Our guests who love surfing the Medewi wave, the longest left wave in the world with almost 500 meters long, have the choice to get there either by foot along the beach (20 min) or by car (10 min). A free shuttle service is offered to them on demand. On the picture, Juergen with the surfboard, Scott and Laurel from USA enjoy a lot this service, by combining every day, surf at Medewi and relax and wellness at Dajuma.
Close to Dajuma, is the State Plantation of Pulukan which is one of the preferred eco-tours of our guests. Imagine a huge 1200 ha area planted with all sorts of trees: coconut, coffee, cacao, clove trees, and the most popular, rubber trees from which the sap is extracted and treated on site in a workshop.
Our guests enjoy this 4 hours tour by 4WD jeep and by foot. It ends on top of the plantation by a revigorating lunch with a breathtaking view of the ocean. On the picture, Jeremie and Vanina from France with their guides Mertha and Sumawa, were offered rubber bracelets which present this astonishing property to automatically solder when you join their extremities. A small souvenir of a great moment of sharing with Mother Nature!
Many thanks to our last month guest Kristin from Australia for her appreciation on Trip advisor about Dajuma highlights and “the most beautiful garden I have seen in Bali”!
It is true all the gardeners team around Yuliartha, as a charismatic leader, is proud to create day after day a real outside work of art. In more than 1,5 ha they cultivate with passion a wide variety of trees, plants and flowers, using natural compost made on site from our kitchen garbage. When strolling along the paths, our guests are always astonished and enchanted to discover a rainbow of colors and delicate scents: orchids, frangipani, bougainvilliers, heliconya, soka are some examples of them. But often comes up the question: what is the name of this flower, plant or tree? The solution was to label each and every of our species (70 different in total) with bamboo signs through-out the property. It is what has been done last week, the new bamboo signs replacing the old ones made from aluminium which were in place for more than 15 years. Visitors and guests can continue to learn and enjoy about the extraordinary diversity of the Balinese flora.
On the picture, Yuliarta and his team. From left to right: Yuliarta, Umar, Zikin, Mudita, Gunaya. Thanks also, guys, for the specific sceneries you build for each event: romantic dinners, anniversaries, weddings, temple festival, new Year… You are the best gardeners we can dream of!
In Balinese culture, “Jamu” is a key word and a art of living. It is also the name of one of our popular « healthy coolers ». Why such a name? Because in Bahasa Indonesia, its meaning is “treatment of diseases by plants” and we would translate it by phytotherapy. In each Balinese family, there is is an ancestral know how transmitted from generation to generation about the vertues of the plants. With the help of local specialists, we elaborated at Dajuma some healthy drinks based on local plants which are not only good at taste but also revigorating and much appreciated by our guests. On the picture, a sample of these unique ingredients entering into the recipe of our Jamu healthy drink: turmeric, tamarin and lime. Selamat minum (Cheers)!
Since now more than 3 years, we are offering to our guests water fountains where they can refill their glass pitcher free of charge. By doing so, we eliminate most of the plastic bottles which are so difficult to recycle in Bali. The water delivered by these fountains comes from a 40 m deep well and is then purified by ceramic filters. Its purity is regularly controlled by the Quantum laboratory in Denpasar. However, some of our guests still prefer to drink water from plastic bottles and, for them especially, we created with the help of our neighboring craftmen these nice covers made from the bamboo and palm leaves. Hopefully they will one day give up the plastic bottles. This is one of our hope!
Since a long time, Bali is famous for the quality of its cuisine. It is easy to check when you are visiting the island where beautifully decorated or more modest warungs (restaurants ) invite you to taste the delicious local specialties such as Babi Guling (Roasted pork), Bebek Betutu (Stuffed duck), Nasi Campur (Mixed fried rice) and the famous Rijsttafel (Combination of the most popular Balinese dishes). But it is also true in the daily life of Balinese families. On the picture, some kids of Dajuma staff are sharing a lunch composed of black beans soup, tumbali (meat cooked in banana leaf), rice crackers and tofu.
There are two main reasons why the Balinese cuisine is so well appreciated: Because of its location in the middle of the Indonesian archipelago, the island has been influenced through the centuries by many different cultures, each of them having brought its contribution to the cuisine. The second reason is definitively linked to the infinite variety of spices we can find in the island. Just a few of them are shown on the picture: torch ginger, star aniss, cardamon, white pepper, white ginger, cinamon, turmeric, nutmeg. Selamat makan! (Enjoy your meal!)
From April to November, we are lucky to see each year the laying of sea turtles on the beaches surrounding Dajuma. The eggs are quickly brought to the sea turtle conservatory in Perancak that we support for years. After 50 to 70 days the eggs hatch in a protected place, giving birth to baby turtles. Our customers and especially children are always very excited to follow the process until the birth of baby turtles. And what an emotion when you take into your hands these beings still so fragile to put them to sea safely!
Every 21st of April, Indonesians commemorate Hari Kartini (Kartini’s Day). A day to celebrate the Indonesian hero of women empowerment – Raden Ajeng Kartini, also called Ibu Kartini (1879-1904). She was a pioneer in the area of education for girls and women’s rights for Indonesians. She wrote letters about her ideas and feelings which were published in a Dutch magazine. The most popular book she wrote titled “Out of Darkness to Light” (Habis gelap terbitlah terang, in Bahasa). Kartini greatly contributed to improve the condition of all Indonesian women. On the picture our feminin staff celebrating the Kartini’s Spirit.
By chance, this couple of dwarf hens became the mascot of Dajuma. Every day, they roam the entire property in all directions to the delight of our customers and especially children. They are incredibly kind and cute to watch. They also fulfill their role in terms of cleaning the garden. Our staff has named them Upin Ipin, an easy-to-remember nickname that refers to the Malaysian cartoon, which is very popular in Indonesia at the moment. We are sure you will be happy to meet them on your next visit to Dajuma!
Dajuma is also the place in West Bali where it is nice to stop over for a delicious lunch on the beach. This is what is shown on these pictures where 2 groups of guests stop recently for a revigorating break around our delicious specialty called Balinese Rijsttafel. Imagine a traditional tray called Rsi Bojana, normally used for offerings, where are disposed 6 different dishes typical of Balinese cuisine. A culinary experience which is worth it. Why don’t you also stop over next time you travel from/to Java or Menjangan? We would be delighted to welcome you!