ubud
the journey back west was simple enough, though inexplicably long: you can see the coast of bali from lombok, so quite how the ferry journey managed to last five hours is beyond me. i arrived in ubud in the late evening and was happy with what i saw.ubud has long been the cultural centre of the island, and this fact immediately manifests itself in the various sculptures you see adorning the traditional red brick structures that pervade the town. temples, guesthouses, shops, all of them are bedecked with scowling gargoyles, delicate apsaras or lumbering elephants. nor are artistic laurels being rested on: the place abounds with galleries and shops from which modern craftsmen produce balinese arts and carvings, ranging from your standard tat to stuff the real collectors have come to see. all in all it's a pretty good place for a mincey soul to loiter.. or would be, bar one thing. dogs. crazed, stray dogs. indian strays are a good natured bunch, docile, unassuming, and generally avoiding human contact. here however they bark, growl, and actually scurry towards you, teeth bared, haunches raised. the locals laugh and say that people rarely actually get bitten, but i'd like to save any encounter with aggressive mutts for that final trip to hades. still, they might have rabies, but god knows what i've picked up in the last few months: if it comes to a bite off, i reckon it could be quite an even germ exchange.
posted by bicrom @ 7:13 am
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