Bali -- Day 6 -- Goodbye Bali!

This was my last day in Bali. After an early breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and made the long winding journey toward Kuta. We drove through picturesque highways and spent some time at a botanical garden. Incidentally, since Ayub was doing the driving and the navigating, I forgot the names of the places we visited. We stopped at a vegetable and fruit market, because Ayub and Dewi wanted to buy some for their families. Incidentally, I figured out that I could shoot 640 x 480 movie clips at 30 frames/second with my camera (Canon A610). Until this time, I was shooting at a measly 320 x 240 at 15 frames/second. Better late than never, I suppose.

On the long drive, Ayub played some popular music called dangdut that sounded very much like Bollywood music I was familiar with. Dandut has become more popular than ever. I was so intrigued by the music that I purchased a VCD for keepsake. We also discussed the origin of some of the Balinese/Bahasa vocabulary that I recognized as coming from Sanskrit. They were surprised that I could guess the meaning of many words. Wow, stuff that I learned almost a quarter of century ago came flooding back. As we neared Kuta, we dropped off Dewi at her home and Ayub dropped me off at Restu Bali Hotel to pick up my baggage. I repacked all my belongings and walked a few hundred meters to where Ayub offered a ride to the airport. With mixed feelings, I exchanged goodbyes with Ayub, compensated him handily for all the assistance and departed from Bali. Over the past few days, I came to appreciate his hard work, friendliness and honesty, and I leave him as a good friend. I shall definitely look him up during my next trip to Bali.

At the airport, I avoided the stalls inside and hopped over to a small cafe within the airport where the locals eat -- saved a whole lot of money. My flight for Hong Kong was leaving and the highlight of my trip came to a close. I shall return here someday. Terimah kasih, Bali and selamat ingal!

Bali -- Day 5 -- Road Trip

I had a quick continental breakfast at Adi Cottages, checked out and went to an internet cafe to check my mail. Around 9.30 am, Ayub came to Adi Cottages to pick me up for the road trip to north of Bali. He had hired an SUV (a small one at that) for 2 days at 180,000 Rp (~ 18 USD) per day. Accompanying him was his friend, Dewi, whom I recognized as one of the staff from the hotel. They were on a "clandestine" trip together at my expense. I didn't mind it all. Dewi knew very little English, so we mostly communicated through Ayub. We drove through some terraced paddy fields, then northbound to Kintamani, near Mount Batur, an active volcano. We took the detour downhill along the steep and winding road to Lake Batur, where we spent a few minutes taking in the beautiful, yet rustic surroundings. There are lots of campers that spend days on end climbing the mountain. I might consider it one of these days. We'll see.

On our return to Kintamani, we went to a recently-built popular restaurant that overlooked the volcano and had lunch. I offered to take Ayub and Dewi with me, instead they went to the lower level where the Balinese go (it's much cheaper), while I went to the rooftop (90,000 Rp) and had the lunch buffet. I think it's a form of discrimination to have the locals and the tourists eat at separate places and to, of course, be charged different rates. As they say, while in Rome... It was a good spread, but nothing to write home about. The view, however, was fantastic. Strong gusty winds blew across while I ate looking at the weirdly denuded sides of the mountain where the lava flow had obliterated all vegetation.

Our final destination was Lovina/Singaraja, a sleepy town on the north coast of Bali and a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of Kuta. The roads to Lovina are relatively narrow, winding and full of traffic. The lush greenery and the varying vegetation made the long, slow drive very enjoyable. Bali has only two seasons -- rainy and dry, but the temperature remains more or less the same. Therefore, many fruits such as mangoes and bananas, and vegetables grow all the year round.

We tried accommodations at many beach resorts and after some search, Ayub recommended a cottage right on the beach. For the life of me, I cannot remember the name of the place, since it's relatively new and construction was still going on. To get a good price, Ayub bargained and got the local rate for two a/c rooms at 125,000 Rp each. Had I gone there on my own, I would have easily paid at least 3 times that amount! Good to have a local friend. We checked into the hotel rooms and after a few minutes of resting in a/c, we met again under the canopy facing north toward Bali Sea, relaxed with a couple of Bintang beers and feasted on the freshly cut mangoes Dewi had bought at a roadside stand. Man, it was peaceful, however, too hot to swim yet. This is what beach side resort living is all about -- leisurely pace, calm waters, good food and of course nothing to disturb you. I can fully imagine coming here to write a book (if I only had the talent to do so).

After a nap, we had kopi bali at a beach side cafe about 10 minutes by car and waited for the sunset views. It lived up to my expectations - gorgeous colors, calm, soothing waters. We drove back to the motel and I swam in the calm sea for about 45 minutes. Interesting fact: the sands on the north coast of Bali are black and volcanic, while the sands in the south (Kuta) are white and sparkling. The water in Lovina was fairly warm and very conducive for a swim. Upon my return, there was a minor crowd of locals hawking cheap jewelery and useless trinkets as well as Balinese massages and dolphin sight-seeing tours. They left when we didn't buy anything.

We were ready for dinner and searched in vain for authentic Balinese food, but had to settle for the beach side cafe we had visited earlier. We had some beer, excellent Balinese satay, nasi goreng, a fish curry and a terrible calamari. Oh well. The total tab for three was only 91,000 Rp! Well, time for bed. Good night! I will definitely visit Lovina again.