Bali Con Mi Hija
The she-cub finally landed in Bali.
Of course, her bag, being one of the first on the plane because it was waiting so patiently in Dubai to climb aboard the next plane, was one of the very last to disembark. It took over an hour from the time the plane landed to when she finally got her bag an exited through customs. I passed the time watching the folks stream out and their reactions to the taxi, SIM card, and other sales gauntlet. Most seemed pretty sanguine and simply walked past, but a few looked bewildered by the onslaught.
We got to the hotel and her settled into the room. We got some food in her belly after a few games in the year-long saga of her crushing me in gin.
Then, an early night. We really only had one day in Kuta left since she missed an entire day due to flight issues, and we spent it…shopping. Whee.
Daddy and the credit card dutifully followed her from store to store. I have no idea what all she purchased, but I do know what I did: a spare pair of flips ($5), a pair of purple sleep shorts ($4), and an all-purpose sarong (it’s a beach towel! It’s an after shower wrap!) for $6 that was thin enough to pack as small as a pair of running shorts. I think at this point, my bag is maxed out. And, for the first time in a couple of years, I have more than two pairs of footgear. My feet don’t know what to do with all the choices.
As for the she-cub, the majority of her spending was on one swimsuit. It was a Billabong, so brand name expense, and she likes it, and it features prominently in the photos. What can a doting daddo do? Even so, the total of her shopping was less than $150, so no biggie.
We bailed on Kuta the next morning, and took a Grab to the other side of the peninsula to Sanur. Once there (only about 20 minutes and $6), we checked into a lovely little bungalow place called Villa Felise. I booked two of the units, figuring that the girl didn’t want to spend all the time in the company of an old fart, and she’d want both her space and early morning quiet time. Not a lot of 22-year-olds enjoy listening to their father’s joints creaking and cracking while puttering around the room making coffee at 0430. Nice pool, a few restos just around the corner and a decent shower. My kind of place. At least my shower was decent. The -cub’s unit’s shower was pretty much a standard SE Asia version. No flow. Emulating an old dude with a prostate issue. She showered in mine. Another good thing about taking two: options.
As soon as we were checked in and settled, I talked with the host and made arrangements for a snorkeling and beach tour of Nusa Penida for the next day.
Yeah, I hear the question coming from all the way around the globe. “You were there a week ago, why didn’t you do it then, for probably less money?” My answer is that after diving for 25 years, snorkeling is not a biggie for me, and that my enjoyment of it would be mostly vicariously through the -cub. Doing it while solo, when I was there on the island? Nah. I knew she was coming and would like it, so I held off. As for cost? It was probably about $30 more to do it from Bali. Money well spent.
The -cub seemed to enjoy it, especially stops 3 and 4 where the water was clear, the coral vibrant, and fish life more plentiful than I expected. Sadly, we didn’t get to see any mantas at the stop that was specifically for them. Although there could have been a whole herd, thundering past just 20 meters away and we’d have never known, since the viz was so marginal at that stop. The others were clearer, and colder! I didn’t bother with the last two, and we only stopped at them for about 15 minutes anyway. I was quite okay with hanging on the boat as the current shoved it around. And, my mask was about as effective as a sieve in keeping the water out. I had salt water draining from my sinuses hours later. There’s nothing quite like having water dripping out of your nose and onto the floor when in the market picking out a new tube of Colgate.
Today is a moving day: we are heading into the hills away from the beach. Ubud, here we come!
It would be hard NOT to take a good picture anywhere there. Plumeria are ridiculously beautiful.