Our flight didn’t land in Bali until after midnight, so there wasn’t much to see. We picked up our luggage and met the man from the car rental agency, then drove to Nusa Dua Beach Resort. We took the toll bridge to avoid traffic, even though there probably wasn’t too much at that hour. When we arrived at the property, we were escorted to the front desk and given cold towels to freshen up with, as it was really hot and humid, even at that hour. We were too tired to really explore the resort, so we headed to bed for the night.
In the morning, we woke up and ordered room service for breakfast. It was as good as you would expect from a resort this nice. We met Ary and Dichi at around 10 to start our journey. We headed out for lunch at a place that had a lot of International cuisine. There was a little miscommunication when we ordered a meal and didn’t realize it came with beer, and none of us at the table drank. The burger was tasty, though. In the restroom were paper towel dispensers from Kimberly Clark.
Our next stop was to pick up a gift from someone’s home. I can’t say too much about it, since it would spoil the surprise, but we had to walk down a narrow alley with stray dogs barking. We saw a LOT of stray dogs here. Sadly, some were badly malnourished, but many were well fed and adorable, wandering around on their own around the island. As per doctor’s instructions, we did not pet them. This one was barking fiercely, but we ignored him and walked past.
The home we visited was fairly typical for the area. It was small, with the main living area in the open air and a kitchen, bedrooms, and bathroom as separate rooms. After picking up the gift, we headed back to Denpasar. This stop had taken us a little longer than we expected, so we scrapped our plans for dinner and stopped at McDonalds. Since we were still full from lunch, Diana and I shared some Chicken McNuggets and an ice cream with taro flavored coating.
We drove to a new tourist attraction, Garuda Wisnu Kencana. This park features the largest statue in Bali, over 30 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. Some were opposed to it being built, as they felt it would disrupt the spiritual balance of the island. You can see it from miles away as it looms over the landscape. We were there to see a Balinese dance show, which told the story of Garuda the bird creature and Wisnu, the God who rode Garuda as a steed. We walked around the grounds and took some photos before visiting the gift shops on our way out.
Exhausted, we went back to the hotel to get some rest. The next morning (ThursdaY) Diana and I woke up early and walked along the beach at sunrise. We went to Waterblow, an area where the surf hits an alcove in the volcanic rock and sends water shooting straight up. Unfortunately, it was low tide so it was only going a few feet up at a time. It was still beautiful, though.
We walked back and had breakfast at the hotel buffet with Ary and Dichi. While not quite as nice as the one at the Hyatt, it was still really good. It had a nice mix of local and international cuisine. Chicken is something that is eaten at every meal, including breakfast. A lot of the food there would not be considered breakfast food in the US. We were wearing our AFS shirts with Ary’s name among them. This was Ary’s birthday, as it is Elizabeth’s back home, and we gave her a birthday card.
We then began the long drive to Ubud. First, we stopped at Penglipuran village. This Hindu village is known as the cleanest in Bali and is also a place where the residents live a traditional lifestyle, making most of their income from tourism. We were invited into people’s homes to see the traditional kitchens, bedrooms and temples. Each resident also sells merchandise, and we purchased a few gifts. The locals share the proceeds from parking and gift sales so that those that live closer to the entrance don’t make more than those who live further away.
The village is on a hill, and at the top of the hill is a temple where people were posing for photos. We waited our turn, then got a few of our own. While we were doing so, a tour group from another island approached and asked if they could take a photo of us. It was the wedding all over again, as one photo led to a dozen or so. They were very friendly. Ary and Dichi got a kick out of our star status.
We had lunch at a restaurant called Bebe Bengil (which means Dirty Duck). The restaurant looked small from the road but was absolutely huge with many eating areas and a rice paddy. We had the Crispy Duck and Duck Fried Rice. The weather was absolutely perfect – mid 70s with a light breeze and low humidity.
Our next stop was the Ubud Market. This was crazy – narrow streets filled with hundreds of local vendors. We had to haggle for everything, and picked up a few gifts for what I felt was a pretty good price. It took some haggling, too – they were well rehearsed. We would find out later that much of what we purchased could have been bought at a chain store for less.
Poor Dichi didn’t get to join us at the market, as he drove in circles trying to find parking. So, after a short while, we gave up and went back to the street to have him pick us up.
We left for the largest Starbucks in Southeast Asia, a sprawling two-story cafe, where we had chicken wraps and a cookie for dessert. Ary always loved Starbucks, so this was really cool for us. After Starbucks, we headed to a bakery to pick up some local treats for Ary’s family as a thank-you gift for taking care of us during the wedding.
It was starting to sink in that we were going to be leaving tomorrow. When we returned to the hotel, Ary and Dichi went up to their rooms but said they’d be back in a little while. We packed up our things. In typical Geoffrey fashion, we overpacked way too much. Ary and Dichi returned with some gifts for us and for the kids and Diana’s mom, along with some handwritten notes. We did a Facetime chat with Elizabeth and Meredith, wishing the former a happy birthday and introducing them to Dichi.
We wish we could stay longer, but are grateful for the time we’ve had together. Tomorrow begins the long trek back.
The US couldn’t have had better ambassadors to Indonesia than you two! It is only right that you should have had your pictures taken multiple times with multiple people. Safe travels back — and I hope that you get some good, well-earned sleep along the way.