Back ground info - we're all from perth; there were 6 of us this trip - me (jess, 26, 3rd trip); gav (my partner of 10 years, 3rd trip); my sister, Bj (2nd trip); her boyfriend, scott (1st to bali though he has travelled most of indo surfing); and my parents, mum (57) and dad (62); it was probably about their 10th trip. We were unfortunate AP ticket holders so this was a trip we had to make the most of!
Day 4 - FRIDAY 30th DECEMBER 2005
Gav did his usual Bali trick and kept me up all night while he professed he was being eaten by mozzies. They normally love me but we seem to have a few nights each trip with Gav up getting munched on while they leave my alone. Weird but very tiring. 8:30am-ish we were up and off to breaky - sadly another pretty average offering at the LPH. We all had our staple omelettes and Bj finally remembered the Vegemite this morning so I got my fix.
The parents were supposed to meet us and head up to Ubud for the morning, but they didn't rock up until after 10:30am. Dad was suffering from Un's the night before and they cancelled our trip to Ubud and the sunset at Tanalot that night. For some crazy reason they had gone all Bali-shopperholic on us and wanted to go back to the Matahari. The four of us were over that suggestion and wanted to get out of Kuta for the day so we decided it was time to check out Sanur Beach and Mangoes.
We walked down to find Bobby but he had left for the day so we met one of his buddies - Ketut - he took us, return and waited til we were ready to come back for 70,000rp. His van was not as flash as Bobby's but he was a character and we quickly formed a bond and made a new friend that would stay with us for the rest of our trip.
We walked along Sanur Beach towards Mangoes Restaurant and as usual we were met by the local ladies who all wanted to take us to their shop. They are traditionally pretty ferocious over this side of the island but seemed so desperate in comparison to what I remembered from last year.
We walked up to Mangoes Restaurant and met up with Ida straight away. He is the young owner - his parents - Mendra and Alit, own the Puri Mango Guest House in Sanur and several shops - fantastic rags to riches story of a local making it good - Mendra is a talented batik maker and was picked up by a French tourist a few decades ago who imported his wares to Europe for him. Now he is a successful Balinese business man VBG. We met Ida on last years trip as his aunt had recently married one of our Aussie mates uncles, and moved to Perth. I'm not too sure he remembered us but he said he did and we sat down for a Binnie and a chat on the beach.
He told the boys what the weather patterns had been like over the past few weeks and where and what time they should surf, at this time of year. They decided 3pm this arvo looked promising and the boys decided to make their way back over to Sanur by then with their surf boards.
We headed off for a little stroll but it was bloody hot and very sunny and we quickly felt ourselves burning. We decided no shopping today and we'd head back to Kuta for lunch and so the boys could get their boards.
We stopped @ Paddys 2 for a quick Binnie, then bailed as soon as we realised the Air Paraside guy owned it. Scott had a bit of a grudge against the guy as it was his first trip to Bali and he'd lost his money. We were the only ones in there though! (we soon learned that if we wanted to go somewhere he owned we'd just not tell Scott who owned it VBG)
Then we headed off to Café Sendok on Jl Legian for some makan - 2x Binnies, 2x fruit juices, 1x coke, 1x aqua, 3x club and 1x marinara pizza - 180,000rp. It was a nice lunch, cheap and great staff.
It was back to the LPH for a quick swim before the boys met Ketut and headed back to Sanur. Bj and I decided it was time for some retail therapy - Surfer Girl VBG. I wasn't as impressed as last year with their range but still managed to blow a couple of hundred thousand on some new bathers (rip curl 289,000), a top (astec rose190,000) and a hat (rip curl 125,000). As we left it started to rain and didn't let up all arvo or into the night. Bj and I weaved our way along Jl Legian toward the LPH, buying bali treats and stopping for Binnies, in and out of the rain. We had the little Javanese kids chasing us all the way with their leather bands. It was a fun arvo. I blew 1,200,000rp.
Back to the hotel to change our clothes and have a Binnie break. The boys were back so we headed back to Café Sendok for a cheap and easy dinner. 370,000rp - 1x Binnie; 3x huge German beers;4x cocktails; 2x spring roll entrees; 1x pizza; 1x carbonara (terrible); 1x nasi goreng; 1x sweet and sour chicken.
All very full again - I am really starting to feel the kilos now. Off for a little walk and evening shopping. The boys hit the bargain bin at the Station surf shop on the corner of Poppies 2 and Jl Legian - great deals on real gear!
Then it was on to home for an early-ish night in preparation for tomorrow's party - New Years Eve.
Day 5 - SATURDAY 31st DECEMBER 2005 - NEW YEARS EVE
Well breaky was really starting to give us the willies. After this morning's disappointing spread we have all decided to start heading out and getting ourselves some banana pancakes!
So it's New Years Eve and what better way to start it than with pampering massages. We walked down to Poppies 2 and back to the little salon we found last year. Luckily they could fit us all in and it was massages (50,000 for 1 hr) and manicures and pedicures (70,000 for 1 hr treatment) all round. Bj's ended up taking a little longer than the rest of us, so myself, Gav and Scott went for a stroll down Poppies towards the beach to check the swell. A little shopping along the way and a Binnie each before it was time to head back and pick Bj up.
Shopping on Poppies - 4x ladies "Bali" tops 20,000ea; more binoculars, from the same guy, 50,000ea - he tried to charge 350,000 first up because I don't think he recognised us VBG, one of my uncles has a similar pair at home that he paid $150 for.
On our way back to Bj she found us - her manicure hadn't taken as long as we thought it would. Heading back towards JL Legian and who do we see but Mum and Dad having Binnies at the Bagus Pub. It was weird, so far when we've wanted to find them, they have turned up right when we were thinking of them. They had been shopping and Dad had been investing in the local economy; paying way too much for a couple of fake surf shirts. He said he paid 75,000ea but my instincts tell me, from his behaviour, that it may have been more than that - we all had a good laugh!
We decided it was time to eat again and we walked back down Poppies to Benesari Lane and the Warung 96. It was ridiculously cheap again; 165,000 for 6x Binnies, 3x Club, 2x pizza.
Then for the sake of the evening, we needed to chill out on the Binnies for a while or we wouldn't see the New Year in. So we moved on back to our respective hotels for a swim and a nap. Bj and I were feeling a little heavier than when we arrived in paradise so we had a little competition and swam 20 laps of the pool trying to out do each other and after that I needed the kip!
Poor Bj - some how, between the morning's massage and the lap competition she did her back in. She woke with a pinching that only got worse as the night wore on. The poor thing could hardly walk or sit without tears in her eyes.
So it was our usual duty free on the balcony to start the night. We were convinced at that stage that all Bj needed was a few medicinal bourbons to loosen her up. Then it was up to our breaky restaurant, Acapulco's, for our New Year's Eve banquet. After the breaky turn out over the last few days we were ready to be disappointed in the meal but it was included in our package so we thought why not, it's easier. We were very pleasantly surprised!
The place had been traditionally decorated and completely rearranged. It was stunning. The buffets ran around the entire room with beautifully carved fruit and flower statues, and there were chefs cooking their hearts out on a dozen different bbqs. There was so much food we were never going to be able to get a taste of everything. The service was great and the food delicious and we were all really happy with it. There was a Barong dance that told the story of a young frog growing into adult frog-hood. It was great considering we hadn't made it to Ubud yet and it was starting to look like we wouldn't, and Bj and Scott hadn't seen a dance.
After diner it was time to pack up the duty free and head over to the Padma and Mum and Dad. We had decided it was pretty safe to spend the night with the parents in their gorgeous hotel room and their private patio/yard was very comfortable, with plenty of space for the 6 of us to settle in and count down to the hour. Even though none of us felt threatened at all it seemed the smarter thing to do to keep the celebrations low key, for obvious reasons.
The streets were pretty quiet compared to last year. It was 10pm when we stepped out of the LPH and that time last year everything was totally buzzing. Jl Legian was still closed off after the parade which made the place feel even quieter. On the way I found a hooter seller and picked out 6 for 40,000 - the guy said why not make it 8 for 50,000 so I thought why not, its New Years - the cheeky little bugger sold me the extra two which didn't work VBG, I should know better than that. Oh well good on him, you gotta love the initiative!
Security at the Padma was brilliant as usual. The guys went through all our bags and commented on the duty free wishing us a happy new year. Mum and Dad were waiting for us at the Barong Bar - pissed as usual after their 5-7pm cocktails at the VIP Garden Club and their dinner at Posers.
We headed back to their room, luxurious at it was, and got started on the beverages and tooted our horns. Every once and a while one of us would do the run to the beach, about 40m from the parents room, and check out the crowd heading down to Seminyak and watching the fireworks starting up on the beach. We could see some of the fireworks from the patio and the rooms around us were quite loud and horn tooting too. It was great.
Dad had the video camera out and we were all happy snapping away. We rang the Nanny before 12pm and wished her a happy new year, then listened to the countdown come from the general Seminyak direction.
More fireworks started and there was yelling and carry on, so that was it, midnight had come. We carried on til the wee hours and until Bj's back finally gave up the ghost and we called it a night.
We walked back to the LPH and the streets were completely empty. Not a car or person in sight. We made it back to our hotel. No security on the door or anyone at reception, but hey, it was new years. Up to the rooms and bed.
It was another fantastic new years in Bali and we'll be back again this year for sure!!