Left Adelaide flying Virgin Blue(4/9/09) on time, arrived about 15mins early in Denpasar, out of airport within 20mins to driver Dewa Sugiarta(rec. by annsimon), & off to Jambu Inn, Jl. Hung Tuah 57, Nth Sanur for overnight stay. Room with fan/hot water & brekkie, 150,000rp/night. Room basic, clean and comfy enough(rooms need some redecorating as a bit tired, but heck just need somewhere to lay my head eh?). Only 500 metres from the beach pathway. Dewa waited while I booked in and dumped my bags. Then off to Bank in Kuta to change money(8300rp/$1 Aud). Went then to Macro to buy bags of Rice and other staple food items for my friends in the villages at Anturan, Lovina. After shopping went to Dewas' home for a meal with his wife Suarmini & daughter Chandra(4). I had colouring in books, pencils, sharpener & textas for Chandra, along with a toy Kangaroo & Koala. Great excitement! Also had some lovely lacy bras for Suarmini. More excitement! Dewa took me back to Jambu Inn about 8pm, had a walk along the beach path & off to bed at 10.30pm to catch some shuteye before heading North on Saturday.
5/9/09. Driver Leo from Villa Agung not picking me up till 12pm, so went to buy some clothes. Only brought one change with me, due to my bags being loaded with clothes & bras donations for my friends up North.
Stopped off at Crackers Bar(upstairs)Restaurant, at Candi Kuning Markets for a bite to eat and a Bintang to wash it down of course! Gotta love those amazingly clean & modern toilets downstairs.
Arrived at Villa Agung about 4pm. Unpacked & headed down to the restaurant for a Bintang. A few improvements to the rooms since last year - there are now fridges(loaded with drinks & snacks) and tea and coffee facilities. You can have a choice of fan or airconditioning in all rooms now, except for the Little Cottage which is fan only. Food is still at excellent low prices(Balinese Prices) and is still very good quality. Great range on menu - food, drinks & snacks available at any time of the day, whether you are a guest or just walk in off the beach. Met two young English guys who were staying further along the beach at Gede Homestay - they came here nearly everyday, just sat around relaxing(in the upstairs lounge), eating & drinking, reading, playing cards, also having a kick of their football on the beach - they just loved Villa Agung. The upstairs open air lounge above the restaurant is the greatest place to chill out - meals, snacks & drinks can be brought up there if you go down to the kitchen & give an order. Plenty of books to read or swap those you have already read, a dartboard, jigsaws, Draughts, crayons and colour in books for
the kids. Good place to hide from the beach sellers too, LOL! Local massage lady Made, can give you a great massage either up in the lounge, or on the Bale near the pool, 80,000rp/hr. She has been doing this for 25yrs, so really knows her stuff. I also went to a lovely little spa in Lovina Central called Agung's Spa & Salon. Very reasonable prices. Villa Agung can make a booking for you, and the Spa will send transport(either a car or scooter) to pick you up and bring you back if you wish. More to come in next instalment. Cheers Cheryl