I am referring to the end of the trip, of course. I haven't joined some doomsday cult in the last few weeks. Phil on the other hand... I'd ask him to contribute to this post, but he's chanting in the corner...
We're a mere two weeks from hitting Australian soil. Where did the last 5 and a half months go??? Seriously, it feels like it's just evaporated. I'm really glad I kept the blog, or I would have no idea where the time actually went for all those weeks and months.
I met a ex-Sydneysider the other day who now runs a shop in Bali called Enfants de Paradis and we were talking about longer stays in Bali. She asked me whether having months away from work and everyone and everything has made me see the world in a new light. I think it has and it hasn't. A little cryptic? What I mean is that, sitting here, typing this, I don't feel like me or my world view has drastically changed. I mean I feel oodles more rested and energised, but not altered. I thought I might get inspired by a more eastern approach - you know, yoga and meditation and such, but no, it just didn't take.
But, in the past, each longer trip I've taken has changed my outlook in various ways and I think this trip will be the same. I guess I'm convinced that I will have fundamentally changed somewhat for having done this trip, but right now I'm not sure how...
...
As is the case at the end of every single overseas trip I've ever done, I'm really looking forward to going home to cook. This week I've downloaded Jamie Oliver's app, the sustainable seafood guide and something called 'Ask the butcher'. This desire for home cooking usually lasts about a week after I get home and then it's back to status normal (ie. I will only contemplate cooking food that takes less than 15 minutes of active participation by me - prepping and/ or cooking). But this time will definitely be different - so she says now.... In the meantime, Phil and I have been eating out as usual... it's a little hard to cook in Bali since we have no oven or stovetop, so it's either go out to eat or eat sandwiches at home (which we also do a bit).
Since we came back from the Europe leg, we've been mostly vegetarian and eating mostly... veggies. The best places for veggie-heavy meals are Warung Ocha and Zula's vegetarian paradise (my new favourite. Oh it is so good - they make this pita with avocado, cherry tomatoes, olives and a healthy dose of zataar - it could kill you with goodness). So we've pretty much condensed the "where should we eat today" conversation to "Zula or Ocha" over the past few weeks. The two places are literally 30m away from each other, so no need to rush that vital decision... Come to think of it we should find some more creative way to choose between the two like a special vegetable divining stick made of carrot. I digress...
On 7 February, it was our 2.5 year anniversary (awww...) so we decided to try a more upmarket lunch than usual and headed out to what i think is a newish place called Mama San, a pan-Asian lounge/bar restaurant with a very funky wine display and super lush aged leather couches as chairs. It's a place that would be right at home in Melbourne, except in Melbourne there would be lines of people waiting to get in, even on a random Wednesday lunchtime whereas here we pretty much had the place to ourselves.
It reminded me of a way upmarket Miss Chu in Exhibition St for those who know it. The food was great - we had some small bites of dim sum, steamed barramundi, steamed snapper dumplings followed by a roast duck salad and a turmeric fish salad (would you believe there was not one single friggin vegetarian dish on the menu - ah well, ce la vie, it was a special occasion). We had to take away an entire dish because there was too much, but it was all very delicious and reasonable (cheap for Australia, pricey for Bali). And funky. Made me feel almost like being at home - until we finished up and walked out into a searing heat and humidity that almost melted my face off!
I had thought in our last weeks here, there would be a flurry of "one last time" visits to our favourite places - shops, cafes, beaches etc. And there are one or two places that I'd like to go "one last time" - especially in the massage/facial department. But it's been fun to discover a few new places in our final weeks. Just around the corner from Mama San, we saw a cute little local warung tucked away called Bambuku (on Jl Sunset near corner of Jl Raya Kerobokan) and tried it out the next day. It was some of the best (and cheapest) Indonesian food I've ever eaten in Bali. We went for a late breakfast and discovered that its a Padang place which means it serves food that is already prepared laid out in dishes at the front of the restaurant - like a buffet, but you pay (a small amount) per dish. I ate some salad thing with quail eggs in it that was just incredible. And the tofu "meatball" salady thing. Yummo. I can't believe it's taken until now to find this little gem. Just for the sake of reference, our two heaving plates and fresh juices equated to about 7 visits to Mama San. Sooo cheap.
And that evening we finally tried a great looking warung just around the corner from us called Bamboo. I'd wanted to try it out before as the emanating smells were often delicious, but it seemed to be take away only... that is until we uncharacteristically walked past it on the other side of the street and spied the second storey dining room. Doh! But for the second time that day, we were eating Indonesian food that made you sigh with satisfaction. It's funny what you can discover after cumulative months in a place.
I hadn't intended for this to be a foodie post - I blame my newly-refound passion for cooking. For a change of scene - and to distract us from the unaboidable lament of counting down our final Bali days (aaaarrgghhh, noooooo), we've decided to board a boat tomorrow morning and set sail for Nusa Lembongan, a small island nearby for a couple of nights of beach, sand, sun and snorkelling. I know you're thinking - more boats? She hated (and I mean HATED) the boats to and from Lombok. Yes, I did. I spent every second waiting for a deep ocean leak following by sinking and death... But this trip is only 25 minutes across and while I'm sure I'll cling onto the sides for dear life for every one of those 25 minutes, it's manageable from a psychological trauma perspective or so I tell myself now. The person one should feel sorry for is Phil, because although he may want to tell me that we're perfectly safe and to stop crying, for the love of god stop crying!!!!! He doesn't. He gets to hold my hand and smile at the other passengers so they don't think we're BOTH deranged. Ah happy days.
So anyway, from tomorrow we may be harder to reach for a few days, but rest assured we will be safe and well and hugging onto our denial that "megatrip" is almost done.
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