Today’s exchange rate: 9,950-10,010 RP per Aussie $
As promised, I got up at 5:30 today to go and watch the sunrise. We had to be up early anyway for our Bamboo Shoots cooking class. Our pick up was at 7:00 so I thought I would make the most of our already early morning. Dad and I walked down to the beach at about 5:45 and got comfy on a couple of lounges. Dad set up his camera while I just used my good old iPhone to take the photos. It was so very worth it getting up so early to watch the sunrise. It was absolutely magical; watching the sky go from being so dark, to pink, to gold and to blue. As we were watching it, a dog came and plonked itself down next to us to watch it too.
The beautiful sunrise
My litle friend that came to join
At 6:30, we headed back to our rooms to get changed and get ready for our pick-up, which is included in the cost of the class. Just after 7:00, they arrived and we were off to the markets. The markets we were taken to are in the same place as the night markets. For 7:00 in the morning, it was a very lively place, but I soon found out that it’s because they open at 4:00 every morning! And I thought 5:30 was early. When we walked in, we met up with the other people who would be joining us- 5 other Australians. They included a young couple from Adelaide, a mother and daughter from Melbourne (whose husband and son tagged along for the market part of the class) and a single woman from Darwin who stays in Bali for 2 months and goes home for 2 months.In the markets there are just rows and rows of very fresh and local produce. I’ll admit, it was a bit smelly, but there was certainly a lot to absorb; beautiful fresh fruit, vegies, herbs, spices and also raw meat, chicken, fish and other seafood being chopped, bagged, weighed, sold or just sitting there with flies on them. We were all a bit grossed out by that. We wandered through the markets with Irma, who was conducting the cooking class, pointing out this and that, letting us smell things she was buying. She was a fantastic guide and has very good English.
Markets
Some of the beautiful, fresh produce
And the not so fresh...
Towards the end of the market tour, we were invited to try some banana fritters and little pancake-like things. They were made in the market by locals and whatever we ate was covered by what we were paying for the class. The banana fritters and the pancakes were both delicious, and mum was very happy to find out that the pancakes were made with rice flour, so she was allowed to eat them. We all enjoyed a fair share of these because they were so delicious!It was then time to hop back in the car and go to the villa complex (part of Sanur Beach Villas Group) where we would be cooking. It was a gorgeous little place, right down the South end of Sanur so it was very quiet. The complex has a beautiful pool that we were all so tempted to get into because, although it was still reasonably early, we were already so hot! We sat down and ordered our breakfast, which was also included in the cost of the cooking class. The options were limited, but it wasn’t an issue because we knew that we would soon be cooking up a feast! Once we had ordered, it was quite a wait (probably because there were still guests of the complex to be served too) and when it arrived we were all getting quite restless and hot. My banana pancake was worth the wait though.
The villa complex pool
It was then time to begin the cooking. First thing we had to do was prepare the ingredients, which included peeling shallots and garlic and plucking the basil leaves off their stalk. The beauty of this class is that you can do as much or as little as you want, so you could help prepare the ingredients for a little while, then stand back and chat with the other people or take photos. Our first dish was chicken curry. The paste was made from scratch and all crushed up. Irma put all the ingredients in a mortar and pestle (correct me if my spelling is wrong), showed us the technique of crushing them all up then stood back to prepare other ingredients and allow us to have a go. Well, let me just say, she must have very strong forearms. She was so quick at crushing it all up, and we were so slow and really had to concentrate on getting the technique right. It was hard work. Most of us had a go and it didn’t take long for us to feel the burn in our muscles. I don’t know about the rest of you, but for me, holidays is a time to NOT exercise.
Mum and Sam helping with the food preperation
Dad having a go at crushing the ingredients
And I had a go too
Soon the paste was on the stove, mixed in with home-made coconut milk (just grated coconut mixed with water and squeezed through a sieve). The chicken was thrown in and soon it was bubbling away. The smell of all those beautiful herbs and spices just get released when they’re crushed and even more so once they hit the hot oil in the wok. It was amazing. As soon as the dish was cooked, we were allowed to eat it, so our first taste was at about 10:00. We weren’t very hungry but we all ate, and loved, the chicken curry. Our other dishes were beef rendang, spring rolls (this was the only thing on the menu that mum couldn’t eat because of her gluten intolerance), ikan pepes (fish steamed in banana leaves), soto ayam (chicken soup) and a couple of desert dishes. All of them were so amazingly tasty and simply made our mouths drool.
End result of the chicken curry
The delicious beef rendang bubbling away on the stove
Mum being instructed on the fish parcels
Before
After
Our delicious spring rolls
Irma and her assistant were very good instructors and very good cooks. The whole group had a great time and loved all the food. I would definitely recommend this cooking class, no matter your age and no matter if you’re travelling as a family, with friends or by yourself. It’s a fantastic way to meet other people. It’s very reasonably priced, includes your pick-up (a couple of people had been picked up from Legian), breakfast and a little recipe book with the dishes you made. Everything can easily be transferred into cooking in your own kitchen at home. There are so, so many wonderful things I could say about every moment of this cooking class, but I don’t want to spoil the experience for you!
The fantastic Irma
Our little cooking group
Our class finished by about 12:30 and we were back to the hotel for a much needed swim. Our pool was unfortunately being taken over by the people staying opposite us, but nonetheless, we enjoyed it. It was soon for Dad and Sam to head off- they had organised with our favourite water sports guys to go sailing. Dad, in his previous trips to Bali, has become quite friendly with one of the guys called Ronnie, who is based at Segara Beach water-sports (in front of Segara Village Hotel). Because Dad, and us if we choose to do water-sports, always go to him, he always gives us a good price. Sam and Dad have done the sailing before and loved it. You get taken out on a traditional sail boat- the colourful ones with the faces painted on the front- and just get to sit back and enjoy it.While Dad and Sam went off for their sailing, mum and I relaxed for a bit longer before having a quick swim in the 2nd, and much cooler pool where mum had a very funny, near drowning experience when she couldn’t stand in the water like she thought she could- she is only little! We had a good chuckle about it before heading back to our rooms to get dressed and go out. Mum needed to change over some more money, for which we went to the same money changer as Sam and I had on our first day- the green money changer across the road from the Respati Hotel. This is also where I saw the best exchange rate at an authorised money changer today. We then popped next door, down the laneway to the Tamukami. We went up to reception, explained that we were booked in for July and asked to see one of the rooms. The receptionist happily obliged and lead us to a room that is identical to then one we are booked in for- an upstairs twin room. It’s quite a spacious room, with a couch inside, private balcony with a table and chairs, and a good bathroom with a separate bath and shower. We are getting more and more excited about staying here. Sorry I didn’t take any photos of the room, you’ll just wait to wait for my July blog! We had a quick stop over in the hotel’s restaurant for a drink and then went on our way to meet up with Dad and Sam after their sailing.
We cut through the Respati Hotel, which does have a sign saying hotel guests only,
but there was no one patrolling this. Because it was still a bit early for Dad and Sam to be finished, we went to Segara Beach to see one of Mum's massage lady friend, Nadia. Mum sat and chatted to the ladies while I had my smudged manicure fixed. It cost me 20,000 RP to just have the colour redone, and this time I managed to not smudge it when I tried to get out my wallet to pay. I am now a happy girl with smudge free fingernails. Mum and I then walked back along the beach path to Inna Sindhu Hotel, where mum had organised to meet up with one of our new friends that we made during the cooking class. I’m sure some of you can guess who it was. We sat down with this new friend for a drink and good conversation. It’s very intriguing to talk to someone who really knows the ins and outs of Sanur. There’s a whole different side of it that we don’t see.
Dad and Sam soon returned from their sailing (and massage afterwards) and Sam and I headed down to Benno’s restaurant to look in the market stalls along the laneway. I took Sam to a funky stall that sells beautiful metal candleholders that come in all shapes, sizes, and animals (I also visited this stall during my last trip, which I blogged about here). I spotted some beautiful metal lanterns that I’m considering going back for before we leave. They also came in different sizes, colours and styles. There was ones you hang from above, from the side and standing ones. I told Mum I would take her down there too because they’re the kind of things she would like.
The stall is so busy, you can barely see what's in there!
Rows and rows of candle holders
Across the lane there is a little fixed price stall that has all things Bali; placemats, beautiful green teacups, teapots, salt and pepper shakers, little metal statues, scarves etc. I bought a photo frame from here that I did manage to somewhat bargain for. The lady was trying to sell it to me for the same price as a bigger frame. I paid 120,000 RP which was still too much. You can get very similar, if not the same, photo frames from a fixed price shop across the road from the Griya Santrain called Permana Gifts (I blogged about Permana Gifts here). I’ll be sticking to this store from now on. I also bought a nice necklace from another stall down the same laneway.
The beautiful picture frames
My market necklace: 50,000 RP
Mum soon came to meet us, and I started making my way back to the hotel by myself, leaving mum and Sam to battle the market ladies. After so many trips to Bali, you come to a point when you just can’t be bothered with them anymore, especially when so many of them still remember your name from 3 years ago. I was told as I was walking along "You beautiful, but you not friendly" by one of the market ladies. Oh well, you can't have it all. It was a very peaceful walk along the beach path; it wasn’t too busy and it was just beautiful to watch the waves crash on the reef. I felt really content at this moment.I bumped into Dad at reception and we walked back to our rooms together to get ready for another swim. The 3rd pool out the front of our rooms was once again, way too warm, so it was back to the 2nd pool. It was much more refreshing, so Sam and Mum came to join us when they returned. The conversation soon turned to dinner. It was dad’s turn to choose and he decided on Cinnamons. Although we were starting to feel a bit hungry, none of us wanted to eat much. Dad ordered a steak diane, mum ordered a chicken stir-fry with rice noodles, Sam had chicken cordon bleu and I decided to stick a bit closer to home tonight and get fish and chips. We were all pretty happy with our food, and the service was really good. It wasn’t the most social of dinners because of the access to free WiFi, but also because we were all feeling pretty tired from our early morning. When the bill came, which amounted to about $50 AUS, Sam and I chipped in our amount and started making our way straight back the hotel.
Mum's stirfry
My fish and chips
Dad's ribs
What had another beautiful, but long day today. I can’t believe I’ve been awake since 5:30 this morning!! I’m looking forward to a good sleep tonight, and tomorrow is our designated shopping day!!
No comments:
Post a Comment