Sunday 28 November 2010

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia; Sunday 28 November 2010 בס"ד

Woke up at 0730, walked over to Dapper's hotel at 0800, and told him to meet me at 0930 by the park. Went and had breakfast and used the internet, and was able to get in touch with Joe Gruber, who I haven't spoken with in months. Met up with Dapper, and we got a transport man to take us to the volcano at the north end of the island. On the way, we stopped at the Goa Gajah, or “Elephant Cave,” a Balinese Hindu temple carved into a cave with very intricate stonework. There were some tourists there taking photos of the little Hindu kids dressed up in their white robes, and the kids were sticking their tongues out and giving the finger, the rock on, and the shocker. It was pretty funny, but goes to show the cultural influences that reach out to little kids in a holy temple. Inside the cave, to the left was a shrine for Vishnu and on the right were the three spiritual stones (reference Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). Outside was a recently excavated spritual bath fountain, and past that outside of the wall was the spot where a huge Buddha had fallen during the 1917 earthquake. We made friends with Ayu, a woman who sold water, and she gave us a detailed history of it all. We left with our transport man, and drove for awhile up and up and up til we were finally at the rim of the volcano's crater. We were taken to an all-you-can-eat buffet on the ridge with a spectacular patio view in open air sticking out over the ledge. After we ate, we decided to return towards Ubud, but first stop in Mas, a woodcarving village near Ubud. We went around sea chest hunting, from shop to shop, but we only found one and it wasn't very nice. We returned to Ubud, and went to the local handicraft market, where we made “good business” and got some goodies on the cheap. Then I found an artist to draw for me, and there I remained for a few hours. After, went to that same restaurant/bar as last night, and met up with many more people. More rounds of Brem Arak, then to the hookah bar, where we had to leave after [person] broke a hookah by tripping on the hose (...amateurs). Back to the room, and bed.