CHASING DOLPHINS AT SUNRISE

That morning of 12th April, Che Tar and I woke up early, had our breakfast at Greenfields (the breakfast at Tegal Sari is better) and soon after off we dashed to the Ubud market for more souvenirs. We had to come back by 11 am as our bus was to leave at 11.30. The ride to the market and back was "gratis" meaning, on the house. Lots of things are sold there, from prepared food to produce to souvenirs. The shopping started off very calm but ended very frantic when we realized that it's time to leave. We didn't wait for our ride to come fearing that we would be late for the bus, so we took a cab instead.

Luckily the distance from Greenfields to the Perama bus station is about 20 steps, so we managed to reach it, with bags in tow in no time. But the bus was late. Oh well, it's better than if we were late. We were going to Lovina (acronym for Love Indonesia)which is located in the nothern part of the island. The journey took 3 hours with a stop midway in the town of Candikuning.

We reached Lovina at about 3pm, checked into Bali Taman Hotel and was pleasantly surprised that we were upgraded to a better room because the hotel had to accommodate a big group of German tourists. We unpacked our packed rice which we bought from a Muslim vendor in Candikuning and ate in grateful silence, after missing rice for 2 days.

We made our way to the beach in the evening hoping to catch a sunset. The beach is dull; its sand is black, residue of a volcanic eruption 4 decades ago. We were soon greeted by vendors selling stuff; we bought some because they were so relentless. The sunset was not that spectacular. Nearby, there was a ceremony going on; a group of villagers in their smart attire giving some kind of offering to the sea. The wailing of the priest and priestess went on until night time.

We woke up very, very early the next morning to catch a boat to sea to see dolphins! That's the main reason of our trip to this place. After several miles offshore, we (and like 20 other boats) met a few schools of dolphins. We didn't linger long, we had to return ashore to catch a bus that would take us to Kuta. Two other memorable things happened in Lovina; one, we saw one guest who could be George Bush's twin, and the other, which is so unjust - one of the vendors on the beach thought I am Tar's mother! Brengsek.

The unforgettable Fritos

Many, many years ago, I was lucky enough to study in the US of A. Those were very impressionable years, and until today I still wear the threadbare sleeveless "Minneapple" t-shirt when it's hot and sometimes the many-holed "Hamline University" sweatshirt to bed. A nostalgic person I am one! And every now and then I would have this craving for a certain salty snack called Fritos Corn Chips.

I have, for the longest time scoured the aisles in supermarkets for this particular snack; I even went to that one shop in Jalan Ampang that caters to the ex-pats community for this chips, but no one sells this chips in KL.

The last time I snacked on this chips was in 1998 or 1999, when my doctorate friend came back for a holiday. Since then, I had to be satisfied with a memory. Of course, I have friends who visit the States but I was too shy to ask them to get if for me. So when I learned that my sis-in-law was going to Santa Fe for work early this month, I jumped at the chance. Thanks to her, I am now munching the corn chips as I type these words.

What's so special about this snack? After all it's made of only corn, corn oil and salt. It is actually quite SALTY and when you eat on an empty stomach, it gives you a very satisfying and fulfilling experience. On that note, I shall stop munching and save the balance of the chips for later when I am really famished.

My Bali Experience Continues...

After checking into our new accommodation at Greenfields, Che Tar and I went to Perama Bus Station which is located just 3 metres away(Perama is Bali's biggest tour bus company) to buy tickets to Lovina. They cost Rp70,000 one way per person.

By 7 pm, we were ready to go to Pura Desa Kutuh (pura=temple). There are many cultural troupes in Ubud, as Ubud is known as the centre of Arts. There are many programs to choose from, so I consulted Pak Nengah for the best show tonight. The ride to the temple is complimentary. The driver dropped us off and promised to come back when the show is over.

We were early, so Che Tar and I sat in the front row. The stage is set outside the temple, kalau dalam kuil, tak naklah Embak masuk. By the time the show started at 7.30pm the theatre was filled with tourists.

The show started off by a procession of musicians,dancers and a priest. According to the program booklet the priest had just blessed the performers in the temple. Maybe not tonight because the priest proceeded to sprinkle holy water on the stage, the music instruments and the performers. Luckily he didn't spatter us the audience. The audience silently whispered to each other about the seated odd-looking musician; a mat salleh who played a flute-like instrument.

After a loud and lonnngg instrumental, the dancers came out; graceful dances alternated with scary mask dances. About 6 dances in all, if I'm not mistaken. I was sooo glad when the show finally came to an end. The young dancers came down to the floor to tuck a flower behind our ears but seeing I was wearing tudung, the girl just handed it to me.

Overall, I felt the show was HEAVY. I didn't mind the delightful head and eye movements of the petite young dancers, but the horrible looking masks and distorted movements of the male dancers disgusted me. Nonetheless, an interesting experience.The last time I was in Bali, I saw the Barong dance. For my next trip, I want to catch the all-male chest-baring Kecak dance. Yay!

JOGGING errr, WALKING, rather

At the beginning of the year, as usual, I made a list of things that I pledge to do, one of which, is exercise. You see, the newspaper, the internet, the radio, the tv have all been telling me, in order to have good health, one must not only eat well, sleep well, have positive thoughts, one must also EXERCISE! My manager has long advised me to join Clark Hatch, nah I said. I don't want to pay money to exercise. So I opted for the cheapest form of exercise, jogging! And I'd need a partner for that.

So I asked my buddy, Che Ani to jog with me. So every Friday evening, we would try, the key word here is "try" to jog together. To make it more interesting, we would change venues.

So the first two sessions, we jogged, oklah, we brisk walked, oklah, we breeze walked at the infamous Kelana Jaya park. Then we switched to Taman Tun park. Then to that park beside Amcorp Mall, then we walked at the housing estate where Che Ani lives. All in all, I think we jogged like 5 times. In between, I managed to jog with Che Tar twice at KLCC and Taman Tun. We started in March, and ended in May. The last time Che Ani and I attempted to exercise was to the furniture shop near her house, after which we immediately adjourned to IKEA in her car.

We blame the afternoon showers lah. So many times, rain-rain only. So, I switch to morning exercise. Since Che Ani could not join me, I brave myself to jog/walk at the park near my house. I promised myself to do it at least 3 times a week. But so far, I have not been consistent.

This morning I had a bonus! I caught sight of one jogger who is so "my type". I remember my Ustaz said the first sight is halal, the second one is also ok, the third yang tak boleh. So, after I first saw him, I jogged in the opposite direction knowing very well I'd bump into him again as we were both circling the lake. Senyum meleret gue. Best! Best!

Current Book: My CFP Text Book, final exam only 3 days away!
Current Distraction: www.joeperantau.blogspot.com