JBR: 17th to 29th of August, 2005
This is an rough, although somewhat lengthy account of our third trip to Bali - After our previous visit in April/May 2005, we were returning to attend the wedding of Evan, my husband Jayson's cousin, to his partner Joanne while at the same time hopefully escaping the last days of a long Melbourne winter.
17th -19th of August
Arrived around 3.15pm Bali time after what seemed like an eternity, although in reality was only a five and a half hour flight. Spent about 45 mins going through the Visa on Arrival Line/Customs (as usual). This time Customs was a lot less intimidating though, thankfully (really wasn't in the mood for bulls**t). Our driver and friend Scooby met us outside in order to take us to Ubud then drop off Jayson's Aunt Jenny & friend Julie to Amed. It was great to be greeted by a friendly, familiar face. Also, we were pleasantly surprised by the cool breezes sweeping the airport carpark instead of the usually stifling heat. Our two previous trips both took place at the end of the wet season in April when the humidity is at its peak.
The trip to Ubud took a little over an hour and after saying our goodbyes to Jenny, Julie & Scooby for the next few days, we checked into the Tegal Sari - Wooden Room this time. Not as nice as our previous stays in the Superior and the Duplex rooms. This one did have a different vista of the rice paddies and a day bed on the back veranda which was quite good for lounging around on and catching up on a bit of reading and what not. My main gripe was the lack of sufficient lighting in the room making reading very difficult at night. Also the water pressure was little more than a dribble and if you managed to get any hot water out of the tap you were doing well. This was never a problem in the previous rooms we stayed in so I would definitely give this particular room a miss. First evening we had dinner at The Fly Cafe - Jayson was looking forward to the BBQ ribs we had last time and I ordered them as well with high expectations. Unfortunately, not as delicious this time around - OK, but little more could be said about them. Went back to the room quite early as we were both knackered from the early morning, long flight and adjusting to the heat after Melbourne's much cooler temperatures.
Thursday morning - had breakfast at Tegal Sari which was very basic and somewhat bland. I had an omelette and Jayson had a Nasi Goreng, which was much tastier. I am beginning to learn (after three visits) that as far as the first meal of the day is concerned, you are much better off ordering an Indonesian Breakfast over an American or Continental as the interpretations of these are a little off the mark. There are off course exceptions to this, as I will mention later. After breakfast, we set off for the market. Bought a nice selection of fruit - Salak, Bananas, Mangos and Mangosteen and had a general look around though we weren't really ready to start the haggling thing just yet. Bought a phone card for our mobile, some postcards and 'In the Arms of Angels', a memoir of a care giver during the Bali Bombings in 2002. Had lunch at Cafe Wayan - Jayson had a grilled duck dish which he loved and I had Nasi Campur which I didn't enjoy so much, these we washed down with a couple of Bintangs - naturally :) Spent the rest of the afternoon attempting to find an outfit to wear to Evan & Jo's wedding next week, unfortunately to no avail. If you are anything over a size 10-12 forget finding anything remotely attractive to wear. Knew I should have gone on that diet before the return visit! Felt quite exhausted after our extensive street pounding session and had a decadent bath and a nap in the afternoon. Woke up around 6.30pm in time for dinner at Barandi restaurant which was as delicious as in April. Had some lovely salads to start with followed by grilled fish for me and bolognaise for Jayson. We were entertained by two rather vocal cats who waltzed in and out hoping for a morsel to be dropped on the floor. Unfortunately, no band this time - last trip we enjoyed a Latin band that could play pretty much anything we requested. After getting in contact with the band leader Jack, we learned that he has been unwell for the last 4 months and the band has stopped playing. We are planning to get together with them sometime next week when we are in Seminyak. After Barandi, we asked the Tegal Sari driver to drop us off at the Jazz Cafe where we enjoyed some live music and a very potent Irish coffee. This is a great little nightspot featuring live music most nights of the week. Had a very upset tummy tonight, probably due to the vast amount of fruit and juices we consumed today! Slept much better tonight, though.
Next morning had breakfast at Barandi which was OK but much preferred the lunch or dinner menu here. One of the two highly entertaining cats was resting in one of the seats and Jayson discovered it had a nasty wound on the side of its leg - hopefully the staff will take care of it, although I wouldn't place bets on that. Who has money for a vet in Bali? Very low on the list of priorities, I'm sure. After breakfast we walked down Jl. Hanaman and I was successful in finding a top to wear to the wedding, and yes it fits! Next we went to the markets again, did lots of shopping - watches, cinnamon/coconut platters, pants for me to go with the top, wooden cats etc, then Jayson and I split to do some separate shopping. Found a nice necklace to go with my outfit, now all that is left to buy is some sandals. Met up with Jayson at the internet cafe and got a driver to take us to Ibu Oka for Babi Guling - just as nice as last time. The whole meal cost around 55,000 rp including soft drinks. Walked down to Cafe Wayan for an iced coffee and got picked up by Tegal Sari and spent the rest of the afternoon in the room. Did a pencil drawing of our view of the rice paddies just for a record. Going to Warung Enak for dinner (just beside Tegal Sari) and possibly check out some nearby live music.
20th August
In Amed as I write but will first fill you in on what's happened since the last post. Dinner at Warung Enak was excellent. Jayson had a very spicy seafood Laksa and I had a sensational Nasi Goreng - always a hit with me when done well. Chatted to a friendly young waitress by the name of Sari, who comes from Tegalalang - she intends to email us when we return home so she can practice her English. The decor in the restaurant was very eclectic and the toilets gave us a laugh also. According to Jayson, the male loos had graffiti painted on the walls as a feature rather than just occurring organically as it does in other places. The doors were industrial corrugated sheet metal with a great big slide lock to close. The female loos had pictures of cute young Balinese guys framed on the walls. We'd passed Warung Enak many times before on the last trip and I'm glad we finally made it in for a meal. After dinner we talk a walk down Jl Hanaman to find a live music venue we'd been hearing about called Warung Opera. Turns out it has only been open a few weeks and they have big plans for the future. The evenings entertainment consisted of a jazz band featuring the owner who plays bass and a female singer who was really very soulful. Had a few cocktails while we enjoyed the music then ambled on back to our room.
Today we woke up to the heaviest rain we'd ever encountered in Bali which really didn't let up until we left the Ubud area later that morning. Thought we were in the dry season... First we had breakfast at Indus which was sensational as always - the temperature at this point had dropped to about 18 degrees and for the first time ever in Bali I experienced goosebumps! I had my usual blueberry cornmeal pancakes and Jayson had the Indus French Toast which was to die for and unlike any French toast I had ever sampled. The thickly cut bread was enveloped in cinnamon cream and fresh sliced mango before being coated in batter and pan-fried and lightly dusted with icing sugar...my mouth waters just thinking about it! After we got back to the room we did a quick pack in time for checkout and Scooby's arrival at 10.00am. Just as we were leaving Ubud we decided to stop and top up our phone card which took quite a while due to the language barrier. Just as Scooby started to drive off, he ran over something which punctured the back tyre. Luckily, he was able to get some assistance from local mechanics, while we wandered off down the road. We were back on the road within half an hour in time for Babi Guling in Gianyar - our shout. Poor Scooby was starving - hadn't had time to eat before he picked us up and we weren't going to say no to another serve of Babi Guling. Gianyar's is a little different to Ubud's, still very nice but the meat and rice was served not quite hot enough for my liking - would have to say I preferred Ibu Oka's version. We arrived at Wawa Wewe II at around 2.00pm - not a trace of clouds or rain in Amed and significantly warmer than Ubud. Didn't get up to much in the afternoon. Had a lazy ol' nanna nap for a couple of hours and woke in time for dinner. Walked the 1 km or so to Wawa Wewe I for a dinner of an extremely garlicky salad followed by some barbequed fish, veggies, chips all washed down with Bintang. A live band was playing the local repertoire of Bob Marley, Blues, Beatles, REM to name a few. The same song book seems to be shared by all the budding musicians in the area. Back in Melbourne, Jayson copied some of his sheet music so they can add a few new tunes to their repertoire. After a couple of hours of kicking back with the locals we walked back to the room and had a moonlight swim - seems to be the only time you can get the pool to yourself this time of year. Loads more tourists in Amed this time around which is good for them. I can only recall seeing one other tourist last time we were here.
21St & 22nd of August
Had a very lazy day yesterday, starting with breakfast at Double 1 - a yummy Nasi Goreng & Mie Goreng between us followed by Chocolate Milkshake for Jayson & Papaya Lassi for me. It was extremely hot yesterday so we ended up spending most of the day in the room reading and staying cool. The pool was a bit too crowded for our liking, so we relied on the air conditioner to escape the intense heat. We managed to surface for a delicious lunch of fresh grilled Mahi Mahi fish served with a Balinese style sambal and veggies. Really scrumptious. In the late afternoon we went for a walk along the beach with cameras in tow to see if we could catch the sunset. We got to a certain point along the beach where the shoreline turned into large rocks and I didn't think my flip flops were going to cut it on those so we asked a fisherman how to get back up to the road from where we were. After he gave us directions he asked us a few of the usual questions, such as where we were from, how long in Bali etc, and giggled at all our responses as I don't think his understanding of English was the greatest and our feeble attempts at Indonesian were probably quite amusing also. We found a rocky pathway and managed to make our way up to the road. Passed Wayan & Putu from Double 1 on a motorbike who were on their way to get a bottle of Tuak (Palm wine) for us to sample. Walked further up the road and came across some villas with a warung out the front so we stopped for a drink and Jayson set up the video camera to capture the sun setting over the volcano. Chatted to a Swiss tourist by the name of Chantelle for quite a while who is planning to come to Australia within the next few months and we gave her our number so we can show her a few places in Melbourne when she gets there. After watching the sunset we walked back to Double 1 for dinner. After dinner, Wayan brought out his guitar and we sang a few songs around the table while drinking the Tuak. It was very strong stuff but not very nice tasting. Kind of like boiled eggs in coconut milk... you have to try these things at least once :) Today we head off for Seminyak at around 11.00am to stay in the private villa we rented out through an expat friend (Simon) we made last trip. Will be nice to have our own private pool - the pool at Wawa Wewe has been pretty crowded since we arrived.
22nd-24th August
After around a 3 hour drive we arrived at the villa at around 2.00pm. We probably would have got here sooner had it not been for the multitude of cremation ceremonies happening along the way. I think today must have been an auspicious day for ceremonies. Scooby said it was a popular time as waiting till the wet season can be quite a hassle. The largest was just outside of Sanur which literally stopped traffic for a good half hour. Scooby explained it was for someone of the highest cast as they had the white bull statue heading the procession. Also passed through Goa Lawar (bat caves/temple) on the way so Scooby could have some lunch. As we'd seen the caves on our first trip took a quick 10-15 min wander around the very small marketplace just outside. Had a couple of young girls hanging off us the whole away after placing their 'free' wooden bead necklaces over our heads. We ended up buying them a can of lemonade each as we weren't really keen on buying anymore postcards or decorated avocado seed ornaments. The Bali Belly really kicked in by this stage so not feeling the greatest. When we got to the villa we were absolutely delighted with the place. We were greeted by the housekeeper Eka who later we'd remembered meeting at Trio's café on our previous visit. She was very friendly and eager to help. The villa is spacious and has everything a house has plus more - two large bedrooms both with enormous king sized beds and ensuites, plus an additional toilet downstairs (very handy for those urgent Bali Belly calls of nature) fully equipped kitchen with dining area, living room with dvd player & surround sound system and comes equipped with tons of the latest DVDs. The villa is only one year old and is beautifully furnished in a modern Balinese style, the gardens are nicely landscaped with a good size pool, outdoor eating and lounging area and at the moment also has a special guest - Simon's cat Dayu which he adopted as a one week old kitten and bottle fed so it is extremely affectionate and charismatic. The grounds are also kept immaculately by a gardener who comes by once a day.
After cleaning up a bit we caught a cab to Legian Street and had the burger & chips special at Glory's Restaurant, an old favourite from last trip. Went for a quick walk to Trios cafe where we briefly caught up with Wayan (who is also our next door neighbour at the Villa) and checked emails, then caught a cab back home, and watched half of Sin City before I started falling asleep. Had a very early night (9.00pm) Jayson was feeling a bit crook by this stage as well so we thought a bit more sleep could only help. I must have woke up about 5 times that night with stomach cramps and trips to the loo.
The next morning we made our way to Kuta Square, had breakfast before doing some shopping. Jayson was still feeling a bit under the weather so he caught a cab home and I stayed on for some retail therapy. Got a few bits and pieces at the Matahari centre. Previously I've had Jayson with me so haven't really explored it in much detail. Bought a nice meshy top which will be good to wear out at night here, a butterfly broach for Mum, some hair elastics, and a pair of thongs. Walked back to Legian St, but by this stage my feet were killing me so caught a cab back to the Villa. When I got back Jayson was still in bed but got up to watch the end of Sin City with me. Went to Aroma's cafe for dinner after waiting for 40 mins for a cab - I was feeling pretty cranky by this stage as I hadn't really eaten anything substantial since breakfast. While waiting for the cab we decided to start walking down the dirt road that leads to the Villa and Dayu the cat thought he'd come along just as the cab was pulling up. We didn't see him again till the next day so we were a little worried he'd come to no good at the time. At Aroma's we shared a yummy goat's cheese/sun dried tomato salad, Pumpkin & creamed corn soup and a large pizza (as always our eyes were way too big for our bellies and we left heaps behind. Wandered down to the Bounty ship and watched the open Mic trio for about half an hour before heading back as my belly still wasn't behaving. We asked where Eduardo was (the muso playing last time we were in Bali, and the waiter told us he is playing on Wednesday night so we may go back tonight and catch up and perchance sing a song or two. After another pretty restless nights sleep with the cramps, we got up at around 5.30am for some Milos (the Bali version tastes more like Ovaltine) and cereal, before taking a walk outside to see where the cat had got to - no sign of him. Watched Madagascar then showered and got dressed. Walked up the main street to look at the many furniture stores, hoping to spot some office desks but didn't see anything quite what we are after. Heaps of nice stuff though. Started to feel a bit rough again at this point, so we caught a cab into Legian St and had an 'Outback Breakfast' at Glory's. Had to be one of the best brekkie's we've had in Bali. For 29,000 rp, you get a substantial fresh fruit platter, fruit juice, small piece of steak, 2 eggs cooked to your liking, bacon, grilled tomatoes, 2 slices of toast (proper toast, with a bit of colour and crusts intact - not the white squares of crustless bread that masquerades as toast in most places), butter, jam, coffee or tea. Needless to say, we couldn't get through all this food but if you were feeling well, were hungry and had a big day of shopping or exploring ahead would be fantastic value. Kept walking down Legian Street and bought a loosely woven cross-over top in one of the boutiques for 80,000. Next we went into our usual DVD shop and bought around 15 - all except 2 are either good or great quality (tested them on the DVD player in the Villa. We will be taking the other two back to swap with something else either tonight or tomorrow. Popped into Aroma's Cafe for some water and bumped into Jenny, Glenys and Julie. At around 1.00pm we caught a cab to see Jayson's Nanna and caught up with the rest of the family. The whole family is staying at the Villa Wilsana a very spacious private villa with heaps of bedrooms and two large pools plus staff and works out quite affordably when split between a big group. After around an hour we took Nanna to lunch at Spaghetti Jazz in Seminyak. To my surprise the waitress remembered us from three months ago - always nice when this happens. Quite simple but pleasant meal - baguettes for me & Nanna, Jayson had a salad and bolognaise washed down with Ginger iced tea which did seem to help my stomach a little. After lunch we took Nanna back to the Villa and were greeted by Dayu the cat who had obviously survived the night after all. Tonight we will probably head back into Legian Street for something to eat and possibly go back to the Open Mic. After a couple of hours of sitting around watching DVDs, didn't really feel like going back out again. We attempted to get a pizza delivered but with no luck as they pizza place said there was an hour and a half wait so we thought we may as well go out if it was going to take that long! But for next times sake, they are called The Tuesday Night Pizza Club, are based in Seminyak but will deliver up to 25km's away. Phone number is 730 614 - 7 days a week. We ended up having a meal at Mykanos in Seminyak, well priced Greek(ish) food, always enjoyable. After the meal we watched a band for a few songs at a place called Zappas (named after Frank). Soon after we caught a cab back to the villa - probably the only time I have felt unsafe in the three times we've visited Bali. The guy we had waved down was a Bali Taxi driver (the metallic bluey green one) not to be confused with Bluebird Taxis who drove way too fast down the busy Seminyak streets, meanwhile took a call on his mobile while driving and shouted down the phone in a very aggressive manner. Our villa was situated on a dirt road and he negotiated it with very little caution. Once he arrived at our villa we heard the door locks click realising he had locked the doors on us for the whole trip. In hindsight we probably weren't in any great danger but his actions were very unpredictable and it's likely he was on something. We wasted no time in getting out of the car and locking the gate to the villa behind us quickly while we nervously watched over the fence for his car to drive away after about 5 minutes.
25th to 29th August
Started the day with brekkie at Aroma's. Jayson had Nachos (weird first meal, I know) and I had banana pancakes and an avocado juice with a plate of fresh fruit shared between us. Scrumptious as always here. Did a bit of wandering around on Legian Street afterwards but energy levels were still pretty low at this point so went back to the Villa for a while before heading out to a Spa in Seminyak for some much looked forward to treatments. Jayson and I both had a facial (finally managed to talk him into having one with me) but he was very restless with the amount of time it took and couldn't just relax and enjoy the pampering. And I thought he was in touch with his feminine side! The two therapists working on us whispered continuously to each other in Balinese and giggled every now and again which wasn't very reassuring, but the facial itself was great and we came away with skin as smooth as a baby's botty. I also had a manicure and pedicure. These were good aside from the fact that the manicurist really didn't wait for each coat to dry before applying the next and although he used a blow dryer for quite a while on my nails at the end, I still managed to smudge them while getting into the taxi afterwards. Went to Jimbarin Bay for dinner and ate at Dena's Cafe - lobster, red snapper and squid, but wasn't overly impressed. Everything tasted the same and were not cooked with any spices - it was all about adding condiments after it arrived at the table. We ate at Aroma Cafe last trip (not to be confused with the vegetarian café on Legian Street) which was much more enjoyable. Denas also would not call us a cab and insisted we use their transport guy. He wanted to charge us 60,000 rp to take us back to Seminyak when it only costs 30,000 in a cab, so we walked down to the main road and caught a cab back to the villa, almost immediately. Can't remember what we did after that but it couldn't have been too exciting.
Next morning had breakfast at a place called Cafe Mokas on Seminyak Street which was excellent - like a little piece of Paris in Bali. I had a brilliant Spinach Quiche called 'Popeye' and Jayson had a ham and cheesy one. Also had a Chocolatine each which was delicious - kind of like a choc filled croissant. This place had a great selection of breads and pastries behind the counter. After breakfast did a reasonable wander around the street looking for anything interesting then as the morning hotted up decided to come back to the Villa for a refreshing swim. Out again for lunch at Porchetta's on Legian Street, had some excellent beef and chicken satay here and will try and get back there before we leave on Sunday. Went back to the Villa to start getting ready to attend Evan & Jo's wedding - snuck in a quick 20 minute sleep - can't believe how sapped of energy I've been this trip...guess that's what Bali Belly will do for you.
The wedding was held in the grounds of the Villa Wilsana which was stunning decorated with candles and frangipanis strategically placed in the pool with a delicately scented archway of tuberose and frangipanis for the couple to stand beneath as they gave their vows. It was quite an intimate occasion with only 20 guests consisting of immediately family and close friends. There was a four piece traditional Balinese band playing before and after the ceremony which set the mood nicely. The bridal party was led by two young traditional Balinese dancers around the age of 8 or 9 also a nice touch. The food was excellent and abundant and the atmosphere very casual and unstructured. The meal was followed by speeches, dancing and cocktails provided by Jayson's cousin Jordan. Makes a mean Pina Colada. Got home around 12.30 and were up again by 7.00am.
Took a cab to Kuta Square and had a mid-morning breakfast at a bit of a dodgy place called the Couple's Bar or something like that. We were the only people in the place but the service was very sluggish and the placed looked a bit grubby so no, wouldn't recommend that one. Split up for a couple of hours to do some serious shopping finally having the energy to do so. Picked up another pair of thongs at Matahari for around 40,000 rp, some batteries for the camera, two fancy cushion covers for around 50,000 rp from the Kuta Art market and a few other bits and pieces. Jayson got computer games and a few more dvds. After meeting up we walked down Legian together and had lunch at Mama's where we were served by a grumpy guy who insisted on giving me Bintang Draft even though I wanted the bottled kind. But I can be stubborn too and insisted on the bottle! Had a very average Nasi Goreng, Jayson had BBQ ribs also pretty average.
By this stage our feet were killing us after pounding the pavements for hours so we decided to get a foot massage at a place right next door to Mama's at an advertised price of 35,000 rp. Well I have to tell you the foot massage was just what the doctor ordered. Easily went for half an hour and felt fantastic so instead of 70,000rp for the two of us we gave them 100,000 rp which they were thrilled about. So worth it! Came back to the villa - did a bit of packing and organising for tomorrow before grabbing a couple of hours sleep with the intention of having a big night tonight. Caught a cab into Kuta and had dinner at Porchettas consisting of a couple of pizzas which were kind of bland but had a good chats with the head waiter, Budi who has only recently married and has the nickname 'Achung' on account of his more Chinese than Balinese eyes. Also had a chat with with a young lady by the name of Sami - very friendly, personable staff here. Also had a kick-ass Tequila Sunrise to try and get me in the mood for a big night... wasn't going to happen though. Went to the Apache Bar next and stayed for a set played by a young Indonesian punk outfit from Jakarta in the flavour of Green Day. Quite a lot of young locals came along to watch this band so they obviously must have a bit of a following here. Next we went to the Harbour Café at the front of The Bounty Ship nightclub and they had a bunch of guys playing bongos and a few girls gyrating around on stage - not the open Mic night we were expecting. Cabbed it back to the Villa after this, with a serious case of last day blues.
Next morning did most of our packing and some video of the villa before heading off for our last Breakfast at Aromas then some final hours of shopping at the Matahari and some more DVD shopping. At 2.00pm we caught a cab down to Kuta Beach where we met our friends Jack & Ben whom we met last trip after seeing them play in a fabulous Latin style band. We were shocked to see how much weight Jack has lost in the 3 and a half months since we saw him last. He has been very ill with a stomach complaint and apparently the doctors are still unsure of what it is. The poor guy had two jumpers on and a scarf and was trembling the whole time. (since coming back to Australia, we have decided to send him some money to try and help him out). We wish we had of had a chance to see him before our last day so we could have organised something while we were over there.
After our meeting with Jack & Ben we went back to the Villa to do our final pack and to catch an hour or so of sleep before Scooby came to collect us. We went out to Double Six nightclub where Ben's new band was playing by the swimming pool amidst a backdrop of bungy jumpers. Scooby, his wife Nurul (heavily pregnant and due any second), and young son Ducsa along with Maryanne & Chris (The Mackas) joined us for dinner at a place just up from Double Six. It was great to finally meet Maryanne & Chris who I had been emailing from time to time concerning our mutual friend Scooby. They had three weeks of Bali ahead of them, lucky things with their two sons joining them in a couple of days time. Well after dinner it was time to head to the airport for the usually late night flight back (ugh!) After a not too dramatic check in we met up with Jayson's aunts and Nanna and we were on our way. The rellies got the upgrade to Super Economy Class (Jayson's cousin works for Air Paradise in Melbourne) but since there were only four spares available we got the exit door seats - better than nothing, at least we had plenty of leg room. Managed to grab an hour or so sleep through the night. Earlier in the day we had bought a couple of black elasticised headbands (no one was selling eye masks) and must say they did the trick in blocking out the light from the TV screens. Arrived at Melbourne airport around 7.00am, about an hour later caught the shuttle bus to the long term carpark while a bleary eyed Jayson drove us home. I could barely keep my eyes open until the car started overheating badly - had to make a couple of stops along the way to let the engine cool off but got home around 10.00ish. After chatting with our housesitter (while half asleep) for around half an hour, we excused ourselves and went to bed for some much needed sleep.
Well, another trip is over and the post Bali blues have descended and I am already pondering when the next trip can be arranged. Before going over again this time, we thought we really should broaden our horizons and go somewhere else but having made friends there it is so much more than a holiday - it really does feel like a second home and I can see why people can't keep from returning time and time again.
Upon our return we have heard that Scooby & Nurul's baby girl has entered the world and he could really use some more work, so if you are looking to hire a driver I will happily pass on his contact details (please send me an email).