All quiet now

It hasn't taken long for the streets to clear after the busyness of the past week. Banners have been dismantled and temporary structures removed even more quickly than they were put up. When we took Thando and Truth to the airport for their return flight to Harare, the new departure area was crazy busy. This airport has been open less than a month, and during the APEC madness more than 700 flights were cancelled and the airport closed for four days. In the midst of all this, the international departure area was moved from the old airport into the new, so teething problems are to be expected.

Now the first round of security checking begins even before check-in, so we made our farewells at the gate a little earlier than we thought. Less than a week after getting here, they are now home again. Talk about whirlwind!

If you are a writer's festival sort of a person, and many people are, you might want to consider visiting Ubud next October. The festival sessions are held in the area of the town known as Sanggingan, a little over a kilometer from the centre. That's no problem, as a regular shuttle runs from the Casa Luna restaurant down to the festival action throughout the day and transport is cheap at other times. But if you want to stay right in the midst of the bustle, here is an accommodation list of places between the Neka Museum and the Bintang Supermarket, all an easy walk to the main venues along Jalan Campuhan and Jalan Sanggingan.. Something here might suit your budget but, as you can imagine, rooms book up quickly with regulars securing their place a year ahead. Anything located in Penestanan would also be quite convenient but transport to and fro will probably be needed, as it would in the heart of Ubud. The walk from the centre is doable, but the middle of the day can get very hot and sticky, so closer is better.

Walkability, in no particular order, and without any particular recommendation: TripAdvisor can be a useful guide:

• Taman Indrakila, currently under renovation, and the website seems to be down, but look later.
• Kori Ubud
• Sunrise Villas. This certainly looks like the one, but no guarantee as they don't give exact address. If contacting them, best to ask about Festival proximity.
• Villa Sanggingan
• Anom Cottages
• Royal Pita Maha
• Uma Ubud
• Toko Toko Bungalows, no website
• Ananda
• Sunny Blow Cottages
• Anini Raka

If rates are quoted in rupiah, a very general rule of thumb is to subtract four zeros to reach a dollar figure. Thus, Rp400000 is close enough to $40 at the moment although the rate may vary, and if either currency takes a dive you will have to do your own calculations.

Closer to Ubud, but further from the Festival along Jl Campuhan is the Tjampuhan Hotel, but if you don't mind a walk, it's worth a look.

There, all the work done for you. You just need to come! Here's this year's program again as inspiration. See you in 2014. Exact dates are still to be announced so watch the website.