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The Swiss ethnomusicologist Ernst Schlager (1900-64) and ethnologist Dr. Urs. Ramseyer lived and worked for many years in the Sideman area, southwest of Iseh. Presently, a Swiss charitable foundation has established a special school here devoted to propagating and strengthening traditional Balinese culture. With 120 students, the school’s curriculum includes the study of ‘adat’, crafts, music, dance, painting, water divination, calendrical traditions, the Balinese language, traditional penmanship, literature, and the Bali-Hindu religion.
Visit also the weaving factory Pertenunan Pelangi opposite Sideman Homestay. There are several workshops and outlets where you can purchase expensive silk ‘kain songket’ interwoven with designs of gold and silver thread, as well as distinctive Sideman-style ‘endek’ garments. This beautiful area is also known for its scholarly healers, ‘balian usaba’. Here also is enacted the ‘barong ketek’, a dance drama concerning a highly esteemed mythical lion. This magical creature also serves a curative function-’tirta’ from his beard is prescribed by area ‘balian’ to clients ill or enduring ill fortune.
Sidemen Homestay (tel. 62366-21.811) has one of the nicest locations on Bali: 14 comfortable bungalows with fans, fine food (four-course dinners), good service, and superb views. Climb the many steps to enjoy a drink at the bar, with Gunung Agung rearing up behind you. See also Sanur Beach; at night lights sparkle all along the coast. In the vast expanse of ’sawah’ in front is a wonderful collection of ragged, multicolored scarecrows.
Still, the charge is an astonishing sum (though guests seem willing to pay it). No air conditioning, ‘kelambu’, hot water, nor Visa, but the rooms are nicely furnished, the beds decent, and the ambience peaceful. Good library of Balinesian books in all languages. Ibu Putu also runs Subak Tabola Inn (tel. 62366-23.015) that lies in the middle of ‘padi bali’, three km from the main road at the end of a walking track; nice gardens, pool, and basic meals served.
Alternatives? Two km from Sideman Homestay in Desa Tabola is Homestay Patal, a better deal: with six spacious, quiet, set in a well-tended garden high on a hillside, half a km from the road. Also check out the American Emerald Star’s Tirta Sari; luxury accommodations, meditation center, many sacred rocks in the area. Reach Sidemen by traveling west on the scenic road from Amlapura through Bebandem, Putung, and Iseh, or by waiting for a ‘bemo’ at the turn at Satria (or Sampalan Tenah) northeast of Klungkung, then traveling 12 km through the hills. Stand in front of Sidemen’s market for a lift out of town in either direction.
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