We’ve now spent four of our seven nights in Bali. For four of the women in our party, this is one trip of several we’ve had to this little ‘Island of the Gods’, but it’s the first trip for the fifth lady in our party. The four who have been here previously are all familiar with the broken and dangerous footpaths through-out Bali, we’re familiar with the heavy traffic, the thousands of scooters that zip in and out of traffic, and the families of 4 – 5 people who all squash up together to travel on just one scooter.

However for the fifth member of our party the first three days of this, her first, trip to Bali created a somewhat distorted view of this little tourist haven. Having booked a Lagoon Palace Club room for each of us at the Nusa Dua Beach Hotel and Spa, we have spacious rooms in a quiet and peaceful part of a lovely Balinese style hotel. Our dining is relaxed and peaceful, our rooms well serviced, and the pool adjoining our rooms is used by 16 rooms in total only. Consequently we’re shielded from the crowds inside our hotel, and with the hotel being in Nusa Dua, we’re also shielded from any of the normal hustle and bustle evident in other areas of Bali when we venture outside into the adjoining neighbourhood.

We’ve been for several walks, one of which was down the uncrowded footpaths of Nusa Dua. The following photos were taken between around 10am and 10.45am, so for those of you familiar with the crowded footpaths through-out Bali – these photos may surprise you.

Below looking in one direction and then the other.

A few fountains along the way had statues seated around them, all with arms raised. We tried to ‘fit in’.

Being in the Club rooms at the hotel means of course we have our own small little Club room for breakfast, afternoon tea, pre-dinner cocktails and canapés, or just a decent cup of coffee, glass of juice, or smoothie throughout the day. The breakfast buffet is of course much smaller than the buffet in the main section of the hotel that feeds the masses. But It has all the cereal, yogurt, danish pastries, fruit etc that we’d be taking from any buffet, plus we get to choose our main breakfast off the menu, which is then cooked to order in the little kitchen tucked into the side of the room.

From our breakfast room we look out onto a wide expanse of green lawns, fringed with tall bamboo, and with the tinkle of fountains in the landscaped central lake. It’s so serene. Just gorgeous.

This morning I took a walk over to look at the huge breakfast buffet that caters to the majority of the hotel guests. Browsing the buffet confirmed my thoughts – whilst there is much more food on display, there’s nothing on the big buffet that I feel I’m missing out on in our gorgeous little Club dining room. I certainly don’t miss the push and shove of the multitude around the big buffet either.

No serene view, and crowds milling around the food choices in the main dining area – We made a good choice opting out of this I think (I’m not really a snob – well perhaps just a little bit).

Yesterday we had a driver pick us up to drive us to the cultural centre, and then on to Jimbaran Beach for a seafood barbecue. Our Bali Newbie chose to sit in the front seat, and had us in hysterics at her comments as she saw for the first time, the real Bali. After three and a half days in clean, sheltered Nusa Dua, and no matter the amount of warnings we had issued to the effect that, ‘what she was seeing in our little spot isn’t the real Bali’, I think she was somewhat shocked at what she encountered. The scooters zipping in and out, some carrying whole families, the broken roads, the traffic jams, the dangerous conditions as one vehicle makes way for another coming in the opposite direction, and the drivers skill as he carefully avoids tumbling our vehicle into the step drop off at the side of the road under repair. We encountered a 30 minute delay at just one set of traffic lights on our return to the hotel, a delay which seemed to be business as usual according to our driver.

Throughout the chaos of the trip though, also witnessed was the other side to Bali’s busyness. The curtesy. Yes, the Balinese are the most courteous race of people I’ve ever had the good fortune to encounter. They happily give way to oncoming traffic, in fact in one spot a driver from the oncoming side exited his vehicle, stopped other traffic and carefully directed our driver around a particularly hazardess section in the road repairs. The Balinese are the happiest of people, they always have a smile, they’re gentle and caring and their pride is genuine and well placed. They are proud of who they are, proud of their jobs no matter how menial, and proud to serve their customers. I love Bali, I love the Balinese people.

Oh and before I close – here’s a snap of one of the early morning groundsmen in our hotel. Note the broom he’s sweeping the lawn with.

A lovely, relaxing holiday with just enough time out in the real Bali to help us appreciate where we have chosen to stay. What a pleasure!