Kuta, Bali

Selamat malam!

That means, "Good evening!" in Indonesian (though a lot of people here speak the language local to the island of Bali). We are all sitting in different internet cafes across the city, trying not to overload the connections at each of the small internet clubs.

For the past couple of days, we haven't done much other than try to adjust - to the island, to the time zones (I was feeling really away at 4am, the rest of the group was feeling alive at 4pm), to the food, to the craziness of the city, to being in a traveling group, and so on. It's been a nice adjustment, full of 10,000 rupiah lunches (a little over a dollar) and 20,000 ($2.20 or something) rupiah surfboard rentals. Probably the hardest thing to get over is the furor of the sales pitches from the street vendors. They REALLY want to make that sale. The good part is that you can bargain them down to 25% of their asking price. The bad part is that you get asked constantly to buy things. They have people wandering the beaches selling jewelry, art, massages, foot scrubs, kites, bows and arrows (no joke), ice cream, drinks, etc. Then just try walking down the streets - shops lined up, wall to wall, filled with goods. It's a great time when you're in the mood for shopping, but it might start to get tiresome. We did get some fresh pineapples carved up for us on the beach for about a buck each. Fantastic.





We tried to come up with some sort of itinerary for the next couple of days. We're in Kuta right now, staying at the AP Inn. Tomorrow, we'll be heading on a day trip to some Hindu temples and some forests. Then we'll be going to Denpasar (though keeping our hotel here) for a couple days in order to check out the art festival. Then we'll pack up and head off to Ubud, a more "authentic" area in the central part of Bali island. Later, we'll go to the island of Lombok, and the Gili islands too. We've heard only good things about the beautiful and peaceful surroundings of that part of Indonesia. After that, I think it's off to visit some more islands, including Java, Kalimantan, and maybe Sumatra. We've got nothing but time...

And for those of you who are interested in the surf update, we've been catching some good waves. Dani and Benjy have made great progress, both standing up and riding on the first day! They must have had some great teachers... The surf today was HUGE (big for us, that is). 5-7 foot waves. Scotty has moved to shorter and shorter boards, but Anders and I are still sticking around 7 foot. I think the one I rode for the past two days was 6' 10" x 22" x 2 1/4". I am still taking care of my ankle, and I've made great use of the duct tape and prewrap that was sent to me - thanks for keeping me supplied!



I will try not to say all the cool things; I'm sure Scotty and Anders and Dani and Benjy (DABS) will have a ton to say. DABS and I have a great time planned for the next couple of days. Look out for some more updates and some more photos. We love all of you! Thanks for putting up with us and our wish to travel halfway around the world - we're still thinking of all of you all the time.


(oh, quick note - if the parents are wondering why their kids are being stupid and withdrawing only $100 at a time from the ATMS and paying international fees every time, it's because the ATMs here won't let us take out more than that at one time. We'll have to try and find a real ATM in the city somewhere.)