Escalating luxury in Bali but the dancing was a bit iffy

For those readers who think that driving round Australia is a holiday – think again! It’s a tough life out there and, after over three months on the road, it was time to have a break from driving, putting up tents and cooking on a two burner gas stove, so here we are in Bali on our holidays. Mind you, if we thought packing then unpacking every couple of days was a thing of the past, we have had to think again.

Quite deliberately, the hotel that we chose was in the country and a little off the beaten track away from the crowds at the coast. Set beside a gorge, with a river running through it and surrounded by forest on one side and rice paddies on the other the place offers peace and tranquillity. Our room was fabulous, with the mandatory enormous four-poster bed, a huge bathroom and large veranda with day-bed – and all perched over water. In the grounds were the restaurant, swimming pool, and, over-looking a waterfall, a spa towards which Sandra made a beeline for her first massage of the holiday. In short we were very happy with the accommodation – but, as usual, things didn’t go to plan!

The hotel had overbooked and we were asked to move to another room. Our initial annoyance was somewhat tempered when we were shown to our new accommodation – we had been upgraded from a Garden Villa to a Pool Villa. The new room was twice as large as the previous one and, in our own private garden, there was our own private swimming pool with views of the river – so we grudgingly agreed to the move! One of the beauties of having your own pool is you are able to save money by reducing wear and tear on your swimming costumes – we didn’t wear any – and whilst there are many photos to prove this you will be relieved (or perhaps disappointed) to know they will not be going on the blog!

Initially we had booked in for four days but decided to stay on for a couple more days before moving to Ubud – “the Cultural Capital of Bali”. Unfortunately our Pool Villa had been booked so we had to pack up once again and, as there were no Garden or Pool Villas free, there was only one place they could offer us. At the top of the hill, with panoramic views over the river, forest and local temple and with rice paddies to the rear, was an individual villa which was the ultimate in luxury, particularly for people like us who had spent the previous three months in a tent using “long drop” toilets. With all the usual inside facilities (7 foot wide four poster bed, bar, sat TV etc) the outside was stunning – a king-sized day bed sat under a thatched pagoda next to the enormous infinity pool – on which, and in which, one could relax and take in the world below.

Of course it wasn’t all lotus eating and I had to endure several trips to the markets and shops of Ubud whilst Sandra indulged herself in the first of what will be many such forays – particularly when she found there were bead and fabric shops in quantity. The day after she gets back to Darwin she is exhibiting at a Craft Fair and her time in Bali was to be spent making a sign for her stall and producing more stock to sell – at least that was the plan. She will probably spend more time visiting markets and buying more raw materials.

Last night there was Balinese music and dancing and during the day hotel staff were busy cutting and twisting palm fronds to make decorations. Ever keen to learn new skills Sandra managed to get involved and was asked if she wanted to help (i.e. she was being her usual nosey self!) Looking for her I eventually found her sitting cross-legged in a circle with her new Balinese friends making decorations to hang up in the restaurant.

The evening itself was most enjoyable with a special Indonesian menu to go with the music and dance although the latter proved to be excruciatingly embarrassing for me. I have been trying, with the help of a delightful young receptionist called Eka (shades of Maria-Giovanna in Sorrento a couple of years ago) to learn a few words and phrases of Indonesian. Since other members of staff found out about this they have made a point of picking on me to test my very limited language skills. Thus, when it came to the last dance which was to be “interactive” i.e. audience participation, I knew with some inevitability that I would be picked on to make a fool of myself – and so it transpired. The very attractive, doll-like dancer had me up on the floor for a bit of public humiliation. Now an eightsome reel or Gay Gordons I can just about cope with but trying to bend ones fingers backwards whilst sexily shaking ones hips in time to plinky Balinese music is just not my forte – and it showed! Snake-hips I am not. Mind you, a short while later, Sandra also proved that her forte lay somewhere else. All common or garden tourist fodder, but what the hell - was are on holiday!

Tomorrow we move on to Ubud where hopefully we will strike lucky – although I’m not too sure. Whilst taking a break from shopping a couple of days ago we went looking for a bar for some well earned refreshment – i.e. a couple of Bintangs, the local beer. Down a dark alley we found a bar which did accommodation and, despite the place looking somewhat down at heel and probably rat infested, for some unfathomable reason we booked a couple of nights accommodation – from the sublime to the ……?

PS To those of you that posted "Happy Birthday" to Sandra - Thanks, she really appreciated it.