Warning - my JBR's are long ..... this one is dedicated to Austdidi who gave me a much needed push to get this one finished!
Sunday 7 January - Kintamani/Besakih/Sideman
We enjoyed breakfast at Sama's at 7.30 am - Doug had been out early exploring Ubud but I was glad of a bit of a sleep in. At 9.30 am Nyoman Oka (Alex) arrived to take us to Padang Bai, but we had a full day planned - Kintamani/Besakih/Sideman and then to Padang Bai where we intended to stay for 4 nights.
As we headed up the mountain road it was lovely to be out and about early in the morning - the sky was clear and when we arrived at a restaurant we ordered bali kopi and enjoyed a clear view of the massive Mount Batur where lava flow paths were still evident 40 years after a massive eruption. We had even beat the hawkers there so it was nice and peaceful. I bought from the souvenir shop a small simplistic colourful painting on a frame, depicting rice harvesting and negotiated what I felt was a fair price of 30,000 rp.
To get to Besakih temple Alex took us on a road I hadn't been on before, and we stopped at a lookout where we took photos of Lake Batur below us and a view of the eastern aspect of the volcano. We bought some bananas from a small boy selling items with his father. The road we travelled down to Besakih went through the small villages of Sater, Pampatan, Boyan and Menanga where we turned off to head east to the Mother Temple.
I wondered how much of it I would remember from my last visit in 1980. Besakih, known as the Mother Temple of Bali, and the most sacred to the balinese people, is actually a cluster of 22 temples spread over a 3 km area on the side of their highest volcano, Mount Agung. I had warned Doug that there had been unpleasant reports of 'local guardians' becoming very demanding about the fee being charged to go in and also that it apparently was almost manatory to use a local guide to escort you around the temple, for a fee of course. So pre-warned of this situation I felt confident that we could cope with this situation if it arose.
About a half a kilometre from the temple our car was first stopped by a couple of officious looking 'local guardians' dressed in red and black uniforms and they held an animated conversation with Alex. Alex explained that they were there to collect an entry fee which included car parking, of 10,000 rp. each for Doug and myself. Alex showed us the tickets which were numbered and it had a nice colour photograph of Pura Agung Besakih in front of Mount Agung, and looked fairly official, so we said OK and handed over 20,000rp and proceeded to the car park.
We decided to look a bit like seasoned bali travellers so we put on our own sarongs and temple sashes in the car park. Alex was very impressed with Doug's sarong purchase from Anturan - bright yellow and orange tie dye with fancy fringes and he complemented him on his choice - it certainly looked zappy in those temple photographs!
We made our way to another ticket box where there were about 3 or 4 chaps sitting there waiting for tourists. Alex again had another conversation with them to check out what the deal was ... yes, this is where you pay again, a donation to the temple and then we organise a local guide and you pay them too. At that stage Alex had to bow out (I didn't want him to become embarrassed and embroiled in any disputes we may or may not be going to have with these guys). They proceeded to tell me that tourists usually make a donation of 20 euros each when visiting the temple .... 'euros' I say, 'but we're Australian, can you convert that for me into Australian money?' They seem to be a bit bamboozled to be challenged in this way, so in the end I say the words that I only really save for times like these ... 'singa la pis' ... interpretation as I understand it is 'I have no money' and with that I wave a 50,000 rp. note at them indicating that it is for both Doug and I together. I had decided that I was already being quite generous in Bali and they could only have what I thought was a fair share and not take us for a ride. They contemplated this for a minute and then they summoned a local guide, who was a nice chap by the name of Putu. We didn't bother to discuss his guiding fee, I had decided I would sort that out at the end after a private discussion with Doug. Walking up the pathway to the temple we are approached by a few small children who hand us a little flower each. How sweet I think ... until they started their drone .... money, money ..... and follow us along. No, we said firmly, but they were persistent in the droning, until I said ... here, have your flower back and I giving you no money. Taking the flowers back they turned away to set upon the next lot of tourists. I indicated to Putu that they really needed to do something about these kids, it gave the place a bad reputation and tourists would tell others and maybe tourists would stop visiting Besakih, cutting off a source of income used to maintain the extensive temple complex.
Ah, now the steps ... we certainly did some climbing with Putu. He was very informative, talking as well as walking us up and up and up - his stamina alone deserved a good fee I thought. He explained that he was rostered on every 4th day for guide duty. We saw worshippers in the courtyards as well running into people trying to sell postcards and in one section a line of stalls sold cute little windmills with moving balinese figures.
The view up higher was good, with multitudes of shrines with merus of varying heights spread out below us, and beautifully carved wooden doorways to temples. At a small store people were unloading young coconuts and as Doug had not had a fresh coconut drink in Bali we asked them to chop off the tops of two of them, and with straws we had a thirst quenching coconut drink 5,000 rp each - much needed at that stage. Although I'm sure Putu would have happily continued to continue our tour, we indicated that we had seen enough and when we got back Doug and I agreed that he well deserved the 50,000 rp. A$7.14 that we gave him - he seemed pleased and did not ask us for any more.
Back at the car park I'm always in for a bit of shopping and I was looking for a dressing gown for a special friend at work. Wanted to find a man's long dressing gown I said, silky material, ah yes, one enterprising chap directed me to a stall at the end, and there they were, really nice kimonos, much better than the usual dressing gowns, just what I was looking for, and all nice and clean in plastic bags too, not dusty and tired looking from months of hanging up in a open stall. After starting the proceedings with their starting price of 600,000 rp, I bought a nice red one for 200,000 rp which some people might say was too much to pay, but I did have to walk away and indicate I was going in the car and never coming back before they would agree to my price - I like negotiating, as long as it ends up a win/win for everyone, and I was pleased to be able to buy a present that I would always remember came from Besakih.
In summary I felt that the visit to Besakih was not that unpleasant if you were aware of the layering type of payments expected during the process. I hope that relaying my experience will help others with future visits to Besakih which I still think is certainly worth a visit. It probably put in perspective all the other temples that Doug had visited during the trip which was his first to Bali.
We continued on through an area that Alex knew I had not been to before - through Selat to Iseh and Sideman, well I was blown away, it was simply stunning rice terracing scenery at it's best, absolutely beautiful, whole valleys terraced for as far as the eye could see.
I saw a sign to the Sacred Mountain Sanctuary Resort http://www.sacredmountainbali.com , and as I had seen posts on Bali Travel Forum with recommendations, I said to Alex, let's go and have a look and maybe have lunch there as it was getting on in the day and I was feeling ready for lunch. The road into the property ran alongside a tumbling stream dotted with rocks, very picturesque, and was sufficiently bumpy to make you feel that you were heading into somewhere isolated.
When we pulled up, I think the staff person was just about to head off for the afternoon, but they were happy to stay to do our lunches and we sat in a large open air restaurant that was surrounded by a peaceful valley and nice garden.
While waiting for our meals they were happy to show me one of their rooms @ 400,000 rp per night. The junior suite that I viewed was nicely furnished in predominantly bamboo and wood thatching and although the bedrooms opened up on two sides to nice views of mountains and gardens they still retained their privacy. The bathroom accommodated a huge natural rock and had a sunken marble bath, with a fenced in private garden (you could have sunbaked in your birthday suit no probs). The 47 metre swimming pool had been emptied for maintenance (they only had 1 guest occupying the resort when we visited) but it would have certainly satisfied the keenest of serious lap swimmers. In all, a nice place but I felt it was too isolated - you couldn't just pop down to the local village, you would have needed 'transport' and it had a 'resorty' feel to it, and lacked a bit of atmosphere, but that's just my opinion, I'm sure it would suit many people who wish to be 'tucked' away from everything else. The menu was not extensive, and although prices weren't over the top, nasi goreng was the cheapest at 26,000 rp, my nasi campur did not have a lot of variety so I was a bit disappointed. Having said that, I'm glad that we took the opportunity to have a look at the place.
Alex wanted to show us a place he said was very special, and we headed through Sideman to a side road passing through a small village called Tabola. Well, if you wanted to know what is at the end of the road, it is like discovering gold at the end of a rainbow - it was Villa Cepik cepikvillas@hotmail.com telephone: 081 2364 7384. What a find - it is the last property at the end of the road that overlooks one of the most magical valleys I have ever seen. We were shown around by the owner (I. Gst Ngurah Prapta), who was a lovely unassuming lady, and the two bungalows were absolutely beautiful. The first bungalow had been built to take advantage of the stunning rice terracing valley view as well as overlooking the small but adequate clear blue pool. The bungalow had two bedrooms, one a king/queen and the other room was snug but had a single bed along with built in wardrobes. It had air con and hot shower, all very modern and clean, along with a fully equipped kitchen. The owner apparently is an excellent cook and is happy to work out a menu for you if you wished to have your meals catered. Quoted cost was 350,000 rp per night.
The second bungalow had a double bed, a bathroom with a bath, and although not occupying the front position, still had lovely views, and was a little cheaper cost I think. I'm pretty sure both had television and maybe DVD's as well. I'm sure that next time I am in Bali, I will seriously consider spending a few days here, it looked like a magic place to stay.
The village was a short walk up the road, if you wanted some exercise and to have the opportunity to have a chat with the friendly locals (the kids were very friendly and would wave and say hello).
I must say that the balinese we saw in this area all looked very happy and contented. I'd think that they would work hard with their farming activities and did not appear to be reliant on the tourist trade except for those who had built tourist accommodation in the area. It would be the type of area where you could really see the Bali that I have come to appreciate over the years.
After traveling through Klungkung we arrived at Padang Bai to find that the small warungs that used to be on the beach had been removed. There were new bars and restaurants built on the site of the old burial ground further in the village, I'm sure they would have cleansed the site of any spirits before they built them. No wonder it looked a bit different - but it certainly the beachfront looked a lot tidier and the bales that I liked to sit at on the beach were still there. Alex parked along the road to the east of the ferry terminal where most of the harbourside accommodation was located while Doug and I went for a walk to seek out some suitable accommodation.
My usual place, the Puri Rai Hotel was there, but what caught my eye was the newly built Padang Bai Beach Bungalows www.absolutescubabali.com phone +62 363 42088, with a large swimming pool out the front facing the beach. We were shown the standard bungalow rooms at 300,000 rp per night, very new, and a nice outdoor bathroom, air con, TV and fridge. We explained that we were brother and sister so wanted two rooms, and did they have any with harbour views? Oh yes, Lui said, we have two special rooms, and showed us two front upstairs rooms that had been built above the new dive centre. There was a shared balcony with two chairs and a drying rack, that looked out over the harbour, with a door to each room. Room B had a double bed, and Room A had a double and a large single, each with very modern bathroom which included a hair dryer, an in room safe, TV, DVD and refrigerator, fully stocked as well as 3 bottles of Sacred Hill wine and wineglasses. There were modern frames on the walls containing samples of traditional balinese items and the place was only about a year old, with excellent selection of lighting, very modern and clean. I asked Lui if she could reduce her asking price of 450,000 rp per night each room, as we were after all taking 2 rooms for 4 nights.
After a bit of haggling, and running my usual line of 'no breakfast included is fine, but we want tax included', she agreed to 225,000 rp. A$32.14 each night for each room - Alex asked me what price I had negotiated, and when I told him he was very impressed, especially when he saw the rooms and the wonderful view we had of the harbour. The chairs on the balcony were just the right level that when you sat in them the beach hawkers couldn't see you to catch your eye, it was very convenient, and we enjoyed sitting and watching the harbour activities. The ferry to Lombok would leave on the half hour or hour depending on the time of day/night and another would be waiting outside the harbour to come in, so it was a constant turnaround of ferry activity to watch as well as the local fishermen's boats, boats taking divers out and local boats to/from Nusa Peneda.
I took Doug for an orientation walk around Padang Bai and I think he enjoyed seeing the different types of boats and harbour activity as he is a bit of a sea salt, being a 'yachty' himself. We strolled down to look at the ferry terminal which was pretty quiet. There didn't seem to be the usual build up of trucks waiting for the ferry as in the past, so I wondered if it was just the quiet season or whether business had dropped off, but the ferries still seemed to run the same schedule.
We went past the Pantai Ayu Homestay/Restaurant up on the hill, and I almost didn't recognise it as they are building another structure up high in the front. All the brightly coloured garden ornamental figures were missing and I wondered if old Ibu, the retired Padang Bai school teacher was still there. A lady in the street told me that she died in September last year. I hoped she had got her photo I had sent to her via a friend mid last year. The same lady told us about a barong dance performance to be held in the village the next night, as usual I always seem to be lucky in Padang Bai to be there when a community event is happening.
We had tea at the Topi Inn, OK but not that impressive and the service was pretty slow even though the restaurant was not full at all. We asked about the cost of a snorkelling trip to Amuk Bay and were quoted 100,000 rp each, so we decided that we would 'shop around' first before making a decision on who we would get to take us.
Slept well in the comfy bed, and I turned the air con down low, but woke up at 2.30 am, must have been a ferry horn, and when I had a look from the balcony, yes, the ferries are still running 24/7.
Monday 8 January - Fine, hot then an afternoon onshore wind
Woke up early at 6 am and Doug and I walked down to the village to the pasar pagee (early morning market) - it's always interesting to see a small village market, especially one near the sea as there are interesting fish set out neatly on banana leaves for sale, as well as the usual selection of vegetables, chicken and offering flowers, along with lots of individual little packets of sweet biscuits and rubbishy lollies for kids - it does concern me that these items are now fairly entrenched in the diets of balinese children.
We watched a lady making take away gado gado, mixing the spices with a balinese mortar and pestle - it is more a crushing movement than a pounding action, then adding the vegetables to the sauce mixture, and serving it in a piece of brown waxed paper that has been shaped into a cone. Quite often when you show an interest in something we are inevitably offered to try some. We have our usual morning bali kopi (1,000 rp) which we sit down on a bench and enjoy while watching the activity around us - it's very relaxing and also makes for good photo opportunities as well as being a great way to meet local people. I bought some shampoo 7,000 rp and conditioner 9,000 rp. at the market.
We found a money changer opposite the only Bank in Padang Bai (which doesn't take Cirrus cards, only Plus symbols, so my cashed up Visa cards were of no use in the Bank/ATM - but the Bank staff were happy to change your larger rupiah notes for smaller denominations, which was very handy) - the moneychanger we used also has a warung and his name is Komang phone 081 348 654 707 - I'd recommend him as being very honest, did not try to rip you off, counted the money out very well in front of you and insisted that you counted it as well - we got 6900 for the A$1 which was OK for Padang Bai.
For breakfast we stopped at Mades Cafe (used to be called Made's Homestay) a papaya juice, bali kopi ,a toasted sandwich and a club sandwich. Breakfast with a nice harbour view was excellent.
The only downside was that a lady with a small boy came past the restaurant, and when they saw us she sent in the small boy to beg for money. It's hard in these cases to determine whether they were 'genuine' or not, so I decided not to give them anything. Also I get annoyed if I am approached when I am having a meal, maybe if they walked up to me in the street and engaged us I may have reacted differently. In hindside what I should have done perhaps was purchase some food to give to them. I could be wrong but I find it hard to believe that there is any need for anyone in Bali to beg as usually families do look after each other in an extended family situation. I think it was the same lady who spied us a few nights later, this time at dinnertime but remembered us and didn't bother to approach us. These were the only two episodes of begging in Padang Bai that I have ever encountered.
After breakfast we got ourselves organised and I took Doug over to white beach which on the map is known as Bias tugal. To get there you walk up the small road opposite the truck parking area for the ferry terminal. There is what I think is the little police station on the corner of this road, and the post office is also up this road on the right hand side. Don't go up the very steep part of the hill or you have gone too far, I recall David UK telling me once that he had hiked over the hill in search of Bias tugal, what an effort!. You should see a roughly painted sign to the left indicating the pathway to white beach. It is at the very back wall of the Kayu Bali Homestay and Restaurant (it used to be called the Megibung Homestay/Restaurant). So follow this track, past a bit of a rubbish dump, up some scraggy rocks, through the bushes and then the path will level out and after a while you will find the pathway leads you down to the beach. It's maybe a 8 minute walk and not very difficult at all. You can enjoy glimpses of Padang Bai harbour along the way. At white beach you will find about 6 or 7 warungs serving a variety of meals and drinks, a great place to hang out and it's a lovely cove with brilliant white sand with pure azure coloured sea water.
I counted at least 20 tourists at white beach, the most I have ever seen there during visits since 2004. Doug went for a bit of a walk and I just relaxed.
We had lunch at Made's Warung, her warung is in the middle, she made nice ayam satay and rice. While we were there Putu, he's an old chap who comes down by bemo from Ubud selling wooden carvings and boxes arrived. I was wondering where he had got to, as he's a usual fixture at white beach. He was really pleased to receive his photo I had taken in March 2005 and he and Doug played a tune together (Doug's a musical talent) on his bamboo recorders he was selling, what a lovely sight to see, I was so proud of my brother mixing in so well on his first trip to Bali. Doug made him happy by buying a recorder as well as paying for his drink of Fanta.
Decided to do the nanny nap thing (I actually wasn't a nanny until the 12th January - Graeme's daughter/son in law had a lovely baby girl while I was away) and a bit annoyed when a plumber pounded on the door just after I had fallen asleep to check whether I had any toilet back up problems - I should carry one of those 'do not disturb' signs with me - as if a tradie would take any notice anyway in Bali!
Getting ready for the traditional street celebrations, a dance performance, I got dressed up in my kebaya and sarong (Doug only needed to wear a sarong so we stopped and 'dressed' him around the corner from the event). We stopped off at the Ozone Cafe for few drinks on the way; an interesting type of place, popular I would say with transient travellers and backpackers, it's walls covered with words of wisdom about relationships and what a man sees/wants in a woman and vise versa to read while we had our Bintang and gin and tonics. They even turned the music down a bit as a concession maybe to our generation! I'm sure the place is very popular later in the evenings.
After providing a donation - amount of your choice - to the banjar (you wrote your name, country and donation in their book) for our attendance, we find that the street that had been the early morning market at 6 am was now crowded with villagers dressed in traditional balinese outfits, men and boys wearing their bright white jackets and traditional white headwear all seated along one side of the narrow roadway, and the women and children and men with small children seated on the other side. We were guided to sit down in the front and Doug put his raincoat on the dusty ground so my silk sarong would stay clean (I just can't seem to manage sitting on my flip flaps very well, the legs just won't bend sufficiently long enough to keep a kneeling position, so I try to sit as ladylike as possible whilst crossing my legs).
It was a happy and jolly gathering of village people and Doug was thrilled to take video of the performance which started off with Rangda with the usual white cloth waving around and the Barong dramatically acting out it's part. The performance started at 6 pm and went through till 8 pm - but not without some drama! I noticed some men had moved in front of us, they seemed to know something but I couldn't work it out - then I thought ah yes, there are people who are going to go (or act out) into a trance. These guys are here so they can rush over the road to the person in a trance to ensure they didn't hurt themselves and also 'control' them during the trance.
Well, before I knew it, suddenly a cry when out and the chap sitting next to me was trancing and all the other guys were trying to 'control' him. It all happened so quickly and before I knew it I was right underneath a 'balinese scrum' pinned down on the ground by a writhing man and the other guys trying to hang onto him! (I don't even think some of them were wearing underwear under their sarongs!) Somehow I was dragged out from underneath all of this by my armpits and the villagers were most concerned in case I had been hurt, reassuringly brushing the dust off me. I was OK and so was my camera which luckily I had put away in my padded camera case as it had turned dark and I'd stopped attempting to take photographs. I think Doug said to me that I had simply 'disappeared'; we were both pretty relieved to come out of the experience unscathed, and after locating his raincoat which had ended up we don't know where, we decided we'd had a really good night, and a wonderful experience, and headed off for tea when the performance concluded. A bintang was certainly in order at that stage!
We dropped into the Pantai Ayu, and Ibu's daughter-in-law who was now running the homestay and restaurant after Ibu's death in September, made us some grilled salmon and salad for tea. After what had been another great day in Bali we turned into bed for an early night as we had snorkelling at Amuk Bay early the next morning.
Tuesday 9 January
I woke up early at 5.30 am and decided I'd better write up my travel diary - Doug was putting me to shame, he'd give me updates every time he was up to date - which was half daily. When it was light I walked up to the pasar pagee for my morning bali kopi and some fried bananas for breakfast, and this time I remembered to put some donation items in my bag so I gave out toys to children and new baby clothes to a pregnant lady who had sold me some mangosteens from her fruit stall.
At 8 am we left for snorkelling to Amuk Bay which we arranged for 75,000 rp each through I. Made 'Dexwi' Wirata, Tour Arranger at the Danu Tourist Information and Shop - their motto is 'Together we'll Find The Adventure Thats Right for You' email: dexwi_bali.yahoo.co.id a very nice young man he was. I think it probably was his dad or uncle who took us in his prahu, past Blue Lagoon for the short ride motoring to Amuk Bay. Being early there weren't many others snorkelling so we pretty much had the place to ourselves and spent ¾ hour snorkelling amongst the coral and very colourful fish which was nice. I'm a bit naughty as I usually take some biscuits to feed the fish there, they certainly don't leave you alone if you have food for them. We didn't snorkel over a large area, so I didn't see the large Buddha statutes that were sitting on the ocean floor last time I was there.
Back at Padang Bai we dropped off my silk sarong at Made's Homestay and Cafe which has a laundry service, asking them to be 'hati hati' with my sarong as it was a special gift given to me by Nyoman Oka and his wife Wayan - I didn't want it to be shrunk in the laundry (it was OK, it was perfectly cleaned when it was returned to me).
As I hadn't been to Candi Dasa other than driving through it, Doug agreed to come on my next jaunt - a bemo ride to Candi Dasa to 'explore'. After declining offers of 'transport' because we wanted to travel 'local style' we hopped on an orange bemo (10,000 rp) to Candi Dasa, sharing the ride with a few locals including a school teacher and we hopped off right at the end of the town so we could stroll back along the main road - a girl's got to have a look at shops - right? When we got to the lagoon area we walked around it and at the beach end while taking a closer look at the sail boats (Doug is a keen sailor), we were offered a sail ride out to a popular diving spot, an island called Gili Tepekong/Kambing. After some negotiation about price a skipper pulled in with a boat for us and we set sail out to the island. Doug said the wind was a bit tricky as the sail ended up on the wrong side of the boom (or something like that) because of the boat's position behind the island at one stage so it took a while for the skipper to get it right again, but he did manage it, to his credit and we had a lovely sail for an hour. The skipper said he had sailed down to Kusamba at 5 am that morning fishing. He tells us that the long bamboo pieces holding the sail cost him 25,000 rp and 30,000 rp.
After our sail it was getting pretty hot so we stopped for lunch at The Grand Natia Bungalows and Restaurant and selected a terrific table right on the waterfront. Although we didn't ask to see a room, the brochure we were given showed very nice rooms, and I loved the walkway down to the restaurant as it was lined by fish ponds with colourful carp and interesting stone walls. Their rooms lead off from the narrow walkway and at the end right next to the sea is a lovely horizon pool. If you wanted a hotel with lots of grassed area this hotel would not suit, and also the fish ponds might pose concern for parents with young children. The friendly and chatty manager told us that normally rooms are 400,000 rp but for regular/long term customers their price is 250,000 rp. Small bintangs are 12,500 rp, watermelon juice 8,500, club sandwich (excellent) is 21,000 rp and Doug's Nasi Campur is 30,000 rp. - about the prices we expected to pay in a tourist restaurant.
At the local supermarket which was quite large and held a huge amount of stock ranging from household goods to clothing and toblerone chocolate (which I bought a bar and then gave away almost immediately to an old ibu on the street, guilt about buying chocolate getting the better part of me), I bought a new kebaya, nice lime green colour in very fine cotton with pretty pastel coloured flower edging for 90,000 rp. and some items for my 'bali bag' I keep over there, a bowl 5,000 rp and some cups 2,000 rp each.
Also bought a nice wooden lombok mask, some windchimes and gecko key rings in the Temple Cafe and Seaside Cottages shop while Doug relaxed with a bintang and wrote up his travel diary again.
The bemo ride back to Padang Bai took about 15- 20 minutes and I noticed that there didn't seem to be any street dogs in Candi Dasa, perhaps they have some type of sterilisation or dog program in the village to keep down the number of dogs because the tourists there probably don't like them, I'm not sure.
Back at Padang Bai we headed over to Blue Lagoon (follow a pathway and signs at the eastern end of the road along the harbour front) and to my surprise we found that Ayu and her husband Made have replaced their tiny bamboo warong with a large new warung, very modern and stylish, complete with a water garden containing fish and plants along the edge, with comfortable sun lounges on a ledge below (15,000 rp hire fee). They have refrigeration, modern music, an extensive menu and employ 3 staff. Ayu hasn't changed one little bit, she is still her smiling happy self, and the baby on her hip is a new addition. The little baby I last saw in March 2005 has grown up to be a lively little boy who was delighted when I give him a plastic sail boat. They tied a piece of string to it and he happily played with it in the warung pond. Made enjoys socialising with the customers and I think anyone who gets to know them will always make time to come to visit them in Padang Bai, they are such a lovely couple. We enjoyed a couple of Bintang dingin and then we headed back to Padang Bai to find a motorbike for Doug to hire for the next day.
We eventually found a hire place which had a motorbike for Doug (and willing to be open at 7 am for him to take delivery) for 25,000 rp. I think, and we had tea at the nearby Kadek Cafe, mie goreng 12,000 rp, ayam curry 20,000 rp, ice tea 5,000 rp, bali kopi 5,000 rp, pineapple juice 6,000 rp, small bintang 11,000 rp and what I vow is my last banana pancake with ice-cream 12,500 rp (too much of a good thing is not good for the waistline).
To bed, and woken at 11.30 pm again by the pounding of the plumber on my door - can I see if your toilet is working OK? - no - can I then flush my toilet to see if it works OK .... yes, it is, now go away!
Wednesday 10 January
Doug's big day out solo on a motorbike - he has decided to head east, so making sure he had the essentials, a map of East Bali, international drivers licence on him, also 20,000 rp tucked inside it 'in case he is stopped and hassled for some reason by the polisi' he heads off for the day.
I decided to get some exercise and walked west up the steep hill past the track to Bias Tugal, boy is it steep and as it's getting hot I stopped at a small shop on the other side to have a bali kopi and a bit of a breather. They sold me a AA battery for my torch (4,000 rp) and after meandering along a pleasant little roadway past very humbly built houses and some fancy ones too, I came across the entrance to the Tabaluga Homestay and Cafe which is in Mimba Village, known for the black beach there.
It looked like they had had a big night there, the guitars and bongo drums were still out in the small restaurant and a few hung over young backpackers were just checking out. As they were headed for Ubud I gave them some maps I didn't need anymore that I had pasted into the back of my travel diary which they were appreciative to receive. I had a very tasty omelette and toast for breakfast and had a look at the large expanse of beach out the front past their front garden, the sand was very black and even at 9.30 am was quite hot underfoot, even in thongs. I had a look at their rooms, they have about 4 - 5 in a block, quite basic, no aircon for 50,000 1 person, 70,000 rp for 2 persons, including breakfast. As it is a reasonable walk to Padang Bai it would only suit if you could arrange transport or had your own (especially to tackle the first hill) but if you wanted somewhere isolated it would be fine.
On the way back I headed down another road that led to the top of white beach to find about 8 tourists there.
I decided that I would just relax for the day at Blue Lagoon with a massage from Doreen and hired a sun lounge and read a book. When I was going Ayu came to say goodbye with the children and we took some photos. She insisted that I take a large bunch of lychees she had for me which was very sweet of her. It's always sad to be leaving Blue Lagoon, hopefully I'll be back there again one day.
Of interest was an advertisement in Ayu and Made's warung of a house in Padang Bai for holiday hire. It is 2 bedroom with 1 double bedroom and 2 singles at 75,000 rp per person. The photos looked very nice and the contact details were phone 081 337073592 or 081 337347953 - it would certainly be worth looking into.
On the way back I had a look at a new hotel, the last one on the harbour road at the Blue Lagoon end, called the Mustika Sari Beach Hotel. It had large grassed grounds, with a substantial size swimming pool and separate spa pool. The rooms are spacious and from the rooms on the upper level you can see some of the harbour through the trees, although I would not call it 'absolute waterfront views' as there is a high brick fence at the front of the property. An advantage of this would be privacy from the street. Air conditioning, telephone, hot/cold water showers, mini bars and T.V. There is a restaurant. The manager quoted me 250,000 rp. Including breakfast. Contact details was I Made Yadnya N. Phone: 0363 41815 or 08283671254.
I finished off my afternoon sitting in one of the beach bales with Made, my favourite 'sarong' lady with some cold Fanta drinks. She was busily folding her huge pile of sarongs. When her friend pulled up on a motorbike with 3 young kiddies on board I saw my opportunity - quick Made, hop on the back of the bike, so I can get photo - 5 on a bike! I would have 'won' the wager with Doug to get a photo of five on a bike if he hadn't have conveniently rode up at the most inopportune time and caught me trying to set up the photo! Sprung .... oh well, serves me right!
Doug had had a wonderful day - he hadn't had any issues with polisi and he had riden all the way around the east coast, travelling through Abung and Amed coast, then getting lost I think in Amlapura, ended up in Sideman, so came back via Klungkung - what a trip 100+ kilometres. Well done Doug!
After he returned the motorbike we went for tea to Kabu Bali (used to be Megibung Homestay) and the owner Karl from Germany joined us for a chat. I think my Vodka and Orange drinks were very generously served from then on , and after 3 drinks I found myself rather sloshed should I say, something I definitely try to avoid in Bali - if you did a risk assessment exercise - it would rate very highly as a highly probable broken ankle consequence - well I was so pleased I had my very able (sober and tolerant) brother to look after me, as I insisted on doing detours on the way back home, not exactly a pub crawl, more like an attempted tour of every bar in Padang Bai (and most of them were regaae bars - why were they all playing the same song I wonder?) All I can say is that my brother did me proud looking after his little sister the way he did. At some stage I did my usual Anne thing and had my camera out, it was very amusing the next day to see the photos I had taken of the footpath on our travels that night! I do recall dropping in on a family and watching a soccer nintendo game, thinking it was a live match being played somewhere in the world, not being able to tell the difference!
Needless to say I was not feeling quite up to par the next day but tried to put on a brave face in front of Alex when he came to pick us up to travel to Sanur and en route our plans were to stop at the Merta Sari Warung at Kusamba for spicy fish satays and the village of Tihingan where traditional gamelan instruments are made.
To be continued ....