Foreword: As many of you may have noticed, my site was down for about 5 days! I’ve never had that happen, but there was a ‘miscommunication’ with my web host. I won’t vent my frustrations now, but I apologize for that happening. In three years time, that’s never happened. It should be fine now.

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Well after one of the worst landings of my life (on Adam Air), we arrived in Bali. When the plane hit the ground, I literally thought the landing gear was going to pop up between my legs – we hit that hard. The pilot had to throw on the reverse thrusters at a higher rate than I’ve ever experienced. It’s funny, but my first reaction wasn’t fear – it was anger. I wanted to drag that pilot out on the runway and have a few ‘words’ with him. I think I’ll be using a different airline on the way home.

Kuta:

We stayed a few days in Kuta after arrival – I’ve never seen it that quiet. Walking by the Raja’s place that was bombed was eerie. It almost feels as if there’s an air of depression around Kuta and Legian. Tourism has definitely taken a big hit. Most of the tourists I see are Japanese or European, whereas usually the majority would be Aussies. It’s odd being in a place where you have to walk into a bar or club wondering how likely it’d be labeled as a target to be bombed. My buddy and I went to the Hard Rock – somehow it was hard to clear those thoughts from your mind.

Ubud:

Three nights there was enough. We moved up to Ubud, where the slower pace is the norm, not a result of the bombings. As most of you know, I love this area. The cool nights, the endless rice fields, and the overall atmosphere is more my style. We rented a shoebox to get us around for $10/day and managed to venture up to the volcanic lake of Lake Batur.

Some more friends will be arriving today and this weekend; it’ll be nice to have some people around for Christmas. I’ll check back in soon. If you don’t hear from me before the 25th, Merry Christmas!