Ubud
I’m doing my favourite thing – analyzing my day In a foreign country through the bubbles of a local brew…or two.
I’m now in Ubud. Ubud is probably the second most popular location in Bali for travelers (I prefer traveller to tourist) to the famous beaches of Kuta and Seminyak. It’s only 37km away but it takes over an hour to drive there, such are the roads and traffic. Indonesian roads are designed for bikes but more and more cars are fighting for space. Patience is required and Balanese have this in abundance. Australian drivers would not cope. I hired a driver. It costs $25 and is far less stress than catching busses. The driver is a young man who has been living on Bali for nine years. He comes from Medan on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. He worked in banks for a while but the low pay and boredom drove him into other pursuits. I like him already. He loves music and used to sing in a band but all his band mates went off to marry. He hasn’t found a new band yet. Now he drives cars and loves it.
Ubud is at elevation and is in such contrast to life on the busy, noisy popular beaches near Denpasar. In Ubud you get your highs from spiritual retreats and spas, rather than from bars or discos on the beach. It’s regarded as the spiritual heart of Bali. The king has his residence here. Temples abound and it’s a lure to intellectuals and inspirationals from all walks of life and parts of the world – writing festivals, art galleries, yoga retreats, museums. If you visit Bali you need to balance your experience with a visit to Ubud.
Feeling frustrated. For the past few days I’ve had this bizarre problem with my tongue. It’s on fire. To look at it, one half is white as if blistered. The whole tongue is super sensitive to touch and temperature. To eat is very painful. I load up on drugs to dull the pain. This has been going for days with little relief or improvement. The top lip is also effected, like a slowly developing cold sore. Please don’t let this be shingles. Can you get shingles on the tongue? If it is, I could be suffering for months or more. That would be unbearable…
angusmccoll 