Wow! Here it is the last day of November for us in Bali - that means that tomorrow will be December 1st and the countdown to us having to make a move on the 7th. The past two weeks have flown by and I am guessing that this next one will go just as quickly.
We started our morning with what seems to be a bit of a routine....a 20 minute yoga (well, really it is just a stretching routine and they're trying to make us feel good by calling it yoga), then I do my meditation while Lynda lets Ketut know that we'll be ready for breakfast in 15 minutes. It's all running so smoothly you'd think we were enjoying it. LOL
This morning as I walked down the laneway to pick up our laundry from MaeMae's (which is down another little laneway off Monkey Forest Road) I found I was following a staff person from one of the other little homestays down our lane. He was carrying his laundry basket filled with sheets and towels and headed for MaeMae's too so I'm taking that as a sign.....MaeMae's is the best place to go. Our host uses MaeMae's as well and I'm sure it has everything to do with the name and nothing to do with the fact that the people who run it are super nice and the place is super clean and organized. No surprise that all of our laundry was there folded and packaged up perfectly waiting for pick up. Yep....this is the way to do laundry!
Our breakfast this morning of veggie omelet and fruit salad was so substantial that neither of us wanted any lunch so by tonight we were ready for dinner. Tonight we opted for something a little bit upscale that was situated right on Monkey Forest so we could watch all the action during dinner. As we arrived the staff were gracious and hurried to turn fans on whatever table we chose. We opted for something fairly close to the road and in no time a little dish of fresh roasted peanuts arrived. A second later a basket of crisps (an airy cracker of sorts) also materialized on our table. Right behind that were the two lemon bintang we'd ordered as soon as we sat down. Not everywhere carries the lemon bintang (beer) so when we find it we order it right away. It was icy cold and tasted just as delicious as the last one we'd had a couple days ago. For dinner we decided on a mango salad and some spring rolls as an appy and then for the main I went with the fettuccine Balinese (tossed with shrimp and calamari along with an array of balinese spices and some coconut milk) while Lynda opted for chicken pesto with garlic mashed potatoes. The whole meal was delish and we were stuffed by the end when the bill for $30 arrived. Yep...all that for $30! I love Bali! Keep in mind, even though this seems so cheap, this was a splurge that we won't do all of the time. When you think about the fact that we could just as easily have had dinner for two (including appy's and beer) for under $10....that $30 sounds like a lot!
A short stroll and a little shopping topped off the evening and now here we are back in the room and settling in with the air conditioner working overtime. I really appreciate the A/C in our room. We only use it at night time and it works really well to keep the room at about 23 degrees. It also helps dry out the sweat drenched clothes we've got hanging after even an hour of wearing them. For example tonight both Lynda and I put on dry clothes to go for dinner and although they weren't too bad from strolling the street and sitting in the restaurant we did do one thing that left mine dripping with sweat. There is a little ATM very near here that we've been using. The down side is that when you go into the little glass cubicle that the ATM is in, it is like stepping into a sauna that is even more humid and hot than the one mother nature is providing on the streets. In the time it takes me to put in my card, punch in my PIN, punch a 2 and 6 zeros (yes, 2 million $), collect my money, retrieve my card and my receipt.....I look like I just stepped out of the shower. Sweat is dripping off the end of my nose and running into my eyes, my hair is soaking wet and my clothes are stuck to me. Yep....that is one effective sauna!
While I was standing on the street waiting for Lynda to have her ATM sauna too I met a girl from Toronto who was just on her way to the airport and to Canada. She can hardly wait till she earns enough money to come back here again. In her words....."I've fallen in love with Bali and I just can't get enough of it!" Don't worry people....we're loving it too but we will be coming home.
Tonight as we were walking home down the little laneway I was paying particular attention looking for snails as I didn't want a repeat of last night's faux pax. I didn't see one until I was all the way to the entrance to our yard and when I did he was right beside a frog which totally reminded me of the nursery rhyme...."frogs and snails and puppy dog tails...." so if I see a puppy dog tail anywhere down that lane in the next day or two I'm also going to start looking for little boys! LOL
Some of you may be wondering...."heh....where are the massages she was planning to have every other day?" Well, this afternoon I did it up big and blew the budget on a 3 hour session in a fancier spa. I had a 90 minute combination massage, a 60 minute facial, and a 30 minute shampoo and head massage. Three hours later I emerged having been thoroughly rubbed and scrubbed. This spa was really nice as it has a shower right in the massage room so afterward you can clean off the majority of the oil before getting dressed and having to slip and slide your way down the street. Oh ya...price tag (taxes included) $53 CAD for the full three hours.
As a result of all that rubbing and scrubbing I'm gonna be ready for bed tonight! In fact as I type this my eyes are beginning to close so till next time....
L & L
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