Last day up in Ubud today and we were all tired from the last few days of sightseeing and tours so we all had a nice sleep in. Breakfast at the hotel was American style eggs and bacon on toast with a fruit platter.
We all got ready and the hotel organised a driver for us to drive down and drop us off in the centre of Ubud for shopping in the markets and to grab some lunch. As it was our final day we just wanted to have a relaxed day just walking around. The kids and I were quite anxious at the markets after our experience in Kuta and Ubud markets are so much bigger it was quite overwhelming and we didn't want to barter with the balinese. We just wandered for the first hour and then we worked out what we wanted to buy and went back to a few places to start shopping.
Mikey was first up and I made him do the sale himself as I believed it was an experience he should try at least once without mum's help. He found a souvenir bali surfboard on a stand that he wanted for his bedroom. The seller offered it at $18.00 but Mikey bargained him down to $13 which was still too pricey but Mikey was only 11 and he had tried really well so we purchased it, Mikey was happy with his purchase and I was proud that he gave it a go.
Rahni was up next when she discovered a rack full of bracelets and necklaces outside a stall. We let her bargain herself and she got a Yin Yang necklace for $1.20, Ross showed her another little trick to bartering, by purchasing in pairs for a good price and they got 2 necklaces for $2.00 so that the lady didn't have to give us any change which she was happy with.
After that we all got into the shopping experience. The markets upstairs were really stuffy and the ones below were quite smelly as they were next to a small rubbish dump. The stalls were all repeating themselves with the same items after a while.
In the end we had a fine collection of souvenirs and items:
I purchased:
- A large wooden painted elephant $27
- A tiled bowl $10
- A tasseled top $6
- A silk dress $30
- Harem Pants $9 - A flat cap $10
Mikey purchased:
- small wooden penguin $6
- Slingshot $6
- Surfboard $13
- Skull ring $5
Rahni purchased:
- Earrings $5 (which turned out to be quite rusty)
- Chinese Fortune Bunting $8
- Bookmark $2
- Dress $20
- Necklace $1.20
and Ross purchased:
- Dragon Statue $24
- Singlet $4
After we sat down and looked at it all we really did pay too much for what other people pay just a few dollars for when they are in Bali but we had a good time and a few laughs with the Balinese along the way and we all got what we wanted. So no harm done.
We had lunch at Coco Express which was quite pricey and fairly average food. It was also really hot that day and the restaurant only had one fan which didn't help much. I shared a BBQ chicken pizza with Ross and I had an energy juice which was the best part. Rahni chose a soup which ended up being a bad choice with the weather and Mikey just chose fish and chips which was the smallest dish we had seen so far.
After lunch we wandered around the streets of Ubud a bit more and grabbed some yummy sweets from Breadlife, I chose a Banana Split Cake was which SUPER yum! and then we called the hotel to come and pick us up. We had to wait a while but it was entertaining watching everyone go past and we watched massive groups of Asian tourist catching all their buses and getting on tours.
Later that evening Ross borrowed a scooter from the hotel security guard and went for a ride down to the shops and we had noodles for dinner in the hotel while watching Daddy Day Care on tv and Ross looked for a new hotel for tomorrow morning.
We booked Harriss Resort in Kuta quite close to where we were at Bali Garden so we will see if it is any good tomorrow :)
I spent the rest of the evening researching tips on haggling and things to do in Kuta.
No comments:
Post a Comment