Bali Day 5

So sorry I did not get to type this out last night like I normally would. We got busy watching "Lost" and then it got late and I was too tired to think straight. Man that show is getting creepy! Anyone else here keeping up with it? Caitlin and Holly (esp Holly) are BIG Lost fans, so we never miss an episode. Last night at a very spooky point in the show we heard our very preggo neighbor Amy come running in through the kitchen door. Her hubby is away for a few days and she was over at her house watching the show alone. She came in with this speepish look asking "can I watch with you guys?". It was funny. Caitlin's friend who's name is also Amy walks one street down every Thursday night to watch with us. Last night she was so freaked out she made Caitlin walk her halfway home. Silly girls! Anyway back to Bali. Day 5 for us was all about the shopping. In Bali they make these really cool handwoven purses that can be bought for about 10 US dollars, some are fabric lined and some have wood carvings woven in. These purses are all the rage hear on Guam. About 5 different ladies gave us $20-30 asking us to pick up a few purses for them. We also had money from others to buy beaded flip-flops that they make there. After breakfast we headed off to the Ubud market which is this enormous area jammed packed full of all kinds of great stuff. It's definitely not the place to be though if you are even the slightest bit claustrophobic. The local folks have booth after booth set up with their wares to sell to tourists. Then in the center of the market there are flower, egg, banana, spice etc... sellers. The local people literally go to the market every day to gather what they need for meals that day. It was really such a unique cultural experience. Trying to buy things using a different currency and then having to haggle for the price was also quite an experience. We had to learn quickly to never pay the first price quoted or you would be WAY overcharged. So buying a purse would go something like this... Me: How much for this purse? Vendor: I give you special morning price for good luck. M: I don't need good luck. How much is morning price? V: I need good luck, you pay 320,000 (@$32.00) that is special morning price. Very nice purse, you need 2 more. M: No I only want one and that is way too much money. How about I give you 75,000 (@$7.50) V: (with a look of shock) You joking me! I will loose money! Ok you pay me 225,000 thats very good special price. M: No way thats still too high I only want to pay 80,000 V: I see you love this purse and I will sell it to you for 150,000 but that is very special morning price. I cannot sell it for less.It is handmade, very good, see. M: Ok (as I put down the purse and turn to leave) I will go across and buy from the next stall. V:(chasing me down with same purse in hand) Ok how much you want to pay? I see you good person how much you pay? You need good luck. M 100,000 (@$10.00) and no more thats my final offer. V: Ok because I need good luck I take 100,000. You want 2 more? I give you good price. So you can imagine how exhausting shopping was. After one morning of that the girls and I were worn out!! After lunch on that day we went back to the market to finish up our shopping list and I began to notice my tummy rumbling. A few minutes into haggling for a deal on some sarongs my stomach had mounted an all out assault. I had to duck quickly into a restaurant bathroom nearby! Unfortunately my lunch did not stay with me. I had a full blown case of Bali Belly! We tried very hard to not drink the water and to be careful about what we ate but I guess we did not try hard enough. So I got the full Indonesian tourist experience. That afternoon we went to see the monkeys again and this time they were very friendly and sat on our shoulders while we fed them bananas and red fruit. They LOVED Holly's deep overalls pockets. That night we ate supper at the hotel. The owner found out about my queasy condition and offered me some Chinese herbs, ginger tea, rice porridge and homemade bread. They said that this was their standard treatment for Bali Belly. The tea and bread were great but I passed on the rice porridge and Chinese herbs. The question of the day for the girls was "what was the most unusual thing you have seen here?" Caitlin said she spotted a good bit of "engrish", Holly mentioned the ladies carrying full tables on their heads, Abbie said seeing the monkeys sitting on her sisters was strange and Gracie mentioned the guy riding down the road on the moped with his Rottweiler on board. Yep we've seen some unusual things! Stay tuned for days 6-7