Hidden Canyon

Tuesday 18^th of June I took a local bus swapping at one terminal to catch the K2B to the airport.  Jen had walked the 45 minutes to her bus and was catching the K4B that we were hoping would arrive at the GOR terminal just before the K2B which I was on.  She could then join me on the same bus to the airport.  The bus app I had downloaded showed me all the different routes in colours as well as the buses as they scooted along the routes. This was very convenient as it showed me if there was another bus on its way giving me a rough idea how long I might need to wait.  I realised I would reach the GOR terminal ahead of Jen so I disembarked there and waited for her. It wasn’t long before her bus arrived and we caught the next K2B to the airport. We were both thankful we had done a dry run prior to this day as it made it so much easier to know how long it would take and where to go.

At the airport we had a few hours to wait so wandered around, found a few places to sit and eventually entered into the arrival area as far as we could before the security doors.  I found a lounge chair to sit on having been told to move off the stools outside the bank money exchange counters. Eventually Brony, Jen’s friend from Melbourne arrived just before 1pm, I accompanied her to a Telkomsel counter where she bought a local mobile SIM.   It was here we waited for Jen and Ralf who also needed a local SIM. From here we jostled through all the drivers trying to acquire customers and on to the domestic terminal, via our short cut, where we ordered some food at the Warang where we had previously eaten.  Our guests were hungry as their body clocks were still two hours behind us. Once finished we took the next bus back to the GOR terminal and then the K4B to Jen’s stop at Sukawaiti. From here we took a Grab, dropping Jen and Ralf at their guest house and Brony and me at Cheryl’s house.

That evening we ordered another Grab with Orla (one of Cheryl’s girls), picking up Jen and Ralf en route to the Night Markets that she had found the previous week.  There were lots of local clothing, household equipment, children’s items and food stalls.  It was a typical night market for locals at local prices, such a nice change to the haggling and high prices of the tourist belt. Trying to get back to our accommodation from here was a nightmare though.  Firstly many of the cars were busy and the one we did book, although we had ordered a large car, saw there were five of us and cancelled just as he approached us.  I’m not sure why; maybe because it was very busy or he’d received a better offer. We walked back through the market to the main road on the other side heading in the right direction, the road we had been on was one way and very congested. It took another 15 minutes for our driver to arrive, he was happy to take us.  In return Jen asked if he could take her and Ralf to the ferry on Thursday which he agreed to, offering her a better price than ordering it through Grab.  A win-win situation for both of them.

I slept so well that night which surprised me as the room was very stuffy.  There was no ventilation or windows that I could open and worse still, there was a small toilet/shower room off the room I was sleeping in, which is usually used as a conference or lounge room.  Although we had shut the cats outside for the night I couldn’t leave the door open as Orla and her cousin Apli often come downstairs to have a late dinner.

Wednesday morning after breakfast I asked if Brony wanted to come for a walk with me, I needed fresh air and exercise and I also wanted to show her around the neighbourhood.  We walked down to the main road past the rice paddies, along the main road to the first street into the Kampong area making a wide loop back to the house on the backstreets.  We stopped along the way to buy bananas from a local street vendor.  Just after 10am Jen and Ralf arrived to do some washing before we all walked to the Hidden Canyon which was about two kilometres from where we were staying.

Here we bought our tickets and were given our two guides.  One guide looked at Jen and said, “Are you the lady I see walking through the village every day?”  Jen has a reputation in the village now for being the Jalan Jalan lady (the walking lady).  We all laughed.  It was a great connection for the start of our day. We changed into our bathers and water shoes which Jen and I had borrowed from Cheryl’s. Our guides both had waterproof bags into which went our things which weren’t left in the lockers, one of the guides took Jen’s camera to take photos along the way.  We then followed them beside the vegetable gardens and rice paddies till the ground dropped steeply away into a deep canyon with a stream flowing through it.

Wow!  What an adventure!  The canyon is around three kilometres long with some very rapid flowing spots where the water is forced through narrow sections in the rock.  We clambered over rocks, swam through deep pools, grazed our knees on boulders hidden under the murky water, crawled up huge volcanic rocks and generally had a great time.  About half way through I let the guides know I was 69 years of age and instantly gained more respect and help getting up and down the rocks which I really appreciated as I’ve noticed my balance isn’t as good as it used to be, neither is my ability to scramble over the boulders!  There were lots of laughs along the way but praise the Lord no mishaps except for a few grazes.  We were all exhausted by the time we reached the end of the canyon and yet there was still another steep climb back up the many steps to the rice paddies and about a kilometre walk back to our things.  We had a quick shower and change into our clothes before taking our complimentary lunch, of fried rice or noodles, over-looking the slope into the canyon.  It had been a lovely outing, the water was cool but not cold and the canyon not hot as most of the day it is in shade.  It was a short walk back to our respective accommodation where I packed my bag ready for my journey home to Gayle’s.

Sometimes in Bali the taxi drivers are very busy and it’s hard to find a ride.  This was one of those days.  Actually the first driver I cancelled after waiting five minutes out of his six minute suggested arrival time as I noticed on the app he had not moved from his original position.  In retrospect I should have asked him if he was still coming as he may have been refuelling. The next driver was about 12 minutes away but seemed to be going in the opposite direction.  I waited watching his progress on the app and realised he was going further and further away which seemed as through he was ignoring my pick up address.  I messaged him to say I was near Sukawait and that he was going the wrong way.  In the end I cancelled him also as he was then 16 minutes away.  I wasn’t happy but decided I’d walk to the main road and try again.  Just after starting to walk Roslyn, Cheryl’s cleaner, pulled up and asked where I was going.  I said I wanted to catch the bus (a 45 min walk away with my big backpack) she gestured she was going the other direction, going home.  Oh what the heck!  Yes, I’d take the lift and try from wherever she dropped me which happened to be closer to Denpasar.  It was a good choice as it only took six minutes for another motorbike driver to pick me up.  Little did I know what kind of a ride I was in for!  Firstly the helmet strap was broken which is always quite concerning, then his bike kept spluttering and his driving was quite erratic.  A quick prayer for safety, putting myself into the Lord’s hands. At one set of lights he bumped into the driver in front of us, then he weaved dangerously in and out of the traffic.  I’m accustomed to the weaving but this guy was excessive.  At the last major intersection when we had stopped at a set of red lights, he suddenly took off to the left cutting through the stationary vehicles.  I thought he wanted to get ahead of the traffic.  Clutching the back of the bike as we passed in front of a stationary truck waiting for the lights to change, I saw the driver watching us so I mouthed the Indonesian word for ‘CRAZY’ and pointed to my driver with a look of horror on my face.  The bike engine died as we reached the curb.  Kick starting it again he then cruised down the hill towards the nearest petrol station.  It was then I realised he was out of petrol as he also explained in broken English that the last trip was a long one.  Well, I thought why didn’t you fill up before you picked me up?  Oh well, praise the Lord I arrived home safely.  Gayle suggested I give him a poor rating and report the incident to the company which I did and was sent an apology and assured that action was taken to reprimand the driver.

After dropping my things and checking Gayle was ok and if she needed any shopping, I walked to the bus stop hoping to get a bus to Tiara supermarket but the next bus was over half an hour away so I called for another motorbike taxi and then another one for my ride home as I had bought milk and didn’t want it exposed to the heat for too long. I’m not sure what happened but that driver cancelled on me so I called for another which was a lovely lady.  Gayle was still busy with a meeting so I excused myself and had an early night as we needed to be out the door by 7:30am for an outing with the Compassion children.

That evening Jen messaged me to say she had fallen down one of the many potholes in the sidewalk and had badly grazed her knee and injured her hip.  Such an easy thing to do, which we are all aware of.  The edge of the roads are raised with what looks to us like a footpath but is actually a cover for the floodwater drains.  The cement cover is often broken with large jagged holes or uneven paving which is extremely dangerous for anyone walking along them.  Sometimes it is safer to walk along the road but then you need to be aware of the traffic which is also jostling for the same space.  There are often vehicles parked half on the path and half on the road which need to be circumnavigate while watching for oncoming traffic.  Besides these hazards you need to keep your eyes open for dog excrement which could be anywhere along you route.  I was concerned for Jen but encouraged to hear the permanent resident of their homestay was a doctor who cleaned her up and offered her some Aloe Vera gel to help with the healing.

Although I was tired I decided I’d take something to help me sleep through, unfortunately it didn’t work and once again I was awake at 2:30am.  It normally doesn’t stress me but I was annoyed because I wanted to be up by 6am to get ready.  I eventually fall asleep for about an hour before my alarm went off.  When I called out to Gayle at 7am she told me there was a change of plans and we didn’t need to be there till 9am.  I was grumpy from lack of sleep and knowing this didn’t help.  I would have liked to have had a bit more sleep but really it was nobody’s fault.  I tried to sleep a bit more but it didn’t happen so got up.  Gayle ordered a car to pick us up and drop us where the three -15 seater buses were waiting with the team from Melbourne, Compassion kids and staff.

Everyone was milling around getting organised, we were running late, then there was a toilet stop at an Indomaret supermarket which only has one toilet.  I was very glad of the stop as I knew I wouldn’t have lasted much longer. There were no more delays just a long haul through the traffic till we hit the country roads and the steep, winding climb up the side of Mt Kintamani.  Yes, I was blessed to have a second visit returning to the restaurant Jen and I went with Damon and Komang.

I sat next to Damon for the whole bus journey, he asked many questions to help improve and practise his English.  Our next stop after lunch was the home town of Wayan, Gayle’s late husband.  We met many of the family members who continue in their traditional ways.  It was very interesting to hear about the reasons why their homes are arranged around a family courtyard with the kitchen facing one way and the family alter another. We were all invited to learn a few moves of a traditional Balinese dance.  Before leaving Gayle’s family we gave them a food parcel containing rice and other dried goods. From here we walked to the village meeting hall, an open pavilion, where the team engaged the village children in some entertaining games.  They finished off with a funny action song and gave them all a small gift with pencils, colouring book, snacks and a little packet of UHT milk.

There were plans to visit a coffee farm but due to a few wrong turns and a late start we had run out of time.  The team took two of the buses while the rest of us clambered aboard the last bus.  It was a long drive back and everyone fell asleep, even I struggled to stay awake.  Gayle and I were dropped at a McDonald’s where we called for a car to take us home.  This one also cancelled, it took us quite a while to find another as it was a busy time of the evening.  We were so glad to finally reach home.  I was exhausted so went to bed early.

For the rest of the week and the following week, excluding Sunday which of course was church, I mostly spent around the house relaxing, just enjoying doing nothing much.  Gayle was out some days for blood tests and an evening to join the visiting team and I was able to catch up on my journaling to complete the last blog before posting it.  One night I felt really tired, there was quite a bit on my mind and whether it was that or just my body clock not wanting to switch off, I couldn’t sleep till after midnight!  Praise the Lord I didn’t have anything urgent on the following day and slept in to 6am.

Sunday was the team’s last day before flying out.  Some of the teens gave their testimony then hurried off after church to get ready for their flight home.  There were two couples from Tasmania also visiting, they had just returned from a mission outreach into Africa, who joined us for lunch.  They had some interesting stories about their travels.

Jen was in Lombok with Ralf enjoying his week here and on her return was informed of Cheryl’s later return so she was unable to go to our next planned trip to Munduk. I wasn’t interested in going without her so we decided we would cancel it.  The trip that was planned for me to meet them both at Legian Beach was also cancelled, then the following morning rescheduled when I had my phone off, so I missed out.  The following day Jen and Brony made an impromptu decision to go to Munduk without me.  I wasn’t happy about being left behind as I too wanted to do the last waterfall trek which we didn’t have time to complete on the last visit.  So basically I didn’t do much all that week.

Gayle’s friend Panghestu, who is studying law in Perth, came to stay a night and Gayle spent the last Saturday with her friend Janette and stayed overnight to go to a pyjama party and so June 2024 came to a close.

Photos:   1. Antigonon leptopus (Chain-of-love)    2. Bus stop Sukawati    2. This little piggie went to market    3. Rice paddy with Cheryl’s home in background    4. Us swimming through the canyon    5. Our group with guides    6. Me at the canyon

Prayer & Praise Points:

Praise the Lord for His continual protection and provision.

Please continue to pray for Gayle’s ongoing health concerns, especially her eyes.

Thank you for praying for Jen’s injury to her leg which is healing well.

Please pray for Jen, my friend Vi-Lay, who is joining us this week, and myself; for our safety as we navigate the roads here in Bali.  Pray also for ongoing good health and protection against disease.

Please continue to pray for Elsie and Ross Winchester as they continue their cancer treatment. Please also pray for my good friend Anthony Higgs who is needing a shoulder operation. Believe with me for the Lord’s intervention and total healing for them all.

Continue to pray with me for world peace both in the Middle East, Ukraine and Russia.  Pray for all those caught up in the suffering that both these wars have caused.  Pray that God’s peace may be known by all people especially for those who live in despair, that they will find hope in Christ Jesus.

Please keep my sisters, Tricia, Jen and Kat, in your prayers.  Pray that they will come to know the love of Jesus.