Pemuteran ~ Bali

There is a yearly yoga event in Ubud called the Spirit Festival which attracts thousands of young yogini’s and others interested in meditation, music and youthful folly.  Ron and I decided to get out of town during those six days and we went to Pemuteran.  About a 4 hour drive over the mountains to the northwest.  Many hairpin turns and narrow roads.  The day we went it poured while we were at the highest points.  We were in the clouds.  I told the driver “Hati Hati” which essentially means slow or careful.  But as we got down to sea level, the sun was brilliant and the water the deepest blue.  We were pleasantly surprised how clean the water was as we had heard tales of dirty trash in the water and beaches.  But we arrived at a good time and it was lovely.  We spent six nights in a small bungalow in the Taman Sari Resort. It was very peaceful.  Manicured lawns and large frangipani trees.  Two pools and of course, the sea.  Water was warm.  It was very hot and many mosquitos.  We had to sleep beneath our netting for the first time on the entire trip.  The people there were all genuinely nice and the pace of life much slower.  We could hear gamalon music at night from far off as well as the prayers from the mosque.  There were many more Muslim people here being so close to Java.  Overall we had a great time.  Found a few nice restaurants to eat at other than the resort.  Sadly, toward our last couple of days, Ron started to get sick with sore throat, racking cough, and fever.  He was very weak.  By the time we checked out, he had just surrendered to the long ride back to Ubud.  Fortunately we had a great driver, comfortable SUV, and he was cautious and slow.  Stopping a couple of times for photos of the beautiful lakes, and detouring from the main road through an area where the fields of rice paddies were stunning.  Less traffic through the villages, and more local flavor.  We arrived back at our same resort, Alam Jiwa, to hugs and a big welcome from the staff.  Our room, the Hanoman (Monkey God), was filled with flowers.  We felt grateful to be back.