My Seven Wonders for 2007: Asia

Pictures by Laura Vaillard

Aisa: Indonesia, China, Malasia

This week I leave you my seven favorite pictures from my trip through Asia in 2007. These are my Seven Wonders. Enjoy!

Bali, Indonesia




Traditional Boat at the Summer Palace, China




The Great Wall of China




Rice fields in Bali, Indonesia




Bangkok, Tailandia




Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia




Sunset at the Fire Fly Park, Malaysia

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My Arak Beras was Mostly Appearance

I chose appearance over content when I bought my souvenir in Bali, Indonesia. I had no idea what Arak Beras could possibly be, the label only said "distilled from rice and sugar cane." But the bottle's design was so enigmatic and attractive that I could not leave the bottle on the shelf; I had to take it home.

As soon as I opened the container the strong smell of alcohol automatically pushed me about a meter away from the bottle; it was so intense that it made my eyes itchy. The first sip was even worse, and I sustained it while it descended down my throat as a lighted match.

Like many of the souvenirs we buy during our trips, the bottle of "Arak Beras" rested on one of my house's shelves for over a year before I ventured to reopen it.

After such a long time, the artisans' wine had settled and its smell was suave, sweet and liquorish. However, its taste was still strong; perfect to heat yourself up during a cold winter day, but not much else.

After opening it trying it, reopening and retrying it, I still choose the appearance of this souvenir over its content. From now on it will simply sit on my shelf next to other useless acquisitions.

Art Bazaars versus Pirate-art at Bali, Indonesia

After the performance, we stopped by different art bazaars. First, we stopped by a workshop where we could see people weaving drink coasters, handbags, diverse basquets, nad other cfats with admirable neatness, clearly superior to the similar articles we had seen in the city center the previous day.

Afterwards, we stopped by a wood-carving workshop where we were also able to observe the artists at work. It was fascinating to watch how the artists used their feet to hold the wood in place as they carved them. Here, you could see the difference between the pieces that were carved by experienced teachers, and the ones made by apprentices. The store owner’s also noted the difference in the pieces placing a higher tag on those carved by the masters.



At last, we visited a painting studio where they sold original pirated pieces: Photocopies of original work covered with thick colored oleos, mechanically painted by small children with heavy eyes and taciturn looks. The place was luminous, and the salesmen were polite, but the misty looks of the young artists darkened the place.

Dancers Destroy Linguitic Barriers in Bali

Even though moving vehicles usually have a soporific effect on me, there was so much to see through the van’s windows that I stayed alert throughout the entire ride.

Before we began our tour around Bali’s rural side, we stopped to see a theatrical performance enacted by a group of local actors and actresses that interpreted the struggle between Good and Evil forces. When we walked into the theater, they gave us a little description in english of each scene so we could follow the performance in Indonesian.

The actors' and dancers' expressive eyes and facial expressions, together with the precise movements of their fingers, feet, shoulders and necks were able to effectively transfer the essence of the story to an audience that did not understand the local language.

The detailed decorations and the costumes' designed, added to my fascination with foreign cultures, captivated my attention throughout the show, despite the simple plot.

Behind Bali Resort’s Palm Trees

Even though 97 percent of Bali’s inhabitants are Buddhist-Hindu, since most tourists are westerners, locals choose to decorate hotels using Christmas ornaments. At the same time, every time they see you they smile saying “Merry Christmas”, despite the fact we celebrated the birth of Christ the previous week.

However, locals’ don’t always choose the best decorations to please tourists: a giant snowman dressed in traditional Indonesian clothes is not most the most appropriate decoration next to the warm seaside. Nevertheless, I must admit it contributed to generate the Christmas mood away form home.


Smoked Flavors from Coconut Shells

Paul, our local tour guide, introduced us to a side of Bali we had not seen by taking us to a traditional Balinese restaurant for dinner.

Before we sat down to eat, we fished a crab from a bowl and chose a fish and large shrimps that the restaurant’s fisherman brought while we were deciding what to eat. After that, we accommodated ourselves in a table next to the sea, and awaited until the coconut shells’ coals cooked our food.

Half an hour later, a group of waiters dressed in traditional Indonesian clothes brought some delicious dishes served with rice and vegetables. Each bite held together a crunchy smoked taste where you could still taste the coconut’s flavor, and the sweet and spicy taste of a sauce that reminded me of a light barbecue sauce.

Having dinner next to the sea was a sweet welcoming to the Bali we were going to see the next day.