Blogs from Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, Asia - page 61

ap·pre·hen·sion (ăp'rĭ-hĕn'shən) pronunciation n. 1. Fearful or uneasy anticipation of the future; dread. 2. The act of seizing or capturing; arrest. 3. The ability to apprehend or understand; understanding. 1. Fearful or uneasy anticipation of the future; dread. (well not dread - too strong) 2005 October 1st - I was sitting in another crumbling hostel in Kuala Lumpur, killing a day or two with movies and shopping, waiting for my flight to Bali. In Kuta, Bali's main tourist center Islamic extremists were carrying out suicide bombings. 27 people died as a result, and hundreds were injured, many seriously. I had a ticket to fly to Bali on Monday 3rd October, not much time to make a decision and a tough one as well. I spent Sunday researching, reading the reports, scouring the forums, and trying to ... read more

22nd - 30th June 2005... read more

To my beloved Peeps, I'm staying in Bali until June 13th. I'm staying in a cute little family compound with a nice family and a nice garden for Rp 35,000 per night. That's about $3.75. I bargained it down from Rp 40,000. Expensive! LOL. Grandpa Dawson, have I made you proud? The room has cold water mandi (a big basin of water that you use a scoop to pour over yourself to get clean), no mold on the walls, and a little private garden area with a fish pond where I can do my breathing in the morning - exactly what I wanted. My friend Mary Miller (from Esalen) is also staying there this week, so I have a buddy! Though most of the time we'll be doing our own thing... Mary was also my roommate ... read more

It's always nice to be back in Bali. The words 'friendly and kind'are invented here.allthough we have been here many times before we have never been to the west side (National Forest).Yesterday we rented a car and drove to west side . Stopped at a beautiful surfers beach Lolang Linggah . Balinees people picking up small rocks from the beach and selling them for decoration in the garden or in the bathroom.Further to the west Perancak, a small harbor in a laguna. Then you see one of the biggest problems of Indonesia "rubbish". Everybody trows away there plastic bags,bottles. They cannot handle this. It's a big problem. Just before Gilimanuk we got cartrouble. Drove for 4 hours and than we had to stop every 10 minutes, again and again. We started looking for a place to ... read more

Dave and I teamed up with a really amazing couple we met at our Ubud Homestay and hired a "Transport, Transport!" for an all day tour of five major temples. Nancy and Joseph are travelling pros who sold their homes in Hawaii and are on a PERMANENT vacation. For the past two years they have been circumnavigating the globe with no plan to stop. They showed us the ropes by driving a hard bargain with our driver and insisting on "no tricks or arguments" Indonesian drivers love to veer off schedule and take tourists to shops etc. where they will receive a commission for any purchases. They also tend to 'forget' the negotiated price and ask for more money at the end of a trip... Dave and I learned this earlier....THE HARD WAY! Although rainy, the ... read more