Bali, Day 3: A Massage a Day Keeps the Sore Feet Away

Today's weather: Humid, with an early shower. Sunny and breezy for the rest of the day

Today's exchange rate: IDR 9300 to 9480 per Aussie $

Mum and I woke at about 6:30 today but managed to stay in bed until just after 7:00. We have both been sleeping very well while at the Pearl; the beds are very comfortable. It was about 7:45 when we decided to get dressed, ready for breakfast. I got up today covered in lots of bites on my legs. Mum and I are debating whether they're mozzie bites or ant bites, but either way they are itchy. My legs muscles and ankles were also very sore. That'll teach me for doing all that walking in thongs yesterday.

Off to breakfast we went. I was keeping an eye out for the Pearl's bunny but it looked like he was keeping someone else company today; how dare he! I went and said hello anyway. Maybe I'm just missing my cats back home, but I love this bunny. Mum took her gluten-free bread to breakfast again and ordered a fruit plate. She also bought along some yoghurt that she got from the Bintang Supermarket the other day. I ordered scrambled eggs and a bread basket. While we were waiting for our breakfast, we decided on having lunch at Biku. I know, we haven't even eaten breakfast yet and we're already thinking about lunch. But we know what a popular restaurant it is so we made a booking for 1:00 via their website. You are able to make special requests when making a booking via their website so I made sure that I included that we needed gluten-free bread, which Mum had discovered they had while in Bali in November last year.

We chatted happily while waiting for our breakfast and by 9:00, we were finished. The clouds were starting to look quite threatening so it was a good time to move on. Mum had a booking at the hotel's spa for a hand and arm massage. I decided to book myself in at the same time for a foot and leg massage to try to ease my sore ankles. The booking was for 10:00 so we had some time to kill. We decided to have a little stroll along Double 6, walking towards Jalan Legian. Mum is a person who really likes to browse, so whenever she saw something she liked in a shop window, she would say "Oh that's nice, lets go look in here." For the most part, I was ok to tag along, but neither of us had bought our wallets with us, so it was only browsing that we were able to do. We made a few good discoveries which I'll tell you about tomorrow when we go back to buy things.

At about 9:30, the clouds gave way and down came the rain. It wasn't a very heavy downfall and lasted all of about 5 minutes, but Double 6 has tiles along the footpath that get very slippery when wet so we had to tread carefully. We started making our way back to the hotel for our massages and by this point, the sun was beaming down again. Back at the hotel, we went straight to the spa for our massages. The spa always has the same girls working every day, Evi and Putu, which suits us just fine because we've been so happy with their services so far. We took our places on the massage tables and the massages began. Putu has been doing my massages and the pressure she uses is just perfect for me. I happily drifted off into a light slumber once again. My massage went for 40 minutes; 40 minutes of bliss; and cost IDR 70,000. Mum's was 30 minutes for 50,000. We both gave Evi and Putu 10,000 extra each because their massages have just been amazing.

By this time, we were ready to head out. We had planned to go to Seminyak Square today before heading to Biku for lunch. We walked a little way up Jalan Legian and decided to stop at The Haven for a drink; another hotel that is in a great location but just not personally appealing. Their restaurant area is over looking the street and Mum and I were both keen to have a little peek at the hotel. We sat down and ordered a couple of ice teas. I ordered an orange and mint ice tea and Mum got some other one that she can't remember (she's getting old). Both were beautifully refreshing, but cost almost $15 which is what we paid for lunch on our first day! It was nice sitting there, with the breeze keeping us cool, listening to the music they were playing (I was almost tempted to get up and dance but my ice tea was non-alcoholic) and people watching. I had a little look at the hotel before we continued on our way. We stopped to change some money and then walked just past the Bintang Supermarket before getting in a taxi to take us the rest of the way. I think we've only used a Blue Bird taxi a couple of times, but have had no problems with the drivers using the meter and taking us only a short distance.

Our ice teas at The Haven

The Haven's restaurant area

The Haven's pool

The traffic was pretty bad when we got onto Oberoi Street so the ride there took a little bit longer than it otherwise would. By the time we got to Seminyak Square, it was just past 12:00. We had a walk through the markets here, which I usually love, without buying anything (what's wrong with us?!) before we walked down Oberoi a bit more so we could look in some of our favourite shops. For me, it was into Somewhere, where I finally found and bought a dress. Ok, I cheated a little bit. I actually have the exact same dress in black that I bought from there (where? Somewhere!) last year, but it's one that I love. And I was starting to feel the pressure a bit and I just needed to buy something! Mum failed to find anything in the shop she was in, so joined me in Somewhere before we got in another taxi to take us to lunch.

Somewhere dress: IDR 420,000

Biku was quite busy when we arrived so I was very glad I had made a booking. The hostess was very nice. She lead us to our table and when Mum enquire about their gluten-free bread today she told Mum that she had made a note of it from our Internet booking and that they did have gluten-free bread available. Our waitress came over and took our drink orders and when she came back she was armed with gluten-free options for Mum. She pointed out on the menu was she could and couldn't have so Mum had an abundance of choices. She ordered potato skins for a starter, a tuna sandwich and I ordered the Biku Deluxe Burger; a family friend said that Biku had great burgers so I was keen to try it.

Service at Biku was great, despite how busy it was. There are lots of staff members but at no point did any of them look like they had nothing to do. Our friendly waitress returned a couple of times to check everything was ok and always had a smile on her face.

Potatoe skins topped with guacamole

Mum's gluten-free tuna sandwich

My burger

Our meals were great and the bill came to about $25. They also have the tarot card readings available here, which it's best to book in for. Mum, my sister and I had all had a reading in February last year. It's always a bit of a novelty to have done, and I'll admit it, I'm a bit sceptical about it especially seeing I am still single. I was tempted to approach the lady and ask where my perfect match that she had promised me was, but I resisted.

Outside Biku, the security guard hailed us a taxi and it was back to Seminyak Square. I went into the DVD shop I had bought all my DVDs from back in February of this year. They were all great quality so I decided to stick with the shop. It's called Galaxy DVD and they have numerous stores scattered throughout Seminyak, Legian and Kuta but this particular one is on Oberoi Street, diagonally opposite Seminyak Square. Mum and I spent maybe 15 minutes in there stocking up and trying to remember what DVDs were on the list. I bought 40 and received 20 free.

We walked back up Oberoi and I popped into a store called Natasha Gan. It was here, I bought yet another bag but this one is all mine. It cost IDR 196,000 and comes with detachable long strap. From here, we went into Home Store; a shop I have fallen in love with. It has beautiful, bright handbags, wallets and cushion covers as well as some funky clothes and shoes. I unfortunately couldn't justify paying nearly $40 for a cushion cover or wallet so I left empty handed, but Mum and I have spotted some similar items in a couple of market stalls near the Pearl so I'll have to check them out instead.

Bag from Natasha Gan

It was about 2:30 by this point and I was ready to head back to the hotel for a bit of a rest. Despite my good sleep last night I was feeling uncharacteristically tired. I think maybe a massage is not the way to start the day. We got in another taxi and back to the hotel we went. It sure is serene walking into the hotel and leaving the busyness behind. Mum continued on to look in a couple of shops along Double 6. I think she could tell I was getting frustrated at her continuous browsing. So it was to the pool I went to make myself comfortable on one of the lounges.

Mum returned a little while later. She had a swim in the pool which was apparently very refreshing. Whenever she says this, I know it actually means the water was a bit cold and I usually choose not to go in. She joined me on the pool lounges for a while before getting dressed to head back out to the shops. I think she also has been feeling like she's a bit of a shopper failure and is trying to make up for it.

When I finally brought myself to get off the pool lounge, I noticed how much my legs were aching. We may not have done enough shopping, but we've definitely done enough walking. I sat myself down by the pool and put my legs in the water. How relaxing it was, with the hotel so quiet and the breeze blowing through. I could have happily sat there for ages, just enjoying the contentment that comes with being in Bali.

Mum soon returned with more shopping and that of course meant that she had to show me what it was, tell me where it was from and how much it cost. Oh, the things I do for you. She bought 2 skirts and 2 dresses from a set price shop called Summervan. It's located at 26 Double 6. It had some retro-style clothes and accessories. Mum came back and asked me if I thought it was too hippy-ish, which I assure her it wasn't. This is also where the Home Store look alike products were, but Mum didn't check the prices to compare. She also bought another retro style dress and a hessian shopping bag from another store along Double 6. She didn't bargain for these, but said she probably could have.

Dresses from Summervan: IDR 345,000 and 250,000

Skirts: IDR 285,000 and 325,000

Hessian bag: IDR 80,000

Dress from that other place: IDR 150,000

After Mum had beautifully modelled her new buys, it was time for her to put her feet up too. We plonked ourselves on our little verandah, each with an iPad in hand. What would we do without our technology?! I soon realised that it was nearly 6:00 and with all the places we had been trying to get to, we had forgotten to go to the beach to watch the sunset. I brought this to Mum's attention and suggested that we to to La Plancha for a drink before having dinner. She responded with a very content "I really don't care." So it was decided. We walked down Double 6 and turned right at the beach. La Plancha is no more than 100 metres down the path. If you're trying to get here by taxi, ask to go to the Puri Saron and cut through to the beach.

We got a table upstairs, which gave us a great view of the beach. La Plancha is one of the beach front restaurants that has loads of bean bags out on the sand. Everything is brightly painted, with colourful tables, chairs, lanterns, beanbags and umbrellas. It's a great place to watch the sun go down and to come with kids. You could quite happily relax on a beanbag, listening to the music and the sound of the waves while watching the kids run around on the sand.

The view from upstairs

Mum and I ordered a couple of mocktails while discussing how much Dad would love it, my best friend Amy and my friends that are joining me in November for another holiday. The sunset was unfortunately disappointing, but we were so happy we decided to come. We went downstairs and cut through the restaurant to the beach. We walked South back towards Double 6 to head to dinner. Along the way, I noticed that a couple of other beach front restaurants have beanbags on the sand too. Champlung and the Crytsal Palace had the beanbags, along with some live music. I think if we had more time in Legian, we would have given one of these places a go.

La Plancha from the beach

Looking South

For dinner, we were off to Cafe Jadi. We had popped in yesterday to have a look and decided to give it a to based on the recommendation from a couple that are also staying at the Pearl. We decided to have beef rendang and the owner, Sri, promised she would make it. Jadi Cafe is down the same lane way as the Pearl. I always get a bit put off by these little places that no one seems to go to, but to not be deterred by this. Sri does all the cooking herself with ingredients that she buys from the local markets that day. She has 2 staff that help her, but from what I could tell they couldn't speak very good English. I assume it would be hard for them to get a job anywhere else.

When we walked in, there was an Australian expat at one table who eats at the cafe quite often and an older couple from Perth who were trying it for the first time. We took our seats and Sri assured us the rendang would be ready soon. We had heard that the food can take a while because none of it gets cooked until its ordered, but as we ordered the day before, the wait wasn't too long. We occupied the time by chatting to the other couple. Soon the aromas of Sri's cooking were making us drool and she invited us into her kitchen to look at what she making. Our rendang was bubbling away, smelling absolutely amazing. Sri was also cooking lime chicken for the other couple. Lots of people have said this is the dish to have, and let me tell you, it looked and smelt incredible. Sri let me have a little taste and boy, was it good. Mum and I regretted both ordering rendang because we now didn't have the opportunity to try something different, but we know for next time.

Sri cooking away

Back at our table, our rendang arrived. Now to be honest, it looked like a pile of poo (see the photo), but it smelt amazing and it tasted just as good. There were so many beautiful flavours throughout the dish. It was a large serve that could easily be shared between 2 people but it was so delicious that I forced myself to eat all of it. I was so full, but man was I happy. Our bill came to about $20 but we also gave an IDR 50,000 tip because it was so good. We both promised to be back.

Beef Rendang

After a dinner that big, we needed a walk. We headed back down Double 6 and turned at Jalan Werkudara. Mum wanted to have a look at Hotel Kumala so that's where we headed. It's obviously an older hotel but what a great location it's in! If I was on a budget and wanted to stay in the area, it would definitely be on my list.

Even though we had just finished a huge dinner, Mum had some cravings for ice cream. I didn't know how we would fit it in, or even where we would get it from, but Mum wasn't giving in. I insisted that I needed a bit more time for dinner to settle, so we headed back to our room before deciciding on anything. Mum suggested that we find out if the Pearl Restaurant had just ice cream and Anthony (ooh-la-la) was happy to oblige. Mum ordered one scoop of passion fruit sorbet and I had vanilla. Both were served in a cocktail glass with a toffee stick and mini meringue. How beautiful! The flavours of the ice cream were beautiful and really hit the spot!

We have loved staying at the Pearl Hotel and would recommend it to anyone; a beautiful, boutique hotel in a fantastic location and an amazing restaurant. I would be happy to return to either of them. Mum and I are looking forward to enjoying our morning here tomorrow before heading to Sanur!

 

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