After our aggressive schedule through Sumatra and Java, we really need some “down time” and the village of Anturan on Lovina Beach is perfect for this.
It’s located along the north coast of Bali, which is a lot quieter than the madness that is southern Bali. And although its beaches aren’t as pretty as the white sand ones in Kuta and Sanur – they’re black because of all the volcanic rock – we have a spectacular time.
We spend Christmas Eve Eve, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day reading, swimming, painting and just plain relaxing.
One of the highlights of our stay is our accommodation. We have our own private bungalow, which is just five minutes from the beach, and it has a beautiful front porch and an outdoor bathroom… that’s completely sheltered, of course! We’re a short walk to the nearby town of Kalibukbuk, where we can find all the amenities we need (ie. a European bakery and the night market).
For Christmas Eve, we head to our new friend Putu’s restaurant, “Pantai Warung”. We pre-ordered the day before and he made us a special feast - Balinese smoked duck stuffed with coconut, vegetables & Indonesian spices, a soup made with curry, jackfruit & fresh tuna, potato & tuna croquettes, mixed vegetables and of course, steamed rice.
The dinner is delicious!
We’re joined by some of our neighbours from the guesthouse and we spend the rest of the evening laughing, toasting and swapping stories. Eric and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate the holidays in Bali but surrounded by good food and great company.
Christmas Day arrives and after phone calls to our families, we make our way into Kalibukbuk to the aforementioned bakery to purchase our Christmas dinner – REAL German sourdough bread, Gouda cheese, rambutans – a local tropical fruit, a mango and shandies.
We enjoy our meal together in our room, playing Skip-Bo and listening to Eric’s favourite Christmas song, “Fairytale in New York” by the Pogues.
Christmas dinner for me will always be my Mom’s turkey, stuffing & pumpkin pie, but this is a pretty special way for me to enjoy my first Christmas away from home!
No comments:
Post a Comment