Forgive me travellers for I have sinned, it has been four long weeks since my last installment.
Yes,yes, I know the punishment. 3 Bloody Mary's and some sheila named Rosie.
Get a drink, this is long.
Waking up on day 3 was quite a hard exercise, the Joged bumbung and other events of the previous evening had left us quite drained, but reality had to be faced.
Cracker's parents and their four friends Ken, Ann, Jean and Val were driving up this morning to spend the day with us. Now all of these people had spent a good deal of time in Bali and had taken all of the obvious day tours that see us racing from one place to the next. What they hadn't done was spent a relaxing day taking things at their leisure and looking into the life of day to day Bali.
Their first impressions of the Pacung Indah were the same of most of us, awestruck by the view and envious of David and Moira's lifestyle. We sat and drank Coffee together while they soaked the place in. And we hoped that they understood what we felt about being there.
Showing them our room and the other suites available certainly helped in their understanding of our happiness. As we wandered through the grounds looking in each room, Dad queried David on the security of the area and the Hotel in general. I simply smiled at Dad and said to him that we weren't sure where our room key was right now and that we weren't sure that our door was locked.
Some may see us as naïve; we just see life as it is.
We place greater value on the respect David and Moira have in the area than we do on a lock that can be bypassed in a flash.
On with the day...
Our desire was to show Mum and Dad things on the journey, and that the destination was not always the key in Bali. Being shown somewhere on the map does not always mean that that is where you are going. Where you end up depends on your mindset and where you truly want to be.
Up the mountain we went. The oldies weren't sure where, their driver was just to told to follow our vehicle. Our driver was Wayan Astawa, our friend and the Manager of the Pacung Indah. Wayan cruised us slowly through Baturiti making sure everyone had ample time to look rather than to crane their necks backwards and wonder what they had just missed. He kept up this leisurely pace as we weaved our way up the mountain letting other vehicles pass as they felt the desire.
We soon took a sharp right hand turn into one of those unmarked and rather non-descript side roads that, though you quite often see them, arouse your interest for a moment and then flash away out of your life.
This little road was now in our life and led to the village of Batunya.
Batunya is Wayans home and is a place that he and David have wanted to show us for some time.
We now know why.
It's predominantly a vegetable growing village on a small tableland that very suddenly and sharply falls away to a deep valley covered in magnificent rice terraces. Wayan very keenly and proudly took us to a block of land he had purchased on the edge of the precipice. While this may seem insignificant to some its effect was twofold, firstly Wayan was able to show to old friends such as Rae and I how his time working with David and Moira had helped to advance his life and secondly, it brought a new experience to our parents and their friends.
The six of them are all in their 60's and 70's and very well travelled throughout the globe. None of them to this point though had experienced a simple walk through a working rice field with all the small endeavours that are associated with it.
Crossing a three-foot log over a flowing stream, then the immediate climb up two steps to the right on a carved mud bank, regaining your balance as you grip Wayans hand, then being directed along a skinny, raised embankment with the instructions not to look up to enjoy the scenery until you reach the other end.
All very well if you're born to it, not so easy if you've just had a hip or knee replacement in the last six months and haven't been on a balance beam since you were twelve years old.
Funny thing was, David was giving most of these instructions and only one person slipped.
But we'll let David explain that part;-)
As we left Wayan's land the oldies were like giggling gerties. It was something new and they appreciated it.
We loaded ourselves back into the vehicles and drove away once more, only to pull up short a few hundred metres later to marvel at two quite amazing sights. The first of these is almost an assault on the eye. It is a rather large dwelling built by an ex-pat Dutchman, about ten years ago. At first you're not sure what you're looking at, except that it is a bird of some kind. Before too long with a little coaxing from Wayan, you can see that it is an Owl. The dimensions are hard to explain, but you have a large head and beak attached to one end of a house some twenty metres long with two large verandah like awnings as the wings at some five to six metres each, we shall try to post a photo to do this some justice. You can make your own determination as to whether or not it is art or just ‘out there'.
On the block next door is an incomplete Buddhist Temple in the shape of a Bell. The history of this place is not fully known to us and we would love to hear from someone who knows more. Again, we will post a photo for you to decide whether or not it is worth you looking for.
Up the mountain once more we headed at a leisurely pace with David guiding Wayan towards another of his friends homes in Bali. As we headed towards Douglas' house we passed for the umpteenth time in our life, the ‘Ghost Palace' of Batunya. Many of you would have passed this tribute to decadence on your travels and tours along the mountain road and like us wondered if this monolith would ever be finished.
The short answer is no.
But more on that later.
Not far above the ‘Ghost Palace' David asked Wayan to pull over at a small roadside Warung on one of the many hairpin bends. As everyone stepped out of the two vehicles for a bit of a stretch, we wondered what it was he had to show us this time. Just behind the Warung, at the edge of a small car park was a set of traditional Balinese gates that from where we stood seemed to lead over the edge of the mountain. David produced a key to these gates and proceeded to lead us down a rather intricate stairway that folded back on itself beautifully whilst giving breath-taking views back down the mountain.
At the bottom of this 150 or so steps was one of the most magnificent dwellings you could ever wish to encounter. Not huge or palatial, it just had an understated elegance about it. The layout was leaning towards Balinese traditional with the rooms somewhat up-sized. The furniture had a more current feel about it while still being Balinese and yet every ultra modern convenience was there just quietly tucked away.
This whole place just hung there on the side of the mountain, like it truly belonged. Even my father wandered down to the lower levels to look back up and stood there transfixed. For a man that had been all his life in the building industry, he marvelled at what it had taken to achieve a building of this standard and size in a position such as this.
We all left there with dreams of what could be.
Drifting further up the mountain we took in Temples and Ceremonies always knowing that we could never understand the intricacies of why it was happening right there and then.
We soon found ourselves heading into Bedugul and pulling up into the Candi Kuning Markets. We had told Mum and Dad how much we enjoyed this place and we hoped that they would see what we meant. The markets are cleaner than most and fairly laid back which is something we have found relaxing in the number of times we have been there.
One thing that soon became apparent was the high regard that the locals had for David. He was well known by most there and had no need to negotiate for anything, he just simply asked a number of different stall owners for the usual things in his size or quantity and they provided them when we were leaving.
Everyone seemed to have a wave or a joke for him and he responded in kind. Many of them asked after Ibu Moira and David gave many a cheeky reply that Moira need not read, and which left the locals in hysterics.
After a little while of wandering we came across one of the most common problems in this area of Bali. A couple of Mum and Dads friends had belly rumbles and needed a moment or two of relief. We knew from past experience that they would not be happy with what was on offer in the area as most were squats that you couldn't get within cooee of without then needing to throw up as well as do what was required.
We had to leave in a hurry, but this simple act set in motion a new venture that we have been working on ever since.
We made haste back towards the Pacung Indah as it was the only clean western toilet that we knew of in the area and things were quite desperate for our friends. As we sped along Wayan told us that he was good friends with the security guards at the ‘Ghost Palace' and that the toilets there were functional. This turned out to be a godsend.
Pulling up at the ‘Batunya Indah' as the ghost palace would have been known Wayan simply tooted and they dropped the security chain for us and we drove on in.
This place is just absolutely awesome in its size and grandeur.
Jean and Ken could only focus on its smaller attributes for the first five minutes though, we then took ourselves on a grand tour.
The size of the Batunya Indah is something that is very hard to describe and can probably only be experienced to be understood fully. One of the guards that wandered around with us told us that there was seven and a half hectares of floor space. The project was started some sixteen years ago and some areas of the hotel have been refitted three times while other areas are yet to be completed for the first time. Each of the many rooms we saw, whilst unfurnished, were quite massive compared to most luxury hotels on Bali. This was all complimented by a large and beautiful lobby area, grand ballrooms, convention centres and every other appointment a luxury hotel could ever need. All of this is not only unused now but has never been used. There are rooms stacked with brand new hot water systems, king size beds that have stood in their wrapping for ten or more years, restaurant and boardroom furniture and any other thing that you could possibly name all ready for the grand opening that will probably never come. If you've ever seen the movie ‘The Shining' you can get some idea of what the place felt like.
We spent almost an hour here wandering through the different levels getting lost on some of the different massive stairways, calling to each other for our bearings then eventually sitting up at the massive rooftop Bale drinking in the magnificent views.
Before long some other belly rumbles called. Whilst a couple of us had no appetite, the rest of us were starving. We soon made our way back down to the Pacung Indah with a great deal less haste than we had left the Candi Kuning markets.
The wonderful buffet was still in progress though the lunch crowd had started to drift away. The bulk of us had a great feast while Jean and Ken looked on in envy. After lunch the Kuta mob quietly drifted off back down the mountain whilst Cracker, Rae, David and Moira settled in to discuss a business opportunity that we knew was staring us right in the face or some other part of our anatomy, such as the case may be.
We made a determination to head back to Candi Kuning Markets the following day and put together the final pieces of a puzzle we had been pondering for some months.
Now here is where I must offer an apology to Smokey and the gang.... I posted to you this particular night that I couldn't join you at Sammy and Suzies the following evening because we had become quite comfortable in Pacung. The truth is that we were negotiating to buy property up there and were quite engrossed in the to-ing and fro-ing of the deal.
The up-shot of all this is that in the coming months the Candi Kuning Markets will offer a good set of very clean western toilets for tourists as they travel through this part of the island. Along with this will be the latest incarnation of ‘Cracker's Bar and Grill' from which we will be able to offer that little bit of light refreshment to a weary traveller as their significant other quietly devours market stall after market stall.
Hope to have a beer with you there one day soon.
After our discussions and a few decisions were made we all turned in for an early night.
The next day saw us heading back to Candi Kuning Markets for a further wander around and a final decision on the site that we would choose. We had to have a bit of a giggle at the amount of potential landlords and real-estate sales people that came out of the woodwork, once our intentions were known. We spent a good few hours making up our mind and are more than happy with our final choice.
Rae then proceeded with her shopping which cost almost as much as the land. We got some great stuff there though including a large roll of black and white check cloth which now adorns our verandah posts along with a large number of colourful sarongs. She also managed to find a few more of the large cotton bedspreads that we use as tablecloths on our large outdoor table. Its one of those large tables that seats twelve and you can never seem to find a tablecloth for at home. We found that when we stopped asking for tablecloths and started asking for bedspreads that the perfect items appeared. That's the funny thing about Bali, you'll only get what you ask for. Sometimes you've just got to think different.
We left Candi Kuning Markets and headed back to Pacung Indah for two very good reasons. First of all, the Adopta ladies were meeting us there for lunch; secondly, David and Cracker were due for a religious experience. The Eagles were playing Collingwood in Darwin and we badly needed a footy fix!
We sat in David and Moira's bungalow having a wonderful chat with the Adopta girls and trying to explain the finer points of football. We eventually realised that they didn't get the game but they understood Rae and Moira's view about the boy's on the TV being cute and having nice bums.
Oh well, we tried.
Later in the afternoon after the ladies had left, nanna naps proved to be the order of the day. An early dinner was attended by all including David's son Adrian, his girlfriend Cat and David's father Ian. As we sat there an extraordinary weather pattern moved in and the entire restaurant and hotel was swallowed in a cloud. We sat there eating and drinking looking into a dense fog that made us feel that we were the only half a dozen or so people alive. The cloud was literally right at the edge of the restaurant balcony. Weird, spooky, but fun too.
Another early night was in order as we were all quite shagged from our endeavours of the last few days.
Monday was our last day of this quick weekend trip. A trip which has changed our lives in such a positive way.
We had a great new project in front of us and we were all quite excited. We breakfasted at a different table once more, David and Moira like to change where they sit to keep away a sameness that can keep away fresh thinking.
It works well as they are always coming up with new ideas and investigating them.
Wayan Ruda soon arrived and it was back off down the hill for us to do a bit of last minute bribe shopping for the kids.
Ramayana in Denpasar was Raes preferred choice, as their range of denim stuff for our growing bevy of beauties at home is quite good. After getting a suitcase full of stuff we headed back to Garlic Lane to see Dede at Baligong and pick up a few extra Dvds we had phoned him about. It was then off to the Bali Rani to spend a few more hours with Mum and Dad and the mob.
Rae took the opportunity at the Rani to repack our bags so that the kids stuff was all in one and we didn't have to open every bag on the lounge room floor for them. Unfortunately one of trusty and well travelled suitcases made the decision that it wanted to stay in Bali a bit longer and split open when she zipped it up. We were only an hour from going to the airport so we had to make a decision that I didn't like.
We walked out the front and stared at the monolith known as the Discovery Mall knowing there would be a luggage shop in there, but I hated the idea of going into it.
My personal opinion of these large places in areas like this is well known. Put them in the city areas I say. The local markets and Warungs just don't need competition of this size and pulling power.
That said.... the air con was bloody brilliant in there. Rae was spewing that she didn't have more time to look around but I just grabbed a case, paid and headed for the door.
Maybe one day I'll warm to some of these places...but I doubt it. Give me a good old fashioned market place with a bit of one on one with the stall holders and I'm a happy man.
Back at the Rani the bags were finally packed to my Queens standards and it was hugs and kisses all around with the oldies. They still had another 8 days and were going to make the most of it.
We hit the airport without the usual regrets, as we knew we would be back in June for two months. That has now turned into another trip next weekend as well...all work and no play...geez it's hard.
A quick hug for Wayan and we checked in. The amazing thing when we checked in was that we were not allocated the usual bulkhead seats with the cot for our 12 week old. We knew that these seats are allocated to the youngest infant and were surprised, but pleased, to find not only 2 babies younger than her on the flight but another 3 not much older. On top of this there were probably about 4 more under 3 yrs old all within cooee of each other. All the kids were great on the flight home except one 4 yr old who obviously was tired and needed his father to give a good hard sleeping ;-)
All in all a great weekend with a positive outcome for ourselves, our family, David and Moira, our new friends Don and Karen and hopefully for the Candi Kuning Markets as well.
Thanks for taking the time to read
CBE
Cracker ;-)