September 14, 2006
restday Ubud: shopping and mailing
There is much to see here in Ubud, and we decide to stay one more day. We'll save doing a tour up the volcano for when we are on the north side of the island.
We start the day walking around the market area where yesterday people were selling sarongs and wood carvings. This morning there is a vegetable market set up for the locals, and we observe and take many pictures. For breakfast we have a banana pancake and fruit juice, then find the post office to mail our souvenirs of sarongs and wood carvings. Yes, less than a week and we need to mail a box home. Patrick had found mailing supplies yesterday for surface mailing that costs as much as the souvenirs. The post office offers great service. A guy cuts and folds a box from cardboard, wraps all items with shredded paper and weighs the box. Then they put a woven polyester bag around it and sew the package shut. All we have to do is write the name and address, and pay.
We return to our hotel and take a swim. It is not really that hot, but the humidity makes one sweaty quickly. We also walk further up the road that is behind our hotel. After it crosses the ravine it steeply climbs onto the rice fields behind Ubud and turns into a narrow dirt path. A guy comes out of the field, climbs a coconut tree to get a coconut for us. Then he cuts out a slit, inserts a piece of leaf for drinking and hands it to us. The inside is filled with a slightly milky water, very refreshing. Of course he expects some money for his efforts, but it is all done in a very nice way.
After the walk we spend some more time lazing around our bungalow. At dinner time the little restaurant right above our room still seems deserted so we head down the street to a small restaurant where we have sateh ayam and nasi goring (chicken satay and fried rice).
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