Not much to report over the next few days left of our adventurous Bali trip! Here are days 11 & 12...
Did I mention that I have an ear infection???? Of course I did!! Well normally instead of bouncing out of bed at 5am when the beach works waits us - I didn't bounce at all, I didn't do anything in fact - I was not feeling well! My ear was throbbing now and I cursed myself that I hadn't gone to a chemist yesterday to start the healing process. I couldn't get back to sleep, but I just wanted to lay down and feel sorry for myself! It's my right!
It would have been about 7.30 that our room phone rang - I was awake but hubby was asleep and not too happy about being woken up - it was his first real sleep-in one could say! Anyway I had the side where the phone was so I answered it fully expecting it to be Wayan or a member of family, after all its 7.30am! Nope it's the timeshare mob - it's a guy called Dewa on the phone - think that was his name! Unbelievable! I guess they must have been trying for the past 10 days and normally at this time of the morning we are out doing our morning walk before breakfast etc. Anyway he started his spiel and I bluntly cut in and asked where he got our details from (but I already knew it would have been from the Immigration cards you fill in when entering the country!). He played dumb - so I decided to play along with him but with a twist. Hubby was listening to me and laughing into his pillow to smother any noises that may cause the person on the end of the phone to be suspicious of my authenticity! Anyway I will swear by this method - it worked for us and it confuses the hell out of them! Turn it around on them - tell them that you have a share in a property in Australia and would they be interested in entering into a timeshare agreement with you...waffle on about how beautiful the house is you have in Queensland , ask them if they would like to meet up and see the brochures and even possibly view a contract of agreement...go further and tell them you are open to doing a deal with them and you could do a swap of houses - QLD for Bali. I will guarantee they will be off the phone quicker than you can say Jack Robinson! We don't have timeshare but I was already prepared should this phone call ever arise - I had planned it in my head before leaving Perth! It worked - it confused the hell out of him and we never heard from Dewa or any other member of the timeshare mob again. We laughed - hubby said I was a pro at it - I told him I had already pre-planned that particular spiel should that particular incident arise!
We decided we were being lazy and it was time to get up. We had a mission today - it was a clear mission - we needed bubble wrap! The sun was beaming and there was no evidence of the rain the previous night - it was going to be another stinker if the current temperature was anything to go by! We showered and off to breakfast for another sumptuous buffet. Hubby listened to my gentle reminder about eggs and opted for some waffles and pancakes! I think I would have preferred him to have the egss though given that waffles and pancakes are fully loaded! It's not my breakfast so I don't comment further! I settle for my rye toast and coffee followed by my fruit- I am feeling good actually because I have taken care throughout our holiday not to overeat and to always exercise. Each time we are in the pool I am doing some sort of water aerobic activity and swimming - so I am feeling pleased with myself...hubby is not feeling as pleased, he has the makings of a rather big double chin! He had pointed it out to me this morning. I told him I still loved him before gently suggesting he might want to downsize his egg intake and that he didn't need to eat sausages and bacon everyday! I also suggested that as we were eating sometimes up to 3 meals a day, that maybe he didn't need to order heavy at lunch and dinner but rather have a lighter meal for at least one of these meal times! He agreed....but did absolutely nothing about it for the rest of our holiday! We finished our breakfast and hubby made a token effort towards his new breakfast diet and got a carrot juice before we left the area!
It's time to head off in our search for bubble-wrap. We knew it was not going to be easy to find (how wrong we were..) and we didn't want to go to the outskirts to the cargo places to try and negotiate some. We had already decided to try Matahari's as a first stop as someone had told us that this would be a good starting point! We set off - we were walking, my ear was throbbing and we had a mission! It didn't take long for me to declare defeat and just before stadium I entered a guardian chemist - told them my spiel and I was sent on the way with an anti-inflammatory ointment which also had pain relief in it to put on my ear - but not in it!! My outer ear was really swollen and extremely painful to touch - I couldn't lie on that side of my ear in bed nor could I stand hubby stroking my hair or even going anywhere near that side of my face - it was too painful. I duly rubbed ointment on it before we even left the shop - albeit painfully - and we were back on our route towards Matahari's. We ducked and weaved past all the timeshare sellers, the market sellers and before we knew it we were climbing the stairs at Matahari's. Hubby asked the information lady for our much needed bubble-wrap and the information lady just looked confused! A security guard came over and we explained what we wanted and he looked stumped as well! Lucky for us a girl selling watches was also listening (the girls that stand just outside the entrance at their stalls), and she knew exactly what we wanted. She whipped out a piece of paper and pen and started drawing the directions as to where we needed to go. It didn't turn out to be that far - it was the first street on the right past bemo corner and basically opposite the markets there. It's a hardware shop! We thanked her profusely and took off - hoping that this was not going to end up as a wild goose chase. The street touters were being particularly aggressive this morning - they just wouldn't leave us alone - maybe it was because it was a Monday??
I don't do hats - you may remember that I told you this in my white water rafting JBR - but it was so very hot that I was beginning to wish that I did do hats, and it wasn't much more than 10.30am!. We found the shop - this Matahari angel had told us the exact right directions - and even better we didn't need to jumble through an interpretation of what we wanted, because it was right there at the front for all to see! We were stoked! We indicated that we wanted 5 metres of the stuff and made our purchase and we were off with it bundled up in an easy to carry bundle!
On the way back we decided to cruise down JL Legian - we needed to change some money and well I wanted to have a look - and maybe a little shop!!! Well many shops later, I emerged with 4 summer dresses - great dresses I have to say - they are even good enough for work! I was happy! Very happy! It even made me forget about my ear for a while! I didn't realise we had walked so far up JL Legian as we duly found out on our return - we had walked a lot! A quick look at my mobile confirmed it was 12.30 and somewhere along the way we had lost 2 hours - after all we had purchased the bubble wrap at 10.30ish!! We had already decided to tip the lovely angel that had given us such accurate directions for our bubble wrap, which we did - she literally beamed at us - she was so happy with our gesture! We passed onwards and hubby decided that we may as well purchase a bag as there was no way all our cats were going to fit into our suitcases.
By this stage all I want to do is get back to the hotel and swim - but this was hubby's time and I couldn't begrudge him this given for the past 2 hours we had been in and out of clothes shops and the like! As a side - don't you hate those little market stall/clothes shops, its soooo hot in them and you're trying on clothes and you're soaking wet from sweat and it's just gross!! Anyway the first bag shop we came across was where we stopped and did our business. Now we are only buying a cloth bag - you know those ones you see everywhere with like a frangipani design - you can't get more Bali looking than these bags! Hubby is taken upstairs to view the many different sizes unbeknown to me for I had wandered across the way to view a couple of t-shirts. I was duly advised that hubby was upstairs when I went back, and this place was stinking hot. I expressed my discomfort with the heat and one of the guys took it on board to start fanning me with his newspaper...what the??? I head upstairs and its even hotter up here...hubby is surrounded by 4 guys and many many bags! He is looking a bit bewildered! He asks my opinion...I don't give a sh*t by now - I just want him to buy the bl*ody thing and be on our way! They have turned on the overhead fan for me - they could see the water that had pooled around my feet and the strange older guy was still trying to fan me! I told him I was fine and lifted my face heavenwards to absorb the breeze that the overhead fan was omitting and the strange older guy then demanded money for fanning me! What??? I didn't ask him to fan me! I didn't want to be fanned by him and he is now demanding money of me? I don't think so! I duly explained that I was not going to pay him, that he didn't need to fan me and that I hadn't asked to be fanned! I then pulled hubby aside, told him which bag to buy and told him we needed to get the hell out of there! This all happened in about 15 minutes total! A price was negotiated and we got a massive bag (the second largest they had) for 70,000rp - this would easily fit all the wooden statues except the tallest cat - there was no bag big enough that was going to make that one fit!! We were led down a laneway as this was where they kept there stock - but I had visions of creepy fan guy arranging it to mug me! Obviously this was not the case but I still felt a bit uncomfortable with him as he had been quite aggressive in his attitude to me and was still bugging me for money - now it was for his kids! I don't mind giving at all to people/charities and the like but I don't like to be begged for it. I have a couple of sponsorship children I have sponsored for 6 years, I regularly donate to charities I deem worthy of a donation and when in Bali I always tip in every situation! I don't however like to be hounded for money, so as cruel as it may sound, I denied him any money and we eventually left the laneway, bag in hand and feeling somewhat exhausted from our 15 minute experience!!
We were hungry so we headed back to the hotel and decided a swim and a pool bar snack would be a better idea than traipsing around for something to eat. I decided that I needed to stop at another Guardian chemist (the one at Centro) and get some drops because the ointment was not going to cut it I felt. I duly purchased said drops - they were called Sofradex and they were for ear infections and eye infections....hmmm.....never seen a dual purpose drop before!! We lazed the rest of the arvo away by the pool (me being careful to keep my ear out of the water) and we ate room service that night because I was feeling really off from ear infection. It wasn't to be a late one for me - and I went to bed, feeling sorry for myself with my bad ear!
The next morning started as predictably as all others previous - to the sound of our beach works at 5am. Unfortunately for me I had a shocking night due to my ear. I was in pain now and come hell or high water I needed to attend to it and I had no painkillers. Panadeine was not taking the edge off and so it was a long uncomfortable wait until a Guardian chemist was open so I could get some pain relief. Still in this time, I did manage to shove the pain aside, we did do our morning beach walk - this time we went to the Patra and back - so not as long, because I just wasn't up for it!! It was also great to see the progression of the groynes along the beachfront from the Patra to the Discovery. Things are moving along nicely but I think the finishing date will be a bit ambitious!!
It is our last full day at the Kartika - we had already decided it would be a day of relaxing as I wasn't up for much more than that! Hubby conveniently forgot about the size of his chin growing and came back to the breakfast table with fried eggs on toast and bacon - minus sausage, so I guess in his head he had made an effort..! Hmmm - it's very hard to bite my tongue - but I say nothing like the good wife that I am!! Again I sensibly opt for rye bread, lightly toasted, coffee and fruit! I am constantly looking at my mobile waiting for the time that the Guardian chemist might be open! We finish up breakfast and head to the pool area to claim a couple of loungers, we are again lucky enough to retrieve 2 loungers on the grassed area facing the ocean, but there must have been a new planeload in as there was very little space left on the grassed area! Still we were lucky, like I said - it wasn't our usual spot and we would have to keep moving the lounger as the sun moved across the sky, but we were happy enough. I settled us in, and advised hubby I was off to get my much needed, much desired, nothing is going to stop me from getting them, painkillers! I went to Centro to the pharmacy there and advised that I had bought some drops from them just yesterday but that I was unable to get a good nights rest due to the pain. No probs, the little man disappeared around the makeshift partition somewhere and emerged clutching 10 tabs of Tramal! Again it amazes me that prescription drugs such as Tramal and such as the Sofradex ear drops are easily obtained without any kind of medical authorisation! He advised me to only take one tablet 3 times a day and it must be with food.
I was so happy, I could have clicked my heels together in the air! Short of doing a little happy dance, I returned back to the Kartika - happy with my stash. I went straight to the room to stash my goods away but popping one for immediate relief. It did say take with food but I figured I would still have food in my system from breakfast an hour ago. Maybe not as much as I thought! I got such a buzz from this one pill, it was like having a muscle relaxant! Hubby laughed at me when it had kicked in and it wasn't too long after that, that my eyes grew heavy and with the chit chatter of people around me albeit in languages I did not understand, the beach sellers talking to hubby, and the gentle breeze blowing, I fell asleep on the lounger. I must have slept for about an hour before getting stiff, and I awoke to the bemused smile of my hubby asking me how I felt! I felt good, not great or anything but I felt a hell of a lot better than I did a few hours ago!
We hit the pool, I was hot and wanting a swim and I was under the supervision of hubby to ensure that I didn't drown!! I was light-headed, no doubt about it and this became evident when I started pogo'ing in the pool. I was having a great time bouncing up and down, up and down - in hindsight probably not the best idea when you have an ear infection but hell I was happy! Hubby put a stop to my antics by telling me I was making an exhibition of myself because my generous chest was also bouncing up and down in rhythm and thus giving all the guys gathered at the pool bar a free show! He can be such a kill joy sometimes!! I reluctantly stopped, but only because I didn't want to upset hubby, and the rest of the time in the pool was a much more relaxed affair to the disappointment of the guys at the pool bar! I know this because you could see it in their faces! I gave them a final encore of a bounce before I got out of the pool much to the disgust of my hubby! He declared me just as bad as the show pony the previous week! Well not quite honey...I don't have a perfect size 6 toned body, blonde hair or implants (not that I need them!)
I felt well enough to go for a browse through Centro with hubby - I had to laugh at the Marks & Spencers there - the cost of the stuff was just so expensive - may as well have been in the UK! We finished our meander and headed to Kafe Batan Waru (excuse spelling!) for a very late lunch. We had walked past this place many times but never tried it and we had already decided that we needed to experience this culinary experience from previous forum reports! We weren't disappointed! I stayed off the booze, given that I was loaded on a painkiller and opted for a watermelon juice. I ordered a tuna roll and hubby ordered chicken in spices (he really got into their authentic dishes whilst in Bali and chicken & spices was one of them). I had my painkiller and we soon got chatting to an English couple sitting next to us, they had just stopped for a drink, but eyed off our food and decided to get the same as us! They were moving to Sanur the next day as they had had enough of South Kuta and surrounds, it was too busy for them and so they were leaving their pre-paid room (which they still had for another 7 nights) at the Santika and booked into the Besakih for the remainder of their trip. They had viewed the Besakih and whilst not flash, they were happy enough with it and more so to be relieved of the hustle and bustle! We advised our predicament had been that we couldn't extend at the Kartika and we had ended up booking our last three nights at the Patra! They were so lovely, they offered us their room at the Santika, free of charge for those three nights! It was such a lovely offer - how many strangers would do that?? Anyway we thanked them profusely but declined due to the fact that we had already secured the Patra with credit card! When we left there after a meal that we both fully rate, hubby had a little dig at me, and said, ‘see, we shouldn't have booked the Patra' in an ‘I told you' sort of voice! Whatever! Besides it was Tuesday, we were out of the Kartika the next day, and I very much doubt we would have been holding off on our search for perfect accommodation the day before we would become homeless!
Its back to the hotel and there is a heavy feeling in the air - we had prearranged to meet with Wayan at Nero's but I begged off and arranged it for the following night - I was just not feeling up to much and wanted to give the antibiotics and painkillers a good run for the money! We reclaimed our loungers, and were tracked down by the coconut/pineapple lady. Rob had gotten a pineapple the day before and I had asked her if she had any coconuts left but she had just given the last one to the couple next to us. We also knew that they bought their coconut for 20,000rp. She told me she would bring us a coconut tomorrow and well we duly put that out of our mind but she must have remembered, and no sooner had we returned from our very late lunch she was in front of us with 2 coconuts, she'd peeled open the tops of both and stuck straws in them before we could even register!! We had really only wanted one, but no we were stuck with two! She then advised us they were 80,000rp EACH! I don't think so!! As I am not well (definite advantage to this!), I decide to leave this one well alone and let Rob negotiate the price back down to the 20,000 which we know she sells them at! It took the poor guy a good 5 minutes or so of patiently repeating we were only paying 20,000 each because we saw her sell them for that price to the Russians the previous day! He even said, we didn't want them but of course she said too late - already open!! Anyway she must have known Rob meant business and was not going to back down because out of nowhere she suddenly beamed a toothy grin and started laughing and 40,000rp was handed over and the deal was done! I was already ¾ of the way through drinking my coconut and in a blissful state so I didn't care! Got to love those painkillers!! We called it a day and went back to our room to watch some tv. It started to sprinkle later that night and so we decided that we would eat at the Italian restaurant at the hotel again rather than go out for dinner. Hubby really was being a sweetheart- he really wanted to go to IFiori again because of the rib eye steak that he had seen a table of 10 enjoying on our last visit there - and I had promised him we would, but it was looking more and more unlikely given we were doing Neros the next night, Kori's the night after that and then on our final night we were just going to eat at the Patra. Anyway we ate at the hotel and I had soup!! What's new!!! I was just glad to have something in me because then I could pop another painkiller!! This done and we retired to bed - me snoring about an hour after dinner whilst hubby watched tv. Lights out - good night....
Last JBR to come - the wrap up!