Home time

Ian redeems his last birthday treats. We have head to toe scrubs, cuts and massages in a tiny salon, where we manage basic conversation and laugh at the toddler running around. The girls giggle when papa joins mama for even a facial, and insist we share the minuscule shower to rinse the scrub off. At about $35 each for 5 hours pampering we're very happy with the service. 

Lots of walking - it's about 3km along the beach then manicured Nusa Dua gardens to Starbucks (grr, but the best that's on offer) in a fancy shopping centre - keeps us fit. 

We see a wedding or 2 a day, they're mainly Japanese looking amazing all dressed up in Western gear. 

We decide not to try parasailing, jet skiing, fly boat, banana boat etc, but a windy hour on a hobicat is fun, even though we need a minder to dodge all those other things. Ian managed to lift a hull, so he's happy. 
Our last meal is at Bumbu Bali, but with the helpful waitress's assistance we choose a meal supposedly for 1, but that's more than enough for we two smallish eaters. OMG amazing flavours and spices, with small tastes of 15 treats. It's definitely on the list for next year.  

Ubud and beaches

We spend a few last days in Ubud, and celebrate Ian's birthday with Bob and Heather. First is a rafting trip on the Ayung River, always good fun and amazingly beautiful with the jungle and waterfalls. 

Cocktails and tapas for dinner, then a 9 course degustation dessert…yum is a huge understatement!

Bob has a new friend to play with

Galungan is a major holiday, and all houses are decorated with an enormous penjor -  they take hours to make

Next stop another quiet surfing spot - Keramas - for a bit more r&r. Unfortunately it's a bit rough for swimming, and our legs are suffering from the hundreds of steps taken down then up at the rafting spot, but we admire the surfers and make use of the coffee and juice bar at the posh resort next door. And watch the floodlit night surfing, only $100 an hour to only share a wave with 3 others 

Last stop is Tanjung Benoa near Nusa Dua, we haven't been here before. Our small beachfront hotel is dwarfed by its neighbours, it's quiet and comfy. 

There's plenty of water sports to thrill the mainly Asian visitors, and an icecream shop only a shuttle bus ride away. 

Ubud again

We're at a brand new resort close to Ubud, their first guests, so watch as things are finished around us. Instant gardens are made, the 3 storey side wall is painted with a huge pole and roller, and the gaping lift cavity finally gets a caution sign, but only on the ground floor, bad luck if you misstep further up...

We catch the shuttle into town each day, and have lunch with Ian's dad and sister. There's a bit of shopping to do too, and massages and lots of "cuci mata" which literally means washing eyes but actually means looking at all the sights, and from the laughs we get I'm assuming it's the eye-candy sorts of sights!

We visit the local birth centre Bumi Sehat, where babies are lovingly and gently welcomed to the world, with an amazing success rate, run by a very passionate American woman. I hand over my knitted beanies and have the privilege of offering one to a 1 day old baby and his very proud parents and grandparents. 

Traffic is horrendous on these narrow roads, so the 10 minutes shuttle can take 1/2 hour. We spend one trip with an Indian family - they work out an Indian itinerary for us for "one day" - then I manage to find music on my phone known by the 19 year old daughter and her dad, and even the balinese car drive

Mas - where we are - is a centre for all types of amazing sculptures

 

And of course the street food, here delicious chicken saté with a fiery sambal for $1 each

North Coast

More quiet beaches, with lovely small hotels. We swim, snorkel, walk, read, eat...

The bigger hotels pay ladies to sweep leaves and rubbish each morning

For $2 a pineapple is expertly peeled and sliced

Brr, a very invigorating dip under a waterfall

  

Cassavas not only provide food from the roots, but the leaves make great umbrella/sunshades

Ahh, sunrise

 And sunset

Morning jamu at the local market

And evening seafood platter, a very expensive $40 including drinks

The South West Coast

It's beautifully unspoilt here, clean villages  with lots of flowers, and a huge rubber plantation. We take a tour and learn all about its daily collection and processing, and watched the sheets being bundled up before being shipped out to make tyres and soles. 

Its also clove harvesting time, so

whole families camp in the hills, and separate the flowers from the stems. 

 

One morning we go to the market and buy $10 worth of fruit (tourist price) 

$2 of snacks and coffee for breakfast from this lovely lady

and watch the locals leave on laden bikes

 After that we wander to one of the few resorts and make use of their lovely surrounds and enjoy $3.50 cafe latte and fresh coconut juice...

 We walk the beach for miles

and take the local bus to visit the 2 very low key surfing areas nearby. 

Back to Ubud

With Ian's sister here, and his dad staying in town for 2 months, this is the logical place to return to inbetween trips. But it's so noisy!! We have a couple of nights in a back street hotel, from where we treat 82 year old Bob to his first ever back massage - "quite nice" is the verdict - then escape to the rural surrounds for a few days animal sitting with friends of Heather. 

3 of the 4 rescued dogs: 1 lame, 1 nearly blind, 1 very skittish ....

Our daily walks are filled with sights that are normal for here, but unimaginable at home:

Ladies carrying at least 20kg tiles from drop off point on road to building site almost 1km, in thongs..

I bought some earrings from this man, with his workshop/store/house on the side of the walking track way out in the rice fields. He happily cleaned my very dirty pendant and chain, while I waited. Safety goggles? Shoes?!

These rice stalks will probably feed a cow, tucked away in a lean-to hut somewhere under a tree. 

Now off to the beach again for a couple of weeks. 

Lipah, Sideman

This week has mainly been at a small fishing village called Lipah, on the East Coast of Bali. 

We have been coming here for years, and 'adopted' a local family. Mum Made has been sick with stomach problems, and dad Joni is a fisherman who could hardly see until we realised it was cataracts and found him a free clinic. 18 year old Putu is nearly finished her pre-nursing, and hopes to go to uni next yer;12 yo Kadek completed elementary school and we were honoured guests at the breakup day. 

It's been a lazy time playing with the kids

Knitting beanies for new babies

And eating each morning tea (banana fritters with palm sugar syrup...) and soup/fresh fish/veg/rice dinners, all cooked in a very basic kitchen. 

Then it's back to the hills at Sideman for a couple of days amidst fruit and vegie gardens, with a cool breeze and the sound of the adjacent river. 

There's a hammock hiding on the porch

And truly free range chooks 

Looks like this gravel-loaded truck was the last straw for the bridge just near where we are staying. Like many areas there's lots of build going on, and quiet roads get more heavy traffic

This was a narrow piece of land with a river rubbing through, but the very savvy owner is tunnelling the water through, and will build a new tile factory on top. We'll come back next year to see if it's finished...

As usual the women are busy carrying huge loads of rocks and gravel on their heads, but it seems that concreting is mens work. Actually it's kopi time so they're all about to have a break.