I still look forward to this.Not the factory sale, per se. I love Paul Ropp creations, but I have p-l-e-n-t-y Paul Ropp clothes in my closet; I still have several in their original wrapping. I have also not come back with big hauls the last few times. Maybe Paul Ropp's creative genius has taken off in a different direction and I am just too stubborn to go along.Yet, I still look forward to this.
It is an opportunity to see some dear friends who will never travel anywhere. It is also a walk down memory lane, back to youthful days of living and loving fearlessly. I still recall watching the stunning sunsets, as the lover and I talked of possibilities of being this happy forever, together.
Many wishes and dreams from those days have come to pass. The Bohemian spirit in me still awakes on that island. For as long as I still feel all this, I look forward to revisiting Bali. For the friends, the memories, the unbeaten free spirit.
Yes, I still look forward to this.
We made the 48-hour turnaround visit to Bali for yet another Paul Ropp Warehouse Sale. We were last there in March! Four months is definitely too short a time between his sales.
There wasn't anything for me to pick up this time. I had bought up everything worth buying the last time. I came away with exactly one pair of shorts. Alright, they aren't just shorts shorts; they are signature Paul Ropp shorts.
The man did better - he managed to find 4 shirts after really rummaging through every rack.
It was still a nice short getaway, made stress-free because we refused to hunt down new places to eat at. We settled for the true and tried Kafe Batan Waru, a short walking distance from our hotel. And for the caffeine fiend in me, this place does a decent latte.
For the uninitiated, this is the only time of the year - the antipodean winter months of June-July-August - when the weather is most pleasant.The days are breezily cool, and the nights are sometimes chilly.
There is still magic in the air in Bali :)
This is talking to me; I have no clothes :)
Oh, not really. But I'm there anyway ...
I just fell in love with this dress at Paul Ropp's.
I got one (two?) for myself, and one for a very special girl friend.
And if the dress doesn't drape her long lean body perfectly in the most beautiful way, she will just have to change whatever is necessary with her body. LOL
I have a love-hate relationship with Bali.
I hate having to quarrel with the hotel receptionist for trying to give me a room that is less than what I booked and paid for. I hate the the bumpy taxi rides through narrow lanes that are more pot-holed than paved surface. I detest alfresco fine dining in the sultry evenings. I have no patience with the street vendors hawking cheap tourist trinkets at outrageously inflated prices.
Then there is Paul Ropp. I love-love-love his Indian inspired bohemian creations. The Paul Ropp shops in Bali each carry a small selection of clothes and accessories. I love rummaging through a much bigger selection at his warehouse sale.
And yes, I love to see once again the big smiles on the faces of the crew who work here.
Note the factory/warehouse from 10;30
That's where I'll be next week! Yes!
Yes!
I am looking into flight and hotel bookings.
Then I there already.
Yes!
I remember my early visits to Bali.
I remember how the mornings dawned in shafts of gold and silver through the thatched alang-alang roof of a Bali cottage. It would be another day of peaceful happiness on the island.
Already, young women were making their way to the many, many shrines with offerings of fresh flowers and fruits. And the gods would bestow their blessings upon the tropical paradise in the form of glistening lagoons, majestic mountains, rich paddy fields, blooming orchids and bouganvillas.
Everything about the place and its people was simple, even basic. Amenities for the tourists were at best adequate. There was a sense that this place was heaven on earth, where visitors and locals shared moments of each other's happiness.
I don't always feel this way about Bali anymore. I don't deal well with cab drivers who rig their meters to jump about 30% faster. My mood turns foul at the hotel check-in when they try to switch me away from the class of accommodation I had booked and paid for in advance. I don't like the aggressive purveyors of cheap tourist-grade goods. I am tired of having to fight my way through everything everyday.
These days, I go to Bali specifically for the Paul Ropp warehouse sale. I particularly look forward to seeing the team of women who work the shop floor of the facility.
It has become a habit for us to bring them fresh fruits and pastries from Singapore. It gladdens us to see their eyes shine with delight at the sight of these "luxury" gifts as much as it tugs at my heartstrings to understand that they could otherwise never taste anything as extravagant as this.
And for those brief glimpses of happiness shared with these special people, I feel again that maybe the gods do still live on this island.
Kerabokan is a short distance from Seminyak and Legian, but is a completely different world from the Bali of tourists.
Here, among artisans of wood, granite, glass works is the workplace and warehouse of Paul Ropp.
Here, away from the glitzy and spiffy (read sterile) Paul Ropp outlets, is where I prefer to shop for my bohemian/60s-flower child clothes. 
I like that sense of stepping back in time and shopping at source ...
I feel good. I have sorted out the clothes to bring to Bali. And the flight isn't till seven in the evening tomorrow! I feel so organised; it is a delicious feeling.
The past 10 days had been somewhat stressful. One weekend ago, there was the family dinner to tough out. Then I ended up having to show up for work a few afternoons last week, including Saturday! But things began to fall in place at the end of the week, starting with a nice quiet evening with a couple of friends over for a dinner of steaks with all the trimmings.
I even had time to reply to all my mail. Well, almost all.
I re-read the annoying birthday email from her; I cringed at the opening sentence where she shouted , "H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y ( M Y N A M E ) then blah blah blah, ending with, "So, my dear (my name), what do you want at this moment in your life?"
I want to not reply to her. I want to delete and forget the email altogether; hey, I can do that. It is my birthday. So I did just that. So there.
Back to my clothes for Bali: I am bringing exactly 2 pairs of Paul Ropp shorts, 2 Paul Ropp bras, 2 crop tops,2 Indian scarves to use as pareos. They take up half an inch of space at the bottom of my suitcase, which I hope to fill with more Paul Ropp clothes.
I feel good. Life is good.
Most people go to Bali for the sun, sand and sea.
Others go for yoga and/or belly dance retreats.
Yet others go for the spa treatments.
I used to go for some of the same reasons.
These days, I only head to Bali for the Paul Ropp warehouse sale.
Maybe it is a totally off-beat reason, but it works for me:)
It gets more tempting, but I still don't have the time to make it. And I will keep wondering what I might have missed.
p.s. They do make beautiful posters :)
Hi My VIP Friend,
You are invited to Paul Ropp Factory Sale
19th January 2010 for VIP only,
Start @ 9 am to 05 pm
Location :
PAUL ROPP FACTORY
Jl. Pengubengan No.1X
Kerobokan
Hope You have room in Your closet!!
Thankfully, sometimes decisions are already made for me. I have to give this a miss because it is too close to my leaving for the US and there are too many things to take care of beforehand.I hope they have a good sale day. I wonder what I have missed out on.
We really were quite happy when we finally installed the mosque lights over our dining table.
But the friends kept referring to the centre piece as a disco ball. We have to agree the orb did not quite fit in with the pretty lights around it.
So, on our recent trip to Bali, we hunted down a Moroccan lamp to replace the odd ball.
It was the single shining moment of our trip. At least for once, the entire exercise followed expected custom when in Bali.
We were in a cab on our way to somewhere when we chanced upon the lamps and lights shop. We abandoned our original plan and settled for poking around the shop. We found the lights we wanted.
The vendor named his price. We counter-offered with our price. Back and forth. We settled on a happy compromise. The lights were carefully bubble-packed, and we went about our merry way.
So now, voila!
The impressive centre piece with four small matching mates surrounded by mosque lights.
Where have all the rooms gone?
We booked and paid for our accommodation online, with specific requirement that it be on the ground floor with its own terrace. We showed up at the property to be told the room we requested was not available. They would, however, upgrade us to a deluxe room on the second floor.
The man asked at the front desk three different times what the f*** happened to our reservation. He got three different answers from three different staff:
(a) your reservation never came to us, sir.
(b) your travel agent submitted your reservation late, sir.
(c) there was a computer error, sir.
The uninterested staff seemed to think that giving us a minimum upgrade should shut us up. Of course we were not one bit mollified. They never admitted they double-sold their rooms, and then they would tell any kind of lie to make the problem go away.
Where have all the butter gone?
I told myself I would sleep off the aggravation, and looked forward to the buffet breakfast. My needs were simple and straightforward. Coffee, and pancakes hot off the griddle, some maple syrup and butter, and I would be happy. I would not even gripe about the pretend bacon and breakfast sausages.
I got the coffee. I got to the pancake counter. I got the pancake guy to make me a short stack of pancakes. Poured the maple syrup. Went to the bread section for butter. The container for butter was empty! There was actually a some-kind-of-waiter-body standing at the the bread section, and he let the butter run out! So by the time the chain of command worked its way to the kitchen and back, I had cold pancakes made soggy by the syrup and my mood just got more foul.
Where have all the clothes gone?
Against our better judgement, we had made this 3-day 2-night trip for the Paul Ropp sale. We got their invitation to attend their sale preview and thought that we would have a nice time cherry picking through the inventory ahead of the sale crowd.
We were disappointed at the small selection put up at the preview. And then we were disgusted to find that a lot more different styles were made avaiable the next day, the first day of the 5-day sale event.
We did not do as much rummaging through the clothes stacks as we would have liked. We had a plane to catch. No, we could not bear the thought of staying an extra day/night to deal with the ineptitude that is endemic to that island.
When will they ever learn? When will we ever learn?
I look at the poster. The Paul Ropp vibrancy bekons. How did I find the will power to resist the last two sales in January and April this year.
I mean I am talking Paul Ropp here - the man who designs clothes for "people who want sensual freedom and movement or prefer to be naked".
I think it's time to revisit an old friend...
I used to look forward to the Paul Ropp warehouse sale. That was when it used to be a big once-a-year event in September/October, with a smaller sale in April.
I would actually make a turnaround run to Bali just for these events.
Then the novelty started to wear off.
We actually passed up on the last warehouse sale in late January this year.
Now there is another in April. I am hesitant.
Because I suspect there will be another in a few short months. I might make that one. Or I might not.
I might have really overdosed on Paul Ropp.
That Paul Ropp sale is on again.
But for the first time in three years, I will give this a miss.
It is just too close to the Chinese New Year - I have too much to take care of at the home front.
I am sure just because I can't make it, it will just happen to be really the best ever sale in the history of Paul Ropp sales.
I have already forgotten that after the last time, I said I was going to skip the next Paul Ropp sale. Sigh. You see, I am like that when it comes to Paul Ropp.
Oh well, there is the next one to look forward to.
