It's only the beginning.......

Wednesday - Day 17
Definitely not getting up for sunrise this morning, but I'm happy to sit by the pool and reflect for a while.

Today is our final day in Bali and if we didn't already have two trips in the wings, I'd feel really sad.
We have really only brushed the surface and there is so much more I want to see.
I know I always feel the same at the end of a holiday and go home with big plans for the next one, but it doesn't always happen as life often gets in the way.

I already know I want to spend more time in Ubud after our short visit, (not sure if Trevor does).
Before we came we wondered if Sanur would be too quiet and I have to admit it's seems sleepy in some ways, but that is it's appeal. It's a great place to unwind and relax.
Seminyak streets are so busy, but I love the little back alleys and meandering lanes never knowing what is around the next corner.
Legian is a fun place, especially with a group of friends. I know it's a tourist trap and if that was all one saw of Bali then you would be missing so much. I do so wish I'd seen one sunset on the beach all the same.

But what about all the other areas away from the tourist market..........the places yet to be found......
One song comes to mind and I've taken the lyrics out of text but it sums up what I feel...........

It's only the beginning 
But I've already gone and lost my mind 
I feel like making daisy chains 
And playing hide'n' seek 
When it's only the beginning 
The fairy dust is still in flight 
And this could be the love of a lifetime.........

Trevor is up now and joins me for a swim until we feel the need to give in to my never ending thoughts of eating. I'm sure this doesn't happen at home.
I've already decided I want to try "The Porch" cafe as I've seen the sign a few times when going past and I read the reviews on TA and it sounds good.

We choose to head out on foot as it's a little overcast now and I don't think it's too far up the road.
After passing lots of other names of restaurants and cafes I've heard or read about, I'm seriously starting to wonder how much further we have to go when there it is, just ahead.
OMG, it's actually the restaurant of "Flashbacks Bungalows" where the bemo driver thought we were staying yesterday. Now that's co-incidence, I think.
http://www.flashbacks-chb.com/

It's later than I'd planned so any breakfast ideas have long gone. We choose a platter of cold meats, cheese and other condiments and their Quesadilla to share and we are not disappointed. Yummy iced chocolate as well. Now that filled the hole.
Nearly everywhere we eat I end up using the "bathroom". Not because I really need to, but more because I don't want to get half way down the road and have to try and find somewhere in a hurry that is less hygienic than I prefer to deal with. The ones here are lovely and clean.
On the way back to meet Trevor, I check out the back decking area and it's very cozy corners.
The bungalows are beyond here.

Back out on the street, I notice the clouds have half hidden the sun as we turn left to check out the Tamukami Hotel.........yet another one of the places that I was very keen on when we were in the planning stages of this trip.
http://www.tamukamibali.com/index.html

The staff are so nice and show us a "bungalow suite" which has a separate shower (for backs like mine), but I was keen on viewing the Tamukami Suite as it supposedly had "coffee making facilities" as well.
Both rooms were great, but I think I'd probably choose the "bungalow suite" as long as it was a ground floor room.

I love walking down the driveway out onto Jl. Danau Tamblingan.

It's around 1.00pm by this time and we head up to the Ajanti Villa to have a look around.
We were hoping to look through a one bedroom villa, but they could only show us a 2 bedroom villa.
Apparently they are much the same set up.
I managed to sneak a quick photo of a 1 bedroom villa's pool as we walk past. I love the aged timber look of the villa doors.
I like the position and the fact that you can get through to the beach.

Checking what money we have left, we need to make sure we have enough for our departure tax tomorrow and then decide to get a little more out of the whole in the wall, it doesn't matter if we don't spend it as we will need some when we arrive late at night in October.

We decide to head back to our villa for the rest of the afternoon and manage to get a taxi for a change.
Once we are dropped off I wander down Jl. Cemara as it's still bugging me how we ended up in the "wrong" restaurant last night.
I can see the Paon sign and then realise the other one is barely visible when you are walking towards it from this side. Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

I continue around the corner a little further as there is hardly any traffic. It's like it's siesta time in Sanur. Oh there's a name for another blog post.

Back to the villa we swim, read and relax before heading out for our last meal in Bali.
I've become a bit "snap happy" this afternoon and take a few more photos of the villa as well. I probably should write a review on TA when we get back.

 The second bedroom and bathroom

Entrance & driveway

 

I  love these pavers

We'd been trying to decide where to go for our last dinner, I was keen on dining on the beach but we couldn't decide where and it had come up a little overcast and stormy looking by the time we were ready to venture out.
It got down to two choices "Caramel Restaurant" at the Kamuela Villas and "charming".

In the end "charming" won and we set off around 8pm.
Lucky we get there when we did as it absolutely bucketed down 10 minutes later and we move further into the restaurant.
We next choose a table part way inside away from the weather, but still under a fan as it is quite humid. I have to laugh when I'm given a little chair for my handbag.
The decor and ambiance is very relaxing and I wonder what it looks like in daylight. I love all the timber.

Deciding not to have entree as we've been nibbling on cheese, dip and crackers all afternoon, we spend ages perusing the menu before making up our minds.
We order our drinks and our "complimentary bread, dips and crudites" arrive at the same time.
Trevor has chosen a Caprioska while I'd ordered a Mojito and both drinks are very strong, too strong for Trevor so we swap.

For some reason I'm the target of mozzies tonight, more so than any other night since we've been in Sanur. Not sure if this is due to the weather.
The restaurant isn't very busy and while the staff are very courteous they seem just a little disinterested and aloof.
Unfortunately there's no entertainment either, so someone chooses to make his own.

Our meals arrive about 30 minutes after and we are quite happy. They are very well presented and taste good too.

Trevor's Balinese Prawns

My steak with mustard sauce

While consuming our mains we order another cocktail, this one seems even stronger than the first one, even for me who considers themselves a "cocktail connoisseur".
We manage to finish them, but have no room for dessert (typical).
The complimentary drink given at the completion of dining is unfortunately wasted on us as we roll out the door to go home.
Overall a very enjoyable way to spend our last evening in Bali.

Back at the villa we have a couple of night caps and a dip in the pool before bed.
I can't believe our first Bali adventure is nearly over...........so sad.

Thursday - Day 18
Waking to my last morning in Bali I see the sun is shining brighter than it has throughout our whole trip. Oh that would be right!!!!

I've arranged for the Frangipani Villa driver to pick us up around 12.45pm for our airport transfer.
Our flight isn't till 3.50pm but I have no idea how long this will take and although both Kadek and I think this is a little more time than we need, no-one can predict what the traffic may be doing and I'm not prepared to take any chances.

We decide to go out for breakfast and come back to pack later.
I'm keen on sitting overlooking the beach and we toss around a few ideas before deciding to wander through the Puri Santrian and see where the breakfast dining takes place and take it from there.
Its a gorgeous morning.
Walking through the grounds of the Puri, it occurs to me that I miss this lush vegetation when staying in a villa.

The entrance

Garden Wing

Entering the dining room we inquire about having breakfast here.

Price wise it's actually less than we are expecting and cheaper than at home and we are ushered to a table before we really have time to make a decision as to whether this suits.

Looks to be a reasonable spread and it's not overly busy.

Managing to indulge ourselves fairly well we wander outside to check out the grounds, pools and the beach.

Beach Wing

Bungalow patio

Out onto Jl. Cemara we slowly walk back to the villa one last time.
I'm really looking forward to be seeing my 4 legged ones again as I've missed them so much, but I'm
feeling a little melancholic to be leaving Bali.
We do the big clean up trying to make sure our cases won't way over as I forgot to upgrade our luggage allowance and had done an early check in before we left Oz.
Won't do this again, idiot.

Of course the driver is early, maybe I should have booked him for 1.30pm. LOL
We say goodbye to Kadek and the villa before heading off down the road leaving so many memories in our wake.
It's certainly been an interesting few weeks where not a lot went according to plan, but we've managed to see the funny side to most things.

Once at the airport we have a long walk to the terminals from the drop off point and an even longer wait till our flight is listed on the departure screen.
It's a bit hot to stay outside for any great length of time but Trevor knows that once we go through the checkpoints he won't be able to fit in another stinky smoke unless he finds one of those fumigation closets they call smoking rooms in airports.

We check in around 1.45pm and once all the paperwork etc is complete decide to head to the Dewi departure lounge as we get a discount for flying Air Asia. At least it's clean, comfy and A/C.

It's a pretty uneventful flight home and I spend most of the time trying to work out how we can lengthen our trip in October.
I know I'll find a way somehow, it just hasn't hit me yet..........

Here comes the sun........

Sunday - Day 14
No thunderstorms this morning, only "Rooster" crowing his usual wake up call.
We start gathering our bits and pieces, but the pool looks far too inviting. I think one last swim, then finish packing seems like a much better idea.
Funny how this is the best start to any morning we've experienced since we arrived in Bali almost two weeks ago.

My favourite statue

Once we've finished we walk up to Cafe Bali for breakfast. It's fairly quiet in here this morning so the service is prompt, except for getting our bill.
It's 11.20am by now and our pick up is scheduled for 12.00 midday, but I have a feeling the driver from The Frangipani Villa will be early, so I wish they would hurry up a tad.

I love the sugar cubes.

I just about run us back to Villa Amore and sure enough 10 minutes later there's a knock on the door. A bit of last minute scrambling cables & chargers etc into a bag and we are saying goodbye to Nengah for the last time.
I can't believe how fast these last four nights have flown, but I have to admit we've had fun discovering the quieter side of Seminyak.

There are nowhere near as many suicide scooters on the road today and the journey to Sanur is much quicker than the last time we did it. We are pulling into the Jade Villas B driveway just after midday and I'm a wee bit excited.
http://thefrangipanivilla.com/index.php

Kadek is waiting for us with an ice cold welcome drink, ooh this is nice (I've missed these fine touches). We get the formalities out of the way so I can get to work snapping off some photos.

The living area and kitchen

Main Bedroom & ensuite

Pool and garden

Now that's done I have to get in that pool.
It's absolutely gorgeous, although it's quite deep with no shallow end. I'm sure I can make it from one end to the other without having to touch the bottom. I'm quite happy lazing by the pool enjoying a bit of sunshine listening to the frog waterfalls. This daybed is going to get some use over the next few days too.

Kadek shows Trevor all the villa workings and they spend a little while trying to get the TV and DVD working. TV coverage was turned off over Nyepi so the TV channels are a bit all over the place.

By now it's nearly 3.00pm so we decide to go for a walk up to Hardys Supermarket to replenish the stocks. I remember reading on TA you turn left if coming from the Griya and right if coming from the Hyatt.
Our villa is opposite the Stadium Cafe & Flapjacks which is a lot further south than the Hyatt, so I'm hoping it wont take us what's left of the afternoon to reach it (not like yesterday). I suppose we can always taxi back.
We turn left out of our driveway onto Jl. Cemara and cross over at the roundabout of Jl. Danau Poso onto Jl. Danau Tamblingen. Passing Cafe Jepun I know we are on the right road at least.

We are also on the look out for somewhere to have dinner tonight.
The aroma coming from Apa Kabar Restaurant as we walk past slows my pace a little, I love the smell of garlic and spices being fried (especially when someone else is standing in front of a hot pan or wok).
Passing a Chinese restaurant on our left opposite the Hyatt's grounds, I wonder if this is one of their restaurants as I think I've read about it on their website.

After this we know we are getting closer as there's more shops, warungs and restaurants on both sides of the road.
It's still a reasonable hike from our villa but at least we are on the shady side of the sun and you can walk along the footpath without falling in a big hole. You still need to keep your eyes peeled, but the risk is a little less.

Not much further on we see Hardy's sign, then the car park and a group of ATM's. Wandering through the doors I'm transported to another place & time, yet I can't think where. It is so relaxed.
I wish my weekly shop was like this.
We spend ages in here and check out all the levels although like Discovery, it gets hotter the higher you climb. Kadek had given us some shopping tips, but I'm happy just "looking" for now.
I love all the art and souvenirs, so much to choose from and if you hate haggling then the prices are pretty reasonable for many things.

Back outside we turn left and walk a little further but it's much hotter than before, so we head into the nearest warung for a Bintang and then look for a taxi to take us back to the villa.
There doesn't seem to be any around but the Bemo bus has spotted us and is now tooting and slowing down. I have no idea what we should pay for this and his first price is a bit high I think, especially when he lowers it to a fifth of that.
We jump in and actually enjoy our rattly old ride back. Reminds me of the motor bike taxis we used in Krabi, Thailand.
Time for a swim and relax before dinner.

Around 7.00pm we wander out again. The shop owners just near our villa are keen for our business and their shops look interesting, I might have a look over the next few days.
We have no idea where we are going to eat so we just turn left and keep walking.
We chat about the places Sandy & John had suggested and walk up to Charming, forgetting the prices are more than we have budgeted for.
We have a day trip booked tomorrow so we have to leave enough IDR on us to cover admission to temples and lunch etc & we can't be bothered trying to find an ATM now.
Maybe another night......

I remember the place we stopped at earlier, so after a minute or so walking in the wrong direction we realise it is on the other side of the road and back towards our villa.
Same yummy smell wafts out to us and I really can't be bothered trying to find anywhere else.
We choose the Magibung as we are not hungry enough for much more and it was brilliant. One of the best meals we've had.

Back to the villa after dinner and out comes the next disc of Revenge. Every time we think it's the end another intriguing episode starts.
Around midnight I can't keep my eyes open any longer and suggest we call it a night as we have a 9.00am pick up scheduled for the next day.
I'm worried about how I will sleep as the curtains are sheer and not quite wide enough for the window so there's a few gaps, but I fall asleep very quickly and don't wake till around 4.30am when I hear ....."coco-doodle-do"...........?
OMG he's found me!!!
Actually the noise isn't as close or as loud as the rooster in Seminyak, so I manage to doze for another few hours till daylight is the next thing to drag me out of slumber land.

Monday - Day 15
I'm up early, but not early enough as Kadek has just quietly come in to clean at the same time I come out of the bedroom and we both jump out of our skin when we see each other.
Laughing now we can breathe again, I look out to see it is another gorgeous sunny morning and chat to her about our day trip.

Our plans are to visit Ulun Danu Temple, Candikunning & the Jatiluwah rice terraces, & maybe if time permits Taman Ayun Temple.
She asked if we have been to Tanah Lot or Uluwatu.
With our original plans of being in Lembongan for 4 nights over Nyepi, I hadn't felt we'd have time, especially as we have another two trips booked in the next 10 months.

The day trip has become so long with photos etc, it is now on a separate blog. I'll add the link here when done.

We return from our trip around 6.30pm pretty exhausted, I'm not sure how one gets so tired sitting in a car all day, but my back is whingeing in pain. A quick swim to loosen up then we get ready for dinner.
We decide to go to Cafe Jepun as we know it's not far to walk and the food was quite good when we went with Sandy & John the other week.
I choose the same fish with mushroom sauce dish that Sandy had, Trevor thinks this is a weird combination. He chooses a prawn dish where again the prawns are presented in their shell and he pulls a face. Why don't you ask next time.....?

Fish with mushroom sauce

There's entertainement on here tonight with a female singer and a guy playing piano.
The singer is ok in a "crooner sort of way" and she can at least hold a tune, so we stay for a while after eating to listen.
Unfortunately she's not quite in the same league as Adele. Just a tad too ambitious, me thinks.
After dinner we stroll back past the shops but most of them are closed or in the process of closing, so we head back to the villa to watch a DVD and have an early night.

Tuesday - Day 16
Up earlier today, but not early enough for a sunrise, maybe tomorrow......
I might want to hurry up as it's just hit me that we only have two more days left in Bali.
Oh how sad this makes me feel. I don't even feel we've done that much, where has the time gone.......?
I sit and trawl through the the restaurant reviews on TA trying to find one about a coffee place with fresh bread on the beach. I read about Luhtu's Coffee Shop and think it's the one.

Kadek comes in and while she's putting our laundry through we chat about child illnesses as she knows I'm a nurse.
Then she tells me her little boy has been unwell for the past few days and the doctor can't work out what is wrong.
I suggest she go home but she says she has to clean and finish our laundry. I wish I'd never given it to her now, it's not like we need it straight away.
Unable to convince her otherwise, I make her promise to go as soon as it's finished.
Trevor eventually gets up and we spend an hour or so relaxing by the pool reading before my stomach starts growling.

We set off on foot as we want to check out the shops near us, but as it's pretty warm we think we'll leave it till later.
Once past the roundabout we start looking over our shoulders for the constant "toot toot" of a bemo or taxi as there's no way I'm walking far in this heat.
A bemo appears first and we ask him to take us up to the north end of Sanur. As we haven't been up this end I'm not sure where we should get dropped off.
The first thing that comes into my head is the Segara Village Hotel as one of the ladies from work had stayed there, so we suggest that.

Once we get past Hardys I recognise many names of places I've read about and my head is doing it's usual swivel thing trying to take them all in at once.
I hadn't realised just how long Jl. Danau Tamblingan is, we make a few turns up the top end and I see a sign for the Sindhu markets, but we keep going.
I'm starting to get "twitchy" especially when I feel we are going in the opposite direction, so I ask the driver to let us out while I can still recognise a sign or two.
Oops, that didn't take me long to get us lost. I'm not sure we are, but I don't think I have my bearings heading in the right direction.

We head back towards what I think should be the beach and find Jl. Segara Ayu and I relax a bit. The entrance to the Segara Village Hotel is down here, so we wander through to the beach.
How divine to feel sand between my toes.

It looks gorgeous but I want to find Luhtu's as I'm quite hungry by now.
We head down past the Sindhu beach markets, trying to dodge the very pushy shop sellers. These women are ferocious, they don't seem to hear you when you say no or not today.

Finally we reach Luhtu's and I'm so glad to sit down. It's lovely sitting here with a gentle breeze stirring the leaves overhead. We place our order and I wander down towards the end to take some photos.

I had ordered an iced chocolate and it is the strangest one I've ever seen as it contains no milk. This is my only disappointment as the food is great.
I love the fresh bread and I devour my chicken sandwich so quick I'm almost half way through before I think of taking a photo. Trevor is happy with his burger as well.
It is even more special for me when one of their dogs comes past our table and chooses to sit down with us for a little company. He is so sweet.
Nice clean toilets too.

We are intending to go to Tootsie's shop, but I wasn't ready to face the barrage of other shop sellers yet, so we go for a walk down to the beach-path first.
We'd already seen what was south of the Griya, and one of the things I'd wondered about when researching this trip (as do many others), is which end of Sanur to stay.

 

 

I love it and could quite easily spend all day long sitting out here.

We wander back and I keep trying to work out a if there's a way we can get to Tootsie's without having to pass those women again but I can't think of one, so we turn and head back along the beach-path preparing ourselves to run the gauntlet

We know Tootsie is Shop No 28, but as we get closer the women from about 10 other shops descend on us.

We tell them we are going to Tootsie and two of them are still begging us to visit their shop as we are trying to walk in Tootsie's door. If only there was a back door to sneak out.

Trevor purchases a few shirts, but I can't see anything that I really want, so we can't hide in here any longer.

The two vultures (well that's what they reminded me of anyway) are still waiting at the door for us to come out. I'm not even sure I find this amusing now as I give in and get dragged to first one then the other's shop. Of course I will now have to buy something but what......

Trevor's suggests a sarong and I give him a dirty look as the shop seller drags me to her Batik ones. "Well" he said, "you do always bring one home from everywhere we go........."

Eventually I settle on one and the hard part begins. We agree on a price and I'm sure I could have got one cheaper in Hardy's or somewhere but she is happy and that's one off my back.

I end up buying "one" dress at the other woman's shop. They both tell Trevor how quiet it is, no-one is shopping or buying anything. All I can say "with tactics like that, no wonder".

We head back towards the beach and turn left not knowing whether we can get through to the main road from here, however I do know I won't cope with being hounded by anymore shop sellers.

We wander back through the Segara Village Hotel so I can have a look around, then out onto Jl. Segara Ayu.

I also want to have a look at Ajanta Villas as I noticed their sign on our way up here earlier but I can't quite remember how far back it is.

I had found this on the Ajanta website when I was doing research for Sanur a few months ago and I thought a private pool villa this close to the beach might be worth looking at for future trips.

http://www.ajantavillas.com/vision/

http://www.ajantavillas.com/ 

We turn left at Jl. Danau Toba and pass the cross road of Jl. Sindhu, maybe we could have come out this way after all? Turning left again we wander back towards Jl.Danau Tamblingan and remember we need to find an ATM as well.

Once we achieve this we cross over the road to get out of the sun as it's quite fierce. There are many restaurants around here and I think I'd definitely like to stay at this end next time.

Not far around the corner we see the sign for Ajanta Villas and walk in to check if they can show us a villa. Unfortunately they are booked out, but will be able to show us through tomorrow early afternoon between bookings. Cool!

Back out on Jl. Tamblingan we find the nearest warung to quench our thirst with a Bintang, (which has now become our afternoon ritual) before heading back to our villa for a swim.

Yet again while looking out for a taxi the only vehicle slowing down for us is a bemo, bugger!

A/C would have been nice as we negotiate a price to Stadium Cafe...no recognition.

Maybe Flapjacks......nope, not much more. Ok, we'll tell you when we want to get out and climb in after settling on a price.

Half way back he suddenly does a U-turn muttering something about Flash-jacks or similar and we are looking at each other wondering WT.....?

I haven't really been taking much notice of where we are, so it takes me a few seconds to question where he's going. It seems he suddenly thought we wanted to go to "Flashbacks"......oh ok....., "no idea where that is" I think as we turn back towards south Sanur.

Very thankful when he drops us off out the front of the Stadium Cafe, we wander across the road ready to fall in a big heap, but the frog waterfalls at the pool beckon us once again.

We spend the remainder of the afternoon relaxing here before we can summon up the energy to get ready for dinner.

Take away would be nice, but we don't know where to look for this.....

Once we are at the end of our driveway we turn right for a change and wander down along here, we check out the menu at  the restaurant of the Kamuela Villas but I'm not sure so we keep walking.

I can see Mezzanine the restaurant attached to the Puri Santrian just ahead on our left, and then I recall a restaurant where we had afternoon drinks a few weeks ago, called The Paon and see it just up on our right.

We don't bother stopping at the menu board and readily accept the table we are shown and the complimentary drink before looking at the menu and realising we are not in the Paon but the one next to it called "Tropical".

In my defense, it was dark and I wasn't the only one who didn't notice.

Well, we're stuck here now, so we better make the most of it. I ordered a fish curry and Trevor had a pork dish. The service was attentive, but the food was very mediocre.

After dinner we walk down Jl. Cemara and around onto Jl. Mertasari as we can hear music coming from a bar up on our left.

I have no idea what this place is called, it has bean bags at the front, some tables with bar stools and a few people hanging off the bar at the end.

We decide to have a drink and see what the entertainment is like and plonk ourselves on the nearest bean bags. In hindsight it probably isn't the type of place to order a cocktail and we wait for ages for our drinks which are very strong. Unfortunately the singing is woeful but we manage to endure it till they finish the set and feel we can leave without looking too rude.

On the way back to the villa we stop at the Stadium Cafe and have a drink, at least we recognise the songs here and the band playing are quite good. We stay till they finish and laugh as we walk across the road to go home, so much for a big night out.

At least I'll sleep well.