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 6 - SUNDAY 1st JANUARY 2006
Woke up surprisingly fresh this morning, considering its new years day. Knocked next door to find Bj was in absolute agony and not ready to face the day or walk for that matter. Her back was so bad she decided she needed the day in bed, so Gav and I left the two of them to it and headed up for breaky.
The restaurant was still dressed in the evening's decorations and the breakfast spread was improved to say the least and Gav enjoyed some of the extra left overs from last nights banquet. Omelette and vegemite rolls for me as usual.
Gav and I thought we'd spend the day with Mum and Dad so after breaky we strolled over to the Padma and found no sign of them. We assumed correctly that they were off on their morning stroll so we found ourselves a couple of pool lounges (which is extremely hard to do at the Padma) and settled in for the morning. It wasn't long before the parents joined us. Dad was a little seedy from last night, so we kicked back in the pool and baked the morning away.
1:30 and its lunch time, its amazing how you never seem hungry, but the body clock always tells you it time and you eat. I am starting to feel perpetually full. On we go anyway. A stroll down Jl Padma and up to Jl Melasti to the Bali Aussie restaurant. No sign of Annie today but the staff were friendly as usual. Before I knew it I had bought a bloody Bali Aussie singlet, Dad had a couple of the street guys in selling him hats (20,000ea) and Harley Davidson helmets (150,000ea). It was hilarious as we kept giving each other sh*t as to who's purchase was the most ridiculous VBG I loved the prose though on the Bali Aussie flag so the singlet was a pretty easy sell - 70,000rp.
"I have no idea who penned this...............
Could this be the start of a new wave of National pried!!!!!!!
You hurt us bombing Bali, but we can take the pain,
But if you think you'll beat us you can think a-bloody-gain
We battled at Gallipoli and we fought the bloody hun
Of all the arseholes we've had to face you're just another one
You won't get your hands dirty, you won't fire a gun
Whenever danger threatens you just pack your gear and run
You brainwash innocent children to do your evil deeds
Careful not to let them know just where it really leads
You get them to believe all your bigotry and lying
Until they cannot see that there's no glory in their dying
Now we'd like to pose a question, answer if you can
Where does your holy book tell you to kill your fellow man?
Now listen hard and listen well, we're giving you the word
Your never gonna beat us you spineless bloody turd
You'd never face us personally you haven't got the guts
You know that if you ever did we'd have your bloody nuts
Our spirit is unbroken, and our heads are still unbowed
We sure as hell aren't scared of you and your gutless crowd
So get your act together - you'll never win because
What your really up against is the spirit that is OZ....."
Bali Aussie.
After lunch the four of us took a stroll down Jl Melasti to Jl Legian, in the opposite direction to the LPH to have a look at what the other end had to offer, and to buy the parents a hat each.
Then we were bloody hot again so we went our separate ways back to our respective hotels for a swim and to see how the injured half was fairing. Bj was feeling slightly better with a few painkillers, anti-inflammatory tablets and massages from Scottie, and was ready to get out of the room and enjoy some diner out side of the hotel (with her having had room service all day and diner there last night she was ready for a change).
So we did the usual duty free and headed back out to Jl Padma, on foot, and met the parents at their current favourite, Posers restaurant/bar. None of us kids were too impressed with it but mum and dad loved it. Our food that night wasn't that crash hot though it was still pretty cheap. I can't remember what everyone else had or how much the bill was but I distinctly remember the fish that I had. Oh how could I forget - it looked and tasted a little dodgy and I wish I wasn't feeling as adventurous as I was because about 6 hours later I had an all night appointment with the porcelain bowl in our bathroom. Hello Bali Belly :( And how much do I love my Dr back home in perth right now for his antibiotics!!
That was it for everyone the night of New Year day. Bj lasted as long as she could and we called it a night (everyone but me called it a night, I called it bad fish!)
Day 7 - MONDAY 2nd JANUARY 2006
Well after the night I had last night and the very limited amount of sleep I managed to get, I awoke in a pretty bad way this morning. I pumped some more antibiotics into me and a Gatorade. By this time I had doubled the dosage already in hope of as quick as possible recovery.
Bj was much better this morning and rearing to get out of the hotel and get herself some banana pancakes, so I managed to drag my sore butt out and get down to Café Sendok with the gang. Breaky was delicious and I managed to enjoy mine and keep it down so that was a bonus.
The boys had previously decided they wanted to go to a fishing tackle shop in Denpasar and this morning seemed to be the right time for them. I contemplated the safety of a trip into Denpasar in my fragile condition and lack of knowledge regarding toilets if I needed one quickly; and thought oh well, it's a new year, live life on the wild side. So we walked up Jl Legian and found Ketut and before we knew it we were in the little tackle shop and the boys were all excited about the reels available and their reasonable prices.
Bj and I sat out the front of the shop patiently and the boys were like kids in a candy store. My belly was holding up and that's all I really cared about at the time. It wasn't long before Gavy had his Shimano Calcutta (700,000) and Scott made his purchases and we were back in the van and out of there.
We dumped the fishing gear back at the LPH and went on over to the Padma to tell the old man about the shop and get our hot bodies into that glorious pool. My poor stomach was faltering and I spent most of my time in the pool side toilet (which by the way was a very nice toilet - lots of marble).
Then Scottie heard the call of the ocean and nicked of for an arvo dip in Kuta front beach. It still gets me that the boys were surfing a break right out of a huge drain. It was frightening really watching them from the beach and seeing all the crap floating around them. Post-surfing shower a must!!
So while Scottie was surfing, me, Gav, Bj and the parents wandered over to Gosha's for lunch. We were all a little unimpressed with the food on our first visit this trip but it was a chance to see Jerry. He hasn't changed a bit - identical to the bloke I remember when I was 14. The food was a little better this time although again I was in the toilet for most of it. It was very sad to hear from Jerry that about 6 staff were laid off the day before because business was so quiet. It was ironic really as we all wondered how they were managing to afford to have so many staff sitting around doing nothing the first night we were there. I guess they couldn't afford it.
After lunch I had had enough and it was time to go back to the LPH and just chill out and give the tummy some time to settle. We ended up having a swim and a few Binnies which I'm sure didn't do my tummy any good at all; then headed up for showers and the aircon before tea.
Dinner tonight was at Poppies Restaurant. We didn't overly enjoy it last year but Dad was keen to go back. We were supposed to meet the parents at 7:30pm but the boys were hungry so we walked down there a little earlier for an entrée before the parents arrived.
The restaurant was as pretty as I remembered and the mozzies were just as vicious! It was easily the worst mozzies anywhere in Bali. The staff were useless and extremely unfriendly and it was overall the worst dining experience I have ever had in Bali. To top it off I was so crook in the guts that I could barely sit at the table for longer than 10 minutes.
So between the bad service, mozzies, Bali belly, tired surfer and returning sore back; we children called it a very early night leaving the parents to party on their own. They promptly left and made their tipsy way to Un's and a couple of frozen margaritas. From the worst restaurant in Bali to the best in one evening!
I chewed on a few more antibiotics and managed to get a few more hours sleep than last night. Tomorrow's another day......