Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Monday, 21 November

We wanted to buy Made a new pair of glasses. He said Denpasar would be the best place to go, and that while we were there, we could shop for fabric. We said that sounded great, and it was determined that we would go on Monday. So, after breakfast and a little shopping, we set out for Denpasar. Along the way, we did the usual ogling out the window at the wonderfully interesting shops we were passing - mostly furniture, but we also saw a bakery with a beautiful selection of birthday cakes in the window, puppies and fish for sale (not in the bakery), floral shops, and many other things I had never seen in Bali before.

While Made had his eyes examined, we all looked at frames and watched TV. Jake helped Made choose just the right frames, and they look great. The total cost for the exam, frames and lenses was Rp 600,000 ($60) and they would be ready in an hour. The children informed me that they were lapar (hungry) and that it was time for makan siang (lunch), so we told Made and he said he knew a good place. He took us to Tiara Dewata. This is a Bali shopping mall with a food court, kiddie rides, and a swimming pool. Lace and I ate at the dim sum stand; we both got noodles with meat, vegetables, mushrooms, crispy fried noodles and broth for $1 each (total meal with tax $2.20). Made helped the kids with their lunch decision and they ended up with pizza and sate ayam (chicken) with white rice. He also bought a plate of Balinese treats for all of us to try. After they finished lunch, Made took the kids to ride the carousel and play in the ball room.

After all that excitement, we headed back to get Made's glasses and then on to the fabric shopping. Although Lace keeps saying I went crazy, I say we exercised quite a bit of self control in not buying a piece of every fabric we liked. Cotton batik in all variety of colors and patterns cost Rp 15,000 per meter, and rayon batik was only 13,000. I think in all we bought about 50 meters. What are we going to do with it all? Ummm . . .

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