Bali Escape

The haze is depressing. We had been considering a trip to Panti Forest Reserve in Johor over the weekend. We were planning to go birding with Heather but that would be just as filthy as here. Need to escape! So on Thursday we booked a weekend getaway in Bali where it is reported to be clear. Bali lies south of the fires on Sumatra and the prevailing winds are north east at this time of the year. We found a villa at a good price in Nusa Dua and then invited the Pinks from the Jurong Branch to join us too. Turns out June is also escaping to the same island but different region. We will all meet up at the airport after work on Sunday night and be back just before lunch on Wednesday. 

As soon as we had booked our moods lifted even though we feel trapped inside. Eric has rearranged all his recipes and cooked some delicious meals and I have continued scanning pictures and digitizing the diary entries of our trip to Europe in Dec 85/Jan 86.

After work on Sunday we went directly to Changi and flew to Denpasar. 5 of us are staying at Villa Horizon in Nusa Dua and June is on her way to Ibud. Our driver Janie met us and we were soon arriving at the villa only 15 mins later. To our pleasant surprise it is huge. First impressions are very good with a lovely pool, very adequate kitchen and comfortable airy bedrooms. In no time at all we were tucking into our duty free and congratulating ourselves on what a good decision this was. Having made a good start on the duty free went then all slept well. How nice to have the place open and fresh air, we can even see the stars.

In the morning we awoke to blue skies and all had a dip in the pool. Of course then we needed to fill our hungry bellies so we had Janie drive us downtown for breakfast. On the way home we called into Hardy's Supermarket for a few groceries. It was time for another swim then. Didn't take us long to realise we should buy wine locally next time, duty free not better prices and no limit of wine choices.  We are staying in a neighbourhood surrounded by lovely homes, many of them for rent. The streets around us are quiet except when someone takes their dog for a walk and that upsets all the other dogs.
After lunch with a bottle of wine, Syd and Kym went for a massage and not long after we went for a walk with our binos with Heather. Well, it was too early to open another bottle of wine. We have spotted a few birds in our own garden amid the bamboo and frangipani. We also have a resident little bat roosting in the bamboo stand beside the pool. On the walk we saw a number of birds but all common sightings. An ice cream on the way home up the hill was the biggest reward.

We refreshed ourselves with a swim and snacks before Fatma put a fabulous spread of food on the table for us. She is Janie's wife and they live in a tiny little one room apartment attached to the villa. Their role involves maintenance, cleaning and security but we can book them up to be driver, cook or make bookings for us at our expense. Her English is quite good, he could do with some sessions at Morris Allen. They have a baby girl named Anzhani, who is just on 2 weeks old. We just asked her to produce a meal of traditional dishes and gave her 300,000 Rp to spend on ingredients. She produced chilli crab in coconut sauce, baked fish, sweet prawns, chicken Kang Kong and long beans and fried tofu. We finished with watermelon. The table was overflowing and it was all delicious for just $70 total, not per head. We solved all the problems at Morris Allen and had music challenges using both Eric's and Kym's iPods. Both have a very eclectic interest in music so between them they were able to match our requests.

Heather and I got a lift out to the Nusa Dua Water Treatment Plant and Bird Sanctuary on Tuesday morning. When we first got up it was raining and Eric went back to bed and couldn't be moved. It fined up before long and we had a lovely few hours at the 'lagun', as it is known here. It is on Jalan Pratama Raya, just near the roundabout that takes you on to the strip of tourist resorts and Hotels. A bit 'on the nose' as you would expect, but well worth it. We racked up over 20 different sightings including a few new ones: yellow bittern, small blue kingfisher, bar winged prinia and scarlet headed flowerpecker to name a few. Oh if only our cameraman had been there! We got back in time to join the others for a late breakfast. Below you see the endemic Crimson-headed Flowerpecker, Little Blue Kingfisher and Little Pied Cormorant.

Below clockwise from right is is an immature Black Crowned Night Heron, a Common Sandpiper (bit of a guess, not good at identifying waders) and a Purple Heron standing very tall in front of a Javan Pond Heron.

We whiled away the rest of the morning by the pool then went for lunch at Bumbu Bali, a traditional Balinese Restaurant that also runs a cooking school and supports a number of environmentally sound projects. It is located in the resort end of Nusa Dua so we wandered through to the beach to check it out. Very disappointing in comparison to Aussie beaches. Syd and Kim then left for the airport while we lingered over coffee. Janie returned to collect us and when we got back we had another swim, as you do. 

We went to Jimbaran Bay Seafood Grill for dinner. This is a famous strip of fresh seafood restaurants right on the beach where we have eaten before. 

We had to be home by 9pm for the massage I had booked. Our villa has a massage room and Lea came to us. There was some confusion with the language so instead of the half hour neck and shoulder massage, then the same for Heather followed by a further foot massage for me I ended up being worked on for well over an hour by which time Heather had lost interest and I was just happy to pay her very well for a great work over. After a nightcap we all headed to bed ready for an early start in the morning. Our flight back to Changi was uneventful except that we had to check a bag in as we had been a bit careless with the weight distribution. Bali caught us again, not the first time we have felt like we are paying for their new airport. Still, it has turned out to be a very cheap weekend away.

We were home at Cherry Hill condo by midday and had plenty of time to be at work for the 2pm meeting. Happy to report that the skies are much clearer here too, though it was bad while we were away.