Champlung Sari Hotel Ubud

... S. E. Asia service again - the laundry!

Armed with our clean pants we were ready to hit the culture spots and booked a night at an open air performance of the "Kechek Ramayana and fire trance". Not really sure what to expect we turned up to the hindu temple on the edge of town. Three sides of chairs were laid out and it was an all tourist event. The offerings were laid down by the shrine at the start and then ...

... together. There traditions are said to save money. We have seen all sorts of activities at the village temples related to this event from processions in the street to large gatherings of people preparing special offerings.
Saturday night we wanted to attend a special show at the Arma museum, but it has been cancelled due to the cremation events. Sunday morning we walked over to the museum as ...

The Lonely Planet says that “Ubud takes a Balinese holiday and makes it sublime”. This couldn’t be more true. Where else could you have a shower in a deep stone tub in your private villa’s outside bathroom...while gazing past a large stone reclining Buddha in your garden...ripe with the aroma of frangipani blossoms...listening to a parade of ducks quack by with a village rooster cockadoodling in the distance... and watching a farmer in gumboots and a ...

... them on by Julian Clary. As I explained I won't be wearing these even if he paid me I transfer into adequate board shorts and roll the legs up.

First up a massage for an hour and a half with me and Cath on those funny beds next to each other with some chill music. Couldn't quite relax though so just took the pain as Clary tried to paralyze me, twist my leg off and finish by prodding my belly button for some reason. I stopped him there ...

... take her own class. It went well and I was happy I wasn't with the other class that was a little too much for me to handle. For some reason, I like teaching alone and having the whole time to do what I want. That night, I just met up with Tamara and Marlane, two girls from Gianyar who were in Ubud for the evening doing a few errands. We went out to Mexican, so I could celebrate cinco de mayo, although of course that holiday is as far from here as Mexico the country is.

... one by one, would fall into the water, looking like water lilies in a pond. Everything was clean, cozy, quiet, comfortable and absolutely the most hospitable place to stay. We walked the five minutes to town and ate lunch at a restaurant on the beach, looking over the calm ocean in front of us. We walked around the little shops and tried our best to dodge all the little girls and women calling out to you to buy some of their cheaply ...

... But they are all fairly similar. It is believed that most dances originated from the gamboeh with its accompanying music from the gamelan. The main exception would be story book dances like the Ramayana from Hindu culture. It appears to be more of a play with spots of dance. Balinese dance is characterized by exagerated body positioning and facial expressions ...

... one is coming", I told myself. I paddled back out and waited still jazzed from the last wave and another one loomed. I paddled, dropped, and a big perfect wave walled up for me as I carved down the line of Balinese paradise. The walk in across the reef at dark nipped, stabbed, and scratched off bits of my feet. The next day was spent surfing Bingin, a very busy spot because of its tubing waves. A couple of pros were out with the crowd, so it was like watching a surfing ...

... many hours later, I decided it was made out of stone. Till it disappeared. Then Tony found pooh in our bathroom. I mean: a small one on the floor. And guess what: that same lizard was on the roof of our bathroom! We also met B. he is handsome and very chatty. We started off on the wrong foot. He whistled at me! NOT done. But, then, we kissed and made up. He says: 'I love you' in such a cute way. Unfortunately, his English is ****** and ...

... of people who will do anything for a laugh (jump on stage, twirl on polls)! :D Outside of these clubs is the memorial for the Bali Bombings of 2002 and across the street is the still empty lot where the club once stood. Pictures of many of the victims are still hanging on the fences. Quite sobering. :( But, we cannot stress about it. We can only pay our respects and hope for a safe trip. Good night, all in all.