Days 4 and 5 (Tue/Wed) – Big Rain

(Jim) January and February are the rainy season here in Bali, and the forecast every day called for rain before we left. But Tuesday was the first day of rain we had. It started pouring at 3am, but luckily the kids slept until 5:45. Woo hoo! – maybe this is the end of jetlag. It rained off and on, so we still managed to get in a couple swims. I ran out to the market to get stuff for lunch in between rains, but caught in a torrential downpour on the walk back. Luckily the treats I found didn’t get wet. I had gone out in search of some peanut butter, which I found in a teeny jar. But I also picked up a jar of Nutella for our morning crepes, and some Cookie Crisp for the kids. It tasted a little different than the same brand in the States, but still a fun treat from home.

(Tina) We took advantage of the rainy day to do some school work and agreed that we would have “school” on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Sophie was so excited to do her homework that she did more than half of it already. Charlie colored and cut out several of his worksheets too. We’ll have to make up some lessons for them for the next few weeks. Eliot and Jim hung out in the hammock together doing spelling words while I figured out the math lesson. Fortunately the current math sheets were things he had learned already, but I’ll have to spend some time reading through the teacher’s plans before we move on so I can use the correct terminology.

There was plenty of leisure time today which was really nice. I read a lot and am thinking that the books I brought are probably not going to last our full vacation. Jim and Eliot painted with water colors upstairs while Charlie and Sophie drew and colored. Nothing keeps their attention like artwork which I love because they like to do it on their own. Sophie asked me to draw her a pony so I gave it a shot. She was trying to be polite when she said, “Mommy, do you think Daddy is a better drawer than you?” “Yes, I do.” “Me too. I’m going to ask him to draw me a pony now.” I thought mine was a fine pony but Jim is a tough act to follow. I’m ok with that.

(Jim) We decided to go out to dinner to a place we had been 10 years ago - Bebek Bengil. The name means “dirty duck” in Balinese, because they built the restaurant in the middle of some old rice fields and ducks came in from the fields before the concrete floor was dry. The dinner was great, except that I realized I’m not as limber as I used to be. We sat at one of those tables where you squat on a pillow around a low table. It took me a while and a few pillows to get comfy. Charlie and Sophie decided to go western style for dinner with Spaghetti. We order a traditional crispy duck over rice, and Eliot loved it. “Best meal ever” he said. I think it reminded him of carnitas. On the way home we counted geckos until we found a taxi – 23 was the total. Then we stumbled down the path by flashlight and were all in bed by 8:30.

Wednesday morning the weather was sunny, but not too hot right away. So we asked Made to see if Ketut could drive us over to Mas, the village of wood carvers. I figured this would be the place where the kids could see actually carving being done, and pick a good souvenir. Ketut drove us to a couple fancier places where they had a workshop and then a big showroom. The wood carving quality was really nice, with all types of subjects carved in ebony, hibiscus wood, and crocodile tree. The only downside is that the prices were pretty outrageous. Charlie almost bought a small carving of Ganesh (the Hindu god who looks like an elephant), but opted for a simpler gecko instead. Sophie picked up a bunny rabbit. Eliot eyed some large pieces, but we were swayed away by the cost. I figured we could find some cool items back in Ubud for cheaper.

After Mas, we stopped at an enormous, picturesque waterfall. It was a total tourist thing, but still amazingly beautiful. Charlie and Sophie wanted little fans to cool themselves and bought a couple from a lady in the market. On the way back, we were driving up the street in Mas and eyed some more carvings in more humble looking shops. Ketut pulled over and Eliot and I jumped out. He found a very detailed carving of Garuda, a winged Hindu god. He was proud, and advised Charlie and Sophie that it was fragile, because the lady in the shop wrapped it in paper.

After that little shopping jaunt, we were pretty beat. So we hit a very small restaurant (called a “warung” here) for lunch. We all had jaffles, which are these unique little pressed sandwiches. I would swear they were made from some old Ronco device, but I’ve never seen them in the States. We all had different ingredients, and nobody left a bite on their plates. It’s always a nice feeling when all the kids clean their plates. The rest of the day was pretty laid back – swimming and another fried rice dinner at home from Ketut.

(Tina) Wednesday – Some thoughts on outdoor living. Apparently we share this house with several others, but they aren’t paying rent. Ants, gnats, flies, geckos, snakes, spiders, millipedes, beetles, termites, mosquitoes, and BATS. After dinner last night, we were sitting at the table playing Crazy 8’s. The sounds of the night creatures came as the last bit of light left and it was noticeably louder within minutes. Jim and Eliot were both out of cards, so they sat on the edge of the porch watching the night come alive. They awed at the bats swooping to catch bugs, and flinched when one came a little close. The next thing I knew I felt a breeze in front of my face as a bat swooped into the kitchen! Let’s just say I used the Lord’s name in vain and cards went flying as I ducked under the table. (Jim: she really hit the deck – which was pretty funny for us all to reenact the next day!) OK, that was too close for comfort. I like that there are bats out there gobbling up thousands of mosquitoes, but they are supposed to stay “out there”, not “IN HERE” where we are! We grabbed the cards and finished the game on our bed and had some laughs at my reaction to the bat. I think the kids like to see me scared. Later when Jim and I were in bed, I noticed a pretty large gecko scurrying on our wall up by the ceiling. It was Jim’s turn to be freaked out this time.

We talked about how this place is a bit more rustic than we imagined and more than we’re normally comfortable with. Would we recommend it? Yes, but going through a list of friends and family in my head, I was hard pressed to think of many who would love this place like we do. Yes, the bedrooms have four walls, a ceiling and air conditioning, but just about anything can easily get in or out, and we’ve heard that termites are a problem around here and make the houses pretty much disposable. This one was built in the 70’s but I don’t know how long they usually last. The fruit bowl on the kitchen counter has ants and gnats galore, but we don’t mind at all when we get that huge platter of fresh fruit salad that Ketut makes for us every morning. We have a bathroom and a shower, and it’s pretty much outside, so you never know if a gecko will be checking you out while you’re taking care of business. Tiny ants might check out your toothbrush if you leave it on the sink. The kids have their own bathroom off of their room too, so that feels like a luxury even if we do have to wipe our feet upon reentering the bedroom. The path down to the house is enough to rule out several people as good health and good knees are a must just to get here. A lightening bug visits the kids’ room almost every evening, but we just shoo it out. It actually has a really cool green glow, so it’s fun to watch. I thought they might be distressed about the wildlife, but they seem un-phased. This from Eliot who had to be bribed with Legos to get him to eat outside this summer for fear of bees. Just when you think you know your children, they surprise you. And just when we think we know ourselves, we’re surprised too. Yes, I’m afraid of a lot of things, but the magic of this place somehow makes that not matter at all.