My dear friends,

After two months apart Rick joined me last Saturday March 9th.  I can;t tell you how excited we both are to be together again.  As he has now joined my pilgrimage it seems to be appropriate to let him tell you his firs impressions.

Here is Rick:

After 38 hours of travel I finally arrived in Denpasar Saturday afternoon. A shiny Tanja greeted me at the airport ( it is as you would expect warm and humid here) and we were driven to our first destination, the Warwick Ibah, in Ubud. This is a lovely open air series of I guess you would call them stone bungalows set on the walls of a ravine, the river heard but not seen below us through the thick foliage.  I awoke early (4:30 am) unable to sleep so I am sitting in the living room of our bungalow emailing to you. The living room is really a porch with railings with nice furniture and bamboo roll ups if needed to keep the rain out. I can hear the rolling water below, birds, some of which called all night, now and then a gecko, crickets, and so far NO mosquitoes!  It is unbelievably serene, otherworldly, something I have sorely needed after the pace of the last few weeks.

My initial impressions of Bali are that it is definitely third world. The airport, hot and smelly with humanity, is a combination of what I would call old oriental architecture with crumbling mid 20th century modern concrete minimalism. But the Balinese people, the guards, the money changers, the porters, couldn’t have been more friendly and even naive. The were always smiling, unlike the border agents in the US, say. There are huge signs everywhere in the airport warning of the death penalty for anyone found to be bringing illegal drugs into the country. Cigarette smoke everywhere.

The drive through Denpasar and the countryside to Ubud was chaotic. The road is four lanes, sort of, with a nice raised median full of flowers. But on the other side, the humanity side, there are all number of shacks, concrete bunker like stores, crumbling buildings of all shapes and sizes, and envy where motor bikes, weaving in and out of traffic, defying death constantly. People use them to convey all sorts of things, but I think they are mostly for commuting. There will be mothers with children holding on, couples with the woman dangling sideways on the back, some with helmets, most not, all styles of dress.

Tuesday is the Hindu new year festival, Nyepi, so everywhere people have made these huge monster gods for the parades Monday night. Apparently they are ceremoniously brought through the towns and some blessing is placed on the people, the monsters banished, then they are burned in a huge pyre so the rebirth, the new year can begin.  On Tuesday no one goes out.  People are asked not to use electricity. No one eats. So we have to get to our next hotel Monday morning, get all our devices charged, and hunker down in out hotel Tuesday. I am looking forward to it actually. Except I have already read all my paper reading materials so all I have left are electronic, thus the need for a full charge.

Last night we had dinner at our hotel. The dining room was a large open verandah surrounded by flowers, gardens and ponds. There are no walls, only bamboo roll down shades that can protect from inclement weather. The food was ok, not great. But the service was impeccable. The Balinese take to everything with joy and attention to detail.

Monday – It is now Monday afternoon. We were driven two hours through village after village to the eastern slopes of Mount Bantukaru where there is the lovely Bali Mountain Retreat, built and run by an Australian musician, Richard Kraal, apparently well known in these parts for his work revitalizing ancient Balinese music. It is a beautiful compound with a view all the way to Denpasar. We are surrounded by lush tropical jungle with all manner of flowers in every direction. Tanja and I are sitting in the top of a small tower whose purpose I do not understand, although for me it is breezy with a wonderful view and the peace to finish this email.

One of the things that has struck me since arriving is the spirituality of the local people. Three times a day at the resort, and apparently all over Bali, offerings are made to the gods. There are small prayer boxes all around the retreat. At a certain time, the designated person goes around to all the prayer boxes, including the lap on the statue of one of the gods, unusual places like what you would expect on an Easter egg hunt. He places small boxes made of reeds and wood, sometimes with folded or hand carved flowers, sometimes with food, all meticulously made and prepared by hand that morning, into the prayer boxes. He lights an incense stick which burns over the offering box such that the entire hotel grounds smell of this incense. It is so simple and honest, this awareness of the whole of life and the universe, practiced daily. This attention to detail shines through in everything that they do. Smiling.

Rick