I had a mild waft of depression come over me last night. I had two wonderful massage treatments at Alam Wangi Spa at sunset, lulled into blissfulness by the scents of the scrubs and oils (jasmine to turmeric to green tea) the soothing, hypnotic repetition of the gamelan music, and the deep, snapping hand movements of the masseuse.
Then I went to the internet cafe in town to upload some files and check email. Around 8 pm I started the mile walk back to my inn, looking for a place to eat. I could have called Kebun Indah to pick me up, but I like to walk.
It had rained all day, very hard at times, so the streets were very wet and dirty, as well as mostly deserted. The shops had closed up early, I am guessing because the weather kept the customers away. The streets were fairly dark as a result, despite this being “Saturday night!” The washed out contents of the ubiquitous offering boxes were strewn everywhere, and the occasional small group of young men were playing music and offering me taxi rides.
There were a few internet cafes open with each ancient PC occupied by a Balinese surfing the web on a shared dial-up connection, requiring the sort of patience that the Balinese are blessed (cursed?) with. There were also a few minimart shops, selling Fanta and packaged foods. But I wanted a warm meal in my tummy.
I was hungry and alone.
What I found open was a vegetarian cafe, with a yoga studios upstairs. I ended up with a Balinese-hippie fusion meal, nasi goreng with red rice, tofu and organic vegetables. It was delicious, and suited me perfectly.
