Greetings from Bali

Green, terribly green, cultural, tropical, clean, beautiful Bali. paradise? perhaps. Really, though, every building, guest house, shop, temple....put it this way, any structure...is architecturally artsy (for lack of a better phrase), the people are incredibly friendly, and it's just plain wonderful.

We arrived on Saturday after a delayed Delhi flight...we sat on the plane in Delhi for 4 hours before it took off!! anyway, we missed our connecting flight out of Kuala Lumpur, but we did make it to Bali just a few hours later than expected. We headed straight to Sanur for the evening and hopped on a local boat Sunday morning that took us out to Lembongan island, an island with nothing but a few bungalows, some snorkeling and diving. There aren't even any boat docks...you have to roll your pants up, take off your shoes, jump into the water and carry your luggage over your head. It was a great, relaxing beginning to the journey. The next day, however, we decided to leave at the spur of the moment as Jon had a sinus infection that prevented him from going diving. We ended up catching a ride on a tiny little boat with two locals, who dropped us off in the middle of nowhere on Bali island. Well, thankfully, someone was there to rip us off and charge us way to much money for a ride to Ubud. Oh well. At least we were able to stop for some of Bali's world famous suckling pig stuffed with garlic, turmeric, chilli and ginger. killer.

Now we're in Ubud. We've taken long walks around town and through the surrounding rice paddy fields. We're staying at a guest house for $12.50 a night....a guest house surrounded by green plants and trees (looks like your regular jungle...as everywhere on this island does) with hot water (always a plus in Asia!), large space and our own porch where hot tea magically appears every morning and evening. Plus, the family that runs the guest house will make dinner for you if you request it at least one day in advance. Um, best meal in Bali yet...nothing like a good home cooked meal.

Oh, and craziest experience yet...I ran into an old Charlotte friend on the streets of Ubud that I haven't seen in 2.5 years...gotta love when that happens!

Tomorrow we are leaving for the Amed area...beach towns. Will keep you updated!

Love to all and more soon....