Bali - June 2012

Our arrival in Bali was not at all how we could have anticipated.  We checked in early at a beautiful resort on the Indian Ocean and then went for a late breakfast.  It was then we noticed the rash on Gilbert and realized it was either an allergic reaction to something or a virus.  Unfortunately it was a virus which both of us succumbed to – eventually covering us head to toe in a rash with all the aches and pains of flu.

So we went to our room to sleep.  Next thing we know room service is at the door with a cake.  Unbeknownst to us, Dusty’s friend, Nav, who booked our reservation, arranged a surprise Happy Honeymoon cake for us on arrival.  I’m sure the gentleman that delivered the cake thought we were in the middle of celebrating since we could hardly get out of bed – little did he know that was about as far from the truth as one could get.

For the next day, I had arranged a surprise Happy Birthday cake to be delivered to the room since it was Gilbert’s birthday.  Like clockwork, room service arrived again with another cake (looking strangely familiar).  Still unable to get out of bed, Gilbert took note and then was duly back asleep.  He mumbled about never wanting to be bothered by room service again.

Once we had recovered, we started thinking of ways to get a daily cake delivery – such as a ‘get well’ cake, a ‘happy vacation’ cake, etc.  We didn’t follow through with our idea although it was very tempting.

Given our ill health, our vacation in Bali really started sometime in the middle, once we had recovered.  We had a room with a patio and view of the golf course.  That lure of the golf course was just too much for Gilbert and so he rented equipment and played a round, while I drove the cart with a caddy holding on for dear life on the back!  Gilbert started out well with the caddy saying ‘O’ ‘B’ on a great shot down the fairway on the first hole.  He turns to her and says you think that went out of bounds?  She says – Oh Beautiful shot.  From that moment we could tell it was going to be a fun morning of golf – and it was.

One thing about the tropics, it can be a nesting ground for bugs, especially mosquitoes.  The minute the sun went down, the bugs were biting.  We learned our lesson the first night we ventured out to dinner – while eating our cooked meal, we were literally ‘eaten alive’ – it’s debatable as to who had the better feast that night.

To combat the mosquitoes, the hotel staff would, on occasion in the evening, spray a huge ‘bomb’ of repellent that would disperse in the wind, creating a cloud cover.  This was so thick you could watch it move and envelope any object in its path.  So Gilbert and I are at dinner another evening, this time all lathered in deet, when staff drop their first ‘bomb’.  We sat and watched this cloud move directly our way, into the restaurant, dropping on our table, staff hurrying to move us and getting us new water to drink.  Fortunately, our meal had not arrived.  This is how Gilbert and I assessed the situation – we manage to survive a nasty flu virus in a developing country, only to be taken down by Agent Orange (mosquito repellent).

We decided to check out one of the many beaches on Bali so hopped a ride to Seminyak, just south of where we were staying.  The beach extends for miles with a typical boardwalk and restaurants lining the way.  I was much more fascinated with all the sand crabs, there must have been hundreds, unknowingly creating beautiful designs in the sand.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch beachside before heading back to the resort and a swim in the pool, a daily afternoon luxury for combating the heat and humidity.

The annual Bali Arts Festival was in full swing while we were visiting so it meant a trip to the capital city, Denpasar, to check out the festivities.  It is held at the art centre which has three stages for the various shows.  The entertainment features song, dance and plays representing the different cultures and islands of Indonesia.  We enjoyed one of the performances, which we were told, was typical Kalimantan song and dance (from the island of Borneo).  The show ends with the performers choosing people from the audience to join them on stage in dance.  Do you see where this is heading?  They immediately zero in on the foreigners (a whopping two couples – of which we were one) and managed to drag Gilbert to the spotlight, this despite him avoiding any eye contact with the dancers.  Unfortunately for me, he had the camera in his pocket so I missed an excellent Kodak moment of ‘twinkle toes’ Gilbert.

We also saw part of a drama, and although we couldn’t understand a word, the acting was excellent.  I was captivated by the hand and body movements, facial expressions and tones in the voices of the actors and was disappointed when the play was over – I really wanted to see more.  But it was now lunch and siesta time and no further shows until later in the evening.

Our other cultural experience was a Balinese dance show at the resort.  The emphasis of Balinese dance is in the movements of the hands.  As in Hawaiian dance, I’m sure a story is being told but exactly what is still a mystery to us.  The show included a buffet dinner so we enjoyed a variety of Indonesian fare, including our friend, porky pig on a spit.

And speaking of friends, we ran into a few resident lizards and toads that crossed our path from time to time.

Not to be missed is Tanah Lot – a pilgrimage Hindu Temple dating back to the 15^th century.  It is one of 7 sea temples along the coast of Bali and is adjacent to the resort property we stayed at.  It immediately captured my eye since it has the shape of a boat in water.  When the tide was out, we walked over for a closer look.  It seemed real enough to me but I did some research about the temple and discovered that in the 1980’s the temple was crumbling into the sea.  The Japanese government gave a loan to Indonesia for restoration of the site.  The result is an artificial ‘rock’, probably concrete, which is made to look real and should last for another couple hundred years.  I am now so skeptical of any site in the world that claims to be the ‘original’.

I must admit that we were a bit lazy while at the resort.  The canopied beds with their view of the ocean was the ideal spot to catch up on some reading.  A swim in the pool, a run down the waterslide, the cool of the ocean breezes and we’d be comfortable during the hot afternoon hours.

After extending our stay in Bali, we eventually decided it was time to continue with our travels.  Next stop is Lombok, a mere 20 minute flight away.  So see you on the island.