Day 11
We wake and I go around and take photos of the HRH, have breakfast and then go say good bye to the many beautiful people whom we became close to, in particular Mr Bean. The boys loved him so much and I knew they were really going to miss him. The boys give him a big hug and I can see Noggin is getting teary, I give Mr Bean some money just because I wanted to, he made the holiday for my boys and I'll always be thankful to him for that.
We check out and pay our enormous bill, and jump on the bus for the Harbour, we've chosen to go with Scoot fast boats on recommendation from Minjarrah from playgrounds, she says they are Australian owned and run. When I came over last time we used lembongan fast boats which were also good but it's a lot different on a boat when you have your kids, I was constantly planning on how I would save them in the event of a boat flip, my reasoning for this was when Noggin was 3 we were in Phuket with my hubby (Emu), FIL, MIL, and BIL and on our return from phi phi island the weather had turned nasty and the waves were huge tipping the boat nearly vertical as we smashed down on them, I was inside the cabin frantically holding on to Noggin who was crying his heart out and I was just praying with tears in my eyes, the driver had asked all the men to sit up on the nose of the boat to try and keep the nose down as much as possible, only the Aussie men went up the front funnily enough, including Emu, FIL and BIL, all the Japanese stayed inside the cabin gripping their life jackets and chairs and making the most horrible awwwwwww sound and screaming and wailing the whole hour or so trip back, it was truly treacherous and frightening, I actually thought this was how it was all going to end. My FIL actually fractured his coxic on one of the slams down off a wave and spent the rest of the holiday in bed and we later learned that this company had flipped a boat a week earlier and a person had died.
So I was equally scared driving across on the boat today especially when the waves got quite big and the boat began to slam down once again, panic set in and tears began to well, but we had a great driver who hit the waves more front on as opposed to kind of side on like the idiot driver in Phuket, and after 30 mins we were safe back on ground to one of the most beautiful views!
We are staying at playgrounds again as the villa has its own pool etc. and it has 2 bedrooms, a lounge, kitchen, balcony and the most amazing postcard like views.
We spend the day relaxing and swimming, I take a walk along the beach and am humbled by the beauty and primitive living and envisage that this was how Bali would have been many moons ago, the constant sound of the roosters, the women washing, and carrying the enormous baskets full of seaweed on their heads the kids running and laughing and of course the process of seaweed farming out in the ocean, it's truly beautiful and I feel an overwhelming sense of privilege just to witness this.
We go to The Deck for lunch and I have a chicken and salad baguette and am so excited to have a salad roll! It was delicious and fresh.
We go to coconuts for dinner and again good food, a serving of bruschetta followed by a toasted BLT panini, all delicious and $25 for the whole family! The boys had their standard Nuggets and chips, and I swear they will be eating nothing but veggies when they get home and will be in for a rude shock, they have eaten predominantly chips, and Nuggets since arriving, they've had some pasta and chicken and rice but mainly chips, but we are on holiday and I'm not going to worry about it now, they've also had soft drink everyday which they never have at home, I figure if I'm eating for 10 men then they can eat a bit of what they like!
We go back to the villa and watch some DVDs, I haven't watched TV since I got to Bali, so this was nice and relaxing. The boys want ice cream so back to the deck I go, $18 later I have 1 scoop ea for Nugget and Noggin and 2 scoops each for myself and Emu, and in the short walk back it had all pretty much melted.. No more $18 ice-cream!
Day 12
I struggle to sleep as it's so hot and although we have a fan that cools the room somewhat it is rather noisy and blows my hair around even tied up which makes me often wake fearing I have bugs on me. We get up and have Breakfast at reef, average, the bread tastes a week old. We come back to the villa and Emu heads out for a surf, myself Nugget and Noggin all play and swim in our private pool, I catch some rays madly trying to catch up for lost time. Next we do something I swore I wouldn't do with my kids, me and Emu get mopeds. (I wouldn't do it in Bali, but there is hardly any traffic here) It's been a lil while since I've ridden one and I'm a bit rusty,I practice for a bit to ensure I was a little confident and if it was only me on it my heart rate may have dropped below 180, however as I have Noggin with me many many "what ifs" and "should you really be doing this" goes through my mind on a constant repeat, and although I know the answers I continue to go along. We are off, I don't go over 20km per hour the whole time and as I familiarize myself I become more confident, heart rate down to about 160, feeling a bit better. Noggin loves it telling me to go faster, which I won't, of course Nugget already thinks it's a race and must always be in front, I can hear him telling Emu to overtake me constantly which in turn also eggs Noggin on.. The scenery is breathtaking, although I miss a lot of it in concentration even at 20kms max per hour, I mostly hover on around 15km as every other person on the island overtakes me looking at me like I'm an idiot. I feel a little like Lloyd (And probably look) from dumb n dumber! We end up down near the mangroves and have a rest and a well-earned drink, I think I've eaten some of the local wildlife on my travels. An Aussie guy is sitting with a monkey, before I can even park the bike Nugget and Noggin are over there with the monkey climbing all over them, helicopter mum (me) comes over and asks them to back away from the monkey, the guy assures me he's had his rabies shot and his canines removed and that he has been trained.. I let them pat him some more although still very weary, he is super cute and the boys are ecstatic. We have a soft drink and take some photos of the awe that is before us and we are off again. The roads are obviously not great and often just full of potholes making the challenge even greater, but it's come back to me now and I'm far more relaxed and confident. We get to cenenigi bridge and all the confidence blows out the window, subconsciously I am having a mini AMI inside, up up we go and we are on the bridge which goes for about 200m it is rickety and made of wood pailings some which are so far apart or have broken away I could easily fit my foot through..albeit a tiny size 5. It rattles loudly as we cross although I'm not sure which is louder the bridge or my girly squeals, meanwhile Noggin keeps telling me "it's ok Mumma, you'll be fine"! We make it and I am then faced with a hill I could easily kiss standing up, which was so broken and rocky I thought it was a definite invitation for me to either roll backwards down back to the bridge or stack, I realize I need to increase the speed to get up this baby and I do so and we survive. The view and surroundings are incredible and I feel so privileged to be amongst it. I have a grin from ear to ear and the locals look at me like I'm some crazy white woman as I ever so slowly zoom on by.. Which I probably am. We stop at the swallow and have some lunch while admiring the view and watching some surfers tackle the massive waves. We ride back unscathed and everyone agrees in Highs and lows over dinner that the motorbike was definitely the high. We come back and swim and relax for a bit, hire a canoe and go for some exploring. We have dinner at Muntigs bar and restaurant above the deck and its very nice, a bit more expensive costing us for the family $70aud but never the less and impressive meal. Emu has the steak and finally after years of steaking in Bali he is happy with it.. Amen!
Day 13
Crap sleep again, awoke by loud storms during the night and Nugget comes in about 6 am for some nuggles. I lie there for a bit and decide to take an early morning walk. I sit and watch the Balinese go about their morning tasks and am just so very happy to be here yet so so sad we are nearing the end. Off to the deck for breakfast which was a very nice Change from yesterday. Myself Nugget and Noggin lay by our pool for a while and Emu goes for a surf. We get the mopeds again and head out to dream beach for lunch. It's a beautiful spot with spectacular views, the private beach is beautiful as is the resort that boasts one of those pools that appears to drop off into the ocean, lunch was ok we just had a few nibbles of spring rolls, Noggin has pancakes again and Nugget has a ham jaffle. We then head over to mushroom beach which is equally beautiful and quite a touristy location. We do a bit of shopping near playgrounds in a shop where I made at least 2 litres of sweat just by being in there for 15 minutes, it's so hot and stuffy that I can barely breath I look as if I've literally stepped out of the pool by the time we leave! We snatch a few bargains of salt and pepper shakers made from bamboo, a shell door hanging thingy and the boys got some little boxes carved from wood that have a secret way of opening them and they are most impressed with their purchases. The couple that own the shop and the husband who actually carves all the wood and trinkets are a lovely pair who give us great discounts without even asking them, they even tell the boys to go and pick some bracelets on the house. It's such a lovely experience to buy from them without the hassle of bartering as you would have to in Bali. They are not pushy at all and actually tell you about all the items and what they are made from and how he makes them. We go back to the villa and Emu takes the opportunity for an afternoon surf. Me and the boys laze around and relax, it's so very peaceful and slow paced, and I could easily get used to this very simple way of living. It truly is such a difference to the way we live and how we run around aimlessly at home trying to cram in as much as possible in our already busy and materialistic days at home. It honestly gets me thinking about who are the wiser people out of the different cultures and lifestyles. At home I do enjoy all the materialistic things and yet here I could easily forget about them in a second to have the relaxing lifestyle and family unity that they have. As I type this on my phone I am faced with the postcard like view of the ocean, seaweed farming and boats along the beach with the majestic agung volcano as a backdrop.. Just picturesque, I never want to leave.
We have dinner at Ware Ware out the front of Oka bungalow no 7. Was pretty good I had fettuccine carbonara and enjoyed it, Emu said his club Sanga was beautiful. Off to watch a DVD, tomorrow is our last full day on Lembongan.. Oh the pain..