around the world in 180 days

            When you land at an airport, clear customs and are trying to figure out how to get to a bed as quickly as possible, there’s something comforting about seeing a guy holding a sign with your (or your wife’s) name on it. It means you can relax, because the rest of the trip has been taken care of.

            We’re staying in Ubud, which is north of the main beach and disco area and is much more of a cultural destination rather than the party scene that the main tourist areas can be, which is fine with us. Bali reminds me of Fiji in some ways, but it’s nowhere near as expensive and there is more than just beaches. They both have a tropical climate, though, so it’s hot and steamy during the day and warm and steamy at night. We’ve got a room with A/C here, which is well worth the extra cost.

           We spent the day with Paul and Patty, wandering around Ubud, ducking into different shops and looking at paintings, woodcarvings and other crafts. We also took a walk through the monkey forest, which is not just a clever name. At first, it was cool to see so many monkeys running around wild and free, just being monkeys, but it was surprising how fast it became commonplace. They were sort of pests, because they would steal any food they could get their hands on and they’d bother anyone who had anything that looked like food.

            We also walked up to a rice terrace area, which was very cool. Rice paddies stretched off into the distance as far as you could see, and, way off, you could see three volcanos. I think we’re going to climb one of them, starting early in the morning so we can be at the top for sunrise. It sounds spectacular, as long as the weather cooperates.

            Tomorrow Mary (Anna’s mom) arrives after many long flights and many long stopovers. The four of us are going to make a day of it, riding down with the driver in the morning and checking out things along the way before picking her up from the airport. The driver will be the same one who picked us up from the airport, and he was very knowledgeable and polite and spoke excellent English. I think he’ll make a good tour guide.

Tags: Bali, Travel, Ubud

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 31st, 2007 at 2:02 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.