Ubud is a great place.

Still in Ubud.Yesterday I met up with the Intrepid tour group that I will be travelling with for the next week. I'm sharing a room with a middle-aged guy who has already been on 10 intrepid tours, and has visited Bali numerous times since the sixties. He has interesting stories, but he's rude to the locals, tells stupid jokes, and has a penchant for loud farting. Mind you, the cuisine here (although amazingly tasty) does play havoc with your insides. I had Gado-Gado (sate vegetables) in a back-alley eatery yesterday, and three cats and a dog came out of the kitchen whilst I was eating. Last night the group went out to Gianyar night markets, where we were the only foreigners in sight. Motorbikes saddled with party supplies for sale were cruising up and down the street, marking new year's eve, and the locals were everywhere, making noise and having a ball. We were told to split up and find something to eat. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but I wound up with a huge dish filled with vegetables, egg, peanuts, chicken, and several different sauces. About six people watched as I ate, continuously asking 'Is it hot?' And it was very hot. So I went to another stall and pointed out a bottle of softdrink, and the girl poured it into a plastic bag and gave it to me with a straw (softdrink comes in glass bottles that sellers return for refunds). A little Balinese boy shook my hand and then kissed it, saying selamat malam (good evening). Later in the night we all went to an ex-pat bar called exiles, where we were the first to arrive, excepting a lonely Canadian named Wade. So we sat with Wade, eating greasy peanuts, and drinking Bintang while the DJ played an ear-piercing selection of seventies classics, favouring Queen. The place filled up later on, and the dancefloor was packed with locals in sarongs and sandals by the time the band came on at eleven. The band of Balinese rockers then played some better music... radiohead, rem, lenny kravitz, u2... but revealed a similar love of Queen. We left soon after midnight when the novelty had worn off, dizzy from beer and the kreteks, which I have become slightly attached to (so I left my dji sam soes with Wade, averting a potential addiction). A restless night beside the farter... and then this morning a local guide took us into the countryside, from where we followed a path for three hours along a mountain ridge, past various temples and art studios (I bought a beautiful watercolour painting for 40,000 rupiah - seven dollars). Everyone is hurting from the recent loss of tourism. Although the sound of dance performances has been everywhere since I arrived, tonight I am seeing one for the first time. Weather permitting, and it probably won't.