filthy squatter in Indonesia

Saturday, January 12, 2013

a bizarre postcard from Bali - WTF is Potong Gigi?!?

Found this odd postcard in Padang Bai, Bali. Potong gigi means 'tooth filling' and it's a ceremony performed in order to to get rid of invisible forces of evil; according to Balinese tradition, teeth are symbol of greed, insobriety, jealousy and even confusion (?). Filing the teeth therefore renders someone both more physically and more spiritually beautiful, as well as symbolises the rite of passage from an adolescent into adulthood.

Tools used for Potong Gigi include a file, a small hammer and a carver (!).

If anyone wants to get this postcard, let me know your address.

BAlibanky*

Dunno really how to start my supposedly epic (*joke*) post on this blog. Bali was… well, Bali is, yeah, definitely IS a place to be. Neither because of Kuta with its vibrant nightlife, dingy hostels and hordes of Aussies nor because of superior white sand beaches and crystal clear sea… Bali is diverse, you can get utterly angry with monkey that has destroyed your glasses in Uluwatu, then go 50 km north to Ubud and get overwhelmed with spectacular beauty of rice paddies. From peaceful, vivid green little isle called Nusa Ceningan to loud 5-storey discotheque in Kuta. There were few things in Bali I wanted to experience, one of them was Kecak dance which both, visually and auditory, blew my mind. Below you can see a fragment from “Baraka” movie that perfectly depicts spirit of Kecak performance.

Other than that I had impression that my stay was sort of unlucky: loss of glasses, credit card, lens error in my silly digital camera and finally sore throat I had for most of the days, however I meet this French traveller, , whose story was way more, no, not unlucky, in a way she was very lucky. What do you say for a motorbike accident and following car accident few days later? No fractures gained, just bruises and some serious wounds, still Julie kept her spirit and decided to complete her one-year-around-globe travel.

To sum up, Bali definitely deserves to be revisited, just Ramayama, please, keep me away from Kuta and far enough from overrated Padang Bai, just let me hang up somewhere between Nusa Ceningan and Petulu village.