It’s lovely to see the Balinese people placing offerings out to the gods every day, even though a lot of them are trodden on by tourists (not me I promise!) picked at by the chooks and dogs, and swept up at the end of the day and put in the rubbish. Maybe they’ve got the right idea – almost every Balinese person I’ve met has been smiling and happy. I’m not so naïve to think that this hasn’t got anything to do with the tourist dollar, but even so, the people seem genuinely happy to show us their beautiful island.
Today we’d booked in to do a silver jewellery making class at Perak Studio. We arrived on time, and were told to look around and think about what sort of thing we’d like to make. I was thinking maybe earrings, but we were advised that a ring or a pendant would be easier. Eventually the teacher arrived, and we sorted out that I would make a ring with a garnet stone (January birthday) and K would make a flower-shaped brooch with a small pearl.
It’s really interesting to see the jewellery take shape from such humble beginnings. The silver wire and tape we were using was quite oxidised, and the stones looked tiny and insignificant, but after soldering the pieces together, creating a setting for the stones and then polishing it all up, they looked pretty great, if we do say so ourselves!
After finishing with the jewellery, we hit the shops again. I bought a couple of pairs of black cotton pants (in XXL mind you!! Argh!) to replace the linen ones I’d brought with me that were on their last legs (hur hur) and I was planning on ditching rather than bringing home. Then we wandered through Ubud market again, with a bit more of a focused eye. No more heavy pottery for me! I picked up a patchwork bag to use as a carryon for all my shopping, and souvenirs for people back home, like sarongs and tourist tshirts. A hint I heard on Tripadvisor (I think) was to go to the upstairs shops, as they will haggle down a bit further. We definitely found this to be the case – there were no customers upstairs apart from us. Some shopkeepers took this as an opportunity to try and fleece us, starting their prices at outrageous prices (and I mean outrageous for anywhere, not just Bali!) but we soon reached a compromise. One lady kept calling me naughty for haggling with her, but K and I both bought a bunch of sarongs from her, so she was happy.
We continued with our decadent theme by having another pampering session this arvo. I had a traditional Balinese massage and K had a herbal facial. Very relaxing.
Tonight we are taking things slowly (who would think!) There’s a power blackout in half of the street, so our dinner was eaten partly by candlelight, and we picked our way home carefully, to find that the hotel at least has some power, but no wifi.
Two Weeks Away 