Bali --Hey!

When you hear the name "Bali," what comes to mind?  Do you picture sunny beaches, beautiful people and luxurious resorts?  We were on the other side of the island.  We saw crumbling shacks which were in use as shops and residences, heavy traffic and tons of motorbikes zipping in between cars , trucks and buses on 2, 3 or 4 lane highways.  Most structures have food offerings on a small tray in front of the building or in a raised "spirit house."  The weather was typical for this time of year, the rainy season.  In this area there are only 2 seasons, wet and dry.  We are in the wet season.  Our tour took us first to a large temple.  both in the temple grounds and along the streets, statues of various Hindu gods are wrapped in black and white checkered cloth or yellow and white drapes.  This is the local way of making the gods more human when the cloth is black and white and a way of honoring their divinity when the colors of  white and yellow are used. Sometimes they even provide an umbrella to protect the god from the sun.

Old and new?

Actually, this large temple is not that old.  It was built in the 1990's, but the high humidity encourages the growth of mold and algae, giving everything an ancient look. The tower is the temple; there is not an interior.  During worship ceremonies people sit on the ground.  Each family in the rural communities also has a family shrine.  When there is any celebration, the men do the cooking.  It is the responsibility of the women to earn the proper blessing and ceremonies for each occasion.

The state museum was right next door with 4 buildings.  Our guide rushed us through, so we just glanced at the ancient farming implements, coins, and archaeological discoveries.  There was a woman dressed as a bride in the balcony of the building.  I am not sure if she was having wedding pictures taken or if she was just window dressing to give the tourist something to photograph.  At least they did not charge to take her picture.  Gates of buildings and entrances of yards have fancy towers.

Gate between museum buildings

Our next stop was the usual shopping excursion.  There were booths outside, but the main attraction was a "mall" which consisted of about a square block of shops, some around the outside.  Most of the shops on the inside sold souvenirs, cloth and clothing.  The whole interior was a warren of shops about 8 feet long on aisles about 2 feet apart.  Material was stacked on shelves up to the roof (almost.)

The price quoted for a simple cotton print dress was 2,500,000 in the local  currency.  Before you gasp too loudly, that comes to about $185, still too much.  She handed me the calculator and I offered 200,000  ($14.65).  She started to roll up the dress and I thought she was insulted by the offer, so I thanked her and started to walk away.  No, she accepted my offer and was packing the dress up for me to take.



An Indonesian dance group performed in the evening.  The costumes were spectacular.  The outstanding feature of this type of dance is a combination of very slight but dramatic head, finger, toe and eye movement. Both men and women have a lot of face make-up.  All the dance is accompanied by a band made up of several xylophone-type instruments played by hitting with brass hammers.  There are also drums, gongs and a few other instruments I could not describe.