Bali - Ubud

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very much a hindu area, strong in keeping their traditions & cultures. nice to see the contrast between here & java.

wonderful houses - all very much look like temples - all have temples inside them for making offerings to the gods. beautiful offerings & incense all over the place - little baskets with fresh flowers everyday placed outside doors & at varous places around the rooms, streets, etc for luck & general protection from god.

definitely a great feeling of relaxation & calm (despite the many touts & other tourists wandering around!!) getting a bit of a culture shock being here...really quite enjoyed being in a minority in java & missing the way of life i was getting used to.

monkey forest - great little forest, yes, full of monkeys..very fun!!!

spent a morning doing some cooking with a lovely lady - now i'm an expert at making some gorgeous balinese dishes - only hope i can remember & find the great ingredients when i return!

cermonies happening all over the place - crowds & crowds of people making offernings, going to temples, be it for purification, full moon celebration, or something else (really difficult to tell, trying to get explanations from locals is hard as not many able to speak english all that well!), but basically, they happen frequently! fascinating to watch & nice to take part.

also found myself invited to a big celebration...wondered where all the locals went at night in ubud...well i found it! millions of people there, food, music, dancing, comedies, crazy!!! all with the excuse of it being part of religious ceremony, although everyone i spoke to gave me a different answer. guess some people are doing it without real understanding.

believe it or not, but i actually also went to a cremation! lucky to have been invited in - VERY different to any funeral i've ever been to. people happy, laughing, eating, music, & in various parts of the area groups of people burning bodies, crushing the bones & placing ashes on an alter to be thrown into the sea. fascinating!

as i said - ubud - touristy, but really rich in culture (artwork great here too) really warmed to the place - made ome fab friends with locals again, being taken around loads. managed to brun my leg on a mortorbike exhaust tho - not nice. will probably have a nice salame scar now but not as bad as my sister's!

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