Monday, 17 June 2013

Ubud arts and crafts market.  This little boy was the first thing I saw when I arrived at my long awaited visit to the famous Ubud market.  Admittedly it had been pouring rain, we had to step over mud puddles, slippery  broken pavements and the odd rubbish pile.  But seeing his little face made me think that amid all this hustle, bustle, clamour, was the simple joy of a small boy, not a care in the world, enjoying his 'dixie cup' ice cream, to just chill out and see the simple things, the big picture, look past all the rush and gush,
and enjoy bali for what it is....Bali
With a lot of these photos I tried to capture the beautiful, soft gentleness of the faces of the Balinese folk.  They dont earn a lot of money, they work hard 7 days a week dawn till dusk and still have time for their ceremonies and their friends and above all else their family.  Ubud market is the home of arts and crafts.  Wonderful intricate hand carvings, mosaic bowls/plates, hand beaten tin painted toys, candle holders, statuettes, silver jewellery, clothes, bags, kites, sarong....You name it, all so lovingly created for us to buy...So yes we do, and why not?  It is supporting the whole of the Balinese family.  Its best to buy from someone you know the money is going to the family rather than the 'Boss' Of origins I dont know.  
I had my friend and driver Wayan with me, there is a 'Western price' that when asked we are told (about 3 times more than it is worth) then you then have to barter/haggle for a price where both parties are happy.  Wayan is way better at this than me, as I just hand over the money without the fun of the bargaining process. So yes I did buy this beautiful plate above with pressed mother of pearl shell that looks like butterfly wings and a mosaic green bowl for another friend.  Tip number 1 here, only take the $'s you want to spend here, If I had of had more $'s on me... I would YES have spent it all.



I was introduced to Wayans family above)
here, just love the always smiling faces, and darling lil ones faces.  The woman below had her daughter (not photographed) hiding against the wall, she had downs syndrome and  I had Wayan go back and give her a few $'s.  All are loved here!
So many fabulous things to look at and buy....!



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