Traffic stacks up on Jalan Raya Ubud in front of the main market, with motorcyclists jockeying for position among shiny vans and mammoth tourist buses. The sun beats down, baking white skin on bare shoulders while steaming brown shoulders graciously covered from the tropical sun.
Ubud is a mass of humanity, but the mid-day intensity makes it feel more like an artsy anthill, colors and cultures steaming past one another in a frenzy of activity.
The experts recently declared Ubud the Best City in Asia. Visitors who misplaced their trust in the integrity of a mangled sidewalk or who failed to budget sufficient energy for their entrance procedure at the airport's immigration counter may beg to differ. Long time locals, both Indonesian and expat, may pine for the good old days, but there's still plenty to love.
Writer Elizabeth Gilbert, who penned parts of her memoir and international sensation Eat, Pray, Love during her stay in Bali, didn't plan to fall in love. Nor did Ms. Gilbert plan the part about settling down, in the sense of getting married again after a traumatic divorce, but that’s a story for another book. Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage is Gilbert’s newest book, documenting her thoughts and research on the institution.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/06/03/the-elizabeth-gilbert-effect.html
The film version of Eat, Pray, Love is now set for release in August 2010. Julia Roberts, who plays Gilbert in the film, reportedly could not be happier in her roles as wife and mom. She commits to acting these days only within the judicious balance of work and family.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/movies/02roberts.html
One thing the memoirist and the movie star have in common is the boost they've contributed to Bali's rising popularity. What has been the Liz Gilbert effect will soon become the Julia Roberts effect. The island of the gods is feeling the love.
