get indo it

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aaaand we're back!  sorry about that hiatus back there, i had some technical difficulties.  ya i know, what else is new.  as i've mentioned my camera died but i was like well joke's on you camera all my pictures are on this here memory card!  but then none of the pictures would open any more, maybe they were mourning the camera?  so like 10 memory card readers later, i won and i'm back and i can't wait to share all these PHOTOS from indonesia.  humans 1, technology 0.
so onto indonesia!  in a word (or two or three): incredible, amazing, alive, my dream life realized!  the landscape, the architecture, the people, the food, the JEWELRY!  our first stop in indonesia was jakarta.  i figured that we should explore java a little before we headed to bali and lombok, really earn our beach time ya know?  i still stand by that even though during the 48 hours we spent trying to get to bali i might have reneged a little.  the absolute highlight of jakarta was the surabaya antiques market.  it was heaven!  it's basically a long street with vendors set up on the entire length of the street selling amazing antiques from all over indonesia.  i saw some incredible masks and textiles but let's get to the jewelry already, am i right??  the most incredible were the gold pieces from sumatra, which were sadly all out of my price range.  but i did have a lot of fun trying on a crown, some necklaces, and some bracelets for both my wrist and upper arm and just dripping in gold for a few minutes.  sadly i don't have many pictures because these guys were on to me.  i tried to explain that i didn't want to copy the pieces (necessarily) i just wanted to remember how beautiful they all were.  but they weren't having any of it.

an ok piece from the surabaya antiques market.  i say ok because it wasn't solid gold.

after jakarta we went to yogyakarta in search of silver and ended up in a workshop learning the ins and outs of silver production firsthand.  then onto gunung bromo in the hopes of being awestruck at the sight of an active volcano, which we would have been if the fog hadn't gotten in the way.

learning how silver earrings are made.  i felt so at home here i had no qualms with getting in the way of her work.

final step, making that silver real shiny to lure in customers like me!

i guess this volcano is cool when you can actually see it?

from there it was on to kuta in bali for a sick day from the aforementioned 48 hours on buses, the things i do for this jewelry!  we eventually rallied and spent 12 hours on a bus and a ferry to make our way to lombok, the next island over from bali.  and then we decided to stay put for as long as we possibly could and we spent an idyllic week zipping around on our scooter to deserted beaches, becoming regulars at the local warung, and playing with the neighbor's adorable baby.  and of course shopping for jewelry!  i found some amazing beads at an antique store and bought tons of handicrafts and fresh produce at the local market (oh hey, remember that?).  we eventually made our way back to bali, but not before surviving the least bad ass crash ever on our scooter.  have i mentioned the things i do for this jewelry??  we were going too slow down a hill and just sort of toppled over to one side, which resulted in badly skinned knees and elbows and me fainting by the side of the road at the sight of said knees and elbows much to the bewilderment of all of the locals who witnessed this stupidest of crashes.  you live you learn and you maybe avoid hills in the future.

our front yard in kuta, lombok.

one of our deserted beaches in kuta, lombok.

and another.  wait, why did we leave here again?

our tiny neighbor.  hands down the cutest baby in the world.

doom is imminent.  the cows know it.  i'm blissfully unaware.

post doom.  same sentiment but now with bandages over my "lombok souvenirs". 

in bali we spent a couple of days in ubud, which was a shopper's (and monkey's) paradise.  the art market or pasar seni was amazing.  i went a little crazy in there and definitely doubled the weight of my luggage, a lot of which was hawaiian shirts.  fingers crossed those are cool again!  after ubud we headed back to kuta, bali and had to partake in the tradition of nyepi, or day of silence.  no one is allowed to leave their homes or hotels on nyepi and seeing as how we refuse to ever splurge on accommodation we spent the sunniest day of our entire time in indonesia in a room with no windows, no tv, no wifi, no nothin!  torture to say the least but we survived and the parade on the eve of nyepi was definitely a highlight.  loved all those demon floats!  getting to see them almost made the solitary confinement of the next day worth it.

our front yard in ubud.  are you starting to understand this whole dream life realized thing?

just monkeying around (ha!) in the monkey forest in ubud in some antique beads from lombok.  

one of the most amazing things i've ever seen in my life.  if there was anyway this could have come home with me it would have, trust me, i tried everything.  apparently first born children are no longer the coveted form of currency they once were.  major bummer.  just look at the detail in that carving work!

the pasar seni in ubud, bali.  or where a majority of my money is now located.  sorry chase bank!

view of the first floor of the market from the second floor.  it never ends!  

scarves and batik and handpainted tapestries!  not pictured next to buddha, the most amazing hand painted ganesh tapestry.  it found a new home in my suitcase.  it's much happier now.

handmade balinese baskets.  in bali they're used for carrying offerings to the temples.  in america they'll be used to hold my jewelry!

what's bahasa indonesia for one of everything please?

more jewelry!  and koozies!  and sarongs!  kind of a one stop shop for all your needs in indonesia.

a demonic float from the nyepi parade.  thanks for the mammaries indonesia! 

and that pretty much wrapped up indonesia for us and marked the end of the southeast asia portion of our trip with some very renewed energy, some new scars, and some much heavier luggage to show for ourselves.  next stop, morocco!