Land of the 1000 Ketuts

The traditional naming system is one of the charming peculiarities of Bali. If you follow this system (and many do) you name your children in the order they are born. Putu will be a firstborn son or daughter, Made is a no. 2 child, Nyoman no. 3 and Ketut no. 4. After Ketut the cycle starts all over again with Putu. So when you meet a Ketut, you will know that he or she has 3 older siblings. Or 7. Or 11. Smart, isn’t it?

The only problem is that everyone tends to be named the same. In Jamahal we have a staff of 60 and 7 of them are called Ketut. We use nicknames a lot.

Find your own Bali-name here:

Firstborn: Putu, Gede or Wayan

2nd child: Made or Kadek

3rd child: Nyoman or Komang

4th child: Ketut

Catch of the day

It is tuna season in Jimbaran Bay. The fishermen are having a field day, hauling in huge yellowfins by the netful. They use only low impact fishing methods, and on days like these they are rewarded for it. And so are we. Tuna doesn't get any better than this.

Temples

Bali is often called ’Island of the Thousand Temples’. The meaning of 'thousand' in this phrase is 'too many to count', otherwise it would be a colossal understatement. There are shrines on every piece of land, in every house, in every village, town and city, in the lakes, on the mountains, in the jungles, by the waterfalls, on the islands, beaches and by the rivers.

Some are barely more than four sticks poked into the ground, with a weaved bamboo mat on top to keep the offering dry. Others are sprawling building complexes that require the efforts of kingdoms to erect. Each temple has its own unique position in the cosmic hierarchy that springs from the Mother Temple in Besakih on the slopes of Mount Agung, Bali’s most holy mountain.

Jamahal has several temples. There is one in every villa and several other large and small places of worship dotted around the grounds. They are used every day, devotedly.

The big night

Images from the big night:

The ballroom was filled with industry professionals from all over the world

Managing Director Andre Makhijani and Director Dhita Hadisubrata of Jamahal receive the (heavy!) trophy...

Did you honor your hammer today?

Today is Tumpek Landep, the day when the Balinese give thanks to Sang Hyang Pasupeti, Lord of the Heirlooms, for the creation of metal goods. Offerings are made for kitchen implements, garden tools and machines. Builders take the day off to make offerings for their tools. Car washers have the busiest day of the year as all Balinese bring their vehicles in to get pampered and prettied up with bamboo ornaments and offerings.

Eat, pray and love in Bali

Follow in the footsteps of Julia Roberts as we celebrate the launch of the movie with three new packages based on the central themes of Elizabeth Gilbert's bestselling novel: For all lovers of Bali we present the three new packages eat, pray and love.

Jamahal wins Best Luxury Boutique Hotel 2010

Everyone at our little resort has really been looking forward to this Friday Evening. We knew that we had won an award at the World Luxury Hotel Awards, but not in which category. Of course practically any reward would feel as a huge achievement, but we hoped it was in one of the major categories. And tonight at the big award ceremony in Bangkok it was announced that Jamahal Private Resort and Spa has won one of the big ones: the Best Luxury Boutique Hotel award for Bali. Thank you everyone for all your support.