Bali was so different from the rest of Indonesia that it could easily be its own country. It has by far the most vibrant economy we have seen in Indonesia, and a very different, predominantly Hindu, culture. Fields were cultivated instead of the lying barren or burned off like the hills we saw in Nusa Tenggara. Roads were good, the infrastructure all worked, and the people didn't look at us like we were some kind of gods who'd arrived in our space-ships. The Balinese people had their own lives to lead and, while polite, didn't really need us, which was nice. Prices were so good on local furniture and crafts we might have to fly back to Bali and fill a container with all the furnishings and artwork we will need for our house.
Color seemed to be everywhere, even in the little offerings people left in personal shrines or on the sidewalk in front of their homes. The traditional dress of the Balinese is layers and layers of ikat and songket in every color imaginable.
Ubud is a remarkable town in the middle of the island of Bali. For more than a century, it has been the island's preeminent center for fine arts, dance and music. We headed there first to see the craft market and the Monkey forest. The Ubud Monkey Forest is a nature reserve and temple complex. It houses approximately 340 Crab-eating Macaque monkeys. There are four groups of monkeys each occupying different territories in the park. The forest comprises approximately 27 acres and contains at least 115 different species of trees.
We fed the monkeys bananas and peanuts and had them climbing all over us. Kim thought that putting the bananas on top of her hat would be safe…and arm wrestled with one that climbed up her back and saved most of them!
The Monkey Forest contains the Pura Dalem Agung Padangtegal temple as well as a "Holy Spring" bathing temple and another temple used for cremation ceremonies. We gave a $2 donation for sarongs and sashes to be dressed appropriately for the temple. The stone carvings were nice.
They had really nice hand carved wood and bone pieces and we bought a few souvenirs. Kim did not like the haggling but Dad really had the hang of it. We bought a 10” (water buffalo?) bone that was completely covered in intricate Balinese carvings. It had to have taken over 1 month to carve it. It started off at 800,000 Rupiah but after haggling and walking away 3 times (with him chasing me down the sidewalk), he parted with it for 50,000 Rupiah, which is about $5.50 US.
We ended up with Batik pillow cases, bone and wooden chess pieces and some carved wood items for the wall before we had to turn back to the boat. We needed to rest up to see some Balinese dancing. But that, Dear reader, will have to wait for another post…
Tom
3 comments:
Tom walks into a bar with a monkey on his shoulder. The barman asks - "Where did you get him?"
"I won him in a raffle" said the monkey.
Which electronic charts are you using for that area? Have you found any cruising guides for that part of Southeast Asia? As a future traveler, that info would be very helpful? Thanks.
Jef,
I do have a few Navionics charts that I purchased (very expensive) from Chartworld for use on Coastal Explorer that runs on my laptop. They are running out and I'm constantly asking other cruisers for bootleg BSB format chart disks but not finding many.
I also use Open CPN that is free and I got 2009 charts for the entire world from another cruiser. The charts are fairly detailed and I frequently import other boat tracks I get from other blogs with both programs.
Not many cruising guides. I bought a hard copy of Southeast Asia Cruising Guide Vol II and have an electronic copy of Indonesia-101 anchorages. Other blogs and SSCA articles have also been most useful.
Good luck.
Tom
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