Bali!

Alright here we go again and welcome to my trip around the world.I am writing from a hot little internet cafe in Ubud, Bali. It's hot like India hot.

I left Los Angeles on Tuesday night, using my cell phone for the last time in 6 weeks as I boarded the plane and called the wise Alysha Quinn and demanded a good quote to start my journey with. "Live in the moment" she said. It was a 14 hour plane ride to Taipei and I was able to get a full night's sleep and watch 2 movies. I saw the sun rise in Taipei and then got on a 6 hour plane ride to Denpasar, Bali. Sat next to a nice old asian lady who gave me some kind of fruit i've never had, looked like a little apple. I tried to ask what it was but all she could say was "it's clean."

I made it to Bali just fine. My lugguage did not. In all of my international travels I've always carried on my luggage for 2 reasons: to avoid hassle on checking in and arriving and to not risk losing my things. Lesson learned. It took so long to check my bags at LAX that I barely made the flight and when I got there there was a sign with my name on it telling me to go to lost and found. Good news is they know where my luggage is and it will be delivered to me this afternoon. I had all my essentials with me and was able to easily and cheaply buy a couple dresses and slippers when I got here to hold me over. So it really wasn't a big deal.

Anyway when I got to Bali I paid for my Visa and went through customs and when I got outside into the hot and humid Bali air. there was a gem named Agus amongst other drivers holding a sign with my name in it. I arranged airport pick up through my accomadations which is a family run bed and breakfast type place called Teba House in Ubud. It was a lovely hours drive to Ubud in his air conditioned van and Agus was a great guide answering all my questions.

We got to Teba House around 5pm and it was like walking into a beautiful tropical garden. There are only seven rooms there, each with their own porch surrounded by trees and flowers facing a small inner courtyard. The rooms are bungalow like and simple but has a hot water, a western toilet, and ceiling fan. And it's only about $17 US a night. As I settled in a Balinese boy brought me tea and sat and chatted with me. I had dinner at an open air restaurant and had some tofu curry while watching workers in a rice field as the sun set.

Bali seems like the exact combination of Hawaii and India. It's much less intense than India but the driving, street vendors, shops, and heat is very familiar. Like Hawaii it's very green and has that something in the air that makes life happen just a little slower.

I somehow manganged to avoid jetlag and my sleep schedule is synchronized with the time. I have no idea what the time difference is and I dont want to know. I dont even care what time it is here! I got a good nights sleep and was served an awesome breakfast of banana pancakes, fresh fruit, and tea on my porch this morning. Met a french family who are staying there too. And now I am wandering around Ubud. I chose to stay here because it's known to be more of an aritistic community and calmer than the beach areas.

Anyway, so far so good. I refuse to use my phone but I'll be checking my email about every other day. Hope all is well wherever you are reading this from.