Back ground info - we're all from perth; there were 6 of us this trip - me (jess, 26, 3rd trip); gav (my partner of 10 years and now new fiancé, 3rd trip); my sister, Bj (2nd trip); her boyfriend, scott (1st to bali though he has travelled most of indo surfing); and my parents, mum (57) and dad (62); it was probably about their 10th trip. We were unfortunate AP ticket holders so this was a trip we had to make the most of!
Day 9 - THURSDAY 5th JANUARY 2006
I woke up this morning with a ripper hangover!!!!! The first serious one for the trip. Last night was a lot of fun but way too much fun for the Gatorade to do its job properly and I proved my theory wrong. A Gatorade cannot prevent all Bali hangovers!
Three pieces of vegemite toast at the LPH and I was just about right to hit Water Bomb Park and my nemesis - the Smash Down.
Scott and Bj loved it as soon as we were through the gate. We walked around the grounds and showed them where everything was and where to find my nemesis......
We set ourselves up near the kiddy pool where there is a great little private spot we seem to nab every year. Even though we are way too old for it we always end up climbing the fort and standing under the bucket.
So we warmed up with a couple of trips down the macaroni and then it was time to seek out my nemesis.....
THE SMASH DOWN.....I really surprised myself and walked the stairs and just threw myself down it. It wasn't even that scary and it was all over in the blink of an eye. Last year I took one look at it and nearly passed out. I was the only one in our group of eight that refused to go down it and it has haunted me for the whole year since, as my one Bali regret. I knew I had no choice this time and I'm really glad I went down :)
After that it was a marathon couple of hours up and down and up and down each and every slide at least a dozen times. Love that lazy river too.
We called it a day at about 2:30 and took off up the street to the Go Karts to meet mum and dad and have a couple of burns around the track. As we waited for them with a cold binnie in hand, we watched a family of 6 absolutely killing the karts, mum and dad were no where to be seen and the days sliding escapades (not to mention the dregs of the hangover) began to set in. The boys weren't impressed with the karts (60,000rp for 10 minutes) so by about 3:15 we'd all had enough so we jumped a cab and headed back, along the beach, towards JL Legian and our comfy balcony.
As soon as we got in the taksi it started to rain a little and about half way back it started to pour. The streets began to flood so quickly and before we knew it there was a giant wake peeling of the front of our cab. It had rained a lot over the last week or so, a little everyday, but nothing like this. It was definitely monsoonal! The hardest rain I have experienced in two rainy seasons.
It seemed to take ages to get back to the LPH and when we got out of the taksi we were almost knee deep in water. We ran up to the reception and looked out into the courtyard and the pouring journey we needed to make to our rooms. Didn't look that appealing so we headed upstairs to Acapulco for a binnie, a snack and to watch the world go by in the rain.
It rained for about 2 hours straight and JL Legian just continued to flood. Not much can stop these people though and aside from the occasional flooded bike being pushed up into the LPH car park, everyone was smiling. Jl Legian was a torrential river! The water was now knee deep on the path ways and the shop across the road that were 2, 3 and 4 steps up were beginning to flood. The crazy Kuta traffic continued as normal, with cars, trucks and bikes all sailing the river to get where they needed to go.
We all stood on the Acapulco balcony for about an hour and then wandered down to the street for a closer look. We watched in awe as it was so strange yet marvelous to see. After about the two hours it stopped and the locals told us that it would all be washed away in an hour or so. Happens all the time they said. Very hard to believe but amazingly true.
The boys braved the water and waded over to the Minimart for some mixers. Bj and I swore we had enough in our fridges to get by but something in their chemical makeup demanded that they play in the muddy Jl Legian river, as gross as it really was.
So the excitement had worn off, we went back up to the rooms for duty free and showers (boys first!) and to wait out the subsiding water.
By the time we ventured out again about an hour and a half or so later it was all gone, except for the few puddley bits you get from a little drizzle. We met mum and dad a La Porchetta again - mum loved it so much and as it was their last night in paradise it was mumma's choice. It was delicious again and the same staff were working and we laughed again - About 610,000 for the 6 meals, 3 entrees and several binnies.
A free transfer back to the Padma for mum and dad and we were tucked up in bed at 9:30 - it was a big day at water Bomb.....so many stairs!
The parents leave tomorrow with two more days for us.....shopping tomorrow - one last binge and surfing the next......