Day-6, Oct-15

We awoke to dawn at 5 am.  Repacking was a chore of 90 minutes.  At 7 am, the meeting time, Putoo our captain met us promptly.  Unlike other islanders, Putoo seemed to have his act together when it came to tourists.  He remembered all our names; he offered to carry things to and from the boat.  He offered breakfast onboard, even from one of his crewmen.  Today, we had 5 crewmen for 3 passengers.  Either counting was an inherent problem here, or they had nothing else better to do and came along and observed the interaction with the 3 tourists.  We learned more about Putoo on this second trip.  He stayed up past 1 am and watched the Evander Hollyfield boxing fight from Moscow.  I thought Hollyfield must have been too old to be a fighter.  Putoo then said he got up at 6am, cleaned the house, did laundry, and got the boat ready for us.  He was 36 years old, said he was happy with life, and said he rarely got upset or angry at anything anymore. 

Wanting to economize my time and eat breakfast enroute, I ate one of the crewman’s breakfasts as it was offered by Putoo as an ‘extra’ (later, I found out he made this as a concession to be kind or was simply another counting problem).  It was spicy chicken, with sweet beans, a few vegetables, peppers, and rice at the bottom.  The meal was wrapped in paper, and I began to eat like a taco the rice and beans just with my mouth.  Putoo gestured me to eat with my hand, I then made the mistake of easting with my left hand (not my right) and amused the crewmen.  It was mildly spicy, but fulfilling.

5 crewmen for 3 passengers.  They seemed to enjoy the experience.

We stopped at a different location on Gili Air today, the 5 crewmen and ladies departed for a breakfast on the island.  Under the presence of the nearby Lombok volcano, I snorkeled off the boat hoping to find the treasure of aquatic life from yesterday.  But, I just found giant blue starfish and one nice spot of coral with fish teaming.  I struggled with Par’s camera - he let me graciously borrow it again.  The breakfast party took more than an hour on Gili Air, mostly by the concept of ‘island time’ – meaning no hurry by the servers, thus eating up precious time as we had to get back by 10 am to settle charges, and load the boat for Bali.  We had time enough only for 15 minutes at our favorite location.  I decided to push it to 20 minutes since 15 seemed too short.  Kimiko brought some bread slices from their breakfast, so we used it to attract the fish – it really wasn't necessary. 

Blue starfish off Gili Air

We had a great time snorkeling and playing with the marine life, and the usually aggressive clownfish came up and almost faced me off protecting his territory.  I used the camera to capture some, but literally the fish were blocking the lens. 

Fish tornado off Gili Air

Life off Gili Air.  Clownfish on Patrol (lower right).

After 20 minutes, I got everyone out and we made a beeline for home base on Gili Trawangan and arrived at 10:05 am to make a 11 am departure on the larger boat.  After all the hustle, it turned out the land phone lines were dead on the island and we could not settle and pay our charges by credit card, which amounted to $450 for 4 nights accommodation, breakfasts, and transportation to/from Bali.  This alone would be only 1 night’s hotel room charge for oceanfront on Hawaii taxes not included.  This was well worth it, extremely exotic, and fulfilling.  Little did I know what lie ahead in Bali.

The crossing from the Gili’s to Bali was a rough one.  We had 18 people onboard from different places and ages, the boat about 30-40 feet long had two 250 horsepower outboard motors.  Kimiko and I found a spot near the bow, but were inside and covered.  .   Choppy whitecap waves hitting the bow gave those seated upstairs some spray.  However, the problem was the constant jarring, like being on both a roller coaster and rodeo bull at the same time.  Using GPS, I read the speed was about half the capable full speed.  The captain was going slower to avoid too much discomfort.  It felt like being inside a metal lunchbox that would be repeatedly slammed onto a table.  After an hour of this, the chop changed to large swells of 8 feet, and it felt like the floor fell out on us each time we crested.  Several times, we had to stop the motor and ride out a series of waves, the captain steering us as best he could through them.  People got sick (not in our group fortunately).  My arms had to stay next to my body as the slamming force kept them there.  People could not walk, except during a few pauses in the waves.  Par saw a shark fin on the surface and some dolphins.  I also saw a shark fin, but decided not to say anything during the violent part of our journey as it was hard to even talk.  On this 3 hour crossing, thoughts drifted to the seven of us getting tossed, and I wondered if we got shipwrecked, how we’d survive and who would be Gilligan.

The rough boat crossing to Bali makes walking difficult.

Once we got closer to Bali, the sea smoothed out and we were moving at full throttle.  2 hours, 45 minutes after departure, we arrive back at the same spot in Bali.  The same small launch boat ferried people and luggage to the dock.  Hawkers were again awaiting us, but were not nearly as aggressive since we were no longer ‘newcomers’ with our evident tans from the Gili’s.

We tried to settle our bill again with Manta, but here again the land phone lines were down.  We were kindly welcomed by a French person who transported us to Ubud, about 45 minutes north of the small port.  We did see the ubiquitous KFC and McDonalds in Bali.  Harley Davidson rear window signs and stickers seemed to be coveted by many.  As we got closer to Ubud, our destination, we started seeing some stone work that was amazing.  Stores with statues carved from stone lined the streets; it was solid statues for 2 blocks at one location which seemed to be the obvious headquarters for statuary.

As we pulled off the ‘main road’ and got closer, the roads were full of potholes.  Upon arrival at Villa Kirana, we were greeted by a friendly staff which numbered 10 and villa manager who showed us around.  We were speechless; the photo’s in the travel magazine and website did this place no justice.  Indoor and outdoor stones patios, decks, koi ponds, rock gardens, waterfalls, an infinity pool, stone walking paths and walls, accent lighting – all were impeccably arranged.  Teaming with sculptures, carvings, and paintings, no detail had been overlooked.  Even the doors were works of art.

Arrival at Villa Kirana

The bedrooms were all comfortable.  Tanya/Alan got the room above the pool, Par/Elizabeth got the room overlooking the valley.  Kimiko and I went for the room near the front door with marble outdoor bathroom and rock garden.  Kaori got the room above us with the artwork.

I felt like I was living inside one of those fancy travel destination magazines that sat on the front table – some had articles on this very place.  And this was just the beginning.  The staff, which included the #2 staff person, Made (pronounced Ma-day) were at our service constantly, even when we did not know it.  Lights were turned off and on, beds turned down and we didn’t see anyone enter the rooms.  

Bedroom overlooking valley

I started rumors of secret passages the staff used; it wasn’t too far off, the place was teaming with garden paths and walkways, so there was always an alternate path for the servants to use and stay out of sight.  I later found these very paths useful myself to get around the villa quickly.

Relaxing after the boat crossing to Bali

As if this wasn’t decadent enough, a staff of 4 masseuses were awaiting us and each gave us an hour long massage by the pool or in the bedroom.  Top quality house-call massages here put us back only $20 each.  Particularly interesting was the added scalp massage and chest or breast massage, the later probably would have risked a lawsuit if it were in the US.

Staircase leading up to two other master suites.

Foyer inside Villa Kirana

The cook, Mr Oka, prepared a special Indonesian meal.  Shrimp with red sauce, vegetables, and some type of fish cakes with spices were something where we demanded the recipe.  We opened a bottle of Pinot Grigio and sparkling wine we brought.  We ate up, and left little to remain, then discussed with the cook about the next day’s breakfast and dinner.  We told him to serve a larger quantity of food since we were hungry westerners.  We agreed on Balinese food the next night – the chef seemed to always have a very good sounding meal planned.  We later pleasantly learned Mr. Oka’s skill in southeast Asian and western food made him rank as a top quality restaurant chef.

I was overwhelmed by the place, and had trouble processing all this “new information” and making sense out of it.  On top of that, I had full day rising at 5 am , 2 snorkel dives, a total of 3 boat crossings - 2 in the morning to/from Gili Air, and the violent 3 hour crossing to Bali, then the impact of this luxury villa along with a full meal.  I fell asleep in the chair at 10 pm relaxing with our friends.  That night, I had one of those nights where I had a series of seemingly endless, long dreams – I almost felt 10 years older when I awoke.

Sunsets south of the equator - Bali, Indonesia

 

The doors were works of art in the Villa.