Harvesting the rice in Canggu, Bali

Last May my posting ‘Pure’ was about farmers planting the bibit (young rice plants) in the earth by hand.

Harvesting of the rice comes when the plants are about a meter tall and turning yellow. Last week it was time to harvest the rice plants. Still at many places in Bali the women shuffle the rice seeds from the rice stalks all by hand, but this time I also noticed a small machine was used.  This machine separates the rice seeds from the stalks.

I hope this small machine is making the hard work a bit lighter for the workers because working on the rice fields is still very hard labour!

The Zeedijk, Amsterdam Chinatown

I’m still in Amsterdam and try to find Asian links with the Dutch… because my focus is on Asia. That is not so difficult, lots of Asian people live in Amsterdam. Approx. 120.000 Chinese people live in the Netherlands of which 25.000 in Amsterdam.

The Zeedijk, also called Amsterdam Chinatown, is located downtown Amsterdam, close to the famous Red Light district. You will find many Chinese restaurants, called toko’s, but also other Asian restaurants and deli’s as well Chinese shops and massage salons. The biggest Asian supermarket Amazing Oriental is located on the Nieuwmarkt, close to the Zeedijk and The Buddhist temple Fo Guang Shan He Hua, the biggest Buddhist temple in Europe, is also located on the Zeedijk.

The Buddhist temple cost 9 million guilders (4.1 million euros) to build, 6 million of which was donated by the Fo Guang Shan organization and the remainder by businessmen and other private donors. Construction workers from Taiwan build the roof with the specific decoration. It was completed in the year 2000 and dedicated in person by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

If you are in Amsterdam don’t miss the Chinatown tour!

More information about the temple you will find on:
http://www.sacred-destinations.com

The Zeedijk, Monday morning, still quiet…

Entrance of The Buddhist Temple Fo Guang Shan He Hua

Inside the temple

The friendly staff of the temple

Nam Kee restaurant is a famous restaurant in Amsterdam because of the
Dutch drama film ‘Oysters at Nam Kee’

Bruce Lee still popular in Amsterdam Chinatown

The biggest Asian supermarket in Amsterdam ‘Amazing Oriental’

Word of Mouth, design, fashion, furniture, food and drinks

Because I love art, design, fashion and good food I’ve been to Word of Mouth several times. When I entered the shop for the first time I was pleasantly surprised, the shop looks so stunning. I felt like Alice in Wonderland between so many amazingly designed pieces and great fashion. From furniture to pop-up books to beautiful colored shoes… Another great thing about Word of Mouth is that you can sit down between those beautiful articles and enjoy a fantastic lunch.  They have a delicious menu. The food is healthy and fresh and the mix of flavors they use is very yummy…

But… do not forget the cocktails… in 2011 Word of Mouth received the award for best signature cocktail. You might want to try it!

So, when you are in Seminyak don’t miss this amazing shop.

If you want to know more about Word of Mouth or want to download the menu and great cocktails go to: http://www.wordofmouthbali.com/

Word of Mouth, 9 Jl. Kunti, Kunti Arcade, shop 10, Seminyak, Bali
Ph/fax: +62 361 8475797, info@wordofmouthbali.com

John Hardy compound

My friends and I got an invitation to visit the John Hardy compound. John Hardy is the brand name for exclusive luxury silver and gold handmade jewelry and lifestyle accessories. The compound is located at Mambal, close to Ubud. Approximately 700 people work on the compound.

If you enter the compound it feels like stepping into paradise, the location is amazing. This is not a boring factory but a very, very green work environment.  Beautiful bamboo buildings with yellow and orange Balinese flags surrounded by big trees. Bridges over small rivers. Animals, flowers and much more of what nature offers us.

We got a tour of the workplaces, to view the process of jewelry making. It was very impressive to watch the workers make the jewelry and lifestyle accessories all by hand. Loved the beautiful bamboo showroom as well as the amazing authentic Balinese open-air kitchen. Except for the fridge they don’t use electricity or gas in the kitchen, they use wood fire instead. Every day for lunch a meal of traditional Indonesian specialties is prepared for approx. 700 people.  Because they are dedicated to sustainable living, produce form their organic garden and surrounding farms is used for the delicious meals.

After the tour we enjoyed such a traditional lunch together with all the managers and other guests. The food was really delicious, we loved all of it, the lunch, the tour, the buildings, the people, …

Unfortunately it is not allowed to make photos of the workplaces and jewelry so I show you the beautiful location, kitchen and showroom.

If you go to http://www.johnhardy.com/ or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hardy_(jewelry)
you will see the beautiful jewelry and lots more information about John Hardy.

Many thanks Eric for the invitation, it was an unique experience…

Bali Baywatch

Sometimes the ocean can be very rough. It is very necessary and important to have a trained Baywatch. In South-West Bali the Baywatch men do not use fancy boats but mostly surfboards. The boys really know how to surf and rescue many people…

For surfers Bali is a surf paradise. The Indian Ocean is a big challenge for them and if you have a cool surfboard, you are the man…!

http://www.odysseysurfschool.com
http://www.ripcurlschoolofsurf.com
http://www.quiksilversurfschoolbali.com
http://balisurfingcamp.com/surf_school.htm
http://www.surfschoolbali.com

Coffee for the rich..

In Bali they make Luwak coffee. Several times I heard how they make the coffee. My first reaction was bah.. I will never drink that stuff and… so much money…! One day I visited a special coffee store, they sell different kind of coffees and of course also Luwak coffee.  Because I’m a curious person I tasted the Luwak coffee. I must confess, Luwak coffee is very tasteful. Still expensive though… but it’s a nice gift for the real coffee lover…

If you want to know more about Luwak coffee, visit the site http://www.balikopiluwak.net