New beginnings new ideas

Sunday, January 01, 2017
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Well even though we got to bed around 1am I was awake early 6.30am so got up to have my quiet time!
We planned this go into Ubud for a long time today!
So had a breaky, back to the room for awhile after getting dumping from the Banana pancake . A little rest of the bed enough to recover and get going to the shuttle for today's adventure.

This time in the little tight squeeze 6 setter car with more Aussies. To blokes having a bit of a whinge about women and shopping....

We arrived to police and army everywhere was sure it must have been a high alert for something??? Maybe a possible bomb threat who knows we certainly didn't know why..

Checked out the drum shop with him drums and hand drums all amazing little instruments. Would love one but would I learn to play it?????

Wandered on looking for some nice collard plain shirts for John, no such thing here and what ones we did find were dearer than home so why bother.

One thing we have noticed 2 days in a row is the amount of women in the streets with sleeping children or babies in arms begging... I find it hard to believe these children would sleep normally as much as what we have seen. Very sad but also concerning it is becoming a trend here as it is in Europe, where there drug the children and babies to beg.... I hope it's not the case he but does look the same. One little girl around 13 begging with a baby saying it's hers but how can you really tell... I felt I should buy her a meal I won't give money but food I would give ....
very disconcerting and sad....

Got hot now so stopped at a Bakery Cafe spot that looked pretty ordinary but opened up to some amazing gardens with little individual stalls to sit at, so tranquil and peaceful wYer running over ponds could have stopped here for ages. The bonus was the cool breeze blowing through the whole area.

So many of the cafe/restaurants here look nothing from the front but open to amazing oasis inside. Or they have unreal taste I. How they look to entice you in. I love their adventurous natures in setting up this cafe bars. Could spend days discovering them all as there are so many and each one with their own unique stamp of individuality on them....

We wandered down to the old bridge where we stayed on our first 2 trips to Ubud.
As always hawkers in the bridge and always the lady selling sarongs....

A look around not a lot had changed here but as we had walked to get to this point the changers since I was here with Kerry 12 months ago is unreal. Gone are the little old shops replaced with upmarket shops, little stores like 7/11's coffee shops and same same shops as the other areas like Billabong shops who are as dear as home. Up market thong shops, more art shops but all offering the same stuff everywhere all originals you see them paint but all the same pics .... same dresses same beads, jewellry, I not sure how they survive with all the same stuff everywhere from hawkers, markets to little upmarket looking shops still the same stuff.... occasionally you see something a bit different but they are so expensive it's not worth it.

After coming here 4 times now I feel U if is out pricing itself as a cheap place to come, it was for food, alcohol, massages and items... now it's like a lot of places at home. So not really worth buying things here like it was.

John was on the hunt for a nice place to have a massage... I wanted one in a few days but I ended up having mine today in the nice place... but John ended up with his at a not so good place.....
I have been to my place every visit always found the service good, good relaxing atmosphere and value for money. I am booked for 5 hrs on Wednesday see how I go....

Had to meet John at the Coco Mart at 4 pm . I started out to find my way back had a fair idea where it was, but just to be sure I asked a policeman. Mistake No1 he told me in total different direction I was heading. So I back tracked through the markets heading in the direction I remembered with Kerry last year...
Walking past an ice cream stall decided to get an gelato Mistake No 2 I ended up with it melting quicker than I could eat and all over my hands and dropped through to my feet...
yuk yuk yuk.....
I asked about 5 different people as I headed to where I had an idea I was... coming a long a road I thought was where we had come yesterday but coming from the other direction made everything look so different....
I did get there eventually 40mins late but alive... to be honest I never felt at rush the whole time being by myself. Maybe Italy prepared me to times like this..,,

We headed back in the tiny shuttle this time with 7 people all the women 4 all up from the 2 men this morning on the shuttle wives and daughters... seems the men had enough and headed back to the bar. Plus John myself and 2 others squeezy indeedie.
Back for a drink, rest and dinner day done just like that!
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Comments

travelmate7
2017-01-03

Gee Rell you could put all your blogs in a book

rell01
2017-01-03

You can do that with this program did it for a Christmas present for John one year he was thrilled with it...

2025-02-18

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