January 27, 2018

Mother Nature can be cruel sometimes but heh.....when you’ve got a bunch of lemons what can you do but make lemonade.....or in other words.....go swimming in the rain.  :-). This rainy season has been unbelievably rainy, even locals admit this year has been wetter than usual and as January is the rainiest of all the months we’ve been experiencing the season at it’s finest.  There has not been a day (other than the day we went south to the coast and Canggu) that we haven’t had a downpour and a follow up drizzle night and day.  Well, even that day at the coast we drove home in a downpour and driving in the dark where there are no street lights and the road is skinnier than you need for two cars to pass and where the edge of the road drops off to a rather muddy steep shoulder and where trees are waiting at the side to reach out and grab you as you pass and where you can’t see ANYTHING because it is just so damn dark and with the rain making it all that much more difficult well.....driving in the rain here is no picnic!

I know it sounds as though I’m complaining and I guess I am just a little but we’re also making lemonade with our rainy lemons and so spending a day at poolside playing cards in our little covered table and then floating on your back while the rain slaps you in the face is a whole new kind of adventure!  LOL. Honestly, the floating on your back part wasn’t so great but the plain old swimming in it was actually really nice and since you’re already wet you don’t mind getting wet from the rain.  As well, the temperature never really drops so its not cold at all no matter how wet you are.  Yep....lemonade it is.  :-). And in truth most mornings are rain free so as we sit on the patio being served our breakfast of fresh fruit and whatever else we choose (usually eggs) we are grateful to be here for another day in paradise, rainy or not.

Upon our return to Rumah Kita from the pool we decided that we’d had enough water for one day and that pizza delivery would be our dinner.  Bagus Pizza delivered on their promise and 45 minutes after some pretty detailed description of how to find us down our tiny alley the delivery man showed up with our pizza in hand.  He was covered from nose to toes in rain gear and our pizza boxes were cuddled up under his gear to keep some semblance of dry.  Keeping cardboard dry during the monsoons must be a challenge!  

I should add in here that our pizza night was a total of $20 and included two small pizzas, a large Greek salad (that was amazing!) and two specialty desserts.  A great deal but not as great as the night before when we fed five people for less than $10!  I may already have mentioned this but in case not.....That night Made and Jati had come over to see if Made could get a little practice with his English.  (Our reputation from last year is alive and well Lynda). After we’d practiced for as long as we could Jati and Made agreed to hop on their scooter to go to the petrol station to pick up some corn on the cob, chicken satay with peanut sauce, sticky rice, and a treat made from eggs with chocolate and peanuts in it.  It was more than enough for the four of us and so when Putu joined us....it was perfect!  Yes....a feast for less than $2/person!

Bali really is a special kind of paradise.  For those of you who followed along on my blog from last year you’ll recall my reference to it as the “love bubble” and that feeling/vibe hasn’t changed a bit.  Bali’s economy has suffered a bit from the threat of Mt Agung (volcano) so the people have had more of a struggle these past months but the constant of the offerings, the ceremony, the gratitude, and the ever present smiles is the foundation that maintains the magic of this special place on earth.  I often wonder if the tourists who are only here for a few days really get to feel the “love bubble” effect or if it takes a month or more of sitting in one place to truly experience it.

Yesterday we attended day one of the Indigenous Film Festival and were treated to an excellent showing of a documentary (Long Sa’an) about a group of men and women who were transported back to their childhood village that has been deserted and untouched since they left it almost 50 years ago.  The journey there was challenging for sure and dangerous at times as they braved the rapids that would take them inland to their childhood home.  Afterward the director and a photographer were available for Q and A.  It was during the Q & A that we learned the local drivers of the boats drank a LOT of Arak (local moonshine) every day.  The photographer was pretty sure that was the only way they could get the courage to face those rapids!  I’m grateful to have been able to see the footage without having to make that journey!!

Prior to the Indonesian documentary we were treated to a live performance by local dancers and two Maori guests who performed a Haka for us.  Powerful!  After Long Sa’an there were a series of short films from India about a few of the conflicts underway in that country but in truth they were pretty disheartening and without a clear message and so we decided to leave before the last one finished.  We emerged from Paradiso to discover.....yes you guessed it......a lot of rain and so once again we located a taxi and coughed up another $5 (50,000 IDR) for a dry ride home.  Once here we decided a cup of tea and a chocolate brownie would be a good way to round off the evening and since Icip Icip is right across the road....it was easy to make that happen.  :-)

Other things that have happened in the past couple of days include:

Our air conditioner decided to die.  Well it sort of still works but I have to turn it on with a long stick versus the remote and the preset temperature of 26 degrees is as low as it will go.

We’re sad to learn that one of our group (there was to be four of us) has had an unexpected change that has resulted in her not being able to join us.

Lorrie has been reminded that she shouldn’t have nail polish on her fingers.  LOL!

The Dragon Bowl (and all the food) at Kismet (across from Paradiso) is amazingly delicious. (But then....so is pretty much everywhere in Ubud.)

When it rains there are an abundance of frogs and snails and puddles (thought I was going to say puppy dog tails didn’t you?)

Sidewalks are very very slippery in the rain so walking on the road is the way to go.

Flip flops are the footwear of choice for good reason.

We’ve been reminded that we both prefer to have our breakfast made and served on the patio versus making it for ourselves.

Barb’s been busy finding hearts for her photos.  In fact, yesterday she discovered that even the birds in Bali shit love.  LOL.....she found a splot of bird poop that was in the shape of a perfect heart.  Yes....more evidence of the love bubble effect.

The thin line between here and there is very thin in Bali! (for those of you who are law of attraction followers...this will make sense) 

I know there are many many other things that I’ve forgotten to record in here but for now it’s all you’re going to get as we’ve just secured appointments at the Sedona Spa for massages, facials, and a hair cream treatment.  Barb has opted for Green Clay and I’m going for my favourite....chocolate.  We’ve confirmed that we’ll have the copper tubs overlooking the rice fields so for the rest of the afternoon (this will take about 3 1/2 hours at least) Barb and I will be living the hard life in Bali.  :-). All we have to do now is walk out to the road to find a taxi.  Oh....and I should really mention.....it’s not raining!  Wahoo!

Till next time,

Lorrie and Barb