On the drive out to Ubud, Wayan helped me with my Indonesian ( terrible ) and I helped him with his English ( much, much better ). We laughed lots, got confused a bunch and really didn't understand each other much at all....... but is was tons of fun! I was dropped of at Betelnut, where I was DJing that night, just before 3pm. I was early! I am never, EVER early for anything. Ask any of my friends. I have no concept of time and am habitually late, always. After arriving 9 hours early to the venue, I have found it is so much more relaxing to arrive somewhere early, with enough time to settle into the moment. I plan to make this my new habit for the year, absolutely. In most cases, anyways.
I was greeted by Odeck who was fine-tuning all the equipment for the night with the sound technician. The restaurant looked absolutely beautiful. I made myself comfortable on one of the lounge couches with my laptop and ordered a lime / lemongrass soda. I stayed on the couch until about 7pm, chatting with my Mum online and organizing my music for the gig. Betelnut looks down onto a waterfall / jungle, with palms and villas in the distance. The rain came and went all afternoon. The fireworks started very early. I am told there is a "fireworks phenomenon" going on right now in Indonesia. You can buy them for cheap cheap cheap from China, and there are no age restrictions, hence the 4 year olds lighting them off in my first blog post.
7pm. Sat down with lovely Odeck and the sound man for dinner at the main long table in the restaurant. A beautiful spread was laid before us. Rice, noodles, chicken and seafood satays, and the most delicious salad I have ever had. Mint leaves, with lime, coconut, coriander and chicken. My mouth is watering as I type this.
The party started at 9pm. It was a very classy event being a combination of a book launch, traditional Balinese performance and dance, a world-music DJ and then myself, to play just after midnight. The crowd was both kids and older people, so the party didn't go until late. I played house beats until about 130am, then left Thievery Corporation to play as I sat with Odeck and Tara and had more champagne with pom juice. As the staff cleaned up the restaurant, we just chilled out. Again, Odeck and Tara are the owners of Betelnut and they are so so cool.
I was to sleep at their place that night. Yes, the absolutely stunning place I spoke of in my last Ubud post. We arrived back at their house just after 3am, and Tara showed me to my own private bungalow with private bathroom. I thanked her and made myself comfortable. The dogs joined me on the porch as I sat and smoked a clove cigarette and watched fireflys dance in the ferns at the bottom of a giant palm. The stars were shining. The air was fresh. The crickets and frogs were singing. I crawled into bed, dimmed the lights and fell asleep just after 4am with a smile on my face. I was told in the morning that Jet, the big 4 year old black lab, stayed outside the bungalow all night. Something he has never done.
New Years Day. A perfect first day to the year. I slept in until 11am. Well done, Kate. I left the bungalow and made my way down to the main house. The day was overcast and the grass was dewy on my feet. Odeck was sitting at the table reading the paper. He offered me a seat and a coffee. Tara joined us and we spent the next 3 hours at the table having an absolutely fabulous New Years Day brunch. Bowls of watermelon and papaya smoothie to start. Tara ordered from one of their favorite places. Blueberry whole wheat pancakes with caramelized bananas and warm maple syrup. Spinach and smoked marlon omelette. Lots and lots of Bali kofe. Amazing. The 4 dogs slept under the table and the rain fell as we chilled. So relaxing and wonderful.
We sat and played with our chosen devices. Odeck on his Blackberry, downloading apps. Tara and I on our Macbooks. Sometime after 2pm, we cleaned up the table and Odeck headed off for a nap. I grabbed my camera and began to explore the property. Words just do not do it justice. It resembles a palace. There are actually 3 houses, with a large temple-like structure that looks down onto a perfect turquoise pool. Palm and banana trees gracefully dot the property. At one point, I climbed the stairs to one of the bungalows that looks down onto the pool and the main house. I stretched my arms to the air.... stretched... breathed.... heaven. At this point, 2 of the dogs ran up the stairs and joined me, and a brief canine photo shoot commenced.
After my walk, a wonderful first shower of the year. In this "open shower", I washed my hair with coconut-lime conditioner and looked out onto rice paddies and palms trees. The sound of rain on the plastic roof above. Simple luxury.
Wayan picked me up just after 4pm. I thanked Tara and told her to hug Odeck for me. What a truly perfect day. On the drive home, Wayan and I stopped for 2 plates of Nasi Goreng at a food stall at the side of the road. Spicy fried rice with vegetables and prawns. Huge servings. Absolutely delicious. That plus 2 orange drinks = 22 Rupiah. That's around 2 dollars. Man, I love Bali.
I'm off to a friends villa today to meet new people and most likely float in a pool, look up to palm trees and think about how lucky I am and how much I love this life I am creating for myself. I feel blessed, fortunate and absolutely grateful. My parents come to Bali in 10 days. I am so happy and excited to travel with them around this magic island and make some wonderful new memories.
Hope everyone has an incredible 2012. May all your dreams come true!! ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
Love, Kate
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