I don’t always hire guides.
Sometimes I think it is cheaper to do a little research and go out on my
own. However, I have learned
that guides usually are worth more than what they are paid.
A good guide knows locations and secrets that I’d never discover on
my own.
Who knew there would be a delicious meal at a restaurant hidden away in the
rice terraces? I never would
have found it on my own. And
without a guide, I never would have been able to talk to the rice terrace
grandmother, working her farm behind the restaurant.
She was simply adorable, but I didn’t want to ask for a photo.
It was another shy moment.
However, so very fortunately, this priceless little grandmother
approached me and asked if I wanted to take her picture.
When the photo opportunity was behind us, she had to ask the burning
questions on her mind. First of
all, how can foreigners, who earn different currencies, get money to spend
in Bali? (There must have been no
banks near the rice terraces.)
Her second question was about life in the United States.
Did Americans also work in rice fields?
My answer was just inconceivable!
So, if Americans didn’t work on harvest rice, what did they eat and
where did they get it?
Continue on to Asia Image 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 or back to the Portraits Home Page.