Hi Gram!
I had a good rest last night. I think I’m getting past the jet lag and starting to adjust to the time difference. I got up and did my stretches, then the three of us headed to meet Stacey to go on a hike that she’d discovered a week or two ago. We started at the intersection of two streets – a busy street full of cars and scooters and noise, and a narrower street with vendor stalls on both sides plus fewer cars and scooters going through slower. The road was just wide enough for a small SUV or minivan to get through, and there was a steady stream of them trying. Every now and then, we’d have to step up to the stall and watch as a mirror passed inches away, creeping by. We walked down the lane, heat and humidity still at a manageable level and the stalls and buildings shading us from low sun. David grabbed some sunglasses that he overpaid for, so of course we teased him and all joked about the conversion rate. The vendor stalls thinned as we were flanked by walls covered in greenery. That gave way to the occasional villa or guesthouse until, next thing we knew, we were walking through rice paddies. Stacey was excited to share her knowledge of how rice is grown and harvested and her excitement was contagious.

As our de facto tour guide pointed out the difference between baby, maturing, and full grown rice, we were passed by families of three or four heading to school or work on their scooter. It was fun seeing them stacked up, mom driving the scooter with the younger child braced in front of her, then the older child sitting between her and dad, who brought up the rear with his feet on the pegs and holding onto mom, his arms forming guard rails to keep the child safe. The concrete path turned to a well-trod dirt path pointing between fields with irrigation ditches on either side. Stacey explained – and we witnessed – a complex network of locks, dams, ditches and canals forming a web through which water was channeled into some fields and blocked from others.

The fields themselves are a feat of engineering, a series of steppes and terraces so the water flows from field to field, all fed by gravity so the rainfall can nurture everyone’s crops. I was amazed how the terrain was sculpted and changed rapidly as we walked. One minute we’d be walking with fields on either side of us, then we found ourselves in a jungle setting with a canopy of trees and vines reaching over us. We could walk four people wide for a while, then found ourselves single file on a narrow concrete wall, the narrow irrigation canal on our right and a twenty food drop on our left. We all seemed to be leaning a little to the right for that part, hoping to fall into the water instead of down the ravine in case we lost our balance.

Past the fields and in what felt like deep jungle, we saw a massive concrete building structure off to our right that looked abandoned and scary. We each made up theories on this building and its history (spoiler – we later found out that it’s still occupied and seems to house local families who work in the area). The size and scale of this building with moss and vines creeping up the side juxtaposed with the trail and irrigation canals fed the imagination.

We soon exited the shaded jungle area to a trail that led past more rice fields. Off to our left, there was a small shanty that we wondered about and soon found a nice man selling his paintings and coconuts. I went inside and looked at his artwork with him and was temped to ask him if he could paint my laptop or something, then David and I decided to split a coconut since we weren’t going to buy any of his art. The coconut was, of course, amazing and fresh. It was a show to watch him hack away the sides and expose an opening through which we could sip the juice as we walked.

We passed it back and forth and I found there was more coconut juice in there than I expected. The raw fields became more manicured with villas, cafes and yoga centers becoming more prevalent. We stopped at the Pomegranate Cafe, recommended by our amazing friend Amy and for good reason. Our table overlooked the rice fields with a soft breeze blowing through. I had a taco bowl with chipotle chicken and homemade Jamu drink, a mix of lime, ginger, honey and turmeric. Both sent my taste receptors into a blissful state, aided by the fun conversation and company, and of course we scraped the inside of the coconut with a spoon to eat some of the fruity delicious meat.

After breakfast, we continued down the path while the hustle and bustle of the city built back around us until we found ourselves on a familiar busy road, noise and traffic and people all around us.

We all said goodbye, then Stacey headed back to her place and we headed towards ours. I stopped at an ATM, my first ATM visit here a success, then bought some sandals to be ready for our spa treatment later. After making an appointment at our massage place, we headed back to the apartment to freshen up and reset ourselves. I changed into my fancy new white sandals, then we headed over to Golden Hands. This time around, Ashley got a massage while David got a pedicure, then he and I got our toenails painted the colors of the Indonesian flag. We felt pampered and pretty, just like we deserve!

Of course, getting your nails did will make anyone hungry, so you can imagine we found ourselves in a warung down the road to cool off and fill up. The menu offered an avocado milkshake with a note saying “we know this sounds weird, but Indonesians love these things so give it a try!” Curious and feeling adventurous, I ordered one with my lunch and holy goodness gracious yowzers, it was delicious! So much so that David ordered his own after trying mine and I imagine I’ll be drinking a lot more of these in the coming weeks. I’m starting to feel like a broken record telling you that my lunch was delicious, exploding with flavor, and a great deal but all of those remain to be true. After lunch, we wandered the stalls some more. Ashley was looking for sandals like mine but decided they weren’t as soft and squishy as they look (they look like 3D printed clouds and are comfy for the first bit but not great for walking too far). I was trying to find a comfortable button down shirt with a low collar, but could only find low collars or buttons all the way down. Finding them together on the same shirt was just not in the cards for me.

Eventually, my two friends decided to head back to the apartment while I headed back down to the other end of the lane to find a bag. I had fun speaking with the different vendors and haggling, but didn’t find a bag that screamed out my name at a price I couldn’t refuse. I worked my way back to the house, planning to go to the art market and check out some other vendors after putting on my gym shoes, but there’s something about being back at home, even if it’s a temporary home, that draws me in. I got some stuff done on the computer, then hung out with David and Ashley for a bit. It was so nice just lounging on the chairs, a breeze blowing across us from opposite windows, talking about our day and making plans for the next. Around 8, they headed to grab some dinner and I got ready for my Toastmasters meeting. I haven’t been in a few weeks with all the traveling so it was great seeing everyone and participating in a meeting. The zoom call ended at 9:30pm, and I had been up since 4 so it was an easy choice to go to bed and cap my day.