JBR - PART TWO
DRIVER: We used Komang Bajing (komangsw@yahoo.com) who was recommended to us by Heather and others on this forum. He charges Rp. 150,000 (AU $20) for half-day tours and Rp. 300,000 (AU $40) for a full day. Transfers to and from our hotel were Rp. 50,000 (AU $6.50) each way. Komang is a very nice guy - friendly, honest and helpful - and speaks English well. He followed our itinerary and took us only where we wanted and asked to go. He was great with our boys and put up with their annoying behaviour in the car (a lot better than I did at times!!!) He used a good, comfortable, air-conditioned 4WD for all our day trips, which he hires from someone else. His own car is a bit old and crappy and not air-conditioned. We were happy to use this for the shorter trips to and from the airport. We are very happy to recommend Komang - he is a great driver and a very nice guy!
DAY 2: We all woke up early and had a walk through the hotel and along the beach. We saw the sunrise over the ocean for the first time which was beautiful. The beach near the hotel is very nice. There is a path along the beach which takes you past all the hotels in the area. We had a very pleasant walk - it was so peaceful at that time of the morning and there was hardly anyone else around. Had a quick look at the Sheraton Laguna, Westin and Melia hotels which all looked nice.
Maher went to the gym and then we all had a huge breakfast at Wedang Jaye restaurant in the hotel. Full buffet breakfast was included in our package. The restaurant setting is lovely - overlooking lush gardens and water features. There is a big choice of food - fresh fruits (I particularly loved the paw paw with a squeeze of lime juice and the mangosteens!), juices, cereals, yogurts, breads, danishes, croissants, donuts, cheeses, cold meats, salads, sausages, bacon, hash browns, grilled tomato, baked beans, pancakes, waffles ... They also have a couple of ‘egg chefs' who will cook up your eggs any way you like them (fried, scrambled or an omlette with the fillings of your choice).
I had booked in for a spa treatment hotel- The Ritual - 2.5 hours of pampering which was just fantastic! This included a foot scrub/wash, Balinese massage, Lulur scrub, yogurt rub, traditional oil hair treatment, shower, flower bath, ginger tea and herbal tonic drink. Meanwhile the boys were swimming and having fun at the pool. The area where I had my treatments was so tranquil and had an open-air garden section with water features and a bale over the water. Very soothing and beautiful! I was offered a choice of oils or my massage and chose Jasmine. I enjoyed all my treatments and felt like a new woman by the end of those 2.5 hours!!! I decided to try out the other facilities at the spa before meeting up with the boys again. Went into the Jacuzzi and then the steam room and finished off with a dip in the cold plunge pool. I did all this in the nude as I didn't have my bathers with me. Don't know if this is the thing to do, but luckily no one else was around anyway!
In the afternoon I went with the boys to check out the Gecko's Kids Club. I stayed there with them for awhile, chatting with the staff, and then left them for about an hour while Maher and I went to pick up some supplies and recharge the SIM card kindly given to us by Tina G at the Tragia supermarket nearby (we topped it up with Rp. 25,000; AU$ 3.50) which was all we needed to sms family back home and contact Komang, ring restaurants etc.) The Kids Club facilities are very nice - the rooms are clean and brightly decorated. They have plenty of toys, books, games, bikes and playstations to entertain the kids. The ladies are lovely and I felt very comfortable leaving the boys in their care. They have an interesting program of activities which changes each day and includes things like getting dressed up in traditional costumes, Balinese dance, art/craft, temple visits and weaving. All this is free of charge to hotel guests. Lunch can be ordered from the room service children's menu and charged to your room. I had never left my boys at a hotel kids club before and was abit worried about it so had emailed the hotel before we arrived to check on the safety/security measures and staff qualifications at the Kids Club. I was very satisfied and reassured by the response I got from the hotel and can recommend the kids club to other parents.
We had arranged for Komang to pick us up at 3.00pm to go to Kuta for some shopping and dinner. On the way we dropped off some clothes at the laundry. We used So Clean Laundry, Jl. Pratama 55 X Nusa Dua, (ph) 0361-770354. They will pick-up and deliver to your hotel. Their prices are good (about 1/3 of the hotel prices) and they did a good job - all washed and ironed and delivered the next day.
It was great driving through Tuban and Kuta and spotting all the places I had read about on this forum - hotels, restaurants - all the places I had read about and imagined for all this time were finally coming to life! Our first stop was Matahari's (all fixed prices) where we bought some nice clothes for the kids (they had a sale with 20 - 50% off). I also went to the Clinique counter and bought a Quickliner eye pencil (Rp. 140,000; AU$18) and All About Eyes (Rp. 270,000; AU $35). I wanted to buy a refill for my Superbalanced Compact Foundation but they didn't stock it unfortunately (couldn't find it in the duty free shop at the airport either). Just at the entrance of Mataharis we bought a couple of copy watches - a Paul Frank ladies watch which we got for Rp. 30,000 (Au $4.00) and an Adidas mens watch @ Rp. 50,000 (AU $6.50). Tarek bought himself a ‘Stussy' cap for Rp. 30,000 (AU $4) and a ‘punk' style wrist band for Rp. 15,000 (AU $2). I'm sure we probably paid too much but it was our first real bargaining experience and we were pretty hopeless at it!!!
We then walked down Poppies Lane 1 and found Wyan's Shop fairy/costume which I had heard about on this forum. Wyan is lovely and sells great fairy dresses and other kids costumes (fixed prices and very cheap). We bought Ramsey a Spiderman outfit for Rp. 25,000 ($3.50) and a gorgeous purple fairy dress with wings (Rp. 30,000; AU $4.00) and wand (Rp. 10,000; $1.50) for my neice. Tarek wanted a Harry Potter cape and hat but they didn't have any to fit him (he is very tall for his age!).
Went to Poppies restaurant for an early dinner. Very pleasant garden setting and nice food. I had the Butter fish which was yummy and Maher and Tarek had a beef curry each. Ramsey just wanted chips and shared my fish. Our bill came to Rp. 262,000 (Au $34.00) including a couple of soft drinks, Maher's usual large Bintang and my Pina Colada (very nice it was too!). After a pleasant dinner we met up with Komang again and drove back to the hotel. Walking to our room we passed all the stalls selling stuff. Tarek bought a few more necklaces - a beaded one and a couple of surfboard ones for his friends (Rp. 10,000; AU $1.50) each. I also bought myself a nice pair of beaded/shell thongs for Rp. 40,000 (AU $5.00). Getting abit better at bargaining now!