Bali trip cont'd

 Eventually we got to the point in Ubud to which I had been looking forward the whole trip: the art market. Walking down the street to the art market reminded me of King Street in downtown Boone -- there were so many little cool shops and bars. This is me in one of those bars, feeling super exotic: 

Everything in Bali is open-air.

We hung out in the art market from "Eat Pray Love" and I bought some dresses, despite Seth's complaints. I really have to be smarter about buying things in places where I will negotiate. I decide to buy the dress and THEN negotiate, instead of looking only slightly interested. Seth paid about $11 for the pants he found, and I paid anywhere between $11 and $35 for my dresses. I paid $11 the first time because that was literally all the money I had. 

So this is how Seth usually negotiates:
Seth: "hmm... I don't know... how much?"
Seller: "for you? Special price. Three hundred thousand rupiah." (That means about $30)
Seth: "three HUNDRED??! No no, one hundred." (That means about $10)
Seller: "how can I sell this for one hundred? Two fifty."
Seth: "Haha. Yeah. I don't think so. I don't want it that much." (Starts to walk away)
Seller: "ok ok two hundred."
Seth: "One twenty."
Seller: "One eighty."
Seth: "One fifty or I walk."
Seller: "One sixty."
Seth: (starts to walk away)
Seller: "OK OK one fifty."

Wasn't that masterful?? Now here's how I negotiate:
Me: "Ok. You are very convincing. I will buy your dress. Oh. How much for it?"
Seller: "This dress? Five hundred thousand rupiah." (About $50)
Me: "What. Maybe two fifty."
Seller: "Oh, you go half price. Hmmm... four fifty."
Me: "Two eighty."
Seller: "How can I sell this dress for two eighty? I need to eat. Four twenty."
Me: "OK three hundred." (looking to the side, don't like confrontation)
Seller: "Three eighty."
Me: "Three twenty."
Seller: "Three fifty, my final price. I drink only water."
Me: "WHAT? Only water?? OK three fifty."

See? I'm the worst. I've gotten better though. I just really like dresses and the sellers see it. Whatever. I have other strengths. 

We spent too long negotiating at the art market and then missed the sunset at Tanah Lot, one of the most famous temples in Bali. I cursed myself for letting the cab driver waste our time at the factories we never cared about seeing anyway, but then realized it was the hotel probably getting the biggest kickback since they included it in the itinerary and were charging way more than what the cab driver would have charged for a full day of touring. We learned an expensive lesson on this trip, i.e. go where you have control. To be fair, we have learned that lesson several times. Fool me once... damn.

The next day we went snorkling on Menjangen (men-YANG-en) Island. We drove out a few hours to get to the island and then took a boat for about a half hour to get to the dive/snorkle site. The cool old Australians who were also staying at the timeshare came on the same bus (a bus-van named "The Magical Mystery Tour" and playing Bob Marley) and were good company. When we got out to the Island though, Seth's mask and snorkel kept filling with water. He switched with me, then my snorkel kept filling with water. I switched with the guide, and....  my snorkel kept filling with water. "Just blow out the water," he said. Oh yeah. Blow out the water. Look like a moron doing the doggie paddle with a snorkel and raise your head above the water so you can blow it out every five breaths. Meanwhile, take some pictures! Great plan. Eventually I switched with him again, back to my second snorkel, and he had fixed it. We saw some pretty big blue starfish, some clown fish, and some Little Mermaid-esque white clams opening and closing to reveal really bright colors! I had a waterproof case for my phone to take pictures, but guess what! Touch screens don't work under water. So I had to go above water, set the timer on the camera, press the button, and then go back underwater with the phone and aim at something, all without drowning. I did this about 15 times before my phone ran out of battery, but I got a few OK pictures:

Trying to get the surface and the bottom

This one was more of a happy mistake.

Can you see the clownfish? I swear he's there.

Thursday we packed our bags and headed out to Kuta, a more touristy area of Bali, where there were many more people and options for food and some great beach access with umbrellas to rent for Seth's extremely white skin. The new hotel didn't have a view of the mountains over the rainforest jungle and a sunset, but rather a view of the pool, free wifi that worked, and a complimentary breakfast. Which is also pretty great. The next two days were a blur of walking around this beach town, sun bathing, a very intricate mani-pedi on the beach, sleeping, reading, and eating way too much delicious food. 

Oh! The last night before our plane left, we spent an evening at the Bali Zoo! We got VIP access and fed an elephant, pet some goats, got a guided tour around the zoo at nighttime, held a bear cat, parrots and a python and watched a fire dance during a buffet dinner! I highly reccommend this experience if you're ever in Bali. 

 We are now fat happy tan foreigners, back in Korea. Twenty-four days until we leave for our next big adventure!  

Some cultural observations:
- Whenever I negotiated, the sellers would tell me they'd give me a special price "for good luck." Then after I paid, they would touch their newly acquired money to the other products in their store, presumably also for good luck.
- In Bali, offerings to the Hindu Gods are EVERYWHERE. These consist of banana leaves folded into a little half box, and then flowers, fruit and insense arranged neatly inside. People usually placed them in their cars, in front of store fronts, restaurants, temples, and Hindu statues. If you aren't careful it's easy step on them by accident, which Seth and I often did. People didn't seem to mind, as many were already demolished. I guess the Gods get the intention.
- There are so many dogs just hangin out in Bali. We mentioned this to our cab driver who told us they never put dogs in cages. I'm a fan, except for the dogs that get run over and the other ones who are mostly skin and bones because they don't have a proper owner. Usually they'd just eat the fruit out of the offerings though.
- The government is working on Bali's infrastructure, but they still have a long way to go. The only road from the timeshare in the sticks to Denpasar (the city with the airport and close to the main beach town) is a two-lane windy road that takes about 3 hours, because trucks are constantly moving food and building  materials back and forth. Also traffic laws are more of a suggestion than a rule. This kind of prevented us from seeing as much as we wanted in a week, because it was such a long time to sit in a car if we wanted to get anywhere.
- I finally got to try the meat and vegetables wrapped in a banana leaf then grilled over charcoal. This was a happy experience. I was so sad when it was gone.




That's all folks!