day 3 - under the balinese sun

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monday

unlike our first morning, the shrill sound of the alarm clock woke us up. we're going beach-hopping today then to Uluwatu, a temple on the south of bali, then proceed to Tanah Lot to catch the sunset. darwin, as usual, showered first then me, then ritchie.

we found out that we didn't bring enough clothes since we thought we could shop for all the things we need here in bali. i brought only four pairs of bikinis with me, a pair of sleepwear, one shorts and a couple of shirts. both ritchie and i have nothing suitable to wear for the temple (my fault because i told ritchie to pack light hahaha!). so i wore the island long pants i bought from ubud yesterday over my bikinis and topped it with the tube i wore on the day we arrived (hey i only wore it for a few hours!). ritchie decided he'd wear his last shirt today and save the shirt he wore on the first day for tomorrow. we both hoped nobody would notice.

this time, all of us had an american breakfast since most of what i had from my continental plate yesterday didn't satisfy me. dana arrived even before breakfast was served and we laughed at how late we always are. we promised we'd be ready by 830 and it's almost 9 but we're still lazily seating here enjoying the sights outside.

after breakfast, we drove to nusa dua, a beach famous for its beach-front five-star hotels. we passed by the same scooter-filled streets, every fork in the road is highlighted by big Ramayana statues and temples adorn the roadsides. once in a while, dana would break our silent awe by pointing to some famous buildings.

we reached nusa dua after twenty minutes. the sand was white against the bright sun. parasailers and colorful kites break the monotony of the blue sky. it was beautiful and i found myself silently humming all saint's pure shores and other chill out songs! we walked towards a group of sun lounges gathered under native huts and promised the waiter we'd order a few drinks from their bar so they'd let us stay. the beach line belongs to a nearby luxury hotel (i didn't get the name) which was also picturesque in its own modern way.



we enjoyed the view and considered swimming but the library-ish quietness of the place didn't feel like its ready to accept three giggling pigs with penchant for raucous laughter. all the other guests were over the age of fifty and we felt so young and wild among them. once in a while, the waiters would offer us some water sports which were surprisingly cheaper compared to phuket but we chose to just lie down, take pictures and drink bintang beer (which they offered to buy for us from the nearby grocery since the bar won't open till 10am). the view was breathtaking and we lingered for a little longer.

it was almost lunch when we came back to the van. ritchie's memory card was already full so we went back to kuta to have his digital pictures transferred to a cd. dana suggested a good seafood place in jimbaran bay so off we went for lunch while waiting for the digital transfer to finish.



we had grilled fish, mussels and squid at a seaside restaurant and because it was owned by dana's boss, they gave us an extra grilled fish for free. we were the only diners in the restaurant because the bay draws crowd more at night. the coconut drink i ordered tasted so great and refreshing (i realized they squeezed lemon on it). while waiting for the food to be served, we took pictures on the nearby restaurant's nipa hut. jimbaran bay is close to the airport and we saw some planes landing and taking off at a distance.



after lunch, we continued on to Uluwatu. the temple is perched on a high cliff ninety meters above the indian ocean and the grayish limestone temple looked like a scene from a tomb raider movie. darwin and ritchie donned the customary sarong and sash but since i'm wearing a long pants, i only needed a sash. we removed our sunglasses and the guide told us to be careful of the cameras because a lot of temple-monkeys roam around.



the view from the top was beautiful! i suddenly had a deep spiritual respect for the balinese people, they really took their time to find the most beautiful locations for their temples. like the Besakih temple we went to yesterday, some areas of the Uluwatu temple are exclusive for worshippers and tourists are not allowed to enter. the temple-monkeys eyed us suspiciously and began running away from us when another monkey let out a loud sound. the waves below looked big and rough but because of the altitude, we couldn't hear them break against the rocks.

on our way back to the van, a monkey snatched a red bandana from a korean tourist and two locals immediately came to the rescue. we thought that some of them were probably trained to steal small items which can then be claimed back for a small reward for the locals. just before we boarded the van, another monkey was trying to snatch a water bottle from another tourist.

dana then took us to padang bay, a surfing beach near the Uluwatu area and a good 150-meters below our stop. after a few steps down the concrete stairs, we met a group of surfers panting on their way up and decided we're so much better off eyeing the beach from the cliff above while drinking coke. so we stayed for a glorious half-hour in a small store on the first stair-landing while looking at the surfers below. we didn't want dana to think less of our adventurous selves so we didn't tell him we were too lazy to go down and pigged out on bottles of coke instead.

after the Uluwatu area, we want back to kuta to pick-up ritchie's memory card and cd then spent an hour or so in kuta beach. the beach here is more to my liking. a lot of young tourists linger about and the mood was more festive compared to the sedate mood of nusa dua. across the street, boutiques selling surf gears and beach wears abound, mcdonalds compete with restaurants, discos and pubs. activities and traffic are high. the art market is only a few steps away. it was everything like i imagined it would be.

several hawkers approached us and offered massage, manicure, pedicure, hair braids, pearls, but we kindly dismissed them. i stripped down to my bikini and joined darwin for a swim. the water was cold but the sun was hot. after a quick dip, i relieved ritchie of watching our bags and the two guys took their time swimming.



after an hour, we left kuta for a one-and-a-half-hour drive to the Tanah Lot temple to catch the sunset. along the way, we passed by rice paddies and were awed by the provincial scenery that is so different from the city we left behind. the name tanah lot literally means "temple of the earth in the sea". the temple itself was built on top of rocks and is separated from the island during high tide. tourists and locals alike swarmed the place, sitting on the lawn or walking around the rocks watching the tides change.



after taking a few pictures, we settled on an open-air restaurant with a good view below and had a grilled cheese sandwich, chicken satays, coconut juice and beer. we waited for the sunset and while the sky changed colors from blue to orange and violet, the temple turned into a silhouette against the balinese sky. this is one of the most beautiful sunsets i've ever seen and i forever have it in memory. darwin and ritchie hurriedly took pictures.



it was already dark when we left so we headed straight back to the hotel. this is also our last day with dana because we are leaving for singapore tomorrow afternoon and have just decided to spend the morning shopping. dana smiled with delight when we gave him more than the amount we've agreed upon. we felt sad that we won't see him again but he gave us his name card just in case we'd come back someday, "hopefully with a baby in tow."



while ritchie was upstairs in our room (i won't tell you what he's doing at this time but feel free to guess), darwin and i took a dip in the hotel pool. the water felt warm, ritchie joined us later looking very much relieved.

after shower, we had dinner at the hotel and bought fake dvds afterwards at the store across the street. some of the titles we bought are: the last temptation of christ, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, before sunset, being john malkovich and other hollywood movies we've missed on the big screen.

since we're too lazy to go to kuta, we bought a few cans of beer at the nearby 24-hour mart and smuggled it back to the hotel. we packed our bags, darwin and ritchie played gymnastics and we took pictures of our room. we all felt sad about leaving and it was already close to midnight when we hit the bed. tomorrow we're leaving early for kuta beach to enjoy the balinese sun for the last time then shop for a few souvenirs.



as early as now, i'm already dreading the trip back to the land of Stress.

up next ... leaving bali

(our bali pictures can be viewed here.)

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