Had read on this forum that hairdressing very cheap in Bali, so maybe I could get my hair blowdried everyday to solve the problem of feral hair. So I drove up Monkey Forest Rd seeking a hairdressing salon. Decided on Verona spa. Hair washed & head & shoulders massaged. Bliss. Lovely comfy reclining lounges at the wash basin. If I ever win lotto I will pay someone to wash my hair everyday - pure heaven. Hair blow dried... did I mention I have a short bob? Took her about ½ hour, even with an adult sized hairdryer. Hair has been carefully blow-dried horizontally. At least it's straight, but.....not quite the look I was going for. I had Linda Evangilista in mind, not one of the Beatles! if any of you out & about around Ubud saw a ‘cuddly' sized lady in her 40s with hair like a mushroom, that was me! Self-conscious with my big 60s hairdo, I scuttled back to the hotel to try to tame it with hair product to no avail. Abandoned notion of daily blow dry - feral wins (sigh).
I dined out a few times at Laka Leke, sister restaurant to Café Wayan and next door to Saren Indah. They have a few buffet nights during the week with complimentary dance performances. I saw the Frog Dance one night. As I had booked, I was given a table at the front of the open air stage. Apologies to the couple seated behind me who's view may have been obscured by my pompadour hair. They gave me a little leaflet explaining the dance, which after watching it I was none the wiser! Perhaps some of the story was just implied? Did get some great video & photos. Though I was slathered in tropical strength Rid repellent, I was main course for some enterprising mozzies, and now look like I have the pox up one arm! And there was a mosquito coil burning under my table too! Little buggers! Fortunately I had restocked my Bokashi Oil supply. Great for itchy mozzie bites.
I also saw the Kacek & Fire Dance at Laka Leke & enjoyed the Indonesian buffet meal. The curry chicken & ginger chicken dishes were delicious. Unfortunately the stage was not as well lit this time, so my video isn't much chop. Still, it was an enjoyable way to spend an evening even if I was a walking advertisement for what Rid smells like.
On my 6th day in Ubud it was time to change hotels. My trip was spur of the moment, I only decided to go 4 weeks previously. I could only get 5 nights at Saren Indah. Everywhere else I tried was booked out. My remaining 6 nights were booked at Casa Ganesha, a newish hotel further down Hanoman St near the petrol station. This hotel had very little info on it online & no reviews that I could find. It looked OK on the website & was reasonably priced, so I took a punt. Wrong!
I was hoping it too looked out of the rice paddies as it was not far from Tegal Sari, but no. Two storeys of rooms faced each other over a pond & fountain, somewhat like a motel.
The room was small & not as clean as it could have been. I also hated the bathroom - no shower recess or curtain, the shower was 1ft from the toilet so it got wet & there was no storage space for toiletries. I had asked to borrow a hairdryer from reception. The only power outlet was under the desk, nowhere near a mirror & I had to unplug the TV to access it. Again my hopes of tamed hair were dashed. The room itself looked far older than 6 months looking at the floor tiles, but the furnishings were OK & the towels were thick & fluffy. However, not my scene. I'd been spoilt by Saren Indah and was feeling claustrophobic. So after one night I checked out & went on the hunt for a new hotel.
I checked into Villa Sonia, just down the road from Saren Indah after inspecting a room. It was lovely - a quiet tropical oasis & affordable. I had a standard room, which was upstairs on the first floor. The room would have been classed as deluxe in some hotels. It had a wall length window seat down one side & a big balcony overlooking the pool. No bath though sadly, but the shower was huge with good water pressure. During my stay I felt like the only guest and had the pool to myself most days. Pool was gorgeous. I would definitely stay there again. Hair dryer similar strength to Saren Indah's. Drat! 17 steep steps up to the first floor. Gradually became less short of breath managing those stairs over time, however was jealous of the heavily pregnant staff member who brought me breakfast on my balcony every morning! She was never out of breath.
My first night at Villa Sonia resulted in a bit of a mishap. They say that a problem shared is a problem halved? Not so when humiliated. Backing the rental car out of the carpark in the dark for the first time, to my surprise & horror, I reversed into a tree. Yes, a tree! I was being so careful to avoid the lower driveway next door on the right, I bumped the tree on the edge of the drive on the left. Bugger! The bang brought out a number of hotel staff to witness my humiliation. Joy! A small dint & scraped paint below the bumper on the new car now. Damn.
Nervously confessed my sins to Made via email after dinner. I thought it was the right thing to do and I didn't want him to get a shock collecting the car in a few days. I'm up for $50 usd for insurance excess. Thank God I did my research before hiring the car! Made was great - just thanked me for letting him know. Phew! I had visions of getting abused or having to pay more than the excess for repairs, but none of that happened.
The accident shook my confidence a bit, so I abandoned my plans to drive to Candidasa for a day & a late afternoon visit to Pura Kehen in Bangli. I had been to both before, but not for years. Instead I just drove locally, mainly to and from Ubud centre to shop & eat. I enjoyed the independence of driving myself when & where I liked and stuck to doing 40kph everywhere (not that I had a lot of choice).
My last big trip was down to Sanur. I had an appointment with a dentist as I suspected I might need a filling. Dr Retno Agung had been recommended & I found her practice without roo much trouble. I didn't need a filling - need root canal (yippee!), but don't have time this trip. Instead Dr Agung cleaned & polished my teeth to within an inch of my life. I was very impressed as she was both thorough and gentle. One mistake I made was assuming she took credit cards. It is a cash only practice. This meant I had to make a visit to a money changer across the road. Not just any road, the bypass road (gulp). I walked across it under the protection of all my guardian angels & every saint I could thinkg of, twice without mishap. Phew, that was scary!
While in Sanur, I returned the GPS navigator while I was in the area to save me another trip down. It was a couple of days early, but I was also getting low on cash and needed my deposit back. Fortunately I found a park out the front of the shop. Not so fortunately, someone had parked very close in front of me while I was gone, so I had a bit of manoeuvring to do to get out. And not without incident.
Though it may sound like it, I am not making this stuff up. At the risk of sounding like the worst driver in the world, I will reveal that there was a row of 20 or so motorbikes parked close behind me & I might have tapped one and started a small domino effect which was halted by a young man who flew across the road at the speed of light to rescue his bike from mishap. No damage done except for my embarrassment. I apologised profusely & the young man was gracious enough to direct me out of the park instead of hitting me.
I drove back to Ubud very carefully, eventually gaining a little more confidence and even passed a car or two. As I said earlier, I did enjoy the driving despite the universe trying it's best change my mind!
More in part 3.