A Most Unusual Souvenir

On past trips we've brought home things that were easily portable . . . CD's of local music, small hanging doo-dads, Christmas ornaments . . . but the local wood here on Bali is calling us and keeps calling us!  Easily portable?  I think not!  We have been traveling for over three months with one backpack each, weighing in the neighborhood of 7kg or 15 pounds!  We have one more flight, to Melbourne Australia, and then our long haul flight (14.5 hours) home.  For a small fee, we can add a checked bag to the Melbourne flight and the checked bag home is free.  We wouldn't have to schlep this hefty souvenir through too many airports or past the eyes of doubting customs officials . . .  so the decision is made:  we're taking home Balinese wood!

Now we have to find a lumberyard and figure out exactly what we're taking home.  Our puzzled driver (our request leaves him speechless) assures us he can find us a yard, we just have to decide what we want.   We have absolutely no idea what we're going to make with this exotic wood, how much we will need to make our mystery creation, or how much it's likely to cost . . . minor details!

Our still baffled drive takes us to a lumber yard/art furniture 'shop' which, for me, is like a discount designer shoe store for most women and for Tim is sheer heaven.  And these woods are mind-bogglingly wonderful - dense, beautifully grained, and lushly colored in shades of rosewood and mahogany (can you tell I love wood??).  There isn't one variety that either of us recognize but we begin traipsing around the yard, to the amazement of the workers as well as our driver.

 That is a single piece of wood standing in the rear of this photo (and Tim with a glassy-eyed stare)!

While we were negotiating for our wood purchase, I was fascinated watching this fellow cutting this huge piece of wood, lengthwise.  He was standing on a block of wood - barefoot! - with no safety equipment whatsoever - using a chainsaw (Stihl) with this humongous blade to slice this thick piece of wood!  This was the second cut; he'd already cut the opposing half.

While I watched he actually completed the cut, one huge piece fell away, he jumped down, and proceeded to polish the edges of his cut - amazing!!

Pretty much on the fly, we designed a pair of tables for use in the living room with our favorite lounge chairs and agree to return to pick them up on our way out of town in a couple of days.  Here we are inspecting the final product - two half moons and six legs.

We have no idea if we paid a fair price (total cost - about $85) or we were totally scammed and, frankly, we don't care.  We are both delirious over this gorgeous wood and can't wait to see how our tables turn out!!

Now this is a souvenir!!

Catpoochino or Kopi Lewak in the Flesh

It seems like almost everyone has seen The Bucket List.  And if you haven't, you probably have your own 'bucket list' - namely, things you intend to do before you kick the proverbial bucket.  If you saw the movie, you probably remember one of the most amusing scenes early on when Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, strangers, find themselves roommates in a hospital where they're both being treated for terminal conditions.  Morgan, in his low-key, understated way takes Jack down a notch or three by describing the origin of Jack's pretentious coffee beans, kopi lewak.

I never dreamed we would actually meet the critter that produces these beans!  Yes, we visit the coffee and tea plantation where the kopi lives . . . and eats . . . and poops!  A bit of history . . .the Dutch were the first settlers/colonizers of Indonesia and the first Europeans to set foot on Bali.  Somehow they managed to convince people to remove the local coffee beans from the poop of the kopi, clean them (thoroughly), and brew them into coffee . . . and, amazingly, sell it as a delicacy!!  Made me wonder if that was the original meaning of 'Dutch treat'!

Kopi lewak beans in the raw and their original form.

The source (producer?) of this exotic coffee is a ferret/fox-like creature who spends most of his time sleeping, especially during the day.

The raw beans are washed first (and second and third!!) and then roasted, by hand, for upwards of two hours!  I get a chance to do some roasting . . .

And finally we have a tea-tasting - 12 varieties of lovely teas all free but no kopi lewak!

That we have to pay for - at nearly $4 a cup which is really pricey.  And, frankly, we'll stick with our Guatemelan beans from Costco!!

Some of the dozen tea samples and our lovely hostess.

On our way out, we actually see a coffee bush, the first time for us. . .

The Artisans of Ubud

You only have to walk a block or two along Ubud's main street to realize that this is an artisans paradise.  The wood carvings, the fabrics - especially the batiks - are absolutely world class.  A trip through the local market just reaffirms that; in fact, it is overwhelming and other than a sweet, hanging, handmade sailing craft, we don't buy a thing.  We are told that a driver-escorted trip out of town is well worth the cost so we hire this talkative fellow whose English is punctuated by numerous English slang expressions and his manic enthusiasm is contagious.  Off we go . . . to visit a woodworkers outlet, a batik factory and whatever else we have the time and energy for!

First stop, the woodworkers outlet.  Outside are a number of men, sitting on mats, carving away, holding their pieces with their feet!

I think these men have probably been doing this all their lives as have their fathers before them . . .

Their skill and artistry is obvious.  The creations we see in the showroom are truly amazing.

Next stop, the batik factory - another amazing and beautiful product, the result of generations' of skill.

This lady painstakingly dyes these strands which are then incorporated into beautiful batik patterns.  Another approach is to weave them by machine, using a very old method - jacquard punch cards!

There are shelves and shelves of these cards, each one reflecting the complex weaving pattern necessary to create a batik.

 A jacquard pattern in operation . . .

One of the enormous looms creating batik . . .

A loom operator making a 'handmade' batik.

Painstakingly rethreading one of the looms . . . 

Of course there is a lovely gift shop on the premises which we wander through . . . for a weaver, this is absolute heaven!

Next stop, the cave temple complex.  Outside is the usual gamut of shops, the owners of which insist I need a large scarf or sari-type garment in order to enter the temple.  Not so - that's only for women (or men) who are somewhat scantily clad (which we are not).  The simple sash was free!

 The large fish pond is in the middle of the complex (that's the cave temple in the background).

The pool is filled with fish but the water level was so low that the fish were swimming on their sides!

There's another temple (Buddhist I think) farther up the mountain but it is a blazingly hot and humid day so we decide to forego the hike.  Tim announcing he's not going another meter up this hill!

These enchanting faces adorn the walk up the hill.

It's way past time for lunch so we're off for a much-needed break - lunch and a cool drink!