Ubud is prettier than the name sounds

So last time we left off, Adam and I were on Gili Trawangan, checking out the island. The next day we each did some snorkeling separately. I ended up seeing a massive turtle. Mike, the French guy I mentioned previously, really wanted to see a turtle for some reason, so I'm pretty happy to have seen one myself. I did get a bad sunburn right on my waistline, which is probably the worst place to get a sunburn if you are backpacking. When I do up the waist strap, it feels like I'm wearing a cilice.

The rest of the time on the island was spent casually sauntering about the beach in between the times I was napping. After day two we decided to move on to our next destination. The island was great, but it was specifically tourist oriented, and I'd heard enough of "Gasolina" by Daddy Yankee at that point. Early the next morning we caught a boat back to Lombok.

From Lombok we caught a Perama fast boat back to Bali. The boat ride was excellent. The first time we crossed between islands, we took a public ferry and it pretty much killed our day, not to mention gave me the gut spins and subsequently a very terrible bathroom experience. This time, there were only a few of us on a tiny boat and it took a paltry two and a half hours. Plus, we got lunch, and I got to hang out right in front and snap some excellent pictures. There were even dolphins and flying fish leaping up beside the boat!

Our destination that day was Ubud, a town in central Bali and a cultural capital in a ways. We settled for a cheap room and made our way to a Balinese dance performance. Not exactly sure how to describe the dance. The music was all done by a chorus of men seated in concentric circles swaying and chanting together. In the middle, characters would jump in and act out the narrative. I believe the term for this type of performance is "Kecak", but the flyer advertised it as "Balinese Trance Fire Show", probably to get more tourists to come.

The show itself was excellent. Without any announcement that the show was starting at all, about 50 dudes in sarongs blasted out of the temple in the background chanting and chattering. Then the characters came out and acted out the story. At the end, I guess to make good on the "fire" promise, they set a bunch of coconut shells on fire and had some guy dressed as a horse kick them around with his bare feet. The very first kick the guy made actually ended up sending a bunch of burning husks flying over the containment wall and into some poor bastard's lap. At that moment I honestly thought that it was part of the show and that we would be dodging fire for the rest of the night. Thankfully it turned out to be a mistake and duder wasn't burned (at least not badly).

That night we drank Bintang and listened to Gordon Lightfoot, Phil Collins and the Blade Runner soundtrack on our porch.

Today was when we'd actually get out and about and see the town proper. First step was the monkey forest, which is exactly what it sounds like, a forest filled with monkeys. At the entrance you can buy some bananas so the locals can have a good laugh as you get pummeled by hungry monkeys. I bought some and yeah, they really do climb all up in your face to steal whatever you're holding.

Next we rested a motorbike and rode double around the Ubud area, looking at rice terraces and rural communities. At one point, we couldn't make it up a steep hill and the bike ended up falling over. On its way down, the hot exhaust pipe burned a nice mark into my calf, on top of a pre-existing sunburn. Then the bike wouldn't start up again so we had to get a local to help us.

After a bit of coasting, we came across an old Buddhist and Hindu temple complex. Now, this place would have been a little boring, had we not ventured deep into the jungle and come across an awesome swimming spot where the rapids slow as they entered an underwater Hindu temple. We jumped in and swam around for about an hour, completely undisturbed and it was AWESOME. Definitely the highlight of the trip so far.

Unfortunately, I can't post pictures this entry. Before I even started writing, I submitted a bunch of pictures to be uploaded, and now, about an hour later, they are STILL uploading. So Maybe I'll give up and post them when I come across a better connection. Anyways, thanks for reading it all. As you can see, we are doing GREAT!