We spent most of the week out on the beach, but there were definitely some highlights other than getting tan and sipping cocktails. \u00a0One thing about staying at a resort is that you start to see familiar faces. \u00a0One family was headed by a guy that looked remarkably like Vin Diesel, and bossed around his kids like it, too. \u00a0Walking along the beach we saw a Japanese guy with his upper body completely covered by tattoos, right up to the wrist where he could hide them with long sleeves if necessary. \u00a0He had a completely shaved head, and walked around like he owned the place. \u00a0Maybe he did, but we figured he was a yakuza getting some time away from Japan.<\/p>\n
We also tried to get out from the bubble and explore other parts of Bali. \u00a0Our driver from the airport offered to take us anywhere we wanted to go for free, and not quite believing it we arranged a ride to a local restaurant with the hotel. \u00a0It cost us $20 to get a 15 minute ride to the restaurant. \u00a0The driver waited in the car outside while we went in and ate, and then drove us back. \u00a0The bill at the restaurant for both of us with drinks was only about $7, so it seemed pretty wasteful to use that service. \u00a0But the dinner was great, and we could use the Indonesian language that we studied and order successfully.<\/p>\n
We also went to Jimbaran beach \u00a0not far from our hotel. \u00a0We arrived via a free ride from our driver, who dropped us off at a restaurant and then drove away. \u00a0Jimbaran beach is lined with seafood restaurants. \u00a0People gather during the sunset to eat on the beach with sand between your toes and white sand stretching away for as far as you can see. \u00a0We finally settled on a restaurant that we liked with a seat under some shelter on a patio outside the restaurant. \u00a0Inside we chose our dinner, ending up with a lobster and two king prawns. \u00a0The system is to pay by weight before cooking, so we ended up paying quite a bit for the dinner, but it was a fun experience. \u00a0The only down side was the heat and the flies. \u00a0Between the two of them we couldn’t really eat at a slow pace and enjoy the meal as much as we would have liked. \u00a0After dinner we walked along the beach at sunset for a while and then headed on back to the hotel ahead of a tropical storm.<\/p>\n
It was rainy season in Bali, so there were often rainstorms that suddenly showed up, and then went away just as quickly. \u00a0Luckily you could hear them coming as they usually were preceded by thunder and some lightning. \u00a0We would just get under something for a while, and then we could go back out and walk around. \u00a0Even getting caught in the rain was a pleasant experience when the weather was so warm.<\/p>\n
On New Year’s Eve we were required to join a big party at the resort. \u00a0When we reserved our rooms the website said that all people staying at the resort on New Year’s Eve were required to pay the fee for dinner, and since we would be charged whether we attended or not, we decided to attend. \u00a0There was free champagne at an opening reception, and we mingled awkwardly with people that we didn’t know until it was time for dinner. \u00a0We were seated with the other Japanese guests, but that turned surreal when the family across from us turned out to be Chinese people that live in Japan, and next to me was the yakuza gangster and his wife\/girlfriend. \u00a0 He wasn’t so talkative, and I was just hoping I wouldn’t say something stupid after drinking too much champagne.<\/p>\n
The good news about the New Year’s bash was that we could enjoy a lot of traditional Indonesian food, including a spit roasted pig (yum!), and the quality of the food was excellent. \u00a0The Chinese family turned out to be really entertaining, and the yakuza left early. \u00a0We had a great time that night. \u00a0We left a little early since we had a bottle of our own sparkling wine chilling in the mini-bar in our room, and we ended up drinking that on the balcony and watching fireworks off in the distance. \u00a0We even took a slightly tipsy walk on the beach in the dark, but we made it back with to the hotel without any problems, unless you count a little beach sand on our floor. \u00a0It was a nice, relaxing New Year’s countdown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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