BALI

Jann has always really wanted to go to Bali and see it because she loves beaches and in her mind there would be a lot of gorgeous beaches—right?  Yes,  but not as gorgeous and beautiful as she had envisioned them.  

Jimbaran Beach

Parasail traffic jam, Jimbaran Beach

Muslim beach attire

All the pictures above are of different beaches we visited when we were in Bali.

 We arrived in Bali and Dinand, our driver was there to pick us up and take us to Boudy's house in Bali which is in the Jimbaran neighborhood. 

Dinand, our driver while we were in Bali with a Balinese woman (not wife).

Our first impression of Bali was that the airport was small and old, traffic was awful, it was congested and there were many, many motorcycles and motorbikes.  The roads are narrow with parking on both sides and everyone vying for a space.  Then there's the dogs along side the road and chickens eating garbage and scraps wherever they could be found.  

Not only are the roads narrow but uncovered trenches are hazardous at the side of the road

On our way to Boudy’s house we made a stop at the supermarket to pick up staples for our stay.

We picked up our staples and other food stuff at the market and I went to the car with Boudy and Dinand and left Patricia in the store to pay.  Boudy did not tell us that vendors cannot give you small change because they do not make coins in the smaller denominations and instead will give you a piece of candy! 

Dinand started leaving the parking lot and I told him that Patricia was still in the supermarket.  She was knocking on the window asking for help because she thought she had change coming and they were not giving it to her!  Patricia was waiting for change of 450 rupiah and when you do the conversion—it amounts to about 2 cents! 

What a laugh we had at Patricia's expense.  First of all she almost got left at the supermarket.  She's knocking on the window for help and no one knows, and she's expecting change that she would never receive and only gets a piece of candy for all her effort!  Welcome to Bali!

The money is called rupiah.  Rupiahs come in denominations of: 100,000, 50,000, 20,000, 10,000, 5,000, 1,000 bank notes. And, the smallest denomination of coin is a 25 rupiah piece:  then, 50, 100, 200, 500 and now there are also 1,000 rupiah coins. When we were there, we figured—for easy calculation—10,000 rupiah = $1.00!!!! 

Jimbaran is a popular tourist destination location in Bali and the Four Seasons Resort is there.  The Jimbaran beach is very close to the airport and we drove there right from landing. The beach was nice but by no means the nicest beach I have ever visited.

The traffic in Bali is unbelievable and we eventually arrived at Boudy's home.  Dowd, the houseboy was there to greet us.  He's a lovely, young Muslim man who is married, has one son about eight years old and he oversees the property in Boudy's absence. 

The house was beautiful.  Boudy took us to our bedroom and it had a bathroom that was outside!  How cool is that?  The bed was king sized and the comforter was from—right again—Jim Thompson!  The accommodations, once again, were fabulous.

We toured the house to see all the rooms and each one is nicer than the other.  The rooms are huge, there is beautiful artwork throughout the house, the pool has sculptures that spray water, an outdoor shower, two covered patio areas with chaises, tables, chairs, fans and more than the comforts you would expect, a round table with seating for eight, kitchen with gas stove, eating area in the kitchen with seating for eight, garage, maids quarter and an upstairs family room with a huge TV.

Boudy's house in Bali.  View is from the street.

Front entrance to Boudy's house

Boudy's pool

Swim up bar and cabana

Outdoor terrace and dining area

Boudy and Jann in living room with koi pond in background

Koi pond in the living room

Outdoor shower

Outdoor bathroom

I knew we were in the Jimbaran neighborhood but the entire time we were in Bali, Dinand was our driver and I never got my bearings.  Part of the reason for this was Dinand took a different route each time.  When Dowd took Patricia on the motorbike to get her $2 local haircut, she realized there was a straight shot in and out of the development and it didn’t have to be so complicated.  The house is beautiful but it is remote from everything.

Entrance to Boudy's residential area with beautiful 'flame' tree

Our accommodations could not have been better had we stayed in Nusa Dua or at the Four Seasons.  Once again, I have to repeat that Boudy lives well and graciously shared this home with us.  I don't know if he'll ever be focused enough to read our blog but we shall always be grateful for his friendship and hospitality.  It has been wonderful getting to know him and also to go shopping with him because he loves to spend $$$$!!!! 

We decided to spend a beach day at Sanur Beach which was the nicest one we saw with a lot going on around the beach.  There were some great restaurants on the beach and shops to break up the day with a little bargaining.  

Lunch at Sanur Beach

Sanur Beach

Jann with rental boats on Sanur Beach

Fishing boats at Sanur Beach

Sanur Main Street

Boudy was anxious to show us Bali and take us to Nusa Dua where a lot of tourists go.  Nusa Dua is where you have gorgeous resorts that are self  contained so you never have to leave there and the beaches are some of the best in Bali.  There is a shopping center within walking distance at Nusa Dua and it is all pristine. 

Boudy, Pat and Jann, lunch at the Melia Resort

Dinand, Jann and Boudy at the Melia Resort

Jann waving from the lunch terrace, Melia resort

Melia Resort Beach

Squirrel enjoying a french fry

Melia Resort garden

Jann at the Melia Resort

Melia Resort pool

Patricia and Boudy slumming it at a Nusa Dua resort, the Westin.

Entrance to Melia Resort

Shopping area in Nusa Dua

When President Obama returns to Indonesia, where he spent sometime in his youth, he goes to this area and the resort he stays is known as "Chess".  We went there and all the resorts along this stretch of Bali are renowned and beautiful.  However, Nusa Dua is not reflective of all of Bali beaches! 

Grounds of "The Chess" resort in Nusa Dua, Bali.

The swimming pool at "The Chess" resort where President Obama vacations.

We did a lot of touring around Bali and went to several markets where they sold colored birds, wood carvings, T-shirts, hats, sarongs, etc.  You can also find stores where you can put your feet in an aquarium small fish in the aquarium will eat the dead skin off your feet and legs.  I was really tempted to do this to clean up my heels!  However, after watching two men do it and only one succeeding when it actually came time to stick his feet in the aquarium, stopped me.  The markets were so colorful, exciting, different AND affordable.  Living in Indonesia is affordable.

Nooooo,   I can't do it

Just go for it

It just tickles !!

Trust me, baby chicks DO NOT COME IN COLORS!

 Dinand drove us all over Bali, which, because of the traffic would take hours to go a relatively short distance.  We saw a lot of small villages and country roads which varied from bucolic to incredible traffic jams.

We spent each day with Dinand because he was our driver.  Like Boudy, he is from Holland.  However, he is nothing like Boudy.  He had visited Bali with his sister and her husband and apparently liked it.  His vocation was a truck driver.  He drove all over Europe and also went to England.  He had been married and had four children—three daughters and one son.  He got a divorce, retired and went to Bali where he met Ayu, an Indonesian woman he married. 

Ayu is at least 20 (+/-) years younger then Dinand.  My guess is she wanted to ensure herself a better life, have some money and a house and married him.  I don't think she married him for love! 

She is lovely and I told her I wanted to cook with her.  She said she would bring the food over and we could eat it.  I said, "No" and told her I wanted to shop for the food with her, go to the fish market, buy the fish and would pay for the ingredients but I wanted to do the cutting, chopping, dicing, etc. alongside her.

Dinand dropped us off at the fish market and it was pretty surprising and eye opening.  What I did not like was that the fish was not on ice in most cases.   I didn't like the smell.  There was no concern for cleanliness, and I felt that if I was going to get sick—it would be eating fish from this market!

Local fishing boats in Bali.

Bali fishermen bringing in their catch to the market.

Fish at the market in Bali.

However, I bought shrimp for one dish with no particular dish in mind.  We made lumpia (with chicken) which are basically fried spring rolls.  Lumpia have their origin in China from the Fujian province and became popular in Bali when the Chinese settled in Indonesia and it was adopted by the Balinese.  The main difference between a spring roll and a lumpia is that the lumpia has a "closed" end.  We also made Mei Goreng (fried noodles) with the shrimp.  

Ayu and Jann in the kitchen

Jann making the lumpia

Enough lumpia for an army !!

Ayu's plate decoration with cucumbers and tomatoes

Outdoor dining

Lumpia and mei goreng

Dinand, Boudy, Jann and Ayu enjoying the dinner

I always visit a fish market in any city we are in.  After being in so many fishing ports, I worry about the "waters" in the world and how safe they are because of pollution, sanitation, litter, etc. 

After walking around and seeing how the Balinese people lived when they were close to the water, red flags went up in my mind!  I don't want to get a parasite, e-coli or anything.  You have to be very careful.

Dinand took us on a longer trip to the Batur volcano with a brief stop at the community of Tegallalang for lunch and a look at the rice paddies.  

Mount Batur

Jann at Batur Volcano

Batur Volcano

Rice paddies in Tegallalang

Dinand and Jann, lunch in Tegallalang

We took an excursion to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud.  Dinand drove us and Boudy came too but they did not go to the sanctuary with us.  The sanctuary is for Rhesus monkeys and there were a lot, plus they were making a lot of babies. 

On the way into the sanctuary you can buy bananas to feed them.  Patricia decided it was a good idea to buy a bunch to take in. (After my experience with bananas and elephants—I passed.)  She immediately became popular upon entry into the sanctuary and was surrounded by monkeys who wanted to lighten her load.  Little did she know that they would attack her en masse scratching and biting!  Needless to say, she got rid of those bananas in a flash, throwing them all as far away from her as she could.  It was funny -- but scary at the same time.  

The sanctuary is a natural environment for the monkeys and they seem to be well taken care of and fed so that's good.  We saw a lot of babies so the monkeys are prolific.

Monkey family

Patriarch

The town of Ubud is an "artistic haven".  They make, paint and carve things and are geared for tourists.  There are many hotels, spas and resorts in the town and they cater to the affluent traveler.  They also sell every product that is made in Bali, so it is a shopping paradise.  It's a tourist town so it's not where I would do my shopping.

The trip to Ubud was a long and wonderful journey.  We saw terraced rice fields, many shops that sold carvings and other Balinese wares.  It was fun, interesting, exciting and different.

Main Street Ubud

Bikes on parade

Bali is known for batik so we headed for a tour of the batik factory and, of course, ended up with some batik souvenirs.  It was a very interesting process that required heating oil before applying it to the fabric.  

Heating the oil for the batik process

Applying the oil and the design to the fabric

Weaving the batik

Batik designs

Batik tablecloths

We have a friend in Sonoma that was married to a man who now owns a restaurant in Bali.  She recommended we go there because it is fabulous and to be sure and tell her ex-husband, Pascal, that she recommended it to us.  The restaurant was called "Sardine" and it is located in the Kerobokan neighborhood of Bali.   Our friend has a son with her ex and the son, Alex, is following in his father's steps and is a chef too.   Unfortunately when we were in Bali, Alex was in Thailand so we missed him. 

Boudy, Jann and Pat at Sardines

Jann looking out over the rice paddies at Sardines

Camille, Pat. Pascal's wife, Pascal and Jann

Looking at Sardine Restaurant from the rice paddies

We met Pascal and his current wife who is Balinese.  We also met Pascal's beautiful daughter, Camilla, who was very attentive as the hostess seating guests and checking to make sure the paying guests were content.

Camille, maitre d' and Pascal's daughter

What an operation that Pascal has set up.  Everything about the operation is first class from the architecture,  to the setting, to the artwork, to the staff and most importantly—the food.  I loved everything!  We were treating Boudy for his wonderful hospitality so it worked out because he was impressed too!  Thank you, Lynda. 

If you're ever in Bali, feel free to go to Sardine Restaurant.

On the last day, Boudy and I went back to the Kerobokan neighborhood and walked the street.  It has many restaurants and also furniture stores.  The furniture is made in Java and is very stylish, current and I would love to have a container shipped to my house.  Oops, what am I thinking, I forgot, I don't have a house!!!

Boudy's house in Bali is beautiful.  He tries to rent it out but isn't as successful as he needs to be.  Dowd is there everyday.  Dinand is supposed to "oversee" Dowd and make sure things are taken care of.  Things fall through the crack.  It was only a matter of "tweaking" things. 

I cut the deadwood out of a few plants and saw that some were floating in water.  The waterfall inside the house had a lot of cobwebs and I mentioned it to Boudy and he had Dowd remove them.  A baseboard needed a couple of nails and that got taken care of.  The tablecloth on the kitchen dining table had a hole in it so Boudy bought a new one to replace it.  The washing machine needed repaired so that also got fixed while we were there.  All, incredibly simple fixes.

The last time we talked to Boudy, he said that the Bali house had been rented over Christmas for what $ he wanted so that was fabulous.  I personally think it showed well and was a wonderful property.  The only drawback is you need a driver available to be able to get around.  That is not a major expense.  We had a driver (Dinand) during our entire stay in Bali and it was $40/day but we shared the expense with Boudy.

From Bali we're off to Australia.  We got on the ship at Bali at the Port of Benoa in Bali.  The ship paperwork was not accurate and when we got to the port to board the ship, we were delayed because of it.   

The Port of Benoa is a work in progress but nothing is streamlined or ever runs efficiently and our experience boarding the cruise ship was not pretty.  It was disorganized and absolute chaos.  The Balinese people are slow, laid back, and, if it ever becomes efficient, I will be very surprised. 

The physical features of the Balinese people are that they are strikingly beautiful, the women more so then the men.  They have a beautiful island to live on and I think the worst thing that can happen is that they continue to promote tourism because they are losing their identity, their homeland and most importantly do not have the mentality to cope with becoming more of a tourist destination.  Public relations may be a good thing but does not depict an accurate description of a destination in all cases.

Would I go back?  Never say never.  This Bali sunset says it all...

Bali sunset to die for.