It wasn’t exactly as we’d planned. Erika and I were going to fly to Kuala Lumpur together and then she would head off to Amsterdam and I would go to Beijing. We were supposed to have 2 hours together in Kuala Lumpur – to reminisce, to get a drink, to bring a bit of closure to an amazing 2 weeks in Bali. As it turned out, though, our flight out of Bali was delayed and Erika had to run to her gate. “See you soon! It was great! So glad we could do this together!”… and she was gone. And this trip that we’d been looking forward to for months and months was suddenly over. But it had given us so much. And our last couple of days had brought some of our favorite memories. Amazing memories.
On Sunday we hired a driver (the remarkable Tin, who has taught himself English over the last 1 ½ years, has a great sense of humor and loves to learn new slang and sayings along the way). He drove us first to Tengenan, one of the original Balinese villages – where we could see the traditional layout of a village. From there, we took the most amazing walk of our trip, through foothills and steeply terraced rice paddies. We could see 180 degrees of mountains and the expansive sea in the other direction. The greens were shades you almost couldn’t believe existed in nature; and certainly not so many next to each other.
On Sunday we hired a driver (the remarkable Tin, who has taught himself English over the last 1 ½ years, has a great sense of humor and loves to learn new slang and sayings along the way). He drove us first to Tengenan, one of the original Balinese villages – where we could see the traditional layout of a village. From there, we took the most amazing walk of our trip, through foothills and steeply terraced rice paddies. We could see 180 degrees of mountains and the expansive sea in the other direction. The greens were shades you almost couldn’t believe existed in nature; and certainly not so many next to each other.
Along the way we stopped and bought water and bananas from a little family-run warung (like a food-stand) at the top of a hill along the path we were following. The mother brought us the bananas, the young daughter (maybe 9 or so?) continued her weaving and the father played a traditional Balinese instrument that looks like a xylophone to me. Our view was astounding and we were speechless.
After about 2.5 hours of walking we found Tin again in a local village and he drove us on to Tirtagangga (which literally means “holy water of the ganges”) – a royal water palace, built by the former king of the province (Bali is no longer a kingdom, so the village now owns and maintains the palace). Astounding. We were even allowed to swim in the royal pool. Floating on our backs, finally cool after a hot and humid hike, looking up at the amazing temple architecture and enormous Banyon tree overhead, we thought perhaps we had found paradise.
Tin drove us home via his own village, where we got to briefly meet his mother and niece. And then back to Ubud and an amazing last dinner at Casa Luna, a brilliant restaurant owned by a Balinese-Australian couple, serving fantastic Indonesian food. It was getting to eat local while feeling pampered (and finding a decent glass of wine -- a difficult feat on Bali!)
Monday was our last day in Bali; we flew out early Monday evening. We decided to take it very easy. A long, leisurely breakfast and newspaper reading session. A stroll around town. A 2-hour massage, body scrub and floral bath (see below). Going out just like we came in…
After about 2.5 hours of walking we found Tin again in a local village and he drove us on to Tirtagangga (which literally means “holy water of the ganges”) – a royal water palace, built by the former king of the province (Bali is no longer a kingdom, so the village now owns and maintains the palace). Astounding. We were even allowed to swim in the royal pool. Floating on our backs, finally cool after a hot and humid hike, looking up at the amazing temple architecture and enormous Banyon tree overhead, we thought perhaps we had found paradise.
Tin drove us home via his own village, where we got to briefly meet his mother and niece. And then back to Ubud and an amazing last dinner at Casa Luna, a brilliant restaurant owned by a Balinese-Australian couple, serving fantastic Indonesian food. It was getting to eat local while feeling pampered (and finding a decent glass of wine -- a difficult feat on Bali!)
Monday was our last day in Bali; we flew out early Monday evening. We decided to take it very easy. A long, leisurely breakfast and newspaper reading session. A stroll around town. A 2-hour massage, body scrub and floral bath (see below). Going out just like we came in…
I just landed in Beijing and am waiting for Jacco’s flight to arrive. Phase 2 of this amazing journey is about to begin!
Great post (as always) :-) I had to laugh b/c after I rushed off to my gate I found out that my plane was delayed by an hour - but when I came back to find you you must have already gone through security... Anyway, had a lovely stay in A'dam - gorgeous weather, lots of nice walks and sitting at cafes w/ the paper, enjoyed a glass of wine w/ Erica. It was great.
ReplyDeletenote to beca... China's wine sucks too :) enjoy the rest of your travels ladies!!
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