Most mornings we would be up at dawn. We were never really late to bed in Lovina which meant we got to enjoy those early morning hours as the neighbourhood awoke. We would sit in the Bale, coffee in hand, minds in neutral just listening, watching, and enjoying. Lovina is great for the senses, smell sight and sound kick in here. If you have been coming to Bali for many years you rediscover the things that you first loved about Bali all those years ago.
As the first rays of dawn crept across the sky the frogs would return home to their kitchen dresser. At the same time the roosters would start crowing. We would hear the gate close softly as Putu security left his little gatehouse night time home. Dogs would start to bark as motorbikes started putt putting in the laneway. A huge flock of tiny birds would suddenly fly up as if their alarm clocks had all gone off at once.
We hear the distinct sound of Putu gardeners motorbike and then more motorbike sounds. Then we hear lots of voices as the gardeners and houseboys for the other Villas in the area join Putu outside our front gate for their morning meeting. We often wondered what they were discussing, probably the same things young men discuss with their mates the world over.
Arrrrrhhhhhhhhhhh, Arrrrrhhhhhhh, Whoooooo, Whoooooo, we all sat up and looked at each other, there is that screaming noise again, what is it?
Each morning except for Sunday breakfast was cooked by Wewin. Sunday we self catered. The first morning we boiled water for coffee and searched the cupboards for cups and other necessities. We saw a neat little line of round metal covers in front of the cups. We wondered what these unknown objects were for. As we sat drinking in the living area that night we suddenly realised what they were. These little round cup or glass covers did the job they were designed for. No Gecko poo fell into our G & T's or coffee after that.
The first day H & K decided to give the sea kayak a go. The sea kayak rested upright against a huge tree in the lower garden area of the Villa. It looked really inviting. They hoisted it onto their shoulders and marched out through the gate and down the laneway to the black sand beach. They sure looked like professional kayakers, kyakees, whatever the correct word may be. They were only gone for about an hour, on returning they said it was really hard work as the waves were so strong, those little waves, come on guys! The next morning H showed me his toe, he had a nasty looking bite with a long red line running up his foot. H thinks an ant bit him while in the kayak. I am so glad we travel with a small but comprehensive first aid kit. The bite would get a lot nastier looking before the first aid kit and other local potions kicked in but finally healed well.
The next morning the two men decided to walk down the road and catch a bemo into town. As they left the house they met one of the local sellers named, you guessed it, Putu. They informed Putu seller that they were headed into town but that it was fine to go into the Villa. They told her to go see C & N who were lazing in the pool and bale. Not any more they weren't. First came Putu and friend who had all the usual clothing, bedspreads, beads and bangles. Just a little further down the road H & N met the local painter who definitely painted all those paintings himself, they sent him off to the Villa to see C & N.
C & N didn't see any paintings that they wanted to buy but hang on hadn't they just purchased items from Putu simply because it is so quiet now. Putu had explained that there were not many people around and she no ticket to sell in Lovina. That then motivated C & N to stop relaxing and enter buying mode. Could we in all fairness not buy from Gede the painting man. No we couldn't. We each decided to buy the Balinese calendar that Gede had explained so well and it also came with an instruction sheet. I refuse to say what 'I' a seasoned buyer in Bali agreed to pay for this item. We later found it to be selling for a third of the price elsewhere. (On their return we tried to explain to the men how to use the calendar. We finished up in screams of laughter as we both realised we had no idea how to interpret it. The instruction sheet was also useless to those who thought they had understood it's use).
Word had got around, the people at Villa Beranda welcomed sellers with open arms. Okay! who used their mobile phone to notify every seller in town that we would do this. We soon had the watch man, the sarong lady and a variety of others vying for our attention. After a couple of hours of intensive shopping without having to leave our Bale we saw the men arrive back from town. More shopping and then appointments made for massages in the bale the next day. So much for our relaxing day around the pool!
The men then told us that they had solved the riddle of the screaming. As they were walking down the laneway to the road they had heard the scream. They looked out into the rice fields and saw that an elderly man was sitting on the platform in the centre of the field. This person would pull on a variety of strings stretched out across the rice field and then scream Arrrrrhhhhhhhhhhh, Arrrrrhhhhhhh, Whoooooo, Whoooooo. All of this was to scare the birds from the rice field. Mystery solved, we have scarecrow people working in the fields from sun up to sun down.
A week or so later on another trip to town the men noticed that a lady was manning the platform. On returning from town a couple of hours later they came upon the same little lady standing at the side of the laneway, huge stick in hand talking to a friend. K acting on instinct of funniness and without thinking walked up behind her and yelled Arrrrrhhhhhhhhhhh, Arrrrrhhhhhhh, Whoooooo, Whoooooo. The little lady swung around raising her big stick into the air as she came, as she was about to swing the stick at K she suddenly took in his size, all 6 foot 2 or more of him and dropped the stick and started to laugh. H said you had to be there to see how funny it all was, how I wish I had been there.
I just love Lovina, there is always something happening when there is nothing happening, haaa haaa
Most mornings we would be up at dawn. We were never really late to bed in Lovina which meant we got to enjoy those early morning hours as the neighbourhood awoke. We would sit in the Bale, coffee in hand, minds in neutral just listening, watching, and enjoying. Lovina is great for the senses, smell sight and sound kick in here. You rediscover the things that bought you back to other parts of Bali many years ago.
As the first rays of dawn crept across the sky the frogs would return home to their kitchen dresser. At the same time the roosters would start crowing. We would hear the gate close softly as Putu security left his little gatehouse home. Dogs would start to bark as motorbikes started putt putting in the laneway. A huge flock of tiny birds would suddenly fly up as if their alarm clocks had all gone off at once. We hear the distinct sound of Putu gardeners motorbike and then more motorbike sounds. Then we hear lots of voices as the gardeners and houseboys for the Villas in the area gather outside our front gate for their morning meeting. We often wondered what they were discussing, probably the same things young men discuss with their mates the world over.
Arrrrrhhhhhhhhhhh, Arrrrrhhhhhhh, Whoooooo, Whoooooo, we all sat up and looked at each other, there is that screaming noise again, what is it?
Each morning except for Sunday breakfast was cooked by Wewin. Sunday we self catered. The first morning we boiled water for coffee and searched the cupboards for cups and other necessities. We saw a neat little line of round metal covers in front of the cups. We wondered what these unknown objects were for. As we sat drinking in the living area that night we suddenly realised what they were. These y little round cup or glass covers did the job they were designed for. No Gecko poo fell into our G & T's or coffee after that.
The first day H & K decided to give the sea kayak a go. The sea kayak rested upright against a huge tree in the lower garden area of the house. It looked really inviting. They hoisted they kayak onto shoulders and marched out through the gate and down the laneway to the black sand beach. They sure looked like professional kayakers. They were only gone for about an hour, on returning they said it was really hard work as the waves were so strong, those little waves, come on guys! The next morning H showed me his toe, he had a nasty looking bite with a long red line running up his foot. H thinks an ant bit him while in the kayak. I am so glad we travel with a small but comprehensive first aid kit. The bite would get a lot nastier looking before the first aid kit and other local potions kicked in but finally healed well.
The next morning the two men decided to walk down the road and catch a bemo into town. As they left the house they met one of the local sellers named, you guessed it, Putu. They informed Putu seller that they were headed into town but that it was fine to go into the Villa. They told her to go see C & N who were lazing in the pool and bale. Not any more they weren't, first came Putu and friend who had all the usual clothing, bedspreads, beads and bangles. Just a little further down the road H & N met the local painter who definitely painted all those paintings himself, they sent him off to the Villa to see C & N.
C & N didn't see any paintings that they wanted to buy but hang on hadn't they just purchased items from Putu simply because it is so quiet now. Putu had explained that not many people around and no ticket to sell in Lovina, this motivated C & N to stop relaxing and enter buying mode. Could we in all fairness not buy from Gede the painting man. No we couldn't. We each decided to buy the Balinese calendar that Gede had explained so well and it also came with an instruction sheet. I refuse to say what 'I' a seasoned buyer in Bali agreed to pay for this item. We later found it to be selling for a third of the price. (On their return we tried to explain to the men how to use the calendar. We finished up in screams of laughter as we both realised we had no idea how to interpret it. The instruction sheet was also useless to those who thought they had understood it's use).
Word had got around, the people at Villa Beranda welcomed sellers with open arms. Okay who used their mobile to notify every seller in town that we would do this. We soon had the watch man, the sarong lady and a variety others vying for our attention. After a couple of hours of intensive shopping without having to leave our Bale we saw the men arrive back from town. More shopping and then appointments made for massages in the bale the next day. So much for our relaxing day around the pool!
The men then told us that they had solved the riddle of the screaming. As they were walking down the laneway to the road they had heard the scream. They looked out into the rice fields and saw that an elderly man was sitting on the platform in the centre of the field. This person would pull on a variety of strings stretched out across the rice field and then scream Arrrrrhhhhhhhhhhh, Arrrrrhhhhhhh, Whoooooo, Whoooooo. All of this was to scare the birds from the rice field. Mystery solved, we have scarecrow people working in the fields from sun up to sun down. A week or so later on another trip to town the men noticed that a lady was manning the platform. On returning from town a couple of hours later they came upon the same little lady standing at the side of the laneway, huge stick in hand talking to a friend. K acting on instinct of funniness and without thinking walked up behind her and yelled Arrrrrhhhhhhhhhhh, Arrrrrhhhhhhh, Whoooooo, Whoooooo. The little lady swung around raising her big stick into the air as she came, as she was about to swing the stick at K she suddenly took in his size, all 6 foot 2 or more of him and dropped the stick and started to laugh. H said you had to be there to see how funny it all was, how I wish I had been there