Life's a Stitch

Figuratively, not literally. Looking back on our last full day in Bali it brings back the joy of time with family and friends, mixed with huge anxiety resulting from the decision to return home or not. As our trip was shortened to nine days it was important to leave our immediate tourist area and see the surrounding area.

M and KC and their friends generously invited us for a visit at their jungle villa near Ubud. We hired their driver for the day and rode the hour an a half from the city, through the craft villages each with their own specialty: the stone workers with blocks and blocks of statues, the wood shops filled with furniture and sculptures, the visual artists galleries and shops. It was torturous not having the time to stop, consoling ourselves with the mantra of "next time." 

We arrived at an emerald rice patty, serenaded by the quacking of ducks. These are working birds, herded from patty to patty in order to keep insects under control. The word for duck in Bahasa is bebek. I like that onomatopoeiac word, a combination of quack and beak. We walked a high narrow path between the patties:

Through a jungley garden:

Down steep stairs until the house appeared, carved into the side of the hill:

These luxurious types of accommodation are available throughout the island, complete with pool and staff. the cost is reasonable when shared with others. 

There is a restaurant type menu, and the staff cook your food to order. The fridge is filled with cold drinks, you help yourself and keep track of what you owe. We ate lunch to the hum of jungle cicadas and tree frogs. At least we didn't see the golden orb spiders we found in town, harmless, but including legs, the size of your hand.

Come on a little tour around:

C and KC posed in the bathtubs, one wood, the other copper.

After a dip in the pool we very reluctantly ended our day, and our trip, and headed back to Sanur.

We wound our way back through the rice patties.

Passed women on their weekly trek to the temple, balancing their offerings:

It was rush hour in the city as we wove through the multitudes of motor scooters, some carrying entire families. Small scooters call for tiny gas stations.

Sometimes you buy gas from a jar at a corner store.

So that was that, the last day of our abbreviated visit to Bali. Some day we hope to return.

On a brighter note, this week marked B's 30th birthday in Bali! How did that happen? He sweet girlfriend ordered in 40 kilos of rose petals and surprised him with a beflowered bath and pool: 

Isolation is not so bad in paradise!