writer no. 46, reporting from ubud.

today was the opening day of the ubud writers festival. i had my first panel, and got to sit at the same table with anita desai and meira chand. the first session on monday morning is the festival director, janet de neefe, in conversation with anita desai. we anticipate that the queue will stretch out to the street and beyond. anita desai is a bit of a legend, and an absolute joy to listen to.

ubud is beautiful - it is a very picturesque town full of art - carvings everywhere, and many, many temples - religious ceremonies seem to be happening at one of them almost every day. we went to a temple perched high on a cliff yesterday, and monkeys roamed free in the grounds. 'make no eye contact with them' was one piece of advice - 'make sure there's a man in your group' was another. on thursday night we were treated to dinner at one of the most extravagantly gorgeous resorts i have ever seen. anita desai and william dalrymple did readings, and four courses and countless glasses of wine later, i felt like i was walking on a cloud.

the resort we are staying at is very beautiful, set high on a cliff amongst coconut palms and rice paddies. it is serene and quiet apart from the occasional motorbike engine noise from the road below. this morning, we saw two lizards - one in the garden, smooth as a skink with streaks of yellow from its armpits to its waist, and one earlier, stealthily sneaking across our ceiling as we lay slightly pertified in the bed beneath it. last night on our way home from the opening ceremony, our driver pulled over on the way home and turned off the headlights, saying softly 'you want to see kunang-kunang?' as our eyes adjusted to the darkness we were amazed to see flitting sparks in the rice paddies, as small as christmas lights and twice as bright, flashing noiselessly through and up out of the dark fields.
fireflies.

i've read about fireflies, and i thought they'd be like candles, yellow and pale in the darkness. not as sharp and as brilliant as lone fireworks at ankle-level. but i was happy to be proven wrong in my assumptions - much as i feel about bali in general. it's a whole lot more than i ever expected it to be.