Blogs from Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, Asia - page 30

Those of you who have read some of my previous entries know that I really enjoy walking around new places, often with no particular destination. Now that I am back in the US, I still have a few more photos that I would like to share, along with some random thoughts about this trip to Bali. • Motor scooters are the prime mode of transportation. And the number of passengers on any give bike is limited only by the driver’s imagination. It was common to see an adult or two on a bike, along with a couple of kids and maybe the family dog. I would occasionally see an adult with an infant clutched to their chest with one hand, steering with the other. And any kid with a scooter is de facto in the transportation ... read more

Ubud, located center of Bali. Places that we can explore and discover about native life and culture of Balinesse. Where all those stuff like culture performance, artwork, handicraft originally from Bali people came from. After finished my historical excursion with Perama ( local operator in Bali ). The driver drop me in Ubud, for my next destination. About an hour ago, I feel so happy because I got someone to chat with me and explain me about history, people and culture in Bali. But now I'm all alone in center of nowhere. Perama guide manage to get for me room that cost RP100,000 per night . Very basic but I still not satisfy with the room so I decide to pay for 1 night stay only, so that I can figure some other rooms tomorrow. ... read more

Friday 25th June 2010 At 4.15am Judy's phone woke us from deep slumber but reception was such that we lost the connection. Another call a few minutes later gave the same result causing us to be most concerned as there was no indication who called. A few minutes later we received a message from Judy's mother asking if Judy was trying to contact her. We returned the message that we hadn't and that all was ok. Little more sleep was had after that before our 7.30am breakfast. The mystery was solved later in the morning when Judy contacted her daughter who in turn got in touch with Judy's mother. It appears as if she must have dreamed the whole thing. The trip to Ubud was quite boring with the continual climbing and sharp turns, broken by ... read more

Some villages in Indonesia specialize in a form of textile called ikat. Unlike batik, where the patterns are made by waxing and dying sections of cloth, ikat is made by dying threads before they are woven into cloth. Click here to go to the Wikipedia explanations of warp, weft, and double forms of ikat. Very traditional forms of ikat can be traced to specific villages, where a particular patterned sarong might only be used for certain ceremonies. Some very fine examples of ikat might depict a legend or a story, and are used for wall hangings. Threads of Life on Jalan Suweta, has some wonderful examples of high quality ikat, some of which are for sale for high quality prices. However, there are more affordable forms of ikat for sale in Ubud. One particular shop fascinated ... read more

I’m sure that most of the Balinese I encountered thought I was just a little nuts. (OK, maybe they thought I was more than a little nuts.) But I took a whole lot of pictures of rice paddies while I was there. There was just something about the shifting colors and light and shadows that I found really beautiful. Rice is extremely important to the Balinese. In addition to being a food staple, it is central to their culture and their religion. You will see many women, and some men, with grains of rice pressed into their foreheads, or at the base of their throats. One woman explained it to me like this: “The two things most important and most holy to Bali people are water and rice. Without water there is no life. Rice is ... read more