After my failed mission to get clothes made at Komangs in Kuta, I sought out a tailor recommended in Ubud. I had brought the clothes I wanted copied so all I had to do was choose colours & material. The tailor had temple ceremonies for the next 2 days, but following that she agreed to go into Denpasar & get some fabric samples to show me before purchasing the material. At least, that was my understanding. Silly me. She arrived at my hotel 3 days later to show me not samples as I was expecting, but yards of materials already purchased! I was pretty much locked in to the transaction from then on, thinking here we go. So I went with the flow not having a lot of choice) & was quite happy with the finished products delivered a couple of days later. She did a good job and was really quite sweet, giving me a big hug for giving her business. Pretty lucky she wasn't a crap seamstress.
I decided one morning to visit Ubud's botanical garden, as hadn't been there before & had looked it up on the net. I was their first customer of the morning and it was very pleasant in the shade. A lovely place, built on the side of the gorge, so quite a few steps. Peaceful & nicely landscaped. I did get some great shots of orchids and a lotus. Got hot and sweaty going back up the steps, as you do. On my way out, the ticket seller asked me if I liked the gardens. When I responded yes, she said it was for sale & did I want to buy it? I could build a villa and there was still 26 years on the lease, she said. Jeez lady, I just came to admire some plants, do I look like a property developer with my sweaty bright red face and feral hair? Only in Bali! Maybe she thinks I'm rich because I arrived in a car? On reflection it is sad that someone's dream of preserving Bali's plant heritage for generations to come has come to grief after only a few short years. Personally I thought the garden was more interesting than the Botanical Garden in Bedugul, if a lot smaller.
I had some lovely meals in Ubud. Tutmak was a popular stop for lunch or dinner and did a mean Mie Goreng, as was Pizza Bagus as both have free wi-fi. Tech heads abound there. At least it makes for quiet dining with everyone's heads buried in their laptops. Me included on some days! Amazing how quickly time flies on-line!
One of my favs is Café des Artistes. Sensational food. Love their grilled chicken breast with creamy pepper sauce. Yum. Also like being able to buy wine by the glass, even if the effect after one glass equates to stepping into a sauna! One meal overshadowed by loud Gomer Pyle-like character talking at next table. Goll-ly - he did not draw breath! I'm sure the whole restaurant could hear him wax lyrical about his boring life in a truly cringe-worthy deep down southern accent. He doesn't know how close he came to being stabbed by me with my bread knife yelling ‘Surprise, surprise, surprise!' (Gomer Pyle catchphrase for you youngies). Instead I got indigestion eating too fast to escape his vicinity.
I also went to Indus for lunch one day - my first time there, despite staying in Ubud a dozen times. Lovely view, with a clear view of Mt Agung's peak the day I was there. The food was good too. Bit perplexed that the lime tart was actually lemon. Yummy anyway. I was surprised driving up there to see a Bintang Supermarket had been built just down the road, so stopped there on the way back for a look-see and stocked up on drinks & Mr P honey roasted peanuts. Outside the door I bought a couple of pairs of ‘designer' sunglasses at a booth - very cheap. Very patient vendor, I reckon I tried on every pair she had.
I had bought a stack of dvds near Discovery earlier in the week, but my family kept remembering other dvds they wanted, so I had another growing list to fill. After wandering around Ubud one afternoon, I could not find a single dvd shop. I shuddered at the thought of driving back down to Kuta. I finally asked in a supermarket/music store if there was anywhere I could buy dvds in Ubud and I was furtively ushered out of the shop, down a side alley, through a house compound and finally to a big room out the back filled with dvds! Very cloak and dagger. Fortunately I didn't need a password or secret handshake to get in! It was difficult choosing titles as the width of the aisles would have made Twiggy hold her breath, so I couldn't get down many. I sent the store attendant on a hunt & find mission & then had him remove all the dvds from slim-line cases to plastic sleeves, so I guess he earned the extra Rp5000 it cost for each DVD. Most of the orders were filled & I left happy,
Worried that luggage might be over the limit with all my new clothes & the dvds. Luggage weighed 17kg on the way over. Emptied my toiletries & left them beside the rubbish bin for the housekeeping to take if they wanted them. Had the heaviest items in my hand luggage, so nervously hopeful that my luggage will be just under 20kg. Transport organised for 6pm to go to the airport. Flight leaving at 2155. I had plans for doing some last minute gift shopping at the airport and having a meal with the last few hundred rupiah I had left. After queuing for about 30 mins at the Pacific Blue cattle pen, the airport staff informed us that the flight had been cancelled.
I could feel a tantrum coming on, but another passenger beat me to it - damn her eyes. I'd heard about cheap airlines cancelling flights willy nilly. I began to eye off the queue for Jetstar's 2350 flight to Melbourne, one cattle pen over, wondering if I could claim the ticket on my travel insurance.....? The airport staff assured us that they would arrange hotel accommodation for us & bring us back to the airport at 3.30am for a 6am flight. As it was, it took another 1½ hours to get accommodation & transport organised, as other passengers arrived in dribs and drabs to learn the news.
We were dropped off at Santika Plaza Hotel & others at Bali Rani Resort in Tuban. We were told that Pacific Blue would pay for a meal but not drinks. After being showed my room, I hightailed it down to the beachfront restaurant before the kitchen closed - it was now 2150. I had smoked salmon followed by a cheese stuffed chicken breast with a tomato tarte tartin & a coke, courtesy of Mr Branson. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't fit in dessert. The thought did cross my mind that this delay was going to cost the airline a small fortune & I was happy that I wasn't an abandoned Jetstar airbus passenger left at the airport to wait it out.
Back in my room I eyed the hairdryer on the wall in the bathroom. How could I not, you ask yourselves. It looked like a corrugated plastic hose with a nozzle on the end. Surely that will blow out a decent amount of hot air? I set my alarm for 2:00am so I could fit in a wash & blowdry. At least then I could look respectable on the plane. Damn it, the bloody thing wouldn't stay on for more than 2 seconds at a time no matter what I tried. Bugger. Sacrificed an hour's sleep for nothing - I hate that! Still searching for my lesson from the universe as to why I couldn't have straight hair for nearly 2 weeks!
Collected as promised and checked in smoothly. Luggage came in at 15kg - wow, I must have had the heaviest toiletries in the world! Damn, wish I hadn't put the dvds in my hand luggage now. Got through immigration quickly, as no one else about. Not a soul in the airport except the passengers for our flight. All shops locked up tight - couldn't even buy a drink anywhere! Lounges closed, money changers too. Very eerie. 2 hour wait on metal bench seats near departure lounge. Yay. Spent time chatting to other passengers about their Bali holiday. Not so bad.
On the flight home we were finally informed why the fight had been cancelled. The captain said the plane had to be diverted for a medical emergency. In that case, I didn't mind so much about the inconvenience. Again, the flight crew were great. I got a fantastic photo from the plane of a volcano peak above the clouds as the sun rose. Ahhhhhh! I do love Bali.
Arrived in Melbourne at 2pm, cold & windy. Could feel my faint tan fading by the minute amongst the goose bumps. Heavens opened just as I got off the bus in the long term carpark & got drenched. Oh well, hair was feral anyway......!
Thanks for reading.