After a last meditation session for some, and yoga for even fewer, and breakfast for all, we set off for Denpasar.
First stop was Baliwise, an NGO that supports women of all ages. It provides education and hospitality training and placements for young disadvantaged women. The girls are taught a range og hospitality skills from spa beauty treatments to housekeeping to food and beverage skills.
They also have a soap making business Using the discarded soap from a number of large hotels they recycle it into new bars of soap which they provide to many local orphanages.
On a different site older women with limited opportunities weave beautiful soft scarves, a few of which found their way into our suitcases.
The conditions were basic and it was very hot. A huge dormitory without fans was difficult for us to tolerate in the heat; we had definitely left the cooler mountain air.
The girls were truly charming. They explained the soap making process in a very organised manner, taught us some Indonesian and then we had the pleasure of sitting with them and chatting so they could practice their English - an essential skill for success in hospitality.
They were clearly determined to make the most of every opportunity as their choices were limited without the Baliwise program. We donated enough money to pay for one girl to complete the entire program as it was clearly worth supporting.
Next stop was a ristaffel (street food) meal at Bumbu Bali. The food came on huge trays with lots of small bowls of curries and other delights, and a tiny barbecue...... and it was delicious. We managed to cool down sitting amidst the gardens in an outdoor pavilion ....and enjoying lots of fans and iced drinks!!
The very Indonesian ambience was somewhat destroyed by the interest in the last hair of the Grand Final. Kim had organised a sweep with the winner and by how many points they won for each of us. As I was barracking for the Bulldogs I was hoping not to win the sweep as my winning team was the Swans and by 42 points! ! Everyone was very pleased the Bulldkgs won. I will be interested to see what my Dad says when I return as he played in the Melbourne team that lost to Footscray in the 1954 Grand Final: the only other time they have been Premiers!
Just down the road was the Hotel for the night: the Conrad ( Hilton). Situated on the beach it was a massive Hotel and we all managed to get lost at some point over the following day. We gratefully plunged into the pool and lazed around for the rest of the day. The Conrad has a number of pools so we were not spoilt for choice!
We were so chilled out that we had dinner at the Poolside restaurant in our bathers and sarongs.Perfect!
Soon it was time to farewell those heading for home or other places. Sal and Sue headed to Poinsiana beach to spend some quality chill out time before doing the short hop back to Darwin. Mary, Catherine, Anne M., Jenny and Elaine headed to the airport after fond farewells, so the numbers dwindled to 11 for the post-Conference tour.
An early night was needed before we set off for more adventures in Java.
your hot and sleepy correspondent
Dianne
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