There will be those who will say too much information, so for those who are not used to people opening up on a forum, look away now please. For me this is not personal anymore it is a fact of my life and something that more people than you could even imagine go through also. To clarify my story ... I am not after sympathy, just stating the facts as to why I wanted to incorporate some healing into this trip by way of the spring waters and the holy man...I have spent the past 18 months doing IVF. In this time I have fallen pregnant twice - once at the beginning of IVF (and naturally) and once just before this Bali trip...which almost had us cancelling but unfortunately like the other times, I miscarried. This was my 4th loss. The day we left for Bali I visited my gynacologist/obstetrician specialist after some tests in the week prior and he advised that I needed to undergo surgery as soon as possible. The surgery relates to a couple of things that I already know about and one new thing. Normally this would have freaked me out as I have been down this path a few times but this time it didn't and I told him that we were leaving for Bali at 5.15pm and that anything he had to do would have to wait until our return. For those who haven't experienced IVF, it is a long emotional, hormonal and physical toil on your body. The older you are the more drugs they need to give you to do a wonderful thing like stimulate your ovaries etc. I was on overload literally and all I can say it really does take the wind out of your sails, but you have to keep going because there may be an end result! It is heartbreaking to see so many many others in the same position.
Now to continue...after the rather unique and personal experience we were hungry and so Wayan suggested we head up to Kintamani for a feed. I am not overly fond of buffets or aggressive sellers but hubby had never been to Kintamani and as we were close it was an ideal opportunity. We headed towards one of the nicest restaurants up there and it was teeming with people. All the restaurants do remarkable business up here. We were not approached or hassled at all and I have to wonder if that has to do with the very impressive look of our friend Wayan. Wayan is constantly being flirted with by all girls near and far. He makes me laugh because he loves the attention and flashes his whiter than white teeth around. He is constantly trying to stir me up, knowing that when I do I will always remind him of his lovely wife and children and give the girls who are flirting with him, a most definite 'back off' look.
We were lucky enough to score a table out the back outside overlooking the fantastic and clear view of the volcano. The buffet was really good. I am not a fan of buffets given that nearly every time I eat from one, I get sick, however I was fine with this buffet. The turn over of trays was very fast, and the crowd around the buffet table never seemed to dissipate. The only downfall at lunch was the massive bee that wanted to drink my soft drink - it loved me - wouldn't leave me alone, so I was constantly up and down from the table in my vain attempt to get away from it, much to the amusement of all around us. One particular time it started to chase me around the table which had me shrieking much to the disgust and embarrassment of my husband who thought I was 'overreacting'. Wayan just laughed!
Off note when we left the restaurant and were driving out the carpark (behind another Kijang), the sellers were trying to sell the occupants of the car in front a chess set. Wayan told us to watch closely and sure enough another guy comes to stand by his mate once the deal had been done (but no money exchanged) and quick as a fox swapped the chess set whilst keeping it hugged against the car and below the line of vision, and then casually heads back away. Lucky for the person in the car when the goods were handed over he checked the chess set and found it to be of an inferior quality and promptly handed it back, wound the window up and off they went. Shifty little b*ggers! The guy who missed out on the sale knew we had seen the whole thing so there was no way he was going to try the same crap on us!
It had been a long day. I was feeling very tired and more than ready to head into Tuban and check into our fourth accommodation choice and our final resting place for the remainder of the trip - the Ramada Bintang. We arrived at the Ramada at about 4.30/5.00 and were told we had been upgraded to a deluxe room - now I had been told by many people including the travel agent there is no difference at all between deluxe and superior as they are both classified as Run of House. I asked where the room was and she advised me with a wave of her left hand that we were just over there on the second floor. Just over there was overlooking the lobby....I don't think so...I am not going to spend the next 12 nights of my holiday at the back of the hotel overlooking the gamelan players. Not going to cut it. It seemed that all the peacefulness I had experienced all day was about to fly right out the window. Wayan had arrived at this stage and sensed something was amiss and after I told him, he spoke to the front counter officer who insisted that the hotel was fully booked and that nothing could be done about it. I don't know what Wayan said to her with his big grin on his face and firm voice, but she went to the computer and after about 10 minutes found us a room in the right wing over looking the gardens on the top floor. Perfect! Off we went. Now we have never stayed at the Ramada Bintang before and we were only staying here because my best friend and her son were arriving in a couple of days and they were booked into the hotel for 10 nights. As they had booked their trip to Bali whilst we were in Bali in Jan/Feb, the hotel was not negotiable!! Hubby took one look at the room and bathroom and hated it. So small compared to what we are used to. It was just not what we were used to. In fact I think we have been spoilt in our accommodation choices over the last few years and this was the first one that well and truly failed to live up to the expectation.
I however, was determined to remain at peace and upbeat. I knew that the room and hotel would grow on us, we just had to get used to it...besides the king size bed was enormous and firm so I knew that this in itself would make for a happier hubby! Hubby and Wayan took off to view the grounds and where the pool was etc and I started to unpack - it was a good feeling knowing I could unpack my entire suitcase rather than only a few things at a time given that we had so far been gypsies by staying in 3 different hotels until now. They came back and Wayan bid us farewell and said he would catch up with us tomorrow. Hubby decided to follow my lead and offload his suitcase and before long we were settling back on the balcony with a cool drink. The clock crept around and we decided to order room service rather than head out for dinner as it was past 9.30. Never again! Overpriced.
Before long we were switching off the lights and heading into a deep sleep on our very firm bed.
Still to come...my friends arrival and our night at paddy's, the holy man and my 40th!