"Farewell In-Home Massages, Childcare and Lattes...the Two Week Bye-Bye Bali Countdown Begins..."

Today, climbing the steps into my favourite cafe...a place I like to visit in the afternoons for a restorative caffeine injection, I fell flat on my face...my laptop crashing onto the ground and my pride severely wounded.  I was shocked to find that no one appeared to even notice, and to hide my embarrassment I began muttering inanities to myself, about myself, as I made my way to my favourite table.  I don't know what's wrong with me.  Later, halfway home, to top it all off, I realised I'd even forgotten my book at the table.

Never mind.  We'll be back there in several more hours.  It's our Saturday morning tradition to take the monsters there for breakfast at 8:30am, shortly after it opens, so as to ensure we get back home in time for our 10am massages.  I'm writing all this down so I can smack myself in the head a few months down the line when all the childcare, leisurely lattes, dinner deliveries, twice weekly massages, and staff of three are a distant memory (sigh).

When we are once again ensconced in our primitive cement home across from the beach in Goa, our clothes strung on washing lines hung between two windows because we don't have any wardrobes - or furniture for that matter - save a couple of plastic chairs and two beds.   I just know I shall recall our luxurious treetop home in Bali with a sigh of nostalgia....or maybe not?

See, thing is, subconsciously I suppose, I'm trying to fill my head with all the negative things I can (and it's pretty hard...believe me) to make leaving this Balinese paradise bearable.  I'm thinking of the delicious food I've been eating on strict rotation (a creature of habit) for almost five months now non-stop.  Dare I say it?  I found myself actually craving a curry today.  Go figure.  I haven't even been able to stomach Indian cuisine since we left India, simply because four months of nothing but left me nearly gagging at the sight of a samosa.

So now the tides have turned, and I find myself ready to trade the now habitual rains here in Bali for the sands of Goa.  And speaking of sand, I guess the thing I'm most looking forward to is having the gorgeous Arabian Sea to swim in again.  I miss swimming.  That's the only thing this villa of ours lacked.

There was of course the one time we snuck into a local resort down the road and tried to use their pool surreptitiously, but of course got caught out when Egg,  shrieking with delight, made it fairly obvious that we were not residents by repeatedly querying why we were allowed to swim there for free when we weren't even staying there?

Another thing I won't miss is the mould.  It is so damp here in Bali, that most of our belongings have become ridden with the stuff.  My Steve Madden black leather gladiators (what on earth was I thinking?), my cosmetic case, my specs, my clothes...you name it - it's gone green.  Oh well.  A quick peek in my closet confirms that I've done a fairly thorough job of bolstering my stricken wardrobe by availing myself of pretty nearly every cool item of clothing to be found on this island.  Oops.  Two words:  luggage allowance (gulp).

I was going to say that I won't miss the numerous rabid dogs...but then I recall (not so fondly) being chased by packs of Goan dogs on the beaches during my morning runs, so perhaps that's a moot point.

No really....I guess the thing i'm going to miss the most...if I must be absolutely honest...is the coffee.  The gloriously rich, creamy lattes and cappuccinos I've been indulging in twice daily now for months.  How long will it be till another of those passes my lips I wonder?

But then I think of my beloved Chai.  I guess it kind of evens out in the end....(almost).

Oh Bali...I think I'm gonna miss you...I really do.  

(But I'll be back....you just wait and see).