it begins: Indonesia

After an evening layover in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, Sarah, Mark and I touched down on Bali, a small bustling island in eastern Indonesia, popular for its Hindu temples, beaches, and indigenous art scene.

Lindsey arrived several hours later, after a heroic 26 hr journey from NY that involved a refueling stop in Anchorage, Alaska. We were all happy to see her awesome red hair. AND SO THE TRIP BEGAN.Mark bartered a cheap taxi to our hotel, about 45mins away in a small beach town called Sanur. Taxi slalomed through heavy traffic on small winding streets full of people, construction, chickens, and stray dogs. scooters are everywhere and immediately exploit any openings in the traffic. it's amazing any of the cars still have their side view mirrors. Petrol is sold in plastic bottles in booths on the roadside.

Smells are great. Spicy, tangy, meaty smells. We pass a lot of construction. sidewalks sometimes have holes in them that drop 4' to where water flows below. a literal tourist trap. Everythign here is somewhere between being built, rebuilt, and eroding away. I see one man operating a jackhammer in sandals, which is just cool. Whole families pile onto scooters, and, though the driving age here is 18, we've seen children as young as 10, sometimes three to one bike, zipping past.
Our hotel in Sanur is really nice. tile and old polished wood and with a garden abutting an ornate temple. we dropped off our bags and headed into town.

Most people here are poor, but they don't beg, instead they offer "services", which can be anything from a ride in their car (hello- taxi, taxi!) to a curbside massage. Art stands are everywhere. Clothing, trinkets, masks, for example, and all of them full of color (even fishing boats are works of art). Lots of stray dogs, too (and rabies, we've been told), to say nothing of our fellow hoard of photo-snapping Caucasians (it's peak tourist season).

The next day we hire a driver (a sweet man named Wayan), who, for $35, drives us around Bali for the day. We visit several pretty beaches and then make our way (along with what seems like half the hoard) to one of the more famous temples in the area. It's perched high on a cliff and overlooks the ocean and is equipped with monkeys (monkeys trained to pickpocket items from tourists who then have to pay a handler to retrieve the items... which we witnessed, a confused Japanese couple).

Then, as the sun set, we were herded into a small colosseum to see a traditional "fire dance." A cast iron serpent with many heads had each of its mouths stuffed with fuel and was then ignited. then forty or so bare chested men emerged, surrounded the thing, and sitting cross-legged began fluttering the their hands toward the flames in tempo with the rhythm, whch they produced using an array of complex vocalizations. Eerie and very cool. eventually, other dancers in costumes emerged, one of which was a large baboon.

Afterward, the Caucasian hoard dispersed, most of them packed as we were into the backseat of a local hired "driver." yes, there was a traffic jam on the way back to the hotel. and yes, Wayan confirmed that the extent of the hoard and the traffic are about ten years old. Lifestyles here have had to change fast.

Tomorrow Wayan will drive us to Ubud, the cultural and literal center of Bali. We are expecting it to be less crowded and touristy. And in teh backs of our minds, of course, is the fact that soon we will be far away from such things.