raining in bali

Posted on | August 21, 2007 | 7 Comments

here we are in lovely bali, where even 36 hours of solid rain isn’t enough to depress anyone.
we are enjoying it thoroughly….it’s just a little warmer than at home right now, but it is far from deranged tropical heat. it’s just perfect really and lush and green as ever.

we got here around 1am monday morning, after a pair of very uheventful flights….both of the flights were absolutely full.
this amazed me; i figured we would be the only people mad enough to be flying INTO a bird flu zone.

at 10am the next morning (after a really horrid breakfast put on by the hotel: note to self, do not hang around for breakfast, instead head straight into town and get wonderful strong lattes at tutmak, plus a great breakfast menu), we went off to denpasar and to kuta.

denpasar first, for our usual stop at kumbasari markets to buy zillions of soap dishes made from coconut wood and sono wood (very attractive and very enviro-friendly).
we were met with a shock there: about two months ago there was some unholy fire at the markets and the entire top two stories of the ENORMOUS kumbasari market were just gaping blackened ruins.
i knew we were looking directly at the place where our soapdish vendor had been, so we didn’t even bother to stop.
instead, we phoned them….i had 3 phone numbers listed for them and thankfully, they answered the third one and gave us directions to their temporary address.
it wasn’t too far away and boy, were they CRAMMED into a tiny space.
all the stock of course was brand new…..people must have been carving and painting and weaving day and night for 2 months to get all that product replaced.
it was so narrowly squashy in several places that my western-sized hips couldn’t shimmy through without dragging down a mountain of baskets….or candles….or thumb pianos….and i had thought that the kumbasari shop was a tight squeeze!

i also bought some very cute candles poured into bamboo, and a large mother-of-pearl dish and a really ugly little guy on a chopper bike, carved out of wood, with some kind of coarse fibre for his hair, and some woven placemats and some small angular coconut wood boxes that look ideal for packing with guest soaps. and a couple of hot purple umbel-umbels for my market table.

after my order was boxed up and loaded into the kijang, we went off to kuta and started driving around in diabolical traffic, looking for leather tailoring.
after a few false starts, we found a shop with cow leather (better for motorcycles) in the dark cherry shade i was after and two very competent young men in charge.
i produced photographs of the style i was after, we discussed exact placement of pockets and zips and types of lining and i was measured up with some banter about how many cows would need to be killed for the leather.
they asked me to return on thursday to check the fit, but seemed quite confident that it would be perfect first time.
three days for a leather jacket! incredible!
i asked if it would be possible for one of them to bring the jacket to me in ubud…..i’ve never been here in august before and it is BUSY, so i was reluctant to be on the road for any more than absolutely essential.
i offered to pay for this service and the deal was done.
two hundred australian dollars for the whole lot and i didn’t bother to barter….i’m delighted with that price.
the husband was urging me to get one in black also!

the last stop was the post office in ubud.
if you go out the back there are two guys there who will box up large packages for you.
they are very efficient and friendly and they remember their regulars.
they helped us inside, with the CARTONS of soapdishes, and started re-packing everything.
they actually make up the right-sized cartons for you, with fresh cardboard and then cover the whole lot with that very tough plastic sacking and sew it right on while you wait.
the paperwork is slick and efficient and everything is quickly broken down into 20 kilo parcels.
i’ve never had anything go missing and i’ve sent plenty…..i thoroughly recommend their service.

today, we sat in a tiny cafe, drinking iced tangerine juice,in absolutely pouring rain and watched people on scooters driving by with umbrellas in one hand (how do you choose which hand to hold the umbrella and which to drive with?)…..damp cigarettes…..plastic ponchos worn by drivers and covering two people crouched on behind them….and some very VERY wet westerners!
the water in the deep gutters got progressively deeper and muddier until it was actually swirling menacingly.
at this point we decided to leave, before we were swept away!

our first purchase of the day was two big umbrellas in wild rainbow colours for three dollars each.
they are so gorgeously-coloured, i am trying to work out how to get them home….
as long as i have an umbrella i don’t care how wet my feet get.

we are launching ourselves into the spas, starting tomorrow.
i have booked a krimbath, pedicure and haircut for us both.
i’m always happy to see my favourite haircutter in the world….ipung at sedona spa! the man understands my hair, he really does.
i made sure to book him.

tonight, we are having BBQ ribs and salads at naughty nuri’s.
and i’ll be having a bintang for jen and rebecca (cheers ladies!).

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