Bali 2013 - Day 11

Rainy day today.  When it slowed a bit, we walked down to Ibu Putu's for breakfast.  We took our time eating, visiting with the family, and watching the tourists making their way down the Campuhan steps in the rain.  Macaela had a noon appointment to get her hair and nails done, so she left and Jake went with her as far as Londo.  Ibu and I then made our way down the steps in the rain.  It was treacherous, but we made it.  When we got to the bottom, it really started coming down, so we took shelter under the taxi stand for a few minutes.  Eventually it slowed again and we scurried on down to Sama Sama Shop to check on our order.  They were supposed to call us on Thursday to let us know if they could do what we asked and how much it would cost, but this is Monday and we hadn't heard anything.  Our contact Pande, wasn't in, so back up the stairs we went to go home.

Macaela arrived back at the bungalows shortly after we did.  Her haircut wasn't bad; a bit choppy in back, but after washing you couldn't really tell.  Her manicure was a bit sad.  Both she and I said we could have done better ourselves.  She said the salon's scissors were in need of sharpening, and the manicure tools seemed dull too.  The stylist dried Macaela's nail polish by waving an envelope over her nails.  And to top it all off, she had a sour disposition.  Well, we only paid 120,000 (about $12) for the haircut and manicure, so no big deal, although we won't use that salon again.

The rain continued all day, so we stayed at our bungalow reading, playing cards, catching up on photo uploads and edits, and writing.  Thankfully it finally did stop in time for our dinner with Benny and Clive, friends from Australia, and their friends Adrian and Sue.  We met at Laka Leke for dinner and the Kecak show.  This restaurant offers different shows various nights each week, along with a buffet dinner.  The buffet was a bit expensive at about $16 per person plus 21% for tax and service, however, they have an extensive menu of a la carte items at reasonable prices.  Dinner for the four of us, including drinks and ice cream for the kids, was about $35.  The food was very good, and the portions were huge.  We didn't really watch the show, as we were busy socializing. 

Bali 2013 - Day 7

Today we're headed up to Bedugul to try out the high ropes courses at Bali Treetop Adventure Park.  We planned for an early departure, because it is a long drive, and the clouds roll in shortly after noon, obscuring the views.  So we didn't eat breakfast, just snacked on things we had at the bungalows.  Our friend and driver Nyoman Santra stopped by for a bit to chat and apologize for not being available last night.  One thing led to another, and an hour or two went by before we were finally ready to leave.

Made usually takes us on a quite scenic route to Bedugul, but this time he said we needed to go "the regular way" because he thought there might be some closed roads along his preferred route.  No problem!  

We had nothing else planned, and we know about the clouds, and we've seen the view.  Well, the regular way was, as Made said, a very artistic road - full of very large potholes and places where the road had crumbled away to one lane or less.  But Bali is always an adventure, and we made it through with no damage to persons or property.

By the time we got to Pacung, we were starving and ready for the buffet at Pacung Indah.  We've been coming here for years, but the place is under new management now, so we weren't sure what to expect.  It hasn't changed much.  The staff is still attentive and the food is still good.  They did run out of one of the buffet items while we were there, but they replaced it with another choice, and we did arrive later than usual, after all.  The buffet was 80,000 per person, with soft drinks etc. extra.  The drivers are usually fed separate from their group, but Made is not just a driver, he's family, so we always have him eat at our table.  Not a cheap meal by Bali standards, but it is all you can eat, and the buffet includes salad, bread, rice, noodles, soup, meat and vegetable dishes, krupuk, fruit, dessert and coffee or tea, so it still goes on my list.  Oh, and while we were here, the clouds did indeed roll in to obscure the view, and it even started to rain a bit.

After lunch we continued up the mountain to the Botanical Garden.  There was a fee of 84,000 to enter the garden, which I believe was 12,000 for the car and 18,000 for each person.  Made parked next to the ginormous statue of Kumbakarna Laga and we all piled out.  The entrance to the tree top park is just to the left of the statue.  After paying our fees, we got rigged up and instructed, then we jumped right in.  Macaela and I started on the Green course, and then did Orange.  They were challenging and fun and not too scary.  Jake skipped ahead, starting on the Orange course, then moving on to Red, then Black.  We all three finished up at about the same time, and Jake suggested we all do the Blue course together.  I wasn't entirely worn out, so we headed back up into the trees.  We made it through most of the course, but Macaela and I both lost our arms on the vertical net and had to be brought down by one of the guides.  

Okay, so we didn't really lose our arms, they just wore out and there was no going further.

We all turned in our rigging and stumbled back to the car where Made was taking a nap.  Driving out of the park, the rain really started coming down.  The trip back down the mountain is always faster than going up, and the rain just makes it that much more exciting!  Along the way, Made stopped at a roadside stand and bought some local sweet treats for us to try.  There were some little green ball things full of syrup of some sort, and some banana slices wrapped in some kind of sticky pastry.  Both were topped with finely shredded coconut.  They were good - I wish I had gotten him to write down what they were called.  After that stop, we rocketed down the mountain listening and singing along to American rock music and eating Balinese goodies.  It was a fun end to a long day.

Savannah - Day 2

Today was cool (low 40's) and rainy. Not ideal for a walking city. We found out about the CAT Shuttle - a free service operated by the city transportation system. There is a stop located right out front of our hotel, and also a stop right near one of our selected destinations for the day, so it was determined that this would be our mode of transport today. But then, we realized that our first destination was just 2 blocks down the road, so we decided to walk there first.

We made our way down MLK Jr. Blvd. trying to obey the traffic laws. Not an easy task when the crossing lights allow about 2 seconds before the hand starts flashing to tell you to stay where you are. The nice thing is that drivers in Savannah are used to pedestrians and are generally very courteous. We turned off the sidewalk into the lovely, but very wet, gardens of the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum. The museum is housed in the Scarbrough House, designed and built by architect William Jay, and the former home of William Scarbrough. Check their website for more information . . .

This was very interesting for the adults and my son; not so much for my daughter. As a Girl Scout, she was looking forward to visiting the Juliette Gordon Low birthplace house. Because of the rain, we decided to keep moving, so we walked a couple of blocks to the City Market. Here is a nice collection of shops, restaurants and artists studios. Also, this is the place to pick up one of those carriages you can see all over the historic district (not on a rainy day, however). We ate lunch at the Cafe at City Market, purchased discount tickets for the house tour, then set out for the closest CAT Shuttle stop. We waited, checked the time, moved to another stop, waited some more, checked the time again, waited some more . . . never did see that shuttle. The walk to the Wayne-Gordon house was not that far, but it wasn't fun in the rain. We enjoyed our tour of this large old house, purchased the requisite Girl Scout patches and postcards, and set out in the rain to head back to the hotel.

It seems a shame to stay holed up in a hotel room, but we were all wet and a bit miserable, and eating what was left of last night's pizza sounded pretty good. Add a couple of cups of hot chocolate, and a bag of popcorn, and you've got a fine rainy night dinner.

Rainy Sunday

After our adventures on Saturday, we decided to take it easy. The kids could get some extra school work time in, and everyone could get a little rest. Besides that, it was pouring rain! Well, after a while we decided we should go get some lunch, because I didn't feel like cooking. We donned our oh-so-fashionable orange plastic rain ponchos and set out for Murni's. About half-way there Jake complained of having something in his shoe, so we accepted a very conveniently timed offer of "Transport?"

Since it was still pouring, and it was Sunday after all, we decided to make it brunch. We started with onion rings (plain, not spicy) and battered fried tomatoes (yum!) at 17,500 each. The rain was splashing on the table a bit, so we scooted away from the rail. Lace and the kids all got chicken schnitzel (39,000) and I had the chicken chasseur (42,000), each served with fried potatoes and salad. Everything was quite delicious. Oh, and can I get the recipe for that dressing?! Well, by this time the rain was really coming in, so we asked to move to another table. You can't just leave in the middle of a rain like that, so we ordered garlic toast (15,000) and guacamole (19,500) and more garlic toast, and a couple of milkshakes (25,000).

The rain stopped, but by the time we heaved our stuffed selves away from the table, it was raining again. We looked around in Murni's shops for a while, but it became apparent that we were not going to get another clear chance to head home. We negotiated for transport: "How much to Penestanan?" "20,000" "How about 15,000?" "But it's raining?" "15,000?" "Yah, OK" (then we paid him 20,000 anyway). So, back to the bungalow, where everyone but me took a looonnnggg nap (the kids slept through the night). I read a book, played some cards, took pics, smoked cloves, listened to the rain . . .

Saturday, 19 November

Today we visited a family in a village up near Tampaksiring. Out of respect for the family's privacy, I'll call our host Mr. P. It was a wonderful visit. Jake was asleep in the car, and Made told us he would wait with Jake. It became apparent very quickly that we needed Made to facilitate communication. I'm working on my Indonesian, and I know quite a few words, but I definitely cannot hold a conversation with anyone. First I can't construct a sentence, and second I can't separate the words very well when I'm spoken to. I'll get there one day!

We were offered beverages, and introduced to the whole family. I think several children from other families nearby came to visit and see the strangers. Mr. P invited us to see his rice fields, which we gladly accepted. We set out through the village and down the road, across a stream, through a gully and up to emerge right in the middle of the fields. The view was incredible. We asked if this was the rice we had come to see, and were told no. We hiked past two or three fields until we came to one that had corn. There was another with beans and other vegetables, and some kind of flower. It almost looked like impatiens. Here we stopped and he told us that these fields were his, along with several rice fields from there to the palm trees (quite a distance). Mr. P pointed out that the rice and the corn was "not so good" due to lack of rain.

Well, the sky had been looking threatening since we started out, and evening was coming on, so we decided to turn back before things got ugly weather-wise. I'm glad we did, because I had not come prepared for rice field trekking. Instead of wearing my trusty Land's End sport sandals, which strap on securely and have gotten me through several Bali trips, I was wearing slip-ons. And slip I did, several times. We got back to the edge of the fields to head down into the gully, I looked down this tremendously steep path. I had been watching my feet the entire way up, so I hadn't noticed exactly where I was going. What a surprise. I guess another reason I was unaware was because somewhere near the bottom when we were coming in, I got ants on my feet. I didn't know what it was stinging my feet, and I tried to ignore it but my mind started imagining all sorts of unknown jungle bugs that could at that very moment be attaching themselves to my unsuspecting tootsies. I sort of yelped, and I started swatting at my feet, so Mr. P turned around and took me by the wrist and led me the rest of the way. He probably thought I'd slipped.

We returned to the family compound, and took loads of pictures. We were invited to go to the family temple, and during the discussion about appropriate clothing (which we did not have with us), the bottom dropped out of the sky and Mr. P's fields got their rain. I sat down with the kids to show them previews of the pics I had taken, and they were thrilled to see themselves looking back out of that screen. We socialized a while longer; Macaela had an audience in all those kids, and she took full advantage of it. She had them all sitting at her feet while she told stories, sang songs, and acted goofy. She even got an umbrella and did a dance in the rain.