Back in Bali!

We returned to Bali yesterday afternoon and Laurie even went along with doing so by small plane. I'll let her fill in the details on that except to say I thought it was a smooth event free flight.

We landed just as the rains arrived in Denpasar. We hailed a taxi for the hour drive to our hotel, Mata Hari cottages, and soon saw what a real rainstorm can do here. This heavy downpour had streets and drainages overflowing within 30 minutes. We had a very good driver who took the storm in stride and got us in without a problem once we got some local directions to zero in on our small street location.

We have a great location and wonderful room at off-season prices. We enjoyed our complimentary breakfast and then were off to explore and run errands after we left about every bit of clothes we had to be washed. We managed to walk a fair distance of at least 2-3 miles under a bright and hot sun today without getting lost or even needing directions. We were also back in time for high tea and relax before picking up tickets for the kecak and fire dances tonight and then pick up hot nasi and sate for a fine feast back on our patio. Tomorrow we are signed up for a natural herbal plant walk and have a long list of activities to work on while we are here.

The dances tonight were excellent again. We are also enjoying all the decorations up all over Ubud from the Hindu holidays celebrated earlier this week. I expect Laurie will write much more about these events soon...

Selamat malam!

Kecak & Fire Dance performed by over 100 dancers