Ulu Watu

Days are flying by like crazy here and most of the time I don't even know what day it is! So far I have been figuring out what day is when by counting forward and backward from Mother's Day. I guess I will have to find a new day now. Oh and Happy Mothers Day mom!!! Love you and miss you! Say hi to grandmas for me and tell them I love them too!

Since I last wrote nothing much has happened. My legs and feet have become so burnt that they are incredibly swollen and I look like I have the worst case of cankles this place has probably ever seen! It's hard not to be in the sun though...and it wouldn't be so bad if the malaria pills I have didn't make you so sensitive to the sun. 

Other than that I continue to make new friends. The Asians love me!!! If I am just sitting on the beach they will come in swarms to get a picture with me. One time I thought they were going to trample me there were so many of them. Also, they love to have me hold their babies. I don't mind because they are so stinking cute! It's just funny though. They hand over their babies to a perfect stranger. Then they just kind of stand there and look with a huge smile, and then they will take a ton of pictures.

Exciting for me though and my favorite part of the trip so far was my day at Ulu Watu. Andre took me there yesterday on a "motorbike." They call them motorbikes but we call them scooters or mopeds. Anyways, Ulu Watu is a Hindu temple right on the ocean. It is absolutely beautiful and crawling with monkeys. Dan, I got a picture just for you of one monkey picking at the other monkeys hair. You have to wear a sarong when you go in, and that makes it even hotter. It was a great experience though. At night they have a fire dance there. I was too hot and tired at the time though and just wanted to get back. I really want to see it though, so I'm going to head out there again before I fly out (I have to come back this way to get to the airport, so it will be my last stop before leaving Bali). From there we went to an observatory a ways down the sea wall and watched some surfing. They have real waves here, so that was fun.

Also, I rode a motorbike for the first time here. It was a little scary just because this is such a busy and crazy place with a bunch of crazy drivers. It was fun too though. Scooters are so easy to control!!! I am definitely going to rent them to get around in the future (in less busy places...like Ubud). Also, I got a new tattoo yesterday. Jeffri took me to a good place and got a little symbol on my wrist. I wanted something that is very specific to the Balinese culture, so I got the good luck symbol. Everything here is about good luck. It works to your advantage most days because the first sale of the day is good luck, so you can get stuff for really cheap. Also, if at the end of the day they haven't sold anything that is "no luck" so they will also sell stuff really cheap. I have gotten a lot better at bartering, but I'm still a sucker sometimes. I have made good friends with some of the vendors at the beach, so I give them more than I would others. It's a dollar difference to me, but a huge difference to them. Also, every morning the Hindu Balinese put out an offer. It's usually a little hand woven basket of grass that is filled with flowers and some rice. Occasionally they will put a cracker or small money in it if they don't have rice. It is a sacrifice they do every morning to bring them good luck. Well, yesterday I was talking with a lady on the beach and was using my hands of course, and I accidentally knocked over a bag that had about six of these baskets in it. I felt so awful! I ended up buying a bunch of bracelets from her. So, that's what the nieces and nephews are going to get. Lol!

I have to head down to the beach now. I leave for Ubud today and I'm pretty excited about that. I have to go say my goodbyes to some people who have taken really good care of me. My really good local friends took me out last night and we went dancing. It was a lot of fun. I'm excited to meet back up with Julia and Chandler though. They left for Ubud yesterday. Some people say Ubud it is as hot as it is here, and some people say it is a little cooler. I am going to go ahead and get my hopes up and say that it is cooler there. 

I am finally able to put some pictures up for you, so I'm sure I'm going to get carried away!

Well I would've gotten carried away except that as I was uploading the photos the program stopped responding. These internet shops really are stupid...it's not just me. Alas I only got the 2 photos of my ugly feet...Enjoy!!!

Love love

This is when they first started swelling.

This was taken last night. They almost look bruised. This doesn't quite do justice to how burnt they are, but the main problem is that the heat never leaves my body. Everyone here that touches my arms or legs is shocked at how hot they are.