The traveling manatees by Nancy French: Padangbai and Beyond, Bali, Indonesia

Departing Pemutaran with our driver/guide, Edy, we were able to take the coastal road to our next destination, Padangbai. Passing thru the resort city of Lovina and then Singaraja, the former capital of Bali, we were in the heart of a major agricultural area. This region is known for its produce and coffee plantations. Numerous small roadside markets gave us the opportunity to purchase a variety of unusual fruit for snacks later at our hotel; black grapes, custard apples, lychee nuts, rambutans, and mangosteens were snagged.

Tirta Gangaa (holy water of the Ganges) was our only tourist stop for the day. Built in the 1940s and 50s, the palace was rebuilt in 1963 following its destruction due to an eruption of the nearby Agung Volcano. The focal point of the water palace in an eleven-tiered lotus fountain surrounded by pools, water-spouting sculptures, and meticulously maintained gardens. Waters come from a natural spring and are said to have curative powers. Admission to the grounds is 30,000 rupiah (roughly $2.85) but for an additional 10,000 rupiah, visitors can take a dip in the healing waters. The area provides gorgeous overviews of rice fields and terraces.

Arriving late afternoon in Padangbai, we were able to schedule a snorkeling trip for the following morning. Our accommodations were located up a narrow road on the outskirts of town. With a recommendation from our hotel’s owner, we walked down to the waterfront to a local warung offering fresh fish. Selecting red snapper and black grouper from the offerings our first evening, the fish was cleaned and butterflied, and slathered with garlic butter and sizzled over a wood-burning grill. It was served with rice, a salad, and a fruit plate, the meal was heavenly and cheap. Confident we had found the best place in town, we returned nightly to repeat the feasting and were never disappointed.

As we headed out on the water the following morning in a traditional jukung, there were two destinations on the schedule. The renowned Blue Lagoon offered little during our visit, but the second location was like jumping into a giant aquarium with excellent visibility and a huge variety of colorful tropical fish and corals. During our off-season visit, we were the only snorkelers at the site. Plans to travel out to nearby Nusa Penida were canceled due to a bad weather report. But, luckily, the weather was beautiful in Padangbai and by staying in town we had time to explore the overlook for Blue Lagoon, White Sand Beach, Black Sand Beach and to hang out poolside during the heat of midday.

Ogoh-ogoh

Walking back to our hotel after dinner one evening we witnessed the illegal, yet common, cockfighting at a waterfront property. A large crowd had formed, betting on the action. Not wanting to actually watch the fight, we moved on. Cockfighting is legal in Bali if it is part of a Hindu ceremony, this was definitely not a religious event. Another evening, we saw a group of children, 5-8 years old, near the same location, gambling. A large game board was laid out on the ground with cartoon-like characters. The children placed their money on a character, an adult shook two large dice and then another adult either paid out the winnings or collected the losses from the board. We didn’t have a camera with us, but we watched for quite a while, unable to believe what we were seeing. Turns out this is also illegal, but not necessarily uncommon.

In wandering around town, we saw some men preparing for the upcoming New Year’s celebration, which we missed. Called Nyepi, a day of silence, the event differs radically from the rest of the world. The evening before New Year's Day, parades are held across Bali featuring Ogoh-ogoh. This large sculpture is carted through the streets and represents evil spirits. At the end of the evening, the character is burned to dispel those bad spirits. The following morning at 6 AM and for the next 24 hours everyone must stay inside. Restaurants and all businesses are closed, no flights are allowed to come into or depart the only airport, and the only vehicles allowed on the streets are for emergencies. Special watchmen are assigned to monitor this restricted activity and anyone (including visitors) will be admonished to return indoors.

Edy returned to Padangbai to deliver us to Jimbaran, our final destination before departing Bali the next morning. We stopped in Kusamba, where salt is made from the seawater using a centuries-old technique. The lengthy process starts with retrieving the water from the ocean and then sprinkling it over large, raised beds of volcanic black sand. Once the salt has dried it is raked up and put in a wooden filter to remove the black sand, seawater is poured over the mixture, and the process is repeated as needed. The resulting brine is poured into hollowed-out tree trunks where it dries out. The salt is then scraped out and bagged for sale. Historically the salt was used for preserving fish, but it has now become an artisan product but it is still inexpensive, in spite of the huge amount of work involved.

Arriving in Jimbaran, Edy mentioned that we could purchase seafood at the waterfront fish market and then have our purchases cooked at a nearby warung, which would also provide sides and beverages for a total charge far below the restaurants in the city. Once we were set at a hotel, we walked to the market and selected our dinner of crab and lobster. With multiple warungs available, we selected one next to the market. Once again, we were not disappointed. We are quickly getting spoiled with the excellent, inexpensive food here.

The journey home was lengthy, and we made it a bit longer by giving ourselves a couple of breaks. It was 3 days from Bali to Florida, flying from Bali to overnight in Singapore to Hong Kong to overnight in Los Angeles and then to Florida. It was an incredible trip, but it's good to be back home.