Selamat Datang Bali!

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Everything that New Zealand & Australia were, Bali is not.

Bali is not large. Bali is not sparsely populated. Bali is not populated by English-speaking, English-eating backpackers. Bali is not into toilet paper, trashcans, or milk in tea.

At the same time, it is entrancing purely because it is not those things. We were assaulted our first night by scenes of complete mayhem in the streets of Kuta. Protected in the hotel's chariot, a giant black SUV with tinted windows, we watched wide-eyed as we wound our way back to the hotel. Along the way we battled for right-of-way with pedestrians, dogs, chickens, a zillion motorbikes, other vehicles, and the uncountable roadside stalls which threatened to overtake the "road" completely.

We needed several days of poolside & beachside languishing to recover from the experience.

We moved on to Ubud, where we spent several days immersing ourselves in traditional Balinese culture. We toured about ten or fifteen temples, all of which began to look alike in our photos, gazed upon traditional art dense with detail, and heard gamelan tones in our dreams. It rained daily, and we grew to schedule our siesta around the inevitable one-hour downpour in early afternoon. We also hiked Gunung Batur at 4am, in the fog, for a sunrise which the skies felt no need to clear for.

Unfortunately you all are giong to have to wait longer for your photos because the internet connections here (like the toilets) are abysmal and will not upload 500kb in less than about an hour. In the meantime, please imagine the unimaginable. Or check Kate's blog, since she is much better about keeping it up to date than I.

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Comments

[Doreen]

In search of ...
love to hear your gentle words on accommodating the weather, the "facilities", the sights.....take care of each other, and yes we do check Kate's blog as wel.