Tuesday - February 27, 2018

 Tuesday, February 27, 2018

This is our second day in Bali. After a busy day yesterday we stayed up for a 9:30 performance of music and dance by a local Balinese group. The music is restful and peaceful. The dances are exquisitely costumed, and performed with all movements of the head, hands, fingers, arms, legs and feet in perfect time to the music. The rhythms are enchanting as is the unison of the dancers. We are glad we did not miss this.

Today we have booked the arts and crafts tour. It is a 5 hour tour leaving at 7:30 in order to avoid the heavy morning traffic. We will travel an hour away from the port.

Our local guide was the master of ceremonies for the dance show last night. He told us that our first stop would be at another dance performance. Unlike last night’s dances this would be a dance that told a story. It would have several scenes depicting the struggle between Good and Evil. The venue was a beautiful open pavilion with lovely landscaping in the background. Again, the breeze was very cooling. After we were served water or tea with assorted local sweets, we experienced a splendid dance performance. We had been given a libretto of sorts so we were able to follow the vocal and dance elements. We truly enjoyed this.

Now we enjoyed a 45 minute ride through the suburbs to arrive at a wood carving gallery. We first were led to a stage where a dozen workers were carving different figures using a variety of woods. A narrator explained the process and the woods being used. It was impressive to see how the carvers used their feet to hold the wood while they used their chisels to form the details. After watching them for a while we entered the gallery. The variety of designs, sizes and wood grains of the pieces was astounding. We wound our way through the any rooms and levels. We were encouraged to place any pieces that interested us on a table. We would later be able to return to them and make our section for purchase. We saw many things we liked, but even though they did accept plastic we limited ourselves to one small piece. The prices seemed very reasonable.

After we picked up our carefully wrapped “statue” we stopped to watch a gentleman, who was using a brush similar to a paintbrush, to polish a finished piece. He told us that this would bring out the natural oils to provide a varnish-like sheen to the piece. To further enhance it, we could use a light application of shoe polish to brighten it.

Our next stop was a painting gallery. It was huge with room after room of artworks. The inventory, though enormous, held no appeal for us. No bank breakers here.

We returned to the port at 12:30. After lunch in the Lido, we left to visit the market outside the terminal.

On the bus just before we left the art gallery, a lady showed us 3 lovely fabric pieces she had just purchased from a vendor outside the bus. The vendor had started at $10 per piece, but settled for 3 for $10. It was a great buy, but we did not have time to get off the bus before we had to leave. Now we were on a mission to duplicate her success. This was no easy task. $10 per piece was the starting price here as well. The best we were able do was 3 for $15 at several of the stalls. Finally after a second visit to one stall we got 3 very nice pieces for $12. Alice felt like we were cheating the vendor because she liked the fabrics so much. I reminded her that no vendor would make a sale at a loss.

We made the purchase of a skirt at another stall and a lovely top at a third. In each case bargaining was an essential part of the transaction. It was like a game that all the players seemed to enjoy. We got some things at agreeable prices, and the vendors freely accepted our offers. They did this even thought they protested that we were “killing” them. What had started as difficult for us (we do not bargain well) became an accepted part of the Balinese experience.

At 8 PM we departed Bali at high tide under a bright moon. This was a fitting farewell to a lovely country.