Sunday - Day 9...
Ne Jan & I woke to the realisation that once again our time was too short on this beautiful Island, but the positive is that we know it will still be there for us once again! The thing that really made me envious was that I Jan & Judy were staying on until the following Thursday night,.... Bugger!, jealous, who me, of course !!!!
But we weren't going to let that get us down. I Had my last 7 am pool swim and read by the pool while the others stirred. Brekkie for the last time, watching the huge surf break on Legian Beach from our vantage point at the KP, the squirrels darting from branch to branch, the cacophony of nationalities all jostling for their share of the views of paradise while devouring copious amounts of fruit, eggs, toast, croissants, juice and coffee etc....
Ahhh! what are the rest doing back in Adelaide in freezing temperatures and rain (at last)? Surprisingly this trip was the mildest weather I can remember, but it seemed the gods were going to give us something to think about as we prepared for that first blast of cold air when we stepped out of the terminal at Adelaide Airport. They certainly reminded us as it was the hottest and most humid day we had this trip.
We had packed most of our bags last on Saturday night, so it was a simple task this last day. We booked out around 10 am and left our bags in I Jan & Judy's room, then cabbed up to Seminyak. It was quite windy and the sea as rough as I had seen on this trip. The beach on Seminyak was closed to swimmers for it's entire length. The 20 minute cab ride, was surprising as it only took us a leisurely 30 minutes to walk back to the KP.
Lunch for the last time at the KP restaurant watching all of those around us enjoying the beach, the sun and the beautiful people of Bali. The rest of the day was spent around the pool reliving our last 9 days, still laughing and having fun with the pool guys and other staff. Judy and I decided on a massage so went to one of the salons near the entrance to KP, it was relaxing and nice way to spend the last few hours on the island.
We dressed lightly but as warmly as we could, knowing what greeted us in Oz! Then headed off to our last meal, this time again at the "Waroeng Tropical" the girls there are beautiful and were sad to know we were leaving, the amazing thing about these beautiful people is their ability to meet you once then remember all of your names correctly, I struggle two minutes after I meet someone! The meal was again nice and the "Bintang - Bloody Cold Mate!" The gods did it again, it rained for the first time on this trip so we had it all on our last day.
9 pm and off to the airport, we bade farewell to our favourite staff, and I Jan & Judy then sat in silence waiting to get to the airport. As usual the hustle and the bustle gave us our last real feeling of this place of smiles!
Then delays and 5 and half hour wait just meant we were in Bali longer! On refelction, apart from the hassels of getting into and out of the country, all the other little things that happened on our trip faded into significance. Our memories are once again of all of our friends we have met over our trips to Bali, the beaming smiles when they see and recognise you again even after four years, the quirky little ways they ask if you have brought them something from Oz, (as we always do!), the wonderful smokey smell and haze that is Bali!
For those of you who are seasoned Bali travelers, I hope you have enjoyed my account of our trip, for those of you who are first timers to this island paradise, I trust you have a small understanding of how this place gets into your blood and your heart. No one can tell you that "you will like Bali", but one thing is guaranteed, once it does settle there, it will stay there forever. Please enjoy it as we all have done, respect it's people and customs and savour every minute!
Who knows when we will have the pleasure of being allowed to visit Bali again. or what the future will bring, but I do know that if this is my last time spent there, it's not just about the shopping, the cheap DVD's, the trinkets, I will always remember the people, the food, the smiles, the smells and the place, "Island of Smiles"
Rowdy ;)