There are many people in Bali selling antiques, or things that look like antiques and many of the tourists don't know where to find stuff. Kuta is full of handicrafts, things made out of rattan or bamboo etc. The antique stuff is older and bigger, usually make of jati (teakwood) or other higher quality stuff. Today I rode along Jl. Tangkuban Peraku, Br. Pengipian in Kerobokan (that was a mouthful wasn't it!). This street is off of Jl. Raya Kerobokan, turn right at the across heading in the other direction to Jl. Petitenget. This road is really a big back street but it is lined with places that stock or are making big pieces of furniture or decorations. A friend told me that some places in Bali get antiques and modify them to be furniture. I saw huge carved doors, 6ft tall wooden pots, dugout canoes from other parts of the country and even a little hut for sale.
1 comment
One of the busiest streets in Legian / Seminyak is Jl. Double Six. It run perpendicular to the beach and connects Jl. Legian to Jl. Arjuna. The narrow winding street is lined with shops selling a never-ending selection of sarongs, flashy / holiday style clothes, accessories, hats and handicrafts. During the daytime the street is very busy with traffic, all pushing its way through and causing blockages. The traffic problem has been helped greatly by the new regulation that forces traffic to exit this dead-end street via Jl. Padma Utara. Motorbikes can still drive both ways. Double Six, which actually Jl. Arjuna, was unofficially re-named after the large nightclub that occupies a beach side spot at the end of the road.
9 comments
Across the street from New Planet hairdresser on Jl. Seminyak is a little hole in the wall place called Ratih Shop. Ratih sells art, handicrafts, place mats, wood dishes and lamps. Here in Bali you can pick up some wonderful accessories to decorate your home with and I browsed for a few minutes. The owner Wayan was nursing her young child and gave me a few prices on items. One of the things I liked were the tall bamboo lamp shades, which were going for 150,000rp. They also had a wide selection of bamboo trays including ones with the very finely cut bamboo strips, great for serving light snacks at home. Wayan told me the trays were sold in sets of 3 and the thin strip ones were 150,000rp, the wide strip ones 60,000rp.
2 comments
Thursday night Ika said to me that I looked tired and maybe it was because my hair was getting long. Do you think it needs cutting, she said. Another piece of Javanese superstition, but I did want a haircut. Friday afternoon a trip to New Planet (formerly Monkey Planet) was in order. New Planet is located across the street from Cafe Moka in Seminyak. I never make an appointment and today I was lucky as there was only 1 other customer. The first part of the haircut process is having my hair washed and head massaged. This is followed by the cutting, then another wash and a longer head / neck massage. The head is a very sensitive area and a good head massager can really gets things tingling.
3 comments
This morning while in Bintang supermarket in Seminyak, buying fruit for Ika, I stopped to browse the book section Bintang has a nice little collection of books on Bali and they cover a wide range of subjects. One of the books I looked at was all about 'Bali Chic' the tropical fantasy style that incorporates elements from all over Indonesia. The book, Bali: A Travelers Companion, features stunning photos of some of the 'not to miss' luxury places on the island, including restaurants, such as Ku De Ta and hotels, such as the Alila Manggis.
No Comments
Seminyak is 2 miles north of Kuta directly up Jl. Legian. The area has developed amazingly over the last 5 years and now it is expat and restaurant central, not to mention the center of the best party scene on the island.
No Comments
Seminyak is a shoppers paradise. That is if you like artwork and clothes. Down the street from New Planet on Jl. Seminyak is a shop called Lawas, that sells textiles and tribal arts. The shop is very small but really has some lovely batik sarongs. I asked the assistant from Klungkung where the sarongs were from and she said Bali and Java. I asked where the best sarongs were from and she said Java because they were true batik sarongs, hand-painted, while the others were printed. I felt like I was in Aladdins cave with all the brightly colored textiles hanging all over the place.
3 comments
Sometimes its the simplest things we miss from home. Visitors to Bali can get a range of food that rivals many big cities in the world, but sometimes something as simple as bread might be missing. A handy place I frequent is Bread Station, one of the small shops next to Bintang supermarket in Seminyak. Bread Station opens around 9am and stocks a selection of freshly made baguettes, whole grain loaves and donuts.
4 comments
