Bali, Day 1: Feels Like Coming Home

Today's weather: about 30 degrees, sunny with a light breeze

Today's exchange rate: 10,250 Rupiah per AUS $

My sister Sam and I had a perfectly timed 10:05am flight that was due to have us in Bali at 1:45pm. It was unfortunately delayed by about an hour but we arrived just half an hour later than what we were supposed to. I've been to Bali that many times now (this is number 10) that I no longer feel that adrenalin, excitement and "it feels like it'll never happen" feeling. Not in a bad way though. At the airport, I'm simply going through the steps of what will eventually get me back to Bali, and when I'm in the plane and the beautiful island comes into sight, I'm not jumping up and down with excitement. I'm sitting back in my seat feel relaxed and content, smiling to myself and thinking "Ahhhhh, I'm back." In my opinion, that feeling is just as good. It's the feeling of familiarity, knowing exactly where I'm going, which restaurants to go to, how much to pay for things at the markets. I'm instantly stress free and in holiday mode.

Having met my wonderful and one of a kind driver/guide in November (this post here is from my first meeting with him), I had organised for Yuda to pick us up and take us to our first hotel in Legian. After getting through the airport- a process I'm maybe too familiar with- I walked out and searched for his friendly, smiling face. There he was, waving to us and beaming even more than I was. He came to greet us and gave me a massive hug. What a beautiful welcome back to Bali. He called his driver, Ari, and soon enough we were of our way. Our home for the next 3 nights is at the Rama Garden Hotel, located on Padma Street in Legian. I was looking forward to this. It's a gorgeous little hotel tucked behind its restaurant and sports bar with no more than 30 rooms that all surround the oh so inviting pool. Because they have no drop off area (well they do but it's used as staff parking), we had to jump out of the car as soon as we arrived to avoid holding up traffic. We were directed to the lobby where we did a quick check in and were shown our room. It is lovely. The rooms are all of the same standard and all very nicely renovated. We have a downstairs room with a cute verandah looking straight out to the pool; no complaints from us. Our twin beds face a little sitting area and a big flat screen TV. The bathroom is also renovated with a massive shower and partially closed off toilet. For what we're paying ($70 a night), we're very pleased with what we've got.

We took a moment to settle in and get changed before grabbing some money to exchange and head to lunch. There are plenty of options for dining right on the doorstep but by this time it was almost 4:00pm and we hadn't eaten for hours so I already had somewhere in mind; Indo-National. Located on the same street, the restaurant lives up to its name with lots of choices from different countries and at good prices. Sam and I stuck to the basics for lunch, being our first meal- Nasi Goreng, Mie Goreng and satay to share as well as a couple of drinks each. The food was nothing special but satisfied us well enough. I've been told that the lobster and chilli mud crab here is amazing though!

Our meal came to $20. After lunch we set off to the nearby hotel, Kumala Pantai. I've already mentioned here that I would be looking after someone new this trip; a monkey mascot of a Bali Facebook group and I needed to pick him up. We had a beautiful walk along the beach to get to the hotel. We've noticed so far that Bali is quite quiet at the moment, with the Australian school holidays over as well as the European winter. The sun was shining down and the waves were crashing on the shore one after the other. I was also really happy to see how much cleaner the beach was looking thanks to the effort of volunteers doing a couple of clean up days. It is definitely paying off.

Walking down Padma Street to the beach

After picking up our new travel buddy, we circled back down Jalan Werkudara/Rum Jungle and Little Padma, back to Padma street. It was after 5:00 and we were desperate for a swim. With a quick stop at Circle K to stock up on basics, we got into our bathers and straight into the refreshing pool. We had it all to ourselves at this point and it was just what we needed. I had suggested to Sam that we have sunset drinks at La Plancha tonight before heading out for dinner. As we hadn't gotten pool towels, we asked one of the staff members to bring us some. Our verandah, where I was sitting at the time, is right next to the pool, but when the staff member brought our towels, (bath, not pool), he didn't bring them to the verandah where I was sitting, but literally dumped- not even placed nicely- right on the edge of the pool. Now something like us is not something that bothers us at all but it did strike us as being a little strange and rude. Nevertheless, after our cool off, it was time to change outfits yet again. We decided to get a taxi down Double 6 to the beach; our feet were already suffering from our walk earlier in the form of blisters and raw spots from our thongs.

La Plancha was packed with some great tunes playing and we struggled to find somewhere to sit, but boy was the sunset good. As sunsets tend to, it just got better and better as it went on. We grabbed a couple of beanbags on the sand and ordered a cocktail each. More than once I had to jump up and take more photos because the sunset was that amazing. As day turned to night, the beach came alive with a different crowd. Gone were the hawkers with their bracelets, sarongs and paintings. In their place came the hawkers with light-up headbands, helicopter things, lasers and lights. Music from bands playing at nearby beach bars was drifting over and fireworks were being sent into the sky a little ways down the beach. We sat and enjoyed the chilled out atmosphere before getting up and heading to dinner. We decided to walk along the beach to the Padma Resort, where we had a booking at their Japanese restaurant for teppanyaki.

 

We arrived a little bit early but were seated and waited (with fresh cocktails) for the couple we would be sharing the show with. They were a lovely young couple from Canada and we chatted with them throughout dinner. The service here was wonderful, and the teppanyaki show was great. They have a choice of 3 teppanyaki menus with prices ranging from about $30-$45 per person not including drinks. The basic menu includes a little tuna salad appetizer, grilled veggies, chicken, wagyu steak, tuna, white fish, miso soup, fried or steamed rice and icecream to finish. We both decided on the second menu, which added salmon to the meal for only a few dollars more. Sam also got some sashimi to start. Our teppanyaki chef was very friendly, chatting and joking with us throughout the meal and kept us laughing throughout. There was lots of impressive clacking of his sharp knives and lighting the grill on fire. Our cocktails, of mango, kiwi and berry mojito's were delicious and brought our meal to about $120 between us. I love teppanyaki for a delicious, but not too filling meal and the Padma is a great place to go for it, just be sure to book to avoid missing out. They have 2 teppanyaki sessions each night: 6:00 or 8:15.

When dinner was finished, it was about 9:30 and we were more than ready to hit the sack after our early morning. The first day just flies by, but I'm back in Bali so I'm happy.

 

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