Book Review

Ni Wayan Murni
Kabar Magazine

Travel, Experience, Taste, June-July 2006

Treasures of Bali, A Guide to Museums in Bali
written and edited by Richard Mann
Gateway Books International, 2006

I witnessed this book’s strange birth. The quintessentially English publisher Richard Mann stayed at my Villa a couple of years ago, researching and writing ‘Bali off the Beaten Track’. He came up to me at breakfast one morning and said, ‘Murni, I’ve woken up with the idea of writing the first ever guide book to all the museums of Bali. It’s never been done before.’

Shortly afterwards Richard met Nyoman Gunarsa, probably Bali’s most famous living artist, who is also chairman of the Bali Museums Association. That evening Richard caught up with me in my restaurant and reported his evident excitement, ‘Murni, do you remember my museums guide book idea? You won’t believe it, but Nyoman Gunarsa supports it and wants me to publish it.’ It was a curious coincidence that that both men, from opposite sides of the world, had the same wish at the same time.

That was a year ago. It has been a lot of work, but the book has now appeared and is glorious. There are twenty-one museums in Bali, some are private, like the most popular one, Neka Art Museum in Ubud, which is encyclopaedic in its range of paintings, and others are government run, like the little known Museum Gedong Kirtya in Singaraja, which houses a collection of 6,753 traditional lontar palm leaf manuscripts. The museums are all over the island, although most are concentrated in the Ubud area, which is not surprising as Ubud is the cultural heart of Bali. The major museums have twelve pages each and the smaller ones have one page each.

I am not aware of any guide book that even mentions the wide range of museums that exist here. It is a great contribution. There is a helpful list of details for each one: address, telephone, fax, e-mail, web site, opening hours, facilities and how to get there. Every museum has a floor plan and there are useful maps at the end of the book showing how to find all the places featured. The cover is a beautiful painting from the Kerta Gosa Museum.

Richard has visited all of them several times and has composed a narrative describing their collections. Numerous stunning photographs illustrate examples from the collections. In some cases there are interviews with the museums’ owners, which outline their various philosophies, perspectives and aims.

Of course, most, if not all, of the museums do not sell their art works. With your appetites whetted by seeing all this beauty and wanting to own a piece of Balinese culture yourself, it is great that the book also contains details and descriptions of Bali’s leading galleries, which sell antiques, paintings, textiles, sculptures, masks and other treasures. I am very proud that this book features my own shop in Ubud among them.

Treasures of Bali

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Murni’s Houses Facilities and Food

• Enlarged Dining and Lounge Area.
• All Day Breakfast.
• Other Meals.
• Free Coffee and Tea Facilities.
• Award-Winning Tamarind Spa.
• Free Wifi.
• Electronic Safes.
• Electricity.
• Hot Water.
• Ventilation.
• Fly Screens.
• Fans.
• Option of Air conditioning or fans in 10 out of 12 rooms.
• Blankets.
• Mini-Bar.
• Baby-Crib.
• Shop.
• Fire Extinguishers.
• Newspapers.
• Transport.
• Tours, Courses and Activities.
• Swimming Pool.
• Yoga Space.

Tamarind Spa

We have our own famous Award-Winning  spa  – Tamarind Spa at Murni’s Houses.

Treat yourself after a long flight to our popular Tamarind Spa Arrival Package.

All Day Breakfast

Murni’s Big Breakfast: two eggs served to order, ham or bacon, toast with home made jam, yoghurt with fruit and honey, and coffee or tea.

With beds so comfortable, why force our guests to wake up early for breakfast?

We serve delicious, freshly made breakfast upon request anytime anywhere within Murni’s Houses. You can enjoy it on your veranda or in our dining area.

Murni’s Big Breakfast is two eggs served to order, ham or bacon, toast with home made jam, yoghurt with fruit and honey, and coffee or tea.

Vegetarian and Balinese options are available.

Bubur Mebasa, Fruit Salad, Pot of Tea. Bubur Mebasa: Rice porridge with turmeric, ginger, garlic, shallots, chillies and Balinese herbs.

Mie Goreng, Mangosteen and Papaya Juice: Mie Goreng are stir-fried noodles, chicken, local vegetables and chilli soy sauce. It can also be vegetarian.Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Battered Tomatoes, Toast, Home Made Jam.

Mie Kuah, Shrimp Crackers (krupuk), Mixed Fruit Juice. Mie Kuah:  Very tasty, healthy noodle soup with chicken and lots of fresh vegetables.

Nasi Goreng: Fried white rice, stir-fried chicken, local vegetables, shrimp cracker, acar (pickles), chili soy sauce, omelette.

Cinnamon Toast. Sugar and cinnamon sprinkled generously over 2 slices of hot buttered toast.

Balinese Crêpes: Balinese banana pancakes with palm sugar.

French Toast and Honey: 2 slices of bread soaked in free-range eggs, a little bit of cinnamon,  milk, fried and drenched in honey, a Roman recipe of the first century AD.

Yoghurt, Fruit and Honey.

À la carte Breakfast Menu: here.

You can access it contact-free  on your phone or iPad using the QR Code: here.

Breakfast Menu included in the room rate: here.

You can access it contact-free  on your phone or iPad using the QR Code: here.

Other Meals

There is day and evening room service from our internationally famous restaurant, Murni’s Warung, just three minutes walk away.

Free Drinks

Free coffee and tea facilities and drinking water in every accommodation.

Emping and Wine

Emping and Wine.

Emping are crispy, crunchy, irresistible Indonesian chips, made of tasty melinjo nuts, which are, in fact, seeds. The snacky crackers have a very slight bitter taste and once you start you can’t stop! Best served with a pinch of salt and a glass of white or red wine at Murni’s Houses  – a must-have after a day’s sightseeing. 

Free WiFi

Free WiFi throughout.

Electricity, Hot Water, Ventilation, FlyScreen, Fans, Blankets, and Mini-Bar

Murni’s Houses have 220/50HZ electricity, generator, hot running water, flow-through ventilation and are fully mosquito-screened. Included are fans, blankets and a mini-bar.

Baby-Crib

A baby crib is available.

Murni’s Houses Shop

Murni has beautiful hand-picked items in her shop.

Newspapers

We get the Jakarta Post (in English) delivered every day.

Transport

We can arrange pick ups and drops at the airport or anywhere else on the island and trips throughout Bali.

We only use legal, experienced drivers with good English language skills and well-maintained vehicles, which we use ourselves.

Tours, Courses and Activities

We can arrange tours, activities and classes.

Pool

We have a spectacular new pool with sun-loungers.

Yoga Space

We have a spectacular new yoga space.

Murni’s Houses Facilities and Food

The post Murni’s Houses Facilities and Food appeared first on Murni's in Bali.