March 17 through 21, 2023
"Life is what you make of it." - Indonesian saying
We finished off the last 5 days of our stay in Bali by moving to a more southern part of the island, a town called Seminyak. This was touted as being more of a "happening" place with nightlife and bars and closer to the beach. Since we are "happening" types of people, we went. It was a good move and we enjoyed the opportunities it afforded us.
We checked out the beach nearby which had a lovely sunset, cheap lounge chairs, and no shortage of women offering foot massages (Art got one). Speaking of foot massages, we also took advantage of getting a "fish spa" in Seminyak where tiny fish eat the dead skin off your feet in an aquarium tank. Once you get past the weird ticklish feeling, it was actually quite pleasant and seemed to do what it promised (at least we think so). By the way, I got *many* massages while in Bali since there are places on almost
every block and they are so inexpensive (average $9/hour) and the
masseuses are good! I just couldn't resist (even got a pedicure while I was at it :-).
We found some great restaurants near our hotel and were able to celebrate Art's birthday (twice!) in style, once at a steak place and once at a place with a wide variety menu (including chicken parmigiana!). And for his birthday lunch, we even found a Johnny Rockets restaurant and had some good American food, because why not? I hadn't had an Oreo milkshake in months and theirs was pretty great.
We had one strange experience with an overly solicitous waitress at our hotel who seemed to like us way too much (trust me, the vibe was odd). She got the live music band to play Happy Birthday for Art, she insisted on making his omelet at breakfast, she asked to take photos *with* us (in our hotel room :-o) and even wanted to connect with us on Facebook (I said hard no to that). Hopefully it was all with innocence and good intent and not some nefarious scheme to rob us (Art thinks I overthink these things).
The day after Art's birthday, we had plans to go to an island off the coast but Art's back unexpectedly went out. He was in severe pain so we had to cancel the tour (although the tour guide messed up on the timing, and then he too got sick later, so it actually all worked out). We spent much of the day letting Art recover. The next day he was feeling better so we went to the island (Nusa Penida) which has amazingly beautiful natural formations, crystal clear water, and adorable monkeys running wild. It was a fun, if a bit long and hot, day and I'm very glad we got to visit it. Seeing amazing natural beauty is a big part of why I like to travel.
Quirky aside: I managed to find a Toastmasters club in Bali so I visited while we were in Ubud. Besides them telling me the wrong meeting address twice (luckily my taxi driver was super patient) and the meeting being held at a tiny coffee shop with bad acoustics, it was worth checking it out. The people were relatively friendly (I've found that most Indonesians are friendly and big on hospitality) but the club itself seemed weak. I guess I should give them credit for keeping it going despite its small size and lousy venue. I'll even forgive the member whose speech included a jab at Americans :-o Might try to find a club to visit when we get to Japan.
Other aside: Every tour or drive we took inevitably ended with the driver trying to get us to hire him for our next adventure. They was definitely an "air of desperation" to get the next gig, probably because their economy is so dependent on tourism and COVID really killed that. It's largely still getting back on its feet.
Interesting aside: We wound up leaving Bali right before their big New Year's (called Nyepi) celebrations which was good and bad. We did see some pre-New Year's events like floats being made and parades right through our town. Apparently New Year's eve is a huge Balinese event with parties, parades, and religious revelry intended to chase the evil out of the old year. New Year's Day (March 22), however, is a complete day of silence with no one allowed outside, no shopping, no flights, and in some places, no talking (all of this applies to locals and tourists alike). In some ways, it seemed a bit like Yom Kippur, although I think you are allowed to eat. There was a lot of excitement leading up to these days but overall I think it was good that we left before Nyepi actually happened.
Headed off to Singapore (Sting-apore!) and more adventures :)
Deena and Art
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