The drive to Ubud was just as beautiful as all the other drives on Bali. We were able to see some incredible views of the volcano from the other side at the top of the crater and took some good photos. During the drive we were able to stop off at some of the famous rice teraces just outside Ubud and take some great pics as well. They are steeped like stairs and the entire mountainside seems to be just one green staircase leading down to the bottom.

Once we got to Ubud we met up with some friends we had made back in Batur and stayed at the same guest house as them. We had planned on staying with a couchsurfer but decided to stay the first night back in Ubud with our friends and would try and couchsurf later in the week. That night Greg decided to head to bed early and I had the first girls night since we left 5 months ago and it was tons of fun.

We had a late start since we decided to preparty a bit at our guest house to save a little money and didn't make it out till almost midnight. I should have known from my previous time in Ubud that the place shuts down early but we arrived just as they were calling last call. We ended up meeting a local (from Java) who is an artist and took us back to his gallery to show us some of his pieces. His artwork was really beautiful but totally out of my price range but definitely great to check out.

One of the things you can't avoid in Ubud (or all of Bali really) is someone asking you for "transport." The government has outlawed meter taxis to try and ensure the locals get the job of transporting foreigners around on the backs of their mopeds. The result, unfortunately, is that people from nearby islands have flocked to Bali and you can't walk one block without being hounded by someone offering you "transport." I don't even know why someone would take a taxi since all of Ubud is 2 blocks but the guys are everywhere and it's totally annoying.

Unfortunately, I ended up getting really, really sick and spent the rest of my time in Ubud glued to a toilet. We somehow ended up staying at a place where the toilet could only be flushed manually by a bucket which was not cool considering it had to be flushed every 10 minutes. The other fun aspect to our bathroom was there was a huge hole in the wall that was like a window that could never close (so much for privacy!) and was right next to a fellow guests' room (super embarrassing to say the least).

In any event I spent the first few days refusing to admit that I was sick and just took charcoal and then finally gave in and took the meds. During my "downtime" Greg and I got through all three Godfather's and I caught up on some much needed sleep. Finally enough was enough and I couldn't stand wasting more time in bed so we decided to head down to Kuta and see what all the fuss was about.

Things we checked out:

Ceremony- We got in touch with a local that was listed as a couchsurfer and were invited to attend a ceremony at his temple. I think the celebration was for the full moon but I am not totally sure. He picked us up on a super rainy night and drove us back to his family's home. It seems that the majority of people live with their families until they get married and move out.

We hung out on the porch area in front of Inyoman's room on an area rug (no furniture). We learned all about his family members and what they all do for a living while we ate some local cookies and soda that he offered us. I was just starting to get sick this night so unfortunately, I wasn't in the most outgoing of moods and tried my best to be social.

It turns out that you have to wear the local "costume" while attending the ceremony at the temple so the family ran around trying to get a shirt that could actually fit me. Since my body is huge compared to their petite asian bodies it was hard to find something to fit me but they finally found me the see-through lacy top that was super short on my arms. Hehe They next found me a full on corset which I''ve never worn in my life and was pretty much the worst thing ever for my already hurting tummy.

The outfit was completed with a sash tied around the lacy top over the corset and a beautiful piece of fabric that was tied around me like a sarong. The family has a small store in front of their home and they even went so far as to give me brand new sequined sandals to wear since my flip flops weren't appropriate.

Greg had it a little bit easier and only had to wear a sarong and some fabric they tied around his head like a scarf. I was so moved by how these perfect strangers were so welcoming and how they went so far out of their way to incorporate Greg and I into their ritual.

After hanging out a little more we went to a temple where the gold dragon and a few other crucial pieces to the celebration were being stored. There were several other boys and men all dressed up just hanging out waiting for the rest of the procession to get to where we were so we could continue onwards.

I was in so much pain and the corset was just killing me that I finally couldn't bear it anymore and had to change back into my clothes and call it a night. I felt so bad that this family had gone so far out of their way for us but I just couldn't take the pain anymore. I also felt bad that this seemed like a really awesome ceremony to be a part of and it seemed like Greg was going to miss out on it because of me.

The family decided that our friend would continue on with the procession and dropped Greg and I off and were super gracious about the whole thing. The older sister sat in the back of the car with me and Greg sat up front. The whole time the sister was telling me how beautiful my "white" skin is and how her skin is so ugly.

It makes me sad to think that so many other women from other cultures put light-skinned women on such a pedestal and have such poor body image. Ever since we have arrived to Thailand and the rest of SE Asia there are all kinds of products to whiten the skin. I wish these woman could accept their own true beauty and not compare themselves to other women around the world.

We left the family apologizing profusely for making them miss the beginning of the ceremony. They invited us to come again in a few days and I had every intention of meeting up with them again except my body refused to cooperate and get better. Despite not turning out how I had hoped, I had a really great time meeting the family and participating in their ritual.

Half day spa- You can't walk down any of the main streets in Ubud without seeing a spa every other shop. Since I didn't take advantage of the Aurvedic massage in India nor the popular "thai" massage in Thailand, I decided a massage in Bali was long overdue.

We found a cheaper spa that offered a great price for a full body massage, a facial, manicure and pedicure, and a conditioning treatment for your hair. I have never had a half day spa package so I was really looking forward to enjoying the special treatment. We were headed down to Kuta right after the treatments and I was still dealing with being sick but Greg and I decided it was worth doing it.

It was really nice to be pampered, especially after being so sick for so many days. I have to say that I think you get what you pay for and after having received all the treatments, we were a little disappointed.. I felt like the entire process was very rushed and therefore parts were left out and incomplete. That said, it was really nice to be pampered and while I've learned my lesson in choosing a spa differently, I'm glad we went.

Kuta

We were told the Gilli Islands are the place to go if you're a backpacker and want to chill out (which we really wanted to check out but didn't have the time). We were also told if you want to party and hang out in a beach town check out Kuta. From what I understand, it's cheaper for Australian's to fly to Bali than it is for them to fly to the other side of their country. So basically, Kuta is a huge party town for Australian's.

We decided we wanted to save some money and since we were still hanging out with our friend Angie from Scotland, we rented a jeep. The cheapest car you can rent is a beat up pick up jeep with the drivers seat on the right side of the car and the gear shift on the drivers left side. Despite my still being sick, it turned out I was the best candidate for being the driver so I decided to give it a go.

First off, I have driven a stick shift car since I sold my car before the Peace Corps, which was about 4 years ago. Second, I have never driven a car where I had to change gears with my left hand and third, I have NEVER driven on the left hand side of the road. As I'm sure you can imagine, it was a crazy ride and actually went pretty smoothly until we hit chaotic Denpesar and I felt like I was driving back in NYC.

There really are no rules and people driving the motor scooters just weave in and out and all around you. I would be driving on a road and the next thing I knew I was driving into oncoming traffic and I had to make an immediate decision to either go right or force my way into the left hand lane. Despite being super stressful and mixing up the blinker and window wiper a few times, I had a lot of fun.

It's unbelievable to me that all we had to do was sign one form and put down our address (which we could have made up if we wanted to) and pay cash for the car. They never asked for our credit card information or anything to protect them if we got in an accident, just the $9/day cash upfront. Crazy!

Kuta reminds me a lot like what Phuket was like only on a much, much grander scale and with way fewer lady boys. There is one main street that seems to go on forever that is a few blocks up from the beach that runs parallel with the water. This street has most of the bars and places to go out dancing.

The street along the water's edge has a huge Hard Rock Cafe and a few nice restaurants and a mini mart or two. The other main street is Poppies II and it is totally lined with stalls selling you bumper stickers, t-shirts, girls offering massages, and anything else beachy that you don't really need. It's basically a really long gauntlet and gets old when your hotel is off it because you have to walk up it all the time. Hehe

I basically passed out as soon as we got to our hotel room. Angie and Greg made sure I had gatorade and took off to get food and hit up the internet cafe. I refused to stay in the next night so I popped an imodium and hit the town. I thought that a Saturday night would be pumping and was excited to see the famous Kuta nightlife.

For whatever reason, it turned out the nightlife was pumping the night before, when I went to bed early. I was still not able to eat much but Greg and Angie were hungry so we spent over an hour trying to find a decent priced restaurant that was still open after 10pm. After walking forever they finally gave up and just accepted that fast food seemed to be the only option. Lame!

Once everyone was full we were exhausted from a full day of water sliding and had seen that everything was pretty dead from looking for food earlier. We finally admitted defeat and met up with a friend at a bar and then rushed home since my meds had worn off. Super lame.

Kuta seems like a place to visit for those that like to sun on the beach, surf super lame waves, and party it up at night time. I'm sure we would have had a great time if I hadn't been so sick and made it out on a night when people were in town. Otherwise, it's a really touristy town with higher prices than other parts of Bali. That said, everything in Bali is still super cheap compared to where most visitors are coming from so I can definitely see the appeal.

Our last morning we decided to see one more temple before boarding our plane to Kuala Lampur. We took a gorgeous drive past fields and fields of rice terraces out to the temple. The drive back was just as nice until we ran out of gas and were worried we would be late for our plane. Of course everything worked out and the plane ended up being super delayed (Air Asia says they give free vouchers for delays over 2 hours but we are having a rough time getting a response from them).

Overall our time in Bali was spent with a lot of frustration and that was mostly because we are on a tight budget and are beyond done with being ripped off. I think we would have totally loved Bali if we were just visiting for a week or so and had time to visit the Gilli Islands and Flores (for diving). The people truly are nice and giving once you get them out of the tourist mode/mentality and I'm thankful we got to see that side.

Things we checked out-

Waterbom- Despite still being sick I was not going to let my body get in my way of enjoying a day of waterslides at a waterpark with Greg and Angie. There were only a few things that I was excited to do in Bali and the waterslide park was pretty much at the top of my list. We had been told by a couchsurfer in the area that the park was totally lame and overpriced so I went in with super low expectations.

We ended up spending the entire day at the park running around sliding down every single slide they have. They had a hilarious slide that was basically like a toilet bowl that you got flushed down and an awesome boomerang slide that gave you major air when you went with a partner. I had forgotten that you have to climb tons of staircases to get to the top of the slides and our bodies got super worked by the end of the day. I had the time of my life and have instilled a new love for waterslides. Wahoo!!

Tanah Lot- We had all these plans to see a few temples at sunset and watch the famous dances that accompany them but my getting sick threw that all out the window (bummer). Since we had the rental car until we dropped it off at the airport, we decided to head out and see "the most photographed temple in Bali."

I have never seen anything like what we experienced at this temple. After having visited most of the rest of the island, one would think that besides Kuta, no one was visiting Bali. I think that's because they were all at this one temple. Just walking the strip of vendors selling tourist stuff was ridiculous because there were so many people you could barely walk.

Greg got some really great photos of the area around the beach by the temple that is literally covered by tourists from Java. I honestly can't remember a single tourist attraction that I have seen in my whole life that was this crowded. Greg and I were asked to take photos with tons of the college kids that were on school break which cracked us up.

The temple is quite beautiful on a rock surrounded by the ocean. There is another temple that's on more of a bridge-like rock that's nearby and pretty cool to check out as well. I just can't get over how many people were there and shudder to think how many tourists will be there when the tourist season starts in a few months.