After stopping at Circle K on the way for some tonic (I was having that drink by hell or high water) we arrived at Swastika Bungalows at about 3:30 in the morning.
I've been staying here for the past 18 years, and I can't tell how you fabulous it is to see the sleepy-eyed face of the front desk guy turn into a huge smile and enthusiastic 'Natalia!' when he saw us step into reception. This place truly is my home away from home, and I adore it here, can't recommend this hotel enough if you're happy with decent budget accommodation and wonderful staff - if you're a princess though, forget it. Go and stay at Besakih or the Griya Santrian.
Now, I am clearly not a princess, but the rooms they initially gave us (the hotel was quite full), were a little bit, shall we say...stinky. No problem, had 3 quick vodka tonics, passed out on the bed, and sorted it out the next morning -new rooms, not so smelly, and all is good, except that when I woke up it dawned on me that I didn't have any clothes or toiletries.
Hubby's mobile number was our contact number for the airlines, and when we switched it on we had a message from Virgin (yes, Virgin!) saying that they had one of our suitcases that had come to them from the Jetstar international check-in. (what the???) After many phone calls it turns out that Jetstar took the bag, but didn't count it or put a baggage ticket on it, and then sent it down the conveyor belt. When the baggage handlers got it, there was no international baggage tag on it so they didn't know what which plane to put it on. Luckily it still had our Virgin tags on it from Adelaide, so they sent it over to the Virgin lost baggage desk. More phone calls to Jetstar to sort it all out and my suitcase was on it's way from Melbourne to Sydney to catch the next flight out to Denpasar. Two days later it arrived :) - a little inconvenient, but not a bad result overall.
In Sanur we ate at;
Café Jepun - have to agree with other forumites re the waiter with the pony tail who tried to sell us a day tour in between our smoked marlin and the lobster in garlic butter. Quite peeved about this, and I think it's time the owner did something about it.
Warung Rib - One word - FABULOUS. Please eat there.
Café Lotus - Don't bother
Donald's - Very consistent - good food
Bonsai Beach Café - Very consistent - good food
Double Dutch - Nice atmosphere, great staff
Spirit Café - Great bacon!
Kalpatharu - Don't bother - babi guling ordered one day in advance was about as authentic as a McDonald's Babi Guling Burger.
There were many others, but these are the one that stood out for one reason or another.
We always changed money at the Internet Café next to the Laser Sports Bar. They are honest above reproach and we've never, ever had a problem there.
We shopped at;
Hardy's - has changed a lot since we were there 18 months ago, more organised, a wow have the prices gone up! Woo-hoo! Hardy's used to be not too far off street prices, but now forget it, just as expensive as Centro or Matahari. You can get 'discounts', but they're not huge.
Crocs - there's a croc shop in Sanur - bought some of the thong and I promise you they hardly ever came off! Super comfy. About $40 something for a pair.
Sindhu Beach Market - will probably stir up a hornet's nest here, but methinks ‘ole Tootsie may have had a bit too good for a bit too long...Twice now I have been to her shop, and twice I have walked out because there was no-one there to help me! Where have you ever experienced this in Bali?? Instead we shop with a lovely lady called Keni (Shop 25) who was an absolute scream and a real pleasure to buy from. Instead of discounting any price, she stuck to her guns and insisted on 'add ons' to make up to the price so we were all happy. Hence, with the shawl and shorts we were bargaining for, we also got a 'free' hat, two sarongs, and two sarong ties. A novel approach, but it worked!
Bila Bali - Lovely cheap little beaded bags and fabrics - a gem of a shop.
Agus Art Shop - We bought a lovely painting by artist I Ketut Teker - it was hard bargaining, down from 1.8 million to the 800k we eventually paid for it, but it was worth every second. We brought the whole canvas home on it's frame, no problems at all.
Countless other small shops along Jl Danau Tamblingan and Jl Kesuma. Check them all out - unlike Kuta, most shops have something unique and different, which is one the greatest things about Sanur.
To be continued...