Bali, Part 1 (Soori Bali)
After our very busy, but awesome, vacation in Taiwan, we headed south to Bali, where the plan was to relax and take in the beauty of the island. We couldn't decide between a remote beach getaway and a newer, super-eco-friendly property. Thankfully, they were both owned by the same company, Alila Villas, so we spent a few nights at each. The first hotel was the Soori Bali (formerly Alila Villas Soori), which is located in the rice paddy filled Tabanan region.
Our first impression of Bali was the driving and road conditions. What looked like a two lane road seemed to hold something like four lanes of traffic. And the two lane road was the main thoroughfare on the island--the majority of our drives on the island were on one lane roads. Think 8 foot-wide pavement with deep open sewers a couple feet past the edge of the pavement. Now think of two cars trying to pass each other here. Our driver masterfully weaved through the slow scooters and oncoming traffic, all while I'm sitting in the back giving Nick many looks of sheer horror. But after a while, I got used to it and realized that since this is normal driving conditions for the Balinese, that they are all very skilled at navigating the roads.
It took over an hour to get to the hotel, and it was totally worth the drive. As our car pulled up to the entrance, we were greeted by an entourage of people. The assistant manager of the property showed us around the hotel, starting with the pool.
And then we were taken to our villa, where we met our host. Our host carried around a cell phone, and our hotel phone would immediately connect to that cell phone if we ever needed something at any time during our stay. We aren't very demanding people, so I think we only called our host like once for in-room dining.
Anyway, she showed us around our amazing villa. I think the best part of our villa was our personal infinity pool that overlooked the Indian ocean. We were footsteps from the beach, and we could see and hear the small waves crashing onto the shore. Our view from the bed was of the pool and the ocean--not a bad way to wake up :).
For our one and only full day at the Soori, we went on a tour of a Kopi Luwak roaster. If you've never heard of Kopi Luwak, it's also known as civet coffee, or by a more unappealing name: poop coffee. You see, this rodent like creature called a civet eats a raw coffee berry. After it goes through its digestive system and is pooped out, the coffee farmer collects the turds to clean, dry, and roast it, just like they would any other type of coffee bean. Apparently, the trip through the digestive system gives the coffee a milder, smoother flavor. We tried a cup, but I'm not a big coffee fan, so I couldn't tell the difference. Nick said that there was a unique flavor to Kopi Luwak, but wasn't sure it was really worth the $100/lb. price. Nonetheless, we bought some small containers of it to bring to the states because, really, when else are we going to get a chance to buy Kopi Luwak?
We then drove to what our tour guide said is the most beautiful rice field on the island, and he wasn't kidding. The elevation and large expanse of green rice paddies was spectacular. And when the breeze hit the waves of grain and caused them to move in unison, it was majestic.
While it looked like one endless terraced rice patty, there were actually a very large number. Each farmer had their own little shack wit ha cow in it (the cow is used as a work animal, to pull tools or carry supplies). Most of the farmers were off at the local temple having a ceremony. According to our guide, everything merits a ceremony at the temple. Planting, harvesting, whatever. He said there were multiple ceremonies a week just to try to make the rice grow.
Before returning to the hotel, we stopped at Butterfly Park. They didn't have as many butterflies as Butterfly World in Fort Lauderdale, but they did allow us to hold butterflies and have them placed on us, so that was cool.
Back at the hotel, we were again greeted by an entourage of hotel staff at the entrance. There was always someone there to offer us a cold towel, which was a very welcome item in the humid Balinese weather. The service at the hotel was amazing. People who we've never seen before would greet us by name. The restaurants and the spa would already have our names and villa number on the receipt. They also knew about our tours, so they would ask how the Kopi Luwak was and we'd have a pleasant conversation with them about our day's adventure.
From talking to many of the hotel staff, it seems like they don't get very many American tourists, which makes sense since it is a very long flight to get there. And also being a gay couple probably made us more distinctive. While Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, Bali is ~80% Hindu. Everyone we met was extremely pleasant and welcomed us as their own.
Oh, I forgot to mention that we ended our day with a sunset horseback ride through the small village near the hotel.
I apparently didn't get the memo that you need to squeeze your knees on the saddle. I spent the entire ride with a death grip on the front of the saddle because I felt so unsteady. Nick, on the other hand, kept his weight on his feet, so that once we finished our one hour ride, his legs and knees were so sore that he could barely walk. For me, my arms and hands were sore from my constant grip...we complement each other so well.
The next morning, we were off to the Alila Villas Uluwatu. I'll write about that in our next blog post.