Staff party at Panorama

To celebrate 1 month of joint management of Bhanuswari Resort & Spa (www.BhanuswariResort.com) and Panorama Hotel, there was a pool party at Panorama.

Most Panorama staff are a bit shy about getting into the pool.

But not all of them!

This being the 3rd pool party for BRS staff, they are much less bashful!

Combined "PanBhaS" staff having catered 'nasi campur" (mixed rice - like an American "blue plate special" before the team meeting.

The management table.

Bali Hash House Harriers 2

Thanks to Ken Monet, aka "Rabid", for getting the Hash House Harriers to Bhanuswari Report & Spa on May 27, 2006 as part of his week-long birthday celebration.

Ken as the "hare".

Over 200 people attended, including at least 2 dogs!

The groups heading out - Ken laid out a short run, a medium run, and connected the 2 for a long-distance run.

Kids from the nearby village also participated.

Victor Mason, author of "Butterflies of Bali" attended. His Hasher alias is NIGHT JAR, and he was recognized as a lifetime member of the Bali Hash. And he graciously autographed my copy of his book! (See December blog entry "About the Logo for Bhanuswari Resort and Spa … " at http://balirelax.blogspot.com/2005_12_01_balirelax_archive.html)

Puri Damai was on-site to offer sports massage. They are a local Bali business, also offering Reflexology diagnosis and treatment, and "jamu" - Balinese herbal medicines, grown organically at their location.

Tea Party at the Villa Pool

To celebrate the completion of the salt-water pool at the first villa,
there was a tea party with a difference.

Some guests were in swimsuits, and the tea cakes were Balinese -

things like sticky rice, steamed in a banana leaf, with a filling of shredded coconut and palm sugar.

Sahira even agreed to model for some shots of the villa pool!

Belly Dance Meets Bali Dance

The 3 performers,
posing before the performance.







Sahira wowed the audience at Bhanuswari Resort & Spa (http://www.bhanuswariubud.com/)





She started with Tribal-style.





Then they had Balinese dance






Legong.











Sahira changed costumes


and switched to Egyptian /



cabaret style.















The grand finale? "Belly Dance Meets Bali Dance" - a Balinese "friendship" dance Joged, performed by Agung, Ketut, and Sahira.

Next, a Bhanuswari Security guard, who also does the Kecak dance at another resort, joined the ladies.




And then the audience, including 2 dance instructors visiting from Taiwan, joined in!

Balinese Dance Workshop

On Sunday morning, Sahira joined the Balinese dance workshop.
Agung, who also works in the Front Office at Bhanuswari AND dances at the Ubud palace Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights, taught Balinese dance.

She was assisted by Ketut, who also works at the Front Office - Ketut is in the tan-and-brown staff uniform.

The First Villa

The villa is almost complete, though not yet furnished.













The front doorway. Like many Asian cultures, the Balinese generally leave shoes outside, to keep the house cleaner.









Landscaping in the front garden.




The pool, complete with both white-flower and pink-flower frangi-pani (freesia) trees.


The master bath - not much landscaping in the private garden (seen through the window at the foot of the tub), but there will be!





The guest bathroom.








Gate to the private guest-room garden.

View of the spa from the pool's sun-deck. Don't worry, there are bamboo shades that roll down for privacy for guests during massages.
Another pool view - from the living room, looking between the posts that support the shaded pergola.




The pass-through window from the kitchen to the dining room.

Balinese Decorations

Balinese decorations for both religious celebrations and for parties are beautiful. Most are hand-made from bamboo and young-coconut-palm-leaves.
Here is the Bhanuswari temple, decorated for the Galungan / Kuningan religious holiday.







Close-up of the decoration. It also included stalks of rice.






And these decorations were the stage for the "Belly Dance Meets Bali Dance".

Furniture Making in Bali and Fun Finished Pieces

The beautiful decorative carving on the furniture produced in Bali is done by hand with simple (non-electric) tools.
Here are 2 carvers working outside of furniture stores.

And samples of finished products.
A coffee table with a beautifully carved insert of fish and turtles (designed to fit plate glass over the top for protection).
And a chair with built-in storage.
This 4 poster bed may be from Lombok, a near-by island. They use inlaid shells for deocoration, and I see some across the top of the posts.
This cabinet is definitely in the Lombok style.
This is a tree root carved to create a table. Just set plate glass on top.
An "apple" woven from rattan.
Burl-wood bowls.
Java-style "sofa", carved and painted.