The Ainyar beach

Ainyar, a beautiful beach town on the west coast of the Java island beckoned us and we succumbed. The family ventured to go experience the peace, serenity and all that Ainyar had to offer miles away from the noise and the jostling crowds of Jakarta. The drive was adventurous from the very word ‘go’. Pratap was at the wheel while Yudi and I tried to navigate. Deciphering the traffic instructions and road signages that were in Bahasa was a tremendous challenge what with the driver’s temper riding high. At one junction, the maze of a four-tiered flyover left us taking an endless roller coaster ride that spat us out kilometers away from where we intended to go!

Flying tempers and all - we reached Ainyar eagerly looking forward to getting to the peace and tranquility of our resort to soothe our frayed and threadbare nerves. The next bend left us stunned and speechless. Silence pervaded. There before us lay our hotel – a huge ugly monstrosity teeming with swarms, hordes, throngs and multitudes of revelers. Sol Melia consists of three buildings each twelve stories high. So here we were stuck in a concrete jungle just few feet away from the beautiful Java sea! Holiday makers occupied every available inch – much merry making in the air. We waded through the mêlée of people in a state of total shock.

As a last refuge, the last suite in the last building was requested for. Once settled in – it was decided to sip a cup of ‘teh’ sitting in the verandah overlooking the sea. No sooner had Pratap and Yudi stepped out did I find them darting in. For there sitting in the adjacent verandah was our bare chested neighbour sporting a spreading girth, fanning his barbecue, downing his beer and singing along with whatever it was that his boom box belted out.

Tomorrow will be another day we consoled each other as we withdrew and retreated for the night – only to be jolted awake almost at the crack of dawn by blaring Indonesian music and a brouhaha created by a hundred odd frenzied aerobic enthusiasts – brimming with vigour and vitality.

The Ranas for once stumped and staring at apparent defeat took a step back to assess the situation. Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’ was consulted and a strategy drawn out.

“If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him” – Sun Tzu