Hello again, beautiful souls,
Today started out as one of those unplanned, easy going days but as always in Bali, it didn’t take long for things to get interesting!
We were up early as usual and meandered up to the main hotel for breakfast. The restaurant by the main pool is stunning, a classic Balinese style building with a roof but completely open at the front. It’s surrounded by ponds, waterfalls, and intricate features, making it the perfect spot to enjoy a leisurely start to the day.
Feeling a little braver today, I took a chance and added poached egg to my now usual toast, while Jason enjoyed the ample choices on offer at the breakfast buffet.
All was going well until I noticed something behind Jason. A frog sitting happily on the edge of the pond. Now, I'll let you into a little secret...Jason has an utter fear of frogs. It’s an ongoing family joke because the kids think it’s hilarious, and all week we’ve heard these frogs croaking away at night while Jason’s been on edge, convinced one will jump out at him. So, when I spotted one sitting innocently behind him, I could hardly keep a straight face. Let’s just say breakfast ended with a very swift exit once he caught sight of it.
On the way out, we stopped at reception to inquire about the advertised dinner that evening, A Taste of Payogan — an all you can eat buffet with side entertainment of Balinese dancers. Unfortunately, nobody else in the hotel had booked, so it had been cancelled.
Walking back to the villa (still tickled by the frog incident), we chatted about what to do with the rest of the day. Jason wanted to take a walk to find a local mart to stock up on water and maybe find a barber ....has anyone else noticed how quickly hair grows in this heat? I wasn’t feeling quite as energetic, and the pool was calling my name.
As we sat on the balcony still planning the day, we spotted an extremely large insect on the deck. It looked like a fly on steroids! Honestly, it was huge. It wasn’t moving much but was making an alarmingly loud noise. Feeling braver now after getting over his frog encounter, Jason decided to relocate it. He cut an empty water bottle in half and managed to scoop it inside for a closer look. With the help of Google Lens, we discovered it was from the horsefly family. Cue a quick disposal.....we didn’t fancy finding out how nasty its bite might be.
Not long after, an incredibly loud noise came from the tree behind us, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jason move so fast. He actually leapt out of his seat, nerves clearly frayed after the morning’s wildlife encounters. After a moment, he recomposed himself and went to investigate. It turned out the noise was coming from a little bird perched in the tree on our terrace. Once the initial drama passed, we noticed the bird had a mate, and the pair spent the rest of the afternoon busy building a nest. It seems we’ve got new (noisy) neighbours for the week!
A little later Jason went off to find a barber and the mart, while I smothered myself in suncream and spent a blissful hour floating in the pool. After a while, I hopped out to sit on the edge of a lounger and start writing yesterday’s update. And this, my friends, is where the day’s lessons began.
Lesson 1: Remember to reapply suncream when you get out of the pool.
Lesson 2: Don’t forget that the sun’s rays still come through clouds.
Lesson 3: Avoid sitting hunched up, facing the sun if you don't want an extremely uneven tan.
On what has been the cloudiest day of our trip so far, I somehow managed to turn into a toasted tomato. Yes, I’m bright red, and yes, I’ll be paying for it later.
The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the pool and relaxing on the terrace until the inevitable rain started spotting so we retired up onto the balcony undercover and after a few minutes sitting there, our attention was drawn to the pool where we discovered our new noisy neighbours getting up close and personal .....in our private pool of all places!
After the excitement with our feathered friends, the rain eased up and didn’t turn into one of the dramatic downpours we’ve come to expect. So, we decided to take a wander and explore the area outside the hotel. Jason had noticed some rice fields further up the main road, so we set off to find them, stopping off at the hotel restaurant for a spot of afternoon tea.
Now, Balinese afternoon tea is a little different from the UK version as I said before. No tiered trays of finger sandwiches here, it’s two little bitesize Balinese cakes and a cup of tea or coffee. This time I asked for the milk to come separately in a jug and to leave the tea bag in...perfect! The small cakes were just enough to keep us going, and we had a lovely chat with the waiter, who was keen to learn more English. Cue a little lesson on grammar and tense.....I hope I got it right, ha ha! Moments like this, connecting with locals, are such a highlight of this trip.
Feeling refreshed, we headed out to explore. The area around the hotel isn’t particularly touristy, which gave us a glimpse into everyday life in Bali. The roads were lined with small shops, motorbikes zipped past us, and we saw locals going about their daily routines.
Eventually, we found the rice fields Jason had spotted. They were beautiful! Lush green paddies stretching out into the distance, dotted with palm trees. It was so peaceful, and we stood for a while just taking it all in. There’s something so grounding about being surrounded by nature like that.
On our way back, we went a slightly different way, passing more roadside stalls, family temples, and fascinating sights. It did feel at times like we were taking our lives in our hands, dodging the busy traffic, scooters, loose paving, and occasionally huge, deep holes where the pavement should have been. ...but then it wouldn’t have been Bali any other way. We noticed a huge temple, highly decorated, with lots of people arriving dressed in their finest, bringing offerings for a celebration or festival.
By the time we returned to the villa, the sun was setting, painting the sky in soft oranges and pinks.
We were a little at a loss what to do with ourselves for the rest of the evening but just as we'd resigned ourselves to having a very early night, the sounds of loud music drifting from the distance wafted into the villa. Our thoughts were that the entertainment up at the main hotel was going ahead after all, so we quickly made ourselves presentable and headed up there to join the fun.....you know by now it’s going to go wrong, don’t you? As we entered the hotel, it seemed very quiet, and walking down to the ‘silent’ and empty restaurant, we were met by an array of very eager staff. You guessed it. ..no entertainment. In fact, we were the only guests there! I can only guess that the music we had heard had been coming from the temple celebrations we’d seen earlier.
We thought we might as well stay and have a bite to eat seeing as we’d made the effort. We decided to go all out Indonesian ....and very enjoyable it was too! But imagine our surprise when they served us a starter of miniature fish and chips....3 chips and a mini fish finger, presented in a shot glass of all things 
After dinner, we retreated to our villa, exhausted and ready to crawl into bed after our eventful day....but not before covering myself in a generous layer of aftersun though. Lesson well and truly learned!
Until next time, sending love and hugs from Ubud
Jayne