The arrival
Rushed through Ngurah Rai so I could catch up with Bintangplease, the Sarg, Dan & Bintangkel at the Melasti front bar as organised earlier. Wander up about 10:30 pm, half an hour late & all I can see is Dan at the bar. Apparently Bintangplease has made the most of her first day in Bali & has been taken home non compos mentis. Hmmm, ammo for later on.
The road trip
After deciding to go to Lovina for a few nights, I found that I have booked the accommodation & the car rental. We meet at the Indo at 8:00 am for breakfast & pick up the car from Agus. The starting lineup is the Sarg (driver), Wayan (navigator), Sarong & Bintangplease with myself in the dicky seat. At this stage my only imput was to get us to the main east/west road to turn left. The Sarg & Wayan had a map, & proceeded to miss the Mengwi turnoff. With my superior navigational skills I made the Sarge turn right once then a second time. Now we are on a jungle track in the middle of Bali. There were potholes as big as a Mini Minor but we eventually emerge back on the red line on the map that we were supposed to have taken earlier on.
We climbed the mountains through Pacung & the gang expressed an interest in the Ghost Palace. We drove past the entry & there was a chain up so we kept going. (we found out later that we could have parked here on the driveway & walked up!) All of us were in need of a toilet stop so Candi Kuning was the obvious place. The Sarge & Wayan turned left into the driveway beforehand so I had to once again direct them to Cracker's Bar. After a break & a drink we kept climbing the mountains towards our next intended stop at Git Git. Funnily enough for this part of Bali, it began to rain & very heavily. The stop at Git Git was canned & onward to Lovina. It was a long slow drive down to the north coast with the driver in front on the brakes all the time.
We emerged from the rain & drove up & down the Lovina strip about 4 times searching for our destination, Dolphin Beach Apartments. Finally after a few enquires we noticed the sign hidden behind a palm tree of all things. We hopped out & met Budi the manager who confirmed the booking. It was now that we also met our real host, Tia, a little cutey who won all of our hearts. (Sorry David!) We were showed to the rooms & everyone was stunned by the luxury. A quick trip to the local shop for some supplies & to get a tyre pumped up after we noticed it was flat on the bottom! Into the pool to relax with David who was staying for a few days. Some rain moved in so we adjourned to the undercover dining area for a few beers.
The rain abated so we all voted on the BBQ dinner on the lawn. Great food & convo, with a couple of Bintangs to enhance the time. It's just so peaceful up here & the rest are loving it. Bintangplease had gone for a shower with a promise that we would all meet later for the AFL. After another beer everyone went to their rooms to get cleaned up before the footie. It was about now that a real storm kicked in. Thunder, lightning, howling wind & driving rain. No footie tonight as we couldn't get downstairs because of the rain. We have organized the dolphin spotting trip for the next day so it could be a godsend!
Up at 5:30 am & Bintangplease reckons we are kidding her about the storm. Must be one of those who can sleep through earthquakes! A fun couple of hours out on the water chasing dolphins then back home for breakfast. What a breakfast it is, a heaped plate of bacon, eggs, hash browns, tomato & toast along with endless coffee or tea. All this on the lawn overlooking the beach.
While we are on the water a guy from a cuci shop comes & fixes the 2 back tyres that had small punctures. Great driving from the Sarge to get us down the mountain on these I reckon. Today's plan was to do the Banjar Hot Springs, so with a little direction from David off we went west of Lovina. Left turn to Banjar, check, Thousands of schoolkids going to, I would guess, high school. The Sarge is concentrating on missing the kids & we keep going, up, up & up. I mention that I don't remember it being this far. We are driving along the ridge about 2500 metres up when we come across a warung. This is were my superior navigational skills kick in again, 'Di mana air panas?' Back down the other side of the mountain into Banjar & there is the sign. It had been hidden by all the kids. Had a lazy dip in the pools & a drink before heading back to Dolphin Beach.
A group decision was made to visit the infamous Melka for the dolphin show before returning to Dolphin Beach. Entry fees of 50,000 Rp are paid & into the dolphin show/zoo area. I have to agree that the pools are too small for the dolphins, it would be better to make 1 large pool with 1 smaller for the swim with dolphin thing. I wandered around & had a look at the zoo which was OK until I saw the otter's cage. I guess the Balinese aren't aware that they are marine mammals. Poor things were screaming & climbing up the cage. I couldn't explore any further after that, just went back & watched the show which was pretty good but I just wanted to get out of there. Anyhoo, we hopped in the van & went back to the apartments for happy hour on one of the balconies. Many Bintangs are consumed & some outrageous yarns are spun before we decided to have a BBQ again for dinner. It was a fantastic end to a memorable day. The others peal off to bed but after a quick shower I went back downstairs & watched the first 3 quarters off the footie with David before calling it a night.
Up relatively early the next day for breakfast as we have the return trip today. Once again a veritable feast but I must have had a 'bad prawn' & just have some toast ‘n' veggie with my coffee. All the bags are piled in the van & after profuse thanks to David & his staff we head off into Singaraja. There were thoughts of doing the east coast run however after consulting the map it is decided to head back via Kintamani. It is a fairly good run both up & down the mountain on great roads for Bali. We had a quick stop at Penelokan for photo ops of Gunung Batur & then straight through to Legian albeit dodging a cremation ceremony at Bangli & a toilet stop at Gianyar. So ends the Mitch's Magical Mystery Tour. Great fun, great company, many laughs & I would definitely recommend Dolphin Beach Apartments to anyone who wants to chill out for a few days. Absolutely magnificent, cannot thank you enough David!
Some culture
Another highlight was going to the Ogoh Ogoh in Denpasar with Lode. She picked me up on the bike & took me to her place after which we wandered down the road past all the Ogoh Ogoh which where in readiness for the parade & judging later on. Each banjar we past had about 3 of them with the smaller ones made by the younger kids. Everyone is excited about the new year (1932 I found out). Everybody was really friendly as I seemed to be the only outsider there. We watched the judging of a few efforts but after Lode's banjar paraded we walked back as it was so hot amongst the crowds. Not a bad stroll, about 10 k's. A lift back to Lumbung Sari & then bed after a wonderful experience. Thank you Lode!
Strange
How the hell did Bintangplease get those photos on her camera? Well it was a Magical Mystery Tour!
Other than the above the 16 days was filled with mornings at the beach chatting with friends who have finally cottoned onto the meaning of, 'I am not a bank!' I caught up with quite a few of the usual suspects at the Indo happy hour. Great to see everyone again, especially Linda & Tom whom I have missed for a couple of years.
No disasters like last October & out of the airport in Sydney fairly quickly. Have to love the new ePassport! Also for the 2nd trip in a row my bags weren't torn apart by overzealous Customs Officers, just a quick look & scan of my wooden Buddha. Come on September.
Mitch