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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