Monkeying around Ubud

We have to visit the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary (Ubud Monkey Forest) while we're here!  Similar to what we saw in Arashiyama, the monkeys are free to wander around.  However, humans are not "caged" here in order to interact with the monkeys.  Maybe they should be, because we heard lots of warnings about hiding anything shiny (even sunglasses) and not bringing any food inside - the monkeys will find it!  Our driver told us someone from our hotel was bitten the previous week.  Since they've been known to carry rabies, I'm not interested in doing anything that might cause them to bite me.

Not following advice!

So we follow everyone's advice, but others don't!  Even though every guidebook says you shouldn't feed them, there are people inside the sanctuary selling bananas, etc for the monkeys.  They climb all over the people and snatch it out of their hands.  No playing keep away!

We didn't see them take anything from people but we did see them playing with man-made items - a sunscreen bottle, a water bottle and an item stolen from a souvenir shop.  Scraping the rock is the best interactive picture of a monkey.

He's scrubbing the ground with the rock.

There are baby monkeys around, too!  It might be hard to see in the pictures, but Mom has a grip on the baby's tail, so he can't go too far away.

Too cute!

The baby tail makes a good leash for Mom!

Monkey highway (literally!)

Steve does an incredible job taking photos with the new camera.  Normally with my phone the photos turn out well, but the difference between the two results are miles apart.

Steve with the camera.

One of the best photos on my phone.

 



 

Can I take him home?

I think this is a yawn - but he could look vicious!

 










Sometimes it's difficult to take a picture of the monkey's face because he turns away from you.  I think they're tired of having their picture taken.  Steve has better luck here, too, because he can zoom better with the camera.

Spa day for monkeys!

There are very interesting statues and carvings throughout the forest....

I don't want to know what he has behind his back.

What's in the bowl he's holding?

He's looking at us!  Why does he have fangs?!?

 ...and sometimes just really strange ones.

I don't even know what to say.

At least he's first in line!

This is one of my favorite monkey pictures from the trip!  This old guy is just hanging out, waiting for the gates to open...

I wonder if they offer free moped parking?

We also spent time walking around the shops of Ubud. It's much bigger than we thought.  It reminds me of a cruise ship port town - there are lots of souvenir shops, boutiques, restaurants, etc.  I don't know how they all stay in business.  We're here during the shoulder season, so it's not too crowded, but they must do well during high season.  It takes a couple of visits to town before we walk most of the streets (and we don't go in a lot of stores).

Traffic in Ubud, too!

There are temples in town, and here's a small part of one.

I love all the details in the carving!

Steve's beer even comes with its own
ice bucket so it stays cold.

There's so many restaurants, we just pick one at random.  Almost all are open-air, so there's no air conditioning.  It's hot and humid, but being in the shade with a fan cools us off a bit.  I've found if I can get the hair off the back of my neck it helps, too!  It's too short for a ponytail, but I use a hair clip to twist it up and hold in place.  Not my best hairstyle, but with the temperatures I don't care that much.

My lunch - only $4!

"Factories" in Bali

After my morning spent shopping for batiks, I'm interested in going to a batik factory.  I had asked to do this when I made arrangements for the driver, but it wasn't quite what I expected.  I know Hoffman and some of the other big US quilt fabric companies have their factories nearby, but from my google searches I couldn't identify their exact locations.  When I requested stopping at a batik factory, I thought we would go to one of those.  But "factory" in Bali turns out to be a place where a shop will provide a small demonstration, then bring you to their store.

Applying the wax before dying the fabric.

Our first experience with this is at the batik place.  There are a few women applying wax on the fabric.  It's a detailed process!  But they don't have any of the dye vats going, so you can't really see the entire technique.  They also don't have anyone there who actually describes the procedure to you.  There's just a panel to look at, and no one really answers my questions (sigh).  I already have a basic idea of how it works, but I did want to see my favorite type of fabric being made.

Panel that kind of demonstrates the batik dying process.

Visiting the "factories" isn't a total loss - we're told repeatedly while we're in Bali that they are the best places to buy a particular item.  Between Denpasar and Ubud there are different villages that specialize in different artworks, and their factories carry a larger variety of items than what they ship out to stores in Ubud or the world.  In the batik factory shop Steve looks at the Hawaiian style batik shirts, but decides not to get one (but does find one later in the week - but it did take awhile to find it).  I primarily buy batik fabric for quilting, so I don't purchase any clothes.

Steve's colorful cocktail

After my disappointing trip to the batik "factory," our driver, Nyoman, finds us a nice restaurant for lunch.  A cocktail made with some of the local liquor helps me to quickly recover (along with remembering all the pretty fabrics I purchased that morning).





There's a coffee and spice plantation nearby (Teba Sari), so we stop there next.  It's also set up for tourists, so we're not really out looking at coffee fields (or however the coffee plants are grown - we didn't get to see them en masse).  But they have a nice presentation set up so you can see various plants and herbs growing, like ginseng and lemongrass, along with what they look like after harvest.  Then they allow you to have a complimentary tasting of about 16 different coffees, teas and hot chocolate.  We're not big tea drinkers, so we ask to skip them.  They have a nice arrangement - you have a private table and an English speaking server explaining everything to you.  Much better than at the batik factory!

Cute and cuddly luwak

One of the highlights of our visit is spending $5 so we can try a cup of what we've been seeing on all the signs - Luwak coffee.  Luwak isn't a type of plant, but an animal.  They eat  the coffee beans, then poop them out, whole.  Next the beans have three layers removed so only the kernel is left, which never touches the digestive system of the animal.  In that case, why does eating it make the bean taste better??  But this is supposed to make some of the best coffee in the world.  (I have heard about this with a type of elephant, but not with luwaks.)  It cost about $100 for a pound of coffee, so we're curious to see if it really tastes that good. 

A basket of luwak poop

Our attendant, making our luwak coffee

It takes almost 10 minutes to brew the cup, so that has to help the taste!  It's served with a stick of cinnamon, but it doesn't influence the flavor.  It's good, but I don't feel the need to buy a bag of it.  The question that keeps lingering in my mind is who thought of taking the poop and making coffee from it?

Is that cinnamon or dried poop hanging out of the mug?

We're on a roll at this point so we stop at the woodworking factory next.  Here we're able to get a much more thorough description of the woods used and the carving technique (maybe the guide just speaks better English than at the batik place).  She comments that each person has his/her own style, and I can see that when I look at the merchandise later - the pieces are all unique.  I'm tempted to buy a block that almost looks like a quilt square, but it's too complex to be made out of the local woods like hibiscus (it has to be a hard wood like mahogany) so I don't get it.  Steve finds a figure made out of the local crocodile wood and we get that as a souvenir. 

We decide to visit one last factory - the silver (jewelry) one.  This is where I end up getting my souvenir!  Than after a full day of running around and shopping we're ready to return to our room and our pool so we can cool off!

Poop coffee breath!

Batiks! Batiks! Batiks!

It wasn't until after I booked our trip that I remembered - batik quilting fabric is actually made in Bali!  I don't know how I temporarily forgot it.  Japan has very little batik fabric, and it's my favorite type, so I plan to make the most of our trip here.

First course - mango yogurt parfait with
fresh squeezed pineapple juice
and a cappuccino.  Yum!

We start the day with a wonderful multi-course breakfast at our hotel. 

I don't think Steve is excited as I am about the batik shopping -
that looks like a fake smile.

It turns out I could have hired someone from our hotel, but I used Tripadvisor to find Dewa Alit, a driving service.  Our driver, Nyoman, picks us up in a comfortable, air conditioned car.  He speaks English well so he's able to give us information and history about the area. It's also fun seeing more of the road "rules" during our trip back to Denpasar.  The few traffic lights we see appear to be more of a suggestion than a requirement.  Most intersections have no lights or stop signs.  Whichever direction has cars going keeps moving, until enough traffic backs up in the other direction and they start inching in to the middle.  Then they get right of way.  People are actually very courteous when they drive.

Jalan Sulawesi

It's also very helpful having Nyoman once we reach the market of Denpasar.  He knows where to park the car and how to easily walk over to where the shops are located.  The stores are numbered so it's not too hard to find specific ones. Having him there also makes it so the people on the sidewalks asking you to "buy buy buy" don't bother you as much.  I had read that people found that to be the most distasteful part of being in Bali - people constantly trying to sell you items.  But I don't find it overwhelming during the week we're there.  Usually after you say no a couple of times they go ask someone else.

The covered walkway - bonus square footage for merchandise.

In the market area there are several streets, lined with different fabric stores, so there are literally hundreds of them. The main road is Jalan Sulawesi (jalan means street in Indonesian).  I did some research online, and through other quilters blogs, I narrowed it down to a couple of shops.

Inside the batik fabric shops the employees speak limited English but Nyoman helps to translate when I have more questions. He also gives us good advice – don't follow a person into a shop (again, they are standing at the entrances trying to entice you inside) because if you do the price quoted to you will be higher. 

There are no labels on the bolts but I definitely recognize some of the fabrics as being from Hoffman.  Either way, from my driver and what people wrote on their blogs they should be good quality batiks. (Postscript: When I got home I washed most of the fabrics.  Shrinkage and dye bleeding seemed the same as when I buy material at a local quilt store.) You also don't negotiate at these shops on the price.  Since it ends up being only $2 USD/yard, you know you're not overpaying.

Shop sign

I'm so focused on shopping I forget to take a lot of pictures!  You would be too when prices are only 15% of what you pay in the US (that's NOT 15% off - it's 15% of the US price).  The first store is Toko Madju (shop number 19), and the cotton batiks are located in the back on bolts (I think it's rayon in the front).  I'm able to pile up all my bolts, then they cut them.  It's lots of fun to say "3 meters," and know it's going to cost less than $6.50.

The shelves of cotton batiks

They sell jelly rolls for $10 each and fat quarter collections, charm packs, layer cakes and a few other miscellaneous items like batik covered boxes.  Nyoman nicely carries my bags to the car before we continue on my shopping spree.

It specifically says quilting batiks!

The next place I go is CV Dewi Mas.  They're located on a different street (see the business card - shop #48).  Here the fabric is draped over rods, and luckily my tall husband is able to get down a few on the top row for me.  They also sell the same types of precuts - jelly rolls, fat quarter collections, charm packs and layer cakes.  However, jelly rolls are $15 here.  I could've possibly negotiated that amount by saying the other shop is less, but I'm not really a big fan of precuts so I don't push it.  They also have packs of hexagon precuts, something Maju does not.  There seems to be more choices in the precuts here, too.

Fabrics at CV Dewi Mas

They start cutting my fabric as I pick it out, which makes me a little nervous because I can't watch them while they do it.  But once I'm home and I measure out all my material, it's all accurate to within an inch.  

Testing to see if the fabric reads as light or medium

 


I tend to pick fabric with a monochromatic design, versus multi-color, but they have both types of batiks.  Both stores also have lots of "hand-dye" fabrics.  I stay away from those - it's a very slippery slope to decide you want some in every color! 

Part of the fun of fabric shopping is running into other quilters! We meet several and sometimes cross paths with the same people at different shops. It makes it entertaining because the husbands have someone to talk to and the wives can buy fabric without distraction.

After purchasing over 100 meters of fabric I'm pretty much finished and not necessarily interested in stopping at other stores. I'm starting to worry the empty duffel bag we brought down with us is going to be overfull!

Back at the hotel, I lay out all my goodies.  It fills the king size bed.  I feel like jumping in the middle the fabric, like it's a pile of leaves.  I love all the color!

My goodies!

Then I go to pack the duffel - and there's still room!  I could have bought more!  But what about the weight??  We go to the airport, and Steve says I have to check it because he is not going to carry it around (usually quilt fabric goes in my carry on).  We weigh it at the counter....and it's 57 pounds.  Our limit for checked bags is 70 pounds.  I REALLY could have bought more!   Steve's amazed I hadn't previously figured the weight of a meter of fabric and used the calculations to determine how much to purchase.  Now I know for next time...

It's almost a quarter empty!

Lots of pretty quilts will be made in the future!

Bali Bound!

Selfie with our plane in the background!

We want to visit one of the main islands on this side of the world and after some research we decided Bali is the one.  I originally pick Bora Bora, but it's actually easier to get there from the US than from Japan (at least using Delta & its partners).  Bali also won out because it's about a 7 hour flight from Tokyo (and a one hour time change) versus a 24 hour flight from the US (and a 12 hour time change).  Definitely an easier trip from here!

Usually it's Steve's name, not mine.
  It's finally my turn!

Through our hotel, we have arrangements for priority service when we arrived at Ngurah Rai (Denpasar International Airport).  Since the hotel reservations are in my name, I get my name on the sign.  Finally!  I've always wanted to be greeted at the airport like this.  It's the little things...

As part of the service, we go through immigration in the diplomat line, which is quite a bit shorter than the general line, because several planes arrive the same time as us.  There are lots of Caucasians, but I'm not sure which part of the world they're from.  I assume Australia, because Bali is only a few hours flight from there (it's like the southeast US visiting the Caribbean).  But from appearances and their voices, I think one of the planes originated from Russia.

On the way to pick up our checked baggage, we have to walk through a giant shop, full of alcohol, tobacco, and other typical duty free items. It makes me chuckle - it reminds me of the rides at Disney World, where you have to walk through the gift shop to exit the ride.

We still have to wait awhile for our bags, so no benefit to the service there. They do a security check (x-ray?) before they're released. Then they do something I think is smart - the first bags they send out are for people who have connections. We're in the next round of bags (and I can hear Steve thinking to himself the entire 30 minutes we wait, "This is why I don't check bags.") but we finally get ours and then head to Customs.  Two seconds after Steve says, "We better not be picked for the random second screening," we're sent to that line to have ALL our bags (not just the checked one) screened. It only takes a minute though, and then our escort brings us through the huge mass of people ("Transport?" we're constantly asked), cars, and roads to where our driver waits.

We're staying at the Viceroy Bali, in Ubud.  Since we were just at the beach a couple of months ago, we want a mountain vacation this time.  I didn't realize until after I made the reservations that Ubud was the location of Eat, Pray, Love.  Steve entertains himself trying to figure out the real life locations from the explanations of the book & movie on wikipedia.  He doesn't have much luck.

No problem - I can fit between the car and bus!

It's about 75 minutes to drive to our hotel.  At times, the roads are very similar to Beijing!  I'm glad neither of us are driving.  The mopeds typically go wherever they want or feel they can fit.  Amazingly, we don't see one accident the week we are there.  

Just a little bit of traffic.

How many road lanes are there?

I wish the kids had helmets!

Apparently there's a law requiring helmets, and most people are wearing them.  However, it's not unusual to see an adult wearing one, and a child not wearing one.  I'm sure it's a cost issue - kids grow fast - but it does upset me a bit.

It's also common to see women sitting side saddle on the moped.

When wearing a skirt it must be easier to sit this way!

The people on the bikes aren't the only interesting ones.  I'm excited to see women walking with baskets on their heads - very talented!

Look - no hands!

The intersections are fascinating, too.  Each one has a large statue (up to 20 feet high), which acts as a protector.  Maybe that's why they don't have a lot of accidents.  They're beautiful, and I wish I had more time to study them.  Actually, all the scenery is gorgeous - the buildings and walls are intricatly carved, and trees, bushes and flowers surround everything.

One of the 20-foot statues guarding the intersection.

Along the way we stop to exchange money. Steve laughs at the huge stack of bills we get. Indonesia's largest bill is 100,000 idr, which is about $8 usd. So you end up getting a lot of them!

We're greeted with leis at the hotel.  Nice touch!

At check in, Steve gets a bit of a surprise when he finds out it's our honeymoon. I originally tried to book our room for a trip in August. You have to email the hotel to check on availability - they don't have an online reservation system. They said they had one and I spent the next 24 hours making plane reservations and other arrangements before emailing back to say we'd take the room. They apologized, but said it was gone. Aargh! 

Luckily, I'm able to cancel the plane tickets and look into going in October. They have availability and because of the earlier snafu, they give us the honeymoon package - champagne and a cake on arrival, a heart of roses, a candlelight dinner at the hotel restaurant and a couples spa treatment.  I think they do a good job making it up to us!

Surprise, Steve!

Pretty

Balé - my new favorite spot!

The hotel room is beautiful and we can't wait to try out our private pool.  I plan to spend a lot of time in the balé (Balinese gazebo) this week!

In case you want some sun...there's lounge chairs, too.

After all the long day of travel we decide we're too tired to go back into town. I want to get a good night's sleep, because we have a big day (for me!) tomorrow.