Bali Hai...

We've made it, finally, to Bali Indonesia. We arrived here about two days ago, bleary-eyed after forty hours in transit from Washington, DC. Our trip was delayed by the usual- poor weather, last minute gate changes, and a surprise layover in Anchorage, Alaska (although it was beautiful to see the rugged Alaskan landscape, bathed in the reddish-orange glow of 24 hour daylight as we landed at 3:00 AM). As soon as we reached Indonesia, though, our spirits lifted immediately... it's beautiful here, and the people we encountered were extremely eager to talk and easy to smile. Our airport pick-up is a local guy named Made, who, as we have learned, like most Balinese, likes to talk, and loves to ask personal questions off the bat. We learn from Made (pronounced "Mah-Day") that most Balinese have one of four names- all indicating birth order. Made means "second." We asked what happens when a fifth child is born, and were told that they simply start over again with "first." Many families as a result have several sets of children named first, second, and so on.

We picked the quieter town of Sanur as our first stop, or "Snore" as it's jokingly referred to by the Australian party population that prefers wilder, rowdier Kuta. We are staying in a lovely guesthouse called Flashbacks that has bungalows and rooms situated in a private, small garden right off the main drag here in Sanur. The price is good- at $21 per night, this is definitely moderate (or the highest end of budget) for accommodations on Bali, but hey, we wanted a soft landing for our first few days.

We spent our first afternoon and day getting our bearings, indulging in the cheap, tasty restaurants in our neighborhood ($3 entrees and 90 cent beers at nice places; even cheaper at food stalls), and checking out the beach, where we spent the majority of yesterday afternoon. It was naive of me to think that this would translate to an afternoon of solitude; it was quite to the contrary. The touts and hawkers walk up and down the shoreline, desperate to tempt potential customers with excursions, massages, pedicures, etc. A guy named Komang ("third") stopped by our beach chairs eager to make a business pitch and we ended up discussing everything from religious tension on Bali to the ghosts that inhabit all Balinese homes. The 30 minute chat was much more of a cultural exchange than a cross examination. Komang, like most Balinese, is Hindu, and as his main source of income is the tourist industry he has a somewhat colored view of some of the more conservative Muslims in Indonesia. He discussed this at length with us, always emphasizing that Bali is different from the rest of the country, and that we may not receive such a warm welcome in Java. We also discussed the negative impact that perceptions of Indonesia as a "terrorist haven" have had on Bali's tourism industry. The recent terrorism threat posted by the government of Australia has many locals in the industry fearful for a relapse in the tourism drought that followed the 2002 Bail bombings, and everyone is quick to attest to the safety of the island. Komang went so far as to say that he would welcome President Bush here, "with open arms!" Furthering this point were the many tee-shirts we saw in outdoor market stalls with slogans such as "Osama Don't Surf" and "F*(expletive) Terrorists."

Speaking of surfing, I'm hoping to learn later this week when we make it down to Kuta.

Today we took a driving tour which included the inland culture mecca of Ubud. We travelled up to the volcano of Gunung Agung, saw a traditional dance performance and visited different artists' villages. Once we hit our backpacking groove, life will not be as plush as it's been... but we've really enjoyed our first few days here. Tomorrow it's on to Ubud, the cultural navel of Bali. We will update with pictures and a list of our gear, soon, so check back!

Many thanks for all of your emails, and please keep in touch!

Here are some more pictures of our first few days on Bali in Sanur, and Ubud: