It's been two days since we got back from Bali and I am constantly thinking that I have to write it all down before it fades away and becomes nothing but a blurred memory. But reality presses all these tedious bits and pieces of chores and work-related obligations upon me and the urge to write is most of the time less strong than the urge to get away from the computer after having stared at it all day long. We left for our long weekend in Bali last Thursday, June 17. Our flight was to leave at 9.05 pm and since we were all packed and ready around 6 already, we decided to go and get some Xiao Long Bao across the street at Visma Atria's Din Tai Fung. Have I mentioned that it's one of my favourite things to eat here in Singapore? Wonderful, delicious pork-filled dumplings (the pork-filing aspect is not the most appealing to me, as pig is not my favourite meat) with pastry so thin and so intricately folded and some deliciously smooth broth locked inside every single one of them... Yummy goodness, I can have Xiao Long Bao for dinner every day. Or, every second day... And also - at your table they set up a lovely little hiding place for your handbag, a kind of a cot bed on a metal frame, where you put your handbag to rest, cover it with a little blanket and let it sleep while you devour your meal... How absolutely cute is that? So we go there (we usually go to another location, at the Paragon, as it's nicer and food seems a bit better there but this time time was an issue so we just settled for the Visma Atria one just 'cause it's closer... ), sit down and at the table next to ours I hear Polish spoken! I did not even distinguish any particular words being said, just a cluster of sounds reached me and it had this very familiar feel to it that will make you turn your head everywhere in the world - your native language is spoken. It's a lady with her son, she's lived in Singapore for seven years, he is currently studying in Toronto, of all places, about to leave to Poland for two months on holiday. She tells me there is a major Polish society in Singapore and the Polish embassy is right there, in Visma Atria. Why am I even surprised. We chat for a while, they leave, we eat our early dinner and then get in a cab from the hotel to go to the airport. The airport is huuge, looks much nicer in daylight than it looked at night when we first landed there. A line of taxis waiting to pick up passengers goes on for miles. I will only realize that it's not always the case when we get back and will have to wait in a line, not of taxis but of people, for half an hour to be driven back home. For now, the plane is over an hour late and we finally land on Bali around 1 am. The descent, which I am watching through the window, is literally into the ocean, the landing strip is a mere extension of the water and the lights of the ships docked in the ocean that are nicely and orderly aligned to give one an impression of a very long water landing strip. At the airport we go in the direction of visa booths and it turns out that you need to pay cash for the visas. A nice 25 US dollars per person, which comes up to 50 bucks for the two of us. Of course, we have all the credit cards that have been invented by men, but do not have 50 USD in cash. We don't carry fifty dollars in cash on us even in the US. But Bryan has a secret stash of money in his TRAVEL wallet (yes, he has a travel wallet :) so he puts up together some US money and some Singapore dollars and we are given visas. After immigration clearance we are headed out, the driver from the hotel is waiting for us, Mr Robert yes please welcome to Bali. We get into the car and then for the first time and definitely not the last we are offered Wet Towels. We were offered Wet Towels in the car, we were offered Wet Towels at the hotel reception while checking in, I was mildly disappointed that the bell boy taking our suitcases up to the room did not offer us Wet Towels upon entering the room. The room is really nice, the bathroom even nicer. I wish I could move the bed into the bathroom and just live there, I look around, there is space for my laptop on the counter next to the sink, maybe I will just move into this bathroom and not go back to the hated little apartment in Singapore. It's a bathroom that I would like to have at home. Big, double-winged doors that go all the way up to the ceiling and feature a double mirror on the inside - I can finally see myself from head to toes, not that what I see makes me happy but the very fact of being able to see a whole me is a joy in itself. The bed is to die for, the sheets soft and silky. We sleep like stones.
On Friday we wake up and are ready to conquer the resort. Dressed in beach attire, equipped with books and sunscreen we head to the beach. And this is the first, and really the only disappointment. The beach is definitely not what we expected. We wanted a tropical paradise beach, white sand and green-blue ocean. It's everything but. Turns out we are at the Water Sports Central. The swimming area bordered by buoys extends some 5 yards into the ocean, beyond that line there is literally traffic in the water. Banana boats, jet skis, mattresses flying behind boats, water skis, parachutes, you name it. They should have a policeman directing the traffic or traffic lights there, for fear of accidents. The beach is just a beach, not too white and not too wide either. So we settle for a beach bale, which is a beautiful tent set up in the grass with a view of the ocean, where you can rest and relax in privacy. We like our beach bale. We order sandwiches and drinks, we read we nap we are happy. We go to the swimming pool, we get back to the bale. It's a very lazy day. The resort is beautiful, lots of water lagoons, swimming pools, bridges, beautiful greenery, bars and restaurants, everybody waiting to be of any help. The staff is very polite, friendly and welcoming. You are greeted approximately 50 times a day, whenever you walk by or are being passed by a staff member. Top quality service, top quality resort. Just the beach, if only they had a decent beach... We decide that since we cannot have the ultimate beach experience, we will focus more on exploring rather than whaling at the swimming pool, because, after all, you can get a nice swimming pool with a nice beach bed and a cocktail with an umbrella everywhere. You can't get the Bali experience everywhere....
The day ends up with a nice dinner at one of the hotel's restaurants, where we adventurously order the local cuisine. Indonesian and Balinese tasting platters. Bryan is extremely happy, I am not so much - the food is very spicy. We are surprised by a performance of a Balinese dance to accompany our dinner. We are relaxed and happy and looking forward to tomorrow's adventure - we arranged a car to take us to places of interest around the island on Saturday, for 80 US dollars for the whole day. It's going to be fun!