Day 3 (Monday) – Damn Roosters

(Jim) The kids came barging in our room at 4am saying “Daddy, the rooster crowed! That means it’s morning! Mommy said we could get up when the rooster crowed.” Actually she said they could get up when the sun came up (closer to 6am). Apparently the roosters want to get a head start because it was only 4am when they started. Ugh. I went ahead and woke up with them so Tina could get a little more sleep.

Eliot and Sophie colored while I relented and was Charlie’s accomplice on the gecko hunt. I remembered those old “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” shows when I was a kid. Marlin Perkins always talked to the camera while Jim went out to wrestle the lion. Anyway, as Charlie directed, he got up on my shoulders so he could corner this tiny little gecko near the rafters. It was quite a sight! We finally knocked him onto the floor, and by the time Charlie dismounted from daddy, the gecko scurried under the bed. We tried a few more tricks with the geckos out on the porch, but to no avail. Maybe next time.

Ketut came over about 7 and made us a big fruit bowl followed by crepes for breakfast. The kids chowed and she was so happy to see them love her food. I could get used to sitting on the patio while someone makes Balinese coffee, tropical fruit and crepes!

We decided to walk all the way to Monkey Forest Road in the morning. I figured that we could walk the kids progressively farther each day without them complaining as much. Well, that was the thought anyway. Monkey Forest Road is about a mile long from one end to the other, lined with cafes and shops, ending at the Monkey Forest on the south end. We stopped at the first restaurant on the north end for drinks. It was still morning, but walking in the heat takes a toll and mango lassis called our names. While we were sitting there, we noticed one of the waitresses folding intricate decorations out of palm leaves. Eliot loves doing paper construction, so we walked over to check out her work. She happily showed them how to fold the leaves, and gave Eliot, Charlie and Sophie each one. Eliot beamed when the waitress said that her name was Wayan, too.

After drinks, we started visiting some shops on our way down to the Monkey Forest. I think maybe the kids were already a little worn out, or maybe overloaded. The shopping didn’t go so well. They wanted everything and kept picking on each other. So we decided to split up with Charlie and I going down to the Monkey Forest, and Tina, Sophie and Eliot shopping a bit more, then swimming.

So Charlie and I headed down the road to the Monkey Forest. We politely said no to the many drivers who asked us if we wanted transport. And we giggled at the carved, painted wooden penises in one of the shops. As we got closer we saw the monkeys at the entrance. Charlie was a little bit nervous after hearing stories of that monkey climbing up Aunt Linda’s dress to grab her bag of peanuts. We steered clear of the first family of monkeys who seemed to be guarding the entrance statue. Then we marveled at 20 or so monkeys wandering around loose on the path. Tourists were buying bananas and holding them over their heads so the monkeys would climb up and get them. Not us. We walked through, alternately switching from amazement to fear. We walked down a cool set of stairs that led through an enormous banyan tree and to a stone bridge over the river. On the other side of the bridge was a sunken pool with a statue of Ganesh and another awesome banyan tree. A group of tourists approached me and asked if they could take a picture with Charlie. I think the only English words they knew were “so cute!” They must not see too many cherubic blonde boys in Jakarta. Three broadly smiling girls each took a photo!

After our fill of monkeys and mid-day heat, Charlie and I grabbed some food from a market and found a taxi back to the house. After lunch and more swimming, the girls went out for pedicures while the boys and I ventured back out for ice cream. We stopped at a shop on the top of the hill and successfully ended the hunt. Charlie bought a small hand made beaded gecko keyring which will soon be proudly displayed on his backpack. Eliot really wanted to spend some of the shopping money, too. But the beaded things that he liked in that shop were a little bit pricey. I advised him to wait and see what else there was. Wood carvings, painting, and fabrics are so inexpensive here. (We won’t be buying any wooden phalluses!)

Back at the house, we swam yet again, before Ketut came over to make a big fried rice dinner. The kids all stayed awake during dinner tonight, so maybe the end of jetlag is in sight!

Time to post to the blog again. We probably won’t write this every day. It’s really new now, but I expect we’ll have lots of similar days swimming, exploring, and eating. I still can’t believe that we are going to be here for 28 days. Holy cow! How did we wrangle such an amazing home away from home!