Day 9
1.30am and young Josh was rolling about with severe abdominal pains. I loaded him into a taxi and whisked him down to B.I.M.C. Straight into the Doc and after a little upchuck they gave him a couple of injections which had a near immediate positive effect.
Obviously he wasn't over what ever he had. Our celebratory dinner last night was obviously a little pre-emptive. The staff at the clinic were just great.
A poor little American lad about 12 years old was in the next cubicle. Now he really had it bad. You had to be there, but to hear him saying in a Yankee accent what happened whenever he farted was quite humorous.
4.30am and after keeping Josh under observations we returned to SPPS with strict plain dietary instructions for at least 1-2 days.
It was transfer day to Nusa Dua day. After a lay-in and swim we packed up and checked out. On the way we had a squiz at the Mercure Sanur family rooms. They were more compact but decked out quite nice and close to the pool. The separate kids room had bunk beds, there was a small lounge and a master bedroom with ensuite. We think this will probably be our beachside choice when we next return to Sanur.
We continued on to the Novotel Apartments in Nusa Dua where we stayed last year. Now this joint is more upmarket and the apartments are modern and spacious. Unbeknown to the kids we had splashed out and upgraded to a 2 bedroom apartment with a private court yard including a pool and cabana. They were over the moon when they saw it. Beware though the private pools aren't heated and we could only use it as a quick dipper. (OK we had daily bombing competitions) We asked the staff to turn off the reticulating fountain at night. I don't think my bladder could have handled it.
The resort hasn't really changed much apart from the pool menu has reduced in price by about 1/3. There is now also a reasonably priced bakery called Pause Café which we used a few times for lunch. There were pies, quiches and pastries including one strangely labelled concoction called 'Craps with palm sugar'. I think Josh needed one of these to clear him out!
We had a lazy day around the main pools. For dinner we walked around the corner to Bualu Village where there are numerous dining options. Tonight we chose Cheers where the waitresses were clad in tacky maids outfits. They mimic the 'Cheers' logo but that's about all. The copywrite Police would have a field day in Bali! The food was good; there were TVs with sports, free 8 ball tables, darts and a foosball table. There is also a kids corner with playstation and colouring in etc. The kids thought it was great that we could all play games at tea time.
A friendly German couple had sizzling dishes that they were cooking at their table which looked and smelt great. We vowed to return to try this another night.
Day 10
Novotel Nusa Dua still has a massive breakfast spread. I don't know why but I have a hankering for sushi most mornings.
We tootled off on the shuttle bus for the 2 minute trip down to the beach club at Greger Beach. The sand was white, the water very swimmable and the facilities great. There were toilets, a bar, modern beach chairs etc. The lunch menu was the same as the resort so I think it gets cooked there and whisked down in a golf cart.
St Regis are building swanky villas on the beach end of the golf course. The workers are finishing them off and if I ever win a mega draw I would grace them with my presence.
The kids spent hours collecting coral samples and then we returned to the Pause Café at the resort for lunch.
After another lazy afternoon at the pool we went to LaScala in Benoa for tea. Having now been converted to traditional Balinese Cuisine I had the Aussie sirloin in pepper sauce and the wife enjoyed a chicken melting.
Day 11
2.30am and Josh was awake for ½ an hour with mild abdominal pains.
After breakfast off to Waterbom. We exited the taxi at Bubba Gumps and immediately someone thrust the 15% off Waterbom tickets in our hands.
After a day hanging at the bom we zipped over to Discovery Plaza, the girls shopped whilst the boys played at Time zone upstairs.
A taxi back to Novotel Nusa Dua and we stepped out to Mai Mai Restaurant in Bualu Village which is an old favourite. Feeling fuller than a fat ladies sock (apart from Josh) we returned to the resort and rolled ourselves into the pool for a night swim.
Day 12
Josh woke briefly twice in the night with a mildly sore tummy. Gosh, .. when will this end! We had analysed it to death in retrospect it was probably a very mild gastro or blockage that wasn't picked up on the pathology.
We decided to have a quite day and popped down to Bali Collection after lunch. It was there that Josh said he needed to use the loo. Well call the EPA! ............. because it was here that Josh 'exorcised the demon'. I mean wow! could one child do all that!. Needless to say he has been right ever since. Immediately back to feeling 100% and ready to chew my arm off.
We decided to return to Cheers for dinner the kids had BBQ chicken slices which you cook to your liking on a table cooker. I had the just best steak on a hot stone and my wife had a chicken fillet also on a sizzling hot stone. You all get to wear aprons as you cook away, which is a novel touch.
After painfully suffering a few rounds of childs 8 ball we retired back to the resort.
Day 13
Josh slept through and remained totally fine. His breakfast now consists of pancakes, donuts, coco pops and a fruit juice to keep his vitamins up.
We migrated to Kuta for a morning shopping trip. All Josh & I were interested in was some fake star wars merchandise. Well there is definitely a hole in the market because Bali appears devoid of star wars stuff. If you ask a stall holder for a star wars T-Shirt you get the standard, 'yes I have' only to be shown everything else but. The one place we thought we might get some hand painted figurines up from The Oasis was shut on three occasions. There was one small storm trooper head in the window just to tease us. C'est la vie Josh just banked his $20 spending money from Nan, the little tight wad. The girls did the rounds of the fairy shops and then we met up and got the hell out of Dodge, back to the real 'traditional Bali' of Nusa Dua.
That night we went to Nyomans Beer Garden for tea in Bualu Village. A very nice establishment and well patronised which is always a good sign.
Day 14
Ahhh it's so hard doing nothing, swimming and sunning all day. I feel sorry for the poor life guards watching us frolic whilst they stare aimlessly about. Apparently they earn over 1million a month which apparently is a very good wicket. We got talking to a Dutch bloke who had married a local girl. They ran a business up the coast and their staff earned between 450 000 to 650 000RP per month. What the? It's makes it so hard putting our fortunate lives into perspective sometimes.
Ella had her hair re-braided and her nails tarted up down at the beach and Josh opted for a henna Gecko tattoo which looked the goods. Now we can blend seamlessly in with the local folk.
We dined at the Tropical Restaurant in Bualu Village for dinner. The kids wanted to eat on the roof which was as fascinating as ...... well eating on a roof. The food was good but.
We returned to the Novotel Bar for a nightcap whilst the kids had a night swim.
Tonight we experienced the neighbours from hell. They happened to be a large Asian family who I would describe as a mix between the Brady Bunch on steroids and the Griswalds. Now I don't begrudge anyone having a good time but they went berserk having a mad cap party from 7.30pm - 11.30pm. The Melbourne Cup was obviously being re-run above our heads. The kids, parents, grandparents then began yelling and drunkenly barking at the moon on their balcony. The resort would be about 60% Asians and they are so graceful and polite this was completely out of left field. It's usually drunken Aussie bogan yobos that let the side down.
Anyway it was either I let loose or reception had a quiet chat. I have never complained about anyones noise before. The wife convinced me to go with the latter option and staff had it shut down within 10 minutes.