I just realized that we are halfway through Crosby & Hope's Road films. The Road to Zanzibar, The Road to Bali, The Road to Morocco, and this week we'll knock off The Road to Hong Kong. I may have to schedule a trip to Singapore, Rio, and umm, Utopia to round out the collection...
Did you ever watch 'Casablanca' and think 'this
dialogue is really cliched', followed by the immediate realization that Casablanca IS the original, and everything else has striven to copy it? This is how I found myself thinking of Bali this morning as I wandered the bamboo and palm tree-lined streets. It is just so perfectly what you think of an island paradise. Take your biggest Indiana Jones and Disney-fied Tiki Room, Adventureland, Polynesian fantasy, and this is Bali. It really is a bit of magic. (and despite what Rogers & Hammerstein would have you believe, it is NOT in the South Pacific, but in the Indian Ocean directly north of Australia. go figure).
Yesterday we visited a most mystic and spooky place, the monuments of Gunung Kawi.
http://www.balivision.com/Article_Resources/gunung_kawi.asp
I tried to find a good picture, but nothing does this place justice. Nestled 300 VERY LONG AND STEEP steps down the green rice terraces in a valley, these are enormous stone monuments cut into the rocks. No one knows why they are there, but they are amazing. Of course, climbing up and out in the intense humidity and heat I found myself wondering why mystic and beautiful places can't be found on flat ground, but that is neither here nor there. :)
Matt had sampled all the Balinese dishes except for one- babah gulig, or roast piglet. After our climb, we found a joint frequented by the locals, famous for pig. The roast pig hanging in the doorway was all they served, and locals crammed into spots on the floor grubbing into their pig parts. Matt was in (for lack of a better term) hog heaven. A true Balinese experience for $3. Afterwards, Matt decided to revisit the spa for another round of massage. Suffice to say I think it is the wild variance of experiences on Bali that make it so compelling.
Today Matt went to cooking school at Casa Luna Cooking School (http://www.casalunabali.com/). I amused myself by wandering through Ubud's palace and temple, which are hidden back from the road and therefore quite astounding in their beauty. But for the most part it was a lazy day, enjoying the sunshine (a veritable monsoon blew through yesterday), the Bintang beer, and relaxing by the pool. This is our last night in Ubud; tomorrow we go south the Kuta, a famous beachy area known for the world's prettiest sunsets and sadly, the 2002 Al Qaeda bombings. We have sprung for a private
villa on the beach, so despite my lack of fondness for beaches I am looking forward to possibly hassling some servants in an imperial manner. Hmm, maybe not.
Well it's dinner time, and we are off...cheers and
chat later.