladas. Unsweetened, it is used in various curries and in soups such as the Thai Tom Kha Gai.

And, of course, if you just shred the coconut meat and sweeten it, you get a fresher version of what Grandma used on her coconut cake!

More photos from my temporary home, the Panorama hotel

In the distance, behind the trees, there is a mountain / volcano.

Any farmers out there? Or folks with a small backyard vegetable garden? In case you were wondering, Balinese farmers also use scarecrows in their fields!


Yellow frangipani. (In case you’ve been faithfully reading my blog, this is the 3rd color that I have seen!)

Mango Mustard & Green Tea Sorbet

I've been trying out various local restaurants. Today I had lunch at Lamak (http://www.lamakbali.com/). They have a variety of items as well as a variety of dining areas, including an air-conditioned room upstairs. The air-conditioning is a relative rarity in restaurants in the Ubud area, where most are located in open-air pavilions.

The architecture is rather unusual – check out the “Image Gallery” on the right-hand menu of the restaurant site for photos. The music is eclectic – some jazz, some new-age type.

Two of the more interesting items I consumed were a Nuevo Cubano sandwich with Mango Mustard (a good combination of sweet and tart), and a Green Tea Sorbet for dessert - not too heavy, not a real strong flavor, so a nice way to end a meal in a tropical climate!

Bhanuswari web-site!

Yes, the Bhanuswari Resort & Spa web-site is on-line!!!

www.bhanuswariubud.com

A Terrace with a View

It's amazing! When the pale yellow paint appears on the outside of a building, suddenly it starts to look almost finished!

The front entrance.

Details of the temple.

"A Terrace with a View" - 1 - View from a room overlooking the stream.

"A Terrace with a View" - 2 - View from the upstairs terrace - extension of the restaurant. This overlooks the stream.

"A Terrace with a View" - 3 - Another view from the upstairs terrace, this time overlooking the rice fields.

Various trees and plants.

Villa progress, more photos and details

More progress on the first villa - on the right hand side, that deep pit in the middle of the photo will become the private swimming pool.

Tile on the walls of the pool, and additional work on the temple.

Another, smaller temple.

The pergola over the front entrance.

Clean tiles in the restaurant, so you can get a better idea - light gray and soft black.

Stairs leading down to guest rooms (work in progress).

Foundation for the backup generator.

Rice harvest view.

Maps of Bali, and PINK frangi-pani

For those who are interested in maps and locations...
This is Bali.
This is a close-up of the south-east area, where I am. Ubud is in about the middle of the map. A little below it, you see Mas, and to the right, Gianyar. Kemenuh is between Mas and Gianyar.
A super-close-up (different map!), with a pen pointing to Kemenuh, the village where Bhanuswari is actually located.
Mas is about in the middle, and Ubud is in the top left..
Pink frangi-pani.