THE END HAS ARRIVED

So now we are at the last day of our Bali Fiber Tour and the only things on our itinerary today are a trip to the Jenggala Ceramic Gallery.   But before we go there.....a few of us decided to have one last chance at Dewi Mas for batik shopping with Rayyis.  A taxi ride there and 4 of us to share the cost and we bought enough to make the extra trip there worth while. It was fun having one last look around!  The prices are too good to miss an opportunity and leave a favourite piece of fabric behind.

Now if it seems odd to you that we should go to a ceramics showroom on a fiber tour - it seemed just as odd to me.  I walked around a couple of times, but really wasn't interested in purchasing a tea pot or dishes.  Was the stuff lovely?  Well, it was very modern and even though cheaper than home, it was still very pricey.  Some of the people in our group bought a few things, but I was ready to get to the beach in Jimbaran Bay for our seafood dinner.

It wasn't a long way to go to the beach from where we were, however, the traffic is quite horrendous everywhere and at all times of the day.  We went over the Bali Mandara Toll Road  carried by a bridge stretching across the Gulf of Benoa 12.7 km in length.  It took us close to 30 minutes to cross this bridge. The lanes on the bridge are only a suggestion of where cars should travel. Motorbikes and scooters have their own lanes and that helps a lot.  When asked if I wanted to travel in the front seat, I was always glad to be  further back as it was much less stressful not to see the traffic that was coming at us from all directions.

So we arrived at the beach and had about 45 minutes until sunset.  The beach starts filling up with tables and people and families and roasted corn sellers and soon the sun set and our dinner arrived and it was a great night for our last evening together.  We had a meal of rice, bbq'd snapper, bbq'd prawns and rice.  The meal wasn't the best part of dinner at the beach at sunset, however sitting on chairs in the sand, drinking Bintang with wandering musicians singing at the tables made it so very special.  

So our trip to Bali is at an end and it has been a wonderful time.  I made some new friends and was able to know my Langley Quilting friends a little better.  All of us were good travel companions were really had good times together.  My  suitcases and stuffed with fabrics and treasures that I can't wait to disperse or put away when I get home. 

 Bags are packed and we are ready to check out of the hotel and leave for the airport around noon tomorrow.  We leave on a Sunday and come home on Sunday at last gaining our day back from crossing the International Date Line.  I am ready for home and ready to sleep in my own bed.  Thanks for coming along with me... 

A BATIK MUSEUM IN A SHOPPING MALL?

We visited a the Kain Batik Museum located in a shopping mall.  The antique textiles were interesting, but I think speaking for myself, I am done with looking at textiles. Unless it is something to quilt with, I just can't get enthused.  This picture was from the website of the Kain Museum as pictures were not allowed when inside.

We have seen many incredible, intricate and amazing garments, materials and fibres and how they are made. What a great journey. The heat and humidity have beat me up a little and the food well, the Indonesian or Balinese food has its challenges for me. In Sanur, it has been easier to find western food as this is a beach resort area which draws many tourists from many different countries. 

After visiting the Kain Batik Museum we were herded onto the bus again to go to the Discovery Mall.  Not exactly sure why we needed to go to a western type mall, people wandered around and grabbed a bite to eat and then after a couple of hours we were on the bus and on our way back to the hotel.  Tomorrow we aren't in a hurry to get going.  Being our last day in Bali with our complete group, we are going to have dinner on the beach in Jimbaran Bay. So we have time to sit and enjoy the resort or whatever

The resort, Puri Santrian is on the Indian Ocean, and the views from the beach area are lovely indeed.  Many people are parasailing and it is a wonder all the lines don't get tangled, but they are a joy to watch as they skim across the water at great speed while the wind fills the sail.  Often they are airborne and then a few aerobatics are performed.  Brave souls indeed - and yes lovely to watch from the shore.

So a quiet evening with dinner on our own at one of the local restaurants and then back to our room for another early night.  Don't mind the early nights - after dealing with the heat and humidity all day, we are often ready for a shower and early bed.

JUST HANGING OUT AT PURI SANTRIAN

Today our free day was just that - another day to catch the blog up and enjoy the resort. The sun was shining on us today after our very rainy day and night.  So we really had nowhere to go and all day to get there.  

A decision was made with some of us to take advantage of the $15.00 massages at a really nice spa. A whole body 60 minute relaxation massage for $15.00 - sign me up. Irene made appointments for 3:00.  Most if not all of our group would be seen walking to and from the Ari Putri spa  all day and into the evening getting various pampering treatments.

For now there was lots of time to just hang out at the beach or the pool until it was time to walk across the street to the spa.  I enjoyed the slower pace and taking pictures of the squirrels and birds that I found nearby.  Also took some resort pictures of this lovely spot.  

The massage was wonderful after all our busy days and we added a mani pedi to it as well ... the whole bill with tip was $40.00 I must say that my mani pedi wasn't the best I have had, however, cleaned my hands and feet up nicely and it felt good to have someone look after me today.

Then dinner at Paon for the second time, I had chicken schnitzel which was delicious.  Not a chili in sight. Then home and drinks with the Langley girls.  It was a great day!

Days like this are good for talking about random things - one of my random things was about learning about mangosteen fruit.  On the bottom of the mangosteen, there is what appears to be a raised flower design - if you count the petals on this design - it will tell you how many segments there are inside. The ones i have here show that the small one has 7 and the larger one has 6. Hmmm - curious about that - I would have though the larger the more segments.   

Yellow Vented Bulbul

Spotted Dove

The birds aren't plentiful around the resort - well, there are lots of spotted doves and the odd yellow vented bulbul - others I hear, but don't see them. Lots of frogs, toads chirping insects and fruit bats. Fun for taking pictures for sure.

AT LAST SHOPPING FOR BATIK FABRIC DAY!!

We had such a rainy night last night and it continued into the day.  Didn't hinder any plans as this was our shopping day - a day to visit several vendors selling cotton batiks, rayon batiks and silks.  What a day it was.  We began with another visit to Rayyis at Dewi Mas in Denpasar.  He remembered Irene and I from our previous visit when we arrived in Bali.  Of course given another chance to view the batiks, there certainly were a few that I missed buying before.  The other stores we visited were much of the same - but different....lol.  Didn't buy any rayon or silk, just a bit more of the quilting cotton batiks.  All in all, I have not bought hoards - but certainly enough to do a few projects - or maybe just enjoy the collection and the memories.

We stopped for lunch at the Bali Bakery - they have the best pizza there!  Made in a wood oven, these thin crispy delights were enjoyed by all and the bakery section!  What a huge variety. We bought some cookies to take away and enjoy - we certainly had no room for dessert after our pizza.  Food is very cheap here. Pizza and ginger ale came to $5.50.

So there was nothing interesting to learn today - just places to spend our money and some more street views. Some of the girls had a great deal of yardage that they will be taking home.  I find that the quantity of beautiful fabrics is most overwhelming.  So I am happy with the pieces that I did buy, but am glad that I didn't go too crazy - all it does is add weight to the luggage to bring home.

Our dinner tonight was at Massimo's - what an amazing Italian restaurant!  The food is of the highest quality with handmade pasta and beautiful rich fresh ingredients!  I had a salad, and fettucini with mushrooms in a cream sauce and an Iced tea and the bill came to $13.80.  

Total bill for excellent Italian Meal $13.80 Cdn

It was an excellent meal and the Balinese servers make their best efforts to speak Italian and pronounce the menu items correctly!  The chef is from Italy and my goodness - the restaurant is crowded and according to Lonely Planet a restaurant not to be missed when visiting Sanur.  I can attest to this - no chilis were harmed in making my meal!

Handmade funghi tortellini

I am beginning to look forward to coming home - the rapid pace of this holiday is starting to wind down and although there are a few things still to look forward to, I find myself thinking of my own bed and my family and friends and cooler climes.  Today was a bit nicer with the rain off and on, but still found I was sticky most of the day.

Results of my shopping here in Bali!!   .......  so far! 😸

TJAPPING THE BATIKS

An early start to our day to get in the van and go to a family factory to see the process of putting the designs on the batik fabric.  Ricky, a family member picked us up for the 40 minute drive through the city and into the village where his family owns, lives and works in the factory.

We began by going into a very small showroom where wife of Vicky, Ing, showed us some of the fabrics that are completed and for sale.  We certainly filled a couple of bags with yardage that would be wonderful for garments.  There was some silk, voile, cotton, rayon, and a thicker rayon they called lux rayon - heavier weight rayon.  I purchase some rayon to drop off to Maria to have her make a top and a dress for me.

The next room we visited was the workspace of Vicky who is a graphic designer/artist and using corel draw, he plans the design for the tjaps (pronounced chops).  Next stop to see Din, an employee who was using the delicate copper to shape the intricate designs and make the tjaps. Wow - so talented and now to choose the designs for our 5 meter piece of fabric. 

There were hundreds to choose from and I ended up choosing one I thought was bamboo and dragonflies.  Amid some laughter I found out I was actually choosing rope and knots.  Maybe this is the reason I am not an artist.  I still liked it - so I had 5 yards of rope and knots and then 5 yards of just knots.  I hope I can get something made when I get home.  Or perhaps make something myself.

Tjaps chosen we were then introduced to Herry who would help us tjap the design onto our fabric. Working over a large, shallow flat pan over a propane, he dipped the tjaps in the hot wax and and the placed - not pressed - it on our fabric - then it was our turn to try our hand at tjapping.  He helped us put the tjap in the right place and then we placed it on the fabric so we could say we did some of it ourselves.

Buttons as far as you can see and 4 rows of this!

Close up of buttons

One was notions and one was craft supplies...rather junky we didn't stay long, but the third stop was the favourite - a button store.  I have never seen such a variety of buttons.  They had wooden, shell and bone buttons.  They had lots of plastic ones - but the wooden and shell ones were coveted by all of us!  It was a great store to poke around in.

A few of us went up to Maria's to have some clothing made for us.  I asked for a dress and a top and a pair of capri pants - all made from rayon that I purchased today and I can't wait to see how they turn out. The items will be ready before we leave for home - she is one very busy and talented seamstress.

We stopped for dinner at Paon, a restaurant right across from the resort. There are more choices than Indonesian here and Italian seems to be popular.  One night we will go to Massimos - up the street - he is and Italian trained chef from Italy and Lonely Planet says this restaurant is not to be missed

TRAVELLING TO SANUR / INDIGO DYEING

Moving day today and a stop on the way to a factory to try our hand at Indigo dyeing.  It is quite a process.  First you must wrap your rayon cloth on the bias around a 5 inch diameter piece of pvc tubing. Next you must wrap it with string placed about .75 inches apart.

 

After that you give it to a very strong man who scrunches it all together and then the fun begins!  We were using natural indigo dye made from the leaves of a tree called Indigo Tree. The factory we visited has found new ways to produce the indigo dye using an environmentally friendly and sustainable process. 

They collect the leaves and mulch them and leave them to ferment ...so, instead of the bark of the tree which, in time. kills the tree this is sustainable.  It was fascinating.  The equipment looks crude and rudimentary - but it works. The even had a water hyacinth treatment pond to clean the water and dye runoff without polluting the soil.  Environmentally conscious at the most basic level.

Ok, so after our cloth has been wrapped, strung and compressed - it is over to the vat of indigo slurry which is manually poured over the piece being dyed - then rinsed with a hose and water and then repeat the slurry pour and rinse and then taken off the roll and put into several different tubs of water and one of mordant to set the colour and then into more rinsing tubs. About 7 different baths in all and then hung out on a line to dry.  No wonder all these fabrics by the time they get to Canada and the rest of the world are so expensive. All in all it is a simple but time consuming process and all done with manual labour.  We got to keep  our three meter piece of fabric, so I guess I will have to find a clothing pattern to make something....or find a seamstress.

Above the indigo factory, There were weavers weaving all kinds of wonderful creations. There were also spinners wrapping the spools with indigo threads that had been hand  dyed - everything we saw was done manually using such old and crude machinery....but it works and works well.  People are employed and there is great pride in the production.  We had an opportunity to purchase fabrics or made objects from here and some of us did....after all this is a shopping trip!

On our way again and next stop was the Puri Santrian Resort - and what a resort!  It is right on the Indian Ocean and a beautiful spot for our last week in Bali.  There are a couple of pools to swim in, and a short walk to the beach.  Maybe  I will be lucky enough to find another piece of sea glass to add to my collection.  The resort pics will be another day that is not so busy

Saw a praying mantis today and had to take a picture of him/her - not quite sure how to sex a praying mantis - and not entirely sure I really need to know.