Day 268: Manggis to Sideman via Denpasar — Volcano Views at Villa Idanna

By this time in the trip, after nine months and 70+ different accommodations, we are pretty unemotional on getaway day: pack up, say goodbye, on to the next. 

But Alila Manggis was a special place. So we were all a little bit sad to leave today. 

I believe it will stand the test of time in our memories — it already cracked Margaret’s “Top 3 Hotels” list. We play this game often and everyone’s Top 3 tends to change depending on their mood or recollection at the time. But it’s already being mentioned with names like Old Rectory (Plettenberg Bay, SA), D’Angleterre (Copenhagen) and Chateau St. Martin (Cote d’Azur). That’s good company. 

We were headed to Villa Idanna in Sideman, but we had to pickup our passports with renewed visas back in Denpasar. It would have been about 45 minutes or an hour to Sideman but instead we did a 90 minute detour to Denpasar, then another 90 minutes to Sideman. 

This was the third trip down there and in retrospect, I’m not sure it was worth it for the 5 extra days in Indonesia — typically visas are only for 30 days and we’re staying 35. This visit wasn’t too painful. I waited about 10 minutes while Margaret and the kids stayed outside and ate quesadillas we took from Alila. 

About 30 minutes before arriving in Sideman we stopped in the market at Klungkung. This was supposed to be a separate excursion from Alila and I’m glad we didn’t kill half a day to do it. We made a 20 minute stop, bought a couple sarongs that Margaret thinks we might turn into pillow covers or chair upholstery, and continued on to the villa. 

Villa Idanna is a private home with three bedrooms, a long skinny pool, several cozy places to relax, a four person staff providing breakfast and dinner — and best of all: striking views of rice terraces and the Mount Agung volcano in the distance. 

Sounds amazing, yes. 

But the building  is outdated and a bit weathered. And we aren’t staying there alone… 

We are guests here for four days but it’s very clear that the giant geckos, ants, dragon flies, house flies and other insects are the full time residents here at Villa Idanna. 

The geckos aren’t just the little guys we’ve seen in so many tropical locales around the world. These geckos are massive, foot long creatures that stare down at you from their homes in the rafters. 

There is even a sign inside the bathrooms plainly stating that “the geckos are particularly large in this house,” and they prefer to take a shit in the same place every day. Naturally. One in the master bedroom rafters has targeted the woven mat exactly where I step as I get into and out of bed. His aim and consistency are impressive. 

This is all actually not that big a deal. We’ve become used to bugs and other creatures this year. The geckos are part of Bali and do us the favor of eating the insects. We’ve come a long way here in 9 months.

Villa Idanna is a little rough around the edges — which is also fine. We’ve stayed in a whole range of places this year. The more simple and “well loved” accommodations balance out the more luxurious destinations. The challenge is that we don’t know which one this is.

We sent one big wire transfer to our travel agents for 2 months in Indonesia and Australia. But we don’t have the line-item detail to understand if Villa Idanna is a “be one with nature” value play or an overpriced attempt at luxury. I’ve asked for this detail and hope to see it soon. 

All that said, it is a beautiful part of the world and we’re open-minded about enjoying our time here. The staff is super nice, dinner was tasty, and that view is one of the best we’ve had all year. 

MISC:

I challenged James to a soccer game and he started talking trash: “I’ll kick your ass off.”

We hadn’t seen many mosquitos at Alila Manggis but Willa woke up this morning with three bites on her face. Poor girl!

James called Willa a “lazy beast.” He’s pissed because all she’s doing is reading Harry Potter and he’s left alone. 

Willa said Harry Potter is better than candy.  She finished the third book and started the fourth. She said her legs were shaking during the big quidditch championship scene because she was worried that Harry’s team wasn’t going to win!

This stuffed Panda has been with us since the Intercontinental Hong Kong. James slept with it for a while but has lost interest recently and doesn’t want it in his bed. It secretly went in the giveaway bag at Alila this morning. Thank you for the cuddles Panda!