19-NOV - Tue - The twins bid Bali farewell

And here we are, the end of our adventure. The last day, the last hours in Ubud. Tomorrow morning, 5.30am wake-up call, for 9am lift-off to Perth. These two travelling lads have a suitcase full of memories, laughter, joy, excitement, thrill, hair-raising encounters, smiles, feel-good moments and a bag full of frustration, anger, despair, hair-pulling occasions and much more, from spending nearly three months in Bali. The call from home has arrived and it’s time to pack our bags! We have been laughing and joking most days; we have been observing, watching, seeing and absorbing extraordinary scenery; we have walked, scooted and driven where we never thought we would; we have dined and wined in most memorable places and tasted the most delicious dishes. Our last two weeks up here in Ubud have been filled with scenery: Ubud is views! One can come up here for the yoga sessions and the aroma therapies, but if you do not wish to become part of your inner self, or you already found it, the views are it! The temples in central Ubud are splendid, being the home town of the Balinese Royal Family, and there are plenty to see (temples that is). The cultural program with all its traditional dances is constant and omnipresent, one only has to step foot outside the hotel complex to be offered every possible dance from the infinite Balinese dance kaleidoscope! We chose to see two of them and were richly rewarded with the most exquisite performances. There are no taxi drivers honking each tourist walking down the street, but instead a cacophony of micro-conversations, presented to each passing tourist: “Taxi? Taxi? Cheap for you boss!”; “Taxi boss?”; “Maybe tomorrow?”; “Morning discount boss!”; “Transport boss?”; on and on, every 10 metres. In contrast to Kuta and Legian, here a polite “No” is acknowledged with a smile or a polite “Thank you, maybe tomorrow boss”, but it does get onto your nerves, after 14 days of it… On the other hand, being asked if we were twins from every third taxi driver and from nearly every hotel staff member on this island and in this hotel in particular (of which there seems to be hundreds of), was different. Guess our identical hair styles, our near-to identical sun-glasses, our slender but toned bodies, our model looks and being of the same age could indeed fool anyone. So from our first logical and honest reaction of “No” three months ago, we re-considered after realising what would they think, knowing we are sharing 1 room and 1 bed!? So we thought maybe to say brothers? But again, that would have been questioned, as we do not share the same surname; so we had to settle for cousins. From then onwards, when-ever asked, we politely smiled to the Balinese, indicating we were in fact cousins, sharing a great holiday, sharing one room, one bed and many romantic dinners, gazing into each other’s eyes! How very wrong in most countries, not so in others! But up here in Ubud, we thought what-the-heck: “Yes, twins we are”! Seems to be a great thing, to see twins up here, as the reactions are one of ecstatic happiness… are they going to offer us to their goods on one of their special bi-annual celebrations? We will never know, as this set of twins is flying home tomorrow morning! Thank you Bali and all your people, for giving us the experience of a lifetime! The End (of this trip) - Keep following our not so regular blog: "FromPerth2TheWorld"

18-NOV - Mon - It is done! We flew under the radar…

We left Ubud for a quick dip down to the ocean to check on our bungalow and are happy to report it is nearly complete. One or two little tweaks and putting up the pictures, which will be done when we come back in December, when we are due for the final check and official inauguration. We are ecstatic, it looks stunning; we can’t wait to start dedicating our efforts in promoting it and getting clients to enjoy our little paradise in Bali. The trip itself down to Seminyak… well, that is another story all together, and here it goes! Driving a car in another country, especially a developing country, with laws and rules that can be bent at will, depending how much moola one offers, is always going to be a “different” driving experience… These two travelling lads had various tasks at hand: transporting a 20kg stone carved Garuda (sacred flying eagle) from the mountains to the bungalow; visiting the web designer to finalise a few things; stop at the bungalow to check on its progress and deliver the Garuda onto the balcony; visit Air Asia to increase our luggage weight to 40kg each, as one can’t stop at the purchase of a single stone carving, one must have some for Australia too. Option 1: Rent a scooter and try to do it all on the tiny motorbike. We decided against it due to the distance, Seminyak is 1 ½ hr drive away which on a scooter is a bit too much; also there was the minor detail of transporting the 20kg stone carving on it. Option 2: Rent a taxi or driver for the day. We thought about it but decided to keep it as our back-up plan. The cost of having someone for the whole day proved a bit too steep, also having someone waiting for us all day would have put too much pressure on our thinking process and would have stressed our gentle nerves. Option 3: Hire a car and drive ourselves. Cheaper, more flexibility, more adventure! Option 3 it had to be! When scooting around Bali, we quickly learnt that one should try to avoid being stopped by the local law enforcers, as they will always find a way to fine you, especially if foreigner. Managing the heavy traffic on a scooter is much easier, as one can zigzag through the cars and onto footpaths. So we were prepared, driving a car here was going to be even more challenging! So we made a plan: The Swiss lad would be the co-pilot, reading the GPS and giving clear directions, looking out for any traffic on the left flank of the space shuttle and any law enforcement officers. The Italo-Aussie lad would be at the commands of the vehicle, keeping a look-out for all traffic front and back. Once this was decided, we set out the “Rules of Engagement”: keep calm at all times; happily compliment anyone cutting in front of us at the last minute; nodding approvingly at other road users merging into our lane suddenly and without using indicators; drive slowly; and most of all, fly under the radar! We were ready: we boarded; we locked ourselves into the car; and we drove off in our microscopic, boxy, 1-litre engine, electric blue, Suzuki Karimun. The tiny and windy roads of Ubud, down to Seminyak, via beautiful villages and stunning rice paddies, take on a complete new spectrum, when driving in stealth mode! Once we reached the outskirts of Denpasar, our side windows went up and sun glasses on, to reduce the “identificationability” of this vehicle’s drivers from the outside, and we went into “stealth mode max”! Following large trucks or vans, to hide behind them; making sure not to be the first at traffic lights, by slowing down and let ourselves be overtaken by swarms of scooters, hiding within them; staying in the centre lane, to make a possible stopping by the “enemy” even more difficult, as they would have to cross a whole lane to single us out. We had a couple of alert calls and warnings going off, with enemy in close proximity, but our great expertise in driving undetected, made the trip a success! A nerve-wrecking success! Driving a car here, is definitely not a priority.

16-NOV - Sat - The countdown has begun…

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, lift-off... Seems so strange, the thought we will be leaving for home, at the same time it will be great to be back home, no more living out of suitcases, having to brush our teeth with bottled water, spraying ourselves with insect repellent, checking what food we eat. For as much as we love this adventure, we do love our creature comforts of back home :)

13-NOV & 14-NOV - Wed & Thu - It is time!

All holidays reach that stage where you suddenly long for your own bed, you suddenly want your home comforts, your familiar belongings and these two lads have reached it. This feeling appears out of no-where, but you just know: It’s time! It’s time to get ready to go home, you’re filled to capacity with all the sights, the smells, the experiences and it’s time. We don’t feel sad about it; on the contrary, after this most fantastic adventure we need to get back home. We are excited about seeing family and friends, sharing all the details and pictures taken; we are excited about things we need to do before Christmas; we are excited about finding ourselves a job! For once the feeling of the holidays finishing is a great one, as our old jobs are not waiting for us and we are free to pursue our own path. This experience in Bali may be coming to an end, but golly gosh, the real adventure of a life time, where these two travelling lads and loving partners are commencing a brand new life together, is only just getting kick-started! We always said it was time to find a better equilibrium between work and life, and that is exactly our objective. These last days we have been working on our CV, and spreading the word of our availability. It is exciting looking for new jobs, wondering at what we’ll end up doing, and knowing we are (or should be) wise, skilled and hard-working generation X employees. Watch out Perth, these two fully recharged 39-year old men are coming to town and know what they want!

12-NOV - Tue - Our 18th monthiversary – Fatal attraction

As we woke up on our 18th monthiversary, it was flirting over a cup of coffee, making love against a wall, on the table, any surface possible. How could this only be a casual encounter when obviously the attraction for each other was so intense and special? A relationship between two individuals making such a powerful connection is the logical conclusion, but what if it was just meant to be a casual fling? Should one go nuts at the prospect of having to live life apart, knife in hand? This the summary of "Fatal Attraction", what a movie to watch on our morning, whilst being lazy in bed!? No wonder these two 1974 lads were never allowed to watch it when it originally came out! Funnily enough neither of us ever saw it, so perfect opportunity to catch up on it! Our monthiversary was set to be a fun filled day, deciding to rent a scooter for the day and go exploring, enjoying the cool breeze, smells and views, as they envelope us, rather than being cocooned in the comfort of a car. As usual we took a wrong turn somewhere and got rewarded with spectacular views over rice paddies, with the tropical forest as background. We finally found our way to the Alila Ubud, the spectacular hotel set at the edge of the valley, in the midst of the forest, a place of absolute peace and tranquillity where we stayed on our first trip to Ubud, on our Christmas 2012 trip. We just had to come back for an afternoon coffee and chat with the wonderful staff, still remembering these two guys. How could one not remember us!? We slowly made our way back and finished the evening having dinner like a three-layer cake, starting at the top. Warung Schnitzel (don’t laugh, it exists) is a three story building, we started by having a glass of wine and some snacks on the top level, till a large group of Americans (damn you “Eat, Pray, Love”) left us no choice but to descend one level, looking for a quieter table. We enjoyed another glass of wine over our most delicious dinner. The rain once again set in and the only obvious choice was to descend once again, into the comfy lounge at the ground floor, with great view over the street. We enjoyed the rain droplets with a third glass of wine and baked chocolate mousse, drizzled with coconut milk and fresh, local, organic strawberries!

11-NOV - Mon - Rain drops falling from the sky…

We were sitting at our preferred Italian restaurant “Il Giardino”, the place empty as the day tourists from Kuta had already left, comfortably seated under the thatched roofed garden, enjoying the peace and quiet, feeling so relaxed, we were watching the rain drops falling into the lily pond, circles being drawn on the smooth watery surface with each drop, the big colourful koi swimming gracefully just beneath the surface, what better way to spend an evening, as the waiter lights a candle, pours a beautiful glass of Italian red wine and one looks into the eyes of his partner? As we are enjoying our plate of pasta the rain starts pounding, we are still the only guests in the place, the waiters chatting to each other at the far end of the restaurant. Is there anything more cozy than being under cover, warm enough whilst dressed in shorts and singlet, as the rain splashes down all around you? Memories of summer nights in Europe as a child! The rain came to an end perfectly timed as we decided to make our way back to our little four walls, skipping from puddle to puddle. Just as we thought our beautiful evening was over, we turned the corner into the main street to witness the most magnificent procession we have ever seen in Bali. The footpath was lined with boys all dressed in white, ceremonial white head scarf and ceremonial white sarong, the night filled with the sound of the big bronze gongs, flutes and tambourines all playing together. Further down the street more Balinese in white, holding the most stunning ceremonial umbrellas in deep red, white and gold, with all the tassels and bells. The music intensified as out of the Royal Palace, further down the street, came a wave of people, again mostly in white, and with them flag after flag carried by more young men, as they were flanking some of the elders (we assume some royal family members, as the Balinese in the crowd around us nodded respectfully as they passed) all dressed in the most magnificent lace. As this already stunning procession made its way down the street, out of the temple came a new procession, even more glorious, with breathtaking religious ornaments carried on shoulders. The two streams of people joining together gracefully to make one, the air filled with thick incense, burning out of big bronze containers carried on the head of stunningly dressed women. We admired the people, the costumes, the dresses, the gold and jewels encrusted representations of all the Balinese gods, good and evil, some so important to have their own umbrella accompanying them to shelter them. We saw a magnificent Garuda, with peacock feathers for its tail, the evil spirit Rangda, and of course our most preferred and most spectacular Barong, god of good. It was a procession like no other, a most amazing Balinese event, it took us completely unprepared and the moment made even the more special as we had no cameras to immortalise it, only our memory to safe-keep this experience, making sure to absorbe every umbrella, every flag, every religious artefact, every smile, every sound!

10-NOV - Sun - Discovering the surroundings of Ubud

Magnificent Barong dance first thing in the morning, by a local dance group with international stardom, at a village stage, flanked by a most magnificent village temple. The Barong being the mystical lion/tiger in Balinese culture, looking and moving like the Chinese dragons one sees at Chinese New Year, but less dragon-like, with a more friendly face, looking magnificent as he moves gracefully on stage, dancing to music. The dance being good versus evil, performed with little narration, to the sounds of musicians playing the traditional musical instruments. Great start to the morning! Next, stop at a spectacular lookout over lush green rice terraces, undulating along the valley flanks and cascading down its steep slopes. One marvels at the hard work of tending these small rice paddies, the only way to reach them is hiking up and down the steep hills! What looks most astonishingly beautiful to us must be back-breaking hard labour to the local rice farmers! Following this marvellous sight, a unique opportunity to be part of a Hindu ritual of cleansing your soul, at the natural springs of the Tampak Siring temple. Wearing our sarong, in sign of respect, we followed the locals by entering the chilly pool of spring water and joined the queue in front of the various spring outlets. It is belief that a God stroke his rod into the earth and that release this fresh water. It is custom to wash your face three times, and let the water splash your head, finishing off the cleansing ritual by drinking the fresh water. We respectfully washed our face and got splashed, but avoided drinking the “fresh water” as our Western stomachs might not welcome it with open arms, holy as it may be. A very special experience, to see the huge crowds in the water, with flowers and other offerings at the ready, children, young and old alike. We dried up and it was time for a coffee break! Our guide/driver Ketut took us to a small organic coffee grower, where we got shown the various types of coffee plants, its roasting process and finally the tasting! What amazing coffee they make: mocha, cappuccino, coconut infused coffee, ginger coffee and many more! Delicious! The day ended with a visit to the Rocky Temple, carved into the hard rock in the 11th century and finally the Elephant Cave, a great disappointment, not even worth mentioning in these lines. We retired in our bungalow satisfied with our day of discovery of the surroundings of Ubud.

09-NOV - Sat - "Let's get physical..."

After having a day of absolute bliss, we thought we needed to counter that with some physical activity. We took on the challenge by Lonely Planet and took the “ridge walk”. We put on our running shoes, shorts, singlets, caps, sun lotion, drank a glass of water and set off from Ubud’s Royal Palace towards the river. We crossed the tiny bridge and passed the most magnificent river temple, currently under restoration, with a brand new tower shining in the sunlight, black thatched roof, red and gold everywhere. We climbed up and up and up, till we reached the top of the ridge between the two rivers, with grass falling sharply away to our left and our right, the ridge just wide enough for a little paved path. The view spectacular! Palm trees everywhere on the slope, across the valley, old and modern villas on the opposite side. As we walked in the heat, drenched in our sweat, we could only admire the beauty and tranquillity surrounding us, nothing but the noise of water falls, birds and the wind through the foliage. We passed a little village, stopped for a drink and pressed on, only to come to an elevated platform of rice paddies, one after the other, cascading down the slopes of the valley ridge we were on. The cameras were going crazy, clicking away at every step. Invariably it is the law of hiking, when doing a closed loop: if you’re climbing up, you will be rewarded with a descent, but if you’re enjoying a steep descent, you’ll be paying with a worse climb up! And so we enjoyed the descents and cursed the climbs! What a walk! 3 hrs later we were back at Ubud’s Royal Palace, in the centre of town, looking like two backpackers that just walked the Himalayas in their shorts and tracking shoes, sweat pouring out of every inch in our skin. We kicked off all we had and jumped straight into our pool and made sure to order complimentary afternoon tea, to be delivered at the water’s edge! Ah, luxury! But we wanted more! Re-energized and refreshed, we made our way to dinner and straight to the front row seats of a Kecak and Fire Dance! What a spectacle! The choir of men singing and humming in rhythm, the most intricate costumes and dance movements, the fights, the love story to be finished off with a real fire dance, where the dancer goes into a trance and kicks and walks on the ambers of coconut shells! (Mind the burning shells as they come flying towards you, maybe an elevated back row seat is more suitable for the faint hearted)

08-NOV - Fri - Paradise found!

Pure bliss! Ubud is Paradise, Nirvana, Heaven all in one! Just the tranquillity versus all other previous destinations is enough to take these two travelling lads into a state of extatic calm. Add a private balcony overlooking our private tropical garden, with crystal clear private salt water pool and a super comfortable king size bed, hidden behind a white mosquito net, and one does have to ask himself why get up in the morning? Why get up when we can order breakfast delivered to our balcony at a time of our chosing? We have slept like little babies freshly delivered to this tranquil tropical paradise! When we finally managed to get out of bed at 3 in the afternoon, the only activity we could think of is to seek a massage! Following that we dined how only these two lads dine, to the amazement of waiters: order a bottle of wine of your chosing; and one starter; share this one dish whilst chatting away; when finished, the next person orders a starter; share this one dish whilst chatting away over more vino; when finished order again; and so on, till one does not feel hungry anymore and you enjoyed a whole selection of tastes, during a most magnificent evening in company of your lover! Bliss!

06-NOV & 07-NOV - Wed & Thu - 24hrs in Singapore

Wow! What a difference a quick trip away does! We were really at breaking point in Bali, exhausted from running around and arranging the purchase of furniture, decorations and all the rest for our bungalow. What usually takes a 30-minute round trip to the local store, in Bali can take all day, as one travels from shop to shop, only to get a little fragment of information at a time, with regards to finding the right store. We arrived in Singapore with a slight delay, checked in at our hotel and went straight out, for drinks at the New Asia Bar on level 71 of Swissotel Stamford with the most spectacular view! We just had to celebrate our being in Singapore with a glass of Moet-Chandon. The Italo-Aussie lad had the whole 24hrs in Singapore planned, so after our celebratory drinks we took a quick walk to the Raffles Hotel to admire its 1920s splendour and straight onto a rickshaw to go and see the Merlion. We felt sorry for the old Singaporean having to push us two around, but also felt good that we’re only 68kg, making it somewhat easier for the old man and keeping him fit, right!? Following the viewing of the water feline statue, we proceeded to a bit of window shopping on Orchard Road, what an endless supply of luxury items on this extravagant, abundant and never ending shopping mecca! Our feet were tired, our eyes sore and our brains overloaded: It was time for a bite to eat! What other place but Clark Quay to fill our stomachs? And what better way to finish off the evening, than with a visit to the Marina Bay Sands? Off to bed and straight to the airport the next morning, for our return to crazy in its own way: Bali!!! We had a fantastic time in Singapore, a well-deserved break from honking taxis, chaotic traffic, unruly scooters and dusty air! Thank you Singapore! Back to Bali but this time up into the peaceful jungle and tranquillity of Ubud!

05-NOV - Tue - End of chapter 3 – Our Balinese seaside adventure – The highlights

Our seaside stay in the areas of Seminyak, Legian and Kerobokan has come to an end. What are our highlights? Where to begin and where to stop? In summary we can say Bali is an amazing experience, where the real Bali can still be encounter, despite it disappearing quickly. We have seen rice paddies just by taking a different turn, meters from the main road, and we have seen rice paddies that were dried up and being filled in, ready for the next resort, shop or other construction. This trip is the memory of a lifetime! Because of our hiring of a scooter and just going places and stopping where-ever we felt like stopping; because of our trying to keep up with the locals, zooming through traffic, learning the local crazy road rules; because of having the guts to just venture into areas off the beaten track and being rewarded with breathtaking sights of family compounds, temples or finding eateries we never expected; because of our stopping at the local market and just venturing into the stalls, well aware that few would speak English but still walking off with a bag full of food and a smile on everyone’s faces; because of the unexpected and very pleasant visit by la mamma, allowing us to share with her all that we discovered; because of the crazy diversion to Lombok and the contrast we experienced; especially because we had the courage to take the bull by the horns and took on the opportunity to invest in a new business venture, with the added experience of doing business in a developing country; and finally because we have spent 24/7 together, not killed each other and now know each other like the back of our palms, laughing at the multiple times we come up with the exact same thought at the exact same time. Apart from this, culturally our highlights have been visiting the cliff temples of Tanah Lot and Ulu Watu, regrettably flooded by tourists but never-the-less breathtakingly beautiful and well worth a visit. Also, seeing the most miniscule to the most intricate and fabulous family temples, as one zooms the side alley ways, never stops to make us marvel. They are intricate and beautiful stone temples, cut out of black volcanic rock, some with the most ornate thatched rooves topped by little golden crowns, decorated with the most pretty yellow, white and chequered black and white umbrellas, and full of offerings with incense burning, just magical! We were also lucky enough of being here for Galungan and Kuningan, two very important days on the religious calendar of the Balinese, when all Gods descend on Earth. The streets decorated with the most amazing bamboo poles, curving onto the centre of the streets, with the most intricate ornaments and flags hanging from it. Sudden processions of Balinese all dressed in white, carrying offerings and assembling in front of the village or suburban temple, blocking off entire streets, sitting on the pavement whilst the priests are inside, music and chanting to be heard. An amazing spectacle for us, an obvious important occasion for the Balinese. Culinary highlights have most definitely been visits to local warungs with their traditional Balinese dishes, Warung Cobek and Nook, both with views over rice paddies being the top of the list. For a vegetarian experience and nice trip away from the hustle and bustle, a visit to Green Ginger in Canggu is well worth the trip or Thai Corner for a cheap meal. If one seeks more refined dining, Gado Gado overlooking the ocean and the beach of Seminyak is still a great destination, together with Ginger Moon on Jalan Laksmana or the Moroccan inspired Khaima next door. Of course there are many more to explore, and keep exploring we will. For a day in the sun, one cannot pass the experience at a beach club or day bed on the black sand. Seminyak beach being the best, as it is less crowded than its Legian and Kuta counterparts. Cocoon Beach Club, Potatoe Head Beach Club and Mozaic with their minimum spends have become too expensive for a daily re-occurrence. Ku De Ta and W Hotel reign supreme for a day in luxury under the sun. When it comes to shopping, Bali is full of little boutiques that wait to be discovered, with locally made, quality fashion and one will never grow tired of strolling the streets. The best areas would have to be Jalan Raya Seminyak/Jalan Legian, Jalan Laksmana and to some extent Jalan Petitenget. Of course a visit to Discovery Shopping Mall and Beachwalk, both in Kuta (yes, you heard right!!!) are a welcomed distraction and perfect destination to avoid the midday sun. Bali is and remains a destination for every taste, from the budget destination to the pure bliss of five-star pampering, one can find it all! It is completely up to you what you want to make out of your Balinese experience!

04-NOV - Mon - The extension

When we originally planned our 2-month trip to Bali, it was going to be relaxation, absorbing local culture, and just getting a good break from many years of intense managerial work. As days transformed into weeks, and weeks into a relaxed routine where we are not sure what day of the week it is and Perth drifted far away over the horizon, we realised there is nothing stopping us from staying a little bit longer… so here we are, last 48hrs in Seminyak/Kerobokan, as we booked a quick trip to Singapore, with one overnight stay and the best flight back onto this amazing island, for a new visa and another 14 days, but this time up in the mountains, in Ubud. In hindsight it was the best move we could do, as it turns out we are now business owners and need the extra time here to finalise everything. Indeed it has also been a very wise move booking the mountains, as after 2 months down here by the ocean, beaches, clubs, shops and chaos, we need to detox and relax in a calmer setting and Ubud is going to be exactly that. We are looking forward to the village atmosphere, the little cafés, the quirky shops, the yoga people, and the “alternative” feel. We’ll try and fit into the groove… There will also be a lot of exploring, we are looking forward to travelling the windy roads, overlooking lush forests, green rice paddies, temples and what-ever else there is to discover! Here is to holidays that never end! Here is to adventures that need to be extended! It is rare in our hard working lives to have the opportunity of exploring another country for this amount of time, so if you can, maximise it! These two travelling lads are filling their memory book for the future, we are achieving what we set out at the start (see our first blog): “[…] It all started with us wanting to spend more time together, have adventures together, create strong and unique experiences and memories together […]” and we are doing exactly that! We are building a foundation of shared adventures, experiences, disasters, frustrations! We are sharing our life and having a ball!

03-NOV - Sun - The party

And so it arrived, the day of the black-tie party! First of all one has to physic himself up to wearing a suit with jacket and bow tie in a tropical climate. The only thinkable option is to get oneself ready by taking a cold shower with the intention of trying to bring one’s core body temperature down, set the air-conditioner on “arctic” and add one item of clothing at a time, with intervals. Easier said than done… The Swiss lad still ended up having sweat trickling down his back; glasses slowly meandering southwards on the nose’s slippery, sweaty surface; sweat beads forming on the upper lip; such a fantastic sensation to be having a private, intimate internal shower whilst fully clothed and in pleasant conversation with the other party guests! We arrived fashionably late, to make our grand entrance at the Carrington’s mansion, rainbow flags illuminated by spot lights, courtiers opening limousine doors (and our little taxi’s), music playing as we walked the red carpet to the main foyer and there he was, Mr Birthday Boy himself! We were given a glass of champagne and whisked ourselves up to congratulate him, cheering him and have our picture taken for what is going to be front page news in all of Bali! The night was a hoot! We mingled with the other party guests, were constantly introduced as “the boys just bought bungalow 109” or “I’m your new neighbour” and similar, quite funny, quite glamorous! For once we soaked in all the attention! We even got a mention by Mr Birthday Boy, during his speech… We are climbing the expat ladder fast! We settled in a corner with perfect 180 degree view over the party, with another couple of similarly aged guys and themselves owners of a property up here, to have a great old time, talking about our past experiences in setting up this venture. Moreover Bali being Bali, gays being gays, it was inevitable at a VIP party like this, not to bump into some old friends from the motherland, it is a small world after all! Should have known we would bump into Bali Bob, turns out he’s an old friend of Mr Birthday Boy and a regular guest at the hotel complex! We drank, we laughed, we danced, we gossiped, we bitched, we complained, we sang. We enjoyed performances by male gogo-dancers, and a most amazing and stunning male belly dancer! We had a special one-off performance by Whitney Houston - she’s back! - making her grand entrance to the stage, followed by a less grand performance by Dame Shirley Bassey and the night declined from there, with more and more random and obscure music. At some time in the early hours of the new morning, we bid our farewells and descended into a vodka and Bintang soaked sleep!

02-NOV - Sat - Doing business in Bali…

… requires a lot of patience and a different mind-set, from what these two veterans from the customer service industry are used to. Our bungalow is now fully furnished, art work purchased and all nick-knacks too. But the road to it has been a testing one and adding another chapter to our “book of memories”. When visiting department stores (hardware and others) there is no lack of staff, actually there is an abundance of staff. Here you find aisles of similar products and employees attending each aisle, but they only service a particular brand and despite them standing in front of the product you need, if it is not their brand, you are out of luck, as a smile is all the answers you will get. Finding someone that has the answers can be a challenge, we found it is better to take a crash-course in product identification codes and find your own. Leaving phone numbers for the manufacturers to call you back is always a fun experience too, with delivery deadlines somewhat flexible. On one occasion we were advised Wednesday that delivery would be that Friday, confirmed! On Thursday we received a phone call advising us regrettably delivery would be Monday, which was absolutely fine with us. It was agreed we would arrive Monday to collect and pay for the goods. Surprisingly we received a phone call on Friday morning, advising us it was all ready for collection! Ok… guess deadlines are flexible! We had a similar experience with the furniture manufacturer, who was making it all based on a picture we took of a bed we saw somewhere else, therefore having us a bit on edge as to whether it would actually look as we would like it to look. Hence we made sure to “remind” the manufacturer to call us when we could come and see a piece or two, to make sure it is progressing in the expected direction. When we hadn’t heard for a couple of days, we made sure to “pop-in” on Tuesday, seeing if the product would be as expected and ready by Friday? Well, we were advised production had not yet started, making us only more nervous! We left it till Thursday morning, sending an email to ask if it would be ok to come past and see the furniture. We did not get an answer till late that evening, having close to no finger nails left, advising us to come past Friday to view the pieces. Hurray! We arranged a few other shop visits that Friday morning, and finally made our way to the factory Friday afternoon. On our arrival, eager to see our furniture, we were told: “Oh, delivered to hotel 2 hours ago!”… WHAAATTT!? The Swiss lad nearly lost it, being a control freak and wanting to be at the hotel to receive and supervise the transport into the upstairs, FRESHLY PAINTED, bungalow… We zoomed back to find our furniture all carefully delivered, not a scratch in sight! Ordering curtains, inclusive of installation, via translation by the food stall seller positioned in front of the shop, was a fun experience too. We managed to arrange a visit at the bungalow to take all the measurements, and indeed, it all happened as planned. A couple of days later, the food stall seller called us, advising it was all ready for installation. We waited at said time and indeed, the curtain man and the food stall seller arrived. Cutting a long story short, a cringing Swiss lad having to stand back as the holes were being drilled to what looked like drilling for gold, and screw’s tightening technique being somewhat unusual, the curtains are up and look fantastic! The lesson learnt is things may not happen the way we are used to, they might not arrive when we expect them, they may not be installed the way we would, but the end result is right! There are many roads to Rome, who are we to dictate it has to be one over another?

29-OCT - Tue - Out of action

Swiss lad out with ear, nose and bronchial infection. Italo-Aussie lad out with ear infection... Maybe we are allergic to work? We need a holiday!

28-OCT - Mon - The invite

It was another glorious day of heat, sun blazing from the blue sky, the air full of incense smells, the most ornate and intricate decorated bamboo poles lining the streets in celebration for the religious event of Galangan, Balinese in their traditional dresses on the way to make an offering and there it was: “You are coming to my party, aren’t you!?” We just got invited to what is going to be the party of the year on Jalan Petitenget! The invite uttered not just by any messenger, but rather Mr Blake Carrington of Jalan Petitenget himself! It is going to be a black tie occasion, celebrating the man’s big birthday and we are going to be on the VIP list! My God!? What are we going to wear? We need new suits, but what colour, what style? Tailor, make them large shoulder pads and thin waist line! Niki cut our hair to be the most splendid coiffeur of the party! We feel like Crystal Carrington and Alexis Carrington-Colby getting ready for the event of the year! Oh what fun it is going to be, dressed in our haute-couture straight from the “crème de la crème” Balinese instant-suits, just add needle and thread and A$150 et voila’ dressed for the party! Arriving on our little scooter at the entrance to the glitzy palace, which already is displaying the full range of rainbow colours at its entrance, the piano is being tuned and all silver being polished! Indeed it was a fantastic surprise to be included and we can’t wait to attend, hearing all the gossip and background stories of the hotel complex we just bought into, as special guests of the owner himself and mingling with all other party members flying in on a fleet of aircrafts from the homeland! What great timing… watch out for more news on the event of the year!

27-OCT - Sun - A week of work!

Work!? How unfamiliar this word had become for us… But with a fantastic objective ahead of us, it is no trouble to delve ourselves into work! And this week has definitely been all about work and running around. Before we knew it, it was Sunday evening and we pretty much had accomplished everything: day 1 no bungalow, by day 7 bungalow with all the things that go with it, organised! Not bad for 7 days of “work”! And as we crammed it all in so tightly, the only reward we could think of was going out for dinner lots, do as little beach work-outs as possible in favour of sleep-ins and finish the week with a late afternoon in the sun with a drink in hand! This is the Bali way of working!

24-OCT - Thu - Immersion

Some visitors only just scratch the surface of Bali, if at all... As they hide in mega hotels, cruise the main roads of Kuta or cocoon themselves into a resort in Nusa Dua. Those who venture into Seminyak, Kerobokan and Canggu and its side streets, or up to Ubud, will find a different world at each corner! We love this place, the scenery and its people. We are immersing ourselves deeper into the island's network, by scooting to paint shops, furniture makers, curtain material shops, finding our way on the busy main roads, negotiating and dealing for the best price! What an amazing experience, having to organise our new business venture, in a foreign country, whilst staying alert and smart (nothing against Westerners, but if you can sell something at a much higher price to an unsavvy Westerner... Why wouldn't you!?). It is lots of fun, something that we will remember fondly and tell our nephew till he has heard it 10,000 times and just says "yes uncle, I know, you told me that story already!" But alas, we will tell it again :)

23-OCT - Wed - Traffic “a la Indonesia”

Traffic rules in Bali are completely different from what we know them in Australia. One rents a scooter, if one is not foolish enough of renting one without ever having ridden one, and thinks that’s it. Luckily these two lads have Italian traffic blood in their veins and were prepared for what is absolute fun, when you do it responsibly. As one rides in a straight line, there will be cars and scooters pulling right in front of us, at the last minute. Anger and frustration have no place here, as Indonesian traffic rules clearly say one must give way to any traffic popping up in front of you. But as the main roads are often congested by taxi drivers proceeding at snail pace and honking each and every tourist, trying to get business, scooters are the preferred means of transport and whilst observing traffic from a café, one realises they are like wasps or flies swarming in and out of cars, suddenly appearing in mass, to only disappear again in matter of seconds. On a congested road, as a scooter rider, we have learnt the local’s way to cope with it! You try and squeeze your way between the footpath and the standing cars and keep riding along. If there is not enough space, switch to the incoming traffic lane and make your way forward disregarding the incoming traffic, whilst there is enough space for said incoming traffic to pass. If the space is tight for the standing cars, you travelling on the incoming traffic lane and the incoming traffic itself, pull tight against a standing car; wait for incoming traffic to pass and proceed as normal, only to repeat this step each time you need to. If both these techniques are not working for you, ride onto the footpath and proceed on your journey, till traffic movement allows you to pull off the footpath back onto the road. Traffic lights, the few there are, again have to be looked at a bit lighter than the clear cut Western perspective. Some traffic lights have countdowns, alerting you when they will switch to red or green. If one is standing at a red traffic light, cars, trucks and scooters will start accelerating and moving out of the intersection anything 10 to 5 seconds before the red light is actually due to turn. Vice versa the crossing traffic will keep travelling through the intersection 2 to 5 seconds after the light has switched to red for them. You can imagine a bit of caution is required when crossing an intersection… It even gets a bit more complicated when one intends to turn at an intersection. We are used to turning traffic having to give way to people travelling straight through the intersection: not so in Bali. As one is intent to cross the intersection and cross a lane to turn right, as the traffic light goes green, it is quite normal to accelerate and cross the intersection straight away, as the people travelling straight will slow down and give way (as per the Indonesian rule that any traffic popping up in front of you has right of way). Alternatively if traffic is a bit too slow for your liking, as you are turning right, don’t select your lane but rather ride into the incoming traffic lane, against traffic for a while, till you find a clear spot to merge across to the correct side of the road. Whilst we are on the subject of turning, as it seems both Indonesians and tourists alike do not master the use of indicators on scooters, these are constantly left flashing, even miles after one has actually turned (cars thank God have the automatic indicator re-set in the steering wheel). Therefore there is a bit of confusion as to if the rider ahead of you is actually intending to turn or just forgot to take the indicator off. But not to worry, a solution has been found. When on a scooter and wanting to turn, not only put your indicator on (or have it on all day long), but also wave your hand indicating you are going to turn that side. And the overriding road rule is: If a road user is getting too distracted and not noticing your approach, quickly honk! Not an angry honk, just a quick beep alerting them you are there or behind them or approaching, it works a treat! The funniest traffic situation we have encountered is absolute grid lock at a smaller intersection, with hundreds of scooters wanting to turn into every and each way, mixed with cars and trucks. But as per the above traffic rules, it can become chaotic, as scooters are progressing on the incoming traffic lane, turning into incoming traffic lanes, riding on footpaths, squeezing themselves into car spaces to let a truck through and occasionally, as we witnessed, it becomes completely jammed, as people have left not an inch of space for any traffic to move. The result is a complete traffic lock down, with honks going crazy and scooters and cars pushing their way forward millimetre by millimetre. As we finally made it to the centre of the intersection, it was amazing to see how one needs to manage his way forward! It was like solving a puzzle of scooters: “You move your front wheel into there!”; “I incline my scooter to the left, whilst you push your foot forward!”; “Move back a bit, so I can put my scooter forward!” all done in gestures, nobody getting angry, the occasional laugh at the mad situation! But it worked; we got out of it and rode happily into the sunset, having succeeded in another day of absolute fun on the roads of Bali!

21-OCT & 22-OCT - Mon & Tue - 48hrs of action!

Monday = Getting bank details for transfer of payment: received! Ride to DHL to intercept all important documentation: mission accomplished! Purchase groceries and some DVDs for evening at home: done! Find Australian Consulate General in Denpasar: located! Get identification done by Australian Consulate official: check! Argue with Australian Consulate official over the astronomical fees: paid (and we got the better price!) Starbucks coffee break in Denpasar: absolutely! Find DHL Denpasar office to send documents back to Australia: sent! Ride back to Kerobokan to visit furniture shops for inspiration on our bungalow: super cool! Visit sun lounge factory for quotes: expensive! Apply for foreign exchange account for money transfer: initiated! Cook lovely alio e olio pasta: divine! Watch “White House Down”: great action movie, typical American finish! Watch “The Big Wedding”: funny! Crash to bed: absolutely! Tuesday = Running along the beach: do we have to? Print, fill, sign and scan foreign exchange account application to finalise application: finalised! Meet owner for a day of shopping: met! Locate suitable new showerhead: done! Discuss furniture design with furniture maker: fun! Negotiate better price: success! Rush to lamp manufacturer: unsuccessful! Source TV, sound system and fridge: wow, so quick! Proceed to purchase DVD and hairdryer: super cheap! Last purchase, ceiling fan: check! Return to base to meet curtain maker: no show! Proceed to lamp shop: purchase successful! Foreign exchange account active: transfer successful! Dinner of steak and salad: great! Watch “The Company You Keep”: Robert Redford is still great! Crash to bed absolutely exhausted: correct!

20-OCT - Sun - Relaxation

Relaxation is letting your body clock determine the wake-up time. Relaxation is not having commitments awaiting you all day long. Relaxation is a day of dolce far niente. Relaxation is doing what-ever you fancy, when-ever you fancy doing it. Relaxation is giving your brain and body a break from the daily decision making and the running around. Relaxation is recharging your batteries. Relaxation is pausing for a day and observing what is happening around us. Relaxation is sitting next to your partner and share the love that connects you. Relaxation is healing. Relaxation is breathing. Relaxation is pure luxury, but in this industrialised world we live in, it is a must to cope with the pace of life we have created. And we did just that!

19-OCT - Sat - The deal is sealed!

Yep, the papers have been signed. After lots of research, plenty of questions to all sorts of professionals and lots of personal inspections, we have found the ONE. When we came to Bali, we were wondering what is going to happen on our return to Australia, with our business plan of starting a café/bakery “on ice”, and slowly a new idea of setting up something here in Bali started taking shape. After discarding various ideas, buying a holiday rental property for us to manage and market just stuck! Step 1: find a property at the right price and the right location! Hence we visited various real estate agents, making sure to stick with the big global names, as they are more likely to “play by the rules”, we found a couple of contenders and inspected a selection of properties. Step 2: market research! Once we identified the strip of road of our interest, we scooted along it and listed every single hotel, villa, bungalow, shack we could find. This allowed us to then research how much our future competition charges for a nightly stay, high and low season, in order to determine how much we could charge, without pricing ourselves out of the market and still make a profit. Step 3: What are the legal requirements and regulations for foreigners to purchase property in Bali? The only way was to get it from the horse’s mouth: a notaris = lawyer. We walked into one of them and found a lovely lady behind an ancient typewriter (the Swiss lad’s hearth was beating faster, seeing a beautiful Olympia, a worthy museum piece, still in daily action!). Through broken English and lots of intuition, these lads were made aware there is another notaris that specialises in real estate and given the directions to it. We got the answers we needed. Step 4: Narrow all the candidates down to one! Our future property! Luck, faith, destiny and the good luck coin we found at Uluwatu temple must have helped us along, as after starting a conversation with the manager of one of the locations we had our eye on, we were introduced to the owner, who took one look at us and was all smiles: “family”! Well, after showing us around his complex and giving us a couple of options, we pretty much found what we wanted: perfect location, perfect sized property and right price! All the right ingredients to start our project on a smaller and more manageable scale! A couple of days of negotiations, conversations, drinks, paper work and here we are: deposit paid, papers signed! So much easier to deal with the seller directly, an Australian, paper work in English, a veteran of Balinese business dealings. Next week the owner is taking us furniture and accessories shopping, it’s all happening! Objective having the property ready for this Christmas! Only one thing left to do: CELEBRATE! We treated ourselves to a restaurant on our new “strip of road” (more market research for our customers) and instead of eating two huge mains, selected five starters. For once we chose to have Western dishes and we were not disappointed, Olive Restaurant is a fine dining experience! The night was young, and as we had something special to celebrate and being a Saturday night, off we went to the gay clubs for a boogie and drinks till late into the night! The details of it are [censured] – ask us in person! Wow! Life is indeed full of surprises when one dears to take the plunge (with your eyes wide open and brain switched on)!

18-OCT - Fri - Out and about negotiating

Busy negotiating our future

16-OCT & 17-OCT - Wed & Thu - As one door closes, another opens

These last two days have seen these two lads take decisive actions on closing an old chapter and laying the foundation stone of what hopefully will become a bright new future. We often go through life keeping others happy but by doing so denying ourselves our rightful rewards. Is it right? Is it wrong? Hard to answer, too many implications to consider (hurt, disappointments, anger, frustration, arguments). They say “time will tell” and indeed it usually does. These two lads have managed to finally close a chapter which has been slowing them down from day one. Invariably closing something is “easier said than done”! We’ve proven to each other that we still have our excellent managerial and organisational skills. Who else but two veterans of customer service and management would have the skills of knowing how to organise to meet all requirements for a legal identification at the local Australian consulate, needing an original document from Australia!? Who else would have the know-how of organising the issuing of said original document in Australia on a Thursday, to have it forwarded on a Friday, for receipt at our location in Bali by Monday (hopefully)? “Yes we can” as President Obama said! Having scooted in and out of traffic and having taken bypass roads that only our trusty mobile phone/GPS would know, the last two days have seen us spending more time on our scooter than at our villa! Being “generation X” means we are well capable of managing more than one task at a time, efficiently and effectively, hence as we were dealing with the closure of this old chapter, we were simultaneously working on laying the foundations of a brand new adventure in our lives! It is a project we have been working on ever since arriving here in Bali and don’t want to disclose to much as of yet, bar saying that as one starts asking the right questions and digging at the right places, suddenly doors have opened we didn’t exist. Life has presented us with an amazing opportunity and we are going to grab it with both hands and our eyes wide open! Yes mums, we’ve done a spread sheet to work out all the nitty gritty financials and the result was: “Full steam ahead!”

15-OCT - Tue - Ku De Ta reigns supreme

It was a day of beach, like many others, and these two lads were in the mood for some glitz and glamour. Where to go? Cocoon with its whiteness? White it might be, but having introduced minimum drink and food spend of A$30+ for their daybeds lining the kidney shaped pool and more for the cabanas, the glitz is somewhat less attractive. It still is a great beach club, with one of the best chill-out music, but not having absolute beachfront and attracting the Kuta crowd is a minus in our books. Potato Head with its grandeur? The setting is amazing; the building shielding the beach club from the rest of the world is a huge amphitheatre made of old wooden doors and shutters of all sizes and colours, three storeys tall. The club itself has many sitting areas with different atmospheres, a huge infinity pool and the all-important absolute beachfront. The minuses again having introduced a minimum drink and food spend which is quite high and the club being so big that it is far from being a relaxing day out enjoying the sun. It feels more like Rimini’s beaches, overcrowded, loud, everyone sitting on top of each other. No thanks! Mozaic with its uber funk? It is an amazing place, it is calm, it is on the smaller side, the cabanas are little hideaways of peace and tranquillity, the daybeds overlooking the ocean are welcoming one to just gaze out into nothingness all day. Having also introduced an exorbitant minimum spend on drinks and food to claim a cabana (despite the place being deserted), turned us off. We had one last shimmer of hope, Ku De Ta! It is the oldest beach club, the first, the original. And you know what? The best! It does not have a pool, just two rows of daybeds which can accommodate four people each, overlooking the beach and the ocean. The daybeds are framed by small stretch of lawn and a U-shaped building, with no walls leading into its courtyard so the ocean can be seen, heard and felt where-ever one decides to sit. Furthest away from the beach is a lovely dining area, whilst the flanks of the building are more casual chilled-out settings, to just sit, grab a bite to eat and enjoy the scenery. The music tops it all off just perfectly, not too loud, not too crazy, the right mix to make one forget appointments, deadlines and time itself. We found ourselves a daybed and we sat, we drank, we chatted, we relaxed, we checked out the eye candy on offer, we laughed, we played UNO, we enjoyed the sun: this is how a day at a beach-club should be! We love you Ku De Ta!

14-OCT - Mon - A not so serious step by step guide of sunbathing for Europeans

For Finnish, Swedish, Norwegians, British, Icelandic natives: your skin is white as ice, you tend to arrive at your tropical beach holiday and immediately peel off all your layers of clothing to display the pure beauty of your glistening, virginal skin. The sun may feel great on each individual cell as your summers are measured in days, rather than months. To us, third party observers, you seem to undergo a metamorphosis as each minute goes by, from white human into a human shaped red crab, and as you return to your accommodation, you glow like a Chinese lantern. Some of you, sometimes under the effect of alcohol, seem to be brave enough to repeat the process the next day; others return covered tip to toe, having undergone yet another metamorphosis, from Northern European to Middle Eastern Prince, dressed in beautiful silky robes from head to toe. For Danish and all Benelux natives: you have ocean beaches on which one can actually sunbath for a couple of weeks a year, hence your skin seems better prepared to enjoy rays of sun on every square inch of it. Moreover it might be that having had colonies in tropical waters, some tropical genes made it into your motherland’s DNA pool, giving you some readiness to equatorial sun rays. Like your Northern neighbours, your skin also presents itself glistening white at first, but you do tend to tan into a most beautiful European chestnut brown, making you stunning Adonis (if you are Danish and are in top shape). For German natives: you guys travel a lot, indeed you are to be found in every corner of the earth, as one hears your most distinct accent, whilst you inquire on the availability of schnitzel, sauerkraut or bratwurst, regardless of being in the deepest part of the jungle of Africa or in the depths of the Pyramid of Giza. You seem to be one of these people who for what-ever freak of nature, require no sun lotion what-so-ever and are able to go from red to brown overnight. And you tan into a most beautiful colour! We are envious. Except for the part where your older generation has no inhibition in presenting themselves to the bathing public in the smallest of bathing costumes, regardless of their body shape. The French natives: you are easily distinguishable, as usually all of you (mother, father, daughter and son) are all perfectly shaped, with not a gram of fat on you, as you smoke one cigarette after the other. Your bathing costumes are always the most stylish on the beach: a very smart-casual pair of shorts for the man; a stunning bikini for the lady; latest sun glasses to top it off; and the kids in lovely costumes themselves. If the grandparents happen to be in attendance, they usually reserve themselves to wearing light clothing, as they consider the days of bathing costumes gone with the wind of youth. The Mediterranean natives: all of you are used to warm climates, heating might not even exist in your grandparent’s homes (now with climate change that has probably become an issue, as the snow piles up at your doorstep), your DNA has adapted to being able to cope with any sun ray and you just absorb it all into each nucleus of your body, transforming your skin from olive to a most beautiful deep olive brown. And if you are one of the lucky ones with blue eyes, you just look divine! No need to shy away from the sun, “all systems are go” for you guys! A word of caution to the Italo-Aussie lad of this travelling duo: sun lotion does need to be applied to eye lids, whilst one is dozing under the sun, unless one is seeking to achieve the uber trendy “red panda eye” look. The Alpine natives (French, Swiss, Italian and Austrian Alps): just because you think you grew up in the alpine sun, don’t think you can turn up at a tropical beach in your shorts, sandals, funky glasses and optional head cover, to display your glistening white skin without any consequence. You will burn! You will blister! You will not turn brown overnight! Sun lotion factor 50 is the essential ingredient to start the holiday on, downgrading as your skin recovers from the initial shock! This of course does not apply to this Swiss lad himself nor his sister, who still believe a small dose of sunburn is the first step to the perfect tan (which invariably turns into a full scale sunburn as they both fall asleep under the sun). Happy sunbathing to you all!

13-OCT - Sun - A Sunday to remember

Being a clear blue sky with the sun displaying all its power, it was an obvious conclusion that we would find ourselves just up the road from the W Hotel at our preferred beach club… err… ex-preferred beach club, The Mozaic. We scooted to the club, and the Swiss lad jumped off to grab the top spot cabana, overlooking the most beautiful clear blue pool, lined by lush plants on one side and funky sunbeds on the other, with the ocean in the distance. Just stunning! Whilst admiring all this beauty, the Italo-Aussie lad went to intercept la mamma. On their return, the Helvetic man had changed location to the front row daybeds. Why, we hear you ask? How about minimum spend of drinks and food of A$100 for anyone staying in a cabana on a Sunday, enjoying the live band!? Most ludicrous price we have ever heard of, in a country where a beer costs A$2.50 and a snack around A$5 or A$7! We tried to enjoy the front row sunbeds, ordered a drink, but the live band playing some acoustic groove (or so they described it; brain bending noise more like it) started to get on our nerves. A change of location was imminent. Plan A, return to the hotel’s super luxury in the hope to find a spot by the pool; Plan B, grab a sunbed on the sand somewhere, hoping the wind would not do an unwanted abrasion of our perfect silky-smooth skin. Plan A worked perfectly. We found ourselves three comfy chaise-lounges by the pool, enjoyed the sun and a swim. After all this hard work, a glass of prosecco and pool-side snacks were in order, whilst chatting along on past, present and future. After a quick beauty sleep (not that we would need it) and a change of costumes, we picked up “bikie mum”, looking super cute with her “Lucky Strike” helmet and holding on to her son like a Peruvian baby to his mother. We snaked our way through traffic to get to our dinner location: the Moroccan restaurant Kahima. All meals we ate sent us to food Nirvana and catapulted us to that tiny place in Marrakesh, you know the one, with the local wine “Hatten Alexandria” doing the rest! The climax of the evening was yet to come, with the baklava and the vanilla pastille! An evening of orgasmic tastebuds explosion! What a great conclusion to this short but fun visit by mother. Once we bid our farewells, these two lads, in possession of a scooter each, could not resist temptation of zooming all the way down to Kuta, on the calm and serene Sunday night streets of Seminyak, Legian and Kuta, to see the “spectacle” of Bintang clad and Bintang filled Aussie blokes and sheilas, displaying their typical behaviour…

12-OCT - Sat - Our 17th monthiversary with la mamma

What better way to celebrate our 17th monthiversary than in company of a special guest? We started our day by ditching the daily beach work-out and instead tried a local vegan café just down the road. Apparently the vegetable of the moment is “kale”, the new super cauliflower which fully detoxes you: we just had to try it! Not much different from a normal cauliflower, in our opinion, but hey, if this is the vegetable of the moment, it is a must! Food was very yummy and we will be going back more often, for a healthy breakfast. Our next step was to arrange transportation for the couple of days la mamma is visiting, and in Bali the preferred and most effective mode of transport is a scooter! As three of us would not fit on one scooter… then again, plenty of Balinese do use the scooter as a mass transport vehicle, but that shall not be us. We bargained our regular scooter outlet down, for a second scooter and off we went to pick up mother and convince her that, one: scooting is the best option for getting around; two: we are very safe motorists; three: we are now accustomed to local road conditions. Not much convincing was required; guess one does trust two adult 39-year olds! We spent the rest of the morning scooting all the way down the main strip to a larger shopping area, to seek shade during the midday heat, and mum absolutely loved the ride! On our return back to la mamma’s hotel, we decided to take advantage of the luxury offered by the W Hotel and joined her by the hotel pool, which faces the ocean (and the sea was displaying its usual spectacle of crazy crushing waves, where only a fool would jump in). After our pool-side relaxation, it was time for dinner at Nook, the local restaurant set in the midst of rice paddies, looking like a white cruise liner sitting in the middle of a calm green ocean. We all enjoyed the view, with swooping bats doing their acrobatics and keeping us mosquito free. The food, the wine and of course the company, made for a most pleasant surroundings to celebrate our 17th monthiversary. By now darkness and the cool air had truly set in, making it perfect conditions to take a stroll down the main strip and window shop. We must confess that one finds it hard not to dig into one’s wallet, when walking down the main strip in Legian/Seminyak, where one can find boutique after boutique of locally made, very fashionable clothes. After all, someone has to kick start the world economy, so why not make it us!? The day ended with these three Australians sipping a drink at the Woobar (W Hotel’s bar by the ocean), under lanterns and good music. What a day!

11-OCT - Fri - Day 768

We wish! Bali's charm has completely engolfed us! Life here is on a different time scale, the Balinese laissez-faire is healing our Westerner rush-rush-rush way of life, especially as we have hit one month away from home. The days flow one into the other, day of week has become irrelevant as we welcome each morning letting the sun and the clouds dictate our days. We are thoroughly enjoying this experience. We have worked hard for the last 10+ years, we now treasure this opportunity of taking a break from our "normal" lifes to be here in Bali! Italo-Aussie's mum arrived to visit us for a couple of days, giving us the chance to share all our discoveries & bringing a welcomed change to our routine! Gotta dash, tropical paradise calling!

09-OCT & 10-OCT - Wed & Thu - Back in Bali

These two days we have been busy stocking up our villa (yes we got upgraded, this is another story), getting settled back in Bali and getting ready for the arrival of the mothership!

08-OCT - Tue - Landing in the hotspot of Asia-Pacific: Bali!

Our Lombok departure was doubtful after our broadcasted 1000 flight suddenly disappeared from the sign, 1000 came and went, 1030 came and went and no announcement was heard. Tourists were getting nervous, people started approaching officials asking for updates, to no avail. These two travellers didn’t lose their cool, leaving the departure gate for another coffee, knowing Denpasar (Bali) airport was experiencing closures due to the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Area) meeting. Finally at about 1040 our departure was announced for 1050… yeah right!? In 10 minutes from now, with the flight from Denpasar not yet landed? Had Lion Air dispatched flying carpets to fly us back to Bali? Our aircraft did in the end arrive, and by 1130 we finally took off, with these two lads on board, to our great relief. After our 30-minute journey and a couple of complimentary rounds over Denpasar airport, our flight was finally given the all clear to land. And what a landing it was, flying over water with navy ships guarding the coastline in front of Sanur and Nusa Dua. As our plane touched down, slowing down, we passed the whole of Asia-Pacific, in form of aircrafts: Philippines’ presidential aircraft, two Russian jets, various smaller aircrafts, all safely parked. We came to a stop a good deal from the main airport building, disembarking on the tarmac, greeted by the 747 of the president of Japan, the 747 of the president of Korea, the 747 of the monarch of Brunei, and a military jet of the Chilean president, what a sight. And having to walk past them on our way into the terminal, with close to no guards in sight only smiling airport staff, was great fun! As the new international airport is now open, we were processed at the deserted old wing, making the whole process as quick as ever. On the way to our compound, we just got the tail end of busy APEC meetings by a traditional restaurant with Balinese dances…, the whole street on complete shutdown with heavy military police guarding the lot! Our politicians are such hardworking men and women, enjoying chicken satay!

07-OCT - Mon - Kuta (Lombok) in review

The short version: We came, we experienced, now let’s get the [beep] out of here! The long version: If it weren’t for APEC and West Australian school holidays, we might not have escaped Bali to come to Lombok, which would have been a real shame. We are indeed glad we came, we are very happy to have experienced a destination like no other in all our previous travels, but we’re over it. Enough of water buffalos, cows and goats crossing the road; enough of the calls to prayer; enough of dogs growling at each other; enough of plastic and rubbish souring the experience. Time to go back to creature comforts of what these two city lads of the 20th century are accustomed to, time to go back to the super friendly and easy going Balinese people! A destination like this is not for tourists looking for beaches with the “complete package” of day beds, restaurants, cafés and shops. Be prepared to travel rough roads to a fantastic beach; understand that power blackouts are a daily occurrence, and at not pre-set times; expect very, very rural villages. The landscape is breathtakingly spectacular, the countryside a window into the past, the beaches more beautiful than the West Australian coastline. We have not been to central, Northern and Eastern Lombok, therefore our judgement is limited. Being at a destination were tourism is still under development, we felt that two guys walking the village side by side, at dusk/evening and not looking like surfers, or yobbos, nor looking like having just crawled out of some hole, did make people look inquisitively and making us very uneasy. Also knowing of being in a more rural setting and an Islamic country (and we are firm believers of freedom of religion, but what is it with the 4.30am call to prayer via 1950s shockingly poor quality speakers at full blast, really!?), we were conscious of not to smile, gaze or give a passing kiss to each other. Not being allowed to be ourselves is again something we are not used to, or if confronted with disapproval we have no hesitation at giving a piece of our own back; but not here, where we do not speak the language and being gay is obviously something not yet in the popular consciousness. We must stress that Kuta (Lombok) is a great destination, but seven or eight days of it is too much; make it four if you decide to come, and you’ll be more than satisfied with your choice. “Driver! Tomorrow morning, 0730 pickup at reception! Take us to the airport! Schnell, bitte!”

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05-OCT - Sat - Senggigi – Tourism gone wrong

We took a day trip (1,5hrs) to Senggigi, the real tourism mecca of Lombok (apparently). The drive itself was very educational, seeing the countryside change from an arid landscape to lush green vegetation, with the all familiar rice paddies; whilst having a good conversation with our driver. We learnt that schooling is free up and inclusive of high school and compulsory for all children. The kids selling bracelets and claiming they need money for school are transported in from other villages by their head of family, to boost the family’s income. We heard how families in need receive assistance from the government, in form of money and subsidised rice. We saw rice fields just out from Kuta, all dry, the land cracked by the sun, with farmers tending to them, removing the weeds, the walls being repaired. This is in preparation of the rainy season to begin at the end of October/early November, for the one yearly harvest of rice in this part of Lombok. As we reached Senggigi, it was nothing like we imagined. It has a wide main street going straight through it, large warehouse style buildings on the one side, half of them abandoned; small shop fronts and café on the opposite side, largely boarded up. The beachfront is livelier, with big resorts taking up all of the coastline, some having seen better days, a few desperately holding on to their luxury status (and failing), and others having fallen from their glory, now all abandoned and protected by a layer of dust and vegetation, their 80s image preserved forever. Never-the-less, the feeling of being in a post-apocalyptic town cannot be shaken, with the infrastructure of what used to be or should have been a sought after tourism destination clearly visible, but no tourists in sight. Seems like a tourism boom took hold 25 years or so ago, and then imploded, leaving a large concrete memory of a better era gone by. Thank God we choose Kuta instead of Senggigi!

04-OCT - Fri - The good, the bad and the ugly

The good: The beaches here are tropical paradise. The sand is “fairy-tale” white, the water as blue as only Hollywood could imagine it, and the mountains frame the hole setting majestically. The hinterland a different world altogether again, with its various crops, all farmed by manual labour with no machinery in sight, the villages unchanged in centuries, the locals going about their daily life, opening an unimaginable window for us city lads of the 20th century. The food is bolder, the flavours more intense than in Bali, maybe fresher and truer to their origins, how Indonesian food should be. We once again followed Rick Stein’s lead and purchased fish from a group of women, smoking it right there on the beach on burning coconut husks, as the husbands brought it in on their colourful fishing boats, the catch as fresh as it could ever be, out from the cobalt blue ocean we just swam in. It tasted truly spectacular, as we picked away at it with our hands, with the sun tickling our skin. The bad: The dogs are a constant companion, be it in the rural setting, on the beach or in town. They walk the streets, alone or in small groups. They sleep by the road, under a tree, under a table or under your daybed. They are not the lovely pet we are used to. Albeit being extremely human friendly, they most certainly are not to each other. They forage for food from villagers, along roads or from a kind tourist. They do not share food between themselves and will aggressively bark, scratch and bite any other canine challenging their find. They sniff food a mile away and will spot you in matter of seconds. They will sit and wait and look at you, till they either fooled you to pity them or you finished your meal and your leftovers are for them to conquer. Their constant presence makes these two lads uncomfortable, as most do not look healthy and might be carrying lice, ticks or worst, have rabies. Avoid them, we shall! The ugly: The sight of discarded plastic is omnipresent. We encounter plastic by the side of roads, behind homes, outside mosques, in bushes, in the fields, on the sand, in the crystal clear water. Mostly small pieces, of course the usual culprit Mr Plasticbag, sometimes a flip-flop, worst if it cumulates into bigger clumps. We are amazed at seeing locals just throwing it out. It is truly a most saddening sight, leaving a dark shadow over this magnificent landscape. They burn it, from time to time, causing the most sickening smoke. The only logical conclusion these two lads came to, is that in the olden days, the discarded broken bamboo wall, thatched roof, unwanted wooden furniture, consumed coconut, worn out straw hat were truly burnable or would decompose over time. Plastic does not! We guess once again, the influx of the Western world is starting to leave its mark, all our produce made mostly out of plastic, but the final link of rubbish collection, disposal and recycling not a link the money hungry businessman cares about… yet! Till the plastic’s negative impact so bad, that ignore, they shall not!

03-OCT - Thu - Felice and her goodwill

We have discovered a beautiful vegetarian warung run by a young woman named Felice, her sister and friends. Her warung is a bamboo structure, with thatched roof, woven bamboo sheets as walls, and all the furniture is made from the local bamboo, tables and all. A cosy setting. We decided to make it our dinner haunt for the week, after tasting one of her dishes of fried tempeh (soy bean product) in a delicious sauce, served with kankong (local spinach). A taste buds explosion! But Felice’s warung has a twist: she uses a part of her profits to support an orphanage, moreover once a week, Saturdays, she closes her restaurant to cook for the local kids, who are selling goods on the beach all week, trying to give them some respite from their hard work. How can we not support such a business? She is even intending to set up a foundation, maybe finding a job in Australia, to earn more money to give back into her community. We brought some colouring in books and pencils from Australia, with the intention of giving it to local kids. In Bali, it is hard to find rural spots. On our rides around Kuta we see many families, but which one do you decide to give something and which one not? If destiny or faith has an influence in life, it definitely played its card right into the palm of our hand, we gave our colouring in books and pencils to Felice, to use with her kids, and we most definitely will keep dining at her warung for the rest of our stay! Indeed for us, here in a location that does not yet depend on tourism, it has made us question what we should do: support the locals who have made the gutsy business decision to abandon their more traditional work to establish a shop selling goods for the tourists; buy from locals walking the beach selling coconuts or pineapple; negotiate with group of ladies selling sarongs and blankets; purchase some bracelets from kids? What is the alternative? Should we not purchase anything and thus promote this kind of activity, as more and more locals might abandon their traditional way of life to suddenly depend on the volatile tourism industry? But how can you deny a monetary reward to an old man, older than our parents, walking the beach with heavy coconuts, under the midday sun, selling them for A$1 each? How can you not buy bracelets from the local kids who try so hard to make you smile, when they cost A$2 each? Who has got it in his heart to say no to a group of ladies, walking this remote beach to sell the most beautiful blankets (locally made according to them, but even if they are not, does it matter?). How can we be the type of tourist that uses their water, uses all their town’s facility, and just sits on the beach all day, buying absolutely nothing from the local merchants? In our hearts we know that buying a few things from each single seller hopefully does something positive and we will keep doing just that.

02-OCT - Wed - A spellbinding ride through rural paradise

Today we headed West, scooting to Selong Blanak, which according to LonelyPlanet is: “[…] a wide, sugar-white beach with water streaked a thousand shades of blue, ideal for swimming. […]”. So off we went. The road took us out into the hinterland of Kuta; into valleys, over hills and through villages, till we reached our destination a good 45 minutes later. Yes, the beach was spectacular in capital letters! The sand white as cotton, the water an amazing Mediterranean blue, green hills plunging straight into the water either side of us, and a cone shaped island sticking out of the ocean straight ahead from the beach, in the middle of the horizon. The water was so inviting, we just had to jump in and stay in. But what completely blew us away was not our destination, rather the ride to it. The journey took us on a windy road, up and down hills, through the most amazing landscape. We encountered the most spectacular vistas overlooking lush fields, seeing bays with the cobalt blue ocean in the distance, and palm trees at the bottom of the valleys. We saw locals slaving away with very rudimentary machinery at the local soil, looking for gold, the land stripped bare. We passed tobacco field after tobacco field; we witnessed rice being harvested, with ladies carrying huge bundles on their heads, and muscular men using their raw manpower to pound on the harvest, separating the rice from the husk; we saw rice being dried on the ground, inside the family compound; old villagers with sunburnt skin, herding their water buffalos through rivers. We passed thatched villages, how they must have been built for centuries, followed by brick and mortar houses with satellite dishes. We had villagers old and young walking the tiny road; pick-up trucks passing us with their load of labourers, on the way to work; school children walking home in their uniforms for midday break. Each turn we took, each hill we climbed presenting a new window into the rural life of Southwestern Lombok. This trip was a true kaleidoscope of magnificent natural beauty and rural village life, a trip through time, something we city lads only knew from books or documentaries. What an eye-opening and extraordinary experience!

01-OCT - Tue - Where are all the people?

We rented a scooter for the two of us, this being the only way of going exploring around Kuta, as the distances are too far for walking or cycling. The roads are horrendous to anyone’s standard; it is more of a hopping along at meagre 20km/h from pot hole to pot hole. As we left Kuta and ventured East, we rode past families of farmers, their living standards extremely basic from what we are accustomed to. Mothers sitting in the shade with their newborns, children playing in groups, older children and men in the fields, herding cattle. The land is very dry, its landscape is mostly bushes, small trees and lots of coconut palms, all in that washed out green and browns we are so accustomed to in Western Australia, with the only lush green you see being fields of corn and tobacco plantations. The coastline is an amazing contrast to this landscape, with bay after bay of pure white sand. Each bay is cocooned by coconut palms and sheltered by rocky hills. The water is pure emerald green and turquoise blues, balmy and calm, as the waves crush on reefs far away at the entrance to these sheltered beaches. We explored all three beaches East of Kuta, suitable for swimmers, and settled on Tanjun Aan. Imagine a clock and draw a circle from twelve noon to ten, this is the shape of this bay. Add pristine white sand to the whole setting, and make the beach ten football fields in length; let the most amazing clear, blue, emerald and turquoise water into the whole bay; make it shallow so that you can walk nearly to the centre of the bay in waste deep water, walking past patches of seagrass and corals; add coconut palms in the background and further on brown dry hills. Add two bamboo huts on this huge bay, 100m apart, offering cooked food and refrigerated drinks; gently place ten tourists (we counted them) on this vast beach, inject a family of sarong and fresh coconut sellers, and this most amazing setting is complete. We could not resist buying the most beautiful blanket and feasted on a fresh coconut whilst taking in the setting and the sun! No boats, no cars, no scooters, no aircrafts to break the silence; all you hear are small waves, the wind, the occasional rooster and a goat or two. This truly is a tropical island where the Western commercial wave of destruction has not yet arrived, but with the new airport for Lombok only 30 minutes away, regrettably another paradise will be lost.

Hello Kuta (Lombok) – A step back in time!

What a difference! 35 minutes on an aircraft, a quick hop across to a different island (Lombok), a 30-minute drive to the southern edge (away from touristy Sengiggi) and as Kylie sang, we have stepped back in time and a completely different geography from Bali. Kuta (Lombok) is a small fishing village, set in a bay surrounded by hills and mountains, on very dry land. Gone is the lush vegetation of Bali, gone is the rushing water, gone are the rice paddies. As we explored the village, we realised it is nothing what we expected! This is how life used to be on an island, before the Western world changed life for everyone, willingly or unwillingly, before Starbucks arrived, before McDonald and all other chains. As we walked the one main street, we passed families living in a couple of basic wooden structures, with thatched roofs, and woven bamboo as walls, on dry and dusty soil, with chickens, goats and cows roaming the compound. The occasional shop selling basic goods, a little workshop here and there. The beach, or better the bay (as beach recalls more an image of Westerners plonking their lazy asses on the sand) is full of fishing boats and huts filled with nets and farmed seaweed. The kids were taking over the sleeping boats and loving it as their playgrounds. The roads are dirt tracks, the bitumen long worn away. There is tourism here, there are lots of warungs (restaurants), we saw two ATM booths, there are maybe three hotels (one of which we are staying in) and lots of homestay accommodation. Along the main road, parallel to the shore, there are small huts either side, selling all type of merchandise for the tourists: wooden masks, items of clothing, cosmetics, and drinks. The setting is rustic, very rustic and the shops are very basic. We are not the only tourists, but the masses we were used to in Bali are nowhere to be found. We are in the minority here, the locals still rule village life. We are thrilled to be here and all comforts we are used to are on offer, never-the-less, it does feel like we have stepped into a functioning fishing community and we are intruding in their lives. The predominant religion here is Muslim and the calls to prayer cannot be missed. For the first time in all our previous travels, be it Egypt or India, we are feeling what must be culture shock and are needing to adjust. After discussing it at length, we concluded that the extremely short trip from Bali to here and the huge difference between the two lifestyles has been very sudden and we need a day or two to adjust to it. This is a trip for the memory books!

Chapter one: Kerobokan

We have now had three weeks on this amazing island, making Kerobokan our home. We have had amazing times of relaxation by the sea, either in style by staying at a beach club or just renting a day bed on the black volcanic sand, days of absolute dolce far niente and days of just going for a stroll. We have dined at sophisticated venues, at funky set-ups and at local warungs. We have sourced our food at local markets, in line with "km zero" ideals of freshness and eco-responsability. We have explored some of the sights by venturing out of our immediate surroundings, and our expactations were surpassed each time. We are bronzer, trimmer, healthier than on day one. We have stayed on target with a healthy life style of light and tasty meals, good dose of exercise and rare adventures into the world of sweets. This truly is an adventure like no other! We enjoy each day, not really knowing what it will bring, just loving the fact of being here in the company of the man of our dreams, and keeping our eyes open for every little aspect of life that might make us stop in our tracks and determine our next step. Thank you Bali, it is now time for chapter two: Kuta on the island of Lombok (not to be confused with Kuta on the island of Bali).

A day of logistics

Getting ready for our trip to Lombok, items to purchase, transport to be arranged, bags to be packed

Another day of dolce far niente

The most exhausting activity has been walking along the beach, plonking our hot derrieres at a new watering hole, the Woobar at the Hotel W, enjoying two refreshing non alcoholic drinks and watching the amazing spectacle the ocean was providing. The surf was tundering ashore, with waves colliding and creating amazingly tall water castles, shooting high into the air and lasting only a matter of seconds before collapsing again into the bubbling surface of the ocean. Such a hard life!

An afternoon in Sanur

It was time for another excursion, out of our familiar territory. A straight trip across the island, through Denpasar, takes you to Sanur. The trip itself was an experience, giving us our first glimpses of Denpasar and what a surprise! Our road leads directly into the capital of Bali, and slowly transforms from a suburban road into a beautiful tree lined boulevard to the heart of this city. Government buildings appear and disappear either side, parks come and go, shopping malls galore, beautiful family compounds (homes) with the most ornate temples at their entrances, just spectacular. To top it all off, the amazing monument to the struggle of the Balinese made us have an impromptu stop. It is an impressive structure, rising high above any building, with its intricate stone work all the way to the very top, narrowing into a point, as if touching the sky. It is a delicate and beautiful art work despite its sheer size, set in the centre of a large park, full of people enjoying a walk, kids running and youth playing soccer. Half an hour later, we arrived at the beach town of Sanur. The set-up in its principle is the same: beach, followed by the main road with shops, cafés and restaurants, hotels everywhere. The big difference is in the vibe! The beach is white, instead of the volcanic black sand we have over here; calm waters, instead of crushing waves, as the island provides the perfect wind break; gently rocking fishing boats anchored just meters offshore; peace and tranquillity instead of a beach full of tourists and sellers. A beautiful paved walk follows the narrow beach, and we enjoyed it immensely, as it took us through perfectly manicured high-end resorts with their guests sunning themselves on their “guest only” beach, glimpses of beautiful private villas with spectacular gardens overlooking the ocean, past fishing boats drying on the sand and lots of empty stretches of sand. So much so, we just had to jump into the calm blue waters and enjoy the serenity. We expected a different beach, we found a different world.

The jewel lost its shine

Nook? Warung Cobek more like it! After our experience at Nook, a most enjoyable dining experience, we felt more comfortable trying a typical warung (the Indonesian “diner”), typically run by a family who cook a selection of dishes which are ready by 11am and then kept for the rest of the day at room temperature, for the enjoyment of family members and customers alike. The usual dishes are: boiled curry egg, various delicious vegetables, deep fried crispy fish, curry chicken, tuna, and the most famous beef rendang, with a selection of white and brown rice. These are all kept in a glass display cabinet (at a market these are probably more open then at warungs targeting the Western clientele). There is one of these warungs on our way to the beach, overlooking rice paddies. After a lazy sleep in, we decided it was time to try it. We were the only customers, and the owners were delighted in having us and answering all our questions as to what each dish was. We tried the boiled eggs, the spinach, the potatoes with chicken hearth, the corn fritters, the crispy deep fried fish (of which you eat bone and all), the home cooked chilli sauce (not for the Swiss lad) and we tell you, the food was OUT OF THIS WORLD! It was a taste extravaganza! Dishes we have had before in Australia and elsewhere, but here they tasted so authentic, so astronomically delicious! And the cost of both our meals? A$5.50 total for both meals! Once again, following our instinct and taking the risk of experiencing the local food, at a local venue, has provided us with another experience of a life time! Thank you Warung Cobek, our Indonesia Food Safari just got better!

We found a new jewel in tropical paradise – Nook!

We had been told by our tour guide of the new excitement among the local foodies: a quaint location serving traditional Indonesian cuisine. This was confirmed by friends from back home we bumped into, early one morning on the beach (small world). Our moment had come! We waited till the sun had just waved us all farewell, and off we went, riding in the dim light of the early evening, down the all familiar road to the coast, and turned at the tiny sign, hardly visible, that we passed so many times, all it reads is: Nook. The instant we took the turn, we found ourselves on a magical, windy, single lane road, elevated over lush green rice paddies either side of us, and a cluster of lights in the distance, our destination! We arrived at the entrance of this little building, in the midst of vivid green rice plants. No walls to lock us out of these magical surroundings, no cars suffocating us with their exhaust fumes, only open windows allowing us to take advantage of the cleverly positioned flood lights cutting the darkness to reveal the serenity of the rice paddies. We chose to sit at a corner bench, on the edge of the building; it felt as if we were right in the fields themselves (luckily we had covered ourselves in plenty of mosquito repellent). The menu did present a couple of amusing surprises: Zurich Geschnetzeltes, Austrian Schmarren and a few other central European oddities. Don’t ask us who these dishes found their way here!? We chose the appropriate dishes: Nasi Kampur (selection of meats and veggie dishes with rice) and Ayam Betutu (Indonesian spiced chicken). Nothing short of amazing. After enjoying this feast we just had to order deserts, as darkness settled in in the distance, with only the lights from our magical castle giving some colour over the fields, crickets and frogs providing the right background music. We had Dadar Gulung, Indonesia’s favourite desert, which is warm pandan flavoured crepe, filled with fresh shredded coconut, sweetened with palm sugar syrup: decadent! This is a must for anyone who is on an Indonesian food safari, as these two lads are! We left with full bellies, departing the magical island and returning to the hustle of the main street, as if it all were a dream. We know we’ll find our way back again!

We found our “groove”

It has been 2 weeks since our arrival and it feels to us as if we have been here over a month. We have our routine: waking up with the sun rise and the roosters, working out by the beach, healthy Asian breakfast or cheesy omelette or just plain toast, deciding which beach to go to, exploring our surroundings, and just enjoying being here. Our neck pains, interrupted sleeps and very early rises… all gone! We are enjoying every minute of it and look forward to every minute to come.

“If anyone slaps you on the cheek, turn to them the other cheek also…” – don’t think so!?

These 2 lads are good Roman Catholic boys, even if the Roman Curia may not agree with our sexual orientation. Our growing up has been the usual Sunday church attendance and a healthy upbringing by our parents, with a good dose of Roman Catholic ideals. Part of this upbringing is not to lower yourself to the level of your enemies, rise above them. “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth…” being wrong and “… if anyone slaps you on the cheek, turn to them the other cheek also…” being the right behaviour as a good Catholic. That may be a very honourable ideal, but in a changed, overpopulated world, if you follow these beliefs by the letter, every day, you may end up at the end of the queue. Again, it may help that the teachings say: “…the first will be last and the last will be first…” but we say no! Not always is this the appropriate reaction! There are times when one has to make a stand. Never was this more appropriate then today. These 2 lads had a most relaxing day, partaking in some essential retail therapy, followed by a late afternoon visit to our old friend, the Mozaic Beach Club. Being Sunday, all the expats were in attendance, with their kiddies of all ages. The club was busy as never seen before. Not to worry, these two lads found themselves two sunbeds by the pool and enjoyed two Bintang beers, whilst jumping into the water to refresh. Later in the afternoon, we were asked if we wished to move to the front daybeds, facing the beach, and accepted to do so, as our area was being invaded by more and more expat families. During our process of assembling our belongings, three teenage boys on the way to the upstairs restaurant needed to get passed these 2 most attractive gay lads, and the smirk on their faces clearly reflected their retarded thinking. The passage way was obviously not wide enough for 5 people, hence either the 3 boys or the 2 lads needed to move. This Swiss lads is placid and docile as a calm hippo, headstrong as a mule, and oh so dangerous as an angry hippo, and will most certainly not move when our person or character is being challenged. The juveniles moved into a single file, once they felt their challenge was going to end in defeat. Their smirk of course unchanged. Water over a duck’s back for the Swiss lad, but fuel to the fire of the hot blooded Latino lad. The move to the front row daybeds was otherwise uneventful, except for the head turns caused as these two stunning lads glided effortlessly and full of style towards the top spot in the club, in their stunning shorts and fashionable sunglasses. The Latino lad was still fuming and the steam was clearly visible rising from his ears and nostrils. The diplomatic Swiss quickly ordered two more Bintang beers and redirected the conversation to the most stunning sun, lowering itself into the ocean. But a glance towards the 3 boys made the hippo turn! Their glare and smirk towards these 2 lads had not changed and they were oozing juvenile ignorance and disrespect. A hippo is as quick out of water as it is in it, and just as fierce once made angry. Sunglasses back on, suck that tummy in to look just as stunning and super ripped as possible, the Swiss hippo made the attack towards the unassuming boys. Upon reaching them it stopped right in front of them and uttered: “If you boys have a problem, you tell it to my face directly.” And placidly returned to its partner, as the parents uttered some questions towards their young ones. The two lads were quite happy having stood their ground and having made it clear that we shall not be rolled over or brushed aside. The Bintang tasted better than ever. Shortly thereafter, the mother of one of the boys, arrived, boys in tow, apologising for her juvenile delinquent’s actions and that they were not raised to act in such manner. The teenage boys were asked to utter an apology to these two lads! Victory never tasted sweeter, thinking at how they must have felt, hormones and all pumping through their bodies, being dragged by their mother to do so and having to apologies at a public place. Oh how we love not turning the other cheek all the time!