M-whY

The tours came in packages, no matter where you booked from. There was a tour to see the temples, a tour to see the Lake Batur, a tour to see Lake Bratan, etc. Today, I wanted to see the sights along the line to Ubud, Bali's other tourist hotspot. Rather than book from a travel agent, I decided to see what sort of prices I could get just hiring a driver from the street.

"How much for a tour to Ubud?" I asked.

"150,000 rupiah."

That was a pretty good price already, but just for the hell of it, I haggled it down to 125,000 rupiah (about US$12.50). My guides (both named Made, pronounced Mah-dee) got their air conditioned van, and soon we were on our way out of Kuta Beach.

One Made drove, and the other Made provided a commentary. Their english was pretty good, though it took a while for me to adjust to their accent. Made and Made were excellent guides, answering all my questions and pointing out where we were on the map at regular intervals. We drove by Batubulan, an entire town made up of stone carving shops, Celuk, lined with silversmiths, and Mas, where woodworks was the theme.

"Who buys this stuff?" I asked. They didn't make good souveniers, as they'd be expensive to ship home, and I couldn't imagine local Balinese buying them either.

"They sell them to temples, or to hotels when new ones are built. Sometimes Balinese people will buy some small pieces to decorate their homes."

I guess that made sense. But there seemed to be a lot of inventory, and not a lot of buyers.

A couple times, we saw tourists on motorbikes being pulled over by police. Riding without a international driver's permit invites a heavy fine, and police will often stop tourists just to check their credentials.

"How can they tell who is a tourist when everyone is wearing a helmet?"

"It is easy," grinned Made. "Balinese people don't carry backpacks when they ride."

At Sukiwati, there was a market where the clientele was mostly locals.

"I'll follow you around," suggested Made. "Most of the people don't speak english here."

One of the stands sold snakefruit, something I hadn't seen before. It's only found in Bali, he explained. The fruit had a scaly skin (like a snake), which, when peeled, revealed a wax textured interior. With the help of my translator, I purchased a kilo's worth for later.

Sukiwati market had some really cheap wares. If I were to buy anything, this would probably be the place to do it. I was interested in obtaining some lightweight clothing, to replace my current clothes which were better suited for cooler, less humid, climates. I would have to discard some garments to make room in my bag. It pained me to leave behind my jeans and jacket, as they weren't cheap stuff, but it had to be done. I couldn't imagine wearing them anytime in the near future, so there was no point in keeping them.

For US$8 I had a new pair of pants, shorts, and a shirt. My guide also bought a piece of clothing, which gave me confidence that I was getting the best deal I could. As we walked along, I couldn't help but notice many of the shops stocked the same goods sold at the Kuta Beach markets. They were obviously intended for tourists, yet this was supposed to be a market for local people.

"A lot of the stuff that is bought here is resold in Kuta Beach at a higher price," explained Made after I brought it up. "If you buy it there, it will cost three or four times as much."

We passed a vendor selling nasi goreng, a Balinese dish which is basically like fried rice.

"Do you want to eat lunch?"

I wasn't very hungry. I had had a late breakfast.

"Maybe I'll eat when we get to Ubud."

"It will cost a lot more there."

As my mom will tell you, I always have room for food. So I took my place among the locals and had my lunch brought to me. I thought it was a good deal when it cost US$2 back at Kuta Beach. Here, it was only fifty cents.

From Sukiwati, we went for a look at the rice terraces of Bali. Even before I stepped off the van, people started pushing handicrafts in my face. I ignored them and crossed the street to the lookout point. Made offered to take my picture, but he turned out to be a poor photographer and didn't frame the photo correctly. That's probably my biggest gripe about traveling alone. I can never get myself into the picture.

The rice fields was just a picture stop, and so a few minutes later we were finally on our way to Ubud. Ubud and Kuta Beach make up Bali's two major tourist towns, but what they have to offer is vastly different. People go to Kuta Beach for surfing and wild nightlife, while Ubud is better known for arts and crafts.

I didn't have any interest in buying anything, but Ubud had another attraction that I wanted to see. The monkeys at the Monkey Forest Sanctuary snatched bags, demanded to be fed, sat on people's shoulders, and generally provided good entertainment for anyone who paid the cheap entrance fee. Once inside, I purchased a bunch of bananas to feed and tease the monkeys with. (Later on I found it funny that I spent more money on the monkeys' lunch than my own.) To keep from being swarmed, I hid them in my pockets and only took out one at a time.

That worked pretty well until a clever one noticed the bulge in my pants. He climbed up my pants and started rummaging through my pockets. I shooed him away, but he kept coming back until I appeased him with a piece a fruit.

With careful rationing, I had monkey bait for a long time. But eventually I ran out, and after looking around the rest of the sanctuary, returned to my transportation.

Our final stop of the day was Ubud market. Now it would be conceited of me to disparage the holiday makers that come to Bali just to have a good time and buy souvenirs. There are all sorts of travellers, from people who become expats, living among the locals, to people who stay in four star hotels, enjoying themselves and not worrying about immersing themselves in the culture. I like to think of myself as a hybrid, doing a bit of both. Some travellers get all uptight when called a 'tourist', pointing out they're here to soak in the atmosphere, and looking down at people who do otherwise. How ironic, that while these people profess to be open-minded, that view is about as closed as you can get. (If I had the money, I'd LOVE to be a 'tourist'.)

I actually enjoy watching the interactions between 'tourists' and the locals. At Ubud market, it was quite fascinating. All the shopkeepers seemed to be multilingual. They could speak english, japanese, and chinese, to cater potential customers. Bargaining was done in so many different tongues. None of the markets in Australia were like this!

By about 4:00pm, we were back in Kuta. Back in my hotel room, I tried on my new clothes. The pants and shorts fit perfectly, but the shirt was actually a bit tight around the shoulders, despite being labeled XL. That's two dollars I wasted, which may not seem like a lot, but when you think of it as four plates of nasi goreng, it becomes quite a different story!

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!