Hi all, I have just returned from a fantastic as usual, 4 night trip to my favorite place...
I landed at 11.30 am and excited about seeing my many friends I have made in Bali over the last few years...
THURSDAY:
I get through customs quicker than ever before as I decided I would use the porters this time as it has been so quiet over there for them, they get me through without me being stopped and checked as I usually do...
I get outside to be greeted by my longtime best friend Ketut with big smiles and a hug and a kiss. We arrive at my hotel dump my stuff have my first drink at the hotel bar and head off to find the new location of Ricky's sport Bar in Legian... WOW great move for them so much better than Seminyak. We spend a few hours here, then time to go abck to hotel to meet my friend Kelik to give him some stuff from his friends in Perth..Time to get showered and ready for my first night out. We went to Legends Bar where my friend Ketut works, but not this week he had the week off whilst I was there. We have a great night there as usual and the guy's from Ricky's came to have a drink with us when they finished work. My Aunty & Uncle also turn up to have a few drinks with us as well...A good night had by all...We stayed until close a bit under the weather by this time and decide to go back to hotel and get a bit of sleep in before the next big day..
FRIDAY:
I woke at 7 am didn't want to spend to much time sleeping as I was only going to be here for 4 days and had so much to do and many people to go and see.
Ketut is ready to go by 8 so we leave and head off to markets to get food and alcohol as we are heading up to his village in Singaraja on Saturday morning to visit his family, this will be my 4th time going to his village even though it is so far it is worth every minute being there.. I get sick every time we go up in the car so he decides we would go on the bike. I must admit I was a little bit reluctant about the bike thing, but decide ok I will give it a go this time...
SATURDAY:
We leave Legian at 8 am it is pouring with rain and go to Denpasar to meet up with Ketut's brother Made and his wife and baby who are also going to the village with us..
I am soaked at this point so we wait here for about 20 minutes hoping the rain will stop. While we are waiting I play with his niece Putu, this is the 5th time I have seen Putu who is 3, absolutely gorgeous little girl, she has always been shy around me but not this time, Ketut has been teaching her to speak English to me as I am the only westerner that she see's. She kept saying to me halo aunty or halo Jodee how are you, she can also say thank you, sorry, and fine thank you...Just beautiful. So if I didn't hear this 1 time I heard it a thousand times over the next 2 days. So funny..
So now the rain has stopped and we all head off on our long 2 hour journey to Singaraja.
All is going well until we had been riding for 1 hour and my butt started hurting and I was getting numb feet so I ask Ketut if we can stop for 5 minutes...No worries he says so we stop I get off and rest my backside have a quick smoke and walk around to get my feet normal again. Time to go again... Oh no Ketut has turned off the bike and it won't start again. I am thinking now what the.. Fortunately we were on a little bit of a hill and his brother pushes him down the hill and away we go again for another hour..Oh my butt was really sore by now.. We finally arrive at the village, and the whole family are they waiting for us...I say my halo's they all have a big laugh about my bum hurting, and we go inside to have a drink and Ibu has prepared lunch for us, oh no this meant I had to sit on the floor on my already very sore backside. We finish lunch and we clean up and all shower and get ready for another long Journey to the Hot spring where we are going to for Ketut's brother because he has been sick and has a rash all over his body. The hot spring is supposed to be a cure all place. So we pile in the car 11 of us in total to now do another 1 ½ hour drive. We stop along the way to a temple on the side of the road to do a little ceremony thing before we get to the hot spring.. I really didn't want to get out and do this because there are monkey's every where here. They were jumping all over the car before we even get out....then they attack Ketut's sister in-law when she got out of the car because she had the offerings for the ceremony in her hands, she is screaming so I am more scared to get out now, but Ketut ensures me he will keep them away from me, and he did.. During the ceremony they get a little to close for my liking...I couldn't wait to get back in the car and get out of there...Phew made it without them touching me..
We are now almost at the hot spring and I am now busting to go to toilet, to much water on the way. I ask Ketut if we can stop and find a toilet, and I could see a really concerned look on his face. I ask him what is wrong. He say's sorry there is no toilets could I do it on the land....oh I said...maybe I will just wait, so I try to hang on and it wasn't working so now I have no other choice but to go on the land as he puts it...we stop the car...off I go into the bush and come out very red faced when you have 10 people sitting in the car looking at you....and laughing... it isn't funny...We arrive at the hot spring and they ask me if I want to swim here, I say no thank you. I am not sure if any of you have been here but yuk !! It is very dirty water and it stinks like rotten eggs...of which I was informed of by Ketut before we got there. He said to me I must not say anything about how it smelt and looked, or say oh my god...it's hot...religious reasons...So Ketut and I sit and wait for them to swim...when they finish we are all to shower in the hot spring water in a shower block and go into another temple for another ceremony before we drive all the way back to the village for some relaxing..what a long day..!
SUNDAY:
I wake at 7 am feeling a lot better than the day before..I go and have a shower if that's what you can call it.. I don't class standing in the middle of a bathroom and tipping water all over your self with a ladle a shower.. But hey this is true village life..I have even mastered the squat toilet there now.. Ketut's family just think it's great because I will stay with them and eat what they eat. I even drink there... never yet got sik..I finish my shower and go out the back to sit with the family and chat..Ibu brings me my Balinese coffee which I now love..and I sit and enjoy watching them doing there daily chores.. hand washing all their clothes, and the dishes, shoes and linen all this is washed in the one sink on the ground made of concrete....yuk but this is all they have..I then watch bapak kill the rooster which I assume is for dinner that night...not good to watch first thing in morning...Ketut then tells me Ibu says we must eat before we leave for Denpasar, I tried to tell him I don't eat breakfast but they wouldn't have it, so we eat rice sambal and (tom)not sure of the spelling for this but it is some form of pork rapped in banana leaves I think..not too bad..
We then just sit around relaxing and chatting before I have to say my good byes..I hate that part..Time to go it's now 11 am.. we are blessed by Ketut's mum and we leave for that dreaded journey to Denpasar. We stop twice on the way home for quick smoke and to relieve my bum from numbness this time without turning off the bike...We arrive 2 hours later and I can hardly walk...hahaha. They laugh at me again..
I then spend my last day catching up with everyone and relaxing..
Now I am back in reality...so sad to leave, I love the simplicity of their lives..They don't have much but make the most out of it.. And they are always's so happy...Already planning my next trip hopefully September for a month this time..
Cheers