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Published: December 11th 2018
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Today we have planned to spend the day with our very good friend Yvonne and her daughter Brigitte who are coincidentally here in Bali from Melbourne at the same time as us. They’re staying over in Seminyak.
We spend the morning lazing by the Sofitel pool. A Chinese couple who look like they are both about thirty take up residence on the sun lounges next to us. The man is carrying a very large blow up floatation device in the shape of a unicorn. It‘s mostly white, but with a gold horn, and brightly multicoloured mane and seat. We look for the child that will be using this device, but it soon becomes evident that the couple are here by themselves. They both get into the pool, and the man then climbs onto the unicorn. I ask Issy why a childless couple would come here all the way from China with a blow up unicorn in tow. She wonders if perhaps they can't swim, but the pool is only about a metre deep, and in any event I'm sure there are any number of far less conspicuous gadgets that they could have selected if they were worried about drowning. Maybe
I'm missing the point, and the whole idea the idea is for them to look as conspicuous as possible, so that if they are about to drown they can be fairly sure that at least someone will be staring at them as they cling helplessly to their ridiculous looking appendage.
We head back to Benoa where Brigitte is keen to try some of the local water sports. She has signed up for jetskiing and parasailing. I suspect that Issy is feeling a bit guilty that the rest of us are leaving her to do this on her own, so bravely volunteers to join her for the parasailing. I am given the disclaimer forms to sign. I’m not quite sure why; I haven’t volunteered for anything other than spectating. I hope I don’t look like a lawyer. As was the case with yesterday’s massage, it seems that if the harness on the parasail breaks and Issy and Brigitte are flung to their deaths onto rocks in the lagoon, then this is all their fault for undertaking such an intrinsically risky activity, and the company accepts no responsibility for their fate.
First up is jet skiing, and we watch on
as Brigitte, with instructor in tow, disappears off into the distance. I think Yvonne's fairly convinced that she's been kidnapped, and looks very relieved when she eventually reappears apparently none the worse for wear. Next up is parasailing. I think that Yvonne is feeling much more relaxed now that she can keep a constant eye on her airborne daughter from the comfort of the towboat. She might have feared that Brigitte had been whisked away by jet skiing pirates only a few minutes earlier, but that is now long forgotten as she urges the crew of the towboat to “dunk her” in the water.
We set off for Jimbaran Bay where we’ve booked a seafood dinner at a restaurant on the sand. This seems to be the go to place for locals wanting an evening stroll along the beach as they watch the sunset, with perhaps some food to follow. The beach is very long and restaurants line a significant proportion of it. Popular activities include pony riding, and eating roasted corn cobs which can be bought from small two wheeled vendor carts on the sand. There’s even a bride posing for her wedding photos.
The dinner menu
is not that clear. Yvonne asks for some clarification that “live lobster” doesn’t mean that the poor creature will be dumped wriggling on the table. I don’t think she was looking forward to having to stab it to stop it from crawling away. The waiters all seem to think that this is very amusing.
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