Photo moments in Ubud Bali

Riding around Ubud and the small villages to the south today, I saw many instances of the traditional Balinese lifestyle. Riding along, keeping one eye on the traffic and the other on the scenery, I’d see little photogenic moments open for maybe 3 seconds, then close, myself having no chance of capturing them. One of those moments was watching a old Balinese man trotting along the road carrying a bundle of bird cages. These are used to cage the fighting cocks and you will see them at the side of the road, especially on Sundays.

Passing him, I hit the brakes, pulled over, hurriedly got my camera open and waited. Firing of a couple of shots as he passed, I saw him put down his load and come towards me. These old guys spend so much time hauling stuff around and walking up hills they are totally fit. The old guy came up and started going on about ‘minta minta’ with his hand out (‘give me money’). You know by now what my answer is to that, so I smiled and told him the same thing. He grumbled and wandered off. No worries, I got a photo and did not encourage someone who is working to turn into a beggar.

Touring Bali with your own transport allows you to see these moments and have interactions with locals.