Market Day! Ibu and I got up early and walked to the market to experience the local market. This is not something we've really been able to do before, because we've never stayed this close to the market. The morning market opens at 5:00 and is cleaned up and closed by 7:00 so arriving at around 6:30, we had already missed most of the excitement. Even so, it was quite an experience. The place was packed with people, very few of them were not locals. We learned pretty quickly that morning market shopping does not work the same way as what we are accustomed to in our regular market shopping. Ordinarily, you have your eye set on something, you ask the price, then either walk away laughing or begin the bargaining. If you ask a price at the morning market, you will be charged at least twice the going price. Watch what others are paying, take out your money and lay it down. You might still get less than the locals for the same price but you'll get more than if you ask the price.
We bought a large bag of ready to eat krupuk (shrimp crackers) and some Javanese cake things with chocolate sprinkles. The woman ahead of me had paid less than 5,000 for a pack of ten of these, but this was before I had learned the trick, so I ended up paying 7,000. We wandered around taking pictures and generally getting in everyone's way - imagine Costco just before Thanksgiving with a couple of people stopping to photograph every display - then we headed back to Puri Saraswati to get the kids and have breakfast.
After breakfast, we all headed back to the market to do our regular shopping. It was a bit shocking to find that the prices have increased to about three times what we have been accustomed to. I walked away from many sales because I couldn't bring myself either to pay what I thought we'd bargain down to, or to try to bargain down to what I wanted to pay. We did manage to get some good deals on some clothes for personal use and a few new items for the shop. It was a troubling trip through the market - I can't remember ever having the vendors really beg me to buy. The new market buildings are pretty on the outside, but I don't think they make the market better for either the vendors or the shoppers. I'm sure that the rent on spaces is much higher now, and that, along with the economy, plays into the lack of deals to be found here.
We walked out of the market by way of the back street which intersects Jalan Dewi Sita near the soccer field. We found a little restaurant with decent prices and decided to stop for lunch. Ayuk's Warung faces the side street, and is a restaurant, money changer and wood carver's shop all in one. While we waited for our food we wandered around the shop. We have purchased from Ayuk in the past, and his shop hasn't changed much. You can get good quality wood carvings here, and he does bargain. Lunch was good, but not great. After lunch, the kids walked back to the hotel, and Ibu and I went exploring. We walked down Jl. Dewi Sita to Jl. Hanoman, back to Jl. Raya Ubud and past the market to the hotel. Lots of new glass-front shops with very expensive goods for sale, and a Polo shop every half-block. Okay, not really, but I've seen at least four of them in downtown Ubud, and the prices are not good. $62 for a shirt? I think not.
Back at the hotel, I finally dragged out the laptop to work on photos and start my blogging. Unfortunately, the free wi-fi is not strong enough to easily access the internet from the back of the property where our bungalow was located. Then I discovered that my laptop has succumbed to old age, and was operating so slowly that I'd never be able to get any work done. No problem, Macaela has hers. Only I've never used hers to access my Google account before, and when someone tried logging into my account a few months ago, I accepted Google's double authentication procedure. So they sent me a text with a code. To my Sprint phone. Which I can't use here. Ugh! So I started the lengthy process of getting Google to give me access. Who remembers when you started using Google? Neither do I!
In the afternoon, we went out to check out Jalan Bisma which we've been walking past for years, but never ventured down. This is a quiet little street with several places to eat and stay. We were invited to come see Three Dewi house, so we checked out the place. It is a nice three-story house set in the rice fields; each floor rents separately. Unfortunately, we didn't take pictures, and I don't remember the price, but I do have the owner's card, so we can get in touch if necessary.
We opted for dinner at Ayu's Warung on Bisma. The prices were good, but the portions were small, and the food wasn't very good. Jake's BLT sandwich had about a half piece of bacon on each half, and the mayo was strange. The lumpia were very greasy, and Ibu's black rice pudding was gritty. Macaela and I had chicken steak, and each looked like it was a half portion. But we had food in our stomachs, so we headed home to get some rest.
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