Arriving in Bali and getting to the Suji Bungalows was a bit of a culture shock. The weather was a sweltering 32 degrees but the humidity was almost unbearable. I breathed a big sigh of relief when I caught sight of the pool! It was a different story when I got in because it was like jumping into a luke warm bath. A cold shower afterwards was just the ticket.
We've actually done very little since being here other than sitting by the pool, walking on the over-crowded beach, walking round the town and eating. Breakfast in the hotel yesterday was a little embarrasing; after finishing my fresh lemon drink I told the waitress how much I
had enjoyed it. She looked delighted and being quite a friendly young lady she asked me "You like shower?". I thought I'd misheard her so I asked her what she meant and she replied with the same question. I declined politely and said that I'd showered before breakfast and
thanked her for her kind offer. She then gave me a look that said "You jerk" and replied "No sir, you like the lemon juice SOUR!". I thanked her for the toast and left, hoping she wouldn't be there the next day. I think I had pool water in my ears. Or something.
Walking round town can be a chore as every 30 seconds you're asked if you want to buy something. As soon as they see your sunglasses, they ask you if "you wan buy sunglass". The same when they look at your watch - "you wan buy watch?". More disturbing are the numerous young girls asking "Scuse me mate, you want massage?". That fake cockney accent is just scary!
Last night before dinner we went for a couple of drinks in some of the bars around town. The first one, called Havana, was a little expensive so we just ordered a beer each and a couple of tapas dishes to keep us going until dinner. After we'd paid we sat there finishing our beers
off when one of the waitresses sidled up to Richard and said "What, no tip for me then?". He looked at me in stunned disbelief and we legged it down the road to the next bar. Honestly, the cheek of some people.
In the next bar we were enjoying another deliciously cold beverage when this Aussie bloke started talking to us (don't they always?). It turned out he is a travel writer called Brian something or other and has written quite a few books including "Planes, Trains and
Elephants", "I'm Not Eating Any Of That Foreign Muck" and "Rule #5, No Sex On The Bus". I'll be ordering at least one of those on my return so I can see if he's any good.
After he left, we decided to treat ourselves to a good meal in one of the nicer restaurants in town. We sat there, ordered our food and were having a nice time when I suddenly realised Germaine Greer was sitting at the next table along with four other raucus antipodeans. They'd
obviously been working their way through the cocktail list. I was then shocked to see Germaine tweak a sensitive part of her dining partner's upper body and I thought "Oh hello, I know their sort". After getting a closer look at the group I realised it wasn't Ms. Greer at all, just a very
loud, outspoken Aussie who'd tipped too many daiquiris down her neck.
Just as our meal arrived and the waiters were making room for it (it was big), who should arrive and ask to join us but our new Australian writer friend. What timing. He looked at our food and said "Oh what a shame I didn't come earler, I could have joined you with that". I was
thinking "Yeah, shame for you mate" but of course didn't say it. Rich was thinking the same, I'm sure. Brian ended up ordering "the special" which didn't look very special at all. In fact, four burnt prawns on a sharp stick with a bit of rice looked pretty un-special.
Today has been a really lazy day as well. Apart from typing this and booking our bus to Ubud for tomorrow we're just going to swim in the pool, watch the sunset and eat.
Again.
Bliss...
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