This one time, in Bali...

I am turning into a tacky tourist. The weather has been nice three straight days in a row. The western musicians (or 'Team Canada' as Michael likes to call us) held a meeting the other night to try to organize our schedules and line up some outings together - it has been so "Bali" here with constant schedule changes and very few breaks so far.

Yesterday we drove an hour south to Sanur beach and lazed in the sun and drank boozy beverages with umbrellas in them. It was so relaxing! Unfortunately, after running about in the sun all morning we were almost too exhausted to make it through our afternoon rehearsal.

Today another group of us went to a beautiful temple called Gunung Kawi. It is centuries old with terraced rice fields and stunning carvings in the mountainside. While we were there a village ceremony was taking place (I think it was the temple's birthay - I thought I heard someone say that it is "Odalan" which is the word for 'b-day ceremony').

The only drawback to visiting Gunung Kawi were the tourist shops - they really attack you to buy their sarongs! And they all pretty much sell the same thing. I hate the bartering, but it's expected here. I'm thinking of heading into Ubud tomorrow to go to the market...so I better get my bartering chops on.

There is a bit of a storm brewing in the group. We have finished learning just over half of Michael's piece (it is still very 'bee boo'!) and we're having a difficult time aligning all the parts. The trumpets can't hear the clarinets and the gangsas (gamelan) can't hear the piano, etc. So tomorrow the rehearsal has been cut and we're going to spend the time working out the acoustic issues. Michael is very scattered and tense about it all...and of course the film crew are just eating it up!

Anyways...more later. Stay tuned!

R.