Saturday - Seminyak Grand prix
Gentlemen, start your engines!
And so it was, Wing Commander Wharfie , Lieutenant Brown, and Mrs W and mum-in-law as the tail gunners set off into the far reaches of south east Bali. Ok, I'll be honest, I had been talked into this 2 days prior by she who must be obeyed, and it had been playing on my mind ever since. Some visitors always hire scooters and cars, I take my hat off to you, as you are braver souls than I Gunga Din. Each time somebody hollers 'Wharfie will drive'..I get this sort of sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. But, I rise above the constant nausea, tell myself that all will be OK, and that there really isn't that much to it.
Once you have realised that as long as you obey what little road rules there are, and constantly check your mirrors, and exercise caution all the time, and tuck into the correct lane as soon as possible, you are half way there. Riders and drivers behind you seem to look out for whatever you are doing, so it follows, that you must be watchful of what is happening in front of you.One thing I can say, is that no-one ever seems to get annoyed with you, and tolerance is very much the order of the day.
So, we turn right onto Jl Kerobokan, having exited from our rural 'laneways', and I'm soon turning left into Sunset Road and off down towards Carrefour and Bali Galleria. I basically stick into the middle lane all the way, so as (a) its' easy to avoid traffic turning right and doing u-turns and (b) I don;t really need to go left at any stage. The real tricky bit is the roundabout at Carrefour that leads you on to Ngurah Rai bypass , however, with that negotiated , it's now plain sailing all the way to Nusa Dua. Again, sticking to the rightmost lanes in the main, within 15 minutes we arrive at the familiar Security Checkpoint before entering the Nusa Dua enclave, and turning right at the first roundabout , we are soon arriving at my nemesis.... Bali Collection
I thought, after having visited this place about 55 times last November I was safe, but no, not even staying in Seminyak has saved me, and here we are again, and the girls delight in all the shopping. I consult my co-pilot and we head off to the sanctuary of Starbucks for an hour. The ladies return with a few things are en route to SOGO , and then come up with the bright idea of having a fish spa. Amazing these things, and although I wouldn't be able to stand it, we sat and kept my mum and dad in law company while they were being descaled.
Having departed from Seminyak early afternoon, the light is starting fade, and Mrs W orders me to now drive to Tanjung Benoa , and in particular to show my in laws the Novotel and our usual base for holiday. I had parked over the road from the courtesy bus drop off point,and so its easy to hang a left and head towards TB. Here we hit a snag. I'm stopped in my tracks at the entrace to TB by the local supervisors, told to go back around the roundabout and park for approximately 10 minutes as there is a procession coming through. Obeying orders, (as always), I stop on the side of the road, and watch the ceremony pass through
The time soon passes and I drive down Jl Pratama towards the Novotel, but, more orders, I have to stop at Laguna restaurant for dinner/late lunch, and my beef rendang, although a tad chewy, hits the spot. The girls pop next door for 1/2 hour refloxology at Laguna Spa, so Wing Commander and I duly pop to The Tree for a couple of draught Bintangs. I'm a bit disappointed, as the only beer they sell is Heineken or Bintang, I would have thought by now they would have had some more European beers on tap, or a better selection. It is becoming very popular though, and happy to see a big crowd gathering when the live musos rocked up
After this we move on further to the Novotel, I park inside the grounds, and walk up into reception. We have popped here to show the in laws, as we may be coming here again in November. Walking through the lobby, I am recognised by Unagi.Such a beautiful lady, she runs towards me, and gives me a big hug, and a peck on both cheeks. She asks me when we checked in, and is disappointed when I tell her we are not staying with them this time
We didn't stay too long as I felt a bit cheeky about what I was doing. So , soon, we were back on the road to Seminyak , in the dark, and that sinking feeling set in again.Knees a'knocking I'm piloting the Avanza back to the bypass and towards Sunset Road. I can't begin to tell you the relief when I'm finally nack on Jl Raya Kerobokan. Within minutes I'm pulling up at the Villa, and co-pilot and I high five and hug on a successful mission
I still take my hats off to all you guys who take bikes and cars on each trip !
Today is now Sunday, just had a big family brekkie, so not sure what we are up to today as a lot of places seem to be closed. We can only see how it all pans out !!
More tomorrow, which is Nyepi Eve
Thanks for reading...WHARFIE...xxx