I’m in Bali and this island is a juxtaposition of natural beauty and filth. Look one way and see carefully manicured gardens, cast your eyes in the other direction to see broken tiles and strewn rubbish. It doesn’t bother me one little bit though, to be honest I’m amazed at how I don’t bat an eyelid when I see raw sewerage pumping onto the footpath or litter laying about ‘everywhere’. However I did gasp at the amount of rubbish on Kuta and Legian beach, the environmental impact is obvious but I accept the way of life here.
Yesterday we ventured into the hills for a cooking class (more on that later) and stopped at a local market to collect a few ingredients. Wow, what an eye opener. Thankfully we arrived ‘after’ the rush, which meant we didn’t see the caged live animals or the slaughter of animals. However we did see the tail end (no pun intended) of the butcher area…I couldn’t bring myself to take photos of that!
But just like the island the market was also a juxtaposition. Aside from the garbage, offal and stench there were smiling faces, giggling children, amazing produce and flowers…flowers everywhere!
The flowers are used in daily religious offerings and I never tire of seeing them. I mean, look!
Bold, punchy colours in baskets and bags filled to the brim.
I even spied hydrangea! I can’t keep those things alive in an air conditioned house but here they were on a hot, steamy morning showing off in all their perfect glory.
Just like me some of the Balinese are also time poor, so instead of carefully making their offerings they purchase them from the markets ready made. You will see these offerings everywhere in Bali, they are replaced or added to several times a day. Each house and business has them in shrines or you will also see them on the streets in front of each local business. The Balinese are very spiritual people.
So much beauty…it makes a girls heart sing.
Til next time,
Jen x
Hi Jen, oh the flowers in Bali are divine! The frangapani i trees were my favourites, smelled so much more headier than ours. I agree, it’s beautiful and dirty and smells of food and garbage but we didn’t see a single rat while we were there. I love the markets, but not the animals or the smell of their poo, poor buggars. If you love Bali you would love Thailand, the flowers there are amazing too. Looking forward to seeing more of your holiday, Kathryn 🙂
Thailand is on the list…and vietnam.
I just love the mix of Bali, it can be so confronting and challenging, yet so beautiful and relaxing. The dirty beaches don’t really entice us, but we love Ubud, and the islands are stunning. Bet you love dthe cooking class – we did. Also highly recommend the cycle tours – sounds like you need to be fit, but they drive you to the top and it’s basically all downhill, through villages and via markets, etc. Enjoy, whatever you do! x
Andrea I’m thinking a cocktail class would be fun!
That sweet musty steeet smell of the daily offerings… i can smell it now just looking at your photos. Love Bali. Enjoy xx
The actual best!
Kathryn Skinner, there are no “rats” in Bali or so I was told just “big mouse” ????
All those beautiful blooms! Love Bali, love the flowers. We did a cooking class and went to a market first too. It was confronting and eye opening all at the same time!
So much to love and appreciate Sammie x