Bali, Day 8: North to South and Back Again

Today's weather: Another perfect day

Today's exchange rate: IDR 9450 to 9500 per Aussie $

Mum was awake very early today, which woke me up. She insisted that I go back to sleep and she went to watch the sun rise. She said it was too cloudy to be very good, but the sun rise is always a nice thing to watch. When she returned, I got up and was annoyed to find that the WiFi was still not working. Not happy. This day and age, WiFi in a hotel, especially one like the Mercure, should not be an issue and when so many people go on holiday, particularly Aussies coming to Bali, WiFi really is necessary as so many people continue working while on holiday. I got dressed and Mum and I headed over to the Sanur Beach Hotel to see if their WiFi was working; I manage to get passwords to many different networks throughout Sanur, but unfortunately theirs was no better. Mum and I walked North to Tities Warung where we had agreed to meet up with Sanur favourite Fatman, while he was out for his daily rounds. We arrived at Tities before he did and were invited to sit down at Fatman's regular table while we waited for him to join us. We ordered breakfast while we were here too, with me getting Mie Goreng and juice and Mum got juice and some fruit. Fatman soon arrived and joined us at the table while his morning bottle of green was brought to him. He also had seemed to have forgotten about that job offer from last night. We chatted away, sharing stories and Mum and I then decided it was time to move on. We paid our bill and continued on our walk.

Tities

 

Our walk took us North and we turned down a lane way that goes back to the main street. We were in search of the new Fire Station restaurant. The owner was a friend of Fatman's that had gone by Titie's while on his morning run and we were invited to go check it out later when a number of Sanur heroes would be there. We are very popular with these heroes. So we walked and we walked, and although we didn't end up walking past the Fire Station, we had a good idea of where it was for later.

Back on the main street, we had a stop in a shop next to the Puri Santrian. It's called The Damar Living. We didn't buy anything in here but it is a great store for buy some gifts. It has stacks and stacks of beautiful cushion covers, jewellery, little Balinese stone figures, and bright, colourful scarves. It's always good to know where these kind of shops are for next time when we are in need of gifts. Mum and I continued along the street and circled back to the Mercure. We felt a little out of place in South Sanur and Mum had been meaning to buy a few little soaps on Hardy's so we made the decision to see what time the shuttle bus was going from the hotel to Hardy's. It was 9:30 and the bus went at 10 so we had a little bit of time to kill. We popped back to the room briefly, jokingly complained that our beds hadn't been made yet and then headed back to the lobby. I had mentioned earlier that I would need a foot scrub before we left tomorrow and Mum suggested we go over the road to the old Art Cafe as they have a little spa there. Or supposedly because we sure couldn't see where it was. Luckily there is a Carla Spa next door so I went there, checked what time they opened in the morning (9:00) and said I would come back tomorrow for a scrub.

Damar Living

 

We crossed back over the road to wait for the Mercure shuttle and soon enough, we were off back to North Sanur. It seemed silly that we were going back again and we had a bit of a chuckle, but North Sanur is what we know so it's easy to stick with.

While Mum went into Hardy's to get a few things, I wondered over to the new Art Cafe to use their WiFi and chill out until we were ready to go back South again. This was when I was thankfully able to upload a few photos to yesterday's blog but the WiFi here wasn't as good as it had been before. It was better than nothing though. After paying for my 2 ice teas, which are delicious here, I walked back to meet Mum at Hardy's. We ended up meeting in the middle and agreed to head back to the hotel for some pool time. It wasn't until later we realised that someone had forgotten to buy the soap we came here for. Oh well.

Mum and I decided to get a bemo to go back to the hotel. When it's such a short distance and we knew a taxi driver might not be willing to use the meter, it was just easier. We walked a little way before one came along and in we hopped. As they don't go at far South as the Mercure, we asked the driver to drop us at the Sanur Beach Hotel. One good thing about staying at the Mercure is having the Sanur Beach Hotel right next door. We cut through the hotel numerous times during our little stay at the South. None of the staff asked any questions. I'm sure we could have swum in their pool and relaxed on their pool lounges and no one would question whether or not we were guests.

We headed to our room and decided to get a bit of packing done before we went to relax. I think it's very lucky that I added on another 10 kilos of luggage. It didn't take us much to fill up our new suitcase with our shopping and laundry. While I slacked off a bit with my own packing (I'm procrastinating about going home), Mum got hers done and then we went down to the pool to relax. We wanted to have a few view, so we headed for the front pool and hoped that there were some lounges available. What do you know, there were!! We had to pool the back into the shade a bit more, but we got what we wanted. Down to our bathers and in we went. The temperature was fantastic; exactly what we needed on this perfect Bali day. Mum swam around a bit more while I got our and took up on my lounge. I admired how perfectly blue and cloudless the sky was and how quiet this end of Sanur is, which is what we were after for our 2 days of relaxation.

Mum enjoying the pool

A perfect day in Bali

Mum soon joined me on the lounge and we both relaxed; Mum reading her book, and I reading one of her old magazines. It was a great way to spend a couple of hours.

After I had another swim, it was time for us to get dressed again and go in search of lunch. We handed our towels in on the way because we didn't think we would be going swimming again. We were planning on going to Cemara Beach Cafe, which is just North of the Sanur Beach Hotel along the beach path, but we decided to try the place next door; Toro Toro. It was empty, but it looked nice. We chose a table on the sand, ordered an ice tea each and decided what we wanted to eat. Even though I had Mie Goreng for breakfast, I wanted more so my decision was made. Mum ordered grilled fish with a spicy kind of sauce. The service was good, the food was good and the view was beautiful. We were both happy. The bill came to about $15. Unfortunately my food photos didn't turn out so well, so none of them today.

Toro Toro

Our view from lunch

 

We headed back to the hotel, being told off by a staff member at Retro for walking so far for lunch and not just going there. We dropped a few things back at the room and then headed next door to Aroma Spa for our hair treatments. We had a quick stop over at the Mercure's second pool so I could demonstrate how people try to lay on their stomachs on pool lounges that were obviously not designed for it, but hey, at least they'll have an even tan.

After a little laugh, we continued on our way. The new Aroma Spa is part of the Sanur Beach Hotel and has quite a good reputation. Mum went there with a friend last month for a hand and arm massage and loved it. She said the massage was great and just loved the lay out of the spa, which is all open air. We were early for our treatments, which we had intended, so we plonked by their pool, used the Sanur Beach Hotels WiFi and relaxed for a bit longer. The spa does have a pool for its patrons, but we didn't feel like swimming.

Aroma Spa from the beach path

 

Aroma's pool

Just before 4:00, we went back to the spa's reception to fill out a form quickly before we had our hair treatments. The form was just to check whether we had any allergies, wore contact lenses that needed to be removed for the treatment, whether we were pregnant or had medical problems and what our preferred pressure for a massage was. We were then introduced to the girls that would be giving us the treatment and we lead into the spa. We were directed into a little room and asked to change into sarongs for the treatment and while I was lead to have my hair washed first, Mum was seated, offered some water and waited for her turn. We swapped and I was seated next to Mum's chair for the treatment to begin. I sat quietly and I characteristically still, admiring the view and enjoying the breeze. It really was perfect. The girl made some small talk at the beginning of the treatment and then stopped, which was fine by me because spas aren't really the place for conversation.

The treatment area

Ready to go!

Mum soon joined me and we both sat in contented silence while our treatments were going on. There was very little noise, except for the girls asking us if their pressure was ok, the breeze and the odd louder person walking by the spa. For the treatment, after our hair was washed, it was combed, covered in goo which was massaged into our scalps. The girls then combed our hair all the way through and wrapped it in a towels while they massaged our necks and shoulders. I was then lead over to the basin again to have it all washed out before being seated for a blow dry. The girl asked if I wanted it blow dried straight and I said I wanted it a bit wavy, as my natural hair is. She blow dried it through, flicking it around and I thought that was the end and I was happy. She then divided my hair and blow dried it straight (I was surprised she knew the technique of doing it with a hair dryer) then attempted to curl it with the use of a round brush. I thought she was doing well until the brush got stuck in my hair when she couldn't unwind it again. I was amused at first but then I realised it really was stuck. Whoops. A couple of other girls walked past during this time and just stood and watched and had a little laugh. She did get it out and unsurprisingly abandoned the idea of trying to curl it with a round brush. I really should know better because even in Australia, I always regret asking for a blow dry. Not that they don't do a good job but I can barely stand staying at the hairdressers for an hour. Anything more than that it torturous. I get bored, I get restless, I get grumpy. Thankfully, this didn't take too long and my hair was beautiful and soft.

Looking out

Mum and I got dressed again, filled out a quick evaluation form, paid for our treatments (IDR 200,000 each for the one hour treatment) and went on our way. We were both relaxed, and I was glad to be moving again. We went straight back to our room, with a quick chat with a fellow guest because Mum felt she had to give a reason for my strange behaviour while we were walking back. I was just trying to boof up my hair a bit which meant me walking with my head upside down and I may have looked a bit like a drunk. The lady seemed to accept this but Mum said I did get a few strange looks.

We returned to our rooms where we got dressed, fixed our hair to how we like it and then walked next door again to the Sanur Beach Hotel for a drink. We decided to bypass the swings tonight and instead plonked on one of the hotels beach couches. We ordered a glass of wine each which were placed on the table next to our couch. It was then we realised that these weren't quite so practical. Why? Because we were over here on the couch and the drinks were over there!

Clean, soft hair and ready to go out

Out of reach drinks

We enjoyed our wine and the atmosphere, had a few laughs (I've realised that by the sixth day, Mum goes a little bit crazy) and then went on our way. We cut through the hotel once again to get to the main street and then headed in the direction of the Fire Station to meet up with Fatman for one more drink. We walked North along the main road until we got to the little round about which is where the South end of the street becomes one way. We turned left here and the Fire Station is just a little way up the road. We were greeted by the owner that we had met this morning and sat down with Fatman. We're beginning to feel like VIP's in Sanur.

The Fire Station is a very new restaurant that was described to us as being a kind of up-market pub. It seems to be doing quite well and attracts a lot of expats. We didn't eat here but I have heard the food is quite good.

After some chatting and laughing with Fatman and a Primary School friend of his that was visiting, we said our goodbyes. Mum and I weren't sure where we were going for dinner yet. We wandered south along the street, looking at menus here and there before I decided I wanted to go to the Art Cafe. Not the old Art Cafe though that was just around the corner, but the new Art Cafe back in North Sanur where we both feel at home. So we got a taxi and off we went, back to North Sanur again. We hopped out and smiled. It's ironic that we decided to have some time in South Sanur to try some new places yet we still ended up back at North Sanur. Twice.

We seated ourselves and we were greeted with "Hello Miss Anna, hello Miss Kate." The Balinese sure do have a knack for remembering names. We ordered ice teas and decided on our mains. I ordered snapper, which I was tossing up for our dinner here the other night, and Mum got Nasi Campur. The service here is excellent and the staff are very nice. Our meals came out at the same time, and as before, the presentation was great. After taking the obligatory photos for you all, we ate. Mum said her Nasi Campur was delicious and my snapper was as well. This has definitely become one of my favourite restaurants in Sanur and I recommend trying it.

Snapper rolled in bacon

Nasi Campur

After our dinner, I just HAD to have another of the Art Cafe's famous Chocolate Melted Cake. Our waiter was not surprised when I ordered it and said "Maybe you come back soon for more cake. Maybe I miss you." Very sweet and I assured him I would be back soon and would definitely come back for more cake.

The wait for the cake is about 15-20 minutes because it needs to be cooked, but my goodness, it is worth the wait. I was so excited to have another one. The presentation was just as perfect, as was the gooeyness of the cake. Absolutely delicious. I left with a full belly and a big smile on my face.

Chocolate Melted Cake

We got another bemo back to the South end. At this time of night, there appeared to be only one bemo running and he was going in the opposite direction. But when he saw us, he turned around and went back the way we needed. He got two other fares on the way and at the Sanur Beach hotel, we jumped out, cut though the hotel once again and back to the Mercure we went.

A great last day in Bali and we're both sad, but ready to be heading home. I showered when we got back to the hotel room, skipped my packing again and into bed we went.

 

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Bali, Day 7: From North to South

Today's weather: Absolutely perfect

Today's exchange rate: IDR 9400 per Aussie $

I actually managed to have a bit of a sleep in today and didn't get up until just after 7:00. I joined Mum on the balcony and we spent some time chatting before deciding to get dressed and getting breakfast. We both decided on another Indonesian breakfast today. I have to say, Mie Goreng is the perfect way to start the day. After breakfast, we took a wander down the road in search of another suitcase; we had made the decision to add on extra luggage for our flight home to avoid having to pay any extra fees at the airport. It was only about 8:45 at this point which if course meant none of the shops were open. We had a little look in some of the nearby shop windows and made mental notes of which shops we would come back to later. We returned to our room and got to packing our things up for our next hotel move to the Mercure Resort in South Sanur. Packing was easy, but we both agreed that we would need a suitcase to check-in for our shopping. It's not that we did too much of it at all (is there even such a thing?), but carry-on luggage is only 10kg's so either way, we would have to end up checking in a bag anyway.

After our packing and making sure we hadn't forgotten anything, we went to a shop next door to the hotel that has suitcases. After a quick look inside, it was easy to see that the suitcases cost more than we were willing to pay; $110 for a medium sized one on sale. We got out of there and decided to brave the Sindhu Markets and head to Tootsie's. We now tend to just avoid these markets but I said to Mum we'd be fine, so off we went. We cut through Sand and as soon as we had left the safety of the Sand, they were on us. "You come look my shop?", "You want massage?", "Hello, manicure?" I said to Mum very quietly "What were we thinking?!" Saying that, the market ladies are not that bad. Yes, they can be a bit pushy, but I think that it's just market lady after market lady asking us the same question. We said no to your friend, so why would we say yes to you? Of course I understand that they are just trying to make a living, but these Sanur market ladies do have a bit of a reputation.

We walked along the beach front and I noticed that the turtle conservation set-up is still there so we stopped for a little look. Some of these turtles are so impossibly small. They had their fins tucked in and they were fast asleep while the current from the pool's filter was pushing them around and around. We couldn't help but chuckle at them. Today being Sunday meant that there were lots of locals enjoying today's perfect weather with their families. The beach grills were set up to grill those delicious corn cobs that I love so much, there were children playing in the water and people flying their kites. I do love Sanur on Sunday's. And every other day.

Sindhu Beach

We continued on our walk, keeping our heads facing the direction that we were walking and trying not to draw attention to ourselves. We made it to Tootsie's and Mum was greeted by a market lady that remembered her. Then she remembered me. Thank goodness Mum said we were leaving today (half true) and we just needed to buy a suitcase which she accepted. So we went into Tootsie to look at their suitcases. They had a good enough selection at good prices, but they weren't what we were looking for, so back we went to the safety of the streets. Tootsie Lane has had a bit of a makeover; the path is all freshly paved and Tootsie Restaurant has finished their renovations and it looks so much better.

The new Tootsie Lane

Tootsie Restaurant

We went up the street a bit to Paul Collezione that usually has some funky suitcases in their window. The first one had a few but still more than we wanted to pay and they weren't the funky ones we had spied in earlier trips. There's another Paul Collezione about 50 metres further up the road, but they had none. Mum then spied some suitcases in a market stall across the road, so over we went and easily found one that was the size we wanted, although we did have to compromise on the funkiness. The market guy wanted IDR 550,000 for it. I said 400,000 to Mum, which she offered. As the usual reaction is from the market folk, he gave a little smile and said no, asking for our best price. Now I know my mum and I know she is not the best at bartering so I kindly took over. The market guy said he could do 500,000. I said no, 400,000 and then started to walk away. As I knew he would, he agreed to the price. We gave over the money, checked that all the zips, wheels and locks were working before we happily carried our new suitcase back to the hotel. Mum settled the bill and we decided to lounge by the pool until we checked out.

The pool was beautiful and quiet today, we easily found some lounges and settled down for a bit of relaxation before we left. The pool was the perfect temperature and exactly what we needed after walking around in the sun. We enjoyed the pool, Mum chatted to an older Perth lady who is staying at the Tamukami for 2 months with her husband. A young family had checked in today (or last night) and were also enjoying the pool. The little boy who must have been about 4 years old took a liking to Mum and I while we were swimming. Mum soon got out of the pool and presto, I had a new friend. He was swimming after me up and down the pool, trying to catch me. Working with kids back home, I have a natural patience, and tolerance, for this kind of thing so it wasn't a problem and it certainly brought a liveliness to the otherwise quiet hotel. I soon sent him to go and "catch" some European boys that were swimming in the pool, which he happily obliged to, and this gave me a chance to escape and join Mum back on the pool lounge. It wasn't until the boy starting screaming when it was time to get out of the pool that I appreciated the quietness we had before and back at the Pearl. But peace was soon restored.

After enjoying our last ice teas by the pool, Mum and I decided it was time to go upstairs and gather our things to check out. One last sweep of our room to make sure we had everything and we took our bags outside, ready to call a bell boy. Just as I was about to call reception, a staff member, who had obviously noticed us taking our bags out, was at the door to collect them and had sent another staff member to get a trolley. As I have said before, the staff here are really on top of things and barely need to be asked to do anything. Mum gave them both a tip for this great service and we went to the lobby to hand over the key to our room.

We left our luggage at the hotel and went for a walk up the road to one of my favourites, Mona Lisa, for lunch. As we only had a short time in at the Tamukami, we never got to eat at all the places we wanted to but I insisted that we go to Mona Lisa before heading South. There was no one else at the restaurant when we got there, but that was fine by us! I ordered a coke, Mum had a ginger fizz and we read through the menu to choose our mains. Well Mum did anyway. I knew what I was having before we got there; my favourite Beef Rendang. I have had many rendangs over my numerous Bali trips and this one remains my favourite. It is hard to judge which one is best as all the rendangs I've had have been very different, but this is the one I enjoy the most. Mum decided on a chicken curry.

Beef Rendang

Chicken Curry

 

We sat and watched the world go by while we waited for our lunch. We were not disappointed. At always, my Beef Rendang was mouth-wateringly delicious and I enjoyed every single mouthful, as did Mum with her curry. We were both so satisfied, as we always are whenever we come to Mona Lisa. We paid the bill which came to just over IDR 150,000 and popped next door to Permwana Gift Shop. This was our last bit of shopping that we had to do befor our hotel change and it was only to get a few photo frames to keep handy as gifts. Permwana is a fixed priced stores, so if you can't be bothered braving the markets or bartering, this is a good place to come. Our frames and a little present for my sister was IDR 300,000. EFTPOS facilities are also available here.

We decided to cross the road to the Griya Santrian and see where their renovations were up to. Well they are definitely up to something. It looks like the Griya Santrian is not only building out, but also building up. Although only half finished, they have built a 3-storey building behind the beautiful middle pool. What a way to taint a gorgeous section of the hotel. I can see this being a massive put off for people, both now while the renovations are in progress, and after. One of the great things about the Griya Santrian was that it possessed somewhat of a boutique feel about it. It sure doesn't feel that way now. They could have done with just renovating their older Beach Wing rooms.

We cut through the Griya Santrian to the beach and back through the Besakih Hotel to the street. Walking through these 2 hotels definitely made us appreciate our hotel choice a lot more. When we returned to the Tamukami, it was time to get a taxi to take us to the Mercure for our last 2 nights. Mum and I have not stayed in South Sanur before so we were looking forward to experiencing it. The receptionist called us a taxi and we waited downstairs. It arrived not 5 minutes later and off we went. The Mercure is only a 5 minute drive away so we arrived in no time. When we go out, we immediately felt the difference between staying in a small, family run hotel and staying in a resort-like hotel. There was no warm welcome, no sound of a gong to announce our arrival and no one to greet us at the door. We went upstairs, leaving our bags behind under the assumption that they would be collected (they were, but no one was there to tell us that) and went to check in. The lobby area of the Mercure is certainly a nice, comfortable space. We went and seated ourselves at their reception desk and got ourselves checked in. Unfortunately, our room was not ready for us so we were directed downstairs to get a welcome drink and wait for the room to be ready. We sat back outside with our welcome drink and hoped that our room wouldn't be too much longer. It was only about 1:15, but we were hoping to be able to check in early. At about 1:45, after Mum and I had gone for a little walk to explore the hotel grounds, I went back up to the lobby to ask if our room was ready yet; we were ready to dump our things and get to the pool. Unfortunately it was still not ready.

Welcome Drink

 

Mercure pools

 

Just after 2, the receptionist came down to get us and notify us that we could now go to our room. But first, we had to go ack outside to where our bags were and tell the bell boy which ones were ours. He then lead the way to our room. We were booked in for a Deluxe Room which we had booked via booking.com. I had emailed ahead, as instructed by Mum, to put in a request for a renovated room on the ground or 1st floor. I may have also slipped in that we were in Bali to celebrate Mum's birthday (I didn't say when it was) so it would be appreciated if we could have these things. We were surprised to learn that the Deluxe Rooms are actually situated furthest from the pools, and that the Superior Rooms were actually the closest. We were lead up to our room, which was one the 1st floor and was indeed a renovated room. The rooms themselves are great. Very spacious, big beds, a great bathroom, but with an impractically small balcony. We were pleased nevertheless. We were also able to reach the WiFi from our room. We got settled in and decided to head down to one of the pools. Over the last week, Mum and I have gotten very use to having the pool right on our doorstep, but now we actually have to walk more than 10 steps to get there. We first headed to the front pool that overlooks the Mercure's beach area which is huge. We got our towels and were disappointed, yet no surprised, to see that the pool lounges around this pool (all 12 of them) were occupied. Well isn't it lucky that the Mercure has 2 pools. So we headed there instead. Many of the pool lounges here were taken too, but we managed to find 2 that we were in the shade. I was surprised to see that there were absolutely no umbrellas shading any of the lounges here.

Bedroom

Bathroom

Bathroom

 

We got comfy on our pool lounges and Mum was straight into the water. The pools are a great size for the hotel. There was room for one man to be swimming laps while others we leisurely swimming around. I soon joined Mum in the water and we had a bit of a muck around. Mum is quite a short person and she found that she was unable to stand in most of the pool; it's all quite deep. Even I had a hard time finding somewhere to stand. We agreed that it must be because having a deep pool causes people to do a bit of exercise. We soon got out and returned to our pool lounges. These lounges are great for just laying back and relaxing, maybe having a bit of a snooze, but Mum and I found that as we like to be sitting up a bit more and being able to see what's going on around us, they weren't very practical. It also makes it hard to write a blog when the lounge forces you to lay back and look to the sky, but that's just personal preference. We also saw a couple of people who were laying very awkwardly on their stomachs which is not what the lounges are designed for, but it sure made us laugh.

View from my lounge

 

After a drink each by the pool (which cost IDR 70,000 for just 2 drinks!), we decided to go for a bit of a walk along the beach so Mum could show me what's around. As I said before, neither Mum or I have stayed in South Sanur. Further, I have never even been further South than the Puri Santrian. Whenever I was organising trips and choosing accommodation, I always chose central/North Sanur as I know the area and it just makes it easier. Whenever someone talked about South Sanur, I would think to myself "Why do people want to go to South Sanur? North Sanur is so much better." Well I have learnt my lesson. South Sanur is so very different from North. It's not only more quiet and peaceful, but it also has a lot around. I was surprised that the Mercure has such an extensive beach front, I was surprised when I saw that the Sanur Beach Hotel is actually quite nice for an older and large hotel, I was surprised that there were as many restaurants as there are and I was surprised at how many more locals were enjoying their Sunday by the beach. I thought Sindhu beach was alive with locals? Well it was nothing compared to the beach just South of the Mercure. It was a sight to see. I have definitely changed my mind about South Sanur. Mum and I walked next door to the Sanur Beach Hotel which is the location of the newest Aroma Spa. Mum had tried this on her last trip and loved it. The treatments are reasonably priced, the staff are friendly and we both loved that the spa was all open. We had been talking before we came to Bali about getting some kind of treatment here and had both chosen to have hair treatments before we left. We made an appointment for 4:00 tomorrow and then continued on our walk. The Aroma Spa has a little pool that is reserved for customers of the spa and we're planning on heading over a bit early to make use of it. I also stopped on the way at the Surf School next to the Sanur Beach Hotel to enquire about their Stand Up Paddle Board lessons. It's on my list of possibilities for when I come back in November with some girlfriends. Mum pointed out numerous little places to me and when we got to a point where I recognised and knew the restaurants, we turned back around. We walked a bit further South and found Sweet Magnolia's. This was on our list of restaurants to try and we decided that we would return for dinner. It was time to get back to the hotel to continue our afternoon of relaxation.

Along the beach

The lively beach South of the Mercure

 

We took to the lounges on the beach to relax a bit more, but when we saw a couple abandoning their pool lounges by the front pool, I grabbed our things and ran. Unfortunately, I was too slow. An older couple was approaching them at the same time, and I let them have it because I would have felt a bit bad for knocking them out of way to claim these pool lounges, so back to the beach we went. It was a good choice though. The beach front is so peaceful. That beautiful breeze was blowing in and it was just so relaxing. When the wind started to make us feel a bit cold, we knew it was time to move; you're not supposed to be cold in Bali! We returned the towels and returned to our room, but not without difficulty. We did get a little bit lost and couldn't quite remember which block our room was in as they all look the same. We made it in the end and in all the kufuffle of trying to figure out which light switch turns on which lights, we completely failed to notice that while we were gone, someone had brought in flowers, a fruit basket and a cake for Mum's birthday. Whoops. I actually had to check in my previous photos of the room whether they were there when we got here or not. It was left up to me to eat the cake because of Mum's gluten-intolernace but it was such a large piece, I couldn't eat it all, but it was a very generous gesture that was appreciated.

Mercure beach front

While Mum went to have a shower, I went to the lobby to investigate what was wrong with the Internet connection. The server was down and the receptionist couldn't tell me when it would be fixed. I did get quite annoyed about this, as I could not even get access to my FaceBook to tell you all that there might not be a blog tonight! It was very frustrating indeed. It was still early by this point, so Mum and I decided to go next door to Retro for a class of wine and a snack. It was eerily quiet along the beach path considering how many people were out earlier, but who were we to complain? After our drinks, we continued along the path for a little way but then we just had to stop. The Sanur Beach Hotel has got this little bar, Bamboo Bar, out the front that has swings for seating. Swings for seating!! There was no way we couldn't stop. And so we swung. And while we were swinging, we just had to get a drink. The bar had a good choice of kids mocktails, and since we were on swings, that seemed to fit quite well. While we were swinging (haha) we chatted to a couple from Adelaide. It was their first visit to Bali so Mum was telling them some of our favourite places to go. I also caught a glimpse of a bit of a sunset while we were here. We said goodbye to our new friends and continued on our way.

Bamboo Bar

Swinging away

 

A Sanur sunset

 

We decided to keep walking North and cut through the Puri Santrian. Some of the paths along this way are every poorly lit so I can understand why a lot of people would choose to just eat at the hotel. I pulled out my phone so we had a bit of light to guide us. Through the Puri Santrian we went without anyone batting an eyelid and onto the main street. Next door to the Puri Santrian is the Kumaela Suites which has a restaurant called Caramel. We haven't eaten here before but Mum wanted to check out the menu and prices in case we felt like having a nicer dinner before we went home. The menu didn't really appeal too much, we're both happy to eat at cheap cafes and restaurants that have yummy Indonesian feel. So we walked on. We spied a shop next door to the Puri Santrian that we agreed we would come back to tomorrow; uh-oh, more shopping! We cut through the Sanur Beach Hotel, back to the beach path. We walked South, past the Mercure, across a badly damaged footpath that I needed to get my phone out for light again and to Sweet Magnolia's for dinner. What a good choice we made because who did we bump into but Fatman and Bobbin, who were having a night off from their Hero Duties. We joined their table and chatted away happily. While Bobbin left to get some much needed rest, we were entertained by Fatman throughout our meal. That one has some stories to tell. I was also offered a job by him and I think he was hurt that I turned it down, but maybe he doesn't remember that part of the conversation.

Sweet Magnolia's has a beautiful setting here and has a bit of a Colonial tea house feel to it. I ordered some Chicken Satay and Mum had Ayam Betutu for something different. The meals were a bit slow to come out, but as we were chatting away with our favourite Fatman, we didn't notice this. My Chicken Satay was delicious, probably one of the best ones I've had, and Mum enjoyed her Ayam Betutu but it wasn't quite what she expected.

Sweet Magnolia from the beach path

Chicken Satay

Ayam Betutu

After dinner, we said our farewells to Fatman with promises to join him on his morning walk to Tities Warung for breakfast (we actually agreed to a morning beer) and off we went. The Mercure isn't even a 5 minute walk away and it was still very, very quiet along the path. It almost felt like we shouldn't be out walking around. We reached the hotel safely and I was frustrated to find that the WiFi was still not working. I had a quick check in the lobby to ask about it and all they could tell me was that it couldn't be fixed tonight, so I apologise on the lateness of this blog.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Bali. I can feel the Bali Blues kicking in already.

 

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