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When Gecko complains to Raden, the jungle’s chief and a lion, about the fireflies that are keeping him awake, he sets in motion a string of complaints as each culprit of one animal’s complaint blames his actions on another’s behaviour. Eventually Raden is brought face to face with Rain:

When he reached Mount Batur’s highest peak, Chief Raden roared loudly, “Rain, why are you ruining the jungle pathways and causing so many problems for the animals?”

While waiting for Rain’s reply, Chief Raden dropped to the ground in exhaustion. Looking out over Bali, he saw sparkling rivers, blue skies filled with drifting clouds and endless hills of green. Raindrops fell, cooling his tired body. [...]

Raden then understood he was asking a very foolish question.

He returns home and delivers a few home truths to the animals about remembering all that Rain provides, and tells them to stop complaining but learn to live “in peace with one another”. By being considerate to their fellow creatures and recognising that there is much to appreciate in their own lives, they do in fact find themselves with little to complain about.

Gecko’s Complaint/ Keluhan Sang Tokek, a Balinese folktale, retold by Ann Martin Bowler and sumptuously illustrated by Balinese artist I Gusti Made Sukanada (Periplus Editions) is available both in English and, as of this year, as a bilingual book with English and Indonesian text. It is definitely a fable whose meaning has bearing on the lives of us humans. Chief Raden is a respected authority figure who listens and is decisive and fair – a role model who will also be respected by young listeners of the story. At the same time, the narrative doesn’t fall into the trap of being didactic but provides plenty of room for characterisation and humor to come through. The vibrant illustrations are full of jungle wildlife and we love the vignettes of animals, birds and flowers scattered through the text. Perhaps it’s an unreasonable quibble, but if another edition is ever planned, it would be great to have an appendix saying what they all are; it would provide a good counterbalance to the introduction, which gives an interesting overview of Indonesia and Bali in particular.

Ann talks a little about writing the book in her interview with PaperTigers – and I have to say, I’d love to know more about what she describes as the “adventure” of working with I Gusti Made Sukanada to create the book. She has also written a song, Complaining, to accompany the book – it’s available on her website.

To read a little more about how Gecko’s Complaint fits into Indonesian folklore, read this review from the Bali Advertiser. Many cultures feature animal fables in their traditional story-telling – do you have any particular favorites that you’d recommend as a bedtime story?

I am wearing the traditional balinese temple dress called kebaya.

We stopped at a warung-balinese local store in the middle of the rice fields, for drinks:

Madonna,(left) Yvonne(middle) Parham(right)

on the way we stopped again at artist Nyomans studio and gallery.
Nyoman also teaches traditional Balinese painting technique:

Nyomans Paintings:

More farmers :

A tree house in Bali:

After the morning walk, a dip in the pool at Ubud Bungalow:

Then at night, I had dinner with Robin , a writer from Turkey and SanFrancisco who now lives part of the year in Bali and again with Yvonne from Holland. We ate dinner at Noori's near the Neka Museum in Ubud, known for its famous Grill and martini.

and Sculpture of Visnu:

More Balinese landscape:

We stopped to buy some Sarongs and souveniers at Sukawati Market:

We proceeded to a Balinese Temple and wearing our sarongs and sash:

Below, Madonna in the Temple:

Maritel ,my friend, in the Temple below:

We had lunch at MAHAGIRI a restaurant that serves buffet overlooking the panaromic view of Mt. Agung, the biggest sacred volcano in Bali

Madonna with the view from Mahagiri Resort & Restaurant:

The view with Madonna & Maritel below:

The view with Mt. Agung:

After lunch we went to see one of bali's waterfall:

Then we stopped at a weavers workshop:

Then, back in Ubud, Maritel and I getting ready for a nice dinner in town :

Chantal’s cute home in Bali:

I am relaxing at Chantals front garden:

Jasmine from South Africa:

I made a new friend in Bali. Her name is Jasmine and we met in the plane from my flight from Singapore to Bali. We were seatmates and found out that we were staying near each other in Ubud. It is Jasmine's first trip to Bali and she is here to participate in a Yoga retreat.

Here we are( Jasmine and Madonna) in this fantastic restaurant in Ubud called Bebek Bengil where they serve a delicious meal of Crispy Duck, a Balinese delicacy.

More of Madonna and Jasmine in Ubud, Bali:

Our Dessert:Sinfull Balinese chocolate cake and Balinese Rose wine:

Maritel , a childhood friend from Australia:

I am happy to see my friend Maritel again. Maritel and I went to the same private all-girls school in Manila called Maryknoll College. She came to Bali for a couple of days to hang out with me. Yours truly with Maritel overlooking one of the Rice Terraces :

Madonna & Maritel With a Balinese Farmer:

Maritel and Madonna at the Ubud open market where you can buy lots of Balinese handicrafts, paintings, batiks , cermamics, etc.

Below, with a Balinese lady vendor wearing her traditional Balinese costume called Kebaya:

Hanging out in cafes and restaurants in Ubud, Bali, both located in Monkey Forest Road :

I continue my walk by passing by some farmers working on their rice fields:
They are very friendly. Behind the rice fields are some balinese villages:

A small balinese house in the middle of the rice field. I wonder who lives there:

Come follow me for more Rice Terraces and fields.

A farmers resting hut:




A temple dedicated to to Dewi Sri the Rice godess:

Another Balinese house in the middle of rice field:

I am staying again at Ubud Inn (where the author Elizabeth Gilbert of the book "Eat Pray Love" mentioned meeting one of the Staff of Ubud Inn named Mario or I Nengah Urip -his Balinese name) at Monkey Forest Road, in Ubud Bali.

Below is Mario and I in front of the water pond Garden in Ubud Inn: Mario Speaks several languages and I was able to converse with him in English and French since I also speak French , so I was very much impressed with him. He also speaks a little bit of German, having studied it in school here in Bali. He plans to take me to the famous healer/palm reader named Ketut Liyer ( also mentioned in Gilbert's book) in Ubud. I am looking forward to have my palm read. I recommend Mario as a guide/driver to anyone coming to Ubud. His email is [email protected].

This is my second time here in Ubud Inn and myseventh time in Bali. Yes, I love the island so much i keep coming back. Below is my little "Bungalow with my own walkway leading to the front porch.

I enjoy staying at this place , the staff is very nice:

and it has a beautiful garden landscape with salt water pool.

It also has wireless connection from the front restaurant where I am blogging this.
My front door, beautiful Balinese architectural design :

My simple Balinese bed : In some of the other places that I had stayed, in Bali ,
the furnishings are more intricate then the one I have below, but this bed is one of the most comfortable I've ever slept in--like a baby. I like firm matresses it's better for the back.

This is where I eat my breakfast: Normally I order typical balinese Banana pancake topped with coconut and a bowl of tropical fruits such as papaya, pineappla and banana. I also enjoy a cup of rich Balinese coffee which is a lot stronger than American coffee.

In a few weeks, I will be boarding once again SingaporeAir . This is my favorite airline because of the superb service and comfort. I will be away for a month starting in Bali, Indonesia followed by Hanoi, Vietnam and then on to Manila, Philippines.

In Bali, I always stay in Ubud. which is considered the centre of Bali's arts and culture. It is a remarkable town in the middle of the island of Bali and the climate is a lot cooler than the rest of the island. Once a refuge for scruffy backpackers, mystics, artists and bohemians, Ubud is now home for a lot of international as well as local artists. I like staying in Ubud, because there I can paint in peace ,but at the same time have enough social interaction with other artists if I want to. At the outskirt of Ubud are beautiful ricefields, village life and local scenes where one can have a glympse of the true Balinese way of living.

The last part of my trip will be Manila, Philippines. There, I will visit my father, Jose L. Angeles who will be turning 90 years old next year and my brother Jolan and his wife Tonette, together with their daughters Amanda and Anna .

Unfortuntaley, my daughter Bianca is in College now in Florida and won't be able to come with us for this trip. The last time Bianca was with us was in Singapore and Thailand two years ago :

Bianca in Thailand :

Batik Painting by Maria Madonna Davidoff

Here is where I set up studio in Ubud, Bali 2007

Below, I am painting my first batik with my Balinese Batik teacher Wayan:
Here you can see me applying the wax resist first:

With my Balinese Batik teacher Wayan:

Below are some of the traditional dyes I used in Bali:

This is how I use colored dyes for my batik :

This is how I dry my batik--outdoor under the sun, the natural way:
It can get very hot in Bali--As you can see in my face full of perspiration:

Finally, after a hard days work painting, here I am relaxing in front of my Bali bungalow:

This is my walkway towards the Bunglaow:

Relaxing in Ubud:

Below, I am in front of one of the Balinese temples:

As I've mentioned in my previous post, I keep a portable studio that contains mini tools and materials. In Bali, I had a folding easel and stool that has a backpack attached to it . I love this piece of equipment because it is lightweight and foldable plus Ican carry my materials in it as well:




My portable easel and stool/backpack in Bali, Indonesia.
I rented a small bungalow in Ubud, Bali last 2007. I will be going back there again this year. This is me painting in front of my bungalow:

A view from my Bali Bungalow

and my Bali landscape painting:

I recently saw 3:10 to Yuma, the new western starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Excellent film. Without going on about the good-looking leads, I'll get right to the literary point. (Spoiler alert.)

Conversation drives a scene. But it's really the foreground of a picture. To make the picture full, we must sketch in the white space. An easy way to do this is to describe facial expressions and character movement, but a subtle way of doing it is to use the artifacts in the scene in a meaningful way.

I'm using a movie to demonstrate this point, but the same technique can be used in writing. Russell Crowe's character, Ben Wade, sketches all the time (one of those character devices used to flesh out the villain). Dan Evans (Christian Bale) is a rancher whose last chance at saving his land is by delivering Wade alive to the 3:10 prison train to Yuma and collecting the reward. Dan Evans is established early on as passive. His barn is burned and he doesn't retaliate, even though he saw the men who burned it. His son is full of disrespect for the father he sees as spineless.

There is a point in the movie in which Wade and Evans sit alone in a hotel room, waiting for the train. The other bounty hunters have dropped out or been killed. Wade offers Evans $1000 to let him escape; given what we've seen Wade do to the other bounty hunters, this is a generous offer.

Time creeps toward the crisis: Will Evans take the easy way out? After all, the money is actually all he needs. And we've seen him take the easy way out before. Or will Evans strike a new path for himself? We've seen glimpses of the man he could be.

As they sit in tense silence, Wade sketches. Revealed later, the sketch is of Dan Evans as he kept vigil from the hotel window. But here's the important part: Wade drew the sketch on the only paper available--a title page in the Bible. When we see the sketch, we also see the words New Testament. This is a great example of using an artifact in the scene to further character/plot development. The sketch appearing on the New Testament points to the moment when Dan Evans becomes a new man--he will not sit back, he will not remain passive, he will not take the easy way out. He leaves the old Dan behind and rises up, bold and committed. This is his new testament.

I'd like to point out that the book Wade held was far too thick to be just a New Testament, unless they produced large print Bibles back then. Using the New Testament was a deliberate choice made by the film makers.

We can make this kind of choice in our writing. Our characters are surrounded by artifacts. Use those artifacts to reflect the story--it's a deft touch and delivers great impact.