Bali -- the very word conjures up romance. The reality, however, is something else again. We arrived in Bali in the rain and we were delayed about two hours before anyone could get off the ship. This didn't help.

On the advice of people who had been there before, we decided to skip the ship-sponsored tours hire a taxi to take us around. This proved to be a wise decision. We had a great driver and we saw almost everything we could reasonably see in the rain.

We stopped at a Balinese temple where we donned sarongs before we could go into the grounds. The temple dates from the 10th century but the grounds themselves are beautifully kept. This temple was dedicated to the Hindu fire god.

We visited the forest of the sacred monkeys in Ubud. There were literally monkeys everywhere, on the streets, in the shops, everywhere. The monkeys here were relatively peaceful and did not go around snatching sunglasses, cameras and anything else not tied down.

We also visited a Balinese home, actually a compound with buildings grouped around a central area Each building servers a different purpose, sleeping, cooking, eating, etc.

And we stopped at a batik factory, a kite-makers and a wood-carving shop. These were very high-quality products unlike the thing we could get at the markets or regular tourist shops.

But Bali itself, at least where we were did not leave a good impression. Everything was falling down and even new buildings looked seedy. There was dirt, debris and garbage everywhere. I would not go back.