Hot Ubud Nights

OMG! It is sweltering in Ubud. Humid and hot. It hasn't rained since we arrived in Bali! And Ubud is the kind of town that you want to walk around in. Suzanne and I arrived here 2 days ago and have been getting into the whole scene - shopping, eating, drinking, shopping. The town is crawling with foreigners; mostly Australians, French and English. Many of them have young children in tow. We each have a simple bungalow at a family run place called Sama's Cottages. The gardens around the bungalows are well kept and flower filled; lit by little lanterns at night. I have a four poster bed with mosquito netting all around, a simple ceiling fan and a basic bathroom. Breakfast and tea is brought to my veranda each morning as soon as they see I'm awake. There is very little noise made by the other people staying at Sama's - there are 8 bungalows, but the noises from the wildlife kept me awake a lot last night. The gecko near my bathroom lets out a huge burping sound about every fifteen minutes - hopefully he's catching and eating many mosquitos! The roosters start crowing at around 5am and then the birds start! All in all though it's a nice basic place to stay for 150,000Rp/$14US. The best part about it is the small COLD swimming pool that has made our afternoons bearable.
Ubud has grown and changed since I was here 5 years ago - one of my favorite places to chill out is gone and the guesthouse I stayed at 10 years ago is barely recognizable. The town keeps expanding and the people keep coming. So many people here compared to Lovina Beach were half the restaurants and businesses have closed due to poor tourism. But some things remain the same - there are TONS of places to hang out, get a drink, have some good food, and people watch. Suzanne and I have been picking a place nightly where we can sit and play backgammon while consuming our nightly ration of Arak cocktails or Bintangs. During the day - we shop! Silver, bags, incense, soap - you name it Ubud makes it. It's a bit overwhelming sometimes. Our Indonesian is getting good - we can carry on a light conversation - "How are you/Fine", "Good Morning/Good Night", "See you next time", "No, I don't need any". It's fun to see the Balinese smile when we speak a few words in their language. he worst part about Ubud is the heat - it's around 87 degrees now at 2100, but the humidity is at 85% - which translates into sweat pouring down your back and clothes sticking to you. We've become very familiar with out local laundry lady!
Tomorrow I think we're both looking forward to our sessions at the Nur Salon - Suzanne is getting the full on Balinese Massage/Scrub/Flower Bath - takes 2 hours! I'm opting for a 30 minute foot reflexology and an hour long facial - Ahhhh. Then we'll probably do what we've been doing - shop, eat, drink, swim and eventually sleep. W have our tickets to Lombok in a few days - onward to the Gili Islands. I'll try to post more pictures soon but now Suzanne says it's time for dinner!