Next morning headed off to Pacung Indah for 2 nights - not long enough. I'd been wanting to stay there for yonks & it more than lived up to my hopes. Although it's on a road that can get quite busy during the day, the hotel & restaurant are always quiet. It's a stunning piece of paradise with spectacular views, especially in the mornings with mist in the valley & majestic Agung clearly visible towering above. Impossible to become blase about that panorama. Temperature very pleasant - cooler than Ubud & much cooler than Kuta.
David (Moira was in Perth) is a wonderful host - interesting & interested, a lot of fun. Lovely eyes. Took us to the new villas building site where the views are even better than at the hotel then on to Cracker's where work on the new upstairs restaurant is well underway. Loos are well worth a visit. Markets were a bit too hassly for me. Bought some green bags from Adopta. David is such a doer - got so much happening not only at Pacung but Lovina, too & more plans simmering away inside his very active brain.
The rooms are lovely and the food is soo good - best hamburgers in Bali (and most of Oz) & everything else we tried was yummo. Gets busy for the lunchtime buffet. We went to the Botanical Gardens, pleasant. Drove to Munduk through some magnificent scenery including a monkey forest, ate lunch at Ngiring Ngewedang restaurant & coffee shop - they grow & process their own coffee which is reputedly very good - don't drink coffee anymore sadly but I inhaled deeply.
Finally feeling relaxed after the noise, busy-ness & hassles of Kuta.
We didn't have any accommodation organised for Ubud. Ended up at a delightful small place in Jl Bisma - Uma Sari, just past Nick's Pension - the first hotel on the right after the sealed road ends - easy walk to the main road. It worked out at just over Rp300K/night (inc taxes & a basic brekky) for a very large upstairs room with aircon, hot water, big TV, nice decor, big bathroom & a huge balcony overlooking rice fields with Agung again clearly visible. Timeless vista. Loved it. Pool, internet, short stroll to the great food at Cafe des Artistes. Will definitely return.
Ate also at our fave Tutmak. Tried to get into Ibu Oka's but full so next door to Bumbu Bali (eavesdropped on a cooking class & learned a few things - must make time next trip). While D was turning the car around I wandered up the slope behind the Palace & there was Ibu Oka herself standing outside her house - had my pic taken with her. Had some great food as usual in Ubud as well as the only disappointing meal all trip (actually it was barely edible) at Gaia.
Early morning drove through Tegalangang to Kintamani. A pleasant drive & again stunning views. Stopped at the market on the way back & bought a few things at almost ridiculously cheap prices - wish I'd bought more.
Found a great leather shop in Ubud & bought some unusual shoes - one pair are dragons. Again, wish I'd bought more - ADVICE if you want more, buy more. I never do thinking "next time" & I always live to regret it as the shop has usually disappeared by the time I get there again or designs have radically changed etc. Calico in Monkey Forest Rd has nice, different ceramics & nick nacks. Worth checking out.
Ubud was moderately busy during the day but very quiet after the day trippers had left. Not at all hassly, shopping was a pleasant experience.
Then the short drive down to Sanur to stay at bloodyron's Sanur Beach Villas (cunningly disguised as Mangrove Beach Sanctuary). Again, an utterly delightful place. Ron is an excellent host & a lot of fun as I'm sure you can imagine. A very interesting guy. The beautiful Irma seems to take care of everything while Ron just has a good time - spoiled rotten! Lovely room with an outdoor bathroom with a huge stone bath, nice decor, DVD, fridge, aircon, heaps of storage, very comfy set in a lovely garden surrounding a big pool. Just a 2 min walk to the beach.
Got up early the next day to stroll along part of the beach walkway - OH the crowds! It was not only Sunday but also both Hindu & Muslim holidays & the Balinese were out in force - wonderful festive atmosphere. So much to look at that we almost effortlessly made it the whole 5.5ks to the Bali Beach Hotel with a break for brekky. A highlight of the trip, one of many on our 6 day jaunt.
For lunch both days we ate as Smorgas, a little cafe near Hardy's on the other side of the road. Small but interesting menu well-executed - tried gazpacho, baguettes, tapas plate & wonderful cakes - both times took slices of hummingbird cake away for after dinner. Recommend this place for lunch. Both nights we ate at Coriander Thai restaurant (not open for lunch). The food was good - the warm pork & mandarin salad is excellent.
Chatting with Ron he mentioned that he'd lived in Sulawesi for 6 years & when I said he should write a book about it, he said he already has. I figure that if he's hassled enough he just might make it available. He writes well, at least from what I've seen here & being the character that he is I'm sure it'd be interesting & amusing. So get on his back!
Next day, my birthday, back to Kuta with no accommodation booked & dreading the hassle. Otherwise feeling very relaxed, happy & well, thinking it'll be smooth sailing once we have somewhere to stay - wrong!