Thursday - A trip to remember
We had decided, well, she-who-must-be-obeyed had decided , that today was going to be a 1/2 day drive round day. So, as nothing now is negotiable, we all toe the party line.
This is preceded by a fantastic breakfast, which I of course cooked. A couple of days ago I purchased bacon , eggs, baked beans ($5 a can !) and chicken sausage so i could relive the glory of the Novatel at TB. To make it even more authentic I asked everyone to get in my way in the kitchen, put all the food on plates and pretend they were bay maries , and one had to volunteer to be French and another German. I gave this chore to my mum-in-law as she does the best impression of grumpy. I even had my trusty HP sauce at arms length, and I sat down and really enjoyed the gourmet English breakfast.
Shove your wimpy continental stuff this is just what I needed, and the rest of the crew. Especially as my step dad is coming down with that worst of problems, the 'man cold'. I don't care what anyone says, the man cold virus is far worse than anything else, but, being blokes, we just push on through, build a bridge , and get on with it.We never complain, as we have too much to do to prop up the girls and all their shopping.
Brekkie done and dusted, and I have spent an hour or so preening myself, clipping nails, and doing my hair. I'm now out of Hermes eau de toilette and I have to break open my Calvin Klein Escape ( chick magnet if ever there was) and apply at strategic nubile points.
Wayan appears, as ever, on time, and we discuss, or rather, Mrs Wharfie tells us where we all want to go. Off we go on our travels, through the outskirts of Denpasar, through Celuk, Mas, Ubud and onto Kintamani. The latter is populated with aggressive hawkers , and I try all my skills of Hoo-flungdung to get them out of my way.Soon, they realise this just isn't any old tourist they are dealing with, and with a mere stare and flick of my aura, they desist and retreat in Argentinianfalklandesque ( how about that one?) fashion, and back from whence they came
The scenery never fails to amaze me , I just love everything about it, how untouched it is, and hopefully always will be, and those rice padi terraces at Tegellallang are simply breathtaking, I buy two coconut hats from one of the workers hailing me from below the street markets ( pics are on facebook), I drop him a 50,000rp note, and he gives me a great toothless grin and a thumbs up.More than happy to pose for a photo, he moves on and disappears gracefully towards his crop.
We all pile in our trusty steed, and we head off back to our Villa, although gone in a flash, we had been gone for nigh on 5 hours,and we all enjoyed what we had done.As we have 7 Bali virgins in our midst, it's very interesting for me to observe reactions and comments of said virgins and what they think about the place, and to whether they will re-appear at a later date. So far, everything is positive, punctuated by the odd episode of realism that shatters any illusion that they may have formed. 'Bali time' is something, I believe, we all need time to adjust to.
Before Wayan leaves us for group discussion, he pops out and gets us a round of nasi and mie gorengs, satays, grilled fish, veggies and some nice steamed rice,Yum!
It's been a good day, and a bourbon and coke slips down real nice. Before I turn in, I'm reminded I need to drive down to Bintang Supermarket again in the morning to replenish supplies. Knees knocking with trepidation, I get to sleep, and tomorrow I am off to Ku De Ta for lunch
With that, I'll leave it for now, and more to follow soon.Thanks for reading..WHARFIE.xxx