Adios Bali

Our conversations after the morning excursion revolved only around whales and dolphins, much to R's delight. He was certainly seeing a role reversal and was happy to see the adults share the enthusiasm and regard he always had for them:-p

Our next stop was for breakfast that also doubled up as a vantage point to view the twin lakes, Tamblingan and Buyan. We ordered a sumptuous breakfast, almost a brunch, and savoured it while admiring the panoramic view of the beautiful clear lakes.




We headed next to Ulun Danu, a temple by the lake Bratan. Of all the temples we visited in Bali, I found this to be the most beautiful. By the time we reached Taman Ayun, our last point for the day, it was well past noon. The sun was bright and fierce outside. Inside the cool interiors, the kids had dozed off. It had already been a long day. For them as well as for us. M and N decided to give the last bit a miss. Resisting the temptation to follow the majority and stay in the cool confines, C and I decided to make a quick stopover. Despite the heat wearing us down, we were able to appreciate the nuances of yet another well-maintained and picturesque temple.

We joined the rest and headed straight to our hotel in Ubud. Tired and weary, all we could think of was sleep. Shopping was on our list too and I had planned accordingly; to wrap up the sightseeing by afternoon and have the second half of the day free to relax and roam about in the streets of the Ubud market. So, after some rest and refreshments, we set out once again.

Shopping in Bali is fascinating. The streets are replete with colourful clothes, attractive trinkets, and beautiful masks. It took me quite a while to get used to the currency. They round off the thousands to write it as 100.000 which means you pay 100 thousand. All the calculations and the conversions whirred my mind into a tizzy each time. I was advised to follow the golden rule of bargaining. Depending on your negotiation skills you can get an item for half or even less than half the original rate quoted.

Shopping for artifacts and knick-knacks always delight me and we spent a good deal of time roaming about the pretty corners and picking up a few lovely pieces. I savoured the remnant moments trying to string together the lovely memories from our long trip. Always a bittersweet moment when holidays end and I wonder about when and where would I go next :-)

Some pictures from Ulun Danu and Taman Ayun for you.

Ulun Danu










Taman Ayun





We bade farewell to our friendly and warm driver-guide, D, the next morning after he dropped us to the airport. It was indeed nice to meet you, Mr. D!





Adios Bali!




2 comments:

  1. The weather looks gorgeous as well as the greens. As for the shopping I never can bargain so I prefer fixed price shops. Otherwise I always come away feeling cheated!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Tulika, sorry, missed replying to your comment earlier!

    Oh, I've very poor negotiating skills too :-)

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