Shaken but not stirred

Now that Eddie is feeling a little better, we walked up to town today to see how the preparations are coming along for Tuesday's cremation ceremonies. Wayan Arjuna, who has sponsored us for this stay*, told us last night that each banjar (the community of the various temples) has the same specific task for every cremation and has done for hundreds of years. His banjar is responsible for making the white steps that lead to the tower. The beautiful bull will hold the body for the actual cremation.

Ubud today was much busier than it has been. By the activity in the palace grounds there is still a lot to do before Tuesday.

 We went looking for the other cremation, but could not find it where we had been told it was happening.

Walking in this town presents a few hazards. The foothpaths are a disaster, so you tend to keep an eye on where your feet are headed. Which means that I totally failed to see the frangipani that deliberately stuck its branch out at head height just as I reached it. The result was a graceless tumble and a literal egg head. Shaken but not stirred. Eddie now gallantly stands next to every potentially hazardous overhanging branch to prevent a recurrence.

The other problem with walking in this climate is that feet swell so uncomfortably that shoes and sandals that fit perfectly well at home rub and cause blisters. Liz, why didn't we bring your Wonder Wool Ease! The tropical fashionista look is somewhat deglamorised by multiple bandaid applications.

However we succeeded in a couple of tasks - organising two pairs of comfy, cool trousers to be copied from a pair I left as a pattern, and locating a hairdresser who knows how to deal with Western hair. Apparently this is important, as most locally trained hairdressers can't deal with the very different texture of our hair.

We also had a delicious lunch at Down To Earth, an organic, vegetarian cafe discovered an recommended by Meg and Burns on their last trip. The (non alcoholic) ginger beer was amazing. Frothy like a milkshake, with cinnamon on top, but made with a ginger and palm oil syrup so very sharp and spicy. You'd have to like ginger, but if you do...

*I plan to talk about visas in another post.