Ubud tour

First stop today when Yun de our driver picked us up was a dance show called Barong Jambe budaya. Was odd but very traditional, horrible scary monkey and lion masks. Before we went in we got a photo taken with a lady and when we left they had the photo on a plate for us to buy!! Of course had to get that! Also they had toilet pans here. Where there is real toilets you can tell that women still squat coz the toilet seat is up. First noticed it on the plane here!

Next up was a Batik and weaving place. Very tourist orientated but cool to see ladies doing the designs and ikat weaving. The shop was very expensive but amazing fabrics but you couldn't take photos.

Another stop before Ubud is a coffee plantation just outside of Denpasar but already very jungly. Apparently this little place is there specially for tourists because they actually grow the coffee in the lava fuelled land around the volcano but tourists don't get up there so much. So the famous coffee is called luwak and the berries have actually been eaten and then shat out by this animal called a civet and then they roast and crush it! I bought some as presents anyway. I didn't actually try it but we got to test all the other teas and coffees and chocolate they grow. 

We passed a big colourful funeral which was making lots of traffic. After someone dies they leave them to rot? On the land for 4 years and then have this cremation for their bones. Can this be real?! If they are wealthy then they only leave the bodies for 4 days. 

Onto Ubud, the driver was going to take us to a few hotels until we chose one. Stuck at the first, £10 a night including breakfast. Pretty nasty in the rooms but this must be the standard of a good room. The hotels are very outside, not confined to one building. Very pretty though. The architecture is so ornate and grand although also run down. After we checked in and said goodbye to Yun de, who's picking us up again in the morning, we went to the monkey forest. Wow! 30,000 rupiahs to be surrounded by monkeys. They were hilarious, having sex and fighting and jumping on people trying to get it their bags. I thought they were funny although if they came near me maybe I'd be the same as Laura - terrified! People were buying bananas to feed them. 

Now we went to Ubud market. Shopping chance, although I didn't do great. There's a lot of tat at the markets the shops look better. Bought a hold all that might not last too long but help with all this extra luggage. You could barter then down to like half of what they asked. Laura got good at it but as soon as I looked at something and they came over it just put me off. I don't want it!!! My eyes just looked at it! We're talking a couple of quid for most things. Had an Indonesian meal for £3 and I also got some cigarettes that turned out to be clove and menthol ones. So strange but sweet!! And crackly. Like a sparkler. Money goes a long way out here, I love it!