Accommodating Vs. Wanting Trip

Sunday, July 8

It’s too late. I have to be in the trip since Seth has arranged bigger car to accommodate me. It was a nice morning that suddenly I felt like to be just around Ubud. The prospect to be in the car the whole day didn’t appeal to me at all. But of course, I have to go.

It took an hour to get the group ready. I don’t complain. I know how to handle the situation now. I took the time to grocery shopping and had a nice breakfast in their hotel. I told everybody to relax because we had no schedule. Actually, I felt just enough to listen to constant discussion about who’s taking charge :-)

We spent another hour in downtown Ubud for money changer and ATM, and of course shopping stops. We all bought dress and shirt. And we made another stop at Pallava to get Henry a big box of name card holder for memento. We were high when we were off Ubud. Everybody was in good mood. Fun!

We had lunch an hour later in Kintamani by Batur Lake. It was cold although the sun shining brightly. Before too long, we were in the discussion again what’s the next stop. I forgot my Bali travel kit: sarong for visiting temple, so I just bought my 100th sarong in front of Penulisan Temple. The temple is special because it claims to be the highest temple in Bali. Sure we found out right away, we had to climb about 300 stairs to get to the top. I like the feeling of real old temple. Empty but.. heavy in a way. There were many old statues wrapped in white cloth in the waist that makes it felt more sacred. It’s a nice experience of both climbing the stairs and feeling to be in an old place.

And, discussion again. Lighter though. I cut it short by asking what if we stop at Beji Temple, is it on the way? Yes. Off we went to the interesting temple in north Bali. Made who took us is an easy person too, I’m glad. He is typical Balinese driver cum guide, easy to accommodate 1001 needs.

Of all temples I’ve been, Beji Temple is the best (photo above). It’s just perfect and has aura. Again, it’s an old temple that reminds me of lady temple – Banteay Srei – in Cambodia with reddish brick and intricate carvings. It’s sooo beautiful. And the old frangipani trees make the whole complex really special. This is place where I could just sit and close eyes as long as I could. It’s the highlight of the day, I feel.

More discussion. This time I took charge. Mariko indicated that she wanted to go to waterfall which is a bit off the way. I wanted to see Symon’s studio in Alasari, up north. Good Seth said it. It’s better to meet an interesting character than waterfall so we drove 12 km further to get Symon’s studio.

I hadn’t met Symon since the opening of Pallava in 2005. I knew, he recognized me but where? Symon talked about his work right away, his way, very interesting. His unusual characters entertained everybody. You would not meet such characters often in your life. I simply love Symon. We stayed only less than half an hour. Apparently he was not in the mood to meet people because if he were, he could keep us for hours. Later before I left he said that he hardly recognized me because I looked younger, more beautiful, and.. happier. As a woman, of course I'm happy to hear the first two, but the latter has made my day. I am happier now!

Everybody was happy continuing the trip. We still had two hours in the car. We made another stop though – dolphin stop – a place where we could see dolphin jumping in the sea. It was a nice sunset. I helped Henry to negotiate a big shell with the vendor, not with Shi. They had a long discussion that I pulled myself out. Henry was happy to get the two shells he really liked and shared me one nice silvery one I held while negotiating. Later Henry and I talked in the car about male-female negotiation. I learned a lot from the trip about this kind of conversation where both parties want to accommodate each other's needs. It’s kind of tiring because usually one party doesn’t tell the other what (s)he actually wants but trying to accommodate the other. Hagggggle..

I also enjoyed Singaraja, the second largest city in Bali, as we passed just before dark. Mariko read the brief history of the place like usual. We did this in turn during the trip, to be a tour guide (from book). The city is big and neat. It has wide boulevards and nice old Dutch houses. I wonder how people make money in the area, they don't look poor but definitely lead a simple life. I want to return to the city someday and stay in an old house-hotel I saw many along the main road. It must be fun to be in other world but still in Bali.

We got the villas around 19:00 after long and winding road. More discussion as the owner didn’t expect to see the group that early and that many. I just sat and listened. It’s fun. The owner is a 70-year old lady from Australia who has lived around the world all her life. She was another strong personality but it’s good for managing people. I smiled a lot listening to the long discussion. It was tough as the lady has only 7 villas.

I decided to stay to have dinner before off to Ubud. The driver too needed rest. It was a very nice dinner cook by a cook who was specially called from home to cook for us ha ha. In Bali, everything is flexible and negotiable. It’s good!

Driving back is not as scary. Made is a really good driver. He knows his car and the winding road. I was happy to see Mengwi in an hour. I felt like we’re in the neighborhood already, and yes, just before midnight I had sit on my desk again. What a long day with adventure! I enjoyed every second.