Same same, not same…
2012 had started and making up the balance
of my left over leave days for 2011 I realized I had 8 days of home
leave left, to be to spent in the Netherlands, and an additional 13 days
of annual leave, all to be spent before the end of April. Spending my
home leave in the Netherlands with family and friends was easy and taken
care of in February but I did not feel like just wasting 13 days of
leave remaining in ‘the neighborhood’. Decisions, decisions, and they
were not easy ones. With Paul having started his new job in November it
was clear he did not have to same amount of leave I did, so joining was
not an option. Also I did not feel like exploring new places without him
so we came up with the idea I should go to Bali and spend time with my
friends Ulli and Nyoman. I surfed the Internet, booked the flight and
all was set for a great trip. It seemed to be a good plan but as the
departure date came closer I had my doubts going without Paul, it just
wasn’t the same…
Then on Easter Monday our
favorite aunt passed away and to make things even worse, her funeral was
on Saturday the 14th of April, my departure date. It had a very
difficult decision to make, attend the funeral and miss out on Bali to
the other way around. I tried to change my departure date, which was
only possible against a hefty fee, and I was very close to canceling the
whole trip. I did some serious soul searching and Paul kept on
repeating aunt Nanny would have loved to hear my travel stories and so
did he. Finally I made the decision to go on my trip, either way would
come up with regrets and I just would need to learn to live with my
decision.
On Saturday morning Paul
dropped me at Sittard railway station so I could travel to Amsterdam. It
was a terrible trip, constantly looking at my watch and thinking about
what was going on at the funeral. At Schiphol I checked in, tried to
relax a bit and boarded the Emirates 777 for my flight to Dubai. Still
my mind was not with it, it was extremely surreal and at one point I
even wondered things were really happening. I slept most of the time
doing the flight from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur and it was only during the
last, three-hour, flight to Denpasar that I started to look forward to
the times ahead.
Once landed things all went
very fast. I got the visa in my passport without waiting to long, my
suitcase was already waiting for me at the belt and customs were passed
in no time. 40 Minutes after landing I found myself in a taxi on the way
to Ubud. I was amazed how things had changed once again, it had become
far more crowded around Kuta and Sanur and here was a lot of traffic. I
had landed in Denpasar at 18:20 and less then two hours later I arrived
at Guci Guesthouses.
A bit to fast for some… A
major renovation had started at Guci Guesthouses; all three bungalows
are in progress of being totally redone.
Bungalow ‘number one’ was
just finished and Ulli, Nyoman and an electrician were still finishing
the last bits and doing the cleaning. If only I had arrived 15 minutes
later they would have been totally ready. Oh well, one can’t change
things that happen. As said, the bungalow had been totally stripped down
to the walls but now looked amazingly; A bigger terrace, new shiny
marble floor, marble on the walls, new curtains, a completely new roof.
All furniture had been renovated and as finishing touch Ulli had made
new bedding and cushions, it looked amazing. So classy, so new and
fresh! Better even was the warm welcome by Ulli and Nyoman. It was great
to see them again! On the Tuesday before my departure I still emailed
them I was not sure of coming to Bali an now I had arrived. There were a
lot of stories to be told and so we did!
Nyoman felt a bit tired and
went to bed early so Ulli and I went out to dinner and what better
place to start than Warung Enak, with distance my favorite restaurant in
Bali. A ‘Blue Mountain’ cocktail could not be avoided, as tradition has
to be honored. As expected the food was exceptional and both Ulli and
myself had so much to talk about we did not realize time flew by so fast
and it was getting so late already. The waiters and waitresses were
waiting for us to leave (oops) so we paid the bill, headed back to Guci
Guesthouses and said goodnight.
It was not time to go to
sleep though yet. Timing was perfect and Paul by now had finished work
so we could talk for a while through FaceTime. (The Apple variant of
Skype). It was wonderful to see him again and there was a lot to talk
about. Already I had made the decision that although it was very nice to
be back in Bali again I would never go on a holiday by my own again.
It’s just not the same…. We spend over an hour talking and by then it
was already 1 am, I felt tired so it was time to say goodnight and go to
sleep; For me at least as Paul still had the whole evening ahead of
him.
It was a weird night with
intense dreams but I managed to sleep until 9:30. After a refreshing
shower and breakfast Nyoman, Daniel and myself went to Kendaran, in the
north of Ubud, to see the progress on Villa Unggul. It was now a year
and a half ago since I saw the villa in making for the last time and I
was curious to see what had happened since. As soon as we left the main
road memories from a long forgotten Bali entered my head again. It was
absolutely beautiful. Traditional village life, fantastic scenery, what a
way to drive to your destination!
Villa Unggul looked even
more impressive than before. The front building as well as the water
tower had now been mostly finished and the walls were painted in a
beautiful liver color. It blended wonderfully with the beautiful rice
fields surrounding it.
Inside things looked even
more stunning; Beautiful terra cotta tiles on the flour, a sandy color
on the wall and beautiful finishing touches in tropical hardwood. A lot
of work still has to be done before it’s ready though you don’t need to
use your imagination very hard to see where it’s going. The bathroom
downstairs has besides a shower a fantastic terra-cotta bathtub, all
very tastefully decorated. The bathroom has, as in Guci Guesthouses a
semi-open architecture with lots of plants in it and it’s only partly
covered by a roof so you have the impression bathing outside, still with
the privacy required.
Upstairs is, if possible,
even more beautiful. The three bedrooms have stunning views over the
rice fields and I can imagine once Paul and I will stay overnight in
Villa Unggul we would not close the curtains not to miss anything of the
spectacular surroundings. Once again, the same spectacular wooding
finishing everywhere and from the large terrace, oh well, I can’t find
words for what I experienced there. The garden surrounding the villa is
spacious and Nyoman pointed out where the private pool is going to be.
Once finished this will be a breathtaking place to stay.
After the viewing Nyoman
brought us to a wonderful warung outside Ubud where we enjoyed a
fantastic Nasi Campur. Our jaws did not get a moment of rest whilst we
kept on talking in between enjoying the food, Wonderful!
Back in Guci Guesthouses I
shared my experience with Ulli after which I went to the Yoga barn in
order to check out on yoga classes. After that I enjoyed a relaxing
massage and headed to warung Enak for dinner. Very quickly it was late
again and time to head back to Guci Guesthouses, start up FaceTime and
talk to Paul again. I also received a message from Yus and Sri, our
driver and guide who organized the tour through Java with my father 4
years ago and now are very good friends, who were coming to visit me.
They had already arrived which meant we had an extra day together.
Perfect! Very satisfied I fell asleep though it was a strange night
again filled with strange dreams.
Tuesday morning I had a bit
of a sleep in and had just enough time for a shower and breakfast when
Yus and Sri arrived and it was a warm reunion. And once again, there was
so much to talk about. We went for a walk and stopped in a restaurant
for a drink and catching up. It was so wonderful to see them again and
there was a lot to catch up on. Sri surprised me with the news she would
be coming to Europe and would pay Paul and myself a visit. This was
great news that had to be shared… We headed to Warung Enak for lunch and
woke up Paul who was on European time, 6 hours behind us. Almost every
restaurant in Ubud now offers free WIFI so it is easy to stay in touch
with people at home. Paul was really happy to speak to Yus, Sri, and
myself but we had to take the conversation short, as he had to get ready
for work.
After lunch we returned to
Casa Ganesha where Yus and Sri stayed (Guci Guesthouses was
unfortunately fully booked as usual) and we spend the rest of the
afternoon updating their website and I can already reveal they have some
exiting surprises coming up with optional tours on Java which are
something different from the usual sightseeing.
Dinner we enjoyed at Nomad.
I must admit I was slightly disappointed. I used to love this place but
for my liking it became far to busy and commercial. Food and drinks
were still great but the atmosphere had changed. It felt overcrowded to
me. As soon as people were finished and left new customers were already
waiting to occupy the vacant table. I know Bart and Yolanda (My brother
and sister in law) prefer this place above Warung Enak but it is good
that there are enough places in Ubud to match everybody’s taste.
Far too late I returned at Guci Guesthouses again but I still enjoyed another FaceTime session with Paul before I went to sleep.
Next morning I woke up
early and after a refreshing shower I strolled to the yoga barn for my
first yoga class in Bali. I was a bit nervous, as I was not sure I was
ready for this class and had some difficulty to relax in the first 30
minutes. There was no reason for worries though as Manuela, my yoga
teacher on base, had laid the prefect foundation for attending this
class. It was a slightly different class, still based on Hatha Yoga but
also has elements of prayamana, focusing on breathing techniques.
Somehow things came natural though and I really enjoyed the 90-minute
session. At the end I really felt fresh and relaxed, ready for another
day in paradise.
After breakfast I met up
with Yus and Sri again and as they were very curious to Villa Unggul I
got the keys from Ulli and we headed there. As expected they were blown
away by the property and saw a big future for it.
Instead of returning to
Ubud we took the scenic tour through traditional Bali and I managed to
wow Indonesians in their own country. We enjoyed lunch in Cafe Dewi, a
slightly isolated restaurant with a view over the terraced rice fields,
which is to die for. We stayed there for a while to enjoy the food, each
other’s company and last but not least the breathtaking view.
Back in Ubud we continued
working on the website, I had a swim, and of course there were plenty of
other topics to talk about. Time passed by quickly. As I had shown Yus
and Sri part of the slideshow of our India trip of last year they
invited me to go to an Indian restaurant on Jalan Pengosekan. The
pictures I had shown them impressed them and I was happy they also loved
the food; it was their first encounter with Indian food.
Back at Guci I chatted with Paul a while and then it was time to go to sleep.
Next morning, 5:30 and
fully awake! I worked a bit on the website from Yus and Sri and then
headed again to the yoga barn. Today’s yoga session was very different.
There was another teacher and her class was more strenuous. She focused
more on the energy flows within the body and kept out a lot of the
spiritual influences. I must admit I really enjoyed it though yoga goes
hand in hand with the spiritual world. At the end of the session I felt
exhausted and had a warm glow all over my body. On the other hand I also
felt totally open and refreshed for the day. I could really get used to
this.
Back at Guci I refreshed
and went to see Yus and Sri again. Last couple of changes on the website
were done so I returned to Guci Guesthouse and relaxed a bit. Around
noon Yus and Sri came to say goodbye. It was good they had arrived a day
early as otherwise we certainly would not had time enough to do all the
things we wanted to do.
After they left I took a
leisure stroll to the Zen spa and treated myself on a 90-minute deep
tissue massage. It was pure heaven.
Although I had been in Ubud
for a couple of days already I had not found the time yet so explore it
and see what had changed. Time to do so now… I was under the impression
it became far busier. Quite a number of new shops on the main treat but
as I was not in a shopping mood I headed for Ary’s warung for some
lovely canapé’s and a paid punch cocktail. Just the thing I needed! I
relaxed for a while and then went on to Monkey forest road, which gave
the same impression as the main road, busier and more shops. The good
thing is that they now made it a one-way road so it was less chaotic
than a number of years ago.
Of course I could not
resist a blue mountain when I passed warung Enak on my way back to Guci
guesthouses but one there I slept for an hour or two. Staying up late to
talk to Paul and waking up early for yoga class had finally asked its
toll.
After I woke up returned to
warung Enak for dinner: A spicy Balinese Tuna salad followed by
Balinese duck. Yummy. Back at Guci Guesthouses I spent the rest of the
evening with Nyoman, Daniel and Ulli who returned a bit later from an
evening out. I showed Nyoman and Daniel the first part of the India
slideshow and both of them were intrigued
Before I went to sleep I
spend some quality time with Paul and another day had passed by far to
quick for my liking. Next morning I had not heard the alarm and I almost
overslept for my Yoga class. Just in time I arrived and there was still
a spot to roll out my mattress. Once again a different teacher and this
class turned out to be far more difficult. I really had problems with
some of the more advanced asanas and my attempt for a headstand only
turned out in a clumsy attempt. I’ve got a long way to go, especially
seeing some of the participants totally at ease standing on their head
and moving their legs in different positions. One day… Still it was a
very fulfilling session and once again i felt absolutely open by the
time I returned to Guci Guesthouses.
Second shower of the day,
breakfast, and still it was only 9:30. I had a nice chat with Ulli and
then it was time to go shopping with Nyoman. A new sign for the entrance
had to be made and both of us headed out to have it made and buy some
lights. It did not take long before we were finished and we returned to
Guci Guesthouses. After that I went back to the Zen Spa for a 90-minute
traditional massage. It was followed by a exhilarating spice scrub and a
mandi rempah, a spice bath. Whilst soaked in the water I started to
practice some of the breathing techniques I had learned at Yoga and soon
I found myself in an almost meditative state. I have never ever felt so
relaxed in my life, It’s difficult to explain but it was pure magic!
After this rejuvenation I
went to a Japanese restaurant for a late lunch and then headed to warung
enak for another blue mountain (Oh well, it turned out to be two). I
got so tired though I went back to Guci Guesthouses for a well-deserved
sleep. By the time I woke up it was 20:30 already and I did not feel
like going out for dinner anymore. I spent some time with Ulli and
Nyoman chatting and afterwards made some changes on the Guci website.
By then it was 23:30 already, time to talk to Paul for a while and go to bed.
Saturday morning I had a
bit of a sleep in as I decided to skip yoga and go on a cookery class at
warung Enak. Having done it before there was no need to be there early
and do the market tour so I did not be present until 8:00. Much to my
delight Rahi, the chef cook led the class. She is a wonderful person
with lots of humor and I do enjoy her classes a lot.
The mis en place was all
taken care of so we could concentrate on the preparation of the food;
Steamed mackerel, spicy chicken in sticky rice and pumpkin leaves. A
wonderful Balinese seafood soup, spicy beef with rice and corn fritters.
Wow! As a desert we prepared steam cakes and banana cooked in padang
batter. After finishing each course we could try the results of our
cooking.
There were only three of
us, an Australian couple and myself so each of us got a chance to show
our cooking skills. Once all courses were done we headed to the
restaurant to get all dishes served as a full-blown lunch, of course a
blue mountain could not fail…
After lunch I went for a
sort walk and then headed towards the Zen Spa for my daily massage.
Today’s masseur had much stronger hands and on more than once occasion I
was puffing under the pressure. Still it was a very enjoyable
experience and the next couple of days my body will get a rest from the
daily kneading sessions…
Back at Guci guesthouses I
had a short nap, then packed my suitcase and spent the rest of the
evening with Ulli chatting. It would be my last night at Guci
Guesthouses for now as the next day I would be traveling to Gili
Trawangan, one of the three islands before the coastline of Lombok.
Of course I could not go to sleep before having a FaceTime session with Paul and before I realized it was far too late again.
Next morning was another early rise, a
quick coffee with Ulli and Nyoman and then the mini bus bringing me to
Padang Bay picked me up. Once there I boarded the Gili Cat fast boat to
Lombok.
During the crossing I
chatted with Dean, a guy I met on the bus and the 90-minute crossing
passed by very quickly. It was followed by a short trip to Gili
trawangan and there I was… Gili Trawangan is the biggest of three
islands and has a very laid back, almost hippy like atmosphere. Reggae
and 70ties rock playing everywhere and the beach front was a chain of
restaurants and bars. Magic mushrooms and other ‘mind enhancers’ were
readily availably but it took no effort to stick to my daily beer or
cocktail.
I checked in at Manta
Diving and got a nice bungalow over there in the shape of a lumbur, a
traditional Lombok rice barn. In the afternoon I did my first dive;
Great to have my head underwater again for a change. The diving was good
but definitely not world class; guess I must have been spoiled over the
years. Still I highly enjoyed the experience.
After diving I went for a
short stroll, met Dean again and we decided to have dinner together. But
first I wanted to attend a 90-minute yoga session. This turned out to
be the best yoga session I had so far. All asanas (poses) were performed
in a nice flow and there was a lot of emphasizes on the breathing.
Absolutely loved it and I felt great after it.
In the evening I met up
with Dean for a wonderful BBQ fish dinner at the waterfront. A couple of
bears, some long island teas and a great conversation, life is good!
Next morning I woke up in
time for breakfast and the fist dive. I did suffer from some stomach
problems but fortunately it did not stop me from diving. There were only
two divers on board, the two boatmen and Ifan and Hakan, our dive
guides; A boat almost by myself. Wow. The dive was great and we saw lots
of sea life. Can’t remember how many but turtles seemed to be the
attraction of the day! Blue spotted stingrays, leaf scorpiofish and
plenty of other specimens. Fantastic.
After the dive I went for a
stroll and made some pictures. The color of the water is hard to
believe, it is so extremely beautiful. It was difficult to find but I
managed to get a traditional Indonesian lunch and before I knew it was
time for the afternoon dive.
This time we went to
Hanna’s point where a lot of the smaller sea life was to be enjoyed.
Ifan showed me a lot of things I normally would have missed upon and I
thoroughly enjoyed the dive, in spite of the large sandy areas we had to
cross to go to the next point of interest; It was great to dive one on
one with a dive guide, it certainly made the dive.
A short afternoon nap and I
woke up just in time for my yoga session. At the beginning we were
asked to focus on one certain topic and I choose determination.
Ironically that was the thing missing absolutely today. I had
difficulties relaxing and each with almost each pose I had difficulties
performing them right. After class I had a short chat with the teacher
and she told me my stomach problems in the morning and maybe to many
classes in a short period would put to much strain on my body. She
advised me to take a day of rest from yoga so tomorrow I will stick to a
dive or two.
In the evening I selected the beach front house for dinner, had a couple of beers, a great dinner and… An early night!
Gili Trawangan turned out
to be far mellower than I thought it was going to be. It’s got a
wonderful chilling atmosphere and so far I have not seen or heard wild
parties, it’s all very laid back.
The next day started with
breakfast and by 9;00 the boat left for “Deep Turbo” the first dive site
of the day. On descending I immediately knew we were diving at a
special place, the coral was intact and there was an abundance of fish
life. Pinnacles, Deep sandy canyons, it was amazing. If an, the dive
guide pointed out a lot of details and I enjoyed every single minute of
it. We started off just over 30 meters depth and then slowly made our
way upon the slopes watching the beauty surrounding us. At one point
three large turtles were resting in some sponge coral, a great sight.
This was one of the few dives I regretted not to have done my Nitro
qualification, as that would have enabled to give me more bottom time.
Oh well, one can’t have it all and I thoroughly enjoyed even minute of
it. Even the deco stop ‘in the blue’ and an additional safety stop at 6
meters depth were highly enjoyable and relaxing. 45 minutes after
descend we surfaced again, end of dive number one.
On the way back to the
beach I already requested to do this dive again tomorrow morning and
with distance this was my favorite dive site at the Gili’s so far.
The second dive was not as
nice; it was a shallow dive around man made biotopes, artificial
foundlings for creating new reef. The damage Ill Nino and dynamite
fishing was clear to be seen and at times I felt diving in a desert, all
rather depressing but it’s the other side of the medal; A dive not to
remember for long….
Back at Gili Trawangan a
visitor was waiting for me. As a result of my previous mails a good
friend of hours mailed me back that her son, Floris Jan, would be in
Bali at the same time as me, and after a few mail exchanges we decided
to meet up on Gili Trawangan. Floris Jan is traveling around the world
in 8-month time and still has a couple of weeks left before returning
home. It was great to see him and we had a nice chat. As there were no
more dives for the day and I had decided to skip yoga as well I could
enjoy my first beer of the day during lunch. It was a real treat, as
normally I would get my first one after yoga around 20:00. We decided to
rent two bikes and cycle around the island, which turned out to be big
fun! The bikes were not in the best condition imaginable and there were
quite some sandy spots where we had to walk but it was great fun.
At the most western tip of
the island we decided to settle at a lounge chair at the beach so we
could enjoy the sunset. A cover band from Jakarta was playing which was
big fun but when we finished our cocktail we continued on and looked for
a slightly quieter place to witness the spectacle from Mother Nature.
We did find one and a beer
was also not far away so finally we were ready for a spectacular sunset.
And spectacular it was, especially when the sun went down and it’s
light came from below the horizon, absolutely stunning!
The last part of our round
the island trip we had to drive in the dark but it was great fun. Back
at Manta Dive we gave back our bikes and went out for dinner. There is a
surplus of restaurants to be found on the strip but most of them cater
for the western tourist. Reggae music came from everywhere so it had
hardly any Indonesian atmosphere, great for a couple of relaxing days
but certainly not to be the main reason for a trip like this. The
grilled seafood was fantastic and before we realized it time had passed
on far to quick, another day had come to an end.
The next morning I started
with another dive, this time with Ifan and Jurgen, a Dutch guy who I met
on the boat yesterday. As requested the day before we went to ‘Deep
Turbo’ and once again it did not disappoint. I had asked to remain in
the area of the pinnacles which Ifan did and I certainly did enjoy my
one but last dive. Floris Jan was somewhere on the beach so I spent most
of the morning with Jurgen and his partner Guido. We had some good
laughs. Lunch we enjoyed in a cafe in the area, Ceasar’s Salad, typical
Indonesian…not! Second Dive of the day we did at Halik’s reef, another
rewarding dive. We started deep and slowly made our way up by a slope.
There was enough to be seen and we were lucky to end up our dive in a
shallow area, full of coral so we could spend our safety stop watching
the rich sea life and enjoying the last moments of my final dive of this
trip.
Back at Manta Dive we still
had a drink together after I went for my yoga class. Today things
worked out much better so it had been a good idea to take a day of rest.
After Yoga I met up again with Floris Jan and after a drink at a bar we
decided to go to the local market for dinner. Food was simple but
delightful! Really enjoyed it. After dinner we headed towards a party
where we met up with most of the dive crew of Manta dive. It turned out
to be a fantastic evening. Floris Jan was tired and went to bed early
(those youngsters are not the same as they used to be 😉 but I was
enjoying myself so much that I stayed a bit later. Oh well, much later.
Guess it must have been 4 or 5 O’ clock in the morning by the time I
came home. Totally out of habit on this holiday but it was a great night
so why not….
I was still awake earlier
than Floris Jan and went to the pool for a swim. Met up with Jurgen and
Guido again, they were lucky to go diving again but I had to pack and
get ready for my return to Bali. As it turned out the boat had a
40-minute delay so I was still there when Jurgen and Guido returned from
their dive. If I had known that I could have done one more dive… Oh
well. At 11:30 it was time to say goodbye and I slowly headed towards
the jetty.
The crossing was fine, in
just over an hour I set foot again on Bali, Just an hour later I was
back at Guci Guesthouses where I was welcomed by Nyoman. I left my
suitcase in ‘Bungalow number one’ and made my way to the Zen Spa for a
relaxing massage. One could really get used to this. On my return I
inspected the progress of bungalow number two. Things are going well and
seeing things progressing so quickly I can believe all bungalows will
be finished in less than 5 weeks time.
In the evening Ulli also
had returned from her day trip with friends so I could congratulate her
on her 50th Birthday. Following tradition she and Nyoman, accompanied by
two friends, had spent the day at Legian beach. It had been a great day
for them, which made me happy. I went to Casa Ganesha for dinner; the
hotel where Yus and Sri had stayed, and as already reported the food was
very good. The rest of the evening I chatted with Nyoman and I showed
him the pictures from our India trip last year.
Next morning was another
early rise. Yoga! Class started at 7:00 and I hardly made it in time.
It was great though and I thoroughly enjoy those early morning Yoga
sessions.
Back at Guci I had
breakfast after it was time for her birthday present… I had invited her
to join in a day of massages and pampering at the Zen Spa, something she
was really looking forward to. We started of with a massage each, a
body scrub and a mandi lulu, a royal bath with flowers. Magic! After
that first treat of the day we met up again for a drink and a chat. Then
we went together for a facial. I don’t know how many scrubs, creams,
cucumber, purifying yoghurt and got knows what else was put on our faces
but it certainly felt good!
Another break after which
Ulli went for a hair cream bath, as with my hairstyle that was not
necessary so instead I got yet another massage. By now I felt that every
muscle in my body had been taken care off, a great feeling. Last treat
for the day was a pedicure and manicure where I met up with Ulli again.
It was strange having one man working on my hands and one on my feat,
this certainly does not happen every day…
It was 15:30 already after
our day of pampering was over. It had been amazing and a very special
treat indeed. We strolled over Jalan Hanoman to Ubud main road where we
wended up at Ary’s Warung, another long time favorite although I must
admit it breathed a tired atmosphere. We enjoyed our first cocktail of
the day and a set of delicious hors d’oeuvres, not bad for a starter. We
decided to have main course at Nomad and of course we could not resist
an accompanying cocktail over there as well. As Started and Main course
were enjoyed in a different restaurant we then came up to complete the
cycle with desert at warung Enak. Today was a real splurge!
At warung Enak Ulli and I
got engaged in a lively and great conversation. We did not even realize
that at the table next to us two other guests from Guci Guesthouses were
sitting, a Dutch couple on their honeymoon. They invited us to finish
of a bottle of a bottle of wine. Of course we had to celebrate their
wedding with another round of Blue Mountains… Time was flying by and
suddenly we noticed the staff at Warung Enak was waiting for us to
leave. Oops, 01:30 already…
Back at Guci another surprise awaited us as the new road sign had arrived and was installed. It looked absolutely wonderful.
In spite of the late night I
woke up early again for yoga. Things went fine and I did not have any
problems with the relaxation part, I wonder why… Back at Guci I had
breakfast and chatted a while with Ulli and Nyoman. After that Daniel
and myself went to Villa Unggul for one last time and we had a Sushi and
Sashimi lunch at a Japanese restaurant that opened up recently on Jalan
Hanoman. Then it was time for my daily massage and I headed back to
Guci Guesthouses where I slept a couple of hours (Wonder why). In the
evening it was time for the traditional farewell dinner at Warung Enak.
Instead of going for a blue
mountain straight away I decided to be a bit more adventurous and tried
out two cocktails I had not had before. Especially the Thyme Caipirinha
was fantastic.
Rahi, the chef had prepared
soothing for me, which was not on the regular menu anymore… Snail sate!
Yummy. But even better then the food and drinks was the company of Ulli
and Nyoman, we had, as usual, a very nice evening together and for my
liking time went by far to quick.
7:00 next morning. Yoga
again. This was a slightly different variation on what I had done
before, ying & yang yoga. It was a mellower, easygoing session with
lots of stretches. Pretty good for a Sunday morning and to prepare me
for the flights home. I also had my last massage and then it was time to
make the photos of the totally renovated bungalow Number one and the
new road sign.
Finally I packed my
suitcase and spend the last couple of hours chatting with Ulli and
Nyoman. At 15:30 my driver was there to pick me up, it was time to come
home…
You might have noticed by
now this trip has been totally different, yes I had a great time, yes it
has been very relaxing with the yoga sessions and the many massages I
had. It was absolutely fantastic to see Yus and Sri again. I loved the
diving at Gili Trawangan and loved to spend quality time with Ulli,
Nyoman and Daniel.
It has been a great trip
without doubt but I am very happy that my next trip will be with Paul
again, I surely missed to share my experiences of this trip with him and
that changed the character of the trip tremendously. Once again Bali
really had been absolutely wonderful but the most important person in my
life had been missing…
It was simply a matter of same, same, not same….