Ubud to Sanur, Bali

Sunday, July 13: Checkout time at the Ubud Village Resort and Spa came all too quickly. We had hired a driver named Dewa to take us to our last hotel for this trip in Sanur, Bali. Driving through the all too narrow streets and roads was an "exciting experience." Not because it was raining, which it was, and not because we on the wrong side of the road which we were, but because a good part of the road was being taken up by cars, trucks, buses, and the ever-present motorscooters, also on the wrong side of the road - but the other wrong side! To compound the problem, we saw two traffic lights in 40 minutes time! The people on motorscooters buy their petrol in glass bottles - kind of like a Molotav Cocktail.

Sanur is a beach town. It has a number of high-rise (3-4 story) hotels and a myriad of typical beach shops, restaurants, and bars - and while like Ubud it has a Starbucks, it also has a McDonalds - joy! Dewa delivered us to the Puri Santrian Hotel and said goodbye. The hotel sprawls along the beach and is very comfortable and pleasant, although it certainly doesn't have the character or warmth of the Ubud Village Resort and Spa.

We spent the day walking along the boardwalk, which wasn't wood, but rather concrete pavers. We saw many, many shrines and offerings. We also saw a group of men and kids trying to launch an incredibly huge kite, with little luck. We spent the majority of time watching hundreds of fisherman who were fishing for maybe four-inch sized fish. They had waded out into the low tide and used about 12-15 foot telescoping poles with some bait and just lifted the rod when they got a bite. There was no reel at all. This is true National Geographic material. It was kind of like jigging for crappies back home. I am going to see if I can try it tomorrow!