Here I would love to share with you our travels and adventures as international mushroom consultants. MEMOIRS about husband Pieter Vedder, who was a SCIENTIFIC PIONEER in Commercial Mushroom Cultivation Education. His practical handbook is in 9 languages and is called the MUSHROOM BIBLE: https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2020/08/modern-mushroom-growing-2020-harvesting.html
Short 41 seconds video with more info below —if viewed on YouTube.
On Friday, May 13, 1983 after rising very early at the Mandarin hotel, we flew at 6:15 from Jakarta to Denpasar Bali
This photo is taken at the mansion of our 'would be boss'...
We got picked up and dropped off at the Bali Beach hotel and did tour the Bali Raya tuna cannery.
We NEVER knew that from such a huge fish as tuna, they only use the inner part about 30%, a kind of a 'tenderloin' and all the rest is being removed. Guess that goes into cat food or whatever...
We also went up high into the mountains for studying grounds for growing vegetables.
It was a drive of 1.5 hour and it was rainy and cold.
Good soil for growing sweet potatoes!
Lunch at the Golfclub BALI HANDARA, a pity that the weather was so bad...
We lunched with a Balinese Prince who's father used to have some 45 wives, but he instead was very modest and only had 4.
They arranged a personal driver for both of us because Pieter had motion sickness, from the bus winding through the mountains.
With our driver we also did visit the artist villages of Mas and Ubud for buying some Balinese woodcarvings.
While on the road, we also got to see a Balinese corpse burning...
By 19:00 we had to be ready for a big party in Bapak Soetantyo's mansion, with a huge tropical garden but it rained cats and dogs! There were several international business guests from the UK and the US and both of us.
We got assured though that Bapak Soetantyo would most certainly call in a Dukun to expel the dark clouds! If necessary, even two... The Dukuns are the Shamans there. Yes, we had arrived at the magical BALI!
Bapak Soetantyo's mansion as well as the garden, were a dream... and mysteriously it was clear and no rain.
Bapak Soetantyo persuaded me to go to the Balinese statue and touch it... Working magic through it, via the Dukuns, to influence me that I should opt for living in Indonesia instead of living in the USA... It didn't work though.
Seven years later however, we went to work and live there.
A huge Balinese wood carving panel on the wall of Bapak Soetantyo's mansion.
We bought some, but not quite that size!
Unbelievable craftsmanship in meticulous woodcarving...
A Gamelan orchestra got arranged for playing music...
Balinese dansers performed...
The western men got summoned to partake in this Balinese dancing...
Pieter trying his very best version here above!
Quite serious...
Pieter did look good in his McGregor suit...
Enough dancing!
Pieter is standing next to one of the Balinese figures, exactly the same as we have in our Balinese chess set.
The evening was like a dream with an open-air buffet and we got seated at tables.
Very impressed, we went back to our hotel by 21:30.
On Saturday, May 14, we woke up early with sunshine and had the day off so we did spend it under the palm trees at the beech. Breakfast outdoors and we met with some Belgian and German tourists...
Traditional Prahu boats lined up...
A beautiful day ending...
We enjoyed a great dinner at the fish restaurant of Bali Beach together with four other men from the Indonesian company.
On Sunday, May 15, at 9:00 we have our flight back to Jakarta. Goodbye Bali!
Coming from the Tankuban Perahu Crater we went to Maribaya Hot Springs and Waterfall.
The sulfur-laden water of Maribaya's Hot Springs are well known and have not become a favorite Resort area!
We went there on May 11, 1983...
You can see the steam coming from the hot springs!
There was a Giant Frog carving...
The frog did not turn around, when I teased it with my jacket!
I'd climbed over to this hungry frog...
That giant frog did not bite me but I'd put back on my jacket as it was rather cool in the mountains!
Indonesia is a tropical land yes, but the higher you go, the cooler it gets!
A stop on our way back to Bandung (about 30 km) to see the hot sulfur water here in Parongpong.
It is a beautiful 30 minute trip back to the city of Bandung where we were staying at a guest house.
Next day we went back to Jakarta on an early flight from 6:30 AM.
Our 'boy' woke us up and very modestly, he handed us the dry-ironed (!) underwear laundry! His wife had stayed up for doing that, because of the tropical rain it was not otherwise possible to get it dry... This cannot be reimbursed even with a tip! It made me almost cry, touching the still warm cottons.
