what a difference a couple of miles make. after not having the best of times in kuta i thought i'd pop off to ubud to see rice terraces and temples and all other kinds of stuff. ubud is completely different to kuta in so many ways, the main one being is that it's almost completely dead, and the people that are here seem to be couples or very clicky groups of people. in the few days i was here i don't think i had a conversation with one westener! the locals on the other habd were great, always smileing and talking, trying to help. i spent a couple of days just going around ubud on foot or bike. the place is really nice, some cool temples to see and a really good place to just chill out and relax. the last day i was there i hired a bike and a driver to take me off and explore a little further out. good idea. he took me all over the place. i went to see some balinese dancing, beautiful rice terraces, a temple, the central moutain area and a waterfall. it was a really good day out. could do with meeting some more people now so i'm heading off to lombok and the gilli islands tomorrow. can't wait. christopher