I'm back at the house in Singaraja visiting my daughter who is in high school here, as well as getting ready for the move back here in June when I retire. I'm still living and working in Sumbawa (a lovely island by the way), and I do a weekly podcast (
http://drbrucepk.wordpress.com) about Sumbawa, Bali, and Indonesia.
Sumbawa is still one of those places in Indonesia where tourism has yet to make much of an impact. There are a few hotels in the area where I live but most of them cater to the mining company personnel. There is a new hotel not far from my house that a few Americans started which is specifically for surfers and they do a fair bit of business. The hotel is right on the ocean so surfers can just walk out to the waves.
It's nice being back in Bali, but the south seems incredibly crowded. Generally when I come over to Bali from Sumbawa we drive up the road along the east coast which doesn't get much traffic, but this time my son and I flew in and then drove up from the airport. That was about as harrowing an experience as I care to have. I prefer the driving in Sumbawa where the only thing that I have to worry about is not hitting cows, pigs, horses, dogs, and water buffalo.
But, civilization can be a pleasant change.
