Day five Panic Buying and Bubba Gumps.
Kelly and the girls grabbed Raceng for the day. I was happy for him to head out with the girls because it made me feel a bit more secure to know they were with him given none of them had been to Bali in over 10 years.
We used Gede who Raceng has employed in the last six months. Raceng is trying to expand his business a bit because his eldest daughter wants to study medicine and as previously mentioned, it's not cheap to get in let alone pay the monthly fees of 7,000,000rph.
Gede speaks great English and is happy to wait or meet you at the end of a street while you're walking along. He can get a bit distracted sometimes but he did a good job. I thoroughly recommend him.
We headed up to the Fairy Shop in Legian just near the All Seasons Ruko Padma Utara No 1 Padma Utara Street Legian PH +62-361-750227 email fairy_noni@yahoo.co.id
They had a great selection of ballet and jazz shoes at half the price of new shoes in Perth. You can get them way cheaper on Ebay but of course you don't know what you're getting hence one of our kids has five pairs of second hand shoes and the other has none, actually she has one now.
We walked down Garlic Lane and BH was turned down by Squirty Gerty for the 100th time. Not in the Benny HILL kind of way. He desperately wanted to buy an old fashion style flying helmet with goggles but SG reckons shoes and hair ties are better value for weight in the suitcases.
We went to see a lady we have bought from in the past at the Melasti Markets names Margaret but I'm sure she spells her name differently. She doesn't worry about bartering if you've shopped with her before so it can be a pleasant change if you're done with bartering. We bought a few shirts and kids gear.
Gede dropped us off near the memorial and he headed off. The memorial is still a moving experience for me but I still have a little giggle when I see one of the names on the wall.....SNODGRASS..... If you don't laugh you go crazy right?
We walked down Poppies II and called into Big Boys Toys diagonally opposite Koris. They sell remote control helicopters, cars and planes. They didn't have a great deal in stock but enough to make Squirty break out in a sweat and for Benny to forget he wanted a Viking helmet.
The prices are half those of Perth. A good size nitro fuelled car with remote was just over $200Aus. Next year when we've got four suitcases......Every man has to have a dream. Mine involved a camel and a Swedish girl named Sven. She did have unusually strong hands.
We wandered back to the hotel and had a quick break and shower before we walked down to the the Bali Galeria again. We did the usual DVD shop and walked away with about 40 movies, one of which the kids are watching now. It seems like they are all pretty good so far.
We met Raceng and his family at Bubba Gumps to say goodbye. They are a very cute family. His daughters are beautiful and his young bloke is a dead ringer for him. Poor little bugger was tired and a bit shocked by the big Australian guy trying to speak to him in Kindergarten Indonesian.
This has reinforced in my mind how nice he is. It was a little late in the evening for his young bloke so they didn't stay for dinner despite my invitation. I never offer to pay for any of his meals but when I can I pay the bill for everyone and include his. I realise the relative cost for him at some of the Western Style restaurants and don't want to put him in a position where he would feel uncomfortable. He also never gives you a hard luck story like some of the other people we have used.
I like Bubba Gumps like my wife likes Hard Rock (I had to be careful when I spelt that) Back out of the gutter. I know Bubba Gumps is oh so very American but they do the best Cookies and Cream milkshake in the world. I had two! Squirty is determined that I refer to myself as Mister Milkshake or the Milkshake Man somewhere in these stories.
It's a nice place for the kids and gives us a chance to kick back. We took some photos with Raceng and his family and said goodbye before heading inside. We had met Cass, Thomas and Shayne and their friends for dinner. They had used Raceng all that day. You think he was impressed with the amount of shopping we do. Cass and her friend bought so much tupperware that they got free tupperware bags to carry it all in. Raceng stayed with Shayne and Brad and talked about motorbikes while the girls destroyed any chance of them ever buying a remote control car in Bali.
It was sad to say goodbye to Raceng and his family but I had milkshakes to drink.
We walked back to the hotel and desperately tried to find a copy of the latest Mylie CYRUS movie. Four shops later and we had a half decent copy. The girls will be happy when they see what we have for them.
Today might have been panic shopping, I think tomorrow might be a lesson in time management and weight distribution. We've got a window of opportunity for about 2 hours hard shopping. I think the girls can do it but I'm not sure my back will hold up. Sounds like I'm planning to go to war doesn't it. That's pretty much what it is.