Serenity (and sickness) at Santi Sari

We're just wrapping up our six night stay at the peaceful and serene Santi Sari boutique hotel in northern Bali.  In contrast to the tropical showers and partly cloudy skies we experienced in the skies, our entire stay here was dry, the cerulean sky devoid of any threat of rain. This is typical for the north, which lies in the rain shadow of Bali's tallest central mountains.

Leslie and I stayed at the Santi Sari last year at this time (and 'this time' being a very unique part of our stay), and having made good friends with one of the owners (Carole), we wanted to revisit this sanctuary of serenity. One of the only hotel properties with all but perfect reviews (there was a single 4 star review, ruining the hotel's perfect track record), the reason for the overwhelmingly positive feedback is simple: the staff, the hospitality and the peaceful, quiet environment.

We recognized all but a few of the staff from last year, and they all welcomed us back, both us and them lighting up in happy recognition. As with all Balinese hospitality, the smiles and service seem a natural extension of their culture - a sincere desire to provide a fantastic hospitality experience.

Just some of the wonderful staff at Santi Sari - all of them were here last year as well!

This year, not only was Carole here to greet us, but her ex-husband and business partner Tony was on site as well. A wonderful chap, it was a pleasure to get to know him over these past several days. Moreover, we learned that Carole and Tony had reconciled - evidenced by their walks along the property hand-in-hand.


Tony & Carole

They built this property over a two year period, after doing extensive research on where they wanted to open a peaceful, small hotel (Vanuatu was on the short list, but the complete lack of infrastructure knocked it off their list). They chose a site in the small village of Goris, which is only around 15km from the ferry one can catch to cross the narrow channel to the island of Java.

Beautiful sunset looking north to the sea of Bali

Lily pond





The property as seen from the shoreline

The Volcanos of nearby East Java

There are only a handful of suites and villas that comprise the property, with two pools a small restaurant, a few acres of property (which includes tidal mangrove areas), and a long dock that leads to the boat they use to take guests to Menjangan island.

Dock leading from property

On the other hand, Leslie has been very sick over most of our stay here. She contracted a bug, food poisoning - something that manifested itself into making her very weak with terrible gastro-intestinal issues. She's only recovered maybe 80% by our last night here. It's a shame - she so loves this place, and there were so many possible excursions we could have taken (a trip to Java's volcanos, a trek through the national park, among others). However, she felt well enough for all of us to visit Menjangan island, located about 10 miles away off the coast. Featuring fantastic reefs and sea live, it was a joy to get out and snorkel around, discovering blue starfish, among other creatures.

 

Dive boats gathered at Menjangan

Leslie with Ganesha on Menjangan island

Boat ride to Menjangan...Java volcanos in the distance

 

 

As I'm writing this blog, Leslie has gone to bed early, the kids are up in their room - Liam watching cartoons and Lily likely tweeting/instagramming/facebooking - while I'm in the bale (covered daybed) I've hung out all week, relaxing and reading my latest author discovery, slamming through all five of his novels during these five days. It's Ramadan (almost halfway through - the moon is gibbous and close to full), and in this part of Bali, so close to Java (and the majority of Indonesia which is Muslim), there are many mosques in the vicinity of our hotel.

 

It's night time.

 

The crickets are chipping, the trade winds are brushing my cheeks, and surrounding me - almost in stereo - are post sunset Ramadan monologues amplified by loudspeakers from 3-4 nearby mosques. I was told that these prayers, or whatever they may be, are in Arabic (odd, since we're in Indonesia) which I guess is a lot like the Vatican making public prayers in Latin. Some of the sounds are reflecting off the water across the bay, while others are from sources only hundreds of meters away. It's extremely exotic, and adds to the relaxing atmosphere here.

 

My home for much of our stay at Santi Sari (and from whence I'm blogging right now)

 

 

The only downside to these loud announcements and prayers come every morning at around 4am. Apparently, in order to awake the devoted so they have time to eat before sunrise (for those of you who aren't aware, Muslims fast during the daylight hours - no food or drink - and can only eat before the sun rises and after it sets). These calls from the nearest mosque, only 1000 feet away or so, wake me up every morning - even if just for a few minutes or a half hour - until they die down and I can fall asleep again.

 

On one of the nights, Carole and Tony invited friends of theirs who manage a nearby resort, along with another couple (the only other guests) staying on the property to a dinner party. It was Carole's birthday, and though Leslie was bedridden, weak and sick with her intestinal bug, I joined the fun. We had brought Carole some gifts from Seattle (smoked salmon, Ste. Michelle wine, and naturally, coffee) along with a bottle of bubbly to help celebrate the occasion. It was a fun evening, with such an international group - Tony and Carole from the UK, an Iranian couple living in Dubai, and a Swiss couple.  Discussion ran from the newly announced airport site just 10km east of Santi Sari, to American politics and the erosion of Swiss banking secrecy.

 

The Dinner Party

Happy Birthday Carole!

Tony looking handsome

 

 

Most of the time, though, I swam with my son in the pool (we play a couple of games: underwater fighting where we try to get in punches while submerged with our dive masks on, and torpedoes, where launch ourselves from the side of the pool and try to take each other out), and spent a lot of time reading my latest set of thrillers. This time, from the author Andrew Britton and his ex-CIA, kick-ass operative with plenty of scores to settle. Given all of this Arabic hitting me from multiple mosques, it really adds to the atmosphere of the books since all the bad guys are Muslim extremists of some kind (whether from Iran, Iraq, Sudan or elsewhere).

 

Hello, Budha dude



Liam and I

Leslie and I

Liam and Leslie

Liam

Liam teaching Leslie Chess

Who's winning?

Me

Our Kindles put to good use (notice the large print on mine)



Lily - future supermodel

Leslie and I relaxing in our bale

Liam at home in the pool

The beautiful poolside bale we used

 

 

Tomorrow we head to our last stop, our last four days in Bali and before our vacation comes to a final end, and we head home to Seattle. I've got more to write about from our five nights in Ubud (that was a lot of fun, and unfortunately, likely the source of Lily's ear infection and Leslie's sickness).