17 Feb
It's that time again; time to fill our bellies with some of Bali's finest breakfast treats. Not sure if I have previously mentioned but there was a good selection of hot and cold, Indonesian and Western food and juices, hot tea and coffee to wash down the food bits with or for simply sipping and enjoying in their own right. I love eating breakfast in Bali, not something I indulge in back home besides a quick piece of toast or some yoghurt but the choice whilst on holiday is just wonderful. I'm not a sweets kind of person so opted for the hot foods with a bit of fruit to freshen things up. Oddly enough I also indulged in a little bit of cheese for breakfast, something I would find a little strange to partake in at home. Mmmmm, wish I was there now deciding what to choose!
We hit the sunbeds again for a bit of sun and a relaxing read, got a bit hot and headed for the pool to bring our temperatures down a little - only to bring them back up, to a comfortable level, because we indulged in our first Bali hot stone massage - ah, it was really, really good - bliss!! This time we went to Ayuning Massage which is left out of NB and on the right-hand side of the road, nearly opposite Oky Spa. We preferred this one in the immediate NB vicinity, good prices and the staff seemed friendly. Hot stone massage went for 1.5 hours and cost 120,000 - other prices include 1hr massage starting from 50,000, manicure 50,000, 1.5hr body scrub 150,000 and they have some great packages starting from 80,000 for 1.5hrs to 300,000 for 3hrs - the 3hr one includes a foot bath, massage, scrub, facial, pedicure, flower bath and drink - all for roughly $30 - awesome!
After our hot stone massage we slipped our way back to the sunbeds and oops, what happened, the rest of the day disappeared! We must have chilled out way too much because the next thing we know it's time for dinner. Yes, the afternoon got away from us but it was some well-deserved relaxation time and hey, we needed a good dose of sun. Some of my favourite times in Bali are our chill sessions, we make our own cocktails or have a couple of beers whilst nibbling on chips, peanuts and whatnot and either chatting or reading - mm hm, I would love to be doing that right now!!!
NB had a night market on so before we began our walk to dinner I had a little squiz at what was on offer and of course I bought a few things - I just love bargaining, it's so much fun! I did love how NB seemed to have different things on, like dance shows, craft lessons, massage lessons, etc, really does give you a good all round feeling to know they do this, even if you don't join in - I don't know, it just adds to the atmosphere.
Okay, off we went to dinner and this night I wanted to go to Tao. It was a little dark out already and I wasn't really sure where we were going but I did know we were heading in the right direction. We were walking, walking, walking and I was thinking it mustn't be much further. More walking, walking, walking and we decided to ask some locals if we were close and my goodness, we were advised we had walked right on past it! Now how on earth did that happen?! Turns out we didn't walk that far past it and the signage wasn't the best, or at least I wasn't looking for it in the right place, so no matter, we got to see a little more of Tanjung Benoa :o) We entered, were seated at a table with a lovely outlook to the water - not that we could see too much because it was dark but we could see enough to appreciate what a lovely location it was. What's that?! Oh dear, I believe my stomach was rumbling - we had skipped lunch and I guess that's what we get for having a little bit of a late start to the day, coupled with a most relaxing time being massaged and enjoying our sunbeds. No probs, this happens regularly when we're in Bali - breakfast is quite filling and come lunchtime if we don't want anything too heavy we'll share a meal or just have some nibbles. And wow, I'm really getting off track here!!
Back to it - dinner was nice and I had a yummo cocktail with a butterfly made out of watermelon on the rim of the glass. Prices were okay given this is a little bit more upmarket than the bulk of the restaurants down the road. I do think it lacked a little atmosphere, maybe because it wasn't a busy night, I don't know. Maybe because it is supposed to be a little more upmarket and when we go to Bali we don't tend to ‘do' that side of things. I really can't complain; it was a good experience, just a different experience.
Before I sign off on this post I went back through my brochures and the first spa we visited where I had my French nails done is called Rejuvenate Spa & Salon - prices include manicure 80,000, French polish 70,000, facials start from 150,000, 1.5hr body scrub and flower bath 250,000 and massages range from 85,000 to 295,000. I got chatting with another lady and it seemed like she was a regular with this spa and very happy with its service. It really was a great little spa and seemed quite professional. I guess I was just too lazy to walk the extra distance in the end and so kept going back to Ayuning :o)