Bali - Days 4-5
- cazphillips2
- Feb 10
- 5 min read
Well, our last couple of days in Bali came around quicker than you can say “Bali Belly.” Which despite a few moments of concern, turns out we avoided.
Yesterday morning saw us do our funnest thing ever, dress up in traditional local attire. We did it in Japan. And here we are again. I’ve suggested to the Favourite Husband that we should do it everywhere we visit. To which his immediate response was how come I hadn’t suggested it in Scotland. Pervert.
So after being dressed up it was in the car with our fellow holiday companions, from Taiwan, our driver and our guide. I was a little bemused by the stick the guide carried but assumed it to be part of his national dress. Making small talk in the car it turns out today was our guide’s first time taking guests to Uluwatu Temple. He seemed young. And nervous. I, though, had every confidence in him. Like a proud mother. “You’ve got this Junior” I didn’t shout. But it was in my heart.
After an hour’s drive we arrived at Uluwatu Temple in Ubad. Interesting facts about this temple; it is built on to the cliff edge. It is tiny. It dates back as early as the 11th century. It is guarded by monkeys. Monkeys that are notorious for attacking tourists. And guides. They’re not selective. Hence his sturdy stick. Problem was, dear Wayan our guide, was so nervous he was making me nervous. And as we know, I’m scared off everything. So the 4 of us plus Wayan set off in trepidation, jumping at every bang of his stick. “Hold on to your phone/glasses/watch …” At every turn. Then it became like a pantomime “Look out behind you!” Yelled Wayan. Dear Lord.
It was with some haste and much sweating that we climbed up to the (tiny) temple. We were fortunate to be able to enter the area (like a gated courtyard) to pray and present our offerings. Wayan led us through the ceremony with incense and flower offerings and prayers and the temple leader anointed us with holy water and a blessing. It was fabulous. Although my knees would disagree. And then, knock me down with a feather duster, out of nowhere a monkey launches itself on our dear Taiwanese gentleman and swipes his (very expensive looking) glasses and made off with them. Which made all of us jump, although to be fair, none so high as our Taiwanese friend. And as for poor Wayan on his first day, it was his worst nightmare come true. He was devastated. He did manage to barter with said monkey, 2 Ritz crackers, a particularly perfect orange marigold and 38 grains of rice got the frames with one lens intact returned, but we couldn’t see the second lens anywhere. Mr Taiwanese had no chance of finding it, but the rest of us couldn’t sight it either. There was nothing for it but to make our way down (and out) sans lens. Our driver came to meet us so that Wayan could go back up to the temple to try to find the missing piece. This meant the poor driver desperately tried to extend the activity to buy Wayan time by taking us up the side of the cliff to the performance amphitheatre in 32 degree heat, 98% humidity and manmade fibres of traditional dress. In hindsight it was lucky the only casualty was the glasses lens. So if you happen to come across a very tall gentle man from Taiwan with a one lensed pair of glasses, ask him if he’s seen a cheeky monkey from me.
It was a quiet drive back due to our fellow guests being partially sighted and quite traumatised and our guide being deeply upset. I tried valiantly to fill the silence with inane chitchat and questions about anything really. The Favourite Husband commended me on my ability to talk absolute nonsense nonstop. I think he was being kind, but it’s hard to tell.
Once back at the resort I could barely strip off the costume it was so stuck to me, but then it was on the tram back to our room, a very quick change and straight in the pool. Bliss.
Dear Wayan had invited us to join him for the sunset worship walk this evening. It’s a traditional parade at sunset. But we had to politely decline as we had other very important plans. We did wave at him enthusiastically during the parade, but he still seemed traumatised from the monkey incident. Or my talking all the way back in the car. One of the two.
But for us, our last night, we had a hot date at the hottest bar in Bali, the Rock Bar. This is a bar (fortuitously at our resort) that is Instagram famous for being on the edge of the cliff, over the beach/ocean and being the place to be. And we were going. Look, it’s reasonable to suggest that we were going to be the oldest by quite some years (decades) but who cares right? The live DJ wasn’t going to upset us, the Favourite Husband is very deaf anyway so I’m used to talking to myself and shouting.
It was our last night and we were all dressed up and it was so darn hot still, we would literally be smokin …
We got to the bar for our early booking (you can’t book after 5pm) only to discover … it wasn’t open due to the high waves. We’d spent hours at the ocean pool yesterday watching the water sweep over the bar and the furniture and the hours that would be needed to mop up, so it was no great surprise. As we are old(er) and wiser, see also gagging for a drink, we told the staff we’d go to the sunset bar and wait/rehydrate, and they agreed to inform the bar staff there when they’d be open. Except by 6.15 we were 3 drinks in and no update. The Favourite Husband was in danger of starving to death (… ) and starting to get giggly, and so we had to make a call. We booked into the beachfront restaurant instead, despite my FOMO.
And oh my goodness, what a great night. The best dinner we’ve had our entire stay, lobster, tuna steak, swordfish, jumbo prawns (One up from “King” prawns apparently. King Charles’s better watch out in case some old unknown relative turns up and he’s the Jumbo son/cousin etc.)
We got the sunset, we got the ocean, we got the food, we may have got more than a little tipsy and we got an amazing electrical storm to boot. We got to leave via the Rock Bar that had opened and we both agreed, we hadn’t missed out at all. On seeing the Favourite Husband’s dance moves, they may have felt the same.
It was still incredibly hot and humid and we were shiny, silly and sweaty by the time we got back to the room for our last sleep.
Despite all this our final morning saw us partake in a sound therapy/sunrise meditation that was pure and glorious. And just finished off our absolute dream getaway.
It’s not really an adventure, it was a “flop and drop” holiday, so minimal exploring and zero rushing around. Because that’s what the Favourite Husband needed. And we wouldn’t change a thing. Mainly because we’ve already made the decision that we’ll be returning to Bali. We’ll stay at AYANA resort again and then we’ll go off and explore further afield next time. I still need to try the Luwak coffee, visit the Tegallalang rice terraces and Ubad jungle swing. Then there’s Komodo island, Besakih Temple, Tanah Lot Temple and Sidemen. You can see why we’ll be rebooking.
In conclusion; the Balinese people are so lovely, the sites are breathtaking and we are sad to leave, but looking forward to Singapore.
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