Today’s weather: Overcast in the morning which cleared by 10:00, light breeze coming through in the early afternoon
Today’s exchange rate: 9,700-9,800 RP per AUS $. Higher at back-of-the-shop exchangers
What a beautiful day today. I was awake not long after 7:00, but stayed in bed until 7:45. Mum and Dad, expecting Sam and I would sleep in from our full-on day yesterday, went ahead for breakfast at Benno’s. Once I got out of bed, I went to get towels for Sam and I and threw them onto a couple of lounges next to the main pool. There were still plenty of them free, so I didn’t feel guilty about doing this. When I came back to the room, Sam was getting out of bed, so we both got into our bathers and made our way too the pool. I hadn’t noticed before, but there was quite a lot of overcast. So much so, that I got a bit worried that today would be the day it rained. But before long, the clouds cleared up and the sun was once again beaming down as it had done every day of our holiday so far.
The overcast in the morning
It wasn’t long before we were both ready for our first swim, so into the pool we went. At this time of morning, the temperature was perfect. We swam around for a while before getting out and taking our places on our lounges again. We hadn’t had breakfast yet, and I was starting to feel some pretty serious hunger pains. We were reluctant to leave the poolside so we opted to have breakfast at the hotel. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, if you don’t get breakfast included in the hotel costs, you can just pay for it as you go, if you choose to have it there. They have 2 options: the $6 sunrise breakfast or $10 buffet breakfast. Today, we decided to give the buffet a go. There was a good amount of options and was good value for money. After breakfast, we were back in the pool and relaxing on our lounges. I decided to have another swim in the ocean, and although the temperature was not as refreshing as it was at Lembongan, it was still beautiful. On the way back to our lounges, we had a feel of the main pool and found that it was already way too warm, and this was only at about 11:00.
After lounging in the sun for a little bit longer, we decided to head back to our 3rd pool in hope that the water would be a bit cooler. I first made a stop at the 2nd pool for a quick dip and soon made my way to the 3rd pool where it was a bit quieter- the Griya Santrian is currently undergoing renovations towards the back of the hotel. It’s very unobtrusively blocked off and today was the first day during our stay that we have noticed the noise, but it didn’t last long. The 3rd pool was quiet, and even better, we had it all to ourselves. The temperature was nice and cool, as it doesn’t seem to warm up until the afternoon. We enjoyed the water, and the quietness until mum and dad arrived. They had been on a quick shopping trip to Discovery Centre. It was nearly lunch time by this point and Sam and I had already decided on going to the Duckz Nutz; Sam was feeling like a burger. Mum and Dad decided to just stay at the hotel.
At the Duckz Nutz, we easily found a table and ordered banana smoothies and water to begin with. After having a good look through the menu, we both decided on club sandwiches. There’s a good range of food on the menu, including lots of burgers, seafood, Indonesian and even a kid’s menu. If you’re after a cold beer and a burger, I’d say that this is the place to come, but not having tried their Indonesian food, I can’t comment. The service was good and the wait staff were all very friendly. Our club sandwiches were in good sized portions and neither me or Sam could finish the whole thing. We left happy and with full bellies.
Our good-sized club sandwiches
We went back to the hotel briefly to see mum and dad and then all together made our way to Alam Bali Spa on the main drag. It’s a about a 5 minute walk, if that, South of the Griya Santrian and on the opposite side of the road. After Whinnie’s raving review of it on Trip Advisor, I grabbed a pamphlet and we all decided to give it a go. Mum and Dad had made us all bookings for 3:00 and lucky they did, because when we arrived, it was pretty busy. Everyone must have read Whinnie’s review of the place! They don’t have a huge range of services here, but it’s all very reasonably priced. When we were lead inside, we saw that the massage sections are each separated by curtains. Mum, Sam and I were all going in for facials and they had left the curtains separating us open. We laid back on the massage table and our facials all started at more or less the same time. It’s amazing how relaxed you can be with a stranger rubbing your face, but it was fantastic. It was very quiet; the staff barely said a word to each other and most of the other customers were also very quiet, with the exception of a few that were either starting or finishing their treatments and had forgotten that other people were still having theirs (Mum also did this after our treatments and I had to give her a good-old "shush!"). All of us managed to doze off and at the end, we were politely brought back to reality by our respective girls. We were all feeling uber relaxed, so much so that it took me a while to regain my balance once I got off the massage table. The facials, and Dad's reflexology massage, cost 60,000 RP each and we all felt that it was very good value for money. The facial went for about an hour and included a neck and shoulder, foot and arm massage. I was so happy that I gave my girl a 20,000 RP tip. Mum, Sam and I all left feeling relaxed and soft skinned. We will definitely be returning to this spa.
When we returned to the hotel, Sam and I decided to just have some wind-down time in our room. We put on a DVD (all of which seem to be very good quality so far) and just continued our relaxing. At about 5:45, we both got up and started getting ready for dinner. Mum had decided that we hadn’t had a “nice” dinner out during this trip and had made a booking at Hitana Restaurant at the Niksoma Hotel in Legian. Our driver picked us up at 6:15 and we were on our way. Our driver, Made, is one that Mum and Dad had used before during a previous trip and were very happy with his services. He has good English and is very knowledgeable.
When we arrived at the Niksoma, the sunset was just finishing. It was absolutely beautiful. We had arrived at a perfect time. While Dad and I went to take photos (I took so many, it was hard to decide which to put up!), Mum and Samwere lead to their seats at our chosen table, which Mum had picked when she made the booking. When Dad and I came to join, we ordered drinks which promptly arrived, as did a complimentary appetizer of a singular chicken wonton each, which was very tasty. I had ordered a cocktail which I found much too strong for me and the waiter happily took it back to the bar to be topped up with Sprite. We soon decided on our food for the night; Dad ordered an entrée of seafood chowder (don’t know how he has soup in this weather) and I ordered a starter of sautéed portabello mushrooms. For mains, Mum chose bacon wrapped tuna, Sam ordered a lamb rack, Dad chose surf and turf and I ordered stuffed chicken. The service at the restaurant was absolutely exemplerary. All the staff were very friendly and had very good English. The food was still very reasonably priced, especially considering that this could be considered as fine-dining in Bali and the bill came to about $86. All meals and drinks on the menu included tax. For a meal, and service, like that in Australia, we would have paid at least 3 time that amount.
The amazing sunset
Complimentary wonton starter
My stuffed chicken
Mum's tuna
Dad's surf 'n' turf
Sam's lamb rack
Just as our desserts were arriving; chocolate cake for Sam and I, tiramisu for Dad and Crème Brulee for Mum, the night’s entertainment was beginning. In the centre of the restaurant was a grassed area and that was used as a stage for tonight’s Balinese Dancing. On each table there was paper which had the name of each dance and what it meant, as well as an announcement being made before and after each dance. It was beautiful the watch. Both the dancing, the make-up and the costumes were so elaborate. During the last dance, Joged Dance, the dancers come around the restaurant and invite the audience to come join them. Not only were we in the middle of our desserts, but none of us were brave enough nor had we had enough drinks to get up, but the same cannot be said for another couple of Aussie’s. They bravely took to the stage and did their best to dance with the girls. In doing so, they provided the rest of us with some great entertainment. Good on them. After the dancing had finished, the dancers stayed on the grass for photo's. They patiently stood, posed and smiled for photo after photo. They did a great job.
Chocolate cake
Tiramisu
Creme Brulee
The beautiful dancers; taken by my dad
It was then time to pay the bill and once again return to Sanur. We gave lots of thanks to the staff, who made our meal that much more enjoyable, and we were back in the car. I would definitely recommend this restaurant.
What a beautiful last day in Bali. It’s now time to start packing to go home tomorrow night. But don't be too sad, we don't get picked up until 4:30 in the afternoon so I will have another post about our morning, including room photos and little bits and pieces that I haven't included in my posts.
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