Supporting the Local Economy

Day two in Bali was spent traveling to and from Ubud, which David described as "the Santa Fe of Indonesia". We had a great driver for the day (he was funny, that's always key to a good tour), and he was so patient with us as we wanted to stop at all the craft places. The first stop was to learn about Batik, where they had live demonstrations:

And of course a place where you could buy any number of things from paintings to hats, scarves, clothing and bags.

Next stop was a tour of a local Balinese home, where the tour guide had the hook-up and we were able to wander around inside the compound. It was pretty fascinating, with almost everything outdoors and open to the elements. Here's the kitchen:

The bedroom:

The workshop:

And the family temple area:

This was considered quite a wealthy family, take a look at their front door (the entrance to an air-conditioned indoor area - also wired for cable of course):

Next was a silversmith, where again there were demonstrations and a shop open to the public. Everywhere you go there are small offerings to the gods - on the dashes of cars, outside all the shops, at all the statues in the temples, etc. This one was next to a buffing machine as the silversmith shop:

Next up, Balinese temple from AD944. David had to wear a skirt!

I found the faces on the statues more humorous than regal...

Finally, we made it to Ibu Oka, famous worldwide for it's suckling pig. That's all they sell, and they do it well. Notice from the menu that you can buy an entire plate of skin:

This poor fella tried to sneak in and get some scraps, but it doesn't look like he was very successful:

Finally, the rice paddies. These are all over Bali, but this one is popular because it's not too far off the main road. Apparently we missed Julia Roberts by just a day, she was there on location filming the movie version of Eat, Pray, Love. The place was breathtaking, like stepping into a postcard.

The last couple of stops were more artists areas, one for woodworking where David bought a mask to add to his collection:

And last but not least a painters co-op, where again we tried to support the world economy by investing in the local art scene. We'll have to host an art show when we get back to MN!

Early to bed, tomorrow we'll be up with the chickens to take our first surfing lesson.