Ubud, Bali

I really need to brush my teeth.

And this is the way it begins.

I woke up yesterday as I have since I arrived in Bangkok, early. Several times. I had managed to stay up until about 10 p.m., and then crashed, but woke up at 3, at 4, at 5, and finally at 6 decided to get up, exercise, pack and get ready for my flight which for some reason I thought was at 2 or 3 p.m. I wasn't sure.

Then I thought about my arrival time in Denpasar, since I had already told the hotel so they could send someone to pick me up. It seemed I had told them 2:15, but was I arriving later?

I decided to check my itinerary. Something maybe I should have done sooner.

Good thing I did. I was getting all of my flights confused - Chiang Mai, return to Bangkok and this one. Turns out my flight left at 8:50 a.m.! I had very little time to get ready.

I rushed to throw everything in my backpack and in that rush I left my toothbrush and toothpaste in the bathroom of my hotel. Fortunately, I got everything else, except a few items of dirty laundry which the maid found when they checked my mini-bar.

I made it to the airport in plenty of time and had a little time to buy a snack and some lavender spray (I read on the internet that my room was kind of musty, so I wanted to be prepared).

The flight was four hours from Bangkok to Denpasar. It was uneventful other than the Indian family that surrounded me and seemed to think the flight attendants were their own personal servants. They did not stop ringing their call button during the entire flight. Peanuts. More peanuts. Tea. More tea. Vegetarian meal (even though they hadn't ordered it). I felt so sorry for the Thai flight attendants and eventually I moved to a different seat because they were stressing me out so much with not only their constant ordering, but also the way they treated the flight attendants. They were really rude and bossy. I guess that is how you treat servants.

I arrived at the airport and cleared customs and immigration. I had a nice little chat with the immigration officer about what I was going to do for 30 days. He recommended a beach that had big waves. He smiled when I told him I can't swim.

I've always wanted to be one of those people greeted at the airport with someone holding a sign. They always seem like they are special - VIPs. Well, there was someone waiting there holding a sign with my name! And there were about 50 other people standing there holding signs with other people's names. I guess everyone on my flight had arranged for an airport pick-up. So much for being special!

It was really hot as we exited the airport and went to my van. My driver, Wayan, was really nice. He flashed a really big smile and spoke decent English, even though he kept saying his English was not good. The van was hot, in spite of the air-con and traffic was horrendous. It took us 1 1/2 hours to get to Ubud.

I expected Ubud to be noticeably cooler. It wasn't. It was still hot.

My hotel, is a bungalow complex. There are about 6-8 bungalows all scattered around a very lush "garden" - I say "garden" because it is more like the jungle in miniature than a tended garden. It is rustic. Chickens and roosters provide the soundtrack, but there are also birds, crickets, geckos and babies crying. None of the gamelon players that Lonely Planet describes wafting over the rice paddies.

Well, breakfast is being served now and then I will go out and explore Ubud. I don't know what I will do for one month here. Perhaps I will find a new hotel, perhaps I will get used to where I am staying. I hope I will get used to the heat and not be eaten alive by the mosquitoes, which have already begun to sample my tasty American flesh.