Getting a Groove On and Stalker Dogs

well, mission accomplished (from previous entry). details to follow...

Tuesday night I finally got an opportunity to seriously dance it out when I got my 'Ecstatic Dance' groove on. This was a class offered by the Yoga Barn, where I'm doing my yoga classes here in Ubud and it was nothing short of fantastic. Anything goes, check your inhibitions at the door. For myself, living amongst a somewhat suppressed society, it was like having a bolt of lightening full of good energy hit me. Our leader had a great energy about him, as did the other people in the room, and I had a great little chat with Shervin, fellow English teacher and scribe (though unlike me, he's a poet ;-)). fantastic finish to the day.

Well, almost. earlier in the day after I found Wayan the healer down the same street as Bali Buddha, I was caught out in a rainstorm and took shelter in a nearby convenience store and fell instantly into conversation with the store clerk and an English lass called Leishea, and we were off. Throwing travel stories and tidbacks back and forth at warp speed, eventually finishing with a plan to meet later in the evening.

We continued where we left off over crispy duck at the Bebek Bengil restaurant, who let us stay on our cushions long after closing. Leishea was a solo female traveler as well, which are always refreshing to meet. She's on a longer trip through Southeast Asia and we swapped stories about the region, moaned about air conditioning and after being slightly creeped out by the 'security' guards we left, to a deserted street save for some dogs. One black dog followed us relentlessly, stopping when we did and mimicking our detours. Even after we hitched a ride with a random local on his moped the dog followed the moped and still circled the gates of Leishea's guesthouse! Hiding out there for a bit was the only thing that got rid of it, mind you it was replaced by a more placid looking dog. I wasn't fooled though by its froufrou appearance, but thankfully it lacked the persistence of its black dog counterpart. Kinda creepy...and only seems to happen late at night. I went home much earlier the following night....