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Catching up with Debbie from LA in Ubud Bali

This afternoon I jumped on my bike and rode through Denpasar. Where I was going I didn't know and even if I did it wouldn't have mattered as I always get lost in Denpasar. Popping out on a road pointing towards Ubud I decided that things happen for a reason and went with it. Ubud can be reached via half a dozen different routes and this route shot me up to the bottom of Jl. Hanoman on the south side of town. I intended to keep going and explore the neighboring areas, but on Monkey Forest Rd I ran into Debbie (DDLegs) from LA and that was it.

Debbie is going home soon after a couple of months in Bali and we agreed it would be great to have a drink at Casa Luna. I love meeting people through Baliblog and although I'm busy, hearing their stories helps me to capture what it is that excites people.

At Casa Luna I ordered the Balinese fish, which was large chunks of fish in a bowl of spicy sauce, plus a plate with rice, green vegetable and sambal. I often leave lunch to late and get the shakes. Riding to Ubud I was feeling groggy as my blood sugar level hit rock bottom. In about 3 minutes I had sucked down my lunch and got talking to Deb. She told me that 14 years ago she lived in Ubud for a year. It was the tranquility and the special things that were around every corner that she remembers.

The party scene of Kuta, espcially the younger generation scene with techno, techno, techno and screaming Balinese punks bands was driving her nuts. “Who really likes that kind of music?” said Deb. "I mean its not like you can listen to a song and go away feeling inspired." "I tell you who loves it." I said. "Nightclub owners." "They can set their equipment up one time, bring in a new DJ every week and have 500 paying customers buying drinks. No set up, no band, no musicians, just plug in and start charging."

We chatted about life and travel and agreed that long distance travel is the real thing and for many westerners it's the only thing that allows them to step away from their daily responsibilities and live in the moment.