Day 8 – Saturday 6/9 – Padang Bai to Sideman (post 1/2)
A leisurely morning – no walks, just breakfast, massage & relaxing by the pool.
I pack up & check out. Nengah my driver – yes, 3 out of 4 drivers have been Nengah’s, is lovely & speaks very good English. I had planned on a trip to Kesumba to look at the salt farming but instead I ask Nengah to take me directly to my hotel. He takes me a very beautiful & scenic way up a steep & windy road. The views are spectacular. We stop for some photos. I’m clicking away when I hear little voice say ‘hello, where are you from?’ It’s a little girl about the same age as my girl. She shows me a cute woven box & asks me to buy it. I say how much? 50k! Then all of a sudden there’s a boy & the mum all trying to get me to buy more! No I say just girls & l’ll have two please. I hand over the money & get the little boxes. The little girl says thank you so much & I can feel the sincerity. I ask Nengah if we could go now please. It really tugged at my heart strings as they seemed so desperate. I am soft too which doesn’t help. Nengah says it was a good thing I did that will really help the family. On we drive.
The road is steep & windy but the landscape is amazing. We drive through villages & I notice lots of tarps out with rice, cloves & peanuts drying in the sun. After about an hour on the road we turn into a jalan & I notice a sign for my hotel
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