- Wednesday, June 05, 2002

So here is the start of my holiday. I won't get it all done today. Maybe just the first day or so....

Bali 25/05/02
Today is the the official "Day 1" of our holiday in Bali. After arriving a little late at Denpasar airport ( I forget its Indonesian name) and enjoyable flight with truly awful red wine and another chance to watch "Vanilla Sky" we soon found our car man with the "Salmon Cox" sign ( they also all sem to pronounce Cox CHOC here. Nyoman, his name, remembered us from Xmas and helped to carry our gear to our Black Kjang ( Toyota 4WD).
Love having a 4WD again! You feel so above the rest of the world. We drove through to Uluwatu, and the route all seemed so familiar, its funny how we still know our way around so well.
Finally arrived at Uluwatu Resort. Perched high on the cliff tops we could hear the sounds of the crashing surf below.
We checked in and then dragged our belongings including Simon's 2 surfboards to our room.
Heaven.
White tiles, a huge indonesian platform bed with draped mosquito nets. A beautiful bathroom and a huge 180+ degree view of the magestic Indian Ocean from our balcony.And no TV. A blessing I guess. We unpacke the little we would need for our one night stay and headed for the oddly quiet restaurant. With Santana playng on the video wall I ordered myself a Caprioshka ( vodka, sugar sytrup palm sugar and lots of crushed fresh limes) the first of many I hope to hae on this trip.

Sitting listening ti the soft crashing waves and the "gecko" sounds of the native lizards I realised we were the only guests in the resort. Yes the ONLY guests. A small mean of Nasi Goreng ( fied rice - usual fare) we headed back to our beautiful room. I then realised how tired I was. After leaving work with all that stress and a couple too many late nights it had all caught up with me and I was soon snuggled up and sound asleep.

The first thing I remember was waking to find the bed beside me empty and Simon standing on the balcony with his binoculars, looking seawards. It was 7am and I was still very sleepy. Simon was up and ready, in a bid to be one of the first on the gorgeous Uluwatu waves. Board waxed and a quick goodbye kiss and he was off!
I splept well till 8.30 when he got back and we lay in our white curtained bed and planned the day.

Breakfast ( horrible American style eggs and toast affair ) then off to explore the surf breaks. In the meantime I had started Harry Potter and read 50 pages.

Uluwatu, then Padang Padnag, to the Impossibles then one that started with "B" ( :)) . Surf was small but the ocena was an exquisite aquamarine colour. Stopping at each beach we were greeted by the ever so friendly and beautiful smiling locals. At the "B" beach we had someone guide us on our walk to the sand. Through a paddock filled with munching "daisy eyed" cows with me wearing totally innappropriate walking shoes!
Belangen was next and after a long drive past many dogs, chickens and small boys we gave up the hunt.

Heading for Seminyak, our next "pitstop" we drove through the horrible KUTA beach "Aussie" area to arrive at our Villa. Slightly off the beaten track, we were worried about what I had chosen from the internet. Once inside the door though my fears were relieved. Our own pool, beautiful bedrooms and a great open living area. Heaven again. Now time to just sit with a beer an Harry Potter while browning my breasts as I wait for Hugh and Jenni to arrive. Simon sheads to Canggu for a surf and I lie back and enjoy the solitude.

To be continued!

j

posted by jen @ 2:17 PM