Today's exchange rate: IDR 10,830 per AUS $
Today's weather: Cloudy, but rain free
Today was our last morning in Sanur. I was awake at about 7:00 (hangover free thank you) and just before 8:00 I decided to let the girls know I was heading out for breakfast and they could come meet me when they were ready. I headed over to The Porch Cafe with a smile on my face. I ordered a smoothie and fruit to begin with and eggs on toast. Not long after I started eating, Mikhala, Courtney and Sami came in. They sat with me and ordered their own brekky. The Porch is a little bit more expensive, but they offer good food and good service.
After breakfast, we quickly returned to the villa to grab some money to change and head to Permana Unique Gifts again to show Sami and Courtney. They each bought a fan to relieve them of the humidity and headed back to the villa. Upon arriving, I was approached by our new driver. I had organised about a week before to have a driver transfer us from the Raven's Nest to the Beji Ubud Resort for our next 3 nights. This wasn't a driver I had met before but I was given his details along with a glowing recommendation from a fellow Bali lover so I decided to give him a go. Right from the start, he was communicative by responding to emails right away and giving me a call to discuss the transfer. He messaged me the day before to wish us a safe flight and a day after our arrival to welcome us to Bali. Right from the start his service has been of the highest standard. With this does come a higher price tag, but it comes with water, snacks, cold towels, a new car, a safe driver and him as our tour guide who has so much knowledge to share. Yuda is his name, but to us he is now known and Yoda.
As we were all packed and ready, Yoda loaded our bags in, we said goodbye to the house keepers before heading off. Our first stop was Blue Lagoon. We chatted with Yoda the entire way along. Any question we had for him, he had an answer whether it was about Bali culture, religion, restaurants, spas, laws, education or politics. He sung to us, he laughed and chatted away. Upon arriving at Blue Lagoon, he assured us our luggage would be safe and lead us down to the beach. Although the sun was hiding behind the clouds, the beach looked so inviting. We took our places on some lounges, for a price of 25,000 Rupiah per lounge and were immediately approached by some market ladies. I have to admit, they were worse than the Sanur ladies. They sat on our lounges and getting them to accept our refusal was not an easy job. There was no where to go to escape.
Mikhala and I were wanting to do a bit of snorkelling and luckily the tides were just right for it. Snorkel gear is available to rent at the beach for 50,000 Rupiah per set (mask and flippers) so we paid and made our way down to the beach. The sea bed at Blue Lagoon is quite rocky but there is a sandy channel on the left that you use to make your way into the water. It was a magnificent temperature. We swam out probably no more than 50 metres and although the water wasn't crystal clear, the snorkelling was quite good. There was heaps of fish that would just swim all around and under you, lots of coral and no strong currents. We loved diving through and under the water, admiring the fish, but soon we were ready to head in.
We returned our snorkel gear and took our places back on the lounges and were once again pounced on by the ladies. We all decided to buy a sarong each as we didn't have any towels with us but as soon as we bought something from one lady, all the others wanted some action too. I did end up buying a bunch of colourful bracelets but that was enough. After we finished our drinks from one of the warung's at the beach, we knew it was time to escape. We made our way back up the stairs to the car. We were warmly greeted again by Yoda and I said that since we weren't that long at the beach, maybe we could go past some rice fields before going to the hotel. He suggested we go for lunch, then he would take us past the rice fields and a waterfall if we liked. We were happy to go along with whatever he suggested.
The drive to the restaurant was about 40 minutes and Yoda kept us entertained for most of it, until we all dozed off. We arrived at the restaurant not long after. It wasn't one I had ever heard of before but Yoda said it was great food and very clean so we agreed. It was called Warung Dewa Malen located in Mas, about half an hour from Ubud. We were immediately greeted by a staff member who placed frangipanis behind our ears and welcomed us in. It was a gorgeous restaurant. The open dining area was overlooking a rice field and the staff were just so friendly. Yoda had recommended we try the juice so we ordered orange and mango juices which were indeed delicious before deciding on sharing starters of springrolls (rice paper rolls and fried). I ordered Bebek Goreng (crispy fried duck with spicy Balinese sauce), Courtney and Mikhala had chicken burgers and Sami decided on Pad Thai. The service was quick and the food delicious. Our meal came to just under $80 and Yoda had even managed to get us a 10% discount! We were all so full but our meals were just delicious.
Next stop was a waterfall which was about 10 minutes away. We had to buy a ticket to get in (as well as for Blue Lagoon), but instead of asking us to pay for it, Yoda paid for it himself. The view of the waterfall was lovely and unlike Git Git, didn't require a long walk at all. We were only there for a few minutes before we returned to the car and were on our way to the hotel.
The Beji is located not far from Naughty Nuri's, about a 5-10 minute drive from the centre of Ubud. It's another thing I've come across from the recommendation of someone else. We found it no problem and were straight down to reception to check in. We were given welcome drinks which we enjoyed while admiring what we could see of the view so far. Before heading to our rooms, we of course had to pay Yoda first. He asked for 650,000 Rupiah for the day which had turned out to be so much more than just transfers from one place to another and a stop along the way. We all agreed that Yoda was just a lovely guy. We all felt so comfortable with him and he just couldn't do enough for us. We learnt so much and just had an all round great time. When I handed him 700,000 Rupiah, he was so humbled and insisted it was too much but I told him we all had a great day and felt he deserved it. What appreciation he showed us. He said good bye, wishing us well and promising to see us again on Friday when we go to Legian. All of us adored Yoda and without hesitiaton I would recommend his services.
We were then lead to our rooms. We would be staying in 2 seperate rooms for this stay. On the way, we spotted a couple of the 5 pools. All the girls were so excited by the hotel. They absolutely loved it. Great sized rooms, a huge bathroom and a dressing area in between. After we had quickly settled in, we all got into our bathers and decided to go on a "pool crawl". So we went in search for the closest pool and jumped right in. It was a great temperature. Then it was to the next pool and the next and the next. 4 our of the 5 pools we went into, enjoying each one. A couple are larger than the rest and a couple feel like they're just there to fill the space, but they were lovely nonetheless.
After our swims, we were all craving a bit of pampering. Unforunately the spa wasn't available until 7:00 so we made a booking for tomorrow instead, but not before taking a peak. I can't wait to have a massage with a view!
We all returned to our rooms to shower. I headed down to reception and asked them to make us a booking at Murni's Warung for dinner which the reception happily obliged to. We were to be picked up and 6:45 by the restaurant's driver so we had a bit of time to kill. We all FaceTimed or skyped our families, before getting dressed and ready to head down for dinner. We waited about 5 minutes before the driver arrived and took us to the restaurant. We were lead downstairs, stopping at The Lounge for a cocktail before continuing to the lowest level of the restaurant, overlooking the river below. The restaurant was quiet but it was lovely sitting on the balcony and listening to running water below. We ordered lumpia for a starter which arrived promptly. Sami and I both ordered a chicken mushroom stirfry, Courtney had sweet and sour prawns, while Mikhala decided on Nasi Goreng. The service was quick and the food was yum. More drinks were ordered before we also decided to stay for dessert. There was no amazing chocolate cake on the menu here so we decided on banana splits, apple pie and just ice cream.
Our bill came to just over $100 for 6 cocktails, 2 starters, 4 mains and 4 desserts so we were happy. The driver took us back to the Beji and after our long day out and about, we were ready for bed. Zzzzzz
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