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From Pam in Bali:
I have now turned into a Balinese
Princess. I use to be just a gal from Arizona flying around
the world (that was pretty good) but then I walked into our
villa at the Jimbaran Four Seasons Resort and the transformation
began.
Our little villa is 2,100 square
feet, bigger than 90% of my previous homes. Our living room
is outside inclusive of eating area, couch, chair and mini
bar. Just a few feet away is our plunge pool overlooking the
Jimbaran Bay. Inside, which can also be outside when we open
our sliding doors, is our bedroom and #1 best bathroom of
the trip. Off our bathroom is an outdoor shower and not for
washing off sand but an outdoor shower just cause you can.
This whole indoor-outdoor living is completely private. Skinny
dipping seems the natural way to go. It is all possible because
the weather here is very balmy. The bedroom area is designed
so when you close your sliding doors the air conditioner automatically
comes on and visa versa. They are open now while I am writing
and a soft rain is coming down. Our bed has a beautiful net
draping above it that is tied up and back during the day and
then let down in the evening when they make up the room. It
is quite lovely and rather enchanting to sleep under but unfortunately
the reason for the netting is real. I have definitely had
a few bites, mainly because I hate the smell of the mosquito
repellent and therefore am not good at putting it on like
Tom is.
This stop has been the most relaxing
one yet. We didn't do any tours and we played golf just one
day. Ashley passed on the golf, I played 9 holes, and Tom
and Pat played 36 holes. It was warm but not as warm as Dubai.
Each cart had a caddie and, I can tell you, you definitely
don't have to exert much energy when playing with a caddie.
He finds the ball, he brings you the club, he puts the club
away, he tells me where to putt, "One cup to the left", and
best of all he doesn't laugh in front of you when you miss
the ball or send it just inches in front of the tee. While
they played their extra holes (anything over nine is extra
to me) the van driver took me to an outdoor shopping center.
Bali wins for beautiful handicrafts
at good prices. I bought very little but I enjoyed the shopping
- well sort of. I was completely sticky from the golf and
yet found a boutique that I couldn't resist trying a few things
on - not a pleasant experience. Probably saved me some money
though.
We have eaten, except for lunch
at the golf course, only at the hotel. They have three restaurants
and they have all been good. We have done room service for
dinner twice. It is so wonderful having dinner on our outside
dining area overlooking Jimbaran Bay and watching the lights
across the bay, which are from the airport. I especially like
it because I can stay in my Bali batik robe, my batik headband,
my batik slippers and before and after dinner just slip into
the pool for a little swim - no makeup or curling irons -
true relaxation.
So what have we done here? Well,
lets see. We worked out one day at the gym for about 90 minutes,
we walked the bay for about two hours on another day, we swam
in the bay, we swam in the hotel pool, we each took a massage
(it was part of our package, along with breakfast), I had
a manicure and pedicure, we read, I shopped in the hotel shops
and we took multiple skinny dips in our plunge pool. That
pool was my favorite part of this stop!
I can't really tell you anything
about Bali and its culture. We saw hardly any of it. I can
tell you that this island is safe for tourists. The dominant
religion on the island of Bali is Hinduism. Sadly, the Four
Seasons is only 42% full, just like most hotels we have encountered
on this trip. We met a couple from Toronto but most of the
guests appear to be from the Orient. In fact, quite a few
appear to be on their honeymoon - bet they too are enjoying
the plunge pool. My manicurist said there were Americans here
but we haven't seen them. She also said Nicholas Cage and
his wife were here last month for about 10 days.
A few observations.
The Bougainvilleas in Thailand,
Cambodia and Bali are the most beautiful I have seen. They
are in every color, including white.
As the countries get less poor
the dogs get better. India's dogs all looked alike. They had
bred down to one look - short hair, long legs, black or brown.
They weren't all skinny though, as you might expect. Somebody
must have loved some of them.
Since Athens, the dogs are all
free-roaming and although some may look maingy and thin they
all seem to like the lifestyle. There is a lot to be said
for being free.
There are a lot of other things
to eat for breakfast around the world other than bacon and
eggs and cereal. I especially like stir fried rice with chicken
and vegetables and a fried egg on top -Nasi Goreng.
Everywhere one turns in Bali,
little 4-inch square folded banana leaves show up on the ground.
As we walked the beach, there were tons of them. They are
the remains of offering plates for gifts to the gods. Now
that we are looking more closely, we find them full of flowers
and/or food and they are placed not only in little shrines
and statues, but even in the least expected places…like the
middle of the street. We actually saw a woman putting the
finishing touches of oil on that one. In the wall outside
of our villa's door there is a niche that gets something new
everyday. The Hindus find their gods numerous and pervasive
and try to keep them happy.
It is definitely exciting landing
an airplane in places like Bangkok, Siem Reap, Kuching, and
Den Pasar (Bali)…just in case I haven't told you that before.
Next stop, Perth. That
too sounds exciting.
Farewell from the Balinese Princess,
as she slips into her plunge pool one more time.
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