The open air market in Ubud is an experience, to say the least.
Chaos, filth, beauty, junk treasures.
If you are claustrophobic or suffer from PTSD, this is not the place for you.
Our assignment, buy a sarong for the temple. Our tour leader gave us a tutorial on bartering on the bus.
"Ask them how much. They will give you a price. Offer them a third to half of what they offered and go from there. If its still more than you want to pay, walk away, if they don't follow you with a lower price then you know you didn't go too low."
I also remembered my experience in Mexico, years ago. Don't ask for a price unless you intend to buy something. Don't touch something unless you intend to buy it. I approached this shopping trip much like I shop in the states, I walked around and looked at all of the stalls first and then went back to where they had things I liked. I did o.k. and got a couple nice cotton sarongs for 65,000 rupia (about $7 US). I was told that was a really good price.
The deeper you went into the market, the more of a dark, hot and sticky a labyrinth it became. I saw some very pretty silk dresses....if only I were as thin as I once was.
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