Walking around the nearby streets is our favourite way of discovering the customs of the local people. In the shops here, you can literally find everything, but when you need something specific, it seems it’s always the one thing they don’t have. 😊 Once, I tried to buy some mineral water from one of these local shops – the one in the picture below. I came across an elderly lady who was asleep in front of the television. First, it took me a moment to find her, and then a while to wake her up. After a few loud “Hellos,” I finally succeeded.

 Photo: Local shop in Ubud

In Bali, rice is planted four times a year, resulting in a harvest every quarter. Our stay in Bali was during the last week of May and the first half of June, which coincided with both the harvest and the replanting of rice. Driving around the island, we saw many rice fields in different stages of cultivation, with some already harvested. In Ubud, where we stayed, fields were either fully irrigated, freshly sown, or with young green rice shoots. The harvested rice is dried in the streets, spread out on cloths along fences.

Photo: Drying rice on the streets of Ubud

Photo: Rice field with young rice shoots

Ceremonies and offerings are a daily occurrence in Bali. Every house has its own family shrine, where offerings to the gods are made. You can find offerings almost everywhere – in front of every building. While walking the streets or entering shops, we often accidentally stepped on these offerings, especially during the first days of our stay, but later we became more careful.

The spirituality of the Balinese people makes a lot of sense to me. They send out loving energy to practically everything, every day. This energy is absorbed and stored in the environment, creating a sort of ‘reservoir of love.’ Later, when something happens within the family or community, this loving energy, sent out multiple times a day, radiates outwards, soothing and calming any situation.

Photo: Street offerings