Indonesia

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As I leave Sleepy Sam's I am very unsettled. I am alone for the first time, I have to get to the airport, work out my plane ticket to Bali, and get through customs. I've also been reading stories on line of people being denied getting into Bali because they don't have an onward ticket (which I don't). I get to the airport just fine, but end up having to buy another plane ticket because I don't have my paper ticket. Cha Ching $500 total. Being on a backpacker's budget and slightly cheap to begin with I immediately work on getting my money back.
3 free glasses of wine on the airplane (white so my teeth aren't
red at customs) = $15
3 hours of free internet at the airport = $6
1 free Lindsay Lohan movie at the airport = Priceless

My heart pounds as I walk up to the customs counter in Bali.
He glares at me with beady eyes, "passport"?
I hand it to him.
"Onward ticket"?
Sh*t
I slowly open the left side of my jacket. I have three fake Rolex watches from Kuala Lumpur, a 5th of Jack Daniels from Duty Free, and a jumbo almond Hershey bar. "Please don't take the Hershey bar repeats in my head" as my vision becomes blurry and then black.
I come to and see my mom smiling at me, "How was your flight?"
Am I dreaming? No, my mom has met me in Bali to travel with me for the next month.

We spent two nights in Kuta which was two nights too many. It is spring break times 10 and our hotel was nestled between two dance clubs. Although I wore earplugs I could still feel two different basses pounding in my head. We headed up to Ubud early the next morning. Ubud is a very cute relaxing city where we called home for the next three nights. There are cafes, coffee shops, salons, art galleries and shops. All day long people are putting out hand woven baskets full of offerings and beautiful flowers, burning incense, and sprinkling holy water on statues.
On the second day we hired Wayan to take us to see a ceremony. He brought us sarongs and sashes to wear. We watched as people walked with offerings to the temples where they placed them on the steps and prayed. We were able to spend a couple hours at the temple and were able to see one family's home. I am very grateful we were able to experience something so private.
Our last day in Ubud we decided to go to the Monkey Forest.
"Some bananas to feed the monkeys?"
Of course, I'll feed the cute little monkeys. She might as well have said, "Some honey to feed the bees?" or "Some raw steaks to feed the lions?" Two steps into the park and those monkeys swarmed us from every direction. My mom tossed her cigarette and her motherly instincts as she jumped over the nearest sandbag into the foxhole. I could of swore she screamed, "Every man for themselves". I launched those bananas as far and as fast as I could. The man buying tickets even came out to see what all the screaming was about. My mom, a little disappointed she couldn't get her camera out fast enough said I looked like a T-shirt launcher at a Cubs game. I did notice when we left; a monkey sitting on the wall with a sling on one arm and a hotdog in the other. Oops.
Ubud is a great town although I did notice an uncommonly large number of older women traveling solo. The town's popularity has grown due to the book "Eat, Pray, Love" in which a woman travels to Ubud after her divorce and falls in love with the town. Ubud in five years...
PAST PRIMES VS. THE PRIMATES
Woman swatting at monkeys with their "Eat, Pray, Love" books as they try stealing croissants from under their tea cups.


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Travel Info
Ubud GH: we stayed at the Ubud Terrace Bungalow for about $15 a night. There are cheaper rooms, clean, nice staff, pool.
Kuta GH: go to Poppies Lane 1 and 2. Quality and price varies, we didn't find a place we liked.

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Photos

Kuta
What would Spring Break be without a beach?