This is country #41 since we started our journey 5 years ago, and #51 in total for both of us, and there’s no question– Asia is different than almost any place in the world.

First off, it’s busy, which should come as no surprise since Indonesia has the fourth largest population in the world. And there are bikes, scooters, everywhere, 1.25m in the entire country from what I understand. Our original plan was to get a scooter when we got here, since that is fairly common. But after riding tens of thousands of miles on motorcycles over the last 5 years, this place truly frightens me!

I consider myself a pretty brave and adventurous motorcycle rider, and luckily we have had no mishaps over the years. These bikes are all small, and like little bees scattering everywhere, and I find it too risky in case there is a mishap. The young kids, if they should fall, can walk away, and heal quickly. At this point in my life I don’t think I can say the same. So, without focusing on paranoia, I’m staying with cautious… There are other towns in Bali, and certainly in Indonesia, that are smaller and not as chaotic, so we will wait until we get there to get a bike.

Meanwhile, we have an absolutely amazing room with one of the sweetest hosts we have ever had! It is large, with a kitchen, and one of the most distinctive baths ever, since the top of the shower is open to the outside! It lets in a lot of light, but our initial fear of mosquitoes has not proven to be true. And we are thankful for that. Prior to getting here we had two main concerns: bugs and humidity. We are pleasantly surprised by both, and much less intense than expected. Yes, it is humid, but we have beautiful breezes like Mexico. Every morning we have breakfast served by our lovely hostess, Yanni, which is an impressive spread of eggs, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, coffee, and fruit. And that is all part of the price of less than $500 USD, plus the owners have a sister property just 10 minutes away, and they allow us to use pool over there. Sweet!

We arrived last week and stayed with a friend, a fellow American, who has been living here for several years with his Indonesian girlfriend. They were kind enough to host us, and bring us up to Ubud, and we went to a restaurant by one of the rice fields. This place is known as the cultural and tourist capital of Bali, and even though it is not high season, it is still busier than we like! Bargains, bargains, everywhere, from clothing, to jewelry, to food, to anything else you want. Including massages. Without exaggeration, you cannot walk more than 5 or 10 minutes without running into a massage or beauty parlor. Kathleen found a great one and has been there twice, and I enjoyed the best 1 hour massage in my life for the equivalent of about $10 USD. I decided that this is the place for me to permanently work out some of those old scar adhesions and muscular restrictions.

We did do one tourist thing so far, when we visited the Monkey Forest. Quite the trip! One of the first things that they suggest is, “Don’t panic,” and that is in case the monkeys jump on you. They did not do that with us, and were reasonably well-behaved, and it truly was an enjoyable hour that we spent there.

Meanwhile, the food everywhere has been quite yummy, and we are cautious with the water, and so far, so good! In the next few days we will start venturing out to other cities to see what they hold.