My friends had an agreement to check out of their room at the Suka Beach Inn, at 6pm. Down the street, they had another agreement with a van driver, to take them, the luggage and surfboards to the airport in Tuban at 8pm. At 6pm we got the gear moved and I suggested heading to Kori Restaurant on Poppies II, to use their pool room. As mentioned before, Kori has a wonderful space, with a full size table. For 30,000rp rented the table for an hour and got a large Bintang with it. Different cultures carry different energy. Of course people are different, but being away from a culture for a while, will make the distinctions more obvious. In my mind, we were having a relaxing game of pool, listening to cool jazz in an AC room.
As soon as we hit the table, the energy level stepped up a few notches, and the arguments over the rules started, between Toby and Ollie. Quite entertaining and good vibes, also something that I didn’t feel like getting involved with. To be honest, we all sucked, the best shot of the day, was Toby poking Ollie between the legs as he as about to shoot. Kori Restaurant is recommended for a game of pool, quiet drink or dinner. Speaking of food, my friends ate lunch at one of the well known warungs in Kuta, and said it was awful. Toby described the sandwich he had, with stale bread, limp salad covered in a nasty sauce, and strip of bacon. You definitely have to choose your places.
My suggestion for a quick place to eat was Warung Indonesia, on Gang Ronta, off of Poppies II. Warung Indonesia has the array of dishes you can pick from, meaning a great place or those in a hurry. We all got the plate of our choice, myself getting nasi putih (white rice), greens, a small fish and hot sambal. Ollie piled his plate high for 15,000rp and said he couldn’t beleive he got that much, for so little. During my time with my friends, we visited mostly western places to eat, reason being Toby asked me to make sure Maya could get something she liked. My friend’s positive reaction to the local food, makes me think we could of hit it more often. Anyway, they were sent off with happy stomachs, and have all those great local food places to explore next time in Bali. Ollie has actually been here before himself, and everyone promises to come back.
Riding to the airport on my motorbike, I suddendly realized I only has 700 rp in my wallet. ‘Was the parking 500rp or 1,000rp for bikes?’ I wondered. I was really hoping it as the former, because any time the ticket people have a parking problem (lost ticket on the way out etc.) they call over their little cop buddy, who goes through the shakedown routine (‘let’s see you licence, registration’ etc.), hoping to hit you up for money. The people at the entrance told me it was 500rp, allowing me to breathe easier. The Oregon crew arived 20 minutes later at International Departures. Bali’s airport is small, so if you arrive late, you do not have to walk to ‘concourse z’ a mile away. At Ngurah Rai, the check-in desks are within 40 meters of the curb, the immigration & gates are located directly upstairs.
We snapped a last photo with everyone in good spirits, and Ollie sporting his new sunburn. I watched Toby go through the metal detector, he could barely fit but they smeared butter on the sides, so he could slide past. Back at my house, I recieved a lovely SMS from the crew, informing me they had pooled some money, and hired a benchong to come visit me. When the guy showed up, I just gave him Toby’s email address, and told him his future looked bright.
Selamat jalan Toby, Maya, Ollie and Asia.
