The lull of Australia is finally past us though the irritation resurfaces each time I see something from OZ post to my credit card. Money down the drain I suppose! If only we'd spent it in Bali! We could have stayed at the place we saw today just outside Ubud on this beautiful ridg overlooking the jungle. I think it was called Sunset Villas. It was designed by a French architect who now owns it and lives there. Great views from the infinity pool! All that for just $65 US/night. I'd rather have stayed here 3 nights than 3 weeks in Darwin! Oh well. No I'm having to adjust to all this excitement as well as learning how to say "no" 50 million times a day. The Balinese are pretty nice after they understand you intend to walk. Even if they are a "goo driver" we need to work off all this amazing food. I'm going to allow mself at least 10 extra pounds before I cut back to 5 meals a day. Hey, for two bucks a meal who wouldn't eat 6 times a day?!!

Yesterday was quite a day for both Amanda and myself. Amanda got up early to attend Balinese cooking classes (Somebody is going to have to make this food after we leave right?!) She was off about 8am and I decided to rent a bike. Did I mention how nuts it can get on the roads here? 10 million mopeds ring any bells? Well, there at least that many. And a bike doesn't fit in too well on the roads here. I was hoping to "beat the traffic" by leaving early. Not a chance. Its better to be on a moped. Nonetheless, I survived a trip from Ubud down the road to Goa Gajah aka the Elephant Cave, one of the oldest relics in Bali. Archeologists date it to around 1022AD as a mixed Hindu and Buddhist religious site in different times throughout the ages. Boliblog.com will give you more details if your interested. As I walked down the hill from the parking lot where I was charged to park my push bike I noticed all these cairns that turned out to be the remains of some Buddhist carvings on the far side of the complex. Most of the huge carving fell into the river during an earthquake in the 10th or 11th century. At least that's what my "guide" said. I learned to be careful about these seemingly friendly guys who want to tell you a story. They cost money and try to get lots of it. I think I heard more about his 6 kids, two of which are siamese needing an operation (no kidding he actually said that) than I did about the cave! I overpaid even though he was a jerk. He knew I wasn't going to give him 10 bucks for a tour of this place and I was glad to be rid of him for 30,000 Rp. After ditching him I went back to the cave though. You can walk in the cave about 20 feet to a T where you either go right or left. On the right is apparently a tribute to the elements wind, fire and water, though the "guide" seemed sketchy on this. To the left is a great statue of Ganesh
from the 10th or 11th century. Outside the seven statues has something to do with providing holy water for ceremonies. The one in the middle is broken and out of sight. I walked around for awhile and hiked up a seemingly deserted path despite being paranoid as hell. I got to see some other religious stuff and another unimportant small cave way out in the jungle (though I was scared witless) which was cool. I walked back to Goa Gajah (at a brick pace), walked a bit slower around a Buddhist reflection pool, and decided to try for one more adventure... Peh Pulu. I'll post that in a few days. THAT was a cool adventure!