Day 5 started out as lazily as most Bali days do with the kids charging through breakfast so that they can hit the pool.
Rae and Sue had decided that they were off for a Makro shopping binge leaving Jim and I in charge of the kids with nothing but a pool, a footy match on TV and cold beer to keep everyone entertained. Somehow we struggled through ;-)
Not long after the ladies left there was a bit of commotion poolside, which Billy seemed to be right in the centre of. It turns out he had cut his knee quite deeply and it would require stitches. We patched him up and made the decision to head for BIMC until Jim mentioned that the GVC had a pretty good regular Doctor that came to the hotel. By this stage Billy was quite happy sitting watching the footy with his knee wrapped up, fanta in hand and a plate of chips to munch on, so the Doc was called.
It took about an hour and a half for him to arrive, which I thought was pretty good considering he had to leave his practice in Denpasar to get to us. The whole process of unpacking, sterilising the wound and utensils and then inserting four stitches took about an hour. Billy wasn't fussed all the way through and remained quite interested watching it all happen, no tears, and no fuss, just the odd grimace.
The tears and tantrums did eventually start when the Doc broke the news to him that he couldn't go in the pool for a week. I reckon I could have picked up his bottom lip and pulled it over his head for a raincoat it dropped that far.
My lip then dropped a little when the Rp 1,000,000 bill was presented to me.
This was my first little annoyance at the GVC. Billy had cut his knee on one of several chipped tiles around the pools edge. The Doc had informed me it was not uncommon there and only two weeks before a young bloke had required fourteen stitches from another broken pool tile episode. The management seem to ignore this problem and the staff becomes quite sheepish when the subject is raised. I had no problem with paying for the Doc as I know that is why we pay travel insurance. I did get a tad annoyed when given the bill for the fanta and chips that they gave Billy whilst he was sitting bleeding and waiting, after all, their ignorance of an on going problem had just robbed the boy of a weeks swimming on his holiday.
I had a good word with the guys at the front desk about this and other maintenance problems at the hotel, but ultimately senior management need to take responsibility for people's safety and health where infrastructure is concerned.
They seem to haven chosen not to.
One other thing that proved a little annoying for some was the fact that the pool toilets were rarely operational. This meant that everyone either had to head back to his or her room, which is quite a way for some, or wander dripping through the lobby to the toilets over that way. Neither option is that flash.
We were also having conversations with people there that regularly turned to the condition of the rooms and the problems each room had. Many things were really quite simple to fix but it always took a few phone calls and visits to reception to get them sorted.
There were a couple of other little things that I will get to further in the JBR.
None of these things are big enough to stop us staying there again, but we do hope that with the renovations comes a new pride in the hotel from management and senior staff that will keep all of these dramas away from the clientele.
Enough about that.
While Billy's leg drama was happening Rae and Sue managed to get lost driving themselves to Makro. A wrong turn at a set of lights found them halfway to Nusa Dua before they realised their problem. Their second mistake for the day was telling Jim and I about it.
We didn't let either of them drive for a while after that one ;-)
The rest of the day passed without any more fuss and was capped off with one of those wonderful GVC Sunday night roasts. If you're ever staying there don't forget that the bar staff are quite partial to a plate of lamb and vegies slipped their way, let's just keep that between us though ;-)
The next couple of days followed a similar pattern for us, minus the cut leg of course, as we were quite happy just being lazy and not going anywhere.
By Day 8 it was time to start packing and head up the mountain to our house in Bangah Village.
We had Wayans car absolutely chockers, it was not possible to fit another thing in it. Our car was full of kids with bags jammed between their little bums and under their feet. Sue and Jim then chipped in with their car for the overflow and once they'd checked out of the MBR and into the GVC we were on our way.
Rae got us to make a quick stop at Alfa first as she saw a few spots between the children's heads that she could get some more shopping into and then we finally drove off vowing not to stop again. The trouble with making a vow like that is that kids need to pee as soon as they hear it, they just don't tell you until you're moving.
We finally reached Pacung Indah and stopped for a great Buffet before moving the kilometre or so down to the house.
We reached our new home at about 5.30 and quickly unpacked Wayans and Jims cars so that they could get back to Kuta before it got too dark. The kids were all jumping out of their skins at this stage and it took quite a while to calm them down and get them settled into their new beds.
The house we rented up there is quite a good size with six bedrooms and three bathrooms. The kids were excited about having a room each as here at home they all share with someone. We put the three eldest kids downstairs and the little ones up with us, mostly to save our legs on the stairs in the middle of the night.
One after another the eldest ones made their way back up to where we were sitting in the open lounge area and said that they were scared being on their own.
We couldn't believe it, by the end of the first night the three big ones were all huddled together in one room in a double bed sleeping soundly and that's how it remained for the rest of the trip. Two spare bedrooms and we've shelved plans for the extensions here at home. We'll spend the money on Bali trips instead ;-)
Our first morning at the house we were woken very early by some very excited kids seeing their first sunrise over Mt Agung. It is one of the most inspiring sights we have ever woken up to and, although we've seen it many times at Pacung Indah, there was something very special about having all seven of our children sitting around us on our bed watching this unfold.
We spent a couple of hours just chatting and watching as Agung changed from an almost shapeless silhouette to a feature filled sun soaked behemoth that swiftly drew the clouds over itself like a shy bride pulling up the sheets on her wedding night.
As soon as the excitement was over the kids were suddenly ravenous and breakfast was the order of the day. We made the mistake of listing all of the choices that they had to pick from and each one wanted something different. By the time we had cooked and done the dishes Rae and I had decided to employ someone to come in and do this from now on. I figure Rae does this enough at home and her holiday needed to be exactly that, a holiday.
After brekky it was time to take the kids up to Candi Kuning Markets for their first look at ‘Crackers Bar and Grill'. They were quite impressed with the whole thing and we were bloody excited by what was happening. Rae took the opportunity to do a bit more shopping and found out quickly that the locals now considered us as part of the market and immediately offered local price. Rae responded by spending three times as much, I'll never understand women's shopping logic so I've given up trying.
As of this was about all the kids could take and their rumbling bellies soon had us on the move back to Pacung again.
After lunch at Pacung the kids had a wander around the hotel and discovered Barbie and Spanky the two monkeys that David and Moira were asked to look after by the local wildlife rescue group. This became quite a ritual for the kids and they would hit the kitchen to get fruit for the monkeys straight after lunch each time we went there.
The afternoon became a bit more of an adventure when Rae and I discovered that neither of us had loaded up with rupiah the day before. We then had to head back down to the nearest ATM to recharge Rae's shopping dreams. David told us we were heading for Wiros shopping centre on the way back to Tabanan. Rae heard the Wiros bit I only heard the Tabanan bit, so as we past Wiros with Bob Marley blaring out and me accompanying him, I didn't hear her tell me to turn in. Ten minutes later we were in a place called Kediri which is on the outskirts of Tabanan City. Rae was still calling me an ignorant something or other when I spotted an ATM and pulled in next to it. The problem here was that I'd failed to notice the baby shop next door before I stopped. I hit the bank, Rae and the kids hit the shop. I hit the bank again before we left because the first lot was gone.
If you ever find yourself driving through the main street of Kediri look for a little shop called the ‘Maya Gogo', Rae assures me it is the cheapest baby shop she has ever seen, and she's seen a few.
We headed back up the hill and Rae pointed out the Wiros and we went in for a look. It had most of what we would need to stop us heading all the way back to Kuta every few days for supplies. It also had a kids games area upstairs that included bumper cars a video arcade and heaps of kiddy rides. Two hours entertainment for all the kids cost us about $15. We made it a regular rest stop on our trips to Kuta and Legian.
Dinner tonight was a simple home cooked Mie Goreng for everyone. The kids love this stuff and it is so bloody easy to do.
We followed it up with a traditional Balinese dessert.......Dunkin Donuts ;-)
The next morning was a very cloudy start which can make things very cool up that way.
Rae was on a mission today to find a laundry to go with the chef she was getting. Her intention was to offload every chore and pay handsomely for it. Fortunately Moira was way ahead of her here and the girls at Pacung Indah were organised to do the laundry. From there we headed a little further up the road and reloaded our phone cards at the Fuji shop at Baturiti and then on to the Baturiti Markets.
This place is only small but the turnover of fresh fruit and vegetables is quite high. A fair amount of the fresh produce that is used in the restaurants of Kuta and Legian comes from this region so it is worth dropping in just to understand the quality of what is actually hitting your plates.
Probably the only downside is that due to never having a quiet time the amount of vegetable and leaf matter that is on the ground can be huge. This just gets trodden in under foot and wheel and can get a bit slippery and a bit ripe at times. Just don't wear your best shoes ;-)
We soon had a very sick little girl on our hands in Tui. We wandered back to the house to spend an afternoon of high fever and double ended movements that lasted a few days. The only real answer up that way is rest and re-hydration. We just had to make sure that if she got too sick we were packed and ready to head back down the hill at a moments notice.
While Tui convalesced the rest of us just played soccer, cards, board games and chasey in the vast terraced garden. This was great for older kids as they got to spend good quality time together and learnt a little bit of patience for the younger ones. They also seemed to develop a keen sense of fair play when making allowances for kids that couldn't run as fast or make quick decisions when playing a game. This kind of family growth was part of the reason we were up here and it was great to watch it happening before our eyes.
We were actually so proud of the kids that we allowed the TV and DVD to be switched on of an evening as a reward. We decided to reward ourselves with G&T's. We actually rewarded ourselves quite well, sometimes too well.
The dawn of day 11 saw Rae arise to the sounds of Tunis, our new chef, rattling the pots in the kitchen.
Rae went back to bed and slept with a smile on her face.
Tunis is one of David and Moira's chefs from Pacung Indah. He's a great bloke that puts in a long day from before lunch until the last dinner is cooked at their place every day. He decided to grab the chance to cook for us in the mornings as he was badly in need of a new motorbike and knew that hard work was the way to get it.
It was very interesting watching him go about his preparation, but I must say I was mortified to learn after all these years that the crispy bacon we get served in the mornings is deep fried in a mountain of oil. I soon went out and purchased some non stick pans and the next day had him fry the bacon and pour out the excess oil as it cooked. It may not be a lot healthier, but it sure was tastier.
Sue and Jim arrived after brekky along with their mate Jeff to go and look at a waterfall or two. David's son Adrian had been doing a fair amount of trekking out this way and suggested that Git Git twin waterfall was the place to go rather than the main Git Git waterfall. With that info we headed off up the mountain once more, dropping in to ‘Crackers Bar and Grill' to show the guys our project on the way. While we were there the kids got a bit thirsty and ordered drinks all around. Tui was still not spot on yet but Mum decided to let her have a green fanta. The result was the first ever chunder on the bar at ‘Crackers'
After the clean up we carried on over the top with Jim and I indulging in a little Rally Practice for the upcoming Bali Rally. We had a small incident heading down the other side that I can still taste in the back of my throat. As many of you will know me and plastic bags don't really go together, especially in Bali. When we had been back at the market the kids were all offered plastic bags with their purchases which I have taught them to refuse.
Now I'll always carry just one.
We were driving through thick fog and pouring rain when little miss Sienna decided to crap herself in the nastiest possible way. Everyone was gagging but if we put the windows down the rain belted in and the windscreen fogged up dangerously. The fog outside meant it was too dangerous to stop on the winding roads as there was nowhere to pull over and the local traffic barely slows down for these kinds of conditions.
Rae managed to get Sienna cleaned up and changed on the move but that bloody nappy was gonna kill us all.
I eventually ended up with my head out the window yelling ‘Bugger the rain' to all the poor suffering souls in the back that were now getting wet as well as gagging.
Ten minutes later we arrived at Git Git Twin and everyone just fell out of whatever opening they could find on the car. Rae managed to locate a plastic bag from the nearest warung and the offending item was double bagged and triple tied post haste.
Git Git Twin turned out to be a great place for a swim and a picnic. It's a relatively easy walk of about four hundred metres that pretty much anyone could handle if they take it at a leisurely pace. There is only a couple of little warungs selling drinks and wares along the track mixed in with a few kids selling beads and the standard self-attaching guide that all these places have.
Ketut, our guide, was a wonderful and very informative young fella that gave everyone a good history of the area as well as naming all the plants and their uses on the walk in. This was very helpful in taking everyone's minds of the fact that there was a little bit of exertion on some of the uphill sections.
The waterfall itself is not huge but is certainly quite picturesque. There are two different streams pouring down into one cave that is tucked away under quite a large overhang. This then leads off to a series of smaller falls and rock pools criss-crossed by many small tracks and bridges.
There is a small sitting/picnic area up near the main falls with a great spot for the brave to have a swim. There is also a Tarzan rope hanging in the main cave if you're game to have a go. The best time to go there is just before noon on a sunny day as the sun strikes the water in the cave area revealing further caves below the surface.
I'll try and find some decent photos but they're hard to get in the cave due to all the mist. I do have some great shots of water droplets though.
That'll do for now, my fingers are hurting. I need to wrap them around a cold can. ;-)
CBE
Cracker and Rae