Just Another Day in Ubud

The people here seem to like making pretty things - the offerings, the way they dress, the lovely designs on their patios and doorways.  I really don’t understand the garbage they leave around to rot.  

Lovely stone designs worked into the
entrances of homes and businesses.

Colourful stairway

Burning off old offerings

Garbage along the side of the road.
This is actually fairly clean . . .

A streambed at the side of the road.

The children live the life that I had as a child - pretty much left on their own for the day to wander around, ride their bicycles, fish in the streams.  They ride on the scooters without a helmet, and there sure aren’t any seatbelts in sight.  Some of them stand on the scooter, some sit behind, some are held in the parents arms.  It appears that they survive without all the western restrictions and helicopter parenting we’ve become accustomed to.  

Fishing in the rice paddy irrigation canal.
The only adults in sight were me and Glen

Have slingshot, will travel.  Alone.  Along
the road, in traffic.

Crossing the road.  All by themselves.

Fishing in a roadside stream

This little sweetie stands outside her mom's store
and asks for hugs from strangers.  Absolutely
adorable.

Boys on bikes.  Doubling is allowed, and no helmets in sight.

A gaggle of chattering girls outside the temple

They wanted their picture taken - thought it was quite funny!

The boys and this one girl had their own discussion group

The local soccer pitch and tennis court in our neighbourhood would be called unsafe and have taxpayers screaming that the government owes them something better.  Here they just play on them happily.  The tennis court doubles as a cockfighting arena at times.

The soccer pitch.  A group of young men gathers here pretty
much every day for a game.  Nice setting.  Note
the goalpost - no net in sight.

The tennis court.  

The tennis court transformed into a cockfighting arena.
They put up a tarp for the event.

People here bathe and wash their clothes in the local river.  This river is fed by a number of streams, sewers and rice paddy irrigation canals, all of which are loaded with garbage, dead animals, and have been used as a toilet by some.  I have said to several people that if I fell into that water, I’d run home to scrub myself with soap, and I’d put my clothing through the washer immediately.  Different standards for sure. There isn’t much modesty among the people - we’ve seen them in various states of undress having their bath or towelling off, and they always give us a big smile and a wave as we walk by.

Bath and laundry time

They've set up a light for nighttime bathing.  Just tapped
into a wire hanging at the side of the road.

Doing laundry in the stream between two houses.

Close up of the picture above.  They lay the clothing out on a flat
bit of rock or concrete and scrub with a brush.  Makes me
complaining about doing laundry seem very whiny! 

Along the streets during the day, we will see people putting out offerings, men sitting and chatting to each other at the local stores, rice paddy workers headed home with a scythe in his hand, or a large bag on her head, women walking with large baskets on their heads, kids cycling or fishing in one of the streams, dogs, chickens & roosters wandering the street, cows under a makeshift roof.  In the evening, the local men gather in front of one of the home gates with their prize roosters and chat.  These are cockfighting roosters for the most part, and the way they continuously fondle them, you’d think they were pet dogs instead.

Roosters.  Everywhere.

That's a lot to carry on one head!

Rooster cages at the side of the road.  Everywhere.

Headed to the rice field

Putting out one of the 4x daily offerings

Guy walking down the street with a scythe in his
hand.  Normal.

Have scythe, will work.  On the way to the rice field

Another rooster.  

Heading home from the rice field.

The cow barn

The doorways and compound entrances are often beautifully painted and carved and most have some sort of statues outside.  These are often decorated as well.  There are many beautiful metalwork gates, murals, elaborate rooster cages, colourful stonework and beautiful flowers and trees everywhere.  

Stonework and elaborate gate at the entrance to this compound

Carved entrance

Elaborate rooster cage

Love this colourful carved doorway

Typical gate or fencing

Looking into a family compound

Really elaborate gate

Wall details on many family compounds.

Another fancier rooster cage

Pretty entrance stairs

Very elaborate home. Would love to have seen inside.

Even the statues get decorated

People work with very basic tools - not a lot of power machines here.  The gardener in our complex cuts the grass between the bricks in the driveway with a pair of hand-held hedge clippers.  I think it took him the better part of two days.  The brooms they use look like something almost prehistoric but they are beautiful.  Everyone hunches over them - must be very hard on the back.

Old fashioned brooms  New plastic dustpans.

Looked quite pretty sitting by our door

She was sweeping the lawn outside her
compound.  

Trimming the grass in our driveway.

This is the driveway.  

The celebrations and rituals seem to happen regularly, and everyone puts on their best clothing and makes a day of it.  I love the colourful way they dress.

Family walking to temple

There doesn't seem to be a lot of opportunity for young people.  Everyone seems to be self-employed - either running a small store (sari), gardening, working their patch of rice field, or driving taxi.  The young fellow Kadek who is in charge of the cleaning crew at the villa is 17.  He desperately wants to go to university to learn to work in the big tourist hotels.  His tuition is the equivalent of $1800, and his monthly salary is the equivalent of $100.  I guess it's the same for university students everywhere - it seems as out of reach for him as for many western students.  

Our driver, Wayan, and several others that we have spoken to, all told us that they left Bali, worked overseas in Dubai or on cruise ships for several years, saved their money and returned home.  

Painting in one of the shops along the road.
We watched the artist for quite awhile.