[0830] We set off from our resort in Tuban for a day in Ubud. The only plan today was to visit Ketut Liyer and to finally meet him! I was having butterflies in my stomach at the thought of it. With a little traffic, we arrived at his residence in an hour and half.
[1050] Finally my turn! I had tried to imagine how the whole meeting would go but came up with absolutely nothing. I didn't know what to expect. I have no questions for him. All I know was for the fun and thrill of it, I want to meet the man, having read Eat Pray Love and saw the movie (and kind of wish I hadn't). I am not inclined to believe in palm reading or fortune reading of any sort and had never done the former before so I decided to just let him say whatever.
After examining my palm, he said I will have 2 husbands. 'Two!?' I blurted out in surprise. I imagined myself alone or married, but the thought of being married twice had never crossed my mind! He then asked me where I am from. I told him and he looked at me, back at my palm, looked up at me again and said almost cheekily, 'Yes, two!' Well I guess I can be married to Rupert Grint and Bradley Cooper at the same time.
He said that just before I get married, visit him again. 'Which one?' Instead of answering my question, he went on to the next reading. I wish he had got my joke, I do.
We parted with him saying, 'See you later, alligator!' I found myself grinning from the cheap thrill of being bade with the trademark goodbye.
[1145] With no other plans in mind, we visited a coffee plantation in Tegallalang at the suggestion of our driver. To be honest I was skeptical, thinking we would surely be out of the place in 10 minutes. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of coffee, but I can't imagine we have much to see at a plantation. We were greeted by a very friendly guide and he gave us a complimentary tour of the area and the process of making coffee.
Sure I like to enjoy my coffee but I must confess I have no prior knowledge about Luwak Coffee. 'This is shit coffee!' I thought the guide was trying to be smart with me. Turns out he wasn't, and I drank some nice "shit coffee" indeed.
[1200] For 50,000 rupiah I get to enjoy this tremendous view beneath me while sipping away the different cups of coffee and tea. Other groups of tourists came and went, we ended up chatting for more than an hour and the guide even refilled us with 2 plates of tapioca chips.
[1330] It's not planning when I did not have any real plans for this trip. Instead, I imagined. I imagined myself like how many of my friends imagined my self-employed daily life would be like: Me sitting under the sun with my favourite shades on, sipping cold drinks away in enjoyment on the beach everyday. Maybe if I'm lucky I would spot Chuck Lorre strolling about the beach and I would go up to him and say hi and we would have an evening of witty conversation and become best friends.
Anyway, we ended up visiting Tirtal Empul Temple, again at the suggestion of my driver. It's a hindu temple with a holy spring. It was interesting to look at the details of the architecture of the temple and its surrounding. Tales as old as Time has it the water of the holy spring have magical healing powers. I went for a quick dip, hoping that when I re-emerge I will now have the magical powers to make J.K Rowling stop shocking the world with random tidbits of the fandom every now and then.
