Next day, we were off to Lake country north west of Ubud. GFirst stop was the Botanical gardens. These were wonderful to see. The lush vegetation was really on display. It was Sunday and there were many Balinese enjoying the gardens as well.

Then we were off to the eleven roofed lake temple that is the most common image of Bali. I'd seen the picture so many times that the real thing was more a verification than a wonder.

WE ate lunch at a restaurant by the side of the road on a ridge between two lakes. Very scenic. We skipped the waterfall opportunity.

We stopped at a number of craft places, but bought little. Back to the hotel early to meet Bob and Karen, who were arriving from Lombok.

Our activities for the next several days were done with Bob and Karen. For those of you with infinite patience and a forgiving spirit can read the details of our wanderings on Bob's RhkKmk-Part II post. (Eskrunchy-note how easily I'm passing off the agonizing details to staff. I can assure you that there is no penalty for such appropriate delegation.) I will not shirk my duty and will provide some thoughts and impressions of these days.

Our first dinner with B and K was at Cafe Wayasn. We got tricked into this by a couple also staying at the Alam Shanti. We ate the buffet of Indonesian food. It was good, but not great. We had many better meals in Ubud.

The next day was with Putu in East Bali. Bob rode in the front seat, while Beth, Karen and I were crammed into the back seat. Putu melded seamlessly into the ongoing childish banter between the POB and me. This is a real talent.

For some reason, Bob called Putu by the wrong name, i.e., Pedro. This was cause for great hilarity. Beth, Karen and I could not stop laughing. One shudders to think of the crossed neural connections that led to this blunder.

More to follow.

You had Ganja the first 2 nights? Whatever.

For me, the most striking aspect of Balinese culture was the overwhelming presence of the arts. Evereyone seemed to be an artisan of some sort: a wood carver, or a dancer, or a stone-cutter, or a gamelan player. There was such a richness to the life -- wherever I walked or went, I'd find wonderful things to look at or hear. Really an extraordinary experience.

right..passing the details off to the minions. Yours truly is guilty of no such egregious behavior... No wonder you are up and posting so fast..you are not having to consult old scribbles to find all the nitty gritty details..

How far is it from your hotel into town and what is the cost of the taxi?

rizzuto - I had the same reaction. Given how loopy they were from the long flight I was surprised that they wanted/needed any.

Note that it is gaanga, not ganja. See Bob's report for an explanation.

Can you imagine the even lengthier meal descriptions from Bob if he had the munchies?

Hi Grandpa, are you planning to ride a white water rafting, swimming in the sea with Bali Hai Cruise and ride a Harley Davidson in the mountain? You will have a lot of fun out there.

i see someone else made the same error on andys handle. lol.

who is this masked man/woman??

LOL, cruisin!

Interested to know if you are going to go to or have been already to any of the day spas for massage and and other treatments ?
I would also be most grateful for your recommendations of the places you enjoyed most to dine at in Ubud as we will be there from 12th to 16th June and recent views are always handy .
Thanks and I hope the trip continues safely and wonderfully for you all.

Really enjoying traveling with you vicariously, thanks. Best to Beth

A fate worse than death was narrowly avoided. I'm using Bob's computer and I was writing a post when it crashed. had the benovolent gods not interceded, my post would have been under Bob's fodors name. Yuck. Luckily, upon rebooting my egregious error was corrected.

While I am proud to be a child of the sixties, my Ganga days (in truth they were years) are long over. The room is named after the holy river in India, not the medicinal herb.

Ubud is like an outdoor museum. The scenery, architecture and abundant religious symbols are very pleasing to the eye. Every walk or drive is a delight.

For restaurants, I highly recommend Terazzo and Cinta. Indus is a nice place for a scenic lunch. Cafe Wayan is passable. Casa Luna should be avoided. Bob's food was inedible, ours was mediocre.


The Alam Shanti provides free transportation into town and will pick you up after you are finished. One can also walk into town in 10-15 minutes.

Dropped another post. This Needham computer stinks.

We went to two silver places with B and K. John Hardy where we had made reservations for a tour and lunch. This is very interesting. The lunch is with many of the managerial employees, lots of whom are ex-pats. Naturally, the funniest was Andrew a Brit with a biting sense of humor. I egged him on. Robert, from the US, had lots of great recommendations. The jewelry was stunning. A few purchases ensued.

The second was Prapen (spelling is highly questionable0. We did this on our drive from Ubud to Sanur with Putu. This place is also very good and nowhere near as expensive. The power was out so it was hard to see, but some more purchases ensued. Definitely worth visiting.

i think this report is not only boring but trite....andy--that means .....


we are having such fun with andy and beth....we take turns sleeping on the single bed we have in each place...of course andy had to have the bed on the first nite...

beth is the perfect offset to andy's outrageous behavior...

we have met so many other travellers who andy jumps on immediately with a barrage of questions...

we have also run into several people a few times....

Panda, it looks as if you are having oodles of fun! Keep up the good work and be careful when buying jewelery in the dark!

Most interested to read that Casa Luna is to be avoided . When last in Bali 4 years ago we also had a ghastly lunch there . The owner ,Janet de Neef -I may have her name wrongly spelt - cleverly markets the place , her cooking school and other ventures through her books and press .When we lunched it was ordinairy , the coffee maker was broken and it was , in relative terms , expensive and so could not understand why the hype about it .