Last stop, Bali

I arrived in Bali yesterday, after about a week in Sulawesi. As usual, I'm way behind on updates, but at least this time I have the excuse that this is the first real Internet cafe I've found since Malaysia. I still need to write about the diving at Sipadan, but I want to share some impressions of Bali first. If you're expecting things in chronological order, you're reading the wrong blog.

Bali is completely unlike anywhere else I've been on this trip. It's much more of a "vacation" destination than a "travel" destination (there's a big difference, as I think I've gone on about before). I'm usually not that fond of sit-on-a-beach travel destinations, but it's hard not to like Bali. Even the airport restroom fits the theme, with bowls of flower petals around the sinks and aquariums behind the urinals.

On the recommendation of other travelers, I skipped the whole 18-year-old, drunken beach party scene near the airport and headed inland to the town of Ubud. The drive through the capital felt more like Honolulu than a typical 3rd world city. The giant statues of Shiva slaying the beast-of-the-week in all the traffic circles remind you that it's definitely not Honolulu.

Ubud probably compares closest to a small town on one of the nicer Hawaiian islands (I've only been to Oahu, so can't say for sure). Of places I've been, it's probably closest to the old town of Scottsdale, AZ, except Ubud has far more art galleries and nicer restaurants (hard to imagine, if you've been there). There are well over a hundred restaurants, all trying to create the most chill, laid-back atmosphere with the best food. It's hard to resist photographing your food when it shows up, as everything is artistically presented. Any one of them could easily be my favorite restaurant in any other town, though that's not too hard as I've been places where fried rice was literally the only thing available. Prices are high by Indonesian standards, but you can still get a full meal, including appetizer and drinks for <$5 many places, or $10 at most of the top places.

Ubud is definitely trying to corner the market for the hip traveler scene. Free wifi is pretty common at cafes here, and I feel like I'm the only one who has ever dared to bring a non-Apple laptop to this town (and they're mostly the new, trendy black Macs). Fliers for yoga and meditation classes are everywhere. There seem to be almost as many day spas as restaurants. Many restaurants offer Balinese cooking classes (great deal if they can get people to pay extra to cook their own food). Though only some places are pure vegetarian, almost every dish is available without meat.

I've only found two downsides to the place so far. First are the hundreds of desperate taxi/scooter drivers. Everything is easy walking distance, so there's really no need for there to be any taxis, and they don't seem to get much business. That seems to only make them more desperate. When they ask me "Where you go?" I love answering honestly with "I have no idea!" That seems to shut them up, since they can't take me there.

The other downside is the little Hindu floral offerings setup on the sidewalks, often every few feet, right in the spots people are most likely to step. These are similar to the little disposable, floating offerings that are placed in the rivers in India. Despite the doubtless bad karma, I wouldn't feel so bad about stepping on these except that many of them are booby trapped with burning incense. Definitely not good when everyone's wearing sandals.

I'm not sure how long I'll stay in Ubud before moving on to another corner of the island. The extreme niceness of the place does get a little tiring. I'd like to do at least one day trip to see the beautiful countryside and Hindu temples around here. Then I'll probably head to one of the quieter coastal towns to do a little snorkeling and/or diving. Bali has so much variety I would have needed my whole trip to see it thoroughly, but I'm happy getting to enjoy a couple parts of the island before flying home.

It looks like I still didn't finish my write-up of diving at Sipadan. It's about half done, so hopefully I'll get it out tomorrow. For now, I have to struggle through deciding which of the 99+ other restaurants to have dinner at while fighting the temptation to go back to one of the 3 I've tried already.