We've been in Ubud an unusually long 6 days and are ready to move on.
One of the worst parts of travel is not being able to cook our own
meals, but there has been a favourite cheapo diner with an open-air view
of the contrasts below. I read that there are 8 million motorbikes sold
in Indonesia every year, and they all seem to be in this neighbourhood
at once! Thousands of small shops clog every street and alley, selling
the same tourist souvenirs. There is some social conscience but the
degradation of the environment is accelerating with garbage strewn in
waterways and criminal waste of water and electricity. Most men seem to
be pushing taxi rides and tours, most women seem to be doing heavy
physical labour. Kids do paper mache but on a huge scale!! The artistic
daily offerings to the gods, on palm/bamboo, are everywhere (even on car
hoods) but I think it's a losing battle to the gods of consumption.
That said, Pat and I hate shopping but I'm good at bargaining and we
will be taking some colourful fabric back home.
In
contrast to the new Bali, the old Bali is in view from our room's
balcony, just 100 feet from the chaotic road. The rice paddies have been
planted with thousands of sprouts, like green hair plugs in mud. The
rows are straight, the bare spots filled, and the 3-month wait til
harvest is on. Just like at home there's great bird watching in the
fruit and palm trees. These brown birds have the sweetest song, like our
cardinals. The Cattle Egret stalks the paddy. The Java Kingfisher
flashes a red beak like a punk with a switchblade. The creepy Giant Wood
spider hasn't eaten for days, even with his world-wide-web.
Hard to pigeon hole the landlord's pet chicken. It sleeps next to their dog and eats Indonesian sacred rice. Why did this chicken cross the road?? It went from old to new, like the rest of the place.
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