Travel Shopping

     Today I decided to venture out of the main hub of things and followed the main road west out of town. It was a nice walk...but, up a giant hill in the heat of the day. I did stop to talk to a taylor about the beautiful embroidered women's shirts they make here in Bali, and it turns out I kinda got ripped off with the one I bought in the center of town. You would think that after all my travels I would know to wait until you explore a bit to buy all your touristy goods, and definitely do not buy them in the center of tourist town if you can help it. Guess I am a bit rusty even with my own philosophies. Anyway if you ever plan to come to Bali you will see all these beautiful tailored shirts that women wear to temple, and to religious festivals, and no doubt you will want one too. I found out today that if you walk 30 minutes out of town on the main road, you will find a few tailors that will make you a much more beautiful formal Balinese shirt for half the price it is in town. The picture below is from a store in town that ONLY SELLS the fabric (doesn't do the custom tailoring) for 700,000 rupiah. The woman I met today a little out of town sells the fabric for 300,000, and does all the tailoring for 100,000 (to put it in perspective (400,000 rupiah = $33). Just remember this basic concept for all future travels. Also lastly if you are planning to travel to Bali know that everything, literally EVERYTHING can be bargained about. Don't ever settle for the price someone gives you, most likely you are being overcharged.