Just like in the movies
Trip Start
Jun 17, 2011
1
4
Trip End
Jun 28, 2011
What I did
Arrive, settle, keep myself awake & EXPLORE
Sanur, Bali, Indonesia
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Finally, Friday Lunch time my plane embarked. Destination: Kuala Lumpur.
I really enjoyed my flight with Malaysian- the interior was beautiful and the flight attendants really nice. Food....nah- had better "plane" food before.
Next time I take a dayime flight, I will make sure I havent slept the night before. It was difficult to sleep during the day and when I finally managed to take a nap, the 3 babies to my left (in the middle row) woke me up- and this was it with sleep, for the next 12 hours. I watched some really good movies. Not the mainstream Hollywood stuff. A new movie with Audrey Tatou "Little White Lies" and an Italian movie called "Immaturi". Really good!
Kuala Lumpur's airport is quite impressive! Shopper's paradise I would say- too bad I did not have enough time. 1 hour stop over and I had to catch the plane to Bali.
For some reason I thought I had another 6 hours ahead of me- so I did not worry too much about the sleepless "day" on the previous flight. Nah...2h40 minutes that was all that was given to me, to recover from a jetlag. Again, I just briefly fell asleep and was indeed not very relaxed when I left the plane. When I arrived, I first had to pay 25 Dollars for the Visa, screened my luggage and my heart started thumping when I saw the huge sign "Death penalty if smuggle drugs to Bali"...I started thinking of Chapelle Cory (hope I got the spelling right...Im too scared to google it in case I get reported for beeing an accomplice...hehe) and her horrendous story and was, silly me, carefully thinking whether any medication I had with me, could potentially be seen as a drug..
The worries were for nothing (*touch wood* in case I get arrested on my way back) - I grabbed my luggage and went outside...OMG- 1000's of people holding signs...where's mine...where's mine.
There its is...Kari, my tour guide and a good friend of Sybille (who let's me kindly spend my holiday in her house) greeted me and we headed to the car. He was really kind and luckily he can speak German and English. So I felt comfortable right away :-)
I must say, I was pretty disorientated in the beginning as my inner clock was set to deep sleep and night time...so driving through busy Denpasar, with its 1000 scooters and cars, was somehow weird.
So, Kari and me engaged in the usual small talk and he explained to me that a lot of people of Jakarta & Japan are here at the moment and that the Swiss, Germans etc. only arrive in July/ August- *pheeeeeeeew* I thought. Nothing worse than a beach full of German tourists (oh oh...am I gonna be punched for that comment :-)? I guess my fellow German friends know what I'm talking about...you know...the loud Germans with the white socks and sandals and the beer belly...). ooook....lets move on.
In anyway, so I asked him whether he can distinguish between Swiss and German (THERE IS A DIFFERENCE!) and he said *of course, of course- the Swiss are -sehr korrekt-, he says in German. I then asked: korrekt in a good or bad way?
"Well...just human" He replied. "If you are human, you automatically have a good and a bad side"- I looked at him and smiled and thought "I like you". It so fitted the current book I was reading "Introduction to Nichiren Buddhism". I'm sure I will learn a lot from this man, I think to myself.
We went to Hardy's to buy some groceries. Because of all the ugly contaminated water stories I heard, I grabbed 3 x 5l bottles of water, so I would make sure to always have water with me but also brush my teeth with bottled water...I'm still doubting if it is really necessary...but I don't want to take a chance- after all...I have 9 days to enjoy this paradise here. The last thing I want, is to lie sick in bed with Buscopan in my shivering hand. So yes, I do brush my teeth with bottled water and try not to swallow any water when I shower...and when I forget about it, standing there enjoying my waterfall-like shower experience, overlooking a tropical garden with a mouth-wide-open awe-insipring expression...I do spit the water out...and brush my tongue afterwards. :-)
I grab some Bananas and some other basic things- but not too much, as I plan to eat out- of course...what do I wanna do in the house the whole day?!
So we arrive at my future residence...when my jaw just drops. Sybille was probably joking when she said it was not a Villa...well, yes it is simple...but it is a Villa- at least for me. I have 3 Bedrooms to choose from and pick the one upstairs...its so nice with the balcony and the divan and the little terrace overlooking the green gardens...the sounds are amazing...Balinese chimes and kites in the sky...beautiful blue sky and the big cauliflower clouds. Children playing, Dogs barking and the moped noises :o) Ahhhhhhhhhhh....I feel at home right away. Reminds me of South Portugal...and it has a Windhoek-ish feel to it. A bit like Klein Windhoek in the rainy season.
I did decide to take a nap- I was exhausted and couldnt keep my eyes open. Rina & the other girl staying at the residence (who look after the house when Sybille is not around) make my bed ready...I could have done it myself, but they insist and they are so sweet...the smile at you all the time. Rina is busy learning German...so she can say a few words...other than that our conversation is restricted to hand signs and facial expressions.
After my nap, I headed off to get a first impression of Bali. Rina calls a Taxi Driver for me and off I am to explore Sanur. I wander through the streets and admire the little shops and thought it would be great to look for a place to have dinner.
After wandering around and not being able to make up my mind...I spot an arrow, saying "Follow the arrow to the pathway to Beach Bar & Restaurant"...ok, I thought...lets do it.
I was gobsmacked...I entered this beautiful wide open Restaurant right at the beach...with a Cocktail bar and some nice sofas to chill on- the restaurant was pretty empty, which suited me very well as I wanted some solitude and peace...
I started talking to the waitress who was exceptionally friendly and whom, I swear, I could have mistaken as Italian. She just laughs and says "No no...me real Balinese woman" :-) I cant remember what we were talking about but we had quite a chat...she was so nice!
After ordering my Pina Colada, I decided to have some dinner and was not disappointed with the lovely Satai that were served to me. I really so enjoyed this first evening. It was picture-perfect and just what I needed...It was really like in the movies.
After my dinner, I walked along the beach and it started to be more crowded, when I spotted what looked to me like a "white themed" party...or maybe it was a Wedding..dunno.
All, mostly local people, dressed in white- and all the women totally dressed up. They looked gorgeous. The music was great and I was tempted to just sit somewhere and order a drink...but I had the feeling to be a bit uninvited...as I couldnt spot any tourists...only the ones in front of me who seemed to think the same and just rushed past the crowd in a sneeky-sneeky way with an embarrassed look, in case we did disturb a ceremony of any kind.
So, walking back to the main road, I went into a Massage studio and got myself, at 21h00 pm a Balinese Full body massage. It was heaven, I thought, at first.
The massage, was not at all what I had hoped for...It was painful...and at first I thought I would fight myself through the pain- maybe if I make it alive, I will feel revitalized. After 30 min I asked the friendly lady to "not make so strong"...I prayed that she did not misunderstand it as "more strong"...seriously...I would have screamed.
She did "not make so strong" but still...I felt no muscles massaged, but bones and it was just not quite as relaxing as I thought. Never mind. I paid 7 Pounds for it. I'm sure I will find another massage studio.
Afterwards I took the taxi- the Bluebird taxi...apparently they are honest and dot rip you off- and drove back home...after spraying half a bottle of DEET Moskito Spray all over me, the bed and the room and almost suffocating, tasting the spray in my mouth, I switched on the aircon and tried to sleep a bit. I woke up several times but eventually managed to sleep.
There is loads more about this day I would love to tell...and there is today too...but my time is up and the Rupee too... so I will continue with the blogging tomorrow.
Now, near Kuta Beach, Im looking for a restaurant and another massage place...this time one that is hopefully relaxing :-)
