Last week we had the pleasure of celebrating Samantha’s birthday. A special decoration for her bed was prepared in great secrecy by our staff while her parents and brother hosted a special dinner at our Rama restaurant. Our restaurant team has set up a special table decorated in Balinese style. One more good memory to bring back from the Island of the Gods. Happy Birthday dear Samantha!
It is Dajuma that our dear repeaters Anthony & Cheryl from Australia (on the picture) as well as Jay and Sarah respectively from the Netherlands and Italy have chosen to pronounce their wedding vows last week. It was at sunset in the hotel grounds that they performed the rite of the marriage proposal, in an atmosphere that was both solemn and festive. As it should be, a romantic dinner followed in our Gazebo overlooking the beach to the delight of the bride and groom. Congratulations dear friends! We wish you all the best!
Last Saturday, coinciding with the day of the full moon, our village hosted the groundbreaking ceremony for the long-awaited construction of the toll road linking Gilimanuk and Mengwi, named Jagat Kerthi Bali Toll Road. In addition to symbolic ceremonies, traditional Hindu ceremonies were also performed. The event was attended by the Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (Mr. Basuki Hadimuljoko), the Governor of Bali, the Chief of Police of Bali, the Regent of Jembrana and also in the presence of the surrounding community. The construction of this 96.21 km toll road should begin in 2023. This is very good news for all the inhabitants and economic actors of West Bali!
Holidays are not always synonymous with idleness. This is particularly true in Bali when you visit the island as a tourist, where you are constantly encouraged to discover something new that delights you, be it cultural, artistic or sporting. This is the case of Dajuma whose site lends itself particularly well to all kinds of activities as shown in the photo with badminton, a very popular sport in Indonesia which has several of the best players in the world. A small overview of these on-site activities is given here: https://www.dajuma.com/e-library/#activities–tours. Enjoy!
For good reason, Balinese cuisine is highly appreciated by connoisseurs for its freshness, its spices and its variety, influenced by the geography of the island and its history. This makes it a tasty culinary experience for tourists discovering it for the first time. But unlike the West with its star-studded restaurants, good Balinese cuisine is everywhere, from the unlikely market food stalls as seen in the photo to the humble warungs found along the roads. Apart from the classics like nasi/bakmi goreng, nasi campur, gado-gado, sate, lawar, etc. they all have a specialty like the famous babi guling (grilled pig), bebek betutu (herb stuffed duck). Our customers Anne and Jacob on the photo, stopped at the Negara market to taste the traditional chicken porridge which they loved! Selamat makan! (Enjoy your meal!)
Last week, all of Indonesia celebrated Independence Day on August 17, while Jembrana (the regency where Dajuma is located) celebrated Bali Province’s birthday on August 14 and the anniversary of the city of Negara where the local government sits on August 15. After 2 and a half years of pandemic with its strict gathering restrictions, it goes without saying that these birthdays have taken a particularly festive turn. Many activities have been organized by the government, such as student walking competition, fun games, cultural parade and many more. All the roads were decorated with flags boosting the festive atmosphere. A beautiful show very appreciated by our guests!
Among the many Bali discovery activities offered by the hotel, there is one particularly appreciated by our guests: the rice farming experience. That’s what the UK’s Marsden family chose to do last week in a rice field located a few km from Dajuma. Welcomed by local farmers belonging to the family of one of our employees, they discovered how Balinese farmers go about cultivating rice, from plowing the rice field with a special ox-drawn plow to installing rice plants, all in a good mood! They enjoyed a lot this so unusual experience. Why don’t you try it next time you visit us?
This week, we had the pleasure of welcoming Sophie and Damien who stayed with us for 10 days. Among our various activities, they particularly appreciated the Balinese dance entertainment. For years we have supported the school of traditional dances of Pekutatan where young and talented dancers practice this beautiful art on our stage. Every week we welcome dancers during their rehearsals. On this occasion, our customers are invited to discover the symbolism of the gestures and the complex movements of these thousand-year-old dances. We are very happy that Sophie and Damien enjoyed them.
Since its opening in 2002, Dajuma has a habit of surprising newlyweds by decorating their beds with flowers. A beautiful tradition that is expressed today by this magnificent floral decoration shown in the photo. It required a good hour of preparation by our stewardship staff who are not lacking in imagination. For the newlyweds, the surprise is total because everything is prepared in the greatest secrecy in cooperation with the travel agents. Hope you like it!
Who has never dreamed, as a child, of learning how to make magnificent wood carvings? This is what Dajuma offers its customers, once a week. Under the guidance of a master sculptor who graduated from the Tabanan sculpture school, children and parents alike are welcome to learn the precise gestures of this ancestral Balinese art. The smile of our young guest in the photo says a lot about the pleasure he had in transforming an ordinary piece of wood into a beautiful sculpture. Other workshops of the same type are offered to our customers, among others, floral decorations, cooking lessons, learning the art of Balinese dance, massages, yoga (https://www.dajuma.com/e-library/#activities–tours).