17.-24.11.2016 Bali # Skipping after fruits'n fun & Arak attack

What a great time it was in Bali. Everyone in the group spends the days according to their own liking, completely carefree. Whether it's culture, the country and its people with a visit to the Ulan Danu Temple on Lake Bratan, power shopping, dolphin tours, or water sports in Menjangan - there's something for everyone. It's also amazing how much harmony still exists in this diverse group of 21 people, most of whom didn't even know each other or only knew each other briefly before. The surroundings certainly contribute to everyone feeling great, so it's not surprising that we occasionally turn the night into day. During an evening pool session, the skipping is invented. This may sound a bit provocative, but it just describes a mixture of swimming and dancing. We have produced true masters in this discipline :-) The swimming animal racing championships are also worth mentioning. We specifically acquire the inflatable sports equipment for this purpose in the local retail stores. It's not that easy to stay on the floats, but it's a lot of fun.

At some point, "fruits'n fun" is launched. When this command is given, everyone who has an empty glass in front of them passes it to the current cupbearer to be filled with arrack-lemon. This mixture contains various fruits, depending on the respective bartender, and is causally responsible for a lot of fun, hence the name. Our battle cry has also become legendary in this context. There has probably never been anything like it in Man's before. Even the night watchman doesn't greet us with "Good evening" when he starts his shift, but with "Arrack Attack"! We really made an impact there :-)

On the 18th, Chit, Sandi, Maik, Ani, and Samira leave us. When we say goodbye, our friends from Myanmar have a surprise for us. As a special gesture of gratitude, they perform a kind of bow in front of us. We are touched and don't know what to say. The farewell is accordingly emotional. Hopefully we'll see each other again next year when the two of them get married.

On the same evening, we celebrate Kati's birthday. At some point, she had answered the question of what she would like with "just buy me a beer". So that's what we do. When midnight strikes, each of the attendees silently places a beer in front of Kati one after the other. At first, she is speechless, but soon she is enlightened and of course, we all help her make good use of her "gift". The actual birthday party takes place in the evening with live music and cake, with Kati celebrating her 35th birthday for the 2nd time :-) Tina and Monika can no longer celebrate with us, they left in the afternoon. The group is slowly becoming more manageable again.

Maike and I also go scuba diving. After a scuba dive with suboptimal currents and pretty poor visibility at Temple Wall in Pemuteran, a group of us cross over to Menjangan. The island is located in the Bali Barat National Park and is known for its beautiful diving and snorkeling spots. Together with Firman, we dive Eel Garden and Underwater Cave, one of my favorite dive sites. So we have done (almost) everything we planned for diving on this tour. A nice ending. Peter also got interested and dives with Suli, completing two dives at moderate depths. The rest of the group is enjoying snorkeling or chilling on the boat or on the island.

Two days before our departure, we get a close experience of the local population. We are invited to a wedding in the village. For Kati, Ida, Uwe, Maike, and me, this is not new, as we were already able to attend a ceremony last year. Nervousness is noticeable in everyone else. In the morning, Rico and I take a scooter trip to Gilimanuk. From the small town in the far northwest of Bali, the ferries depart for Java. Unfortunately, it's so hazy that day that we can't see the big volcanoes on the neighboring island. No problem, it's all about the journey. We're back in time to get dressed up for the wedding, just like everyone else. Herman and Firman even provide us with matching headgear before we all set off, except for Paula and Philipp. They left early in the morning with Dolok towards the south. They want to pick up Tina and Sascha, a couple of friends who happen to be on vacation in Bali, from Denpasar and do some sightseeing on the way.

When we arrive at the festival area, we briefly steal the show from the bride and groom. Of course, we are the exotic ones here and some of the locals practically twist their necks to catch a glimpse of us. We are welcomed by Edy, an old acquaintance, and are surprised to learn that it is his seventeen-year-old sister who is getting married here today. Or rather, she is being married, we didn't find out exactly. Miya has been involved in the preparations for weeks. She is happy to see us and immediately takes each of us to the buffet for food. After a short time of being cautious with some members of the group, the tension slowly dissolves. It is a foreign culture after all, and you don't want to do anything wrong when making first contact. Everyone follows the advice to act completely natural and relaxed, and soon we belong, as if it had always been this way. In the end, there is a photo session with the bride and groom, and afterwards, everyone is richer for a beautiful experience.

For the evening before our departure, Herman ordered a band again. Maike's birthday is brought forward and so we already have cake and presents one day earlier in the lovingly decorated garden restaurant. But at the same time, a sense of melancholy is creeping in, as we will soon have to leave our little paradise. During the evening, we ask Herman to gather the staff. We want to thank them for their great care and present them with a framed group photo so that they can all remember the crazy Germans and their "Arrack Attack". We probably hit a nerve because Herman's people are visibly moved. Afterwards, we can hardly escape requests for joint photos.

Although our departure is scheduled for 7:00 a.m., we don't hesitate to celebrate Maike one more time at midnight. Probably no one is inclined to end the last evening early anyway. Satu lagi (one more) arrack-lemon is ordered and we review the time here before finally getting a few hours of sleep.

The farewell in the morning is short but heartfelt. Everyone in the group is well aware that they have found friends here and are always welcome. And it certainly won't be the last time at Man's for some of us, do you want to bet? :-)