Day 2 dawned, well to be more specific it started before dawn, why is it that a bloke that normally get up at 5.30 am takes until the last day of the holidays to sleep in, bugger, well at least I can get a good photo of the sunrise over Nusa Lembongan.
Even at a quarter to six the 'beach towel brigade' are out in force, I bid them good morning and suggested that it was a bit early for sunbathing, however they did not understand me, I probably should have bid them 'Guten Morgan' or 'Goede Ochtend', the larrikin in me decides to target the ones that put down their towels, and then go to Ubud shopping, later in the week I will get in and pinch their spot! {;o)
This morning is a bit overcast and hazy, as such not much of a sunrise, still I will have lots of opportunities to try out the new dig camera, and yes Smokey, it took me the best part of the 3 hour flight to work out how to put the batteries in!
Sanur is such a pretty place for breakfast on the beach front, we eat all our breakfasts in the Griya Restaurant, not 'on the docket' as the locals describe the prepaid buffet, we find we get a better choice, waiter / waitress service, and far cheaper than the prepaid prices we were quoted, and we get what we asked for, well most of the time that is!
Like many establishments in Bali, the Griya had a number of young people from school on 'work experience', I am told that they get little or nothing for their 2 weeks in-service training, so we go out of our way to encourage them as much as possible, and when Mrs C gets 'boiled' eggs, instead of 'poached', she simply enjoys them rather than make a big fuss, as others were observed to do.
I think we expect a lot of these young people, it's bad enough trying to understand the different regional 'English' dialects that are spoken, let alone German and Dutch and all the other non-English speaking Tourists.
Breakfast is a delight as always, I don't know why is should be, but I am never failed to be amazed by the intensity of the flavour and sweetness of the fresh fruit, which is perfectly enhanced by the tang of the freshly squeezed lime juice, and that big yellow skinned Bali passion fruit that Mrs C just loves, not for me unfortunately, it's the seed, however I get a good trade for her pineapple, she said it looked like fish or frogs eggs, so we christen it 'Bali Caviar'.
After breakfast we stroll up to the Sindhu / Sanur Beach Markets to meet up with our driver of two years ago, Yasa, like many others his wife has a stall, and when not working he sits with the other drivers playing dominos, but not for money any more, the new Government has all but stopped gambling, and most of the Cock Fighting Roosters have ended up as the Sunday Roast!
We notice some changes during the walk up beachfront, which is very pleasant now with the wide pathway, and with the 'groins' in place, no big holes from washaways, lots a updating of the Warungs, and there is now a Circle K next door to the Bonsai, where you get double chocolate and coffee drumsticks for less than 50c, boy am I going to stack on the weight!
By the way for all you fans of the Besakih, they are about half way through what looks like a complete rebuild of their beachfront restaurant, it's a bit of a mess, they have set up shop in what I believe was the conference / meeting room at the end of the northern hotel block, we met some people at the Griya who normally stay there but with all the work decided not to, unfortunately for the Besakih they just love the Griya and will probably not go back.
Tonight we went to dinner and the Legion Dancing, which is back on at the Swastika II, the Girls and Boy, 9 in all, ranging in age from about 8 to about 12, it's very difficult to judge when they have their costumes and makeup on, displayed such grace and poise, and their hand, eye and facial expressions used to tell the story is simply stunning.
You know the sad part was that, along with the 9 young dancers, who for 40 minutes danced their hearts out, there were 9 in the Gamelan, but only 7 of us in the restaurant!
Yet when we walked back to the hotel, the big new bright shiny glass and white concrete Village Restaurant out the front, which serves Italian Cuisine, and looked like any you would see in Europe, Aus or the USA, was packed to the rafters, I feel sorry for you people, you don't know what you missing out on, get in and soak up the culture for heavens sake!
To be continued, regards BJC.