Ubud

We rented a house on the north end of Ubud, a nice place called the Paper Lotus. To get to it we drove throught the main street in Ubud. We passed the Monkey Forest and were in traffic for a half hour driving past all the shops and restaurants. It became obvious that Ubud has become a very touristy spot. It does not seem as if much remains of the traditional arts except for the antique shops. Lots of western style clothing shops and jewelry and restaurants with international food and free wifi. WE finally arrived at our house which turned out to be the best place that we had stayed yet. Here it is:

We found a very cool coffee shop close to the monkey forests called "Coffee and Silver" it had a great style and good food too but not very Balinese...

We did a bicycle tour that bused us up to a coffee plantation for coffee, breakfast overlooking a volcano, bike downhill for 25 kilometers, and then lunch. There was lots of cool vistas that I did not photoducment... riding through rice paddies etc. George brought his camera so the following pics are courtesy of George Gibbs.

The kids were in love with the helmets!

 Jessica receiving some services from the tour's pit crew.

 Me and my machine... I've had better.

I took a little bike ride on my own to check out the local architecture. I could not find my original destination but here are some pics to give you a feel.

Next stop is the Elephant Safari Park Lodge to see elephants. Lola got to ride one and she was so excited she agreed to go all by herself. Afterward she kept talking about "her" elephant, Ramona, and now she wants to be a zoo keeper.

 After the ride Lola and Geo feed "her" elephant.

We spent went out to a restaurant called Clear for New Years Eve. They are probably better know for their blended drinks (think hippy grooviness like Ginger Mint lemongrass smoothy stuff). The most telling think I could say is that they don't even serve alcohol there... I know! Luckily we stopped and grabbed some brew from the local Circle K before going. Here is the group shot courtesy of Robyn's camera and the hostess as our photographer:

Happy new year! Next stop is Amed.

Overview of the Bali trip

We just spent three weeks in Bali and I thought that I would post an overall explanation of where we went and then do individual posts about each place. The Dhaka airport was filled with teachers and students preparing to scatter for the Christmas break. There is no shortage of people to talk to and there are many people that were on the same flight. It would be interesting to see a graphic of where everyone involved in the school traveled to because I am sure that every continent had someone from AISD on it. Not exactly carbon neutral but culturally diverse??? Here is a great pic in the Dhaka airport... I think this sign would make a great t-shirt.

The first leg was a flight from Dhaka to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia then a 5 hour lay over spent with the DenHartighs in the airport. It was great to have the time fly by socializing with friends. Next flight was to Denpasar, Bali.

We arrived and were picked up by the driver from our first lodging. Luis was super nice and talked to us about the ubiquidous statues that we saw on our drive to Sanur. Here is a pic of one such statue:

 

We got settled and then Jessica's sister, her husband and their son arrived. Good to see some family! We spent 6 days in Sanur at this place:

Then took a ferry to Nusa Lombongan (an island that is a half hour boat ride off the coast of Bali). We spent three night there in some great little huts, including Christmas day. Here is our cabana... bummer.

Next we moved to another house in Ubud. Ubud is a mid sized town in the hills and rice feilds. We had another great house and spent 6 days there.

Next we went to the North side of the island to stay in a small fishing village named Amed. Here is a pic that pretty much sums it up:

We stayed in small cabanas for three days and then back to the airport and our day long return to Dhaka. It was a great trip in many ways but the best way to explain it is this: I was actually on vacation. I did not think about work at all! We were constantly moving and doing things and really enjoying the gift of time off in a foreign place. Stay tuned for more!