Shopping, Bali style!

 I thought I'd share with you today, one of the most popular tourism activities in Bali: Shopping!

 My favourite items were to be found in the Antique shops in Seminyak. I didn't have the funds spare to purchase anything as they were still expensive (although relatively cheap to what you'd be asked to pay here). I was also cautious of importing rotten old wood! I will definitely do some Quarantine / Customs homework and serious saving before the next trip!

We loved shopping in the local supermarkets. The food names were a hoot and so cheap. AU 40c for a large bottle of water....and petrol! AU 50c a litre!!!! why are we paying so much here?!

We have friends who have been to Bali 30 + times. I finally understand why! They shipped home, container-loads of decor items, stone, furniture and even building materials. David built their modern Balinesesque home which I must share with you in another post....I think I could easily fill a container with items too,  I loved these crocodile pieces...

The quality and quantity of the carving is truly amazing! There were whole stores filled to the brim with skulls carved from bone, wood or stone in a myriad of sizes! I was in heaven!

I had so many carved buffalo (deer, goat and horse too) skulls to choose from...I photographed them all and then decided on 'the one'!

Directly above is my new 'baby'! I had no problems with customs or quarantine, they were really lovely. Below are some O.M.G skulls which were far more beautiful in reality. They featured intricately worked solid silver  but at AU $4 000 + they remain in Bali waiting for a more affluent admirer!

J didn't miss out on the shopping enjoyment either. There were colourful shops galore for him to 'play' in, B-B guns to wish for (um...no, definitely not!) and eventually a gorgeous dragon kite to bring home.

And of course the 100%, Genuine Fakes were hard to resist.....

I shopped the boutiques and the tiny street stalls in Legian, Seminyak and Kuta. A few pairs of custom made leather sandals came home.... at AU $15 a pair, I should've bought more! And I really regret not buying the hand painted original tiger artwork (below) that J wanted..it was only AU $40 and not my aesthetic but he loved it so much. Still upset with my poor judgement on that one.

Divine shell and coral pieces were available in abundance and the two pictures above show some of my haul. I wasn't too sure about the legality of importation of coral and received conflicting advice from both customs and quarantine personnel when I made inquiries before I left and again in person after declaring the skull and meeting with them. Go figure!

And my 'stash' of other (very heavy) metal souvenirs are pictured above. We exceeded our luggage allowance but were generously allowed to board without penalty!Whew!

We felt perfectly safe in all our travelling throughout Bali, there were Security staff everywhere checking in bags, cars and scanning people. It was terrific news to read the following Travel update in the news yesterday:

 "Australia has lowered its security warning for Indonesia, after a decade of urging holidaymakers to 'reconsider' their need to travel. The advice regarding Indonesia is to 'exercise a high degree of caution', bringing the rating back to where it was before the 2002 Bali bombings."
 SMH May 26

 I wonder if Australians ever really cared though, Bali being our second national, favourite holiday destination. 

Tomorrow I hope to share the most under-rated destination in Bali with you...

x KL 

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