bali 2008

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stopped at the "superrrrrr-mar-KET" to use the atm & get supplies.

stealth photography of course.

lunch at the little restaurant at the market.pretty good but not as good as "nasi ayam."

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we had a special dinner that nite--wayan invited us to his house in kedewatan!

here he is showing me his palm collection which he has grown from seed mostly.

i brought him some seeds on previous trips--looks like they are doing allright.

it was dark back there & i couldnt see what i was shooting.

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big one looks like ptychosperma seedling...

c.renda which i believe he got by division from a friends plant.

l.grandis maybe?

this is a palm he's been growing for a few yrs that he found when it was a seedling.looks like a.alexandrae to me...

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the famous "foress chi-kun."

lauren & sun enjoying the hospitality.

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dinner time.

hope you like chicken & coconut cuz it was in every dish.

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wayans wife obviously went to a lot of trouble to make this meal for us.this was real balinese food!

his wife & kids did not join us.i think its traditional for only the husband to entertain the guests.

wayan & i.

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lotsa salak.so good when fresh!

dessert thingees with sweet sticky rice inside.

sun liked em.she filled her purse before we left.

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next morning i went to this shop--"potong rambut," or haircut(with me its actually "cukur rambut," or

shave the head).

i like how they spell "rudi" differently each time.must be related to len.

then it was off to the temple & volcano crater at batur.

on the way this lady asked if she could bless the car.how come we dont do that here?

getting "cold" as we were climbing up the mountain,she is wearing a jacket.

then she got some more offerings for us & didnt even try to sell us anything.

i was instantly suspicious...

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after running the usual bottleneck of souvenir-hawkers we step into the temple.

i was getting used to the sarong-thing by then.

i've never felt so "free"

nobody around.

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a few balinese kids leaving as we go further into the temple complex.biggest temple i've been to,actually.

some people praying.

new shrine being built.

stone carving.

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lauren in action.

small plants growing inside the roofing material,which is fiber from arenga pinnata trunks.

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laurens pix from batur.

not sure why they left these unfinished when the people are so "detail-oriented."

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sun in her "hip world-traveller" mode.

shhh,i think the gods are sleeping in there.

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space.

roof-line.

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same pic as laurens,except i like people in mine.

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volcano looming ahead.

lake and town on the far shore.

uh oh...

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i just kept taking pix hoping they'd leave.

it worked for me,but they went for plan B.

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i almost had to physically push them aside to get back in the car.

even wayan was perturbed by this point.

we stopped at a nearby restaurant for lunch & the nice view.

i MEANT the volcano!

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although there were other sights,as well...

someone comes up with a good idea(restaurant on the edge of volcano crater) & everyone copies it.

lunch was buffet style but quite tasty.

happy or pissed off?

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i have had avocada shakes before,but never avocado juice.it was good,tasted like there was some

chocolate in there somehow.

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scenery.

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light was changing every few seconds.

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heading back down the mountain.some roadside pix.

windy roads.

lush green stuff.

tree with red flowers is likely spathodea.delonix were not in flower this time of year.

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political adverts.just cant escape no matter where ya go.

2 temples in 1 day--again!

this is in the small village of bangli.

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wayan finds a nice place in the shade to wait.

how long does it take to carve something like this,you might ask?

i wish i knew...

the locals sit & wait for some tourists to try & sell stuff to.

it will take all my expertise to avoid them on the way back.

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some of laurens bangli temple pix.

looks like the oldest plumeria tree ever on the right.

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strange & wonderous "wall of plates."

laurens mom was horrified when she saw these pix--she collects this kind of china(blue willow).

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carving detail.

trying to look nonchalant.

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sun never actually walks ON the stairs.

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back to my pix.

longest chopsticks ever.

i love the way the trees frame the temple.

that old plumeria tree deserves its very own photo.