Mas
After breakfast, we walked to town to buy a loaf of bread from Lotus’s, one of the restaurants we’d been in last night. But today being one of the big Balinese feast days, the place, as well as many of the other shops around town, was shut, so that plan had to be abandoned. Instead, we bought Val a batik sarong + waist scarf, a pretty (tho’ very common) blue design. We returned to the losmen to relax for a while, then Val went to Harry Chew’s – he had promised to give her a recipe for Brem, or rice wine. Val in particular has developed a real taste for the stuff. Afterwards we went to Mas, where a big religious ceremony was being held. We caught a ride from an empty bemo, + the driver compromised, charging us somewhere between the charter + regular price.
Mas was aptly named, being just a mass of people. Commercial interests were well represented with a big market on the square in front of the temple. At first we thought the market was all there was to the festival, until we threaded our way thro’ + came upon the temple beyond. This was all arrayed in its finest, with cloth, flowers, gay umbrellas, + getting better all the time, with a steady stream of women bearing huge bowls of fruit + other offerings. As reward, they were blessed by the priest, + in a ceremony reminiscent of Christian mass, each worshipper received a small handful of rice. This wasn’t eaten tho’, but stuck onto the face, a few yellow grains on forehead + temple. It was all very tiring for us tho’, with the heat + dust, + before too long we were ready to return to Ubud.
An offering of fruit
We sat on the patio at the losmen for a couple of hours, until Bob + Jo came in, Bob puffing strongly having just taken part in a tug of war between tourists + locals. I rushed out to see the fun, but could only catch the sack race – I would have liked to have taken part, but it seemed one had to put one’s name down in advance in order to do so. It was fun tho’, + the local people watching all screamed with joy at the spectacle of the silly white people – their own people too, but white people mainly – making fools of themselves by jumping along in sacks. That was about all the excitement tho’, so strolled back once again to the losmen.
Played chess against John, beating him after a close game when he made a silly move – I offered to let him take it back, but he wouldn’t. For dinner, I had a yearning for some western food, but it proved more difficult than I had expected, since the restaurants were either shut or only offered a very limited menu. Eventually we went to Tjanderi’s, + even there, where normally the choice is enormous, I had to make do with egg + chips. Val, still feeling extraordinarily precarious, had a black rice pudding, a Bali speciality. I played John again when we got back, + this time beat him very convincingly. Most satisfying.
Though it was good to get out to see somewhere else, it did seem that our timing was off, for we missed the chance to take part in, rather than just watch, the sports day. But at least I had a successful day of chess. I like to claim that I am not competitive, but on the other hand, it is satisfying when I win, so maybe I am just fooling myself.
