Days 10 to 14

My first update in several days.  Days 10-12 were spent at Agung Bali Nirwana, but it rained most/all of these days.  We managed to make the best of it by enjoying quiet time reading on the patio, and having massages.  Not a bad way to exist if you ask me.  We also enjoyed watching HUGE waves and the wind was incredible.  One evening the waves were so massive that we were forced out of the restaurant by the waves crashing into the restaurant!

On Friday morning, we left Agung Bali Nirwana, headed for our final destination, Villa Bukit Naga in Gianyar.  The trip was beautiful along the way, but we also saw quite a bit of road damage from the rainstorms of the prior days.  We were told the roads over the mountains were closed by mud slides, so we went again along the coast...past Amed and Candidasa.  All together, it was perhaps 3 hours drive, made a bit longer by the fact that we had some trouble finding the villa.  Finding it was definitely worth it, though!  It is by far the nicest place we are staying at this trip, although all three places have been special in their way.

Upon arrival at the villa, we were greeted by the staff and given the tour...after touring all the villas, each family selected the rooms they wanted and we settled in.  My family got the master bedroom (which has an attached child's bedroom), and a second king sized bedroom...this one with a gorgeous outdoor shower.  The plan was for my son to have the second king bed, my daughter to sleep in the child's room (oversized twin bed), and for my husband and I to share the master.  It hasn't worked out quite the way we planned....my son wanted someone with him (my husband) and my daughter quickly crawled into bed with me.  Some photos:

Door to the master bedroom

Staircase to the master bedroom

Indoor dining

 Breakfast outside....

Outdoor seating area off the master bedroom

Pool

Child's bedroom off master

Master bedroom dressing area....truly stunning...

Master bedroom....with my daughter

The first night, we had a Balinese Rice Table for dinner....if the skills shown during that meal were any indication, we are in for a treat with this chef!

The next morning, the women in our group had an early start as we had 9 am appointments at the Iman spa.  I have been looking forward to this treatment nearly since we began planning this trip...the famed Nyomen was to be our therapist for an "intuitive" massage.  I am pleased to report that it was every bit as good as I thought it would be.  Indeed, it may well go down as one of the best massages I've ever had...and I've had a few.   I also had a facial, and while this was "ok" it was not nearly of the caliber of the massage with Nyomen.

After our massages, we had lunch at Bridges in Ubud.  It was "relatively" expensive by Bali standards, but for the quality we received, it was still a great value...I had a beet and goat cheese soup and some delicious calamari.  Total cost was around $17 US.  But, it was San Francisco quality...and had I been there, I would have easily paid much more than that.

We spent the afternoon visiting the Bali Bird Park, which was small, but very well done.  Many amazing birds that I had not seen before.  We then returned to the villa and then enjoyed a lovely dinner.  This time, we had pork ribs and tuna steaks.  Yummo.

On Sunday, my husband and I went for an early shopping excursion into Ubud....mostly to have a llook at the various arts and crafts produced in this area.  We also stopped by the Monkey Forest...the monkeys were cute and numerous.  We also enjoyed the garden like atmosphere of the forest...no monkeys jumped on us, but then we heeded the advice of not having bananas or anything else that they might find interesting.  We did see one mama with a pair of tiny babies...awfully cute.

After wandering the forest, we walked up Monkey Forest Road, stopping to browse the many shops along the way. I purchased a few items, and I'm certain I got completely ripped off price wise, but I truly do not care.  I walked away with things I enjoyed at excellent prices.  :-)  While we waited for our transport back to the Villa, we found a wonderful little chocolate shop across from the Nekker Gallery on the main drag of Ubud...Kue.  My husband and I enjoyed a gluten free chocolate cake that was divine.  Worth the stop for sure!

Yum!

We enyjoyed a light lunch at the villa, and had a bit of a relax before my daughter and I set off on what may be the highlight of the trip for me.  We had made arrangements to spend a couple of hours at an English language school in Ubud.  I had read about this school on the TripAdvisor Bali forum, and it sounded like an opportunity we would remember forever.  It wasn't far from our villa, but the driver had to stop several times to ask local people the location...winding through the back roads of Ubud was an education in itself...we were off where most tourists ever go, and saw the way the people of the area really live.  We were about to declare defeat and call the teacher when we saw a group of children with English language papers in their hands...and sure enough they were students of Ms. Wayan Pasek.  They happily ran ahead to show us their school.

It is hard to describe in words what the afternoon was like.  The children's faces and warm smiles made the long trek from the United States worth it.  This is a special school for them....they attend regular school Monday-Saturday, and yet willingly come for this class on their only "free" day.  They were enthusiastic and attentive...my own children could learn much from their desire to learn in conditions and with materials far less attractive than school children in the United States.

We helped with two different classes...a younger class comprised of mainly 9 and 10 year olds, and an older class of mainly 11-13 year olds.  It was the perfect age range for my 12 year old daughter, who was a bit overwhelmed at first and a bit nervous, but soon found herself immersed in the experience.  What I also found interesting was that many children from the class opposite class stood at the windows and doors during the other class, soaking in all the knowledge they could.  Loved it.

My daughter with the teacher...

The children asked us questions about where we were from, our ages, our family and other similar questions.  They introduced themselves to us, and then it was on with the day's lesson..."The House" and items in the various rooms of the houses.  We got to lead them in proper pronunciation of the words.  They then did a paper and pencil exercise, and we got to be the "teacher" correcting the papers after they were finished.  They gathered around us waiting not so patiently for the chance to have "Mrs Rose" (their words for me) put a little smiley face on their paper.  The whole thing came too quickly to an end...I know it is something I will do again when I return to Bali...and would recommend the same to any other visitor.

We returned the villa for another delicious dinner...chicken curry, vegetables (always an interesting thing!) and mixed sates, topped by a creme caramel for dessert.