Panorama Hotel Ubud

... one for three days' time. While this was going on, a smart little bloke in a shirt and trousers circled then approached me. "You need transport?" he inquired (what a surprise). I told him where my hostel was, and his price was reasonable, plus he'd been chatting amicably to the bloke behind the desk, so I accepted. Quick as a flash he had picked up my bag with his spindly arms and was carting it to his little minibus. On the way to the hostel, having overheard me purchasing my ...

... help us out.... After viewing a fabulous sunset overlooking the most religious Hindu Temple on the island over at Tanah Lot, Michael asked me if I had the key to the bike. Since he drove I said no. Once I said this the look on Michael's face went from hopeful to one full of dread: we lost the key. I started to panic and thought that maybe it was left on the bike; if that was the case, it was surely a goner. Bikes here are the main form of transportation on the island so it's a ...

... we decided to walk around to try and find a place which had working lights and was still able to serve food. Not surprisingly, the only places which could still serve food were those restaurants that could afford generators; the same restaurants that charge silly prices for meals. I reluctantly followed the others into one of these restaurants (especially after the afternoons meal costs) in which we were seated in the far back corner! haha. This was ...

... so dim we ended up using our own headlamps (bring yours if you have it). The entire time we were trekking in the dark up to the top of the volcano I was feeling rotten. There were a few times I was able to enjoy the beauty of the darkness all around with the bright stars overhead and the moon reflecting off the lake but the majority of the time everything was shrouded in clouds. Once we got up to the top we huddled in the chilly air under a shack with ...

... Lot (a cliff edge temple - ideally situated for sunset). So I call him and arrange a 8 hour personal tour of said spots - for wait for it....400,000 rp - less than 30 euro!!! I was going to write this up last night - but there was a power cut just as I sat down to start typing. It lasted all night - thankfully hotel had a generator but eating dinner in candle light in a street lit only by candles was a joy - if not damn hot. On my iPod Pure Shores - All Saints

... Hindu attire (Sarongs and head scarves) carrying offerings to the gods. Pura Besakih is divided into three main complexes. The first is for the god Bramah (the god of fire), Shiva (the god of wind) and Vishnu (the god of water). Different colors represent each god. The colors for Shiva are white and yellow. Red is for Bramah and black is for Vishnu. Depending on which god you are there to worship, your attire must ...

... friends and he is showered with flowers, and blessed water, woven cloths, and many prayers with the family gathered around him. The atmosphere is solemn but celebratory at the same time. A few members of the family collapse, expressing their grief...they are carried to the side and tended to. It is preferred that people do not cry or show their grief at these ceremonies...it is believed that this will slow the individuals passing to his next incarnation. But ...

... water and chilled, presented on a little wooden tray, along with stemmed glasses of ice tea. We had to check in all over again with registration papers, even tho we were just there last week and returning...because the government requires that all our travel and lodging be documented while we are in their country. We can't say enough about Taman Rahasia. It's just the best! And only $60 a night. We ended the day with massages that night.

... houses and their whimsical creations tucked in the trees. We went through Garuda village, which, like the village of all-stone and the village of all-wood, displayed nothing but countless Garudas of every size, wings outspread to carry the god Vishnu on his back, the legs of a human strongman wrapped in the traditional checkered sarong connoting the powers of darkness and light. House after house displayed these self-replicating ...