Today following breakfast we got a lift “downtown” for a day of shopping, last-minute sight-seeing (in Ubud) and banking. Day to day shopping is a bit different here as it is mostly a cash society….credit cards generally are used only at some hotels (often with a 3% surcharge, in addition to the other fees incurred) and fixed price shops. So it is a case of constantly counting and carrying fairly large chunks of cash….ATM’s sometimes run out of money especially in the smaller towns. As we have exhausted our USD cash hoard, we get to play the ATM game….often you have to do several transactions as extraction limits are generally quite low….such are the travails of us tourist folk.
Time for a hydration break and a quick check on the news…….
We later run into Made (our driver when we were last in Ubud) and make arrangements for him to drive us to Sanur and to Pesantian Villa, later that day. A bit of a run around day which we closed off with cocktails (twofer special > 2 mojitos = 7Cad) and a nice dinner at the Bollero Restaurant;
….after dinner we call Made who was en route to Ubud with a fare, and rendezvous outside the resto and presto back to the villa……done and done!!
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On our last day in the “boonies”, following breakfast we set off on a walk and immediately enjoyed a nice view of Mt. Agung:
….and on to the nearby village of Pejeng:
Here we found more references to swastika (previously we have seen swastikas on temple doors, names of places etc.)….
Later we learn that this symbol represents a symbol denoting auspiciousness common in Hinduism dating back millenia. We continue down the road (lots of hellos along the way) as we run into students on a walk/run, high school kids already in school, with their scooters neatly stowed in this pretty decent garage and locals going about their daily activities ……….
…….a local lava stone cutting operation…….stone mostly used for temple/shrine construction:
….interestingly, we come across rice farmers who had drained some fields, putting in markers for rows to be “sowed” …
…..and then the seedlings are planted …..talk about hard work (a kilo of rice costs about 1 Cad here….. no wonder you don’t see many young people so employed):
……what it looks like when complete and later harvested and air-dried:
……lastly a farmer burning rice stalks from a harvested field before it is plowed with a hand-held tractor:
Last but not least we passed the ponds that held that evenings supper of fresh water fish….
Back to the Villa for lunch, Chef prepared a lovely salad with chicken/pork satays which had been marinated overnight…….another super meal….this private chef stuff can grow on you!! Then time for some R&R:
….. before long it is time for Round 2 of the ricefield exploration, this time one of the staff is taking us for a walk on the wild side…….through their neighbours’ fields ….about as close to a non tourist walk as possible: Our “guide” pointed out plants, trees, herbs etc. often stopping to pull up examples and have us feel/smell them (lemon grass, water spinach, lime leaves, beans…way cool.
we saw this neat spider, rather huge and he told us about eating spiders and dragonflies > lightly roasted as appies. Unfortunately, none were available for our consumption…
As well, he explained a bit about the Subak water management system prevalent throughout Bali which is guided by religious values combining significant engineering feats with social structures. The point of the exercise is to ensure a fair, reliable and equitable distribution of this key resource.
We then stopped into a communal cow raising operation where Annie made friends with one of the inhabitants….
As it was closing in on late afternoon, it was quitting time for the farmers, several of whom we came across bathing in the “canals” or washing their clothes and in some cases their kids…..no pics as we did not think it was appropriate to pry that deeply. Then came across some ladies on their way home who were quite friendly:
A really good day topped with the chef preparing a traditional specialty fresh water fish (gourami > common to Asia ) dish with vegetables all in a Bumbu Bali influenced sauce……..listening to cicadas and then geckos, as night fell… although the promised supermoon was a bit of a bust as the clouds rolled in….
