Balam Bali Villa Mengwi

... by itself..cool!
We came back and Escher was in a much better headspace..thank goodness, as he can hold onto his disappointment far longer than the average child.
The staff all came out to see how he was, and the concern was so genuine.I can see we have made friends for life with these amazing people. It saddens me to see other guests almost ignore them.We are seeing this as a wonderful time to build frienships, and cross the language barrier etc ...

... Keith was struck with what locals call "Bali Belly" at the end of our time in Candidasa. In an effort to battle the belly bug he underwent the local traditional Asian treatment of coin rubbing. As the coin rubbing session started, I watched deep red stripes form on Keith's back as the blood came to the surface of his skin... making me a little nervous, but Keith reported that it didn't hurt a bit. As a result of Keith's ...

It is very warm and humid at Lovina beach. Lovina is actually an area comprised of several little towns. We get up and have a late breakfast then poke around the nearby town of Kalibukbuk, which is where our hotel is located.. Our hotel is way off the main drag where you go down a road that starts off paved then goes to dirt as you approach the ocean.
The little town is comprised of small shops with touristy things ...

... this event shut us up for quite a while. All I could really think about was how beautiful everything was and at how by only observing life, its beauty will just come to you. I also was very proud of myself for never giving up on this mountain. For me, this whole climb was like a metaphor to life. At times it is dark with a steep climb ahead. You may not know where exactly you are going, but if you continue on your own path and never give up, you will literally see the ...

... No one was going to show up. We walked the five minutes back to the Bali Children's Project to ask the organizer Kadik where the children were. Of course, trying in vain to hide under our rain jackets, the heavy sheets of rain poured down on us, soaking our bodies, refreshing our souls. Kadik told us that she definitely told the teacher to tell the students about English class today at 4. Well... after Kadik called the teacher, she found out that the teacher forgot to tell the ...

... a small desk with another large mirror on it. The room was cooled by a fan on the roof which spun around at much greater speeds than any of the other rooms we had stayed in. The room seemed quite cool, even at 15:00, so we were glad we didn't bother getting the air-conditioned room at 2.5X the price. All in all, this may be the best deal that I've ever got for a room anywhere in the world so far. The upstairs has a large porch with chairs and coffee-tables and tons ...

... caught in the middle - tourists, Balinese, police, musicians- starts to run, but stops as we come up against the Bull. Finally the Bull turns a corner and goes up the street towards the cemetary. Turning the corner was so dangerous I don't even remember it happening. I remember people screaming and pushing. I sense a break in the action so I tried to go back up the road the way I'd came. However, here comes the Tower. Things get ...

... exist. And a yellow leaf fish. Then comes the moment of the entry to the boat. Lather is lowered. Or not. It has 3 steps and hangs no deeper than the boat. Arie jumps on the boat like a monkey, weight belt on and everything. We take of our gear in the water I put my legs on the lather, which already is a challenge: that is how high the lowest step is and have to pull myself on to the boat. My operated knee has no strength yet. My other knee got lazy from the lack of ...

... I had arranged for an airport pickup from my "hotel", a decent, funky place called the Bali Sorwaya, where a double room costs the rich price of $24 a night, but it has a pool, air conditioning, and is clean and quiet (important, given the reputed nightlife) I have a new camera, so this will be the first use, hopefully showing some hotel pics: Next: Bali

Checking out the monkeys, the temples Click here for the hotel website http://uma.como.bz/ubud/flashintro.asp The plan here is to visit Bali's cultural centres, including Ubud's temples, galleries and museums. If I get bored there's mountain biking, whitewater rafting, guided walks and treks through the wildest regions. If Katherine gets bored she can go shopping. .... but that is unlikely