Day 12 - Nearly There

---

I was up at 3 this morning as I couldn't sleep with my back. I think this will take a few days to get over unfortunately.

It's our last day in Bali today so the plan was to have quiet day relaxing by the pool and chilling out in the morning and then visit the orphanage in the afternoon.

The kids and I went to the pool and we're having a nice time splashing around when I had a sense of something going on behind me. I turned around to see someone splashing in the deep part of the pool. It took a couple of moments to process the situation but I realised that they couldn't swim and were actually drowning in the pool.

For someone who is competent in the pool it seems crazy that you could get into so much trouble in water that is just above head height. Hold your breath and walk to the edge. Jump up and down to get your breath and then move to the shallow end, etc. However, for those who can't swim, once the panic and fear set in there is no clear thinking and it all goes pear shaped.

Short story, I stepped towards her, offered her my hand and dragged her to the shallow end where she was able to catch her breath. Luckily I noticed the situation quickly and no harm was done but it could have been a lot worse I suspect. Ironically, there was a life guard on duty but his concentration was on the other end of the pool watching a group of kids. Good news is the girl will be able to go home from her holidays in one piece.

We went for a walk along the beach to find somewhere to have lunch and found a great place under the trees overlooking the ocean. Turned out to be more like Vietnamese than Balinese but the food was great. One of the best meals that we've had was the consensus.

We returned to the villa, got changed and headed down to meet the driver for the day. He was a few minutes late but we were under way quickly in the way to the orphanage. Our scheduled driver was visiting friends in hospital so this fellow was a ring-in and was the first driver we had who really struggled with English. He knew where we were headed though and he got us to the orphanage efficiently. In fact, he was the first driver that we've had that managed to get above 70kms per hour when on the freeway.

We arrived at the orphanage and, after signing in, were shown around to see the facilities and meet the kids who were great and full of life and personality. While in the baby room we were left with a couple of the younger kids temporarily. As soon as the minders were out of sight they ran straight to the biscuit tin, grabbed a handful of biscuits (and I mean a handful) and then ran the tin back to its position in the cupboard. The two then sat down to revel in their ill-gotten gains.

We stayed for a while and played with the kids which was a very fulfilling experience.

On the way back to the resort we wanted to have one last try to see if Emily could find a copy purse at a market. We asked the driver if he could suggest somewhere and, after some sign language and gesturing, we headed off again. We ended up at a local shopping mall the same as we could find at home, and with similar pricing too. We attempted some more sign language and had a final attempt to complete our mission. While driving I pointed to an area and said "is that Turtle Park" to which he replied, "yes, they are hotels". It was anyone's guess as to where we were actually heading at this point.

He took us to a market quite close to our hotel which was much more like what we were after at the gates to the area. We knew that there was another market by the other exit that had what Emily was after so, after dropping Tom and I off, Pamela and Emily headed out to do battle again. They returned a short time later with victory spoils in hand and smiles on faces.

We received an email from our travel agent with our flight details and we are now heading home via Brisbane and with an overnight stopover. Not ideal but at least we'll be home shortly.

Our final dinner was again had down by the beach. We looked at a number of restaurants but ended up choosing one called the Dirty Duck Diner. Everything about it was excellent and it was a great way to (almost) finish our trip.

Our final stop for the day was a drink on the beach at the resort before turning in for the night.

Leaving aside the issues with our flights, this was one of the better days on the trip.

---