All language subtitles for Travel.Quest.With.Bill.Ball.S02E01.CONVERT.1080p.HDTV.H264-CBFM

BILL BALL: In virtually
every show I've done,

I've talked about
UNESCO world heritage sites.

These are sites that

the United Nations Education,
Science and Cultural Organisation

have deemed so important

that they must be protected
by the world,

rather than just the country
they're found in.

They can be natural or man-made.

Over the years,
I have had the privilege

of visiting literally
hundreds of UNESCO sites,

like Virunga National Park in Rwanda,

home to the mountain gorilla,

the Royal Mound Tombs in South Korea,

the Okavango Delta in Botswana,

the Taj Mahal in India

and the Sydney Opera House.

I have learned that when visiting
a new country or region,

UNESCO sites are pretty good
indicators of what is important

and are the must-sees.

So it became important to me
to seek out the sites

that were pivotal in the creation
of the UNESCO ideal.

Last year,

when I checked the orangutan and
Komodo dragon off my bucket list,

I learned where one such site
was located,

so I am returning to the remote
island nation of Indonesia

on my quest for Borobudur,

the original UNESCO site.

Since I was young,

I had an intense desire
to discover the world around me.

That hasn't changed -
just the level of adventure.

Now every journey has a purpose

and each time I venture out

to explore new destinations
around the globe,

I am following my Travel Quest.

Indonesia's a series of islands

south of mainland Malaysia
in South-East Asia.

It actually shares one island,
Borneo, with Malaysia.

It is also one of the most populated
countries in the world,

fourth after China, India and the US,

with 270 million people.

In fact, many predict it will
eclipse the US in the next decade

for the number-three spot.

Primarily a Muslim country - the
largest by population in the world -

it never the less has
a great religious diversity,

with islands that are mainly Hindu

and others that are Christian.

This is a multicultural country
with religious tolerance

and little if any extremism.

That makes it a safe place to travel

and its exotic culture
makes it exciting.

To get to Borobudur,

you will have to fly into
either Jakarta or Bali

and pick up a local
inter-island flight from there.

For me, it was a no-brainer.

I would fly through Bali

and stay a few days to take in
the local sights and vibe.

As a musical theatre buff,

South Pacific's 'Bali Hai'
rang in my ears

and yet, I was surprised to find
Rogers and Hammerstein's masterpiece

had one fatal flaw.

Bali is not in the South Pacific.

In fact, it's not in the Pacific
at all!

It is in the Indian Ocean.

We flew into the capital city
of Denpasar.

Bali is actually at the western end

of an archipelago of islands
called the Lesser Sunda Islands,

to the east of Java.

It has a population
of nearly 4 million,

of which over 80% are Hindu.

So despite Indonesia
being primarily Muslim,

the most famous island is Hindu.

That is just one reason
why Indonesia is so interesting.

From the capital city,
it is only a few hours' drive

to either the beaches
or the cultural capital of Ubud.

With only a limited amount of time
in Bali,

I reluctantly gave up the beaches

to experience the cultural side.

I had been to Ubud several years ago

and it was a sleepy town
with lots of incredible temples.

That has changed.

It has grown into a full-service
tourist town

and as such,
Bali has been selling itself

as one of the great destinations
of Asia.

It has even become
the spring-break scene

for Australia's college students.

Ubud has taken a turn towards tourism

but it's still basically
a place of shrines and temples.

There are few hotels that are
destinations in themselves.

There are some nice hotels,
even some luxurious ones

and often, they add an ambience
to the area you're going to.

But there are few hotels that
you go to just to see the hotel.

The Lokha is one of those.

One of Bali's biggest cultural draws

is also one of its most scenic.

Early tourism in Bali often ignored
the rice terraces.

I mean, they were
part of everyday life.

But that all changed when UNESCO
added them

to the world heritage list.

These rice terraces have been here
for 1,300 years.

They are one of the most ingenious
agricultural techniques I have seen.

Water can be put in
or taken out of each level,

depending on the harvest
and planting schedule.

They can spread the harvest season
out by staggering the fields,

for both labour concerns
and food needs.

The locals don't much care that their
fields have been made a UNESCO site.

They still look at them
as lunch and dinner.

Talking about lunch and dinner,

one of the most interesting things
you can do in any country

is visit their food marketplace,

whether it be a traditional
Western grocery store

or a series of
vegetable and meat stands.

Here, the locals buy fresh.

This is the ultimate farm-to-table.

You learn more about a culture
from the food

than pretty much anything else,

so I never miss a chance
to visit a food market.

Plus, the people-watching is great!

Of course, visiting Bali without
visiting a temple or two

would be like visiting Paris
and missing the Eiffel Tower,

or Rome with the Forum.

One of the most scenic
is the Besakih Temple.

The detail on the temple
is remarkable.

Remember, these are Hindu temples -

Bali is mostly Hindu, like India.

These temples are not only for show

but are truly religious sites.

One the way to one of the temples,

I had a very pleasant surprise.

Not only do people visit
the scenic temples

but so do monkeys.

I love nature

and I especially love watching the
crazy antics of our primate cousins.

They seem almost human
in their playfulness.

The locals regard monkeys
as the protector of the temples,

so they are well taken care of.

They are still wild,
so as friendly as they seem,

keep a safe distance.

But not all the temples
are giant crowd-pleasers.

Bali is known as
the island of a thousand temples

but in reality,
there's more like 2,100,

so that you can find your own temple,
away from the crowds,

where you can have
spiritual enlightenment

without the maddening rush of Bali.

The local guide told me
about this small local temple

called Goa Garba.

It is often visited by couples
before they get married,

so they can have some solitude.

This is one of those
out-of-the-way places I love.

On the opposite side of the solitude
scale is the Tanah Lot Temple.

On a cliff at the water's edge,

this is one of the most photographed
in Bali.

And if you choose
to be there at dusk,

the caves below the temple

produce one of the most interesting
wildlife spectacles -

the nightly flight of bats
leaving the bat cave.

The next morning, our guide
had a special surprise for us.

I thought maybe another temple
or a handicraft market,

or best of all, some cool food.

Turns out...none of the above.

What the guide had in store for me
and my friends

was an adventure
I would have never dreamed of.

We were going white-water rafting!

We had to get the instructions
on what we were to do

and all the safety gear

before we set out
on our thrilling water ride.

Of course, each of us had to sign
our lives away on liability waivers.

Maybe saying, "Signing our
lives away," is a bit premature.

Most of my friends
have never rafted before.

They were excitedly nervous

but game.

That, to me, was quite impressive.

We divided up into four rafts,

four of us and an experienced guide
in each.

The experienced guide was key,
as he had to steer,

add a lot of the paddle power

and keep everyone focused
on the fun part of rafting.

Our videographer, Dave, and I
each had a Go-Pro

to record our rafting experience.

Paddling and holding a Go-Pro
would be a challenge

but that's what makes
doing a travel show interesting.

Well, that and the travel part.

These were level 2 and 3 rapids,

which makes them challenging
but not too challenging.

Rapids are rated on a 1 to 6 level,

with 6 being the most intense.

These rapids were just about
the perfect level

for a great thrill but yet
a safe day out for my friends.

This is something
we will never forget.

This ride was not only thrilling

but scenic - at least when you could
slow down enough to enjoy it.

As a reward for tackling
the whitewater,

there was one more surprise for us -

riding back to town in convertibles.

Yeah, I know - this is
not very Indonesian per se

but I never had this opportunity
anywhere else,

so savour it I did.

I mean, you should celebrate
all the large and small victories,

so I call this a celebration
of surviving the whitewater.

Bali is an island
full of wonderful scenery,

incredible Hindu temples
and ancient wonders.

But my quest was
to see one of the reasons

UNESCO world heritage sites
even exist.

Borobudur, the great
ancient Buddhist temple,

had been called one of the new
Seven Wonders of the World.

So it would be yet another flight -

remember, Indonesia
is a chain of islands,

so there is no way
to drive across the country.

This time, the flight would take us
to the city of Yogyakarta.

This is a city of universities -
78 of them!

With 5 million residents,

Yogyakarta is a major
population centre for Indonesia.

We arrived in town before
check-in time at the hotel,

so I'm not one to waste a moment -

I asked our local guide to take us to
Indonesia's top art form - batik.

It was located just down the street
from the hotel,

so with an hour to kill
before check-in time,

I had the opportunity to learn
the art of batik.

Batik is an ancient art form
dating to the 580s AD.

A master can create multicoloured
pieces that are amazing.

Last year, I found myself
in Yogyakarta

in transit to see the orangutans

and I was pulled into making cigars
at a local factory.

Once again, I am invited
to try my hand at a skilled craft.

By now, you can probably guess
how this will turn out.

It's abstract.

I am not a skilled craftsman,
by any means.

I even had trouble
making stick figures.

But I am always up for a challenge

and this ended up more of a challenge
than I could have imagined.

MAN: What is that supposed to be?

It is...the human experience

of really bad art.

Batik, though found
in many countries,

is an Indonesian art form.

Originating on the island of Java,

batik is make by applying wax

to exclude dye
from certain parts of the textile,

creating patterns and special styles.

Then wax is removed by boiling water

and new wax can be applied
to keep out the next colour.

This is repeated for each colour.

The more colours,
the more expensive the piece.

UNESCO has designated this
an intangible cultural heritage,

meaning it does not have
a physical address or monument.

Despite my poor attempt
at this art form,

I am in love with it.

And yes - I bought some pieces.

It is not just batik

that I have fallen in love with
here in Indonesia.

It's the whole culture,

the incredible wildlife
and super friendly people.

So much so that I returned
for a second year

to see more of this wondrous country.

Last year, I tracked one of our
closest and most peaceful cousins,

the orangutan,

deep into the Borneo rainforest -

another of the many islands
that make up this country.

I followed that up with a visit

to one of the new seven
natural wonders of the world -

Komodo island, where the real dragons
live and breed.

But it was while we were waiting
for our flight to Borneo

that I saw the other great
UNESCO site

near the city of Yogyakarta -

Prambanan.

This late-800s Hindu complex

was awe-inspiring,

with the remnants
of over 200 temples.

My guide last year said

that there was the world's
largest Buddhist temple,

which was even grander and older
than Prambanan,

and only an hour or so away.

But I had run out of time then,

so here I am, back in Yogyakarta,

ready to follow my new quest.

Over 1,200 years ago,

a great competition was going on.

On one side of what would become
Yogyakarta,

the Buddhists built the great
Borobudur Temple.

On the other side,
the Hindus came back

with the biggest, tallest temple
in all of South-East Asia -

and this was the result.

I was eager to head to my quest
on our first day

but our guide said that it would not
give Borobudur is due

and he wanted me to experience the
modern context of the island first.

So instead, he had the idea
of visiting a local village

and immerse ourselves
in the Javanese culture.

A few small villages -

this one has just over
4,000 residents -

have opened their doors, so to speak,
to foreign visitors,

sharing their lifestyle
with interested people

while securing some income.

Though many foreigners
skip this personal tourism

for the big sights of Prambanan
and Borobudur,

I try to never miss
this kind of opportunity,

since this is a more authentic way
to learn about a country

and its people.

One of the most interesting people
we found in the village

was the Sugar Man.

It was his preferred name - no-one
called him any other name than that.

He made his living producing
coconut-flower sugar.

I had never heard of that before
and probably for good reason -

to get this super-sweet,
super good sugar,

you have to climb the coconut tree
when it is blooming

and extract small portions of sugar

from the flowers.

The sugar is great -

but the risk of falling,
for such a small return,

is mind-boggling.

Sugar Man is in his late 70s now

and up to five years ago,

he climbed the trees himself.

Now he lets the younger men climb

while he still produces
the delicious sweets.

The village literally
threw their doors open for us

as we watched cassava crackers,
a common food source here,

being made from scratch.

The next-door musician invited us in
to play the local instruments.

I love hands-on experiences
and though I'm rarely good at them,

it is the immersive nature
that attracts me.

(INSTRUMENTS CHIME MELODIOUSLY)

My friends and I formed an impromptu
Indonesian rock band

and off we went.

I may have under-estimated
our skill at this.

(INSTRUMENTS CHIME DISCORDANTLY)

Uh, on second thought, no.

I didn't UNDER-estimate
our musical prowess.

I over-estimated it.

After hearing a professional play,

I realised how beautiful
it could sound.

(INSTRUMENTS CHIME MELODIOUSLY)

But we weren't deterred
and when asked to play again,

we eagerly complied.

(INSTRUMENTS CHIME DISCORDANTLY)

WOMAN: Bravo. Big applause, please!

(APPLAUSE)

Another house down the road

demonstrated an Indonesian art form
that the country is famous for -

shadow puppets.

No, this artist didn't perform
with the puppets

but actually made them.

In fact, he is one of the most
talented shadow-puppet creators

in Java.

The puppets are hand-painted

with mostly organic paints
derived from plants and minerals

and then tiny pin-prick holes
are put on the carefully cut figures

so light can shine through.

I collect local hand-made art

and this was just too good
to pass up.

It was astonishing to me

that all the various artisans could
be found in just this one village.

Still a little further
down the street was a carver.

The skill he showed as he literally
creates an exquisite work of art

out of raw natural materials

is mind-boggling.

The tools are simple
but that doesn't seem to matter.

The carving style is a bit unorthodox

but the results cannot be denied.

But there was one
cottage industry here

that had me grossed out.

Hint - it involves
animal waste products.

This is a civet coffee
production facility -

if you can call a house
with civet pets a 'facility'.

If you are not familiar
with civet coffee,

or what a civet is,

here is a quick primer.

Civets are a family of mostly
nocturnal carnivores

found across Africa and Asia,

with the largest concentration
here in South-East Asia.

Civets seem to like coffee beans

and coffee connoisseurs say the
defecation of the bean-fed civets

makes the best-tasting brew
in the world.

Cups in London have gone for $110.

Now, I'll have to take
the drinkers' word for it

because, as a non-coffee-drinker,

I wouldn't be able to tell.

But think about this.

Who had the first idea
to gather civet poop...

and then brew it?

My visit to Bali and Java
had been fascinating.

The incredible Hindu temples in Bali,

whitewater rafting

and who could forget
civet-poop coffee?

But my quest was to see Borobudur.

We got an early start
the next morning

and drove the 25 miles

to this magnificent 9th-century
Buddhist temple.

If I seem a little bit excited,

well, I am!

I'm getting an opportunity

to see the site that started it all
for UNESCO world heritage sites.

Now, if you recall from all of our
India and Africa shows,

I'm always talking about
world heritage sites.

Well, now I get to see
where it all began.

In fact, it is the largest
Buddhist temple in the world.

It is a pyramid-shaped structure

created by stacking nine
progressively smaller platforms

on top of one another.

Its most remarkable feature,
at least to me,

is the over 2,500
carved relief patterns

and over 500 Buddhas.

What's amazing to me -

after 12 centuries of abuse,
neglect, vandalism

and ultimately rebuilding by UNESCO,

the details on these statues
are gorgeous.

Every level, every statue,

shows a different part
of Buddha's life

and it's still as relevant today
as it was then.

This is the largest collection
of Buddhist reliefs in the world -

just another of the superlatives

that have placed it on many new
seven wonders of the world lists.

These reliefs guide the pilgrim

through three levels
of Buddhist cosmology -

desire, form and formlessness.

The extensive array
of stairs and pathways

follow the nearly 1,500
narrative relief patterns.

UNESCO, along with
the Indonesian government,

worked tirelessly
to restore the structures

from 1975 to 1982,

after which it was included
on the world heritage list.

This was another of the great
ancient wonders

lost to modern man for centuries.

After the British took control
of Indonesia,

Sir Thomas Raffles,

noted for his work in Singapore
and other parts of South-East Asia,

and who was the British lieutenant
governor of Java at the time,

heard of a great lost temple.

He sent out H. C. Cornelius,
a Dutch engineer,

to find it.

It took two months
of clearing bushes and trees

before it was unveiled,

after centuries of neglect.

This is truly a remarkable
architectural achievement.

It was one of the four early projects

that became the impetus for creating
the UNESCO world heritage list.

It is now, once again,
a place of pilgrimage and reflection,

as well as a monument
to what man can achieve.

It is one of my most
satisfying quests ever.

I can only imagine what astonishment
H. C. Cornelius had to feel

as this massive temple
was literally unveiled

as the jungle was peeled back.

It is amazing enough seeing it
as you approach it today,

in the open, with tourist facilities
surrounding it.

It is a wonder of the world.

Even the name reflects
its place in the world -

'Borobudur' means 'the big Buddha'.

I had wanted to see the great
Buddhist temple of Borobudur

ever since my first visit.

The desire grew as I saw
one UNESCO site after another.

I was afraid that my expectations
might ruin it for me

when I would finally see it

but in the end,
there was no danger of that.

It was magnificent.

But Indonesia was incredible.

The awesome temples,
the great terraces,

the artisans

and most of all,
the friendly, open people.

If I smoked cigars and drank coffee,

I would do that to celebrate
this wondrous country.