Some days, between the internet and the support of traveling experts, I think I could just sit in Bali and learn everything there is to learn in the world. Well, maybe not String Theory or Latin, but luckily my recent pursuits are less cerebral, and richly met when a Moroccan chef with a longing for his pots and pans rolls into town, or my friend Dipika enters last Sunday’s Second Great Chili Cook-Off in Ubud with a vegetarian chili starring homemade paneer.

The Great Event took place at the aptly named Melting Pot, a cavernous pool hall in the south part of Ubud, run by a warm-hearted Texan named Greg who has practically carpeted his joint’s walls with every flag known to man. I think only the borough of Queens can claim broader representation of the world’s nations and states. What’s more, the majority of them bear the signatures of their respective citizens who have passed through.

I don’t care where you’re from, you’d be amazed who rocks up to our little hill town. I’m still amazed, and I’m from New York City. I stumbled upon Ubud in 1985 when my best friend was living there on a Fulbright (yes, she got paid to study the wayang gender while living in a thatch-roof house with a million-dollar view across a gorge to Mount Agung). At that time—let’s term it the long-before-Eat, Pray, Love-days—Ubud was already an established stomping ground for anthropology types, scholars, and artists, people who came to Bali to learn what and how the Balinese think, and to understand the Hindu Dharma culture and participate to the extent they were welcomed… which was a lot.

While this thinking person’s village of Bali has in many ways outgrown its narrow streets, the alluring chemistry of deep local traditions and talents, blended with the creative and intellectual energy of outsiders, never seems to wear off. Five Nobel winners (including three of the peace prizers), countless authors (even ones whose books actually sell), heads of academic departments and heads of state, captains of industry, renowned yogis from India and the United States (surprise!), choreographers (galore, its dancing Bali, remember?), celebrities (yawn), the crew of Eat, Pray, Love (we catered it, which, yes, was really fun), and therapists of every creed you can imagine (we’re the self-help capital, haven’t you heard?), they’ve all converged on Ubud in recent years.

What do the Balinese think of all this? Who really knows? Well, I kind of do, but it’s useless for me to tell you what they think if you don’t know how they think. And you can only figure that one out for yourself.

What do the Balinese think of chili? Oh, that’s easy. It’s better with rice.

TAGS Vegetarian