Ubud

Yesterday we arrived to an inland town called Ubud. It's a busy little town, with a lot of nice cafes restaurants and boutiques. Not a place with lots of nightlife but still a funky atmosphere.

Although we are staying right in the center our room (bottom half of a bungalow) is very quiet. The only disconcerting thing is that the doors don't really lock securely, because (according to management) they are traditional Balian wooden doors (and indeed they are very exquisitely carved). It's a little unnerving from a security point of view so I put all our valuables in the hotel's safe, not just the passports and tickets which we would routinely put in a safe.

The bungalows have a decent sized pool so the kids are happy. This morning Gyorgyi and the girls went off to see a Botanic gardens -- the highlight are the flesh-eating plants. I passed on that and strolled around.

We plan to be here for 8 nights. Maybe we will leave a day or two earlier and spend time somewhere in the mountains before our next destination on the east coast.

Flights to the island of Java need to be booked for later in May, which is not too easy as the airlines don't do online bookings and mostly need payment in cash. However Ubud has no shortage of travel agents so we should be able to sort it out here I hope. We don't have any accomodation booked there yet either so we might just wing it and find something there on the day.

One of the unusual things on Bali is the local's habit of putting the offerings for the gods lying on the street. These are usually a small decorative arrangement consisting of some kind of foodstuff like rice or ritz crackers. One has to be careful not to step on the things and it isn't always possible. The Lonely Planet guide book says not to worry about stepping on them, just don't aim to do it!

Tomorrow and Sunday Gyorgyi has a course planned, and with the girls I will probably visit the Monkey Sanctuary just down the road, where the monkeys run wild around a temple area. Caution is advised as the monkeys will happily pilfer your food, sunhats, etc.

No swine fever reported here yet, we're geographically about as far from it as we can get so hopefully it blows over before we return.