Somewhat encouraged, I continue.
On the 19th of May, I felt it was time for at least a body scrub to prepare my skin for the sun of Bali and off I went to Seminyak. I had a fantastic honey seed scrub (@ 205.000 Rupiahs) and exited the spa a new, clean and smooth person (at least on the surface - inside I was still feeling some of the stress of my 'normal' life at home as well as a lot from that at the Ramada. Eventually I became a person less fresh after sitting in traffic for quite some time on the way back in a taxi with no air-con as the driver was having a fresh cold; at least he told me that between coughing and sneezing plus a few other unmentionable but equally loud noises which very well could have been noises from changing gears but weren't. I trusted his explanation and perspired, while trying to breathe through my mouth. After some time the nose got used to fumes inside the car and I hope the next passenger did not think it was me - because what the driver did, if anything I would call test farting.
Traffic jams seem to be on the increase in the tourist areas at least along Jalan Kartika and Jalan Legian, not to mention around Bemo Corner. Friday and Saturday evenings traffic is bumper to bumper. Locals blame it on the Kartika Mall. I would blame it on traffic Bali Rules. So on the way back I stopped the taxi, bought some essentials that the five stars Ramada did not provide, such as petty things as soap, some clothes hangers and a towel for use after the shower, things one could expect to have at such a fine establishment.
I visited Sanur and the family I sponsor (well, I sponsor the daughter but my guess is that the sponsoring is absorbed by the whole family) and the visit turned out to become a 121 years birthday party, by adding the years of two family members and then mine on top of that. Candles in form of large numbers on the sponge cake, with screaming pink and green 'something' for decoration, were lit with a lot of ceremony. It was a pleasant afternoon and much better than my real birthday in March. When the sun sunk below the horizon, it was eventually for the taxi to take me back to the woes at the Ramada and arguments at reception, a regular event.
Day three it was time to head north, to the hot springs near Lovina.
On the way to the hot springs we stopped by a wooden deck next to the road, after it diverts from to the road to Singaraja. From the somewhat unstable deck it was possible to see the lakes Tamblingan and Buyan as well as the Garden of Bali from where most, if not all the vegetables come, at least that is what I was told. One must always trust information given by guides, if not one is not a good tourist.
Since it was after the rainy season, the forest below the deck was extremely beautiful, in all shades of green, red and yellow. The song of birds and the chirping insects added to the experience. Even the driver liked the somewhat long stop, contrary to those that just stop, go 'click, click' and then continue after approximately 60 seconds as happened as a car with tourists pulled up when we were taking in the sights. Smoking a cigarette seems to make stops longer, somehow.
The hot springs, after the previous honey seed scrub, did wonders to my skin. I have suffer from allergy and after a few hours in the sulphuric waters I could almost see the rash disappear and be replaced by smooth, new skin. That was a truly magic experience, as always there. Even my driver decided to try the water and seemed to enjoy it although not spending as much time in the water as I did.
Since I have visited the springs many times on previous visits to Bali, and people say that each visit deducts 10 years from your age, I am not born yet - and the driver probably not supposed to drive a car.
The road we took both to and from the hot springs is very scenic (No, we did not pass Lovina and Singaraja but that road, too, is scenic especially the mountain part).
On the way back from the hot springs, we again went past Mayong and this time stopped nearby. This area, too, is very scenic as there are so many rice terraces. It was harvest time and sowing time at once, so the colours were from pale yellow to dark green. Somehow the eyes take in this variety of colours better than any artificial lens, no matter how many mega pixels the camera has. The brain does cut trough haze better due to the imaginary mind of the human brain. But just wait, I am sure the cameras of tomorrow will carry this kind of filter as well.
Lake Bratan and its temple were as always good to return to. There were not too many tourists around and that helped me to take in the serene beauty of the lake, the temple and the surrounding mountains, with mist hanging like a waterfall from the rim. There are so many places in Bali where one could stay for hours and thus I cannot understand those that just come along, make a very brief stop, take a few pictures and then just continue in a big hurry that should not be the case in Bali. I skipped taking pictures of the poor mongooses, snakes and other inevitable tourist paraphernalia and concentrated on the temples. The landfill out to the temple on the lake is a mistake, or perhaps it is all the tourists taking showers at the hotels that have made the level of the water in the lake drop. I do, however, think that it looked nicer when the temple was all surrounded by water.
The journey back to Tuban then went without any exceptional events, although there are many things to view from the car. Coming closer to the tourist areas I never stop to wonder how fast the rice fields disappear in order to be replaced by houses, private villas and shops. Where is it going to end? And how long is the sweet water to last? And when is the electricity grid going to tell us that there is not any more power for the so called development of Bali? If one looks at the Kartika Mall it unfortunately seems as if electricity is never ending natural resource.
To be continued.