Post #182 12 October 2018

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our holiday in Bali, 17 September to 5 October 2018.

To celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary (actually on 18 October 2018) we invited Jen & Andrew and their families to join us for a holiday in Bali.

Vera and I had a week there by ourselves (stayed in Tuban, Canggu, and Legian) before moving to Jimbaran when the horde arrived.

Vera grew up in Bali and I first went there in 1972.  It was a veritable tropical paradise then: hardly any tourists, the local people still lived in their traditional ways, and the Balinese culture was dominant. It is very different these days, with lots of foreign tourists (8+m last year) and many Indonesians from other islands seeking better lives; the traffic is often horrendous.  But despite all that, Bali remains a special place.

On Sunday 16 September 2018 Vera & I flew from Sydney to Bali on Qantas QF43.  The flight left on time at 4.40pm, and arrived in Bali six hours later (at 9pm local time). We stayed at the Aston Hotel, Tuban, just 10 minutes from the airport.

Staying in Tuban, Canggu and Legian

Map of Bali island.

Map showing the main tourist areas in Bali.

The following afternoon we went back to the Airport to pick up Andrew, Eddie and Jay.  There were some issues at the factory in Java so Caroline had gone ahead.  Andrew & kids stayed one night at the Aston Hotel and then flew to Semarang (and they all returned to Bali a week later for the family holiday). This photo shows the many travel representatives (holding name plates) waiting to pick visitors up at the airport and take them to hotels. More than 8 million visitors come to Bali every year.

Vera with Fast Eddie at the Aston Hotel.

Jay-Jay looking somewhat bewildered at the Aston Hotel.  These two kids sure get around.

This hotel has a "welcome party" of statues.  The Balinese are very talented artists: carving, painting, music, dance, they are multi-talented.

A painting of two young Balinese girls in traditional dress.

After Andrew's departure we moved to Canggu for 3 nights.  It is a relatively new area, out past Seminyak. Our first time to stay in that area. Lots of new villas and hotels under construction; the traffic can be horrendous but wasn't too bad when we were there. Still pretty "grass roots" but that probably won't last long.

Balinese follow the Hindu religion and have many gods, like this (unusual) one riding an elephant with fish body. 

At Canggu we stayed at "My Villas"; three comfortable units around a pool, with a shared kitchen/dining area. The two  beaches near us were Batu Bolong and Echo Beach, both popular surfing spots.

Bali now has several "beach clubs" like this one, La Brisa, at Echo Beach, Canggu.

Canggu is a popular surfing area.  Here two Asian girls were having a "learn to surf" class on Batu Bolong beach.

A couple of local girls (probably visitors from Jakarta) on Batu Bolong beach.

An early morning "boot camp" exercise class on the beach at Canggu.

Some districts, like Canggu, forbid the use of Uber and Grab - they want people to use local transportation.

Balinese are great carvers - wood and stone - as shown on this intricate door.

A stone statue.

Traditional entrance gate into a Balinese temple. You see temples everywhere on Bali.

A traditional Balinese fishing boat; I was surprised at the name - "Black Caviar" - after the famous Australian race horse. Weird?

Only A$5 a day to rent a motor scooter - so cheap!  - undoubtedly the best way to get around and why so many foreigners use them.  You are supposed to get a local licence (A$20 for 3 weeks) but few people bother, which can be costly if they are involved in an accident.

After 3 days at Canggu we moved to the Zest Hotel at Legian (near Jalan Double Six).  The rooms were small and noisy - make sure you get one at the back.  It had a nice pool on the roof, but no shade so too hot to sit here during the day. This photo is looking West, you can see the ocean in the distance (beautiful sunsets).

The view looking North from the top of the Zest Hotel. Fortunately there is a height limit (top of trees) so this area had no very tall high-rise buildings.

The restaurant across the road from the Zest Hotel featured an entertaining "Drag Queen Show" every night - transvestites miming songs and dancing to the music. Seemed popular with tourists, full every night.

One day Vera's brother and his wife (Andrew & Iis) took us to Klungkung, a city about 50 km from Legian on the foothills of Mount Agung.  This is where Vera grew up (her father established the hospital here), before the family moved to Bandung in 1969. We had lunch  at Warung Jumpung.  The photo shows the restaurant owner at left, then Vera, Andre and Iis.

The owner of Wanung Jumput has an extensive collection of motor-bikes, from UK, USA and Russia. When we asked why he hadn't married, he said he was married to his bikes!

A typical Indonesian dish: fried chicken, chicken sate, rice and beans. Delicious!

We usually went to the beach to watch the sunset and have a beer.  Always lots going on.

Watching the sunset on the beach with Vera's brother Andre and his wife Iis. They live in Bandung but come to Bali quite often.

One evening this group of Hari Krishna followers came by, about 20 women and 10 men, playing music, chanting and dancing.  They used to be a fairly common sight in Australia 30 years ago, but don't see them much these days (maybe they've all come up to Bali???).

Staying in Jimbaran

Once Jen & Tom & Kurt, Nate & Sid arrived, and Caroline and Andrew & Eddie and Jay-Jay there were eleven of us, so we rented a Villa called "The Sea Shanty" in Jimbaran.  It was a lovely large house, 5 minutes walk to the beach, with 4 bedrooms, a large common area, a garden and a lovely pool.  

The entry area of the Villa.

The kids all enjoyed the swimming pool (with child-proof fence).  

The Villa had a nice garden.

Andrew and Kurt swinging Eddie; Jay looking on in wonder.

Vera & me in the garden.

A photo of the whole family, from left: Kurt (13), Jen, Caroline holding Jay-Jay (18 months), Vera, me, Nate (11), Tom, Sid (9), and Andrew  with Eddie (4) on his shoulders.

The common area of the Villa, with sofas, then dining table, and kitchen.

The Villa managers, Lina and her husband Supri (originally from Bandung in West Java)  They made us feel very welcome.  Lina turned out to be a marvelous cook, so we ate many meals at home (mainly Indonesian food).

The beach at Jimbaran. The Villa was at the Southern end of the beach.  Shallow, small waves.

The seafood restaurants on Jimbaran Beach are famous.

Sunset on Jimbaran Beach.

One day we did a "Cycling Tour".  The company bus picked us up at 7am; breakfast at Kintamani; a visit to a a Coffee Luwak establishment; then a 2 hour bike ride (almost all down hill); finally lunch.  We got back to Jimbaran at 5pm.

Tom pointing to Mt Agung in the distance, beyond the rice paddies. Beautiful countryside!

Stunning!

The boys in front of a huge bunyan tree.

On the bike ride we passed these women who had just been to a temple festival in their village. Balinese women normally carry things on their heads.

Staying at Nusa Lembongan

After a week at Jimbaran we went to a small island called Nusa Lembongan, about 19 km from Sanur.  We hadn't been there before, but heard that it had good surfing (for the boys).

Here we are getting on our boat - calm sea - the journey only took about 30 minutes. But on the return trip four days later we hit some big ocean swells - a much more exciting / worrying return trip!

In Nusa Lembongan we  rented a Villa called "Rumah Kayu"; right on the water at Tamarind Beach, four bedrooms, a big garden, and a swimming pool. This is a view of the main bungalow (from the garden), with the common area in front and bedrooms on either side.

The swimming pool got a lot of use. Eddie's confidence in the water really improved; Jay loved it too.  Note the home-made (of bamboo) child-proof fence around the pool.

The garden was large enough for a game of cricket!

The Villa was situated on a small beach; the rocks were exposed at low tide.  We hired surf boards - there was a small break about 200m to the left of this photo (Playground), with a better break about 400m to the right (Lacerations).

On a clear day you could see right across to Mount Agung, Bali's highest volcano, and incredible sight. Vera grew up in a town called Klungkung, situated at the base of Mt Agung.  This photo was taken near the swimming pool of the Villa.

A blow-hole; impressive.

One afternoon we hired a boat which took us snorkeling.  We found, and swam with, some huge Manta Rays - exciting!  Then snorkeled at Crystal Bay and finally at Mangroves.  Lots of colorful fish, all shapes and sizes.  Good fun.

Manta Rays are an amazing sight.

Family photo on Main Beach where we had dinner one night.

Family photo in the garden of the Villa, from left: Kurt, Jen, me, Sid, Andrew holding Jay, Vera, Eddie, and Nate (Caz took the photo).

Vera & me: 45 years of bliss!

The Brisbane mob ...

... and the Sydney mob.

Jay-Jay enjoying chicken satay; she loves eating!

Jen & Caz getting pedicures ....

... while Tom got a massage.

I  came across this procession - four local people had died and were being cremated.  Huge crowd, it seemed as if the whole town had turned out. The Balinese are Hindus and this is part of their culture.

The burnt remains of the cremations.

After four great days in Nusa Lembongan we caught a boat back to Sanur (hit some big swells along the way).  That afternoon we stayed at Febri's Hotel, Tuban, and at night caught our flights back to Australia.

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So ended a memorable holiday in Bali.

One of the highlights for Vera and me was to see how the boys all love music and dancing (definitely an Olah-ism).  Their song-of-choice was "Shotgun" by George Ezra and we soon got to know the chorus:

I'll be riding shotgun
Underneath the hot sun
Feeling like a someone.

It's a catchy tune - you can't get it out of your mind!!!
(It has been listened to more than 81 million times on YouTube - amazing).

...

I read three novels during our time in Bali:

Jeffrey Archer's "The Prodigal Daughter" (about Florentyna Rosnovski / Kane who became America's first female President)

John O'Farrell's "The Best a Man Can Get" (about the challenges of father-hood)

P D James' "The Skull Beneath the Waves" (a Cordelia Gray detective story)

Archer is a master story-teller, but I think James is a better writer.

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Some sporting events of note:

On 17 September in the Berlin Marathon, 33 year old Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge set a new world record of 2 hours 1 minute and 39 seconds.  Incredible; he shaved 78 seconds off the previous WR. We are getting very close to the two-hour mark!

In the AFL (Aussie Rules) Grand Final, West Coast Eagles 79 beat Collingwood Magpies 75.

In the NRL (Rugby League) Grand Final, Sydney Roosters 21 beat Melbourne Storm 6.

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After Canberra's winter, it was so nice living in shorts and T-shirt for 3 weeks; but arriving in Sydney brought us back to earth: it was a wet, windy and cold day! A cold front reminded us that Old Man Winter is still lurking around.

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Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Alex Olah and Vera Olah
Canberra, Australia
Friday 12 October 2018.