2/20: My third day in Bali

I am now in the town of Ubud on the island of Bali. Ubud has changed a lot in the thirteen years since I was last here, and is unrecognizable from the first time I was here 26 years ago. It is difficult to find a traditional warung (eating stall); there are fancy restaurants everywhere. And the prices are no where near what I remember them to be. But it is still one of the most beautiful places on earth.

View of a river from a bridge

It was a little harrowing getting into the country, as I had to bribe the official to put the visa on the blank page of the back of my passport, as I had run out of blank visa pages. So after my first attempt failed (I didn't know the technique of hiding the money in a piece of paper), and I was escorted to another office, my second attempt, with double the original amount, got me through the doors.

Statue at the entrance to my losmen (guesthouse)

After searching and searching and only finding fancy places to stay, I finally found this sweet little losmen - only three rooms.

Here is my first impression list of differences between India and Bali: no litter, no horns, no cow poop, no men peeing everywhere, no sewer smell, no yelling, no loud music at 6AM, no crazy driving, I can wear clothing appropriate to the hot weather - shorts, there is a lot more exposed skin here, there is the smell of clove cigarettes everywhere, the foreigners here are different - more Australian vacationers and less long-term travelers. I have to say, I miss the chaos of India.

I went on a three hour bike ride this morning, through beautiful rice fields

Balinese temple

Inside the temple

Included in the price of my losmen ($10 a night) is a delicious breakfast of banana pancake, fruit salad, and hard boiled egg. Unfortunately, no mangosteens. I went to the US consulate yesterday to get pages added to my passport, and my taxi driver told me that mangosteens were not in season.

And then I happily came across this fruit stand on my bike ride, and there in the front are my beloved mangosteens. I bought 2 kilos (4 1/2 pounds) and quickly ate my way into "mangosteen bliss."