lost4good

NOTE: We did not get any of the Chat GPts or AI to rewrite any of this and we take full credit for what probably would have been clearer and more SUCCINCT if AI had done it. Though in all transparency I may have used a bit of AI to insert a kangaroo or two or even a Viking ship in a video or two – sorry could not help myself.

Terrell

As if we had not travelled enough already this year. We did Jetstar Airways to Denpasar International Airport. They seem to have the worse reputation, however, they are the only ones flying straight to Bali. Aside of the awful hours…see further down, it was OK. Well, for us anyway. A girl sitting next to Peter (Helena of the 4 sister’s husband) threw up on him and his seat an hour into the flight. Fortunately for us, they were several rows behind us.

Not even half way through 2026 and we had that trip starting last October (six-weeks in the Netherlands (https://neuage.me/holland2025), cruise through the Suez Canal (https://neuage.me/suez-canal) & a wander through Saudi Arabia(https://neuage.me/OMG), ending last year in Thailand and New Years 2026 in Bangkok, and home for a bit for over a month then to the UK starting our flight during that war. (https://neuage.me/war). Yes we were flying over Iran and got sent back to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to refuel and go the long way around avoiding Iraq and Iran to Istanbul then up to London,   (https://neuage.me/truro-uk/) before hoping over the pond to the States for more than a month, where at age 78 I met my blood brother for the first time. (https://neuage.me/family) and on to Pakistan and home for a bit over a month again then on to Bali. (first few months of 2025 we did Vietnam, Pakistan, India).

14 June Sunday Day 1

Last night to bed 9.30 slept until 10 heart burn from Indian meal at … slept about 1 hour total. Out of bed at 2.10 am Uber arrival 3.15 am with Janey and Leon to airport arrival 4 am. Met Helena and Peter plane left 6 am. Immigration wouldn’t take Narda’s Visa we had paid $88 AUD for bought new one $44 no waiting. Caroline and Michael arrived from Lombok, and we all took two taxis from the airport to Villa Frangi. Lunch was at Warung Beach Breeze, which became our favourite place and only a few minutes’ walk away. I had Gado-gado. Gado-gado is an Indonesian salad of raw, slightly boiled, blanched or steamed vegetables and hard-boiled eggs, boiled potato, fried tofu and tempeh, and sliced lontong, [Lontong  is a traditional Southeast Asian dish made of  compressed rice tightly packed and cooked inside a banana leaf. As the rice boils, it binds into a dense, firm cylinder that is then sliced into bite-sized cakes] served with a peanut sauce dressing.

The others were all content with their meals, I liked my heaps and it became my main choice. After a much-needed nap after getting close to no sleep for the past 24 hours we had our first swim in our pool. We went for a ten-minute walk to the shore and found dinner at Gardenia Café https://www.gardeniaguesthousebali.com/Gardenia/home.html   Our meals with drinks = 315,000 $25.18 AUD

Our daily walk from our villa to the street.

See our first day clip at https://youtu.be/K0iV0SesSGw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK11bV42X8A

15 June Monday Day 2 A gaggle of sisters + us

Breakfast at Genius café https://geniuscafebali.com/ walked along boardwalk.

Narda & I took a Grab taxi to REJUVIE Clinic https://rejuvieclinic.com/.

Dental cleaning for us. In Australia we paid $568 AUD for our cleaning, in Bali, just as professional, perhaps a bit more thorough we paid $171 AUD for the two of us. We got there at 12 noon, in chair 12.30 both finished 1.40 pm. Very nice people, all the clients seemed to be western so that probably means something.

A typical list of massages…I like the idea of a chocolate-coffee – organic of course one…however, we did not get one until the end of our stay when we got a hair wash and head massage, oh, and one before – almost forgot that great one – will tell later on.

After our cleaning we walked to Icon Mall https://iconbalimall.com/. Seems to be pride and joy of Bali. To us it was just another large modern shopping mall that was no different than any other in the world. The same branded stores, the same overpriced restaurant chains the same screaming children – well maybe not. However, it has a great view of the sea with a balcony overlooking some beach. Narda got hustled for some cream that does wonders for every female willing to shell out the money which of course was not us. In our hour there we walked out with a purchased tube of toothpaste, which hopefully contributed to the income of the Bali people.

We did not have Wi-Fi with us working, more on that in a moment, we got their standard taxi chain, Bluebird taxi, home.

Because we didn’t have a clue and no Wi-Fi, we were not sure how to get home. Our driver, following Google Maps or some such thing, managed to end up in a narrow land with no room to go forward and both mirrors touching the walls. Fortunately, he managed to reverse all the way back down the alley without damaging his car. This happened a few times until we realized we had to get off at the end of the alley and walk home. Sorry Bali drivers, we are a bit old and slow at figuring these things out.

Simple why we don’t have internet when out and about. Our phones are crap – Narda has an old OPPO and mine is a few years old, they do not take eSims and it is not worth purchasing a sim card for a week. Son Sacha gave us his Google Pixel. A better photo taker than our phones (most of our photos are from our Nike) AND it takes an eSim which worked in Bali. We paid $13 AUD for the week. Unfortunately, we didn’t have it with us when the driver got stuck in our alley before we had a chance to say whoa, go another way. We had dinner at Nesa Combi Bistro-Coffee-Bar over at Jl. Danau Tamblingan No.142, Sanur, Denpasar.

It was not easy for Narda and I to get to. The rest of the folks were already there on their multiple serves of beer or whatnot and were anxious for us to arrive to have food with their drinks. We tried Grab and waited 20 minutes then canceled it. Eventually Michael got in a taxi to collect us as it was obvious we were unable to sort out how to get to where they were and which too got stuck in our alley. Bottom line Nesa Combi was a great feed .   Everyone except me had Dutch Croquettes, me being the non-Dutch amongst them mostly all (Peter is from Belgium – which in my mind is the same, don’t tell him that though) …I had a wonderful meal of vegetables, oh boy! how exciting.

All of us clambered aboard the electric trolleybus as we left the café – see our video above. The service connects key points of interest such as Mertasari Beach, Pangembak Street, Jalan Danau Poso, Jalan Danau Tamblingan, Jalan Danau Toba, and the Sanur Special Economic Zone for Medical Tourism. This hop-on, hop-off system makes sightseeing simple, stress-free, and sustainable. Oh, wait I copied that last line off of the internet. It was a great ride, though expensive for what it was. Taxis and Grab are cheaper but not as much fun. For a bunch of old people, we did carry on like teenagers or even slightly younger people.

16 June Tuesday Day 3 https://youtu.be/6b3vUy3EJko

We had breakfast at Ari Sudamala Resort. Eggs Benedict, health juice spinach banana pineapple.

We were often waiting for a taxi.

We divided up our little group into two cars of four of us each. Narda and I went off with Helena and Peter and got to our destination an hour or so before the others.

We took a taxi to Nusa dua collective over the causeway bridge

to an over rated shopping area, (bali-collection https://bali-collection.com/) Bali Collection is just a bunch of stalls and shops selling fridge magnets – so called local art – imported products (Bangledesh/Vietnam/China/ etc) general crap – and restaurants. We were not impressed.

Where Heritage
Meets  Elegance
More than just a destination, Bali Collection is where culture breathes life into every corner. Discover boutique treasures, taste culinary delights, and immerse yourself in experiences that celebrate the spirit of Bali — all in one unforgettable journey.

their webpage , obviously…

Our little group had lunch at Burma Restaurant which was very good. I had vegetables in curry, the rest had some chicken things or something akin to chickens, called chicken. https://bali-collection.com/tenant/burma-restaurant

In Bali, the food, flowers, and small woven baskets in front of statues, temples, shops, and even in the middle of the road are called canang sari. They are one of the most important parts of Balinese Hindu daily ritual. We saw them every day, usually in the morning.

Canang sari are small daily offerings made by Balinese Hindus to express:
Gratitude
Harmony
Balance between humans, nature, and the divine
They are usually made of:
Banana leaf tray
Flowers (each colour facing a different direction for different gods)
Rice
Incense
Snacks or fruit
Sometimes money or candy
🙏 Why are they placed in front of statues?
To honour the spirit or deity represented by the statue. It’s a way of keeping the space spiritually clean and balanced.
Offerings in the road are meant to:
Appease protective spirits
Keep travellers safe
Neutralise negative energy
Bless the flow of traffic
Balinese believe that harmony must exist everywhere, including busy streets.
They are not meant to be avoided — locals simply walk or drive around them without concern.
Each item has symbolic meaning:
Flowers → beauty and purity
Rice → sustenance and life
Food/snacks → gratitude for abundance
Incense → carries prayers upward
Money → symbolic prosperity

Microsoft Copilot
AI chatbot by Microsoft
OK I did use AI chat in one place – here…

After our lovely lunch at Burma restaurant we went off looking for a taxi home. They were all quite expensive. We got hustled to sit on a timeshare hotel ramble, Karma group https://karmagroup.com/ …free taxi home, a hat we left somewhere and 10 dollars off dinner voucher which we used for dinner the next day, more of that later. The karma group spiel was a typical timeshare ramble. We got caught in one of those terrible timeshare trips back in early 2000 in Las Vegas. Never used the Las Vegas site we saw but we did have a nice stay in Antigua Guatemala with my amazing early 1970s New Orleans & etc mate, Dale – see https://neuage.me/dell-and-life-in-general/ and I wrote about him in my Book 1 – “Leaving Australia – before the After” https://neuage.org/LeavingAustraliaBeforeTheAfter/1973NewOrleans.htmlWe used our timeshare once in India too, then after losing too much money on it managed to lose even more money selling it. Warning: never buy into a timeshare or whatever they are scheming with now. The presenter was from India and we just ended up talking about places in India when they soon realized we were not going to get sucked in.

We had dinner at Kamboja Warung Sanur, nothing special, a tad below average. I ordered soup for my main course and got a coffee mug of soup. and in the evening we swam in our pool – so warm.

17 June Wednesday Day 4

In 2026, Bali’s most spiritually significant festival cycle, Galungan, was celebrated on Wednesday, 16 June to Saturday, 27 June 2026. Because the festival is based on the 210-day traditional Balinese Pawukon calendar, 2026 was a unique year featuring only one single Galungan cycle instead of the usual two.
Galungan is a major Balinese Hindu festival that celebrates the spiritual victory of Dharma (goodness and righteousness) over Adharma (evil). It is one of the most sacred and culturally prominent holidays on the island, marking a time when the ancestral spirits of deceased relatives return to Earth to visit their former family homes.
Penjor Poles: The most iconic visual marker of Galungan. Every household erects a penjor—a towering, gracefully curved bamboo pole lined along the streets. These are ornately decorated with coconut leaves, fruits, flowers, and cakes to symbolize Mount Agung, prosperity, and gratitude

https://www.google.com/search?q=galungan

We had breakfast along beach $32 Beach café me breakfast bowl + green drink everyone calls lawn clippings.

Walked along shore. Home nap. Swimming massage me foot + head Narda full body $22.50 +$4 tip at Marta Salon & Spa

…dinner pizza place. Bella Italia sanur $38 seafood spaghetti Narda pizza

At 6:15 am going through my email I saw this ad to make a song if only they had the words – I wrote some lines about our visit to Bali – two-minutes later I had a song – by 6.30 I had posted it on social media. And I am not musical – however I have thousands of poems I have written over the years (for example, index for post-neo-noir-neuage is at https://neuage.org/post-neo-noir-neuage/index.html so expect thousands of songs after I am finished with this blog project. Maybe I will put in my 155,000 word PhD thesis and have an opera – what do you think? And yes! You can read/download the whole bloody thing at https://chat-echoes-neuage.lovable.app/ Anyway, here are the words for this song “Bali in the Sun”

Verse 1

Four sisters do Bali,
Carolyn, Narda, Helena, Jannie.
Along comes Terrell,
Peter, Michael, Leon.
Chorus Here we are Bali in the sun,
(Bali in the sun).
We laughed in the warmth.
Here we are Bali in the sun,
Australia so far away,
(So far away),
So cold we forgot it was there.
Verse 2

We were so young,
No one was 80 years old yet.
We laughed in the warmth,
Australia so far away.
Chorus Here we are Bali in the sun,
(Bali in the sun).
We laughed in the warmth.
Here we are Bali in the sun,
Australia so far away,
(So far away),
So cold we forgot it was there.
Chorus Here we are Bali in the sun,
(Bali in the sun).
We laughed in the warmth.
Here we are Bali in the sun,
Australia so far away,
So cold we forgot it was there.
Bali in the sun, Bali in the sun,
(Bali in the sun).
Words https://neuage.org music https://www.flowmusic.app/

18 June Thursday Day 5
Breakfast at Seja bar and restaurant, https://sejasanur.com/

We all took our local trolley shuttle.

Taxi to Seminyak walked along shore,

lunch at café Bali https://cafebaliseminyak.com/ great restaurant good feed.

and shopping…always shopping

19 June Friday Day 6
Taxi at 8 am breakfast at villa cereal first…cooking class…lunch what we made. I always wanted to take a cooking class in a foreign place. Doubt I would do it again. It was fun, but a home now a few weeks later I don’t remember a thing. I used to do cooking classes back in 1982 – 1983 – tofu cooking classes in Adelaide, Australia through TAFE. I would do an evening class every month. The hope was to get people to purchase my tofu and products. Yes, I was a tofu manufacturer 1981 – 1988 in Adelaide. This was before it became somewhat popular, even had a tofu cookbook I flogged. It all came to a crashing end after eight years trying to have a business which at the time was nationwide and raise my two boys on my own. My webpage from the early 1990s is still up – https://neuage.org/tofu.html

On the way home we stopped at Batuan Temple, even wore costumes (it was part of the $5 admission).

https://desawisatasukawati.id/about/#   Pura Puseh Sukawati

Batuan Temple or Pura Puseh Batuan is part of Tri Kahyangan in Pakraman village in Bali (Pakraman Village is a village activity concept that has three Kahyangan temples such as Pura Desa, Pura Puseh, and Pura Dalem).

The concept of Tri Kahyangan was coined by Mpu Kuturan in 1001 when he first came to Bali. The aim was to unite sects and community groups in Bali to worship God in its manifestations as Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Shiva (Tri Murti Tatwa).

The holy temple which was built during the reign of King Paduka Aji Sri Dharmawangsa Wardhana originates from the Warmadewa. This dynasty has a carving ornament that is complicated, beautiful, and very fine. Even this Paseh Temple building has undergone a lot of renovations to arrive at its present form.

On the way home

Of course, having such a musical family everyone except me jumped on an instrument and made whoopie – it is in our final video

And that is about it – we went to some large flea market, Narda bought some clothing thing…I looked the other way. Here are some photos from the end of our visit.

Good bye from us – here we are at the airport ready to fly home.

Would I go to Bali again? No. It is expensive to get to for a week and it did not really stand out for us – perhaps too touristy. I think I would rather go to Vietnam or India or NYC or New Orleans or Hawaii or the Netherlands, UK, Denmark, Germany…so many places we have been to so many more to go to. Narda and I are off to India September – December so that will be our next major blogs. We will be doing caravan trips in Australia and probably will write and make video clips of that. We are in Vietnam in March 2027 for Narda’s son Brendan’s 50th birthday and we are looking at a cruise in August or soon after for my 80th.

Next year the four sisters will be doing their birthdays in Australia, camping like we did last year. Cheers.

I did like Bali despite the horrible immigration experience. The island is so beautiful. and we had a great time together. The food is great, the Villa was wonderful. Narda