After a long and uneventful flight from London I arrived in Bali at 11.45am on 7th March to a welcome of torrential rain. For any other UK's interested I paid approx £475.00 for an economy return.Going through VOA was simple and quick and from leaving the plane to getting into transport was only 15 minutes.Whilst being driven through the crazy , busy and flooded streets of Kuta I wondered if I had made the right decision to return to Bali for my 4th trip in three years !! The following two days saw Bali being bathed in hot sunshine and so those early pessimistic thoughts were dispelled as I wallowed in The Indian Ocean. I arrived at Sri Ratu Hotel to a warm welcome - Sri Ratu being a small hotel set in a quiet location in Legian but within a stones throw of the beach and within easy striking distance of bars,shops and restaurants. For my budget 'A'room (with A/C)I paid 150,000 RP nightly which included a modest but well prepared breakfast.I like Sri Ratu - they know me and I know them. After a quick shower and unpack (nothing much to unpack as I had only travelled with hand luggage this time ) it was time to head out into the streets which had by now almost dried up.
My first port of call was Warung Bamboo Corner, a great little bar on Padma Utara which provided me with two large Arak and tonics in quick succession.After this it was time to go along to see 'who's doin who at Garden View '. Now Garden View Cottages is where, if you are lucky, you might get a glimpse of a Forum Celebrity - namely Cracker and Rae,Cheza and Dave, Jim Beam ( oops sorry I meant Roo Ted !! )Jonny D or even Fatbastard.Alas - none are in residence - they must be on tour elsewhere. With Sammy and Suzie packing up early because of the rain and impending Nypei I then popped along to Indo-National to say hi to Kerry and Milton. After 2.5 years of 7 day weeks and long hours I had suspected that they both might be a little jaded and not quite so enthusiastic. However I was happily proved wrong as they both look fit,youthful and are as energetic as ever. They genuinely get a real buzz in seeing their customers enjoying a meal and a great night out in their restaurant in Garlic Lane. Good for them I say - great people.After a quick meal of mie goreng ( fried egg on top of course ) at Warung Yogya on Padma Utara it was time for an early night.Yogya is a very popular little indonesian cafe serving simple but well cooked food. No chance of contracting Bali Belly here.11,000 RP for most meals.
Needless to say after a flight from one side of the world to the other travelling through different time zones I awoke very early and decided to go down to the local market on the corner of JL Legian and Melasti easily recognisable by the sickly green coloured corrugated fencing around it. My mission was to get a supply of Rambutan, the fruit of all fruits in my opinion which is delicious to eat as well as having those magical properties which comfortably clears out ones system !!!!I offered 5000Rp to the fruit lady and 1000RP for good luck and was given in return a large bag full of this wonderful fruit.At 6.00am no tourists in sight but choc-a-block with locals .If you visit this market ( open from 4.30am )do buy something straight away as you seem to get respect from the stallholders when carrying a bag of something or other.I also found the cake stall and purchased a few fancies at 500 Rp each. There is also an interesting Muslim meat stall in one of the corners. One word of caution, however, -Kuta street dogs. At Midday they are normally dead to the world and happily dozing. At 5 or 6am they are fully awake,alert and in hunting mood so be careful and give them a wide berth without making eye contact.I was pleased to see the beaches at the Legian end much cleaner than the year before and it was a pleasure to swim in the warm,clear sea. Incidentally the price for a sunbed and umbrella was always 20,000 for a couple of hours, well thats I always handed the beach seller and he seemed happy.One of the nicest pleasures on the beach and a very simple one at that is having a pineapple peeled in front of you. Juicy Lucy, a favourite pinapple girl of mine spotted me and remembered me from previous visits. How can you resist ? Well I can't. She sits next to you and with amazing and skilful dexterity trims,peels and segments this fabulous fruit before your eyes. I doubt if any leading chef over here could match her skill and whats more she is delighted with the 6000RP that is offered.
That evening I was treated to a double whammy on the beach. I popped down at about 6.15pm to take in the sunset which was guaranteed to be a good one. Indeed it was - the best I have ever witnessed on Kuta beach and then I spotted a procession coming towards me from roughly The Melasti Beach Resort. Well there must have been at least 1000 local Balinese dressed in all their finery carrying banners,chanting to a throbbing drumbeat - an amazing caravan of colour that passed before me. There were few tourists about and I was really priveliged to witness such a spectacle- truly awesome.
A few observations worth noting : Bali was definitely quieter than the same time last year. Indo-National was always pretty busy as was Warung Yogya and Rama Gardens Restaurant. Posers Bar on the corner of Padma and Utara was pretty much packed at lunchtimes and evenings. Billy's and Legends were pretty quiet but Bali Rock and Peanuts always seemed quite busy.Apache bar situated just past the Memorial site was a great little place for people watching in a very busy section of JL Legian. Well my first few days in Bali in Legian were coming to a close and I was looking forward to the next day when I could enjoy the contrast of sleepy Sanur. More to come a little later if you are not too bored.