Wednesday 18th October

Okay, so while sleep wasn’t so elusive last night, the cacophony of nightly sounds continues: traffic and animals shatter my illusions of idyllic, restful Bali, hehe! Me and my foolish notions! Sleep last night was interrupted, oddly enough not by the noise, but from temperature variances. I’m struggling to find a happy medium with my air con. It’s needed to go to sleep, but I seem to wake up too cold, turn it off, then wake up again too hot. It’s a constant struggle. And again at 06:30 the staff came around sweeping the garden. I think this is going to be my daily wake-up call.

Since I haven’t described my guestroom surroundings, I’ll do so now. I’m staying in a lovely giant room that has a pretty Balinese stone carving set into the wall behind a mahussive double bed. There are mozzie nets around the bed, and so far they are being used each night as I’m a friggin’ magnet to all of the biting bugs. My sweet Irish blood is like mana from heaven to them!! The bathroom is partially open-aired (something I somehow missed when we arrived last night in my sleep deprived state – but that does explain maybe why outside noises sound so bloody loud); the roof over the toilet and sink is covered, but the shower roof area is exposed. It is designed to look like it could be the backdrop of a rock waterfall, with lots of rounded stones underfoot. Good for exfoliation perhaps, but highly precarious and uncomfortable barefoot. While there is a marble square on the ground, the low pressure from the shower means the arc never makes it that far, and you have to teeter on the stones to make contact with the water.  While it might sound quirky, idyllic and romantic; I can assure you that sadly for me, the risk of being bitten daily has escalated from probably to certainly. Turning the light on is just an invitation, a beacon for all flying critters, isn’t it? Hehe, to be fair I don’t think I was bitten any evening thus far by mosquitoes. They instead have saved their ravenous attacks for the early morning and cheekily nip a thigh or calf while I’m on the toilet. Feck sake like! They have no sense of decorum!!

Anyway, my room also comes with a lovely terrace overlooking the manicured garden, complete with its own wicker couch and wooden table so I can have drinks and food served there if I so choose. There’s a fan overhead which does its best to relieve the oppressive heat, but all it really does is circulate the warm air about. Since I am awake most mornings around 6am, I’ve taken to grabbing a pillow and popping outside to read for an hour, or as long as I can handle the humidity. The staff are full of smiles and “good morning Lisa” while sweeping the grounds and I try and practice my “Rahajeng semeng” which always warrants a giggle as they repeat it back correctly to me. They are doing their best to teach me basic Balinese phrases but I really struggle to both remember and pronounce it correctly.

I’m terrible at languages at the best of times, and I don’t think Balinese is the easiest tongue for foreigners. That being said, I have one word confidently down pat “Suksma”, which means thank you. I have tried on a couple of occasions to say hello, “Swastiastu”, but that has merely sent them into near convulsions so I know that I need to stop attempting that greeting as I must be bastardising it completely.

I am painfully aware that I keep saying ‘the staff’ and I must admit that this is because I was completely unable to catch the names of the staff when they first told me, aside from the manager Ketut. I would ask, they would tell me, I would say what I heard, they would repeat, I would repeat, they would leave and I promptly forgot. I’m a terrible human being!  They just have names that I’ve never heard of or come across before, and so I had no reference to remember.  I repeat, I’m a terrible human being!

Anyway, all seven of us have decided to do a day trip tomorrow. The guest house will organise a driver and take us to West Bali National Park. Here we will meet a local guide and walk an approved trekking route, hopefully seeing birds and wildlife.

Today though, while the divers did their thing, the rest of us checked out a few local clothes shops - Robin was on the hunt for some swimming shorts, and Jenny needed a Bintang tee for her daughter. Sadly after much ambling we were still empty-handed. Balinese people are quite small, and yet most of the shops only cater for XXL sizes. This was a pity as they had some nice vests but they were all huge.

Geoff and I had clocked a bakery, advertising carrot cake, during our retail hunt, so we slyly suggested that we sojourn there for some sugar sustenance before proceeding to the beach. This would turn out to be our undoing. Oh my goodness, the food that was had at the Taman Selini Bakery was fabulous. It would become another daily haunt for us; with Robin often ‘second breakfasting’ there. It was a jewel find in Pemuteran.

I had initially been tempted by the carrot cake on the billboard, however Lu, Geoff and Jenny ordered it. Robin went for The Breakfast, despite having being fed at Tri Jaya only two hours prior. I opted instead to try the chocolate cake. I can rarely pass this on a menu, and while constantly hopeful, I’m nearly always disappointed with my choice. On this occasion the waiter brought out my dessert and, Oh. My. God! the cake looked divine. It was a rich, deep, dark, practically black, gooey slab. At that moment my heart, and taste buds soared, if it tasted even a fraction as good as it looked, I was going to be one happy camper. And yes, it was delicious. It was decadence personified.

My spoon melted through the gooey ganache top and shaved a thin slice off the side. It wasn’t heavy, but slow and steady was going to be the order of the day. It was pure self-indulgence. It took all my resolve not to moan out loud upon savouring each mouthful. It was sinful folks, completely immoral! This may be the best chocolate cake I have had, ever!!  Luxurious was not the word. Geoff wagered I would not be able to finish it; I merely tilted my head and cocked an eyebrow – challenge happily accepted sir!!  For the next fifteen minutes I wantonly made out with the spoon, savouring each mouthful. Hehehe.

We were stuffed and utterly spent after our time at the bakery so we waddled with full bellies down to the Taman Selini resort (creatures of habit), commanding ownership of the day beds and seating that practically had our names on them now after just one day. I’m loving off-season and the lack of tourists. We practically have the place to ourselves. The staff didn’t even approach us about making a purchase, knowing that we would order something eventually.

The entire day was spent just lazing and reading. Most of the others went snorkelling, checking out the abundance of marine life. There’s something to be said for completely unplugging and taking the foot off the accelerator. The heat just envelops you here, like a warm (wet) hug. But it also dissuades you from wanting to partake in anything too strenuous – or at least that’s how it affects me anyway. Gazing out at the horizon, letting my mind drift wherever it wants, realising how lucky I am to be able to experience this. I am privileged. Every time I travel with this group I recognise how fortunate I am. Life is good.