Journal Entry 8 Tue. May 11, Mawar Homestay and Artist Studio, Ubad

We fired up spicy bike after breakfast in Sanur this morning.  


We have developed a great packing and attaching system.  


At this point, it would take a lot to convince either of us to give up the freedom and spontaneity we are getting from the motorcycle vs/ a hired taxi or any other method of travel.  The nose gets it's own tour of Bali, and the warm breeze is a caress on my skin.  


And there is nothing more lovely, than hearing Morgan sing little tunes, behind me while cruising along.


Stopping for petrol is always interesting.  The fuel is kept in jars on rickety shelves, sometimes out in the sun.  


Most typically, the men or younger women go and alert the most senior woman. 


She arrives with the usual warmth and open eye-contact of the Balinese, and fills the tank as if she is quenching the thirst of a good friend. 


Spicy bike is a good friend at this point, I feel we are making great progress with her and appreciate that I have overcome the more intense and frightening driving experiences.

 Driving the back roads through little villages full of wood, stone and bone carvers I got tickles in my tummy it was so beautiful, rugged and quaint.  There is just something about this humid part of the world that excites all the senses and traveling this way allows them all to come out. 

 Staying at another Homestay near the Palace and town center in Ubad we climb many steps to our room, which gives us a tiled-rooftop view and is surprisingly quiet, in fact just us again.  Morgan was a little shy to use the bathroom as it's very open and it has a few friendly bugs.  She likes the lizards though, and I think she decides on if a room is acceptable to her based on how many wall lizards are in it.  I like them myself.

The Legong dance tonight was on a beautiful stage at the back of a large Lotus pond.  We watched it from our tea-room perch on the side while we ate dinner at “The Lotus” restaurant, which was more about the show than the food.  In this show, all women dance the young girls ages 8-12 yrs are costumed up outrageously in flashy colorful sarongs with gold and more makeup than a geisha.  Performing complete ritualistic dances with specific eye and hand movements in unison while the less dressed up ladies (probably mom, grandma, sister, aunts) play all the mysterious gamelan instruments at several speeds together.  As always a priest of the Brahman caste (highest of the four main society castes) begins with a blessing and sprinkling of holy water, (they seem a bit arrogant to me).