Bali Trip 8th June - 16th June
Part 3
Tuesday (Day 6) continued
By the time we got everybody organized (Me, BF, Mum, Lil Bro, Aunty and Miss 14), found a taxi and got to Legian we were in need of a drink so we quickly found Uncle Norm's and got some nice cool lemon squashes. Our total drinks bill came to 36 000RP (AU$5) and we were on our way.
TOILET REPORT: (according to BF) soap and water, toilet paper, working but weren't overly clean.
Didn't walk for too long before the boys found a DVD shop and Mum and Miss 14 found a lady to their nails! Aunty decided to get hers done too but I wanted to do more shopping so gave it a miss. Their nails cost them around 35 000RP each (AU$5). Miss 10 and Miss 11 were having a day spoiled by Grandpa today and also got their nails done for around 50 000RP (AU$7) in Kuta. Grandpa made them negotiate the prices on their own which I thought was great for them - they both knew how much they had and how much they wanted left over. Miss 10 and Miss 11's were much more detailed and 'polished' than the one's in Legian but still not much $ for a bit of fun.
In need of another cool drink and sit down so we stopped off and had some fries, cokes and a Bintang at Bali Aussie. No air-conditioning but they were happy to set the fans up near us to keep us cool and offered us cool towels - so refreshing! The staff were very friendly. It was a great place to stop off and have a drink but I wouldn't want to eat lunch there - not when there are so many other nice places to eat.
TOILET REPORT: 'filthy' according to BF - BYO toilet paper
The boys went back to the DVD shop and the girls were still getting their nails done so I wandered around, it was still very quiet at it was about half past 11. There weren't many tourists around at all. I walked through a set of markets on Melasti Street for a while and I did not see one other tourist in there so I had my glasses down and was passing out the no thank you's left, right and centre - no one bothered me too much though. In fact at one shop I was interested in some shirts but after looking through her stock pile found she didn't have what I wanted so I told her that and she just let me go! The boys got more hassled than what us girls did - in particular Lil bro and Dad - BF's height may have been an advantage - he is quite tall!
Mum and I bought some beaded thongs from a shop - four pairs for 100 000RP (AU$14) and then decided we were all really starving and in need - again - of a cool drink so went back to Uncle Norm's for lunch. For the six of us our bill came to around 200 000RP (AU$27) including drinks and a tip. Everyone is so friendly there. There were a couple of Nasi Gorengs ordered which were okay apparently as was the Satay. I had a plain old toasted ham and cheese sandwich which I was nervous about but was beautiful - the cheese was actually melted and the toast toasted - you can't get that in Australia very much!
Back out onto the street and we called Dad from a pay phone (it cost about 100RP which is about 1c) and he decided he didn't want to miss out on too much so caught a taxi in. We thought we'd try out the Top Ten bag shop and meet him there. We'd browsed through the other two Top Ten shops - Malibu and In Style but had decided this one was the best for us.
After lots of browsing and trying zips and comparing bags and wallets Mum and I had decided what we wanted. There was no one else in the shop the whole time we were there so the staff were very happy with us. We put all of our stuff together to get a better price and between us we bought: 2 Louis Vuitton purses (one of very high quality and just beautiful - that was Mum's she got to it before me 1- Grrrrr!), 1 Prada purse, 1 Chanel purse, 2 Gucci hold alls, 1 small LV bag, 1 small Gucci bag and 1 medium LV bag (again lovely and again Mum got there first - double Grrrrrr!). It all came to 1.7 million RP (AU$240) but they automatically put it down to 1.5million RP (AU$208) and we ended up agreeing on 1.45 million RP for the lot (AU$201). All are pretty good quality considering the prices you just have to check and recheck the zips and be gentle with them once their yours as I think that's the part of least quality.
Cleaned out of cash now we went to the nearest Kodak Express shop and changed our AU$ - exchange rate was 7200. Oh yeah I keep forgetting to post about our money exchanging. We went to either Kodak shops or at the hotel. The whole time we were over there the rate was between 7000 and 7300. The hotel was always 100RP less than the Kodak shops and the Kodak shops in Legian were about 50 - 200RP more than those in Kuta. Sometimes it was just easier to exchange at the hotel but we kept the big exchanges for Kodak and had no problems at all.
So Mum and I walked out with empty wallets, big bags and even bigger smiles on our faces - while the very bored BF, Lil Bro and Dad lagged behind shaking their heads (Aunty and Miss 14 had gone back to the hotel half way through our Top Ten rampage!). Now we were seriously in shopping mode and found a shop with surf shirts in it (as if there is any shop in Bali that doesn't sell them!). The boys all got together and got 6 shirts between them for 220 000RP (AU$30) and mum and I got 6 between us for 225 000RP (AU$30). They won!
TIP: I found that it was best to buy more from the one shop than lots of little things from lots shops - you got a much better price and could bargain harder then. So if individually we weren't buying much we always put our purchases together.
TIP: We got this from the BTF and Bali Bibles we read along the way and tried it and it really works. When bargaining/bartering don't speak too loudly. Try to walk away from other people in the shop. A couple of times when in negotiation a couple of other tourists walked in and the shop owner immediately stuck on a price when BF said we'll go down the back or in the corner and lowered his voice outside of earshot from the other people the shop owner got back into it and we got a good price. Also when paying for goods - be discreet from other people. This tip isn't against other tourists at all but just something to look out for when in negotiation. Given this it does also pay to listen (discreetly of course) to what others pay for things or just ask them - everybody is more than happy to swap tips and prices with you.
Mum and Dad left for the Galleria and the three of us just walked on. Along the way I got a pair of sunglasses - against my tip above I know but it does prove it - I paid 30 000RP (AU$4) for them. I also bought three ladies watches for 110 000RP (AU$15).
We caught a taxi to the Galleria to catch up with Mum and Dad and we were dropped off at the Duty Free part. We walked in and boy did we stick out! Here we were in our glorious Bali clothes all hot and sweaty with plastic bags full of our market goodies and while it was lovely in the air-conditioning and looking at genuine Burberry and Gucci handbags and jewellery people were really starting to look at us strangely. We ended up just catching a taxi back to Legian. We didn't know that there were different buildings to the Galleria - and neither did Mum or Dad although they got dropped off at another part so we had no chance of catching up with them.
Back at Legian we went back to a shop I'd seen earlier that made wood signs and ordered one for BF's dad. We agreed on 90 000RP (AU$12) and paid a 20 000RP deposit. We weren't sure what the going rate was for the signs but were happy to pay that. We then went to the shop where I had seen some skirts for BF's five year old niece. Here we discovered Ketut's shop and wish we had come here on the first day! Next time Ketut's will be our first stop for sure!
The little ra ra skirts for BF's niece (we got 2) were 20 000RP each (AU$2.70), a Roxy singlet for me 30 000RP (AU$4), a beaded clutch purse 30 000 (AU$4), a beaded purse with handle for 40 000RP (AU$5.50) (these are not actually from Ketut's shop but she has a friend who has them in her shop down the street) and a long layered skirt for me 75 000RP (AU$10). I hadn't seen another skirt like this at all in Bali. It has layers with ribbons sewn into it and is lined and really well made. She only had my size in the blue but said she'd make a black one for me by Thursday. All Ketut's prices are fixed but why would you need to bargain!! If she doesn't have something if you ask and give her notice she will get it for you. The surf clothes that she sells are mostly good quality ones you need to ask her to see the 'Bali shirts' which is what she calls them. What I found the most refreshing was she never once tried to sell me something. Her ladies shirts go for 30 000RP (AU$4) and the men's shirts and boardies for 35 000RP (AU$5) and everything else is so so cheap.
By this time we were exhausted and decided to head home but on the way I got another handbag (because I need more you know!) and a linen laundry hamper for 180 000RP (AU$25) - probably paid too much but I really couldn't be bothered with the barter by this stage and was happy with that so went on my way!
On our way home we realized they had changed the road system since this morning and had made streets one way so we went to long way and it cost us an extra 50c or something insignificant like that! The boys jumped out at Helgi's on the way to pick up our DVD order - he supplied all bar about 3 and between BF, Lil Bro and I we had almost 200 (including Xbox games).
We had dinner at Kafe Baru Warung which was lovely. I think we all ordered the Nasi Goreng (that is all Mum ate over there so she got to compare them all - the Nasi Goreng at Kori's is apparently by far the best but she never had a bad one. Mum and Dad got there earlier and enjoyed the better half of happy hour but we still got in for the last fifteen minutes. They had a happy happy hour though because you buy two cocktails and get one free. So we had to have three - I thought I'd leave the Pina Colada's for the night and go the Illusion's - a close second and I have to say Kafe did them very very well. I'm still getting used to the amount of actual alcohol they put in cocktails in Bali not like at home where it is all mixer - it's great just be warned!! The bill for the six of us (Mum, Dad, BF, Lil Bro, Grandpa and I) came to 600 000RP(AU$85) including drinks and a tip.
TOILET REPORT: clean, soap and water, fully flushing and toilet paper
BF and I decided we wanted some paintings that we had been looking at every day since we got there so went down to buy them from a place in Kuta. We were unsure of one of the one's so we went to a bar across the road - The Stadium I think - to decide and work out how much we wanted to pay. After we decided we left only that amount in my purse and the rest in BF's pocket and went back in. It turned out that even though they're all in one shop there are two parts (or is that just a ploy????) We only wanted to pay 450 000RP (AU$62) for the three paintings. We got the first two for 290 000RP (AU$40) and on the last one we did the 'we have no money left' trick. We showed the shop owner what we had left and the empty purse - it worked he said okay. We paid what we wanted and he was happy for the sale - everybody happy.
I'm not sure what the going rate for the paintings are but again we were happy to pay what we did - probably got duped but oh well every one is happy and we're on holidays so who cares!
Still going - bear with me..... only one more I think!