Shaky Ground And Hot Water

It was decision time.

Susan, Aunt Penny and Emily watched CNN, looking for information on the tsunami and how it would affect Indonesia. I scanned Channel News Asia – the Singaporean news network – and found that the Indonesian government marked Sulawesi and New Guinea as the islands at risk for tsunami waves. Little Bali, significantly south and west of Sulawesi was safe.

Still, we were at a beautiful hotel on the beach of Bali’s north shore. It was no small irony that our house is significantly inland and here we were, staying not only on the beach, but on the coast most exposed.

While everyone agreed that there was probably nothing to worry about, the group wasn’t quite settled. I suggested that perhaps if there was worry, someone could call one of the big, international hotels to see if they are evacuating guests or making any changes.

Two minutes later, Emily was on the phone to the Oberoi in Seminyak:

“Hello, I would like some information about whether you are evacuating guests….”

“Hold on, I will get you someone to tell you about the room rates.”

“Hello? Hi. I don’t need room rates. I want to know if you are evacuating your guests because of the tsunami…”

“No. Our guests have not changed. Everyone is here.”

“So, you are not evacuating because of the tsunami?”

“No. Everyone is the same. No one has changed.”

“Okay, thank you very much.”

And with that, everyone decided to stay.

This morning, we check the news – on Japan, Indonesia, Hawaii and California. It was both scary and heartbreaking. Despite the absolute tragedy of Japan, we were glad to find that effects elsewhere were minimal and that people at home were fine. We are grateful that we and the people we love are safe and sound and cannot imagine the devastation so many people are facing today.

Only the night before we had felt a 6.5 earthquake centered several islands away from Bali. It seems the entire Pacific has become shaky.

After some Skype calls and emails, there was only one thing to do – go about our Bali day. It began with breakfast along the water, followed by some time at the swimming pool and beach – which are about equidistant from the table where we had breakfast at our hotel restaurant.

When lunchtime rolled around, we headed over to the Holy Hot Springs in nearby Banjar. While I’ve been to many hot springs in my life, I always love Banjar most. In true Balinese fashion, the people of Banjar channeled the hot springs water into a series of three cascading pools with water flows coming from stone carved Naga heads. The mythical five headed serpent spits water into the first and hottest pools before the water cascades through another five Naga heads into a second, cooler pool.

Water also flows through boring pipes and drops ten feet down in a concentrated stream into a third pool. Bathers stand under the heads and pipes as fresh, hot springs water pours all over them. In the third pool, the long drop creates a hard massage effect which is great for stiff necks and shoulders.

The stone pools, which sit below a small temple and surrounding by extraordinarily lush greenery, have been there for hundreds of years. I’m always struck with the fact that the pools have fresh hot water flowing into a pool in which people bathe – and then the water flows out and down a series of gutters pouring it into the river below. It’s the very definition of a Jewish mikvah and like Jews, the Balinese also consider it a place to cleanses for spiritual purity.

The entrance to the hot springs, however, are not so pure. A long line of shops lines the pathway to the hot springs gates. Vendors selling towels, bathing suits and sarongs lick their lips, sharpen their fangs and pounce whenever they see unsuspecting tourists. It so happened that Aunt Penny and Susan – dressed in their best Balinese sarongs – wanted a towel.

Something about the aggressive approach of vendors like these sparks the indignation of the average American. Sellers always start with some absurdly high price for a ridiculously cheap item. Aunt Penny didn’t need an education in Balinese pricing to know she was being had.

We walked away from the first two vendors and one even tossed towels at us, under the theory that if we held them, it would change our decision. We had to throw them back at him since he refused to take them back from us. After some nasty encounters and mad bargaining, a more reasonable, softer-touch woman got Aunt Penny and Susan’s business and they got towels for only $2.20 a piece.

At the hot springs restaurant, we enjoyed a simple Balinese lunch with a gorgeous view. Afterward, Susan, Emily and I enjoyed some time cleansing our bodies and spirits under the mouths of the Naga. For the others, it was a fun and interesting site. For me, it was – as always – one of my favorite, tactile Bali experiences. I love the feel of the warm hot springs water rushing out of a mythical creature’s mouth and pouring all over me. I am both relaxed and refreshed.

With our souls purified, we headed into Kalibukbuk – the heart of Lovina. When I first came to Lovina in late 2001, it was a busy tourist town which had experienced a moderate decline in tourism as a result of the 2001 Bali bomb. It got another kick in the teeth with 9-11 that same year. When tourism declines in Bali, the north shore gets hit the hardest. It take about four hours through narrow, windy mountain roads to get from southern Bali up to Lovina. As a result, it gets far fewer tourists than other areas of the island.

When Bali’s tourism industry received another blow with the 2005 Bali bomb, Lovina – which had been struggling to recover from 2001’s declines – was severely impacted. Some big hotels closed and the area has developed far slower than other parts of Bali.

The cute beach town I found bustling in December 2001, is now a sleepy village with some very hungry shop and restaurant owners. It was pretty, but lacked the spark and beauty characteristic of other parts of Bali and Lovina’s more glorious past.

Still, the water is warm, gorgeous and calm. The black sand beaches remain beautiful. And from our hotel rooms, the view out into the South Pacific is magnificent.

Lovina remains, in my opinion, one of the under-appreciated gems of Bali. It’s an older, simpler, less developed Bali. But when you look in one direction to the black sand beaches and peaceful water and then other way to the rice fields, and lush foliage covered volcanoes – it’s not hard to see it’s charm or why it was such a great setting for a great day together in Bali.

Balinese Coffee Grinding

Coffee Roaster

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