for the first time after many visits to Bali I did not spend every minute shopping. We went to Seminyak and bought a few pieces from both Joy Jewellery and from Perlo next door. Both offer same-same but different stuff, and we were happy with our purchases. I got a lovely filigree heart on silver chain from Joy for around $100 and some of the wristlets with the hollow coin and little silver clasps on leather for around $18 each. Perlo had fantastic earrings and some 'fake' Pandora type bracelets for ½ price (I think $15 each) the owner of Perlo was in the store. He is an Aussie who had been there for 3yrs now and doing well. We both discovered that we had lived a few streets from each other in our Melbourne days! We had a fun time in the markets in Ubud and found the same stuff there as in Kuta but seemed to be a little cheaper? Maybe they are feeling the economic pinch as they were happy to settle for our 'lowest' price on most occasions. People here were friendly and seemingly happy. We were never harassed on any of our shopping trips, or by locals in poppies 1+2 as previous BTF's have described.
Massages: This is one of my favourite pastimes in Bali and once again I came away feeling very relaxed. I have used a little place in Jl Benisari called 'Duan Spa' a few times now and find they are very good value. The Place is nothing to look at and very simple inside, but the massages are terrific and they do great reflexology. We also did the 'Bali Botanica'full day job and this although expensive was fantastic and I will defiantly go back there. It involved a 'Chakra Dahra'massage, lasting 2hrs. This is a focus on the 7 chakra points and involved the pouring of warm oil onto same and then massage. Got a bit 'close' at one stage and the warm oil seeping down between my butt cheeks was different! After massage we had a choice of bath and I choose the spice version. I thought I was climbing into a creek bed as all I could see was leaves and sticks! However it was simply cinnamon and the leaves were?? It had chunks of ginger and other spices and was amazing! You lie in this bath with large windowless vista and just soak up the peace of it all. Day continued with lunch at the Tropical Bale, a delightful experience in taste and beautiful décor and spectacular views of rice paddies. Back to spa to have facial, hair crème bath and pedicure/manicure. All in all a wonderful day for around $110 each. We also had a few massages and reflexology at the Angelina spa on the left side Legion st going towards Legion. Very friendly crew there. We also had a couple of massages across the road from the Mecure Sanur which were also great and good value, except we had to pay extra for nail polish after manicure. Got ripped off with Laundry prices at Sanur after paying 18000rup for 15 items at Kuta to 80000 for 10 items at Sanur!
We didn't do any tours this time as have basically been there, seen it etc. Loved the drive to Amlapura to the orphanage which was my happiest and sadest day in Bali (see previous post) Spent time on beach harassed by beach ladies (all good) and the company of a very strange fellow trying to convince us he was 19 (more like 49!) When he realized he had no chance with us he quickly moved on to other s. One highlight (LOL) was watching the afternoon shift of lifesavers doing their warm-ups before starting their shift. What a sight those muscles stretching at the edge of the water!! It suddenly felt hotter and the call for another Bintang from a red esky was made. Another funny sight was a mother dog with 3 very large pups still attached to her teets trying to cross the main road in Ubud. They had no intention of letting go and so were half dragged to the other side where mum stopped so they could finish lunch! Got a few great shots of this event! Only went to S&S on the last night in Kuta and there were quite a lot of people there. We just enjoyed saying hello to Sammy (who is always so happy to see you) & Suzie who told me they are going to be grandparents again soon. The Kuta sunset is still silent and beautiful , and a great chance to reflect on how lucky we were to be there. Can't wait now till end October and have this thought as my tan fades, my liver recovers and the Cats challenge for another GF.