Friday 22 January 2016

Seminyak and local friends

Seminyak is just up the coast from Kuta and is quieter but possibly more smoggy along its main road. The beach is lined with lovely places to have a drink and the sand is light, fine and feels delicious between my toes. 


The little white bits in the photo are tiny little shells that look like small butterflies. These give the sand a kind of magic so I took one with me ;) 




Bare feet in the sand feels sooo good! 


I am approached only once on the beach here by a chap that thinks my life would be better with a small carved elephant. While he maybe right, I am not keen on carrying a lot of souvenirs around and so I politely decline, twelve times in total. As he walks away I can hear him still talking about the benefits of the little statues. 

And then it started raining! In Bali, rain is quite something to watch and so I sought sanctuary with a view and sat safely and dryly under a nice plastic roof. There I had a delicious fruity drink and some yumminess pudding made with I'm not sure what but which I was assured had no gluten in it. . 


Reni Reni Reni

Reni is the queen of couch surfing. She has hosted over a hundred guests which in my book makes her just about the most social person I have ever met and her naturally friendly nature really made me instantly at ease so I can see how she would make a great host. When the rain has stopped we meet just round the corner from my bar on the beach. She is with a CS guest she is hosting, Annabel from New York, and one of her friends, Dian who can speak 7+ languages. Their English is pretty much perfect and they suggest dinner, since the unusually overcast nature of the day means that watching the sunset at the beach isn't going to happen. They are on scooters and so I hop on the back of Reni's and off we go to a little local place she recommends.  This is my second trip on a scooter and this time I am nothing like as protected as the first but I trust Reni's judgement :) 

The restaurant looks a bit like an open fronted UK greasy spoon. We take a seat at the open end of the cafe and are brought menus. 



The menus are full of things I have never had and at Reni's suggestion I have the water lilies and rice. We get the drinks from a juice bar across the street as a takeaway and bring them back to our table. Omg! This is incredibly delicious and by a long way the best tasting meal I have had on Bali so far. The whole thing comes to 33 000 Indonesian rupies which works out to just over £2. It's easy to see how moving here wouldn't be the worst financial decision In terms of cost of living. :) 


We chat about life in Bali and their plans for future travel. Annabel is clearly very taken with them and speaks about her couch surfing experiences as the highlights of her trips :) We look up where to go after, since I have no Helmet I would have to taxi there because the local police will on the spot fine you for not wearing a Helmet. The local kareoke bar is full as it is Friday night and so reluctantly I decide that since I feel incredibly tired, after only having 3hrs sleep the last few nights, that I would return to my part of Kuta and get some rest. After such a lovely dinner out with these ladies I really do hope that I meet them again and our various travel paths cross around the globe :) 

I return back to my hotel happy but so sleepy that I fall into a deep sleep almost on entering the room. When I woke up, I had to check I had properly shut the door. ;) 

Jet lag is still effecting me and I wake up 4hrs later unable to sleep again and so I write up my experiences into my blog and once again fall back asleep with my phone on my face. Tomorrow I am going to be tired but tomorrow I also have to leave Bali in the evening to go to New Zealand and the next stage of my trip. I feel a sense of reluctance. It really feels like a very special place and the people's religious devotion only adds to the charming nature. I know I will be back. 

No comments:

Post a Comment