Accommodations

All the places we stayed in Indonesia were quit grand. Marble floors were common. The beds were all very comfortable. Generally we each had our own double or even queen sized. Although I struggled with it, I could be sure every place offered wireless. They didn’t even charge extra for it. Every place offered some kind of breakfast. Most offered turn down service complete with sweets.

I didn’t get any pictures of the one in Jakarta. We arrived in the middle of the night to find their staff waiting up for us. They got us registered and sent to our room with gratifying speed.

It was a tall building with an elevated driveway to a wide but shallow entrance. I was so per-occupied with missing luggage and such that I didn’t’ really pay much attention.

To the left and above is the entrance to the hotel in Jogjakarta. We were there for several nights. They had the snack tray that looked like sushi, musicians who sang off-key in the foyer every evening, and the absolute best breakfast buffet with dozens of food choices available.

In Ubud, Bali, we stayed at a place with a very long walk from the building at the entrance to the very back. Our room was in a skyscraper in the middle of rice fields.

This weird pool fascinated me. I couldn’t decide if it was a swimming pool or an odd fountain. Water constantly sloshed over the edges, which were clearly designed for that. One day I saw someone swimming in it. I would like to have done so, but when we had the time, I didn’t have the strength.

This place had an exercise room that made me flinch. It was a glassed in building wedged between the main walk way and the rice fields. Everyone walking by could see you sweat.

The dining room at this place was several floors up in one of the buildings. From the seating you could look out over another odd fountain to a long vista and more lodging belonging to the compound in the distance.

This place featured towels tied up like origami to make the shapes of elephants. It was very cute, though they forgot to replace my towels one day which proved somewhat problematic.

We had to start off early for our meeting with the bus because it took ten minutes to walk from our room to the front. There were a ton of little alcoves to walk past and gates to step through along the way. It made the walk entertaining.

At one point a man was chopping the ends off coconuts and handing them out to people who passed. So exotic!

Then we stayed in Lovinia. Or maybe it was Jimbaran. I’m not sure, but based on my itinerary I think it was Lovinia. We had wonderful accommodations, including a kitchenette that we didn’t really use, and a plunge bath! It was all flagstone and tile.

It was hot, so the bath was wonderful, but humid so our suits took forever to dry. Again, we didn’t spend all that much time in the room. The day we saw the dolphins we walked from our room down to the beach in the dark. Good thing the decorative walk ways were all nice and broad.

On one of our evenings off, we ate at the restaurant on the second floor of the building on the right (below). They served a very hot soup. The waitstaff hesitated to serve it, and made it clear it would be spicy, but we’re used to spicy food. I can’t remember what I ate, but it was fun watching my mother turn inside out over the soup. Yes, I’m evil.

We sprawled out in this place and regrouped, repacked. Again, the internet was slow, but accessible. I spent too much time emailing my hubby dear. He tends to get a little uptight when I run off to the other side of the world from him.

The last place in Bali – which the itinerary shows as Jimbaran but which I was sure was Denpasar – was problematic for me, personally. It was exactly the kind of combination of old world elegance and local flavor that I would normally adore! you can see the netted beds. The doors were intricately carved wood.

The grounds were filled with looping walkways lined in banzai trees set on pillars. The walk ways took you past pools, bars, restaurants, and out to the beach, where we attempted some snorkeling. The water was too muddy close in for it, but we were mostly just testing new equipment anyway.

My problem began the first night. Either the mold growing in the room or the perfume they used to try and cover the smell of mold caused an asthma attack.

I do not consider myself asthmatic. I have had to use a breather a time or two in the course of my life, but I hardly make a habit of it. I didn’t have any kind of medicine or equipment as I had no reason to believe I would have a problem. in the middle of the night I woke up in full attack. I barely made it out the front door to the porch before losing consciousness. I spent that night outside and the next two nights breathing poorly through a wet towel.

At this point the tour group split up. Half took a flight to Los Angeles for an overnight, then continued home. The rest of us flew to Flores Island. What makes Flores special is it’s proximity to Komodo and other islands.

Our hotel in Labuan Bajo, Flores, managed to be both modern and tropical at once. The grounds were a bit less extensive than most of the places we stayed, but included the high rise, winding paths through landscaped gardens, and a beach.

This time the thing that stood out most for me was the fish pond running along one side of the restaurant. They had enormous koi that would swim along side you as you walked past as if expecting an handout.

The other thing to note is that local sellers would politely frequent the beach. If you ever want to pick up a string of real pearls for $10, make sure you have local currency when you get here. They don’t take American Express, much to my frustration. if only I hadn’t bought that last T-shirt.