Next day was about blisters, bathers and bare bodies, we went to Garlic Lane to order a jacket, but quick change of mind, Kate fell in love with cowboy boots and ordered a pair of snakeskin and leather ones, is customs going to like this?
Walked miles to find Climax swimwear place and the perfect one piece for me,the blisters were not good so bought softest cheapest pair of slip ones the store holder had I think was amazed I just paid whatever he asked.... quick trip to Alta Moda, gorgeous but expensive and sales people who hovered, (if you let me browse and don't hassle me I always end up buying more and if you do it's a quick exit) for swimwear Lycra for Kate. They had a 70% sale so all up with the cost of making them it was going to be $23 for bathers so of course I bought my own material for another one piece. Back at swimwear shop I loved the attention to detail, they checked the bathers we liked and measured us up adding little bit here and there to ensure the perfect fit.
Janako Tailors OMG, brilliant or what, my other daughter had sent measurements and they helped me with choosing fabrics, Lisa was wonderful but admits she would rather have the person in front of her so if alterations are needed they can be done. She was also incredible with Kate... yes that skirt looks nice but legs a bit full this style better ......and it was. The fit for Em's clothes was great, she's over the moon with my buys.
Aroma's... coffee was ordinary but the toilets , the Taj Mahal of loos, five star no less and a bit of an unexpected find behind an ordinary coffee bar.... I hate to say it, we did rate the loos, we were lucky, most are great, some are brilliant and only one or two rate a not bloody likely.
Lunch at Rosso Vivra opposite ‘Harfway' beach in Kuta, good burgers, small servings just right for lunch, interesting relish and hot fries. Great mocktails I one called the Black B***h... what a name.....with muddled limes and brown sugar, chopped apple and mint topped up with apple juice and lemonade, so good I needed two. Kate was sticking with the Bintang......
In the afternoon, a trip to Spa reccomended by Nicno, they picked us up at the hotel, very quiet, but good masseuse, perhaps I won't organize a double massage room with Kate again, she was mortified at being ‘nekked' in bath with mother after lulur massage. And not at all impressed with my comment ‘Its alright darling I've seen it all before ‘....... That cost me drinks and nibbles at Lantai on the beach at end of Double 66, expensive but fun to sit on the upper deck and watch the sun go down and all the action on the beach. Tried a Ciproska, vodka brown sugar and lime... yum....
Taxi to Mykonos great homemade bread and dips, we were fighting over the last smears, Kate had medallions of tender lamb and veggies and I went for the oven cooked chicken that just fell off the bone..... I did get a good short black here.
Day 3
Another great breakfast Kate enjoyed the nasi goring and noodles, I loved the omelette. And its a day for going separate ways, Kate had planned on daily surfing lessons I had more things to buy for Ubud and a lot more shopping.
Makros first, stocked up on practical things soaps, baby powder etc., and something called Stotts Emulsion, orange flavoured cod liver oil stuff, sounds terrible but apparently great for pregnant girls who are malnourished and needing iodine. The taxi driver who picked me up to go to Matahari for baby clothes, (Makro no longer stock them), waited for me, slept stretched out on front seat. ‘You make great wife Mrs., you shop I sleep, see if my wife like this idea', big grin and wink. When I arrived at the hotel I marched through reception followed by a row of security guards and porters all carrying one bag... like something out of Pretty Woman, hilarious.
Then another taxi and the me stuff, Divine Diva for fine cotton tops and ¾ pants and then to Animale Factory outlet more lightweight pants and white layered top and amazing jacket. I wanted to buy things that I can wear equally as well in Queensland which is not stuff from market stalls,.
This end of the island is a very different Bali experience for me, less peaceful, less spiritually connected than I had found before. I don't like the hawkers and the grabbing and trying to pull me into a shop. Kept telling myself, just be polite and keep walking ‘Jalan jalan'......There is a tribe of street beggars women and children who are inclined to swarm around as you walk Jl Legian around Aromas, I had noted the sign at the intersection in Seminyak ‘Please don't give money to the street beggars' and so I didn't, pretty sure they were swearing at us as we pushed past. Some of the children we spotted playing in the dust outside Seaside later in week, they were pulling apart the offerings. Apparently they sit around looking lost and beg from the tourists as they walk past.
I could get addicted to the attention at the Vira, every morning at breakfast my chair would be pulled out and the security guys,well, each time I would walk along the street towards the hotel the one on the entrance would spot me, the whistle would be blown madly and he would spread his arms wide and step into the road and very effectively stop the traffic and I would get to sail across the road, he would nod ‘Hello Mrs Mum' and away would go the whistle again. I remember on my first trip to Bali, my then guide Nyoman, remarking give a boy a whistle and he's happy... seems it still applies
Lunch time we had a call from tailors had to go back and choose some different fabrics so again more mooching around Poppies Lanes. We came up to the monument of the Sari Club, brings tears to your eyes, I found the empty fenced site of Paddies Bar with pictures on the railings even more poignant. Kate came back here a few days later and laid some flowers and told me she talked to an ‘old' Aussie bloke who was in Bali when it happened and comes back each visit and reads all their names so they know they are not forgotten. There are times when I am intensely proud to be an Australian.
Secret Garden Spa, have to admit this was a huge disappointment, I had read good reports but it was old and tired looking and non to clean, we had mani/pedicures and no kidding the polish took over an hour to dry by that time we had left salon and most nails were wrecked...... I am told that the less reputable places dilute things down and if you are at the end of the bottle its pretty crap... contrast this with the lovely ladies poolside at Puri Raja later in trip, beautiful job and dried perfectly in muinutes.......
We had planned on Pantai for dinner but the service was non existent and neither of us felt like walking back in the dark, we didn't even stop for a drink. Have to say this spot was one of the few places that we didn't feel safe. The street traders were very aggressive here and we both were feeling a bit overwhelmed. Made for Bubba Gump's, friends had come back and raved about it as being fun, and it was, more expensive yes, but the food was good and the whole place entertaining. ‘Run Forest Run', what did we have? Shrimps of course!!