Balinese woman balances red pail of water on head above rice terrace

A Balinese woman wearing a red blouse, print sarong, and rubber thongs balances a large red pail of water on her head as she walks along a path above rice terraces. Below the woman, two flooded rice terraces and nearby coconut trees are visible.The woman, who wears her hair plaited in a single braid, is seen from the back as she walks gracefully using both hands to steady her heavy load. The image illustrates both the heavy weights Balinese women can bear on their heads and the straight posture that Balinese women learn to enable their feats of balance. As is slightly visible here, women often wrap a towel or other cloth as a base pad on their heads to cushion hard and heavy loads such as plastic buckets.