Thursday 18th March
Kuta Shopping Day
Wayan had taken the other half of our travel party off to the monkey forest and Elephant park, so that left us to catch a taxi to Kuta and spend some time wih Mrs W and my adorable step daugher. We have been enjoying the solitude and peacefulness of Umalas so much , that, this is the first time we have really planned to go into the mayhem for organised shopping.
We leave around 10am , and our housekeepers have called Mr Bluebird for us , he duly arrives within 5 minutes. If only Brisbane cabs were so responsive! Jl Ray Kerobokan, and Jl Legian are very busy, and the traffic slows to barely walking pace. After about 500 metres, we find the culprit! A large mound of soil has been tipped into the road , stopping oncoming traffic , so when a car eventually nips around it, and all follow, the side that we are on has nowhere to go. Only in Bali!
We ask the driver to nip down Jl 66 and I give him 60,000 rp for his trouble, he smiles, and wished me a very nice day.'Sama Sama' is my response...(getting good with the lingo eh girls?) We walk around the corner, and Mrs W pops into the Mini Mart to see of she can get some cold & flu tablets.At some stage of the holiday, everyone, ( apart from me), has had some ailment or another... sniffles, upset tummy, headaches, idelitis, etc. We then walk another 20 metres and decide to have brekkie for the third time at Tekor
Today, my breakfast was appalling, I had the American brekkie, and the eggs tasted of vinegar, potatoes loaded with garlic, tomatoes unripe and the only saving grace was the croissant and strawberry jam... plus.. the Nesacfe was drinkable. So, disappointed, I slinkily peel away from the table and head back to JL 66 to catch another cab. Here we are approached by some privateers who try and convince us that their cabs are just as good as Bluebirds, and that we should ride with them. We still stay loyal to Mr Buebird, who whisks us past the Kumala Pantai and off towards Kuta Square
We alight outside Matahari main entrance and head for our favourite sanctuary that is Gloria Jeans. Upstairs we go, coffee ordered, and glad for the aircon to cool down a very hot looking Wharfie (calm down girls) .We spend around an hour in here, slowly sipping drinks, I drape the cold towel I have been given around my neck , and adopt the poise of an Errolflynnesque journal writing individual. We chat about where to go and what to do, and our first port of call is to secure another 44 (buy 30 get 14 free) DVD's from the place next door. Later that night we are to enjoy the latest release of 2012 on the player in our bedroom
DVD's in black bag, we cross over and head down Jl Kartika Plaza and of course we just have to ( well the girls do) head into the Discovery Centre. Straight into Sogo and the racks of clothes, shoes... those damn shoes!! ...accessories , I'm sure every rack is thumbed through in turn, and nothing is left untouched. Patience wearing thin, I inform Mrs W that I will meet here in Starbucks when she is done.However, like a naughty schoolboy, I slope off into the A & W burger bar to try a chicken sandwich. Simply horrible, I leave half of it, drink my coke, and devour a few fries before I head to bread talk for the saviour in the form of a Blueberry muffin. I never did make it to Strabucks.
Finished here, we walk back up Jl Kartika Plaza and head to Matahari. The transport offers , the time share scams, and general flyer hander outererers are in scant supply this year, and we make it back to Kuta Square without any bother at all.Here, we go to Matahari in search of some stockings for school for my step daughter, however, we find none.Instead, she spends aged buying coloured and plain contact lenses.I think they call it fashion
For dinner, and I hate to admit this, but we had Maccas in Kuta Square, just to say we had done it! I wouldn't recommend it though, the chips were soggy, the chicken burger average, no salads, and usual drinks.Here though you cand have Nestea or Milo as an option, and it is quaint to see Maccas served with rice if you so wish. Done and dusted, we catch a cab back to the Villa, where the other half of the tribe are already back from their exploits at the Elephant park. They have really enjoyed their day, and tell us with gusto about their rides atop the elephants
Wayan still finds time to whizz my step daughter to his local markets , and only now do I find out that it is Dinda's (Wayans daughter) birthday. I push a 50,000 note into a very resistant hand and tell him to go buy her something nice from Wharfie
They return within and hour, complete with hair braided Dinda, and they have had a nice shop at the markets. I retire to bed and watch 2012 as said earlier. A very long movie and I struggle to stay awake until the end. However I do, and eventually enter the land of nod around 1am
Tomorrow is Friday, our last full day, the Chronicles a drawing to a close
Have a nice day, and thanks for reading.... WHARFIE...xxx