Mystical night en route to Amsterdam

The time had come for us to head back to the Northern hemisphere once again and we decided to break the journey with a one night stop in Bali – something we had enjoyed last year on our way back to The Netherlands.

As we were due to arrive in the evening and then fly off again the following day, we decided to stay fairly close to the airport in Denpasar. I had found a property on-line that looked very pleasant and comfortable, as well as interesting from a cultural point of view but I really had no idea how wonderful it was going to be until we arrived.

We left the chaos and noise of Gusti Ngurah Rai International airport and wove our way through the crazy traffic. After about half an hour our taxi turned off the main road and started to drive down some narrower local streets.

The streets turned into lanes and we passed traditional houses and small shops. After weaving our way through the maze of tiny laneways, the route became even narrower and we found ourselves driving through the middle of rice paddies.

Suddenly the taxi stopped and we got out. It was very dark and we couldn’t see much and all we could hear was the sounds of hundreds of frogs croaking and squawking, all competing for the attention of female frogs.

We waited a few minutes and then a golf buggy appeared out of the darkness and our cases and the two of us were loaded on for the last bit of the journey through the paddy fields – too narrow even for a taxi!

A few minutes later we arrived at the entrance of our lodgings and followed our driver to a gap the size of a door way in a very high and long wall where we climbed up a few very steep stone steps and then down again.

There was just enough light to see where we were going as we walked along the narrow pathway which was bordered by palm trees, bamboo and thick bushes.

As we walked, strange shaped buildings and statue like objects loomed up in the dark. One or two were lit up but others were shrouded in darkness. It all felt very mysterious and atmospheric!

Eventually we arrived at our villa which was right next to the swimming pool.

We were very tired as it was quite late so after a quick cup of tea we got ready to go to sleep in our beautiful four poster bed – looking forward to exploring the following day.

When we saw them in the daylight we were amazed and entranced. It was like walking into a living museum.

It turned out that the holiday villas had been built right in the middle of our host’s family compound and the dark shapes we had encountered the night before were the family temples and ceremonial meeting places.

We recognised some of the images of Hindu gods from our visits to India – Ganesha the elephant-headed god who is the son of Shiva; Nandi, the sacred bull of the Hindu god Shiva; but there were other symbols we didn’t know.

Around the perimeter of many of the buildings (including our villa) there were moats full of large koi carp.

Elsewhere there were large runs inhabited by chickens and peacocks and other exotic birds.

We were surrounded by a profusion of tropical plants – green and lush and everywhere we looked there was beauty and serenity. What a magical place!

We spent a lovely day swimming in the pool, eating delicious food and relaxing. Our kind hosts let us use our villa right up until it was time to leave in the early evening.

The onward trip to Amsterdam went very smoothly and soon we were reunited with our daughter Hannah and her husband Pieter. It was so wonderful to see them.

After a couple of months enduring the intense heat of a particularly harsh Brisbane summer, it was strange to walk out of Schipol Airport in Amsterdam into the fresh, cold, air.

Fortunately for us it wasn’t really freezing – about 10-12 degrees Celsius – so we had a chance to acclimatise before we were hit with freezing temperatures.

The day after our arrival, the choir that Hannah has recently joined – The Keys – was having a concert in Lieden (about a half an hour drive away from where they live) which was great timing for us.

We dropped Hannah off an hour before the start and went to find a cafe where Jonathan had his first Dutch apple tart for a long time!

The concert was excellent – the small choir of young women, all around Hannah’s age, sang some great arrangements of classic popular music and it was really enjoyable concert.

The following week unfolded gently as we adjusted to a new time zone, with some lovely walks and plenty more apple tarts for Jonathan, including the one Pieter’s Mum baked for us which was definitely declared number one in the taste taste.

Spring seems to have come early in the Netherlands and it has been quite a treat to see the snow drops, crocuses and even daffodils poking their colourful heads out.

A week after our arrival it was half term for Hannah which meant she was on holiday for a week. Pieter was also able to take time off so we all headed off together in our camper van to attend a family gathering in London.

Pieter drove the van to Calais in France where we boarded the ferry heading for Dover in southern England.

The crossing was only one and a half hours and soon we caught sight of the welcoming “white cliffs of Dover” and were on the road once again – this time Jonathan drove as he was more used to driving on the left-hand side of the road.