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Published: October 1st 2009
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When I booked this trip through my timeshare over a year ago it seemed like it would take forever to get here. The time has come. We started Monday in a flurry of last minute details. All was well and as we were driving up to LA and I am happy to say there wasn't one thing I could think of that we had forgotten. Very surprising! Thank you sis for taking us to the AP and keeping our car at your place!
Trip was long and the flight was full to Taipei. Peter did well given his long legs and stiff back. I must say it was difficult even for me. 14hrs is a long time. What was a life saver is the dozens of movies, games, and music they offer inflight on China Air. The staff was flawlessly groomed and exquisitly mannered. I had a chance to chat for a while with them . They allowed me behind the scenes and had me sampling the traditional foods that they serve the first and business class (where we weren't)!
We arrived at Denpasar Bali approximatley 1 1/2 days later then when we stepped on the plane. Customs was the typical
process in a country of this type. A thousand smelly, tired travelers in a large area waiting for some guy in a uniform to give their passport a few stamps. There are no ropes, signs or officials indicating where lines start and no semblence of a line anywhere. Just a mass of people inching forward when the opportunity is given.
We took a taxi to Ubud where we are spending the first few nights. The ride was a harrowing experience. If you know me, you know I've done some traveling and when I do my goal typically to stray off the beaten path (tourists go one way, I like to go the other) Well... folks let me jus' tell ya the scene on the road was like nothing I've ever seen. Guatemala does come close though. There are no lines on the road (expected) no speed limits (also expected) but the shear volume of motorized vehicles in such a small area ... WHEW! There are more motorcycles and scooters than cars. Our taxi driver was very familiar with the roads (he told us he had never been off the island!) and I knew he knew what he was doing but
Holy Shit I have never been so scared. Oh yea, also... I need to add there were NO seat belts. I thought maybe I just couldn't find them. He sez "No belts. It's OK misses"
The first hotel we stay at is named Kebun Indah. This came highly recomended by Kelly (thanks a mill Kelly). This place is incredible. At the risk of sounding cliche' there are few words to describe it. The staff is genuinely friendly and happy just to have you here. The complementary breakfast was fresh and huge. Much larger than we expected. I ordered the Balinese pancakes. Peter ordered Jaffle. It is kinda like a breakfast Calzone but smaller and made of bread and not dough. Both came with fresh fruit salad with either yogurt and honey (my choice) or muesli (Peters), smoothies, toast and more coffee. The coffee is a great buzz! It reminds me of Turkish coffee. You kinda have ta swish it around in the pot or your last cup will get stuck in your throat ; )
More later... got a massage to catch!
Back... Peter and I went for our massages. We decided to use the little spa the
hotel opened up just recently. Peter booked the appt time @ 11:00 am and due to the fact that he and I were preoccupied with this travel blog we lost track of time and ended up being 10 minutes late. When we got there we told them we had appts but we were late. The woman in front spoke little English and was the only one we could see. She looked a little confused. She smiled though and waved us over to a reception area couch. As we were waiting she got on the phone and as it seemed, was calling someone about the appt. I was begining to wonder how this whole thing was gonna go down! Are we getting the laundry boy or some grounds keeper for our massages? "Hey Ketik put down the rake we have a massage for you"!
Happily, as it turned out we waited only a few minutes and we were both wisked away to massage heaven.
I signed up for 1/2 foot massage w/ reflexology. Peter did 1 hour of full body.
My massage was like nothing I have EVER had. I want to say it was great, and it was, but WHEW
was it was intense! He hit all these pressure points that just about sent me through the roof! There was a woman who was in and out of the room busily cleaning and arranging the fresh flowers. Our eyes met at one point. She could see my body language. She smiled said "He is strong ,eh"?
After the massage they surprised me and brought out some tea. Smells good. I looked down, there is a chunk of something in my tea. It is a piece of ginger the size of a golf ball. This was truly the most refreshing hot tea I've ever had. Peter got done and joined me. He looked oiled down and beat up. The first thing out of his mouth is "That was the deepest massage I've ever had" HEAVEN!Oh, I might add Peters massage was $15. mine was $4.50 USD!
The rain continues to come down like we've never seen in San Diego. Most of the time it is torrential. When there was a break in the rain we grabbed an umbrella from the cluster of community umbrellas in the hotel reception area (should this have been a hint) and went for a walk. We
exchanged some money and looked for a place to eat.
We found this place named The Dirty Duck. We heard about it from a blog we read. It doesn't look like much from the road but just as you walk in you see different. The restaurant is situated on a narrow piece if land and goes back as far as a football field. Peter and I were wowed to say the least. It looked like a park or at the least a formal reception area. There were large, I mean large thached roof overhangs with clusters of tables under each. One of these thached areas would have be a large dining area but the were at least a dozen! This place looked like you could have a convention there. No shit!
The thatched structures were along the perimeter of the property. In the middle were statues, ponds and water features. All so beautiful!At the very end of the property were rice fields. Just stunning.
Their speciality at this place was the Crispy Duck plate. Did Peter get that? NO! He got the rack of ribs. We placed our order and as we were waiting people all around us were being
seated. EVERYONE got the crispy duck. We waited and waited for our order. Anyone who knows Peter knows that food is his largest focus in life. People that were seated long after us were eating and leaving. Peter noticed and started to comment " There goes another crispy duck" "There goes another" If the food didn't come soon he was going to steal some off someones plate. I told Peter maybe they were buying his ribs at the store to cook. Finally it came and it was a generous portion of ribs. Thank God! If it was any less I would of had to hear about it all day!
We walked around but the rain wouldn't stop. Just as well. Our room and the attached porch area is nice and inviting. We brought a nice bottle of Pinot Noir from home and opened it. I have to say one of my favorite times of the trip so far has been dusk into evening. There is an amazing symphony of sounds all around us. We can't even guess what some of them are. All I know is I've never heard them before. There are a few bats that fly aimlessly above
our heads. Peter is armed with his flashlight and everytime there is a new sound he clicks it on. He is not so brave though when it comes to really getting to seek out the creature making the sound!
Good Night!
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Keely
non-member comment
WOW
I've only read 1st day and it sounds awesome and exotic.Peter and Mark would definitely have One thing in common-FOOD!Did you bid over there?