Clearer Skies

Hello!

We have been gone some time, sorry for not keeping you up to date on all of our happenings! Miss Veeni has visited the lovely land of Bali and LD has taken to the rails to see parts of Europe, but we're back and into the swing of things again (albeit slightly jet lagged).

Here's a run down on Veeni's trip:

"I crossed the street to walk in the sunshine" Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) 

Bali, it's beautiful! Although I'd visited before, this trip was about getting away from the tourist centres and into the peaceful villages and farming areas. It's amazing how most of the people have nothing, but they seem so much happier than a lot of people living in Australia. The locals are generous, offering what they can when they can, and are almost completely self sufficient, with chickens and children running everywhere! Their can-do attitude is inspiring and it was definitely the escape from my daily routine that I needed to re-balance.

The arts and crafts of the Balinese varies greatly from traditional artwork inspired by the everyday, such as paintings of people working in the rice fields and women working in the home, to more westernised jewellery and accessories. During our stay in Bali, my partner and I visited the Ubud Markets which is set up according to a more traditional 'locals' market (although it is now too somewhat of a tourist destination), offering hand-carved statues, wooden beaded bracelets, works by silversmiths and batik fabrics.

In contrast to Ubud, Seminyak, a fast developing Spa area, had lots of little boutiques that were clearly inspired by Western trends. Apart from the roads, the shops are so shiny that you would almost think you were not in Bali. Upcycling was definitely a selling feature of many of the products. Whilst traditional Balinese ways are to use and re-use found items to further improve living and working conditions, these modernised pieces were taking items such as plastic bags and turning them into fashion pieces to further improve appearance. This use of everyday items was inspiring, but one can also see the change in culture from improving home/work life to improving the individual.

All up a great journey and one I'm keen to do again, but next time I think I'll go further into the mountains and trek through, meeting locals on the way and gaining a greater understanding of the Balinese culture and the skills and crafts used within the home.