5.40am
*knock knock knock knock*
Who in the world could that be? I heard him responded, "Ya ya..."
"Eh, it's 5.40am adi. My alarm didn't ring!"
Again?? He hurried off to the bathroom and got himself changed. Within 5 minutes, he emerged.
"Your turn. Late late late... "
Groan.. it was still too early. I mustered enough energy to get myself out of bed and made a quick use of the toilet. Dashed out of the toilet, grabbed my bag and hurried off to the lobby. We were supposed to meet at 5.45am.
I arrived fashionably late (only 15 minutes lah). I smiled apologetically and the faces that greeted me seemed forgiving enough. *phew*
With another couple from France, we made our way to the beach with a local guide. What could possibly motivate us out of bed at wee early hours in the morning?
They pushed and heaved.. and heaved and pushed...
We got on board (puffy eyes sooo distinguished! Eyes so small-hardly can be seen!)..
DOLPHIN WATCHING!!
If you just have the dolphins in sight, it was truly a wondrous experience. To see the school of dolphins emerging on the surface of the sea in synchronized harmony, occasionally disrupted by one or two more playful/cheeky dolphins gave an unexplicable contented feeling. But once the eyes drifted above sea level, the surroundings at that time spoilt whatever connections one may feel to nature. Boats boats boats and MORE boats everywhere! :( All in search for the dolphins. Sigh... it was a long Raya holiday after all.
2 hours later, we found ourselves back in our cottage, well-fed to a simple American breakfast of two poached eggs on top of two toasted bread, served with a side of strips of bacon and grilled tomato, complete with freshly brewed Balinese coffee and a plate of local fruits. Simple yet tasty!
The morning was still young, the sun has just made her presence. Not to waste a perfect morning, we hired a small boat and went snorkelling. The site that we went to was only about 10 minutes boat ride away from the shore... much to our surprise, the waters were still relatively shallow being so far away from the shore and *crystal* clear. Different sorts of colourful fishes were sighted in abundance - clownfish, sweetlips, damsel, parrotfish, angelfish... aahh.. a wonderful array indeed! It felt like being transported to a whole new underworld altogether - I can't wait to be able to start diving again. (Since we both don't have underwater camera, no photos were taken :s)
Our 'captain' of the boat, cum photographer.
All smiles after a satisfying 45minutes snorkel.
Proof to show that it was winddyy!
Just *us* directed by our captain. :p
Being cheeky..
"I'm hungry everytime after swiming", he said.
Okay dear, it's time for lunch!
Banana + Pineapple Lassie (yogurt) - energy packed drink to replenish the morning's 'workout' :p (It appeared as though we had forgotten that we had a hearty breakfast earlier!)
Crispy sweet onion rings - ooh lala!
Club sandwich - fried egg, lettuce, ham, tuna, cheese, buttered and slapped with mayo sandwiched between 3 slices of toasted bread and served with fries..
He never forgot his beer. Bali Hai brand tasted sweet and easy to the palate; like a slightly stronger version of Jolly Shandy. Clearly this was a far out disgrace to a well versed beer drinker - He grumbled he was cheated with watered down beer :p
Exhausted and full, we took a long nap thereafter. Zzzzzzz.....
"Wanna go cycling?" he suggested. "We can hire a bike, cycle to this place about 7km away, have ourselves a nice dinner by the beach and cycle back".
Sounds cool :) "OK!"
We grabbed our gears (passport, wallet AND the bulky cameras) and off we went to find ourselves bicycles. Available for rent at a cheap rate of under RM20 per bicycle (canggih mountain bike, mind you!) for the entire day, we took the offer immediately and made our way to the place he mentioned. Time check: 6.00pm
The sun was to set soon - perfect time to take the camera for a journey.
A cycling we will go, a cycling we will go..
Taking a quick rest halfway.. and many more for quick clicks!
Cocaine plantation
Along the beach..
Through smaller villages (I bet the top chicken was having a ball of its time laughing at the fact that it was still freeeee)
Black pigs
However our cycling trip didn't go as well as it was planned. Here was what happened. It got dark, and darker, and darker.. and we have yet to arrive at our destination. How in the world were we going to cycle back in a street that was poorly lit, in a non-lit bicycle with just reflectors on the pedals? It was obviously dark then, let alone after dinner!
"Are we there yet?" Like an annoying kid, I kept asking intermittently.
We pedaled and pedaled.. the journey got too long to feel right. He finally asked, "Pak, nak pergi tempat ni macam mana?"
"Oh. Sudah lepas tu!! Kena pusing balik, dekat 1km sampailah tu". A passerby answered.
Groan.. so we were off by 1km! We turned back and finally found the place we were to have our dinner.
"I think we had better head back and have dinner back near the cottage. It would be far too dangerous to be riding in pitch darkness later." The rational head spoke.
I fully agree. And so we cycled all the way back at fastest time possible, still within the speed of what one would deem safe. Arrived back breathless, tired, and hungry, we covered 16km just within an hour and a half including the initial few stops for photography. I slipped off the bike, heart pumping and legs jittering. Time check: 7.15pm
"Dinnneerrr!!"
"Where do you want to go to, dear?"
"Anywhere neeaarrrr.... "
"Okay. Same place as last night?"
Hmmm.... that required a bit more walking but then again, there's the only place with a live band. Ahhh.. alrightey! I am sure I could muster enough strength for a few more extra steps.
But as we walked towards that place, we passed by a cafe just 50m away from the beachfront. In their "Today's Special" chalkboard enacted right at the doorstep, something caught our eyes - "Grilled Fish". What I envisioned was grilled whole fish (with heads and tails intact) barbequed over charcoal the way the locals do it, served with the authentic Balinese sauce & kicap manis; an item they didn't have at the cafe yesterday.
He looked at me and we knew we had the same idea in mind :)
"Pak. ada ikan bakar?" he asked the waiter.
"Ada.... "
"Bakar stail Bali? Tak mahu stail orang putih. Whole fish, not fish fillet. Balinese sauce, not tomato ketchup".
"Ya... ya... memang ada. Mari masuk."
And so we were led to a nicely setup table for two.
"Pak beritahu dulu.. hari ini, ikan bakar set IDR48000 sudah finish. Kita ada set IDR100,000 tapi itu pun sudah finish... now left set IDR120,000 saja. Last piece!! Enough for two!"
He saw our doubtful looks to which he continued..
"Fish is called Black Sweet. Black because the colour of the fish is black. And you see the mouth, it curves up sort of like a sweet smile, just like how a orang Bali smile! Come come, can see fish first!"
We followed him to the kitchen to have a look at this so-called 'Black Sweet' fish. Okay, we both have no idea what type of fish it was, but it did look like a real, edible fish with head, tail and fins.
Since it took 30minutes to cook, we were served with welcome drinks on the house.
Shots of something alcoholic. No idea what it was, but the mild burning sensation was good! Lower right photo of him was cute :) Big face with small glass, Small face with big mug (the print on his T-shirt)!
Freshly squeezed mango juice and apokat (avocado) juice were really really yummy! Put them both together and the combination was intoxicating. YUM!
Ordered a local nasi goreng to share which turned out a tad too sweet to our liking.
Voila! Presenting Black Sweet fish.
I have to admit that the flesh was sweet, drizzled with kicap manis and dipped in balinese sauce. It was worth waiting 30minutes for this dish and pay RMRM45 for it. Or so we thought... until we heard the EXACT same pitch from the waiter to the table next to ours.
I caught his eyes, and we both burst out laughing! Looked like we just got conned! I asked another waiter later and found out that they actually still had 3 more pieces of these Black Sweet fish. Oh yes, we were conned alright :p
Ah.. nevermind. At least the meal was a good one with pleasant and warm waiters (albeit not very honest). Totally overstuffed at the end of the meal, we were pretty much satisfied.
He took my hands in his and led us towards the beach. Strolling along the sandy beach on a breezy clear night and stars twinkling visibly in the sky, I was totally contented. We ended up at the cafe that we were at last night and decided to stay there for awhile to enjoy the breeze and the music from the live band.
A cup of hot chocolate for me, and a cocktail for him (Johnnie Walker + coke), we stayed on for an hour. Lullabied by the band and cool wind, I found myself drifting towards slumberland. 20 minutes later, I opened my eyes partially and found him gazing at me with a smile on his face.
"Shall we head back, lil' pig?"
I mumbled something incoherently and vaguely remembered dragging my feet back to the hotel. The next thing I knew, we were both safely back in the hotel room, fast asleep.... zzzzz......
