or, "NO, I don't want a #@%%*$# Bemo, massage, post card, plait your hair, bracelet, watches, money belt, necklace, magic mushroom or jiggy jig!"
Last day in Bali and home again
The night in Ubud was quite hot and sticky, and it was hard to sleep with the heat and the incessant shrill of crickets and other insects outside our bungalow. Next morning was our last day in Bali. I had wanted to see one of the many art museums in Ubud - having read so much of them in our travel guide. One of the most famous was just up the road a kilometer or so from out hotel. So we started walking up the narrow winding road. But we didn't get there - a short way up we were stopped by a bemo tout who suggested that he knew where the "better" art shops were (no doubt with a reward for bringing the tourists). We were somewhat drained by the heat and he seemed ok so we took him. Well, it ended up being the best decision. For the cost of about $5, he drove us to an artists colony south of Ubud where we spent about an hour just wandering around taking in the hundreds of paintings of all styles. We watched the artists at work, some on original works, some working on the numerous mass produced copies of popular pictures.
After we left the artists colony (somehow we never quite found the picture we wanted there), he drove us to a market I wished we'd known about before - the art and craft market at Sukawati. This is the place where most of the re-sellers get their stock - and hardly a tourist in sight. Unfortunately we had only a little money left, and couldn't get more than a few trinkets.
It was great talking to the merchants (as hard as it was not knowing much Indonesian, and they not very good at English). Each vendor has only a metre or two of stall space, and it is not uncommon to see the tables stacked high, in some cases up another two metres. A curious sight was the stall holders outside the market building praying (see above). We had not seen the open display of their religous beliefs before. Sure, we'd been to the temples, and had heard about their ceremonies. It was quite intriguing.
When we arrived back in Ubud it was time for lunch. By this time, the skies had clouded over and as we sat in the Cafe Casa Luna (right) sipping Bintag beers and enjoying some delicious Balinese cuisine, the rain came pouring down. Well, it was the wet season when we were there, but we'd been lucky, and this was the first time it had rained during the daytime while we were there. Our timing to keep dry was perfect!
After lunch we exchanged a small amount of money to get us through our last day, and wandered back to the market. I had seen a fine cotton dressing gown I wanted, and there were other gifts to buy. Walking back along the main street towards the hotel, we pass these "gate keepers" (left), one on each side of the road. These *hansome* devils are there to guard the town and keep the evil spirits out.
Further down the road we stopped at a craft shop and bought an exquisitely carved wooden statue of a boy playing a gamelan. (It now features on our mantlepiece at home). Further on we stopped at one of the artists shops where the day before we'd seen a painting in the "Young artist" style - very busy with lots of bright colours, and a rather naive style of depicting daily life. (It is still waiting to be framed and hung at home).
[Note: As a wedding anniversary present, Leonie and I finally had the painting framed, and it now hangs in our hall way. I have taken the opportunity to photograph it, and some of the other art we purchased in Bali. Click here to see these pictures. June 98]
After getting back to our hotel and packing everything up, we were ready to go out for dinner. We chose a resteraunt next to the old bridge over the River Wos. It was my birthday, so I enjoyed a half lobster! Kathryn was exhausted and fell asleep before her dinner arrived.
We had arranged to be picked up at 9pm that evening for the hour-long trip back to the Ngurah Rai airport. Sure enough, as always, they were there right on time. The trip back through the coutryside showed a different aspect of Balinese life - most villages have a communal meeting place called a wantilan. At night these were well lit and we could see groups of villagers watching the communities tv, or playing pool, or just sitting around talking.
Nearing the airport, our driver found a *novel* way to avoid a stop light on the main road. On Bali, it is legal to turn left with care on a red light (traffic drives on the left of the road). So, our, enterprising driver, turns left, immediately does a u-turn, and then left again, back on to the way we were going!
We arrived at the airport, had our bags checked in and then waited, and waited... Our fight was delayed, and it wasn't until about 3am that we finally boarded. Oh, don't bother trying to pick up last minute souvenirs at the airport. Get 'em from the markets before you leave - at the airport they are considerably more expensive, and priced in US$. After paying out the departure tax (which we had nearly forgotten about), we didn't have much left anyway.
The flight home was uneventful - I can't even remeber the in-flight movie, I was that tired. We touched down at Perth about 6:30am, and we cleared Customs without any great drama - we declared our wood carvings (they are touchy about wood-worm coming into Australia) - these got the all clear, and we were out into a taxi to Leonie's mothers place.
Would I go again? You betcha!
Thanks for reading all this. If anyone wants to know more, or is planning a holiday in Bali and wants more details, let me know (email link below).
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