Winter, spring, summer or fall....all you got to do is call...and I'll be there yes I will, cos you got a friend..............
Sadly this trip was to prove difficult in many ways. The loss of a beloved friend caused me to grieve and I had felt like my right arm had been cut off. On Friday August 26th at an unknown location in Seminyak my Motorola Razr V3 slipped away, never to be seen again. BUGGER!!!
An invaluable lesson having been learned from this I wont take my Oz sim away again. Special thanks to Mic for having the barring put in place and getting me a direct access phone number to call Australia.
My bali mobile has quite a few numbers in it but I was now reliant on certain people making contact with me in order to get theirs and others numbers. I have made a mental note to purchase an old fashioned address book, god forbid that we should go back to the dark ages. R.I.P. my friend wherever you may be...
So, today my mate of 20 years is arriving in Bali and she is bringing with her a Bali virgin. Oh goody nothing like a human sacrifice.... haha! Raels and I met at Legian Beach Hotel in 1985. Back then we partied at such places like Peanuts, Koala Blue, Casablanca and My Place and generally saw the sunrise. We befriended each other after her aussie mates left bali and my Kuta cowboy rode off into the sunset with my heart....aah some things never change...haha!!
Anyway I digress. The girls have been given the nic's Raining Men or Raels and Catty owing to the difficulty found when trying to pronounce their names. Made and I are picking them up from the airport. We have beer, Coke, water and Champagne on ice in the car for them to select from. I have asked Made to drive the longest route possible so Raels and I can watch Catty's face. We put her in the front, as you do to a newbie. Not only is it her first trip to bali but her first trip out of Australia. She handled it like a champion. We had hoped she would be open-mouthed all the way, but I did manage to tell a few untruths like no cars on the roads at night only horses and carts etc...
Eventually on arrival at Adi Dharma Raels and Catty were informed that we have no booking for you.....I ask myself.. is it going to be one of those days???? So far Catty has handled the crazed driving etc pretty well but the prospect of no booking is starting to take it's toll. Raels finds their paperwork hands it over to the puzzled check-in staff who in turn scratch their heads and appear rather dismayed that she has been able to produce the documentation.
After 30 minutes or so they acknowledge the booking but sorry to inform that their room not ready till later. The decision is taken to bring the girls down to my villa in Seminyak for a little r&r and a few drinks in moderaton....LOL ...During the course of the afternoon after many Bintangs Catty repeats her mantra over and over ..."Its all good...It's a hard life...' I felt at one stage I would have to slap her if she said it one more time....joking..joking..
As daylight turned to dusk and night fell, Catty asked how were they going to get back to their hotel as we only had the car, where would we get a horse and cart from. [heehee!] Exit stage right for me so I didn't quite literally piss myself laughing. Composing myself I explained that if we paid a bribe to the polisi we could travel in the car provided we had paper bags on our heads....It was a fun ride to Billys that night and I just about wet my knickers getting there. Catty was an extremely good sport but from that moment on paid no heed to anything I said....cant blame her really.
Billy has been doing renovations to the bar and has now installed a big screen and has the cable stations reconnected. This will prove to be a drawcard as footy season is nearing its end, nothing like lounging back in those big bamboo sofas. He has also had a brand new pool table delivered and new lounges upstairs to sit back, relax and enjoy a few games.
Now a word of warning regarding the womens toilets in Billys....
Catty came out from the toilets all agog. ...'Jesus Christ she says...that's a bloody Chamber of Horrors..'
In an effort to upgrade and modernize the womens loo Billy has floor to ceiling mirrors on each wall... the rest is best left up to your imagination, but when I return I am taking with me a sign...Beware, enter at your own risk...
Another great night in the bar with the guys messing around. Jack, Joey, Kadek [now to be known as Elvis], Jimmy and Billy entertaining us to the max. Catty is up for a big one and after numerous Bintangs, 4 rounds of cowboys and a host of different cocktails the beginning of her holiday is one to remember. The bill comes to 1,189,000...Raels insists on walking back to their hotel, hopefully to find their room is ready and I return to my villa...
The following day I take the girls to Geneva so they can have a good look around without the hassle of bargaining and they are like kids in a candy store. I think we were there for 3 hours scouring every corner of every floor. They were in heaven. Moving on from there we drove down to The Pub to have the best sates in Bali and to catch up with Made and Ketut, ever gracious and smiling....
While sitting at the bar an aussie bloke strikes up a conversation and after 15 minutes or so of chatting we discovered he is SC's father. It was an interesting conversation I guess. I don't get into discussions regarding this topic and still cant believe the innate stupidity of young aussies who tempt fate in a country where the laws are so harsh. Enough said as far as I am concerned.....
The following day I have to find another driver as my friend isn't coping well, so we employ the services of Katak as he shall be known, a character indeed as are his friends.
I have promised to take the girls to Ubud so Catty can see some of the countryside and visit the markets. However, the girls had a huge night at the Bounty and have had some 3 hours sleep. We stop along the way as she is feeling rather nauseaus, get pulled over by the cops for a small donation. Katak doesn't have the right plates to be driving tourists.... Oh and we manage to get lost...go figure?
The Monkey forest proved to be the highlight for Catty and I think we spent some 2 hours in there. I was going to leave her behind cos we couldn't find her but after ringing her mobile Raels finally managed to bring her out. Had a great lunch at Tut Macks in Ubud, the food is fantastic. I manage to quickly stop in at Ganesha book shop and purchase a couple of more books to add to my growing collection. After lunch we wander through the Ubud markets and make a few purchases, but the late night before is taking its toll and so we cut our stay short...
More to follow.............