Trip to Thailand, Laos & Bali- The Ubud Market & Palace

On my last day in Bali it was time for one last look at the Market near my hotel. There were lots of textile stalls on the second floor of a building overlooking the market. Unfortunately the market is beseiged by tour buses every afternoon and the prices are up accordingly. I see similar items in Bangkok at much cheaper prices so I didn't buy much here. I did find a nice little shop on a street near the Palace where I purchased a few textiles at more reasonable prices.
After all this dickering it was time for a tasty cinnamon bun at the nearby bakery.
You see these small offerings all over town on doorsteps and in the streets.
After attending the Dance Session at the Palace at night I decided to take a second look in the daytime.
The Dancer area.
Not all of the Palace is open as some of the former Royal Family still lives here.

It was still the rainy season here (the rain comes from Australia) so we would have a downpour every afternoon which was quickly gone.

Trip to Thailand, Laos and Bali- Bali Mountains and Temples

After the temple we stopped at an overlook to view the volcanoes.

It reminded me of the view over Lake Atitlan in Guatemala with the three volcanoes overlooking the lake. These volcanoes have erupted numerous times.
Coming back down the mountain we stopped at a kite store...one of many lining the road and luring passerbys with their beautiful kites.
I wanted to purchase one but their price was 2 1/2 times the price quoted in a kite store right next to my hotel. Then they raised the price when I asked for a quote for two kites. As you might imagine I didn't make any purchases here.
Since I was interested in textiles we stopped at a "so called" weaving shop. There were set up looms but no weavers and a few handwoven pieces and a shop full of manufactured ones from elsewhere. This was repeated at a wood carving shop (where I bought a dragon) where two carvers theoretically turned out literally hundreds of huge carvings which filled the shop. This was repeated at two silver shops, with a quick demo of silver making by one lone worker, followed by a tour of a huge shop filled with thousands of factory made pieces.
After all this touring it was time for lunch at a pretty open air restaurant facing rice paddies.
Then time to squeeze in just one more temple before returning to Ubud.
I had to wear a sarong of course.

A sort of kitchen area.


Because of all the rain concrete quickly grows a moss covering.

Trip to Bali, Laos & Thailand- The Temple at Penelokan

After the Spice Garden we drove up the mountain to a town called Penelokan, Literally the place to look, with great views of the volcanoes across the lake. A few km. from town is a famous 11th century temple. In order to visit I had to wear a sarong.

While most of Indonesia is Muslim, Bali is predominately Hindu.

Worshiping at one of the temples.

Offerings.

I would see these small baskets in doorways and in front of houses all over Ubud.

Trip to Thailand, Laos & Bali- The Spice Garden

We stopped at a Spice Garden to see an array of spices ready to harvest. This was coffee.
The word lush loses it meaning in Bali. The foliage and trees are huge.

Cocoa.

Cinnamon bark
At the top of the hill was a display of Mongoose Coffee. The mongoose eats the beans, which are not digested but softened in its intestional tract, then excretes them. No thanks.
Then the beans are roasted.
And the coffee is ground.
Roasted beans.
Snakefruit in the right. It was sort of like a hard pear.