It’s the Little Things

Greetings everyone. 

I know, I know, I kind of dropped off the face of the earth there for a while.  After I came back from Bali, I was beat.  The vacation was far too short and I should have taken off some time to recoup, but I didn’t.  I also got a terrible rash (on my face and neck, no doubt) which freaked me out and wore me out.  

I didn’t let that derail my vacation.  Tanya is allergic to everything, so she had enough medicine to maintain us both for the rest of the trip.  She even sent me back with additional meds.  I only missed one day of activities. 

We covered as much of Bali as was humanly possible in one week, but we still only covered a fourth of the area.  We had a good time doing it.  One day we went to the Gili Islands.  This proved to be a harrowing experience.  First and foremost, our transport driver who was tasked with getting us to the boat dock was CRAZY! 

He was weaving in and out, flashing the people in front of him and squeezing between cars on a two-lane highway.   There was a German newlywed couple in the van with us.  When the driver finally saw our terrified faces, he broke out laughing.  He said, “Driving here not like US and Germany.  Now you scared.”  WTF!! 

The Gili Islands were beautiful, but we quickly realized we should have stayed overnight.  The weather was perfect and the beaches were beautiful, but we had such a beautiful villa to get back to, we rushed the day.  But, any beach time is a good time and the drinks were amazing as you can see from the picture.  It’s the little things that make me happy. J

The next day our driver decided it would be nice to visit this coffee plantation that produced a coffee called Kopi Luwak (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak ).  At first we were excited and thought it would be nice to have some authentic Balinese coffee.  

The driver was describing the coffee and I thought I heard the word poop.  I thought it was a language barrier thing so I didn’t pay much attention. 

When we reached the destination, this nice old man started explaining to us how the coffee was made and showing us these strange looking animals.  The poop comment came again and this time I got it.  

These people were trying to tell me that there was a coffee that was the MOST EXPENSIVE in the world that was eaten by something called a Asian palm civet, digested through its intestines…intact, defecated, washed (thoroughly), sun dried, roasted and then brewed.  WTF are you talking about?!!

Tanya and I looked at this man like he had two heads.  What do you mean you want me to drink some coffee that has been pooped by a funny looking cat.  This is crazy.  What will people find next to get a thrill out of life?  Forgive me, but I like my coffee made the old fashion way.  I’m not going to drink some poop coffee AND pay a premium for it.  

What is wrong with people?  We left there with some regular old tea.  When we got back to the car, our driver was chuckling.  I know the locals made that crap up just to watch Westerners, with too much time and money on their hands, drink poop coffee.  LOL.

The last full day in Bali was a spa day.  Those of you, who know me, know that I will travel to the ends of the earth for a good spa.  The last day of any vacation I take is set aside as a spa day.  We spent our spa day at the Grand Nikko.  It was a good day, but I have had better.  However, any spa day is a good day.  

We ended the day at the Kayuputi restaurant.  It is one of the best in Bali.  We toasted our week…probably too much and then returned to our villa to finish packing.  Bali was a great experience, but it was definitely too short.  The experiences continue.

Della Rochelle

Copyright © 2014 by Della R. Williams