Well, we're in Negara, our home base for the next 2 weeks. Our few days in Seminyak were a pleasant mix of hectic (the town & traffic) and wonderfully peaceful & relaxing (our villa). On our final night our lovely "housekeeping" ladies cooked us an exceptional Balinese style dinner, (including fried bananas with ice cream, one of my favorites). The next morning they spoiled us again with a great breakfast before we left for Negara. Once all packed & ready to go we had lots of time to relax & chat as our drivers arrived 1.5 hours late - that didn't seem to phase anyone. We needed 3 mini vans to carry all of us and our luggage! It was quite the drive - very busy roads all the way, even when we hit the more rural areas. The driving is so "animated" here that a couple of us actually had some problems with motion sickness.
Negara is not what we expected. I think most of us thought that it would be a quite rural town. Not quite! It's another hopping place full of contrasts just not quite as hopping as Seminyak, although there are VERY few Caucasian people here so we really stand out. We spent the day exploring the town and scouting out potential spots for dinner. We can always eat at the hotel as our dining experience here, last night, was a very pleasant surprise. We have discovered that the local Balinese beer, Bintang, is excellent and cheap.
As we explored the town in small groups today we have all had different experience. As Rina & I were walking along we were offered a ride in the local taksi (Balinese spelling). The picture below will tell the whole story. Apparently, today is Mohamed's birthday - who knew! Susan, Lynn, Gino & Dale stumbled across the celebrations and were invited in. A local school teacher with excellent English escorted them and explained much of what was happening. Others found the fascinating market area, a local department store (surprisingly well stocked with everything).
We've just finished a lovely dinner at the Palem (Palm) restaurant and are all ready for bed now. Tomorrow at 8:00 am, we head off for the ride to the orphanage and our first day of real work. Wish us luck. More to follow as time/energy allows.
Paul & the gang
DWC Team
Bali, March 2012
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