Day 54: Around town
This morning we took it easy. After seeing what we wanted to see here, we figured we would just go around town at our leisure. So we hired a becha (pronounced bay-cha, and kind of like a rickshaw in India, where the driver rides a bike with a carriage we sit in), and he took us around town. We stopped at the Sultan Palace, which was unimpressive – it was mainly just portraits of generations of sultans and their children, and it felt as if the palace had been stripped of all its items – and the Tamansari (the water palace), which was equally unimpressive.
Then, we went to see a few shops where they sell batik paintings and unique handmade shadow puppets, which are a big thing here. The shadow puppets are made of buffalo skin that has been dried, after which intricate designs are carved into them with a variety of instruments. Then, they are painted in bright colours made from all natural ingredients (like turmeric for yellow, and betel nut for red), all of which have a meaning. We ended up buying a few puppets, and although we bargained a lot, we still know we got completely ripped off! They’re beautiful though, and a nice addition to our now-growing art collection!
Just dinner and sleep tonight. Nothing much to report. Tomorrow we fly again!
This morning we took it easy. After seeing what we wanted to see here, we figured we would just go around town at our leisure. So we hired a becha (pronounced bay-cha, and kind of like a rickshaw in India, where the driver rides a bike with a carriage we sit in), and he took us around town. We stopped at the Sultan Palace, which was unimpressive – it was mainly just portraits of generations of sultans and their children, and it felt as if the palace had been stripped of all its items – and the Tamansari (the water palace), which was equally unimpressive.
Then, we went to see a few shops where they sell batik paintings and unique handmade shadow puppets, which are a big thing here. The shadow puppets are made of buffalo skin that has been dried, after which intricate designs are carved into them with a variety of instruments. Then, they are painted in bright colours made from all natural ingredients (like turmeric for yellow, and betel nut for red), all of which have a meaning. We ended up buying a few puppets, and although we bargained a lot, we still know we got completely ripped off! They’re beautiful though, and a nice addition to our now-growing art collection!
Just dinner and sleep tonight. Nothing much to report. Tomorrow we fly again!
Shadow puppets
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