A Day in Full

(Dec. 19) Days can be memorable for so many reasons. The one we had today, I suspect, as wonderful as it was in the moment, will become mythic with the passage of time. The major ingredients were all there. It was the first day in virtually a year that Lily, Jesse, Alex and I had been together in one place. With Alex scampering around the globe and Jesse and Laura encamped in Denver, putting us all together in one place was all but impossible. Yet, here we were together again -- a huge delight without more. Add to this that we were all in Bali, and though we had not much more than a day there, it provided an exotic setting for our reunion.

Our day was hinged around a trip up to Ubud, a slow 2 hour journey up into the hills with our driver, Lele. Ubud is known for its crafts and, while we hoped to absorb as much as we could, our day‘s entertainment came from other pursuits. We stop first at Mandala Wisata Wanara Wana, a lengthy Sanskrit denomination for a monkey sanctuary. Here, the inmates (as it were) run the institution. The macaques who reside here run wild and free. If you’re worried about not getting close enough, worry no more. They find you, believe me. All it takes is a bunch of small bananas in hand to bring them running, and they do like their bananas here. If you want one on your shoulder, no problem. You want a grandpa or maybe a baby, they’re yours. What you realize after several minutes is that you’ve taken 900 pictures many of which you just know you’ll want to delete before sharing. But, this is fun without a doubt.

We follow with a trek through rice paddies, a tougher task than we first realized. Our guide, Made (pronounced “Maddy”) takes us down steep slopes through steamy jungle terrain with slippery rocks and dirt, a chore that us flipflop wearing touristas make more difficult than necessary. But, the beauty we witness is incomparable. What is revealed to us, we all agree, is what we had always believed to be the essence of Indonesia: greens so vivid they render the term “technicolor” woefully inadequate; terraced rice paddies that, taken together, provide a stunning landscape mosaic-- so utterly and exclusively Asian. We are dripping from our efforts after the long climb back up to where Lele is to meet us, but we are unanimous in our delight for what we have just come to see.

We stop for lunch at “Indus” recommended by Lele and this special day continues. Spicy calamari salads, an incredibly flavorful lemongrass chicken, and even a paella. All this served on an elevated open air terrace overlooking the rolling Bali countryside. Perfect.

Returning to our hotel, we can’t wait to hit the pool and then have drinks as we watch sunset over the Indian Ocean. Lastly, again at Lele’s suggestion, we are ferried to another part of the city for a grilled fish dinner on the beach at the Ganesha Café. He said it had the best seafood around, and it didn’t disappoint. Grilled red snapper with garlic sauce, all washed down with Bintang beer.

We all regretted having just this one full day in Bali, but as our heads hit the pillow that night, we did not feel cheated.