Bali - Seminyak
So, we're on another fast-boat on our way to the Gili Islands and it is so much nicer than those in the Galapagos. Not only do you get a whole seat to yourself (not sharing with a small child shoved on you), the seas are calm and they offer you a bottle of cold water, sweets and ice-cold towels during the gentle ride. However, the best thing about this journey is that I have my LADIES with me!! Finally!
Arriving at Denpasar airport, Mark and I quickly found a good spot at the exit of the arrivals lounge and securing a large piece of paper from a nearby taxi rank, we produced our own placard to match those held around us by a large crowd of locals looking for their customers. With butterflies in the tummy type of excitement I watched the screens for the arrival of their flight. After an hour of holding up my placard in the melting tropical heat of the evening and getting in a huff that single businessmen were reading my special message to my gorgeous ladies (do they really think they are going to get hand written message decorated with flowers and hearts from the Marriott?), the girls arrived. There was much screaming, laughing and bags crashing to the floor as hugs and kisses were exchanged and we set off for our villa.
Villa Branca exceeded all my expectations. It was truly the nicest accommodation Mark and I had stayed in over the last 4 months. We had queen size 4-poster beds in each room, a large lounge complete with a massive flat screen and best of all we had our own private swimming pool. What a treat!! As soon as our driver/property manager left we popped open some cold beers and jumped in the pool (completely starkers!). We were living on the wild side. Tina's canonball entrances into the pool were legendary There were many tequila shots in between glasses of champagne and we celebrated our reunion until the wee hours of the morning...
The next morning we woke up with sore heads to a very quiet and peaceful Bali. It was Nyepi (Balinese New Year). After much noisy celebration, the whole island has a day of rest and keep quiet to ward off the evil spirits. People stay in their homes and use very little in the way of electricity or lighting. All the restaurants and shops stay shut and the normally prolific tourism in the area has a full day and night of rest. Even the international airport shuts for the day and the village police prowl the streets for any lost travellers, politely but firmly escorting them back to their resorts. It was a little strange to be locked into our accommodation, but luckily super-organised Chloe had got the property owner to do a large shop for us and our fridge was full of snacks, food and drinks. Happy days!
We had a full day of catching up on all that we had missed over the last 4 months and after a nice home cooked pasta, we settled down on our comfy sofas to watch 'Eat, Pray, Love' (very quietly and in candle light in respect of Nyepi). The film is based on a writer who leaves her life in New York to fulfil her passion to travel the world. It was beautifully filmed and set in some of the most stunning parts of Italy, India and Bali; it just made you want to be there - And luckily we were! The only trouble with the film was that Julia Roberts, who played the main character, seemed to have brought her stylist on tour with her as her hair colour and style stayed exactly the same. This, I can confirm, is totally impossible having had my hair done both in New Zealand and Peru!
Halfway through our film Tina mentioned a strong smell of gas. A quick investigation revealed that we had a severe gas leak in the kitchen and the only reason we had not noticed it before was the fact that both the kitchen and the lounge were under the roof but open to the garden (no walls). With the commotion and reflection of our torch lights, the village police turned up in their traditional clothing to see what was going on. Luckily we could explain about the gas leak, which had by now filled the whole area and could be smelled even outside our property. They quickly disconnected the gas bottle from it's adaptor and asked us to not have any cigarettes or candle light for a while. Danger was averted thanks to the brave village police and we decided it was time for another Margarita to loosen up our shaken nerves.
On Saturday morning we could finally leave and went out for our first walk into Seminyak. This is the slightly more upmarket part of the touristy area of Bali. Walking past many lovely clothes shops, art galleries and cafes, we arrived at the beach and had some tapas looking out at the crashing waves. The tide was in and it felt like the whole beach had vanished and was replaced with turbulent waters carrying a wide array of litter onto the tiny section of sand still visible. Determined we would find a better beach we took a cab over to Kuta, but not before walking a good distance in the midday sun with little or no sun-factor and all of us getting sunburnt. Hey, we're Brits on holiday after all!.
Kuta is the most commercial and touristy part of the island and has an air of Magaluf or Faliraki. The beach was ok, but the number of times you'd get hassled by street-sellers with their colourful array of jewellery, kites, icecreams, fruits, drinks or tattoo books was unbearable. The beach was full of local kids playing football. There were also many couples walking in the afternoon sun hand in hand. One couple especially tickled our fancy. They were wearing matching pink t-shirts with the caption 'Hey, I'm in Love!' written across the chest. We all fell about laughing. It was rather sickly sweet and Chloe wanted photographic evidence so we had to go and stop the couple whilst Chloe pretended to be producing some sort of blog about tourism in Bali (it was half true after all) and I managed to get a couple of snaps purely for our pleasure. When Chloe asked the couple if they were engaged the girl blurted out a quick yes, whilst the guy was in complete denial about the whole affair.
In the evening Nilufer wasn't feeling that great (probably a combination of dehydration and sun burn) so we left her back at the villa and took to the dance floor in the cheesy discos of Kuta. It was so funny; these tiny little indonesian men dancing around us and trying to give us the eye. In our heels we were at least 6" taller than any of them. Still this did not seem to bother them too much; however seeing a giant like Mark was enough to keep them from pestering us.
Yesterday was our last day in Seminyak, it was hot and sunny so kept by the pool. Later, we had a lovely walk along the beach in the afternoon sun and got ourselves a perfect spot to watch the sunset from one of the most exclusive beach front venues in Bali, Ku De Ta.
