Bali Hai, Bali-wood, Bali very very good

I realized in my last entry I completely failed to mention that the night before we left Phi Phi, the five of us went to a muay thai match, or thai boxing. They were offering free buckets (what I'm guessing to be pretty foul tasting buckets of alcohol) to anyone who volunteered to fight. I considered it for a second given the great story it would give me, but then after reflecting for just a second on many failed pillow fights with my brother as a child, I decided against it. The scene was less than appealing, but something worth checking out if you get a chance to see locals fight and not some drunken frat boys who thought it would be a good idea to impress the ladies.

After I last left you, Laura and I got on a ferry back to Phuket for the night before flying to Bali. We stayed at the very pleasant but unfortunately named Golddiger's Resort in Nai Yang, one of the northwest beaches of Phuket. This place had more of the friendly Thai hospitality and smiles we were told to expect but seemed to be lacking in Phi Phi. The resort is run by a Swedish man and has a lovely pool, a good menu, and breezy and clean rooms, though a bit sterile in aesthetic. I highly recommend staying there if you are passing through the Phuket area any time soon and need a place near the airport.

Given our traveling troubles from before, Laura and I had decided to change our connecting flight from Kuala Lumpur to Bali so if there were any delays, we wouldn't have a problem. When we arrived at the airport, we found out that the the later flight that we had already paid the change fee for had been canceled and we were back on our original flight. At that point there was nothing we could do about it except hope for the best.

As we made our descent into Malaysia, I noticed that the familiar greenery one often sees flying into most airports (or most I'd been to) was different than what I was used to seeing. The usual deciduous and evergreens were replaced with endless palms. It was really quite cool to see. So as not to bore you with logistical details, our connection went smoothly and soon enough we were on our flight to Bali. One thing we did notice as a marked difference between Thailand and Malaysia was the Islamic influence in Malaysia, so much so that one of our female pilots was donning a head scarf.

Around 9:00 PM, we found our way to the Sayang Maha Mertha Hotel in Legian Beach just north of Kuta. Kuta is known for its ridiculous party scene and is overrun with underaged drunken Australians and was also the site of the club bombing in 2002. Needless to say, we stayed away from the club scene, but did venture out to meet up with a friend of a friend who had just landed in the Kuta area the day before. In a bit of a comedy of errors, Laura and I ended up at Ben's hotel to leave him a note at the same time, we later found out, that he was at our hotel trying to find us and thus leaving us a note. We connected with him eventually around midnight which, I should add, is the latest I've been up this whole trip even counting New Year's. We stayed up for a few more hours and Ben will be meeting up with us here in Ubud tomorrow.

Ubud! We got on a bus this morning for the hour-long ride to Ubud. For those of you that have read Eat, Pray, Love (which, by now I'm guessing, you've all figured out is the book whose author I was referring to in earlier entries), you'll remember Ubud as the site of Elizabeth Gilbert's visit to Bali in the third part of her personal journey. In her email to me before I left, she recommended we stay at the Ubud Inn and be sure to ask for Mario. Those of you that have read the book will also remember Mario as the man that brought Liz to the medicine man, Ketut Liyer, and was helpful in many other ways.

The bus driver dropped us off at Monkey Forest road and we walked by a myriad of colorful stalls selling batik fabrics, bags, dresses, necklaces, and various figurines. I should also add that on our drive we passed through a town with endless rows of Buddhist and Hindu statues by which I was so captivated that by the time I realized I might want to take a picture of all of them, they had passed me by. But back to town...after turning down many many offers for "transport" and "taxi" we finally found the Ubud Inn but not until after we passed the Monkey Forest itself. We have yet to go inside, but there are enough monkeys hanging out in the street and making lots of noise in the trees for you to know that there are, in fact, monkeys in the aptly named Monkey Forest.

Laura and I settled in to our lovely room on the beautiful grounds of the Ubud Inn. The Ubud Inn is exactly the kind of place you want to stay when you think of staying in Bali. Beautiful gardens, a refreshing pool, a friendly staff, spacious rooms with balconies, and nice lighting. There is nothing to complain about. Mario was not in when we arrived, so Laura and I decided to cool off in the pool and clean up. As it was close to 3:00 and we hadn't eaten lunch, we headed back to the street when we were greeted and welcomed by yet another friendly staff member. When I asked him his name, sure enough it was Mario. I told him that we had come to the Ubud Inn just to find him because Elizabeth Gilbert had told us to and he could not have been more delighted. He excused himself from the people he had been talking to and eagerly tended to us to make sure that we were all taken care of. He said that many many people come to see the "medicine man and the medicine woman. But very few people come to see Mario." I said, "Well, we are here to see Mario!" I think he is literally the nicest person I have ever met in my life. Tomorrow he will take us all around the area: to the artist colony, the mountain and the rice terraces, a temple, a local living compound, and probably to his personal home for us to meet his son. And something about a place where good and evil fight, but sometimes good wins and sometimes bad wins, so this will go on until eternity. I suspect I will find out more about that tomorrow.

When I said "thank you" to him in his language, he said, "Oh! Tomorrow we will only speak Indonesian then!" This, of course, was followed by a huge smile and a great laugh. The day after tomorrow, he is arranging for us to go white water rafting and then to have a full beauty treatment from Wayan, a friend of Ms. Gilbert's. He said that Ketut Liyer's place has gotten very commercial and while they used to go and make an offering and a donation, now it costs 300,000 rupiah (about $30 USD) to get your palm read, so maybe it was not worth our money. I have decided to fully trust Mario and do whatever it is that he tells me to do for my stay in Ubud. So we had lunch where he directed us and I had a crispy duck and a fresh mango shake. I miss my coconut shakes from Phi Phi, but fresh mango will certainly do.

We spent the evening checking out some of the local shops and stalls, where everyone wants to sell you something for good luck or for a little less if you take it right now instead of coming back tomorrow. On top of that, everyone wants to know where we are from and if we are sisters. Much more inquisitive than the people we encountered in Thailand. Also, we've noticed much more catcalling/unwated attention here than in Thailand (were there was none). I think we'll be just fine though, especially with Mario by our side.