Finishing Up in Paradise

Easy to write about Thursday - nothing - spent the whole day poolside relaxing and had a massage in the villa,

 

And who wouldn't?

 

That night wen to Breeze for Dinner which was amazing. In the Samana Resort and adjacent to the beach it was a lovely meal package.

The meal and service combined with the surroundings were all amazing.

 

Friday again not too much but that evening went to Teatro a which describes itself as a Gastroteque. Somebody once said to me why do people photograph food - well to me this is the equivalent of art so here is my visit to the gallery:

Saturday and we had to move from the three bedroom villa to the two bedroom one in exchange for this I got a 19:30 checkout for my late flight on Tuesday. Seemed like a good trade. For lunch we went back to Mamasan and walked the shops of Seminyak followed by desert on the beach at Ku-de-ta.

 

At 15:00 our car came and took us to the temple at Ulawatu which wasn't anything too special to me and again there were monkeys everywhere.

 

Alberto heads to the airport around 19:00 for what will be the trip from hell. His plane is delayed by about 5 or 6 hours meaning he wont make his 07:45 connection in Jakarta. There is a later flight 19:35 but they mess him around so much that they give him a hotel room with the Etihad representative promising to be there at 18:00 to sort things out - too late to get the later flight. He buys a ticket for $500 as he is to meet his mother and sister the next morning for a holiday in Dubai. I have promised to write a DS special letter!!

 

Sunday and I head to Denpasar for some retail therapy and then the Galleria in Kuta. Pleased to report no purchases and back to the Villa. I head to Mamasan to buy takeaway dinner and chill watching TV.

 

Monday spent without leaving the Villa. Packing dealing with accumulated emails etc. and just lying hold on NAKED (nod no - no pics) by the pool for the day.

 

Anyway a really great holiday. I can recommend Bali to ANYBODY wanting a very affordable and luxurious resort holiday with the lovely Balinese people and great food and activities.

 

Ciao for those who followed

XD

 

Bali Restaurants

WENT

Kundi Kunning 7.5/10

Mama San 8.5/10

Kudeta 8.5/10

Teatro 9/10

Breeze 9/10

RECOMMENDED

Namos

Potato Head (4 Season suggest not)

Kama Kandara Jimberan

Anantara Jimberan

Cuca Tapas

St Regis Hotel

Mozaic Ubud French Chef

Taman Bali in Buleleng

Shopping Denpasar

Kampung Arab

Pasar Kumbasari

Pasar Badung

Matahari Department Store

Bali Mall

Denpasar Junction

 

 

More Chilling

The days all melt into one so a bit hard to remember where I am at. Oh yes Tuesday! Spent most of the day chilling by the pool until around 13:00 when we head to Seminyak for a late lunch at Ku-De-Ta, one of the restaurants recommended by friends - and I can see why.

 

Located at the beach with wonderful Tapas style food and a nice ambiance. a walk around the shops and beach and back to the house before dinner at Mamasan which I find out is owned by the same people as Sarong - two Aussies, a Thai and an Indonesian.

 

 

 

After dinner a really one hour massage to ease the holiday stresses and at $A6.00 I was tempted to add a second hour.

 

We end up at.....

 

Yes a gay bar with a drag show followed by a gogo boy competition (yes that is Lize with a zee). It was a really buzzy scene and good fun albeit very loud, to the point where after an hour I just had to leave. All in all a very relaxing day.

 

Wednesday breakfast cooked in the room and we head off at 09:00 for a day of touring. Our plan was jet skiing but APEC put paid to that as Indonesian Security insisted that no jet skiing without an instructor which had no interest. So we decide on .....

 

Para sailing. Far too short a trip but great fun then a short ride to Turtle Island which was amazing.

Not sure there are many other places in the world you can pick up sea turtles but no problem here.

I really enjoyed this look at Indonesian wildlife. A 90 minute drive towards Ubud with a stop for what was a terrible and I do mean terrible lunch with a lovely view.

On to the monkey park in Ubud which I have been to before and which was good fun.

A cock fight is taking place with lots of betting and shouting. I couldn't watch it once they started and left the audience of 50 or so were clearly enjoying it more than I did.

 

A one hour walk around the lovely and trendy shops at Ubud and the day is done.

 

I arrive back to the villa after nine and a half tiring for an old man hours. I try to book six restaurants all of which are booked out, maybe for APEC or maybe just business is good. I finally manage to get a booking at Lestari and have a nice Italian meal.

Anyway another latish night needing sleep but the good news is a plan to kick up my feet around the pool and relax for a day.

 

Hope all are well

XD 



 



Holiday Mode

Saturday was a great day. I had arranged a car and driver for the day. Now in Balinese culture the first son is called Wayan, the second Made, the third Nyogen and the fourth Ketut. Our driver Made was 35 Balinese Hindu with a wife and two kids. Unusually the car was his rather than driving for a company. He was exceptionally knowledgeable about Bali and has taught himself Russian so that he can profit from the ever increasing number of Russian Tourists coming to Bali - most foreign menus include Russian. I cannot speak highly enough about his professionalism, knowledge of Bali and wonderful manner.

Our first stop, about 45 minute drive north of Nusa Dua was a Balinese dance ceremony (Barong & Kris Dance) which lasted for an hour. I thought I would be somewhat bored but having an outline of the plot (in every possible language) to what was fundamentally an Opera it was good fun notwithstanding hat I sag far too close to the orchestra and suffered a bit of a headache.  The audience of 300 were almost all Indonesians to the point that they wanted to take pictures of Alberto and myself with their kid

 

Next stop was a Batik factory and shop. Think tourist with equally touristy prices. The Batik method is interesting it is fabric with a hand paint design onto which wax is applied by hand to colour the designs Some of the products were unbelievable beautiful with the hand-painted Batik designs. after some washing and processing the wax becomes indelible and part of the rich design. I always think of Batik as browns but they had the widest array of colours imaginable. I did buy a few small things but only after negotiating 40% off and still feeling like I got ripped off.

Next stop a jewellery manufacturing business and yes you guessed it, adjoining shop. They showed us through the manufacturing facility which was quite interesting only to the time when I saw an employee going to the bathroom and having her body scanned with a metal detecting wand and having her hair checked to ensure she wasn't stealing anything - perhaps necessary but quite demeaning. They did have a lovely, again think touristy shop where I didn't buy anything probably more because I felt it was well overpriced.

Next stop was the Four Seasons hotel in Ubud for lunch which is something I have done every time I have come to Bali mainly because it is a luxurious hotel with only 60 rooms but the lunch terrace overlooks a flowing creek and rain forest and it is just so peaceful and tranquil that I love doing it.

Next we head up past the rice fields where you have to pay $1 to pass through for the right to photograph it which in Bali, knowing how the people get by isn't enough to feel aggrieved. and we head for the volcano with again a charge of $2.50 to get there. A coffee looking out over the volcano and a mountain lake was quite spectacular. The weather here at 1700 metres was mild and exceptionally pleasant.

During the drive I learn so much about the Balinese people, culture, religion and life and it is so interesting. Me being me I ask many many many questions which Made gladly answers.

On the way back we stop at an artists gallery where I must say there were some lovely pieces among the Balinese sameness.

Our last stop was very interesting, a spice garden and coffee plantation. Here, our incredibly knowledgeable Made showed us so many spices often picking some leaves and letting us smell the most incredible aromas. Lemongrass, Tumeric, vanilla and many many more. For those of those weak of stomach move to the next paragraph. There is a cat like creature called a Luwak which is nocturnal and eats coffee beans at night. When they expel them from their bodies the next day the farmers gather them and process them and it apparently produces a lot of fine tasting coffee. I resisted paying the $5 for a cup or the $400 a kilo to buy some.

What I did try, and they didn't charge for it was a sampler of beverages including lemongrass tea, rosella tea, coffees, coffees and many others all of which were very inviting.

Back to the hotel and I settle up for the day at the quoted $US40 but being too embarrassed to pay such a small amount for a driver, car, fuel etc. I pay $60 and you cannot believe how appreciative he was for the gesture. I have booked him again for Wednesday for some shopping at Ubud, water sports and temple visits.

That night I went with Alberto, for whom I got an invitation, to the staff dinner held at a seafood restaurant at Jimberan Bay. There were about 100 of us there sitting at very long tables on the beach, The food was outstanding, blackened fish, calamari, lobster, prawns and fruit all cooked on open fires and wonderfully seasoned. Each staff member received a plaque thanking them for their contribution and a small gift from the Indonesian Bridge Federation. The only minor criticism was that there was a less than gentle slope from the restaurant down to the water line where the tables finished and balancing on my chair wasn't that easy.

Anyway back to the hotel at 23:00 for a good nights sleep - certainly much needed.

Miss World has been taking place at the same venue as the bridge and the Westin hotel adjoining mine (Melia Bali) and the security is quite obvious based on an elevated threat warning. For all that I don't feel in the least threatened and continue to enjoy Bali.

Next morning breakfast with the usual suspects and an early start for VuGraph, 10:00 where Italy handily lead Monaco in the final which I would guess they should and will win. USA2 and England locked in a very tight match at e half way in the Ladies while Germany have a small lead over USA2 in the Seniors. And of course I collect my payment for my Atlanta work as well as here in Bali. Haven't spent much money at all which means I will probably show a small loss on this holiday which makes it all the more enjoyable.

I look out over the beach and see around ten warships lined up to cover the offshore security for the forthcoming APEC summit. Obama will be here in a few days and the feel of security is palpable. I arrive at the venue to be greeted by soldiers armed with machine guns rather than the unarmed security guards of the past two weeks. 

I commentate my last session and head back to the hotel for lunch with Alberto and Andy Hung and then have a meeting with an English Bridge Player who is a financial consultant and who would like some advice to advance his career. Back to the room and a relax before the closing ceremony this evening.

Closing ceremony at the Westin is lovely but I end up with a headache. Winners were Italy (open) USA2 (women) Germany (seniors). I head home for some final packing and sleep.

Next morning last breakfast before moving from the hotel to the Villa which I have rented in Seminyak. The driver arrives to take us for the 45 minute drive to what turns out to be everything I expected and more.
http://www.vrbo.com/463283.
Beautiful 3 bedroom house (we are using just two) of which two of the bedrooms open onto the private pool (just for this villa), a kitchen, sundeck upstairs with the third bedroom and a media room. All quite amazing and I would recommend to anybody looking for this style of accommodation. The complex is only a two bedroom and a three bedroom villa with 24 hour staff to attend to ANY needs one might have, breakfast and security. I negotiated it down based on late booking to $A160 a night including 21% taxes and service.

The Buchens with a 10:00 checkout and 22:10 flight spend the day with us which comprises swimming, a taxi ride to have lunch on the beach and just enjoying the peace and tranquillity of the place.

After they leave we head down to Seminyak and a restaurant called Sarong. Apart from the beautiful surroundings the food was outstanding. Now if you need a test of how good the surroundings were I sat at the bar and had a cocktail while waiting the 40 minutes for a table. The restaurant seats 130 but spread out in such a way that dining seemed quite intimate rather than a large hall. Anyway pork belly the best I have ever eaten, scallops with duck crackling, prawn dumplings and veal knuckle all amazing. Pricey for Bali perhaps but not unreasonable at $A115 for two considering the package.

Went for a 20 minute walk followed by a taxi back to our villa. I get the impression that there are many many villas in the area providing amazingly good levels of accommodation.

While I have been here the weather has been between 30 and 35 every day without any hint of rain whatsoever but it has been medium humidity most of the time but not oppressive. I generally feel the humidity but it hasn't been an issue at all. 

Anyway looking forward to some nice relaxation and meals and getting home next week to family friends grand kids and dogs.

Best to all
XD