Today’s exchange rate: Has gone down. Best I saw was 10,595 at a back-of-the-shop exchanger. Most authorised money exchangers were 9,950
I was awake at about 7:30 today after a good sleep and woke up head ache free from our cocktails at Potato Head. I got up straight away and met Mum and Dad outside enjoying the pool. Mum suggested that we go to Cinnamon’s for breakfast; one of her favourite restaurants. They have free WiFi there and mum wanted to use it to read my blog- all this time I’ve been writing it, she has had no idea what's on it. I agreed and went back into the room to get dressed. I tried to be as quiet as I could so I didn’t wake Sam, but it happened anyway. I told her our plans and she got up and dressed so she could join us. We left the hotel just after 8:00. Cinnamons is maybe 100m North of the Griya Santrain on the main drag and opposite side of the road. They have Legong Dance performed a couple of nights a week by locals girls and children. It’s quite a nice atmosphere and set up.
When we arrived for breakfast, we had the whole place to ourselves. We chose a table directly under a fan because it was already quite hot. Their breakfast menu isn’t huge but it definitely is sufficient. They have Australian breakfast, American breakfast, Continental breakfast, Asian breakfast and a few Al Carte dishes. Myself, dad and Sam all chose the Asian breakfast with a choice of Nasi or Bakmi Goreng. Dad and I both chose Bakmi and Sam chose Nasi. Mum had a continental breakfast which consisted of fruit, toast, juice and coffee or tea. Due to her gluten intolerance, she had brought from home her own loaf of gluten-free bread which she asked the waiter if they could use. He said it was fine and took it to the chef, but he mustn’t have quite understood what she meant because although they toasted her gluten-free bread, they still gave her regular toast as well. Dad ordered himself and I a fried egg on the side as it wasn’t included in the dish.
Bakmi goreng for breakfast
The free WiFi at the restaurant was good, but it meant that we all sat there on our phones and laptops and not talking for most of it, although, it gave mum and dad a chance to catch up on my blog.
Our (anti) social breakfast
After breakfast, we all headed back to the hotel; it was already turning into quite a hot, steamy day. Sam and I were off to the main pool while Mum and Dad were off for a bike ride before it got too much hotter. The hotel seemed to have emptied out a bit more today and we easily found a couple of lounges right next to the pool. I had a quick swim before I lathered on the tanning oil. We’ve found the pools as the Griya to be quite warm, which is ok, but when it gets really hot during the day, all you want to do is jump into a nice refreshing pool. It wasn’t long before I got too hot lying next to the pool and wanted to get back in the water. I walked onto the beach path and just next to the Griya’s restaurant are some showers to rinse off before getting in, so I used them and tried to get as much of my tanning oil as I could, but we all know oil and water just don’t mix. Into the pool I went and up to the swim-up bar to order a mocktail. I ordered a Strawberry Mint Cooler which is what we got as our welcome drink and it was just what I needed: very icy and refreshing.Before long, Mum and Dad were back from their bike ride. They had ridden along the beach path towards the Hyatt. They discovered where some popular Trip Advisor places were, such as La Playa, Tities Warung and Jack Fish. If you are looking for them, they are along the beach path just South of the Hyatt. It wouldn’t take long to walk to any of them if you were staying at the Hyatt. While dad went for a foot reflexology massage next to the main pool (cost was 86,000RP for a half hour, Dad said he had had better on the street for 40,000), Mum came to join me at the swim-up bar for a smoothie (very yummy smoothies at the Griya!). We decided to catch a taxi down to the Hyatt to go to La Playa for lunch. We all headed back to our rooms for another quick swim in the 3rd pool then got out of our wet bathers and got ready to go.
Dad and I enjoying the 3rd pool
On the street, mum bargained with a private driver to take us there for 10,000RP. There is a street right next to the Hyatt on the South side that goes right down to the beach, so down we went and La Playa was just on the left, directly on the beach. This is also where the beach lounges are for Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel. We settled into a table and admired the view before ordering our lunch. La Playa has got a good range of Western dishes, including pizza and pasta, and Indonesian and Balinese dishes. Sam and I shared an entrée of lumpia, Sam and Mum both order Nasi Goreng for their mains (with no soy sauce for her gluten intolerance) and Dad and I ordered a share plate called Balinese Rijstafel, which consisted of many different Balinese dishes and was amazingly presented. I love trying new food in Bali so ordering these kinds of dishes is perfect for me and I’m glad that Dad was willing to share it with me. We’re all very happy with our lunch, which cost us about $40 AUS between 4 of us, including drinks.
La Playa from the beach path
The sign and lanterns hanging from the trees
View from our table and the Sanur Paradise Plaza beach lounges
My and Dad's share plate
I'm impressed
Description of our Balinese Rijstafel
After our lunch, we decided to walk further South as far as the Puri Santrian; the sister hotel of the Griya Santrain. As we walked along, we passed Jack Fish and Tities Warung. The Puri looks like a beautiful hotel, with a gorgeous beach front and pools, but I’m not so sure I would enjoy staying there. Once you get past the pools, the hotel is very hot. We continued through the hotel until we got to the street, where Mum once again bargained with a driver. This time she agreed to 20,000RP to take herself, Sam and I to Hardy’s and then drop Dad back at the hotel for a hot stone massage he was booked in for at the hotel’s spa. He ended up cancelling this when he got there because directly next to the spa there was some kind of construction going on that was making a lot of noise- not very relaxing at all.
Jack Fish from the beach; taken by my dad
Titi's from the beach path
Titi's Warung from the beach path; taken by my dad
Mum, Sam and I went into Hardy’s to buy more water and mozzie spray, then crossed over the road to have a look in one of the stores, Andy Risza. This is a favourite store of mine in Sanur that I always buy jewellery from whenever I am here. They also have clothes, but nothing that I liked. I paid 490,000 RP for all the jewellery I bought there.
Inside Andy Risza
Bracelets from Andy Risza: 60,000 RP and 80,000 RP
Necklace from Andy Risza: 90,000 RP
Necklace from Andy Risza: 80,000 RP
Neck lace from Andy Risza: 90,000 RP
Necklace from Andy Risza: 90,000 RP
We then continued on our way back to the hotel for another swim. We found that the 3rd pool outside our rooms was too warm for a cool down so we went to the middle pool which was much better. Back to the 3rd pool we went to laze around on the pool lounges. It wasn’t long before I was ready for another swim but this time I just stuck to the 3rd pool which, seeing as I wasn’t as hot as before, felt more refreshing. We relaxed for a bit longer before we got dressed again and headed to the beach bar for some cocktails. The Griya Santrian has got a beautiful set up on the beach, as I’m sure you’ve seen from my previous photos. We sat down and relaxed at a table before discussing dinner. It was Sam’s turn to choose and she decided on Sand Restaurant, which has recently replaced the Bonsai Café. It has been refurbished beautifully, with a canopy from the surrounding trees shading the beach dining area and lights hanging down. But it was still early by this point, so we decided to brave the markets. Sam and I headed down the market laneway next to Benno’s but the stalls we wanted to look in were closed, and we were told they would be open again tomorrow. I find the ladies down this lane are not as pushy as some in Sanur. So we continued walking North along the beach path to catch up with mum who had gone down Tootsie Lane. On the way, I spotted the famous Sindhu Beach corn cobs being cooked, which I cannot wait to eat again!! This is a beautiful time of day in Sanur, when there are lots of locals down on the beach, splashing around in the water and enjoying themselves. There are now more fixed priced, and enclosed with aircon, shops down Tootsie Lane, which is very pleasing. I guess they’re all trying to keep up with each other. Even the market stalls that are not fixed priced are very quick to agree to “the same price as Tootsie”. Mum got some DVD’s from Shrek (I’ll let you know the quality when we get a chance to watch one) and Sam got a couple of pairs of shorts and a top. We then walked back to the restaurant for dinner.As I said, this restaurant has been beautifully refurbished, but unfortunately all the beautiful bonsai trees that were out the back have now gone. The area where they use to be is now just a grassed area, so if you’re in Sanur with kids, this would be a good place to come; grass at the back, sand at the front.
We settled into one of the tables on the sand, underneath the trees and get stuck into the menu. Sam orders a cocktail which came in a pineapple, and we ordered an entrée of squid, Sam ordered nasi goreng (she ended up having nasi goreng for breakfast, lunch and dinner and has vowed to not eat it tomorrow), Mum ordered chicken satay, Dad; seafood pad thai and I ordered beef rendang. All meals were very yummy. My beef rendang was neither better nor as good as Mona Lisa’s; it was different but I still really enjoyed it. They also have WiFi here that the waiter gave me the password for, but it was not advertised. By 7:30 we had finished dinner and started making our way back to the hotel.
Beautiful canopy and lights at Sand
Sam's pineapple cocktail
Dad's seafood pad thai
My rendang
Mum's satay
We were all ready for an early night when we got back, because tomorrow morning, bright and early, we’ve got our Bamboo Shoots cooking class. I promise to wake up early to watch the sunrise!
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