Morning Of The World

One of the guide books we found at the hotel calls Bali "morning of the world". The good thing is, The Man is lying on the bed with his headphones on, singing along with the Loving Spoonfuls. I call out for him to stop his wailing for fear of waking the neighbours. It's way past midnight. But he does not hear me. Too bad I don't have a tape recorder.

We arrived in Bali yesterday. It is just as hot and humid here as in Jakarta. People tell me this is the cold season. How can that be when the temperature is 28C and 100% humidity? We landed in Kuta and a car took us to Seminyak. The hotel we are in is a charming, rustic, clean villa with a swimming pool in the courtyard. Apparently, the owner of this hotel is Dutch. His wife stays in Bali to run the hotel while he drums up business back home. That explain why there are so many retired Dutch couples here, who stay for one to six months at the hotel.

We are two minutes from the Indian ocean. Frangipani trees with fragrant flowers are everywhere. The flowers are like a gift from the gods to Bali. People collect the flowers and put them in little dishes of water, tuck them in their hair, lay them on a window ledge, decorate the breakfast table. There is a refined sense of simplicity and elegance everywhere. I can hear years from now, people lamenting the days long gone when frangipani flowers covered the ground and scented the air.

This morning, we took a walk along the beach, turned up a road, and walked on the narrow, winding street. But every opening from this lane leads to a restaurant, gallery, spa, or beautiful resort, and even a paddy field. We visited a resort that was right out of the pages of Architectural Digest, at only $180 a night. Our hotel is only $25 a night, which includes airport transportation, daily cleaning, free remote internet access, and daily breakfast. But I digress.

Along the street, we came upon a spa that looked clean and had a wide front. We stopped to look at their services. Immediately, a woman came out to solicit us, persuading us that we really needed a massage. We went in and were rewarded with a one-hour massage each, in the same room. I objected to undressing in front of The Man and was immediately offered a separate room. But it wasn't The Man I objected to, it was the presence of strangers. The two masseuses left the room to give us privacy. Who knew I was so uptight? But I have decided I must have several massages before leaving Bali.

Then in rained and thundered the rest of the day. In this rain, we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant H recommended. It is a gorgeous place, sitting in the middle of nowhere, facing the ocean. Too bad the food isn't better. But here too, the view is well worth the price of admission. We had missed the sunset because of the rain. The Man liked the restaurant so much we made reservations to come back for dinner tomorrow. It's his birthday.