sapijantan: March 2015

...this time to Pekutatan in the West of Bali. We drove up to Blimbing and Sanda villages to see the rice terraces, but the mood was down coz Hang wasn’t briefed well enough on what to expect. The long roads were winding, and the villages around were poor. Not much to see but green forests and mountain ranges. I quite enjoyed the vistas but admit it was a bit grey, gloomy, and apart from landscape there was not much to experience while the kids were vomiting in the car and we were all hungry without finding a good place for the pick-nick to enjoy the noodle salad I had made. We had it at a local school with nearby dogs barking at us for half the hour. First highlight then on the way down to the west coast: Bunut Bolong, the split holy tree. After the photo stop we continues towards the coast, seeing Java at the horizon.

Rice fields around Blimbing Village

A temple ceremony observed near Pupuan Village

Me in front of Bunut Bolong Holy Tree …

still wearing the same shirt as on similar pictures taken in Bali 9 years ago …

We were rewarded at 4pm checking-in to our family suite at the beautiful Puri Dajuma Eco Resort. When the thunderstorm came up we moved from the pool to the bathtub and despite warnings to be careful Boi needed to hit the rim of the tub with his chin. So we spent the rest of the evening at the local Puskesmas (a medical station) where he fortunately got glued instead of stitched. The dinner as well as the breakfast at the resort were nice, and Hang and the kids played by the pool (Boi not in the pool) while I went to inspect the property with the manager in charge.

The boys and girl testing the tub …

… and exploring the family suite including all existing remote controls...

Hang in the hammock…

…and by the pool in her new bikni

The kids playing in the pool before we have to check-out

After check-out we went to see Rambut Siwih temple, and drove along the Gilimanuk-Denpasar route back to the south. A stop at Medewi point break revealed that there were no waves. We had a short stint to inspect the luxury Alila Soori and the boys liked the private pool villas while I found the atmosphere at the restaurant cool. From here, we drove through small villages towards Tanah Lot and Canggu and I got confirmed of what I had assumed: there is beautiful villages here, totally laid back, huge green paddy fields, long black-sand beaches and lots of traditional livelihoods, villages full of brick ovens, and an atmosphere that reminded me a bit of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Having said that, we decided to have a ‘Pho’ at the Vietnamese Restaurant in Kerobokan, with the result that we concluded never again to eat Pho or any other Vietnamese dish which has not been made by Vietnamese people.