Friday, April 11, 2008

Saturday, April 12 (9:42AM)

Today we are moving to a place closer to the ocean. I'm excited to see the beaches here.

Went into the town of Ubud yesterday, it's the biggest town closest to where we're staying. It reminded me a little of Luang Prabng, there were temples and shrines everywhere. There was also a real hustle to the town, people flying by on motorcycle's, giant chicken coops on wheels squaking through the streets, tour buses everywhere. Very different to that I was expecting for some reason. I've always associated Bali with a tranquil oasis not a bustling center.



Shrine in Ubud.



Gate to temple in Ubud.

Balinese cuisine is good. There are a lot of meat dishes paired with lightly pickled vegetables and stir fired tofu and vegetable dishes with sweet soy sauces. There is also a lot of banana leaf used to wrap and steam food, the most interesting use I've seen was in place of a dumpling wrapper. You unwrap the banana leaf and what you're left with is just a steamed dumpling filling. Very good.

The market in Ubud is massive, two floors of things to buy. There is a lot fo silver here and also a lot of carving both of wood and local stone. Some of them are huge, bigger than me. There is also a lot of really incredible weaving, both textiles and traditional baskets.



Local baskets at the market.

Also a lot of spices. Although what they were selling as saffron was definitely not saffron.



The vanilla was real though.

I think it will definitely be time to go home soon. It's been a great trip but as good as the food is here I am starting to really want a grilled cheese.

1 comment:

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