Plevyaks in Bali

 He's only been on the job for 4 days, but this bartender seems to have things well in 'hand' See the video here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/UjNZ5QhYGSHqjBFLA

Rams is fortunate to be on a student visa to Indonesia, allowing him to come, go, and stay for a year.  John and I are on VOAs, allowing us 30 days with 1 extension. At max 60 days, we need to leave the country and renew our VOAs.  Thursday was a day off school so we modeled balance for Rams, had him play hookie Friday and took a long weekend in Singapore.  2 1/2 hours by plane and a world away.   In addition to parent VOAs, Rams has 2 goals:  Chocolate and Halloween Haunted Houses. Chocolate lost, Chocolate found :  In Boston, in June Rams went on a Chocolate tour with his camp.  He discovered Royce Chocolate, a Japanese Ganache that was sadly left behind at Auntie Ruth's, and is not available in SF, Mexico or Bali. Fortunately, they sell Royce in Singapore a stone's throw from our hotel! Scaring is Caring :  Rams' only concern when accepted to Green School was missing Universal Studios Halloween Haunt....

As I mentioned earlier,  John and I attended a fundraiser for the Green School Foundation.  We had not thought to bring our Black Tie clothes, so we had an opportunity to do a little shopping and found outfits at Gingersnapbali.com.  I think we did pretty well! The Green School Foundation brings sustainability education to local learners with 2 main programs:  The Environmental School Project partners with local schools to teach about sustainability and The Agriculture University Scholarship that helps young people go to university and learn the science of modern, sustainable farming. The entertainment was amazing, and we were happy to do our part to promote this important work. The Ayana Resort was beautiful and we are so happy we brought Rams on the adventure.  Around this lovely event we were able to fit in a DimSum Brunch, 2 amazing escape rooms, a chocolate store, and a visit to the local IKEA with our favorite guy! What a great weekend!

I really haven't cooked since I got here.  I intend to, and there are potatoes waiting to be au gratined in the fridge, but the food here is so good and so cheap.  Here are some favs: Friday burgers at Baja Deli near the school with live music, and custom cocktails. La Baruna.  Not a beach club (no bag check or min spend) but amazing seafood curry cooked in bamboo and excellent beach front views. Sista Dumpling in Berawa.  Has a nice view of a rice field and excellent dumplings. Indigo for fancy Sushi Roman Pizza for a quick meal and even quicker delivery  Potato Head Beach Club Igor Talot Agro Restaurant outside of Tanah Lot

Tonight's fundraiser for Green School Foundation was a lovely event in an amazing setting, culminating in a live auction.  We won 3 amazing items, including this, our newest piece of art/booze.  7 liters of Arak in a Frog sculpture.  I can't wait to get this fellow home!

This weekend is the Green School Foundation fund raiser.  John and I eagerly shopped for "Bali Black Tie" wear and purchased our tickets.  As it's just a dinner, we scheduled an escape room for Rams Saturday and family Silver Jewelry Making Sunday.  But, we didn't check drive times until Friday night.  Using our SF house as ground 0, we basically scheduled a Saturday morning family activity in San Jose, an adult only dinner in Santa Cruz and a family event in Pacifica - 5 1/2 total hours drive time on a good day.  Last night we made a few changes to maximize fun and minimize drive time -photos to come.   And, as we head for the escape room, as we feared, there is heavier than usual traffic.

This weekend, we decided to keep it chill.  Rams has some bites and cuts on his feet we want to keep an eye on, so no big plans.  Breakfast with the kitties again.  They recognized us, warmed quickly and let us give chin and chest rubs!  Very affectionate friends! Sunday we took Rams to Tanah Lot where he pet the  Holy Snakes of Tanah Lot.  After, we visited a mini-golf/ Lewak coffee place.  The mini golf was very difficult and we left at dusk as the mossies came out, but we got to pet a Lewak!

We heard from our friend Wayan about the Indoor Theme Park in a mall in Denpasar.  We didn't have high expectations, but it was early dismissal, and had the afternoon.  Trans Studios Theme Park was like nothing we have ever experienced.  Think Universal Studios, meets Wonderworks with racecars and Instagram photo ops.  The most curious aspect is that the queues have been built for hundreds of guests and there were maybe 2 dozen individuals there. I share here some of our favorite attractions:  1: A Walking Dead adventure with multiple immersive Instagram sets! 2: An illusion apartment building (aka In the Heights according to Rams) 3:  A roller coaster on the roof of the mall.  4:  The Titanic! 5:  Stunt Show with more performers than audience members.

The Cat Cafe in Sanur was an unexpected treat when we first arrived on the island.  They rescue cats from the streets and use the cafe to fund medical care and socialize the kitties in order to hopefully adopt them out. The Goa Cat Cafe in Canggu is a cat cafe of another breed (pun intended.) Goa has 26 Polydactyl Maine Coons.  These spoiled kitties have never been and will never be on the streets.  Their cafe looks like a Morrocan Cave, and they are fed Fancy Feast.  They are beautiful and friendly and we spent a lovely morning petting and playing with these beauties. We also had a wonderful breakfast, all for under $25usd. In the evenings when the kitties have no more use of human suplicants, the space is a teen friendly Karaoke bar. We will be back!

Last week I was privileged to join the Farm Tour at the Astungkara Way. From their website: 'Tourism in Bali needs to change. Agriculture needs to change. We create alternatives to mass tourism that support Regenerative Agriculture and local culture. One way they support farmers is finding markets to buy thier Regeneratively produced rice.  Hence our field trip to Potato Head Beach Club.   It's a full circle experience....

Bali is beautiful.  The last time we were here, pre kids, there were a lot of rice fields.  Ag was the primary industry, and in Indonisia in general it still is.  But in Bali, rice fields are being converted at a terrific rate, to villas, and new commercial spaces are popping up almost overnight.  There is a bypass road close to us where over the course of 3 weeks we have watched construction finished and spaces filled.  One day nothing, the next a cute cafe/bar handmade housewares boutique or 'upscale' clothing store.  The prices are cheap for us, $5 breakfast is normal and $40 is expensive for a shirt.  Many product lines are designed and made in Bali, others are imported from Australia.  These stores are meant for us tourists, as a local driver would be happy to make 700,000 IDR (~$50) for 10 hours of driving, gas included.  It makes me wonder when the building boom will end. Fortunately, the largest rice field in Bali, Jatiluwih has ...

One of our BeWeGos was getting Rams Scuba Diving.  This last weekend, we went on our second scuba diving trip in Bali and Rams is enjoying it!  Our first trip was Tulamben and the Liberty Wreck.  Rams had to complete some certification skills so that was less fun for him.  This trip to Panang Bai was purely for fun.  We found the folks at Intrinity Dive Shop (across the street from us) is an excellent crew.  Coffee and tea in the van in refillable mugs.  Excellent treats on the boat.  Experienced and compassionate diver masters!  The thermocline was unexpectedly cold! (Think a 20° change) So we all mostly stayed higher. I think/hope that my guy is hooked!

Bali is filled with wild and semi-wild dogs and cats.  There seem to be an endless supply of cute puppies and kittens that 'need' good homes.  Everyone who has visited our house has asked 'Do you have any pets yet?' We say 'No,' but from our perspective, that's not quite true.   We have the Koi that came with the property.  Less than 10 in the front pond, but maybe a hundred in the back pond (counting the fry.). Then there are the dogs that own our street that greet us with angry barks when we walk.  And the Geckos and the Roaches (our friend under the glass was in our master bath (upstairs) last night and in Rams' room (downstairs) this AM with all the doors and windows 'closed.' Finally there are the 4 footed creatures that seem to sleep somewhere in the ceiling; coming and going with the sun. I think we have enough 'pets' for now.

We counted the weeks before leaving SF - 45 weeks away, and 3 are already over!  This week at Green School Rams continued to do well in the classes and making friends, John finished 4 novels and I joined a book club. Saturday we had 11 boys over for swimming and pizza. Later, John and I visited our new fav wine bar The Sommalier in Berawa (couple streets over and 10 min by car.)  Sunday morning we went scuba dive in Panang Bai with a fantastic local dive operation, Intrinity.  So obviously, Sunday afternoon is dedicated to making sure the gaming laptop is ready for remote play with Gage this evening.  I think we are striking a nice balance!

John and I took a car to Ubud on Friday.  The Uber analog, GoJek is ridiculously inexpensive.  A quick trip around Canguu is $3.50 (like LA, nobody walks in Canggu.)  Ubud is over an hour away and runs about $11.  We had a lovely lunch, did some shopping ( I found a dress for a fundraiser event later in the month) and visited Ubud Palace.  The public areas of Ubud Palace are beautiful, but not large.  They collaborated with a local artist, Redmiller Blood, AKA Peter Rhian Gunawan, to create the installation below.  "Here is a combination of culture without forgetting and a form of appreciation and tribute to the ancestral cultural heritage that has created us today along with the continuous creation of new cultures" We also saw a Garuda that looks like a giant cousin to the one we have in SF!