4 bintang + a nasi goreng to go......

India.....UAE......Oman......Blighty......Singapore......Bali!

(Time=abstract concept at the mo.....feels later + a bit earlier all at once)

Me = FRIED.....

(as is the following):

SELAMAT PAGI...!!!!! (apparently) - Balispeak = mornin'

Sooooo....Bali,.....Beautiful Bali (well, the bit in the mid round Ubud's nice enough!) + our resort (pertiwi) is situated on the coolest street.....MONKEY FOREST ROAD - cool pool, + beautiful gardens full of colorful flowers where lizards sunbathe 'midst fish-filled ponds + fountains spout as frogs jump from lilly to pad + butterflies....um?....flutter?.....peace shattered by blunderingnoisyclumsytouristtwat with camera clickclickclicketyclick!

Ubud is all peace + quiet + hawkers + virgin sacrifices (probably). The stall lined streets sell wares produced locally + they are v.arty. I like the grotesque wood carved masks that they say scare off evil spirits (hasn't worked on Ali yet! (hahaha!))

The local folk offer quaint little 4"x4" bamboo trays to their gods with rice + cake + flowers + burning incense atop. They place these by statues; temples; on cars; tables - Hindu Elephant Like God Thing Ganesha......YOU ROCK!

Terror in Me Kazi! - (terima kasih?) i am told this means thanks. Havent plucked up the courage to use yet as:

a) I might laugh hysterically!
b)recipient may grab huge machete like object + rush to the bathroom expecting some pygmy-beast to attack
c)might receive in response 'flipflip hallyhallywagwag!' (or somesuch)

I triumphantly purchase an ugly bug-eyed mask (with fangs!) as Ali agreed to the deal as long as i dont put it up b4 xmas (as if!). The gappy toothed hawker had been bugging me for days - start price 200'000 - bought price 80'000...! (Barter that!!!) self-satisfied smile evaporated as waiter announces that a good deal would have been 50'000 - ho-hum 4 pound 50 for a hand-carved maskbatbugeyedfangything (in wood!) that will scare off bad spirits from its future home (somewhere at the back of a dusty cupboard still wrapped in this self-same newspaper) seemed a bit of a bargain to me!

Left Ubud + the midday drive to Sanur + our beach hotel was a fascinating slideshow of colours. Rice paddies shared land with temples + ravines + statues; as palms stood high in banana groves in a green tropical world under blu skies. Our environmentally friendly gas-guzzler belched the occasional (atmospheric?) smoke-ring into the mix as farmland became a tourist land; forest became settlement + nature gave way to billboards + shops + highways + hotels.

I'll miss You (u) bud! (geddit!)