Arrival

We have heard from many people about corrupt immigration officials in Bali, but this is the first time we have encountered the problem ourselves. We were taken into an office where I was told that the children's passports were too short. They don't expire until May; more than six months after we will return home. We were told that in order for us to stay, we would have to pay an additional fee of $50, for which he would not give us a receipt. After this, we claimed our bags to go through customs. The customs official told us that it was illegal to bring second-hand clothing into Indonesia, but that he would let us in "this time." Next time, he told us, we need to have the people we will give things to write a letter to customs before we come. We finally left the airport more than an hour later.

Our driver from Escapes Unlimited was waiting patiently outside to take us to Sri Bungalows (report to follow) in Ubud. We checked in there and were shown to our rooms - two downstairs doubles right next to the pool. The kids took a swim while we chatted with an Australian woman who was there with her family. A quick shower and clean clothes and off to dinner we went . . .

Made arrived unexpectedly, but right on time. We invited him to dinner with us, and since it was starting to rain, he took us to the restaurant on his motorbike. I'm not comfortable riding side-saddle, so I hiked up my sarong and climbed aboard.

We ate at the Bamboo Cafe on Jalan Dewi Sita. We've been there many times before and knew the food would be good. We had a table upstairs - nice view, but loud western music. The music was eventually turned off to be replaced by a guitar and bongo duo playing . . . more western music (U2, etc.). Pizza Margarita, Sate Ayam (chicken satay), Spaghetti Carbonara, a pork dish that Made ordered, and 5 drinks (tea, water, etc.) cost us 119,000 Rp (about $12).