The Canngu Club

So we’re in Bali, a very Maui, HI. type island but with a twist; things are relatively inexpensive and the locals are actually friendly. (I guess since we didn’t kill their king they don’t hate us like the Hawaiians). We didn’t really know what to expect from Bali but so far it’s been a pleasant surprise. The island is beautiful, varied, and to some degree still has the feeling that you would expect from an island in the south pacific. To top it off it’s nice to be back in a place where most everyone can speak English.

After a week at a beachfront hotel (read: tourist central), we positioned ourselves outside the tourist zone in the smallish community of Canggu. The idea was to be close enough to good restaurants but far enough away from the main tourist zones. Most importantly, to be near a tennis club. As it turns out The Canggu Club is a very posh, uppity kind of place, complete with gated security, valet parking and service personnel, at your beckon, seemingly everywhere.
I was quite surprised when Syd and I showed up on court to hit and a young ball girl came dashing out toting two fresh towels and two cold cup of water. My first thought was, I hadn’t ordered that service but I let it go as she was so good at fetching our errant balls. When we finished we were treated to cold face towels pulled from the refrigerator. Ala, Life styles of the rich and famous.

The facility has two great pool areas, two kids rooms, a restaurant, bar, library with free wireless, and locker rooms that are nicer then most peoples homes. The members show up for their workouts in designer duds, (the women mostly, men are always slobs) hand their kids off to their Balinese nannies and then proceed to workout for twenty minutes before their "tea".

We felt well out of place at first but are doing our best to get used to the lifestyle. Since we’re only here for a month or so we figure most members won’t realize we’re wearing the same clothes everyday. (We packed very light for this trip).

Since it was Easter break the Club was running a kids sport camp for the adjacent school, so we enrolled the kids. (Not in the school, but the camp). Nice to see the kids with other kids for a change. Rylan proceeded to take the Boys Doubles Trophy in his tennis event and Barrett’s team, the “Pink Coconuts” were also victorious in their events. When the kids are happy, we are happy.

The expats we’ve met here are certainly an interesting/exciting bunch. Our first night socializing after the Wednesday night “tennis social” (Yes we are now attending “tennis socials”! Kind of comes with the territory). We found ourselves self surrounded by a very unusual cast of characters. One, couple from Argentina whom had lost it all during that countries' financial crisis, consulted a physic, moved to Bali and now make jewelry for the rich and famous including many Hollywood stars. Another guy, half Sumatran half Dutch, whom was born in a Japanese concentration camp and now travels the world as a EcoResort designer guru. (Whatever that means). A Swiss/German guy who, while chain smoking, couldn’t shut up about the benefits of consuming Aloe Verde as a supplement. A French Canadian named Sarah that insisted I pronounce her name Sara; (like Car-a), not Sarah; (like Air-a) as it was spelled. Somehow we hit it off, had a great time, closed the club bar and then proceeded downtown to close the other bars in Bali.

Marcel, the Argentinean turned out to be rock star took over the stage and belted out a few songs; one in Spanish the other in Indonesian. Very impressive. “Sara” turned out to be a bit short tempered when under the influence, decided she knew more about Aloe Verde then the guy who studies, grows and sells it. Scared him away with a verbal lashing. I just absorbed it all and bought everyone another round of drinks.

The night was "all the buzz" the next few days at the club. So we’re in. Canggu Club regulars. We’re now frantically shopping for new clothes so we don’t get found out.