Bali 2008 - December 11

Well, last night was Lace's turn with whatever made me so sick. I had originally thought that the chicken sandwich I had for lunch on Tuesday disagreed with me, but obviously that wasn't it. We got Made to drive us to Murni's for lunch, but Lace didn't feel like eating so she and Jake went back home while Macaela and I visited the ATM and went grocery shopping.

When we got back, the kids did some reading and writing for a couple of hours. Macaela wanted to go swimming and I needed to go online so we went to Melati . . . again. They have a very limited menu, and I think we've had it all.

The tokay that lives in my ceiling has apparently gotten comfortable with me. He's hanging out just above the light bulb on the balcony and he didn't run when I went to get the camera. I appreciate the tokays; they eat their weight in bugs! I just wish I could get a picture of him licking his eyeballs!

Funny Things

Just about everywhere you go, you'll find a man sitting near his car calling out "taxi" to everyone who walks by. One morning, just as I stepped off the sidewalk at my destination, a man sitting there said "Taxi?" "I'm already here," I said. His reply - "You want to go somewhere else?"

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In the states, when you have purchased something, the hopeful vendor will realize that someone else has already made the sale. Here, if you've bought one (or ten) you must want another. People will even look in your bags to see what you've bought so they can try to sell you more.

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The currency has been so devalued here that the individual rupiah is worth next to nothing. However, you still find prices that include something other than zeros on the right hand side. Going to a store, let's say your total is 107,325; you give the cashier 120,000 - you'll get back 12,600 and 3 pieces of candy. So it seems that in Indonesia (or at least Bali), the hard candy is the new 25 rupiah coin.

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When we got here, our refrigerator was dead as a doornail. We try to help out when we can, and things are generally cheap here, so we checked into getting a new fridge. We could get a nice one for under $150. We bought a new handheld shower for less than $5. So when it came to buying a new mattress, we were surprised to find out that the mattress would cost more than the fridge. Go figure!

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Bali 2008 - December 10

I had thought that we might visit Nina and her family today, but I was up sick all night, and still not feeling well this morning, so I slept until 3:30. Lace took this opportunity to get some packing done, the kids did homework, and they all played cards. It rained off and on all day, so it was just as well we weren't going anywhere.

When I did finally wake up, everyone was hungry so we walked to Melati. I took the computer to catch up on things. Lace and the kids ate dinner (I had a boiled egg with butter), then they went home. I stayed behind to stay on the internet. At some point it started raining again. I kept messing around, waiting for it to stop, but it didn't and it was getting late. Finally I packed up and asked to borrow an umbrella. The only one they had was really broken, so the waitress wrapped my backpack in plastic to keep the computer dry. I tromped home in the rain to find everyone on the balcony playing rummy.

Balinese Names

You may have noticed that my story is peppered with Mades and Ketuts. No there are not only two people here. The Balinese name their children in order of their birth - Wayan, Made, Nyoman, and Ketut (#5 starts over at Wayan again) - with I in front for a male and Ni in front for a female. So the Made we stay with, who drives for us and generally makes life easier is I Made Latra, and the Made who makes clothes for us is Ni Made Wenten. Kadek tells me that modern mothers are using Putu, Kadek and Komang to replace Wayan, Made and Nyoman. We had been told previously that these names indicated a different caste.

Another difference is the lack of family names. Made's name is Latra, but his father's name is Londo, and his wife's name is Dewi. You never know who is related to who, and sometimes they won't tell you!

Bali 2008 - December 9

We're scheduled for dinner with another Aussie group this evening at Cat & Fiddle in Sanur, so we start out early to get in some shopping on the way. In Seminyak we found a shop with lots of cute shell jewelry, and their business price was good, so we bought lots!

The dinner had been organized by BuBenny of the Forum, and we knew where (sort of), but not when. We got there shortly after 5:00 and were joined by David and Moira (of Pacung Indah). There was a great discussion amongst the restaurant staff because we asked for a table for 10. They already had a reservation for 10 at 7:00, but none of us knew the person who made it. After a while, with Gemma's help, we determined that we were the 7:00 party, so we moved to that table, causing more discussion about whether we were supposed to be there or not.

Eventually the rest of the group showed up. We were more than 10, so more tables were moved to accomodate us all. The food here was good, but I don't think they were prepared for us. I feel like it took about an hour from ordering for us to get our food. I finally went and told the staff my children were hungry and that seemed to kick things into high gear.

During dinner, we were entertained by a Balinese band playing Irish music. They were pretty good! After the first set, they were joined on stage by some white men, and we were told one of them was the English consul. The kids fell asleep after eating, so I called Made to take us home.

Bali 2008 - December 8

We all slept a bit late this morning, and woke up to another of Kadek's wonderful breakfasts. We didn't have anything scheduled for today and Made had been hired to drive someone to the airport, so we sat around talking about what we wanted to do until about 12:30. We decided that we would go to Bedugul for lunch at Pacung Indah. We called Nyoman Santra to see if he was available to drive, and by 1:00 we were on the road. We enjoyed the buffet lunch at Pacung while visiting with David, the owner of the restaurant and of the Bali Chat Forum.

Since it was fairly late, we had to hurry to get to the Candi Kuning market before closing time. David made a call to let them know we were coming, and I'm glad he did, as we arrived right at 5:00. We bought Pashminas and looked around for beads, then headed back to Londo for snacks and bedtime. Another late day!

Weekend at Gemma's Part 3

Today Gemma took us to Balangan beach. This beach is north of Dreamland and is much quieter. We took lots of photos and collected shells and coral. Before we left we relaxed for a while in a little warung on the beach, and watched the local men fishing from a nearby cliff cave. One caught an octopus, which he brought to the warung to put on ice. He assured me that there were many and bigger if I wanted to go catch my own. We went back to Gemma's for lunch instead.

The kids and I then went to the Dreamland pool, part of which is still under construction. It has only been open a few months, and is quite beautiful, but it looks like it will be spectacular when complete.

We were scheduled to meet some Aussie friends at Jimbaran beach for dinner, so we went back to the house, showered and changed, and packed our stuff for the trip back to Ubud. At Jimbaran, there is a line of stalls on the beach that sell fresh seafood. You walk through and choose your dinner, then it is grilled and served with rice, vegetables and fruit at a table on the beach. You really can get 12" long prawns here, and lobsters with bodies 6" wide, but we passed on those and got red snapper and jumbo prawns instead (only about 6" long).

Made had been waiting for us for about 2 hours when the party finally broke up around 10:00. We went back to Gemma's to gather our things and say our goodbyes. It was midnight by the time we finally got home.

Weekend at Gemma's Part 2

We visited GWK Cultural Park today. This attraction is being built in a quarry, which their website says was abandoned and unproductive, but stone was being quarried while we were there. Eventually the complex will house a museum and an enormous statue of Vishnu riding Garuda, but for now there are three parts of the statue in three different areas of the park. More information can be found at http://gwk-culturalpark.com/en/about-gwk/

After a quick lunch at the park, we were off to the beach. Dreamland beach is nice, but the surf was a bit rough and full of pieces of seagrass. There were not alot of shells here and the sand is made up of fairly large spherical grains. It cost 50,000 to rent two lounge chairs and an umbrella, and another 50,000 to rent a boogie board, although we were able to get the board for local price of only 25,000. The beach was fairly crowded and there were several women wandering around trying to sell sarongs and massages.

From there we went back to the house for quick showers and then to Ulu Watu to take in the sunset kecak (ke-chak) and fire dance. The "music" for this performance is made by a chorus of 40-100 men (depending on where you go) arranged in a circle. The dancers act out the story in the center of the circle, and various men in the chorus act as narrators. You can look out over the ocean and watch the sun go down and the fishing boats head out for their night's work.

The dance concludes with Hanoman, the monkey king, triumphing over the evil forces that have tried to imprison him in a ring of fire. He dances barefoot through the fire and vanquishes the evil spirits . . . for now.

Weekend at Gemma's or A Smaller Version of Our Stuff

We started the day with breakfast at Melati so that I could catch up on internet stuff before we headed south for the weekend. I had a tomato egg jaffle, which usually has sliced fresh tomato inside, but this one had what tasted like canned stewed tomato instead. Not good.

We got a call from Sama Sama that our clothes were ready, so Lace went to pick them up while the kids went swimming and I played around on the computer checking email and catching up on blog posts. She had asked Sama Sama to have some of her pants ready this morning so she could wear them this weekend. She returned with a package that contained all the clothing we had ordered. We had asked that our scraps be saved so that they could be used for quilting. They saved every tiny piece! Ketut was going to lay them all out so that Lace could see not a piece was missing, but Lace told her that was not necessary.

Around 11:00, we packed up and went back to Londo so the kids could shower and we could finish packing for the weekend. Gemma told us to be there between 2:00 and 3:00, so we left about 12:30. It isn't really that far, but traffic and road conditions make the drive a bit long.

Dreamland is a new neighborhood/housing development on the Bukit Peninsula. I've never seen anything like it in Bali, but apparently it's the wave of the future. I'm reminded of the American 50's (not that I was there), when developers cleared acres of land and plopped down row after row of identical houses. (The houses in Dreamland are not identical, but the feeling is there.) How long before the traditional villages and way of life are gone?

After settling in and meeting everyone, we drove in to Kuta to meet several Aussie friends from the Bali Chat Forum at Rama Garden Hotel. Once all the introductions and hugs had gone around, and everyone was there, we trooped down the street to Bali Bagus, a tiny restaurant where our group took up half the tables. The food was good and the service was great. I think they had karaoke, but we didn't go there. When everyone had finished dinner and a round or two of drinks, the music was cranked up so loud you couldn't hear yourself think, so we left. (They've never heard of Jimmy Buffett here!)

Bali 2008 - December 4

Breakfast this morning was black rice pudding. This is not actually a pudding at all, but more like a sweet soup. It is made with black rice, which has to be soaked overnight, coconut, banana, and sweetened condensed milk. It is a lovely shade of purple, and one of those things I could eat every day.

Once we had finished licking our bowls, we met Made for the drive to Batubulan. Batubulan is the stone carving village, but also where one of the better barong performances is held. We took loads of photos, and I tried shooting video, but my card filled up early in the performance. The funny thing about extra camera cards is that they don't work so well when you leave them at home! The performace is still very good and the kids really got into the story. Jake enjoyed it so much that we ended up buying him a barong mask later in the market.

From there we headed to Sukawati, a nearby village with a much larger market than the one in Ubud. This is where we've been told we can find many of the items we're looking for, and at a cheaper price. Unfortunately, it was very hot and we were all hungry, so we didn't explore as much as we might have. We did make a few purchases, but then we left for Ubud to get lunch.

We went to Bumbu Bali again. I had mentioned before that we couldn't get our favorite refreshing beverage, and again today there was no lemon sorbet. We settled for iced lemon tea, and the kids and I each ordered a pizza. We were very disappointed to find that they are now using pre-made pizza crusts, which are thick and not very good. My pizza was a "super supreme" which was supposed to have ham, onion, tomato, mushroom, peppers, eggplant, olives, anchovies, and cheese. I ordered it without olives and anchovies, and they also left off the mushrooms and peppers. I wonder if they have a microwave, because the thing looked as if it hat not seen the inside of an oven. The cheese was barely melted, and the tomatoes were raw. To top it all off, they didn't have Lace's favorite Chocolate Caramel Peanut Pie. Another one off the list.

At the end of the day, Lace and the kids went to bed and I took the laptop over to Melati to catch up on some blogging. As soon as I got there, they lost power. It was back on quickly, so I continued to set up. A few minutes later it went out again. I was surprised to hear my phone ring at this point - no one calls me at night! It was Made asking if I was still at Melati. Still? I've barely been here 10 minutes. Well, yes, I said.

"We need you to come back. There is a problem."

"What's wrong?"

"Very big problem. Come back right away."

So, thinking that the power outage had affected Londo as well, and that one of the kids had fallen down the steps in the dark, I quickly threw the laptop back in the bag, packed up all my stuff, and rushed back to Londo in a panic. Turns out, the really big problem was that my surprise birthday party was waiting for me to get home. Kadek had ordered a beautiful chocolate cherry birthday cake and they had number candles on top. Of course, we didn't get any pictures because I had the camera cards with me. Oh well! It was a wonderful surprise.

Bali 2008 - December 3

This is our lazy day, when we will stay home and chill. HA! First we went to Sari Bamboo for breakfast, then we walked down the road to look at beaded bags. Along the way, we passed a beauty parlor where a girl was standing out front trying to drum up customers. I asked about a pedicure and was told they were too busy (1 customer in shop), and could I come back at 1:00? Sure, no problem. On to the bead shop.

In the shop, we were impressed with the quality and variety of designs, so I chose a small item and asked how much.

"75,000."

"Business price?"

"Yah, OK, 10% discount."

Well, I had already purchased a similar item for 1/3 the price, and the rule of thumb for bargaining is not to go below 1/2 the starting price, so we left the shop. Coming back up the road, we stopped at the shop where I had purchased the item cheaper. "Any more like this?" I asked. Wait one moment.

Out the door she went. After a few moments, I looked out in the direction she had gone, just in time to see her coming out of the shop we had just come from. Sure enough, in she walks with handfuls of the items I had just been told I could buy for 67,500. She brought them in and spread them out. How much? 25,000. I bought them all.

At 1:00, Macaela and I went back to the beauty parlor for my pedicure.

"Sorry, we're too busy right now (no visible customers), maybe 2:00?"

"No, I have an appointment for 1:00."

"Maybe tomorrow?"

Nope, I think not. There's too much competition for that kind of runaround.

Heading back to the bungalow, we found another salon that was not busy at all. We each got a pedicure, complete with exfoliating scrub and massage of the feet and lower legs for 50,000 (less than $5) each. We were happy and another Balinese made a bit of money.

In the end, the kids did get homework done and we did get work done, but we sure were busy for a lazy day.

Bali 2008 - December 2

Our umbrellas for our patio tables were looking kind of rough, so we pulled off the fabric parts and brought them to Bali to have new ones made. We bought new heavy-duty canvas for about $1.33 per meter and took the whole kit & kaboodle over to Sama Sama along with the fabric for our clothes. I don't remember what the quote was for sewing the umbrellas. More on that later.

Today was the day for silver shopping in Celuk. This is a lengthy process! Made and the kids settled in for a long wait outside in the shade, while Lace and I wandered through the silversmith's shop trying to decide what we thought people would like. Unfortunately, the price of silver is fluctuating too much right now so the only chains we could get were machine made. We decided to pass on those. Wayan's daughter suggested we try some of the large silver shops in Kuta, so we'll try to fit that in later.

None of us really felt like dinner, so we decided to hang out at the bungalow and maybe go to bed early. Kadek came down with the baby for some girl talk, and Made took Jake and Putu out for some fun. I always enjoy talking with Kadek. This is the time we get to ask each other questions about cultural differences, I get to learn a few new words, and just generally gossip. I think Kadek enjoys being able to talk to other women who aren't relatives and don't live in her village.

After a couple of hours, Made brought Jake back. They had gone to a small local market on the motorbike and brought back snacks for everyone. There was pisang goreng (battered and fried bananas), tempe chips, and grilled sandwiches filled with strawberry and pineapple jam. Yum!

Bali 2008 - December 1

Today we ventured into Denpasar, the capitol city of Bali. Denpasar is hot, crowded and dirty, but this is the place to go for fabric. Sukawati Street is the fabric district, and there is shop after shop crammed with all variety of cloth. This is where the buyers go to order custom designs and to buy fabric for their made-to-order clothing lines. Many shops are "guarded" by people who offer to take you inside to help you shop. Don't do it! These people are not the shop owners or employees. You'll get your fabric, but you'll pay more for it so that your "helper" will get a kickback . . . oh, that's right, it's called a commission.

While in Denpasar, we shopped for glasses. On our last visit, we bought new glasses for Made, and the exam, frames and lenses cost about $60 and they were ready in one hour. Turns out that because we all wanted lenses that darken in sunlight, we'd be looking at about $500 per pair and a one week turnaround. Never mind!

Bali 2008 - November 30

I think the flight and the time change is catching up to us. Everyone is tired this morning, and having a hard time getting going. After breakfast, I headed out with my camera to photograph plants and flowers. By the time I got back, the kids were hungry, so we went to Ibu Putu's for lunch again. It is close by (about a 2 minute walk), cheap (about $10 or less for all of us to stuff ourselves), and the food and service are always great.

Afterwards, we walked down the steps (great for the abs!) and a short way down the road to Sama Sama Shop. The ground floor has the usual tourist items - postcards, t-shirts, cigarettes, beer & water - but if you go up to the top floor, you find the office, where you can order almost anything made from fabric. I had brought a dress I wanted them to copy, and Lace brought a pair of pants. They didn't have fabric we liked, but told us to come back with fabric, and the charge to make our clothes would be 50,000 per piece - less than $5 each.

We decided to go to the market again, and along the way Jake announced he needed a bathroom. We stopped at Bumbu Bali, another of our favorite restaurants. They have nice restrooms, and a delicious lemon-lime float called Lemon Heaven, and as we were all hot from our walk, this seemed like the best thing to do. We were quite disappointed to learn that they did not have the "lemon sorbet" (lime sherbet) that goes in the float, so we each got a Mickey Mouse (Coke float) instead, then continued to the market.

We like to hit the market around 4:00 or later, because it closes at 5:00 and there are great deals to be had if you venture deep inside where most tourists don't go. Some of the stalls in the upper floor and in the back don't get any customers for days, so you can usually get "morning price" at closing time. Morning price usually only applies to the first sale of the day, and is pretty much the cheapest price you can get. Sometimes the shopkeeper doesn't say anything about it, but you know it is their first sale when they take your money and touch items in the shop with it. This is supposed to bring them luck and more sales, and it's a sad thing to see at closing time.

Communication with the outside world

Before my first trip to Bali in 1995, I was warned that you really couldn't communicate with people back home unless it was an emergency. Most places did not have phone service. In order to make a phone call, you'd have to go to a Wartel office, where it apparently was still difficult to get a line sometimes.

It was a pleasant surprise to find that the bungalows where we stayed did actually have a phone in the office. If I remember correctly, I called home to check on my dog. Oh, and to let people know I was okay, of course.

By 2000, the internet had made it's way to Bali. For 40-50 cents per minute, you could send email from an internet cafe. There were only a couple of places in Ubud where you could do this, and the service was not very reliable.

Over the next couple of years, more places began to have internet, and the cost dropped to as low as a few cents per minute. There were even places advertising high-speed, but nothing like at home.

Now wireless is here, and many of the larger restaurants have free hotspots for their customers. Even the bungalows next door to Londo have wireless service. All I have to do is eat a meal, and I can charge the laptop and have internet access free. All this wonderful technology and I still can't keep up with my reports!

Bali 2008 - November 29

This morning after breakfast, our bead lady Ketut brought her wares to the bungalow. We rarely purchase at home, but Ketut doesn't have a shop, so we let her come to us. This works out well for everyone because she helps out at the bungalows, and we can get ready for our day out while we shop.

Today she had lots to choose from, so by the time the dealing was done, it was time for lunch. We headed down the path to Ibu Putu's Warung for some of our favorite dishes - carrot salad, fried chicken with tomatoes and onions, and sweet iced lemon tea. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch while visiting with the family, then headed down the Campuhan steps (all 88 of them!) to meet Made for a trip to the grocery. After gathering all the things we needed (and some we didn't), Made drove us to the Ubud Market.

One of the things I love about Bali is that no matter how long you've been away, people still remember you. Not only that, but they remember what you bought from them, and quite often, how much you paid. As we stepped out of the car in front of the market, we looked at the various things hung out on display to decide where to go first. Leaning out from the second floor was Made Wenten waving and calling hello.

Three years ago we were looking for a particular style of dress. She had only one or two, but kept saying "I can make!" We explained that we were leaving the next day, and since it was 5:00 p.m., there was no time. Her answer was "No problem. How many you want?" We chose about 15 sarongs for her to make into dresses, really only expecting her to make 4 or 5 by the next morning. "Come tomorrow; 10:00." So 10:00 next morning we were back at the market. Made proceeded to pull out 15 new dresses that she and her sister had made overnight. Now, the market closes at 5:00; we figured maybe 1/2 hour for her to close up shop, and we had kept her late. It reopens at 7:00 a.m. So in 13 hours, two women had produced 15 dresses, only one of which was not good enough for us to buy. Needless to say, we went back for more.

After closing down the market once again, we staggered down the street to Casa Luna for dinner. This restaurant is one of the "famous" ones in the Ubud area. They have a bakery, offer cooking classes, show movies in the evenings, and sometimes have live music. Their menu includes the Indonesian standards - fried rice, fried noodles, sate chicken, etc. - and also many western items. Casa Luna has moved up and down on our list. The food is usually excellent, but the service is often lacking. This evening we ordered milkshakes (good), iced lemon tea (tasted like canned Lipton), potato cake with salsa and feta (good - fresh feta), fettucini with ham, asparagus and avocado cream sauce (very good - fresh pasta), fettucini with broccoli and chicken in lemon cream sauce (good pasta & sauce, but the chicken was so overcooked I couldn't cut it), and sate chicken (fatty). The meal cost almost 400,000 - very expensive for here, and definitely not the best meal we've had on this trip.

Lace and the kids were too exhausted to walk home, so we called Made Latra to pick us up. After getting the kids in bed, I walked over to Melati Cottages, which is across the ricefields from Londo. I had seen on my computer that they had wi-fi, so I went to inquire about what they would charge me to use it. 36,000 per hour - OK, not bad, so I'll come back tomorrow with my laptop.

Temple Ceremony

As we walked the jungle road into the village, we could hear the gamelan playing in the distance. We have been to the temple before, but it has been about 5 years, so we figured we'd follow our ears. Walking through the village we saw very few people and the closer we got to the temple, the further away the music seemed. Sure enough, the temple was deserted and quiet. We feared we had missed the procession, but we continued down the street in search of something we might photograph. I didn't want to call Made because I knew he was involved in the ceremony. Suddenly there were many people approaching us on the road, all dressed in their finest. We stopped to ask and were told to keep going.

Meanwhile, with all this walking, Jake's sarong (which I had tied incorrectly) was coming loose. Lace stopped and asked a group of women for help, since we don't have any experience with tieing a sarong man-style. Macaela and I were ahead of them, and when I realized they had stopped, I turned to look back. There was Jake in the middle of the road, village women gathered around, sarong wide open. Thank goodness he wasn't wearing it in the traditional way!

As we got closer to one of the main interesctions, we began to come upon people standing, sitting and squatting along the roadside. We greeted many old friends that we hadn't had the opportunity to see yet (this being our first day), so there were lots of questions: When you come to Bali? How long you stay? Where you stay? Why you not come so long?

At the intersection we found the party! Men mostly on one side, women on the other, and village security in the middle. The security detail is there to direct the vehicle traffic that continues to flow even though the street is crammed with people. We moved through the crowd, taking pictures and trying to figure out the best place to be for the upcoming procession. We inquired about where Made might be, and were told to stand with the women so we could be found when he came. Well, this at least gave us a different vantage point for our photos.

During all of this, you could still hear the music faintly, and at one point it got louder, changing the focus of everyone's attention. The procession was coming! The whole thing lasted about two minutes. They came up the street, through the intersection and down a little ways, then stopped. the women scurried around as soon as it had passed, spreading large woven mats and setting out the many offerings. Once this was all arranged, the women sat behind the offerings and the waiting began again.

At some unseen signal several minutes later, the music started up again and the procession came back to the intersection and turned up the main road. Once the entire group had made the turn, they stopped again. They were apparently here for the long haul this time, because all the musicians sat in the road and continued to play. Back at the crossroads, the holy man started to pray, and the women started to chant. We stayed as long as we could, recording the images and sounds of the ceremony, but the kids were tired, so we headed back home.

We stopped along the way for another snack, then home to bed. You could still hear the kulkul, the gamelan and the chanting late into the night.

Bali 2008 - November 28

Morning found us not quite rested enough, but the kids and I headed to the pool for an early morning swim before breakfast. Sri offers a good selection of breakfast items included with the room, and hot tea or coffee delivered to your room if requested. The bathrooms and the pool have been renovated since our last visit, and they also now have free wi-fi in the rooms. Wow! More on that later.

After breakfast we had a couple of hours to kill, so we walked down Monkey Forest Road to check out the shops. We found some really cute shoes (new style!) for about $20 a pair - didn't buy any hoping to find them cheaper elsewhere.

Further down we found a couple of bead shops that were astounding in their selections. We brought a few strings, but it is difficult to choose. A person could spend the better part of the day (and their money) getting "one of these and one of those".

The kids mentioned that they were (still) hungry, so we stopped in for an early mid-morning snack at Sagitarius. They each had another breakfast (2 eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, grilled tomato) and a milkshake, and Lace and I had ice lemon tea and lumpia, a spring roll filled with julienne vegetables and (pretend it's not there) tofu and served with a sweet chili sauce. Absolutely delicious! This cost us 100,000 rupiah including tip (less than $10).

Made was waiting for us when we got back to Sri, so we quickly repacked everything and transferred it all to Londo - our home in Bali. Made suggested we relax for a bit, but Lace only brought a couple of outfits so we trooped down the road to buy more clothes. We didn't find exactly what she was looking for, but she ordered 5 pairs of pants made to order and the kids and I got outfitted with appropriate temple clothing.

We meandered back up the road and decided to have dinner at one of our old favorites, Sari Bamboo. This used to be a quiet, friendly little place right on the side of Penestanan Road. They had about 5 tables, an old dusty postcard rack, and a pretty decent menu. Well, they have done some extensive renovations since we were here last. The old dining area is gone completely, and where the kitchen and internet cafe used to be is a beautiful new two-story building. The food and the service are still great, but I liked the old arrangement better. The new dining room is open in the back and is almost on top of the pool. (Sari Bamboo has bungalows out back.) I guess they're doing well, so that is good anyway.

One of my Indonesian friends in Richmond loaned me a cell phone to use on our trip, a luxury we've never had in Bali before. Made took care of getting it set up for me. It is a prepaid deal, which I gather is the way things are done here normally. I'm still getting used to the fact that I have it, so when it rings it startles me. Well, shortly after ordering our food, ring it did! Made was calling to tell me that a temple ceremony in the village had already started and we should hurry. You can't hurry food prep or restaurant service in Bali, so I was nervous about our time. When the food arrived, we ate quickly and rushed back home.

It is imperative that you bathe before attending any temple ceremony, so we all ran through the shower and put on our new temple clothes. Made was already in the village, so we weren't quite sure where we were going. Since Jake had gone to the village with Made earlier, we let him lead the way. Our walk took us down the old jungle road, which used to be a muddy track and is now completely paved in concrete, and wide enough to accomodate a car, not that you could get a car there in the first place.

Coming next - Temple Ceremony

Flight, Arrival & First Day

Our flights were uneventful with the exception of the crying babies from Frankfurt to Singapore. The family was making the trip from New York back home to Singapore with a 3 year old and 18 month old twins. I felt more sympathy than aggravation.

Singapore Airlines was wonderful as usual, although I didn't feel the menu was as good as past trips. I guess you have to cut corners somewhere, and better the food than the service. Wine service and top shelf liquors are still included. On each leg of the journey, the flight attendants asked the children's names and called them by name throughout.

Arrival in Bali seemed a bit easier than usual. We were not approached by any porters (usually very aggressive) and we claimed our luggage and cleared customs without any problems. Our driver was waiting in the throng outside the airport and we were quickly loaded into his car for the trip to Ubud.

After settling in at Sri Bungalows, we showered and changed and started walking towards Penestanan. We learned back in 2002 that it is best to hit the ground running, no matter how exhausted you may be from the flight. Otherwise you find yourself bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 3:00 a.m. with nothing to do for at least 3 hours.

Halfway through town we found Nyoman Santra, one of our trusted drivers, and for 15,000 rupiah (about $1.25) he took us the rest of the way to Penestanan. This being Thanksgiving day, we had decided to treat our Bali family to dinner. Made and Jake rode the motorbike to the village to get Made's car, and we all piled in and headed back to Ubud. We had dinner at Murni's, then Made dropped us back at Sri for some very necessary sleep. Everyone was out cold by 8:45.

Here we go again!

So we leave for Bali tomorrow. I've wrapped up everything for the PTA, covered my neighborhood duties, talked to the schools, gotten someone to take care of plants and animals, still have to take care of Girl Scouts. . . I guess I should finish packing! Things seem kind of unreal this time. I guess it's because we haven't been in a while, or maybe because there is so much to do that isn't related to the trip, but has to be done before we leave. It will be truly wonderful to finally get back over there and see all our friends. We all need to relax a bit, and this will definitely do it!

I'll try to fight Bali time and actually post something each day. Photos can be found here. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Thanks for reading.

Savannah - Day 2

Today was cool (low 40's) and rainy. Not ideal for a walking city. We found out about the CAT Shuttle - a free service operated by the city transportation system. There is a stop located right out front of our hotel, and also a stop right near one of our selected destinations for the day, so it was determined that this would be our mode of transport today. But then, we realized that our first destination was just 2 blocks down the road, so we decided to walk there first.

We made our way down MLK Jr. Blvd. trying to obey the traffic laws. Not an easy task when the crossing lights allow about 2 seconds before the hand starts flashing to tell you to stay where you are. The nice thing is that drivers in Savannah are used to pedestrians and are generally very courteous. We turned off the sidewalk into the lovely, but very wet, gardens of the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum. The museum is housed in the Scarbrough House, designed and built by architect William Jay, and the former home of William Scarbrough. Check their website for more information . . .

This was very interesting for the adults and my son; not so much for my daughter. As a Girl Scout, she was looking forward to visiting the Juliette Gordon Low birthplace house. Because of the rain, we decided to keep moving, so we walked a couple of blocks to the City Market. Here is a nice collection of shops, restaurants and artists studios. Also, this is the place to pick up one of those carriages you can see all over the historic district (not on a rainy day, however). We ate lunch at the Cafe at City Market, purchased discount tickets for the house tour, then set out for the closest CAT Shuttle stop. We waited, checked the time, moved to another stop, waited some more, checked the time again, waited some more . . . never did see that shuttle. The walk to the Wayne-Gordon house was not that far, but it wasn't fun in the rain. We enjoyed our tour of this large old house, purchased the requisite Girl Scout patches and postcards, and set out in the rain to head back to the hotel.

It seems a shame to stay holed up in a hotel room, but we were all wet and a bit miserable, and eating what was left of last night's pizza sounded pretty good. Add a couple of cups of hot chocolate, and a bag of popcorn, and you've got a fine rainy night dinner.

Savannah, GA

Day 1

Have you ever seen photos of someplace or seen it in a movie, and decided that you just had to go there one day? That was Savannah for me. I had really no idea what I was going to do when I got there, but I wanted to go - if for no other reason than just to see it.

So here I am. Thanks to the generosity of my mom's employer, we're here for a long weekend. The first thing not to do in this city is stay at the Econo-Lodge on Oglethorpe Avenue. We thought we had found a basic bargain hotel in the historic district. It was advertised as newly renovated, and although it is just a basic hotel, we would only be sleeping there . . . right? Well, we rolled into town at 2:30 in the morning after driving from Richmond, checked into our room, and immediately decided we had made a mistake. The carpet was torn, the furniture was broken, and they had used a strong air "freshener" to cover up the odor of urine that permeated the room. At that hour, the only thing to do was get some sleep. After checking for bedbugs (we didn't see any signs of them), we climbed into bed and attempted to sleep.

Fast forward to morning, where we quickly shower and dress and move our stuff OUT! We did ask to see another room, but that one was worse. All the same odors from the first room, plus stale cigarette smoke. Now, directly across Oglethorpe is a very nice Hampton Inn, and with the help of manager Jim and front desk attendant Robbin, we relocated our base of operations. This place I would highly recommend to anyone. Not only do the rooms not smell, but the beds are quite comfortable, and the staff are friendly and helpful. There is a nice dining area, and a sitting room with a TV and fireplace. Breakfast, internet access, and newspaper are included in the price. Oh, and when the weather allows, they have a nice outdoor pool, too.

Now, for those people who said "Why would you go to Savannah?", I say why not? It is a beautiful city, with loads of things to see and do, places to eat, places to photograph or draw, history to learn about; you name it, I think you can find it here. We opted for a trolley tour with Old Savannah Tours, taking advantage of the all-day on and off option. You get to ride around and see the whole historic district and listen to the narrative, then ride again and hop off at the places you want to explore. We found that riding several times was interesting, because each driver kind of took their own route (basically the same, but still different) and included different tid-bits in their chatter.

We hopped off to get lunch at the Pirates' House. They have a nice southern buffet, or you can order off the menu. We chose the buffet - great fried chicken (not the standard buffet oven-fried stuff) with a honey-pecan sauce, pulled pork barbecue, fried fish, mac & cheese, squash casserole (absolutely delicious!), veggies - very good! Make sure you save room for dessert. We didn't know there was any, until the server appeared with four plates of the yummy stuff. Homemade banana pudding and 7-layer bars were the featured treat the day we visited. We were very happy that our hotel room has a fridge; it would have been a terrible shame to have to waste those goodies.

Our next stop was the Colonial Park Cemetery where Union forces camped during the Civil War. The grave markers were inconveniently in the way, so they simply moved them. Many of these are lined up along the wall, the locations of the graves they originally marked long forgotten. From there we wandered over to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. This is one of those places that some people may pass up as not interesting or exciting enough. However, it really is beautiful inside, and worth checking out. One word of caution - don't get down on the floor to take pictures. The pictures are OK, the floor isn't.

At this point, we were all completely exhausted, so back on the trolley we went for the ride back to our hotel. It was decided that pizza delivery would be an excellent choice for dinner. Vinnie Van Go Go's came highly recommended by the hotel staff, the menu looked good, and the prices were reasonable. Delivery took about an hour - not bad for a Friday night - and our pizza and calzone were excellent. Again happy about our in-room fridge, we wrapped up our left-overs to enjoy later, crawled into those big, comfy beds, and crashed!