Bali, Day 4: A magical sunrise and cooking up a storm

Today’s weather: Same as yesterday
Today’s exchange rate: 9,950-10,010 RP per Aussie $

As promised, I got up at 5:30 today to go and watch the sunrise. We had to be up early anyway for our Bamboo Shoots cooking class. Our pick up was at 7:00 so I thought I would make the most of our already early morning. Dad and I walked down to the beach at about 5:45 and got comfy on a couple of lounges. Dad set up his camera while I just used my good old iPhone to take the photos. It was so very worth it getting up so early to watch the sunrise. It was absolutely magical; watching the sky go from being so dark, to pink, to gold and to blue. As we were watching it, a dog came and plonked itself down next to us to watch it too.

The beautiful sunrise

My litle friend that came to join

At 6:30, we headed back to our rooms to get changed and get ready for our pick-up, which is included in the cost of the class. Just after 7:00, they arrived and we were off to the markets. The markets we were taken to are in the same place as the night markets. For 7:00 in the morning, it was a very lively place, but I soon found out that it’s because they open at 4:00 every morning! And I thought 5:30  was early. When we walked in, we met up with the other people who would be joining us- 5 other Australians. They included a young couple from Adelaide, a mother and daughter from Melbourne (whose husband and son tagged along for the market part of the class) and a single woman from Darwin who stays in Bali for 2 months and goes home for 2 months.

In the markets there are just rows and rows of very fresh and local produce. I’ll admit, it was a bit smelly, but there was certainly a lot to absorb; beautiful fresh fruit, vegies, herbs, spices and also raw meat, chicken, fish and other seafood being chopped, bagged, weighed, sold or just sitting there with flies on them. We were all a bit grossed out by that. We wandered through the markets with Irma, who was conducting the cooking class, pointing out this and that, letting us smell things she was buying. She was a fantastic guide and has very good English.

Markets

Some of the beautiful, fresh produce

 

And the not so fresh...

Towards the end of the market tour, we were invited to try some banana fritters and little pancake-like things. They were made in the market by locals and whatever we ate was covered by what we were paying for the class. The banana fritters and the pancakes were both delicious, and mum was very happy to find out that the pancakes were made with rice flour, so she was allowed to eat them. We all enjoyed a fair share of these because they were so delicious!

It was then time to hop back in the car and go to the villa complex (part of Sanur Beach Villas Group) where we would be cooking. It was a gorgeous little place, right down the South end of Sanur so it was very quiet. The complex has a beautiful pool that we were all so tempted to get into because, although it was still reasonably early, we were already so hot! We sat down and ordered our breakfast, which was also included in the cost of the cooking class. The options were limited, but it wasn’t an issue because we knew that we would soon be cooking up a feast! Once we had ordered, it was quite a wait (probably because there were still guests of the complex to be served too) and when it arrived we were all getting quite restless and hot. My banana pancake was worth the wait though.

The villa complex pool

It was then time to begin the cooking. First thing we had to do was prepare the ingredients, which included peeling shallots and garlic and plucking the basil leaves off their stalk. The beauty of this class is that you can do as much or as little as you want, so you could help prepare the ingredients for a little while, then stand back and chat with the other people or take photos. Our first dish was chicken curry. The paste was made from scratch and all crushed up. Irma put all the ingredients in a mortar and pestle (correct me if my spelling is wrong), showed us the technique of crushing them all up then stood back to prepare other ingredients and allow us to have a go. Well, let me just say, she must have very strong forearms. She was so quick at crushing it all up, and we were so slow and really had to concentrate on getting the technique right. It was hard work. Most of us had a go and it didn’t take long for us to feel the burn in our muscles. I don’t know about the rest of you, but for me, holidays is a time to NOT exercise.

Mum and Sam helping with the food preperation

Dad having a go at crushing the ingredients

And I had a go too

Soon the paste was on the stove, mixed in with home-made coconut milk (just grated coconut mixed with water and squeezed through a sieve). The chicken was thrown in and soon it was bubbling away. The smell of all those beautiful herbs and spices just get released when they’re crushed and even more so once they hit the hot oil in the wok. It was amazing. As soon as the dish was cooked, we were allowed to eat it, so our first taste was at about 10:00. We weren’t very hungry but we all ate, and loved, the chicken curry. Our other dishes were beef rendang, spring rolls (this was the only thing on the menu that mum couldn’t eat because of her gluten intolerance), ikan pepes (fish steamed in banana leaves), soto ayam (chicken soup) and a couple of desert dishes. All of them were so amazingly tasty and simply made our mouths drool.

End result of the chicken curry

The delicious beef rendang bubbling away on the stove

Mum being instructed on the fish parcels

Before

After

Our delicious spring rolls

Irma and her assistant were very good instructors and very good cooks. The whole group had a great time and loved all the food. I would definitely recommend this cooking class, no matter your age and no matter if you’re travelling as a family, with friends or by yourself. It’s a fantastic way to meet other people. It’s very reasonably priced, includes your pick-up (a couple of people had been picked up from Legian), breakfast and a little recipe book with the dishes you made. Everything can easily be transferred into cooking in your own kitchen at home. There are so, so many wonderful things I could say about every moment of this cooking class, but I don’t want to spoil the experience for you!

The fantastic Irma

Our little cooking group

Our class finished by about 12:30 and we were back to the hotel for a much needed swim. Our pool was unfortunately being taken over by the people staying opposite us, but nonetheless, we enjoyed it. It was soon for Dad and Sam to head off- they had organised with our favourite water sports guys to go sailing. Dad, in his previous trips to Bali, has become quite friendly with one of the guys called Ronnie, who is based at Segara Beach water-sports (in front of Segara Village Hotel). Because Dad, and us if we choose to do water-sports, always go to him, he always gives us a good price. Sam and Dad have done the sailing before and loved it. You get taken out on a traditional sail boat- the colourful ones with the faces painted on the front- and just get to sit back and enjoy it.

While Dad and Sam went off for their sailing, mum and I relaxed for a bit longer before having a quick swim in the 2^nd, and much cooler pool where mum had a very funny, near drowning experience when she couldn’t stand in the water like she thought she could- she is only little! We had a good chuckle about it before heading back to our rooms to get dressed and go out. Mum needed to change over some more money, for which we went to the same money changer as Sam and I had on our first day- the green money changer across the road from the Respati Hotel. This is also where I saw the best exchange rate at an authorised money changer today. We then popped next door, down the laneway to the Tamukami. We went up to reception, explained that we were booked in for July and asked to see one of the rooms. The receptionist happily obliged and lead us to a room that is identical to then one we are booked in for- an upstairs twin room. It’s quite a spacious room, with a couch inside, private balcony with a table and chairs, and a good bathroom with a separate bath and shower. We are getting more and more excited about staying here. Sorry I didn’t take any photos of the room, you’ll just wait to wait for my July blog! We had a quick stop over in the hotel’s restaurant for a drink and then went on our way to meet up with Dad and Sam after their sailing.

We cut through the Respati Hotel, which does have a sign saying hotel guests only,
but there was no one patrolling this. Because it was still a bit early for Dad and Sam to be finished, we went to Segara Beach to see one of Mum's massage lady friend, Nadia. Mum sat and chatted to the ladies while I had my smudged manicure fixed. It cost me 20,000 RP to just have the colour redone, and this time I managed to not smudge it when I tried to get out my wallet to pay. I am now a happy girl with smudge free fingernails. Mum and I then walked back along the beach path to Inna Sindhu Hotel, where mum had organised to meet up with one of our new friends that we made during the cooking class. I’m sure some of you can guess who it was. We sat down with this new friend for a drink and good conversation. It’s very intriguing to talk to someone who really knows the ins and outs of Sanur. There’s a whole different side of it that we don’t see.

Dad and Sam soon returned from their sailing (and massage afterwards) and Sam and I headed down to Benno’s restaurant to look in the market stalls along the laneway. I took Sam to a funky stall that sells beautiful metal candleholders that come in all shapes, sizes, and animals (I also visited this stall during my last trip, which I blogged about here). I spotted some beautiful metal lanterns that I’m considering going back for before we leave. They also came in different sizes, colours and styles. There was ones you hang from above, from the side and standing ones. I told Mum I would take her down there too because they’re the kind of things she would like.

The stall is so busy, you can barely see what's in there!

Rows and rows of candle holders

Across the lane there is a little fixed price stall that has all things Bali; placemats, beautiful green teacups, teapots, salt and pepper shakers, little metal statues, scarves etc. I bought a photo frame from here that I did manage to somewhat bargain for. The lady was trying to sell it to me for the same price as a bigger frame. I paid 120,000 RP which was still too much. You can get very similar, if not the same, photo frames from a fixed price shop across the road from the Griya Santrain called Permana Gifts (I blogged about Permana Gifts here). I’ll be sticking to this store from now on. I also bought a nice necklace from another stall down the same laneway.

The beautiful picture frames

My market necklace: 50,000 RP

Mum soon came to meet us, and I started making my way back to the hotel by myself, leaving mum and Sam to battle the market ladies. After so many trips to Bali, you come to a point when you just can’t be bothered with them anymore, especially when so many of them still remember your name from 3 years ago. I was told as I was walking along "You beautiful, but you not friendly" by one of the market ladies. Oh well, you can't have it all. It was a very peaceful walk along the beach path; it wasn’t too busy and it was just beautiful to watch the waves crash on the reef. I felt really content at this moment.

I bumped into Dad at reception and we walked back to our rooms together to get ready for another swim. The 3^rd pool out the front of our rooms was once again, way too warm, so it was back to the 2^nd pool. It was much more refreshing, so Sam and Mum came to join us when they returned. The conversation soon turned to dinner. It was dad’s turn to choose and he decided on Cinnamons. Although we were starting to feel a bit hungry, none of us wanted to eat much. Dad ordered a steak diane, mum ordered a chicken stir-fry with rice noodles, Sam had chicken cordon bleu and I decided to stick a bit closer to home tonight and get fish and chips. We were all pretty happy with our food, and the service was really good. It wasn’t the most social of dinners because of the access to free WiFi, but also because we were all feeling pretty tired from our early morning. When the bill came, which amounted to about $50 AUS, Sam and I chipped in our amount and started making our way straight back the hotel.

Mum's stirfry

My fish and chips

Dad's ribs

What had another beautiful, but long day today. I can’t believe I’ve been awake since 5:30 this morning!! I’m looking forward to a good sleep tonight, and tomorrow is our designated shopping day!!

Bali, Day 3: An anti-social breakfast and meals by the sea

Today’s weather: Hot, nice breeze coming through in the early afternoon
Today’s exchange rate: Has gone down. Best I saw was 10,595 at a back-of-the-shop exchanger. Most authorised money exchangers were 9,950

I was awake at about 7:30 today after a good sleep and woke up head ache free from our cocktails at Potato Head. I got up straight away and met Mum and Dad outside enjoying the pool. Mum suggested that we go to Cinnamon’s for breakfast; one of her favourite restaurants. They have free WiFi there and mum wanted to use it to read my blog- all this time I’ve been writing it, she has had no idea what's on it. I agreed and went back into the room to get dressed. I tried to be as quiet as I could so I didn’t wake Sam, but it happened anyway. I told her our plans and she got up and dressed so she could join us. We left the hotel just after 8:00. Cinnamons is maybe 100m North of the Griya Santrain on the main drag and opposite side of the road. They have Legong Dance performed a couple of nights a week by locals girls and children. It’s quite a nice atmosphere and set up.

When we arrived for breakfast, we had the whole place to ourselves. We chose a table directly under a fan because it was already quite hot. Their breakfast menu isn’t huge but it definitely is sufficient. They have Australian breakfast, American breakfast, Continental breakfast, Asian breakfast and a few Al Carte dishes. Myself, dad and Sam all chose the Asian breakfast with a choice of Nasi or Bakmi Goreng. Dad and I both chose Bakmi and Sam chose Nasi. Mum had a continental breakfast which consisted of fruit, toast, juice and coffee or tea. Due to her gluten intolerance, she had brought from home her own loaf of gluten-free bread which she asked the waiter if they could use. He said it was fine and took it to the chef, but he mustn’t have quite understood what she meant because although they toasted her gluten-free bread, they still gave her regular toast as well. Dad ordered himself and I a fried egg on the side as it wasn’t included in the dish.

Bakmi goreng for breakfast

The free WiFi at the restaurant was good, but it meant that we all sat there on our phones and laptops and not talking for most of it, although, it gave mum and dad a chance to catch up on my blog.

Our (anti) social breakfast

After breakfast, we all headed back to the hotel; it was already turning into quite a hot, steamy day. Sam and I were off to the main pool while Mum and Dad were off for a bike ride before it got too much hotter. The hotel seemed to have emptied out a bit more today and we easily found a couple of lounges right next to the pool. I had a quick swim before I lathered on the tanning oil. We’ve found the pools as the Griya to be quite warm, which is ok, but when it gets really hot during the day, all you want to do is jump into a nice refreshing pool. It wasn’t long before I got too hot lying next to the pool and wanted to get back in the water. I walked onto the beach path and just next to the Griya’s restaurant are some showers to rinse off before getting in, so I used them and tried to get as much of my tanning oil as I could, but we all know oil and water just don’t mix. Into the pool I went and up to the swim-up bar to order a mocktail. I ordered a Strawberry Mint Cooler which is what we got as our welcome drink and it was just what I needed: very icy and refreshing.

Before long, Mum and Dad were back from their bike ride. They had ridden along the beach path towards the Hyatt. They discovered where some popular Trip Advisor places were, such as La Playa, Tities Warung and Jack Fish. If you are looking for them, they are along the beach path just South of the Hyatt. It wouldn’t take long to walk to any of them if you were staying at the Hyatt. While dad went for a foot reflexology massage next to the main pool (cost was 86,000RP for a half hour, Dad said he had had better on the street for 40,000), Mum came to join me at the swim-up bar for a smoothie (very yummy smoothies at the Griya!). We decided to catch a taxi down to the Hyatt to go to La Playa for lunch. We all headed back to our rooms for another quick swim in the 3^rd pool then got out of our wet bathers and got ready to go.

Dad and I enjoying the 3rd pool

On the street, mum bargained with a private driver to take us there for 10,000RP. There is a street right next to the Hyatt on the South side that goes right down to the beach, so down we went and La Playa was just on the left, directly on the beach. This is also where the beach lounges are for Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel. We settled into a table and admired the view before ordering our lunch. La Playa has got a good range of Western dishes, including pizza and pasta, and Indonesian and Balinese dishes. Sam and I shared an entrée of lumpia, Sam and Mum both order Nasi Goreng for their mains (with no soy sauce for her gluten intolerance) and Dad and I ordered a share plate called Balinese Rijstafel, which consisted of many different Balinese dishes and was amazingly presented. I love trying new food in Bali so ordering these kinds of dishes is perfect for me and I’m glad that Dad was willing to share it with me. We’re all very happy with our lunch, which cost us about $40 AUS between 4 of us, including drinks.

La Playa from the beach path

The sign and lanterns hanging from the trees

View from our table and the Sanur Paradise Plaza beach lounges

My and Dad's share plate

I'm impressed

Description of our Balinese Rijstafel

After our lunch, we decided to walk further South as far as the Puri Santrian; the sister hotel of the Griya Santrain. As we walked along, we passed Jack Fish and Tities Warung. The Puri looks like a beautiful hotel, with a gorgeous beach front and pools, but I’m not so sure I would enjoy staying there. Once you get past the pools, the hotel is very hot. We continued through the hotel until we got to the street, where Mum once again bargained with a driver. This time she agreed to 20,000RP to take herself, Sam and I to Hardy’s and then drop Dad back at the hotel for a hot stone massage he was booked in for at the hotel’s spa. He ended up cancelling this when he got there because directly next to the spa there was some kind of construction going on that was making a lot of noise- not very relaxing at all.

Jack Fish from the beach; taken by my dad

Titi's from the beach path

Titi's Warung from the beach path; taken by my dad

Mum, Sam and I went into Hardy’s to buy more water and mozzie spray, then crossed over the road to have a look in one of the stores, Andy Risza. This is a favourite store of mine in Sanur that I always buy jewellery from whenever I am here. They also have clothes, but nothing that I liked. I paid 490,000 RP for all the jewellery I bought there.

Inside Andy Risza

Bracelets from Andy Risza: 60,000 RP and 80,000 RP

Necklace from Andy Risza: 90,000 RP

Necklace from Andy Risza: 80,000 RP

Neck lace from Andy Risza: 90,000 RP

Necklace from Andy Risza: 90,000 RP

We then continued on our way back to the hotel for another swim. We found that the 3^rd pool outside our rooms was too warm for a cool down so we went to the middle pool which was much better. Back to the 3^rd pool we went to laze around on the pool lounges. It wasn’t long before I was ready for another swim but this time I just stuck to the 3^rd pool which, seeing as I wasn’t as hot as before, felt more refreshing. We relaxed for a bit longer before we got dressed again and headed to the beach bar for some cocktails. The Griya Santrian has got a beautiful set up on the beach, as I’m sure you’ve seen from my previous photos. We sat down and relaxed at a table before discussing dinner. It was Sam’s turn to choose and she decided on Sand Restaurant, which has recently replaced the Bonsai Café. It has been refurbished beautifully, with a canopy from the surrounding trees shading the beach dining area and lights hanging down. But it was still early by this point, so we decided to brave the markets. Sam and I headed down the market laneway next to Benno’s but the stalls we wanted to look in were closed, and we were told they would be open again tomorrow. I find the ladies down this lane are not as pushy as some in Sanur. So we continued walking North along the beach path to catch up with mum who had gone down Tootsie Lane. On the way, I spotted the famous Sindhu Beach corn cobs being cooked, which I cannot wait to eat again!! This is a beautiful time of day in Sanur, when there are lots of locals down on the beach, splashing around in the water and enjoying themselves. There are now more fixed priced, and enclosed with aircon, shops down Tootsie Lane, which is very pleasing. I guess they’re all trying to keep up with each other. Even the market stalls that are not fixed priced are very quick to agree to “the same price as Tootsie”. Mum got some DVD’s from Shrek (I’ll let you know the quality when we get a chance to watch one) and Sam got a couple of pairs of shorts and a top. We then walked back to the restaurant for dinner.

As I said, this restaurant has been beautifully refurbished, but unfortunately all the beautiful bonsai trees that were out the back have now gone. The area where they use to be is now just a grassed area, so if you’re in Sanur with kids, this would be a good place to come; grass at the back, sand at the front.

We settled into one of the tables on the sand, underneath the trees and get stuck into the menu. Sam orders a cocktail which came in a pineapple, and we ordered an entrée of squid, Sam ordered nasi goreng (she ended up having nasi goreng for breakfast, lunch and dinner and has vowed to not eat it tomorrow), Mum ordered chicken satay, Dad; seafood pad thai and I ordered beef rendang. All meals were very yummy. My beef rendang was neither better nor as good as Mona Lisa’s; it was different but I still really enjoyed it. They also have WiFi here that the waiter gave me the password for, but it was not advertised. By 7:30 we had finished dinner and started making our way back to the hotel.

Beautiful canopy and lights at Sand

Sam's pineapple cocktail

Dad's seafood pad thai

My rendang

Mum's satay

We were all ready for an early night when we got back, because tomorrow morning, bright and early, we’ve got our Bamboo Shoots cooking class. I promise to wake up early to watch the sunrise!

Bali, Day 2: Getting lost, cocktails and a side of sunset

Today’s weather: Hot and sunny, not as humid as yesterday
Today’s exchange rate: 10,050 RP per AUS $ at most authorised money changers

I woke up at about 5:30 today, intending to get up and watch the sunrise. In the end, I decided against it, not wanting to wake up Sam or my parents. Instead I decided I’ll wait until Thursday when we have to get up early anyway for our Bamboo Shoots cooking class. I fell back into a light sleep until 7:30 when Mum and Dad were heading out to Mona Lisa for breakfast. Mum then told me about how her and Dad were up at 5:30 and went to watch the sunrise. Oh well, I get it next time.

I jumped in the shower and got dressed for the morning and soon Sam decides to get up as well. We decide to go to Benno’s for breakfast as I have read some good things about it on Trip Advisor. On the way, we grabbed some fresh pool towels and threw them on a couple of lounges on the beach front. I’m not normally one of those people that reserve the lounges and doesn’t show up for hours, but I figured, everyone else was doing it and if I didn’t, we wouldn’t have much of a chance of getting one.

This is a bit embarrassing to admit, but I’ve lost my bearings a bit staying at the Griya Santrian. Not in the way that I don’t know where I am, but that I can not remember what is to the left and what is to the right when you walk along the beach. When I was staying at Segara Village last year, it was easy; you would just always walk right. So Sam and I walk out onto the beach path and go left- the right way. We are walking along for a bit before I think “Surely we should have gotten there by now. It must be in the other direction”. We walked as far as the new Sand Restaurant (the old Bonsai Café, which looks very nice by the way) before I voiced my concerns to Sam. I’ve been to Bali a couple more times than she has, so I was sure I was right, but she was sure we were going the right way. Nevertheless, we turned around and started walking South again, back past the Griya. Still no Benno’s. It was in the other direction and if we had just kept on walking another 50 metres or so, we would have reached it. Good one Anna. So we just gave up all together and decided to meet up with Mum and Dad at Mona Lisa for breakfast. We were walking the Griya drive way and we saw them walking back towards the hotel. Well, they were done with breakfast. Mum enjoyed her gluten-free breakfast which included French toast made with her own gluten-free bread, fruit and juice and cost her about $6 AUS.

Sam and I continued on our way to breakfast; we had then decided to go to The Porch. We chose a spot under a fan and got stuck into the breakfast menu. Dad had recommended The Porch’s egg benedict so Sam decided on that, and I decided on “Bon’s Big Hash Stack” which consisted of toast, mushrooms, bacons, hashbrowns, tomato, spinach all topped with a poached egg and Caesar dressing. Both meals were very yummy and cost about $22 AUS between us.

 My hash stack

Sam's benedict

After breakfast, we continued walking South along the main drag to go to Matande Spa for manicures, pedicures and eyelash extensions, but stopped on the way to buy a couple of hats from a market stall. At first, the girl said 140,000RP for both. I say 100,000. I learnt my bartering skills from my best friend when we came together last year, and begin to walk away. 5 steps later, the price of 100,000 RP is agreed to. We handed over our money and continued on our way. We were in Matande for about 2 hours and as soon as I reached into my bag to get my wallet, I smudged my nails. I couldn’t be bothered sitting there for another 2 hours waiting for them to be fixed and dried so I didn't tell the girl. In Australia, I would be annoyed about it, but in Bali, where manicures cost all of about $4 AUS, it’s not such a big deal. We walked out of there with Sam happy with everything and me happy with my toes and eyelashes.

Sam getting her eyelashes and nails done

New toes

We headed back to our room to get into our bathers and go make some use of our reserved pool lounges. By this point I was worried someone had taken our towels off and was using the lounges for themselves, but they were still available when we arrived. We lathered on our tanning oil and both laid back and read our books. It didn’t take long for us be hot enough to have a swim and the ocean was just tempting us everytime we looked at it. So into the ocean it was. The water was just amazing, but quite warm. We happy waded around for a bit, not feeling as cooled down as we hoped, before heading back up to our lounges. It wasn’t easy getting out of the water though, with our feet sinking into the sand with every step we took. It was like the ocean was trying to keep us as prisoners! But we escaped and once again got comfy on our lounges.

The view from the comfort of my lounge

We were starting to feel pangs of hunger by this time so at 1:00, when we were once again nice and dry, we started walking North along the beach path for lunch. We stopped by Benno’s quickly (yes, we did end up finding it again) to say hi to Mum and Dad who were having lunch then continued on our way. We had decided on Japanese at Minami; one of the Segara Village restaurants. We sat down and began looking through the menu. I had eaten here before, and loved it, but both Sam and I found the menu quite confusing and difficult to actually understand what food was on offer. We both managed to find some things though; I ordered salmon sashimi and prawn tempura and Sam ordered a tapas dish made up of karage chicken, fried gyoza’s and some kind of pork slices, plus chicken sushi. We both found the service quite slow here, which was disappointing, but our food was almost worth the wait. It was good, nothing amazing, but beautifully presented. The bill came to just over $40 AUS, which we thought was a bit pricey.

Sam's Japanese tapas

My beautiful salmon sashimi

Prawn tempura

Chicken sushi

I love prawn tempura

We started walking back to the hotel and noticed a small turtle conservation set-up just past Tootsie Lane while heading South. We stopped for a look and surely enough, in the 4 little pools that were set up, there was lots and lots of baby turtles. The smallest ones were no bigger than the size of my palm, the biggest ones, no bigger than my whole hand. The sign read that the turtles were being protected and looked after until they were strong enough to survive in the ocean. My fingers are crossed that that is what is really happening. If anyone knows anymore about this, I would love to hear about it.

UPDATE: I have since been reassured by a Sanur local that these turtles are truely being looked after and any donations do go towards the conservation.

The turtle conservation sign

The tiny little baby turtles

The slightly bigger but still very small baby turtles

We continued on our way back to the hotel, stopping briefly to get our things off the pool lounges and headed towards our room at the back of the hotel to have a swim in the 3^rd pool. Before getting in, I noticed a bit of pain in my feet and had to get a pair of tweezers off mum to pull a little sharp bit of shell from my foot. This is already the 2^nd time this has happened, so people, do be careful. After a nice swim, I got comfortable on one of the lounges. For those that were wondering, this is when I have the time to write my blog. I’m quite a restless person, and just sitting on a pool lounging doing nothing bores me quite quickly, so writing my blog keeps me still for a while.

Dad, mum and Sam enjoying the pool outside our rooms

At 3:30, Sam and I retreated to our room to get ready for an evening at Potato Head. I had made a booking about 3 weeks ago, and if you’re planning on going, I would always recommend booking ahead. You never know if there’s going to be a long line when you arrive, or no line at all. It took us about an hour in a taxi to get to Potato Head, mostly due to the construction of the new tunnel. The traffic heading into this was pretty bad and very slow. The ride cost us just under 110,000 RP.

Driving down the driveway to Potato Head always excites me; it’s very architecturally impressive with all the window shutters. When we pull up, I was quite happy to see no line. So we walked straight in and were shown our table, but not before our names were put down for a daybed by the pool (you’re not able to reserve daybeds). There is currently construction going on next door to Potato Head, but we barely noticed this, except for the odd bangs here and there. For the most part, this was drowned out by the music. To start with, we order 2 Millionaire Martini’s; one of my favourites. I definitely recommend this cocktail to anyone planning on going to Potato Head. After our first cocktail, we ask to move to one of the little tables in front of the grass so we can better enjoy the view, but I instantly regretted this decision when I sat down and felt the sun beaming down on me. For 5:30 in the evening, it was still very, very hot and it was not long before Sam and I are suffering, not just from Sweaty Upper Lip Syndrome, but also Sweat Dripping Down Our Back’s Syndrome. Not enjoyable. We ask for some towels so we can go cool down in the pool. If you have a daybed, you do not have to pay extra for the towels (to the best of my knowledge) but seeing as we had not yet acquired one, we did have to pay. The towels are 42,000 RP each, which can just get put on your bill. So off with the dresses and down to the pool we went. Potato Head’s pool is an infinity pool and quite large, with a swim-up bar. We swam around for a bit and once we spotted that our next cocktails had arrived at our table, I got out to get them. Cocktails in the pool overlooking the sun set: beautiful way to spend the evening.

Potato Head from the entrance

Millionaire Martini's

Watching the waves crash on the shore

The beautiful sunset over the beach

By the time we got out, it about 6:30 and we still didn’t have a daybed by the pool. We ordered some chips to nibble on while we waited and virtually as soon as they arrived, one of the girls came to tell us that a daybed was ready for us. The daybeds easily seat 4 people, more if you squish up, but Sam and I had it all to ourselves. We ordered some food; seared beef, cumin seared prawns and a tasting plate to share between us. I’ve heard people say that Potato Head is quite expensive, and for Bali, it is a little bit, but it’s still nothing compared to what you’d pay for the same thing in Australia. I have to admit, I was a little bit disappointed with the food this time around. They have changed the menu since my last visit and the food just didn’t appeal to me as much. We still enjoyed our dinner, and back to the pool we went. The sun is down by this time, so it is much cooler and before long I was starting to feel a bit cold in the water so I hop out and get wrapped up in one of our towels. Sam ordered another cocktail, and we both just sat back and relaxed. When Sam had finished her cocktail, I asked one of the waiters for the bill, which comes to about 1,400,000 RP. It may seem like a lot, but that was for 5 cocktails, 4 dishes of food and a bottle of water. As I said before, you would pay a lot more in Australia.

Seared beef

Our share plate

Cumin seared prawns

We left Potato Head with full bellies and smiles on our faces. There is a transport desk out the front of the beach club, which had a set rate of 130,000 RP back to Sanur, but we knew we could get a taxi for cheaper, so walk back up the drive way to get one. The trip back is much faster, but costs about the same.

We bumped into Mum on our way back to our room and I’m sure she was pleased to see us in a sober state. I ask her questions about her and Dad's dinner (for the purpose of the blog of course, not because I am genuinely interested). They went back to Benno’s for dinner and mum enjoyed a grilled tuna steak with chips, which she just assumed was gluten-free. We walked back to our rooms together and said our goodnights.

As I write this, I can hear the bang of fireworks being set off on the beach. I do love Sanur.