Well another Bali trip has come and gone and I have to say honestly that this was one trip where it was really hard to come back home. Normally I am quite happy to be back to our lovely home, stoked to see our beautiful cats and more than ready to see our family and friends but this time the feeling was not there for me or my husband - so it was a very unfamiliar situation that we found ourselves in. We should have stayed longer...
Before I go on, I may dribble a bit, so feel free to speed read! I am writing this as it went and I am trying not to miss out on any detail. This trip was different for us both as we spent a fair bit of time away from the hotel, travelling and doing activities.
Our trip started on Friday the 18th from Perth flying Garuda. Having read previous JBR's about delays and cancellations, we were dubious as to whether our plane would leave on time but it did so we were happy - not so for the trip home, but more on that later! Our taxi came promptly and we had a lovely Irish guy who regaled us with some rather humorous taxi stories. So it was with a good feeling and a positive bounce in our step that we hit the check-in counter. The lady checking us in recognised our surname, being that someone worked at the check-in with the same surname as us. Well as our surname is not common, one would immediately think family, but not so. Anyway we had a chat to her and told her we weren't related etc and she sent us on our way with seats 6A & 6B - another positive start to our Bali trip! I love getting seats close to the front and we hadn't even asked her this time - we were too busy chatting to her! Thanks!!
Duty free shop and we stocked up on some Absolut Vodka and tried to find a new battery for our video camera and our digital camera. We got the video battery but failed to find one for our digital. Never mind - we still had the old battery...
We sped through customs, had a quick cup of coffee and we were soon boarding the plane! The excitement tends to intensify when you are sitting in your seat and getting ready for departure! Not even the unsmiling faces of the Garuda hostesses could dampen our spirit! We were off and we couldn't wait! We had no movie on the flight over as it mustn't have been working - however this was not announced. It didn't bother me as I had a book to read, but I found I was just too excited to read and just chatted to my husband and the lovely Indonesian lady next to me throughout the trip. The meal was served but there was no follow up afterwards of coffee etc. The stewardesses didn't offer any drinks at all, and it was only if you summonsed them by button would they attend to your request. Didn't bother us as we don't drink that early in the morning anyway but I am sure it would have bothered some people.
Before we knew it we were landing - early - the plane seemed to have gained a good 20 odd minutes! Excellent! We disembarked and the familiar smell of Bali seeped into our brain and triggered the 'you can relax now' sensory! Straight through VOA and customs quickly and it was of to claim the baggage. Hubby's bag came out relatively quickly and mine was one of the last ones out and unloaded. Hubby declares it is because it is heavy and large!
Out the doors and greeted by the sensory delights of Bali and our good friend Wayan. Hugs, kisses and laughs and with a Bintang in hand we are off to the Discovery Kartika to check in to our Ocean Front Room! Check in was very quick - and even though we were 2 hours early, our room was ready. What can I say about our room...fabulous room, stunning view and excellent location. Definitely the best room out of the ocean front's. We had the end room on the 2nd floor. The view was panoramic in front and to the side - we had uninterrupted views right up the beach to Seminyak way and the views of the volcano's etc. Unbelievable. We were so impressed! The balcony itself was big enough to host a small gathering and it had the most wonderful day-bead complete with mosquito net! Hmmm, we will definitely have to put this to use! We weren't to know about the noise factor, but more to come on that as it happens!
We had another bintang, sat down with Wayan and roughly mapped out an itinerary for the next 12 days. Given that it was Galungan day on the Wednesday 23rd, we had to take this into consideration as it is a day of celebration and family time for most Balinese. In fact we found out that quite a few shops, cafes etc were closed for quite a few days around that time so that the Balinese could go home to their villages and celebrate their Christmas with family. That done we decided to head out for a spot of money changing and lunch with Wayan. The rate the whole time we were there hovered between 8050 and 8200. We decided to have a bite at Stadium café more so for convenience than anything, however it was to be a good choice and became a regular spot for a bite of lunch. I had mi goreng - boy was I hanging out for it, Wayan had nasi goreng and my darling hubby had ribs! We were all in heaven! Extra sambal for my mi goreng and I was doubly in heaven! Oh it was good to be back!
Back to the hotel (via Circle K for the necessary rations of water, chipata's, bitter-lemons for the vodka and of course bintangs) and it was farewell to Wayan. He was picking us up the next morning for quad bike riding! Back in our room, unpacked everything, threw our bathers on and down to the massive pool for a refreshing dip! I must say that the water temperature of the pool seemed to be consistently warm, which was a bit of a bummer considering how hot it was throughout our stay. After the dip we decided on some duty free drinking whilst enjoying the view from our balcony and waiting for 'H' to deliver one of our DVD orders. I have never used 'H' before but I can honestly say I will be using him now all the time. 'H' arrived promptly and we were delighted that he had most of the ones on our massive list which I had emailed to him before leaving Australia. He told me the ones that he wouldn't sell us as they were not good copies and so after doing business and purchasing a few more that he had on hand, we sent him off with another big list and a promised return date of Wednesday. Hang on a minute - isn't Wednesday Galungan day for you? Yes but I am Catholic, he says, so I don't celebrate Galungan. Well there is something I didn't know! I am Catholic too, so we had a chat about our religion and off he went. Back to the Vodka bottle...well this was a bit of a mistake as needless to say we managed to polish off ¾ of a bottle in a relatively short space of time. I don't even remember ordering room service pizza! I don't have a head for alcohol so to drink that much for me was an absolute rarity...and boy did I remember why! 2am marked my first trip to the bathroom which became a well worn path over the next few hours. The alarm was set for 7am as Wayan was picking us up at 8 and breakfast and showers were to be had. The alarm went off and Hubby bounced out of bed. I moaned in response to his general enquiry as to my current state of health and bolted off the bed and into the bathroom. 'I don't think I will come quad biking' I said. 'Nice one, honey' was his reply... 'I hope this isn't the start of things to come...' he said. 'I am NEVER drinking again' I said with 100% conviction before tumbling back into bed with a head that felt like it was placed between a vice. He persuaded me to come down to breakfast and have some toast as I needed something in my stomach. I struggled through one piece whilst he happily chowed down his omelette, toast and bacon. Wayan arrived and took one look at me and said 'Bali Belly??' with the biggest smile on his face. I shot him a look of daggers and said 'No, Migraine...' Hubby's coffee shot out of his mouth across the table as he laughed and laughed and laughed. Tears welled in my eyes because I was feeling SO rotten that I couldn't even joke about it. Hubby laughingly told Wayan - hangover! Wayan said, 'maybe best you stay here today and drink some ginger tea'. The thought of ginger had me up and out of that restaurant like a bolt of lightning. Hubby and Wayan waited for me and duly saw me back to the room, tucked into bed with a big glass of water, packet of painkillers and a more sympathetic 'bye, see you when we get back..'
I slept for the next few hours and lunchtime found me awake, dehydrated and hungry. I contemplated room service, or even something by the pool, but decided a quick walk out to get something to eat might be a better idea. I got as far as Stadium, before admitting defeat and rather than about face back to the hotel or even Centro for some food, decided I may as well have something here. The staff recognised me from the day before and queried as to the whereabouts of my husband and friend Wayan. Chit chat out of the way I ordered some sweet corn soup and a watermelon juice, knowing that this would be about the extent of my dietary requirements for now. The soup was hot and very tasty, a welcome relief to my tortured stomach. The watermelon juice as always was icy and refreshing. Perfect! I think I may have even gained some colour now. My phone beeped an SMS from hubby declaring their return. So back to the hotel it was for me to greet them. They were both in fine form and had the best time on the quad bikes. I missed out - apparently! Oh well!
Wayan departed and hubby and I decided to go for a swim. It was a hot day and so a couple of loungers under the shade were sought out and a couple of litres of aqua duly drunk! This was how we spent our afternoon. We headed back to our room and bumped into the couple in the room next door to us. They were coming out of their room as we walked past, and as the only room left was ours, we were treated with looks of pure disgust and hatred...hmmm I wonder if it was from all those Walrus noises coming from our room in the wee hours of the morning... whoops, boy do I feel guilty! I have been on the receiving end of such delights before so I could sympathise and was deserving of their no holds barred looks of hatred burning in my back as I entered our room. 'Nice one babe' hubby says, 'I think you P..... of our neighbours'.
We had decided to venture across the road to I Fiori for dinner, partly because it was close and partly because we had heard rave reviews about it. We weren't to be disappointed. I had minestrone with croutons soup to start with and hubby had 8 oysters - 4 au natural and 4 with mornay sauce on them. Both our entrées were declared delicious! For our mains I had chosen a small serve of spinach ravioli with mushroom and pinenut sauce and hubby had chosen lamb shanks. Again both were declared a winner and we seriously rate this restaurant. A return would be imminent. They have a singing balinese chef that entertains the tables. She has the most harmonious, loud operatic voice and also sings in Italian. She had the restaurant agog with her singing. Very entertaining. But be prepared, no table is spared....
Back to the hotel after our delicious dinner and a much needed early night for the both of us.
More to come...and I promise it does get better..