Bali, xmas eve day events

It felt like another normal wonderful day here in Bali today.....it Rained all day long though, that was the first long rain i experienced here..the rainy season has began....it is still fairly warm though, so you can go without a shirt and be OK if you want....I have been sleeping wonderfully lately since i got rid of my wrist watch, i decided to try living my life without know the time constantly, now I am sleeping more soundly and I only get out of bed when i cant possibly sleep anymore, this is usually after about 10hours of sleep..I use the Natural Hygienic approach of rolling over if still able to sleep, or rolling out of bed if I have had enough....today I didnt participate in any excercise and I layed in bed for 3-4 hours awake reading my books and listening to the rain and having a lazy Xmas Eve day....Since I have got rid of my watch, I also have enjoyed going on my morning runs, swims, yogas, workouts, or surfs without wondering the amount of time that is passing, I just go by feel. I also like to listen to my stomach about when it is time to eat instead of looking at the clock, this is more how the Indonesians eat too (maybe a contributing factor to their overall slenderness)...In America it seems we tend to eat by the clock and we tend to be more overweight as well. I am sooooo amazingly fortunate to live a life without needing to know the time of day.

I met a nice French guy today while eating two huge fruit salad and two mango/papaya smoothies...He is an actor that lives in Paris, he is here hiking volcanoes in Bali...I plan to see him in France when I go travel that country with my sister Shonda in the next couple years.

Today, I had a dinner date with a new girl friend from Holland named, Lisa....so I did need to cheat and ask people what time it was a few times to be sure I was on time at 7pm. I took her to Aroma's Cafe in Legian, an exotic vegetarian restaurant. We had Salad, then Bean, tomato, lettuce, salsa, and avocado tacos on stone ground organic shells, and some vegetable Indian Samosas too. Nice to share xmas eve with a pretty, interesting lady!...
then I went walking all around Kuta and Legian Beach to be around people and feel some xmas eve spirit. I went to Hard Rock Cafe/hotel to possibly meet an Indonesian girlfriend named Delfi, but I didn't see her there. There was a band playing some xmas music so I watched for a while...then I ate some Dark Chocolate and some baked Crackers with MSG (lots of products here in Indonesia have MSG in the ingredients..i believe this is very bad stuff, I must research it on the net and stop eating it).
I then went walking around some more and watched a few more bands and there were many many tourists out and about tonight, mainly Indonesians that are not celebrating xmas, but are on their end of the year holidays....it was nice and windy tonight with a perfect temperature and occasional light rain, and the ocean was very loud and windy...
then i went by an Indian Restaurant and got one Poppadom to go (crunchy spicy bread), then I walked by some dance clubs and went inside some to watch a drum circle for a while, many people from all over the world (UK, AU, Indonesia, Sweden, Holland, France USA, Japan) getting wasted and dancing...I ate some popcorn...then I walked around some more and found a place to eat some home style french fries with catchup and mustard and spicy sauce....i chatted with a guy from Texas who lives here and gets paid disability from the American Military, he has an Indo girlfriend now and exports Gemstones to the USA
...then I went to another place to feel a different vibe and have a blended Banana juice and eat some more of my dark chocolate i was carrying around...its been a lazy day of reading, resting, walking around people watching, experiencing different environments and establishments, meeting different people and eating a variety of foods I have been craving lately.....having a different xmas eve then most others which have been amongst my loving family...maybe i was looking to replace the family love with food..oh know that would be 'emotionally eating', could it be true? hehehhehehhe

You Tube, Steven The Vegan, very funny 2minute!

This guy is very silly, he is in his kitchen explaining what vegans do and don't eat and he throws a temper tantrum...my nephew loves it..

Bali, video, 2minutes, surfing in Bali

Great surfing video in Bali I found on You tube...

nothing

eating words...

"The beef industry has contributed to more american deaths than all the wars of this century, all natural disasters, and all automobile accidents combined. If beef is your idea of 'real food for real people', you'd better live real close to a real good hospital."
-Neal Barnard, MD

"Barnard, who has long advocated a diet free of dairy porducts, eaggs, fish and meat of any kind, said the obesity epidemic in this country is fueling a secondary epidemic of type 2 diabetes, which used to be called adult onset diabetes."
-Nancy McVicar

"People do say Í bet (veganism is) hard', but test drive it for three weeks, people may fall off the wagon, but just get back on. And as time goes on, people don't want to slip. Tastes change remarkably quickly."
=Neal Barnard, MD

Bali, Durian stories and pic

This is a new friend Josh, and expatriate from Australia, he has been living here 2 years and works with cleansing and fasting retreats...the other guy is Sagge, he is from Brasil living here....he tried Durian with Josh and I, his first time..he liked it...Josh and I are HOOKED on it though..hehheh

I took another durian adventure I road my motor bike up to Central Bali towards Bedugal again to gorge on durians and bring some back to me place near the beach in Legian. Apparently Durian season is late January here and it will be available more close to me, although a one hour motorbike ride in Bali can be pretty fun, adventurous, educational, and exciting. I stopped and bought a rain pancho this time and luckily i did, because it started pouring 5minutes later..(rain poncho $5)....i found my favorite durian seller...Maday..she seems very fair..i checked the prices at the other roadside sellers to get an idea of the current market, since it isnt season it is more money....I arrived with a smile and Maday smiled also...she began picking the best durians out for me and I sat on their big sitting bench under the shelter and began to sample what she brought me....I did wait 15minutes before this to look around at her fruit and eat a 6 or 7 mangosteens, a delicious fruit with deep red or purple outside and white sections inside, juicy and sweet, known as Queen of fruit. This process of delaying my durian intake is rather exciting for me as I am anticipating my gorging of durian...( it really feels similar to a kid awaiting to open his first xmas present)...very few westerners will have this same love for durian...I believe I do because of eating a vegan diet for about 4 years and mainly fruit the last year, so I am preferential to durian more than most....it is soo delicious to me!!! here is a description from http://www.durianpalace.com/:
"Imagine the best, most delicious, and sensuous banana pudding you can imagine, add just a touch of butterscotch, vanilla, peach, pineapple, strawberry, and almond flavors, and a surprising twist of — garlic??!! Like many of life’s greatest experiences, eating durian cannot be adequately described with words. Durian has a characteristic delicious flavor, creamy texture, and tantalizing fragrance that is just... durian! — the king of fruits, Nature’s most magnificent fruit gift."
Anyways so I ate more than my share of this amazing fruit...and experienced differnt flavors.....KANI BALI, was the best to me.....I paid about $33 dollars and this covered about 10 durians the size of a common canteloupe.....I ate about 3 or 4 there in one hour...i was full like i used to be on Thanksgiving day eating the Standard T-day menu...... The next day I was craving the durian again, I waited until pre dinner time and ate one durian..now I am back to eating more relistic amounts each day...about One durian...this gives me room in my tummy for other fruits I love and I still eat a vegan cooked dinnertime most of the time: Indonesia food, Thai food, Indian food, other varieties, or rice, or pasta, with big salad.....The salty spicy flavors in the cooked vegan food I eat are more addicting to me then durian, otherwise I would only eat fruit and durian every day all day....I plan to someday transition to this form of eating: fruitarian, as I feel best and believe it is better for me...but for now I must forgive myself and enjoy my cooked food addiction while It lasts...ehehhehe.
I must say, I love the smell of durian also now....when I come back to my room, I smell the smell and it is stronger then ever, as my ripening durians are getting more smelly...my mouth starts watering....in fact one time I awoke at 3am in the morning and started eating some durian half asleep without being hungry at all..that can me dangerous.
peace,DC

Bali, Friends, Jim and I eating

Jim came and stayed one week in Bali.....we had a great time together..lots of fruit eating and beach time. Jim injured his back doing Yoga in Thailand so he had to take it easy here, but we still enjoyed ourselves....thanks for coming to visit me JIM!!!

Bali, "Friend Not Food", Conscious event, DC pictures

While eating at this wonderful "Earth Cafe" in Seminyak, Bali a couple weeks ago, I met the owner, Leat. Leat liked the shirt I was wearing....it said "Friend Not Food" and has a picture of a Pink Pig on it. She told me about an event she was having in a couple weeks and asked me if I sell these tshirts...this planted the seed in my mind and I decided to start printing these tshirts here in Bali...I found a contact to help me named Mai.

Mai is a Japanese Expatriate that lives here and exports things to Japan....she was sooo wonderful...Today I had my first 100 t-shirts completed and forsale at this wonderful Vegetarian 'Earth Cafe' event!! Everyone loves the tshirts, I sold some.....I want to export to the USA soon....anybody have any Agents in California or Oregon to help receive shipments please let me know....looking for ideas.....My cost is $5/tshirt here and I will need to pay several fees to get them to USA, but I should have plenty of room for profit if I sell them for $20-$30 at vegan stores and vegetarian events and The Raw Spirit festival in Sedona next year...what a dream to be working on something I am soooo passionate about and make some money too!! I used to do business just to make money, now I must Love and believe in what I do first, and the money will follow..exciting...wish me luck.

Bali, "Helmuts for Kids", picture of cute kid

The kids dont even realize what is going on when we give them a helmut, it is rather funny to experience. I enjoyed helping out and plan to do more giving in the future..please see address for mailing donations on previous posting.

Bali, "Helmuts for Kids", pictures of Darrick and families

Bali, "Helmuts for kids", picture, family likes their helmut gift

We stopped this family on the road during rush hour...they seemed very suprised that some white boy was giving them a helmut for their little boy..

IF you want to donate to the "Helmut for Kids" fondation, see previous post for mailing address.

Traffic in Kuta (Bali)

This shows some of the traffic and many of the motorbikes around Kuta beach area of Bali.

Bali-"Helmuts For Kids", I give Bali kids new helmuts today, after pic

Here is the picture of the family after I gave the kids their new helmuts. See previous Post for Details and donation opportunities!

Bali-"Helmuts For Kids", I give 2 kids new helmuts today!, DONATION ADDRESS HERE......

This is a wonderful family I stopped on the rode today to provide helmuts. As you can see the kids are on the motorbikes without helmuts. Apparently it is legal for kids to be on motorbikes without helmuts, so parents don't bother purchasing them due to the cost (about $7). After learning this, I started thinking that maybe I could help.

I went to the helmut store and bought some helmuts and had an english speaking Indonesian help me by standing near the busy road to flag down families on motorbikes. He would explain to them that I have some free helmuts for their kids. Then we would take a before and after picture (see next post for photo of kids now wearing the helmuts).

If anybody who reads this has interest in helping to possibly save a kids life should they get in a bike accident (apparently many bike accidents here, because so much traffic), the holiday season is here, great time to be generous!

please send your donations to:

Darrick Cook

4110 se Hawthorne blvd #637

Portland, Oregon 97214

U.S.A

(make checks payable to Darrick Cook)

Choose any of the following options:

$15-provides 2 kids with a helmut

$30-provides 4 kids with a helmut

$45-provides 6 kids with a helmut

$60-provides 8 kids with a helmut

$75-provides 10 kids with a helmut

$90-provides 12 kids with a helmut

I negotiated discounts for larger purchases:

$200-provides 40 kids with helmuts!

$300-provides 60 kids with helmuts!!

$400-provides 80 kids with helmuts!!!

$500-provides 100kids with helmuts!!!!

You may do a one time donation OR you may also set up an automatic payment system to donate monthly using your free online bill pay or using www.paytrust.com .

Please send your check on the 1rst of everymonth, so I can anticipate helmut purchases and be ready.

Also, It may be a great time of year to give some taxdeductible donations!

See next post for after pictures and more family pictures.....

Feel free to comment on this blog and let me know your check is in the mail, otherwise I will have my sister checking the mail box occasionally...she will then deposit the funds in my account, so I can withdraw them here in Bali with my ATM Card and go on my Helmut shopping sprees!!!

Anybody can come join me anytime!!

peace,

Darrick

Bali- Pacung and Bedagul, Hunt for Durian

I expanded my comfort zone by heading to Central Bali on my motorbike in search for Durian. As it is not durian season everywhere here until February, One has to take extra measures to indulge in massive quantities of the God of all fruit. I had been paying a local Balinese guy to drive one hour ($10) and get me durian the last few times, but i decided to go explore some other areas in Bali away from the coastline and find durian myself...it was a fun ride through beautiful scenic roads with many rice fields and green lushness to view on the way. I saw my first durian roadside seller and pulled over as the rain had been coming down very hard and I was soaked and cold...i took shelter under the makeshift fruit stand and the accomodating, witty, some english speaking lady there named Madee, started opening some durians for me, the smell was strong and I began salivatating...i devoured about 2000 calories worth of fresh, ripe, sweet, creamy, custardy, smooth Durian in that next hour of Bliss....i met another local Balinese couple there eating it too..it felt like a we were all participating in a recreation druguse circle, we were so into our durian and the overwhelming flavors.

I ventured up to Bedagul and found a place to stay for about $9/night with hot water..i took my first hot shower in Asia..i was very chilled from the long rainy motorbike trip....
The next Day I hiked a volcano that was about 6000ft in elevation....3hour up and back trip, very steep....at the top there was a hindu temple and people had left things for the Gods...flowers, coconuts, etc... i drank a few coconuts and felt ok about it.
When i came backdown i stopped at a little roadside stand for water....lots of flys there landing on my legs, it didnt bother me at all....i thought how one fly might tickle and/or irritate me, but 20flys on my legs felt fine, no big deal...and the Balinese lady looked like she experienced this constantly with no stress......next i went to the fruit market..masssive quantities of delicious fruits....new ones too......they had grapes and strawberries here too, rambatons, salak, mangos, papaya, etc....i ate and ate....
then i notice two busloads of 17year old girls on tour there from Jawa...they saw me and all came over to get photos with me one by one....this took about one hour, but i felt honored....i did get hungry so i was eating some mangos during some of the photo shoots, also to inspire them to eat more fruit..
I headed back to Legian and stopped for more durian....i ate another 1500 of durian calories and brought some back to legian too...i spent about $20 for 10kilos.
My friend Jim showed up to stay in Bali for one week....we are friends from Tony Robbins, Platnum partners last year....it was fun to hang out with him tonight and catch up...he was staying in Bangkok for the last month, but is living in Colorado......i showed him were to buy the best $1.50 fruit plate on the beach (in front of Legian Beach hotel from a lady named Dayou and her sister is Dayou also....9-6everyday), he loved the mangos the best.....he tried durian and liked it also.