Day 3, Thu 18th Nov
For those unfamiliar with my family, we are:
Me/Dad/Pete (42)
Mum/Wife/Julie (36)
Jamie (9...boy)
Ky (5...boy)
Tara (5...girl) yes, twins.
This was our first real trip to Bali.
Another restless night in the ‘bigpete' kiddy suite. Ky woke early again (5:30 this time); got him to snooze till about 6 am. When he turned on the playstation, it woke Tara.(ughhh... kids who get woken early are no fun for the day!!) They played almost quietly while I had coffee on the balcony (already warm out there, despite being only about 7 am). Jamie woke at 7:15, and when Julie got back from the gym (yes, early at the gym almost every morning) we all got showered and headed off to brekky.
Today we (I) decided to go outside of the Dynasty and try brekky elsewhere. We walked up to the Green Garden just up the road, and got seated. The kids had a look at the buffet offerings, but turned their noses up. Not much they could see that they would eat (fussy little buggers!) Walked out apologetically (I hate doing that!) and went up the road to try Daddy's. This time it wasn't a buffet, so we all just ordered off the menu. Not knowing the place, we ordered waaaayyy too much food.
It was good (not great), but ended up costing us more than our buffet at Dynasty. All up, it was around 230,000 rp.
Headed back to our rooms to change, grab our gear, and walk up towards Waterbom park. We had pre-paid this through the Dynasty; it went on our bill... cost was 480,000 for the family about $65 AUS.
Stopped on the way at the Kodak money changer, about three doors up from the Dynasty. I had been made well aware of the tricks some money changers use, from many posts on the forum (thanks again!). So when the girl handed over my money, I counted it carefully in front of her; taking care to keep everything visible on top of the counter. I pointed out that it was 20,000 rp short; she quickly scooped the cash back over to her side so it fell into her bench. I saw her add another 20,000 note into the mix, so when she counted it out again, it was right. 'they must have been stuck together' she explained... hmmm.. nice try. I just smiled and said thank you, and left with a smile on my face. No fooling this little black duck! I was a bit disappointed they would try this at a Kodak shop, though, since they seem to have a better reputation than most.
Anyway, kept walking up to Waterbom park ('no thanks' about every ten feet!), got inside, and hired towels and a locker. We didn't bother about a hut (cabana) since we planned to be ‘in action' most of the time there. I forget exactly, but I think it was about $1 each to hire the towels (with quite a large deposit which you get when you return the towels) and about the same for a small locker.
We plonked our stuff on some sun lounges near the kiddies pool, (no bother about reserving spots... no one around!) and jumped in the pools.
For anyone who hasn't been to Waterbom, it is a MUST. We didn't stop all day. They have a central tower (yes, there's lots of steps... big deal. If you want to go down, you have to go up. I wish some people would get over it!! There weren't many people at the park at all, but how many times did I hear 'I wish they had an elevator'... UUUGGHHHH!!) All of the slides (apart from one or two little kiddies ones) come off this central tower. So you get well and truly used to going up it! There are slides you do on a boogie board; slides you just do on your bottom or back, and other slides you do on a rubber tube. They also have figure 8 shaped ‘double doughnuts' so two can go down at once... these were the most fun!
Anyway; we didn't have to wait for anything, all day. Sadly, not enough people there to form any queues. We paused for lunch which we ate by the kiddies pool. Had jaffles,chips and drinks; for the five of us it was about 200,000rp ($28) You could also buy icecreams at a little stall near the kiddies pool... soft serve chocolate, vanilla, or a mix of both, for (I think) 5,000rp. (It was definitely less than $1 aus). Great value on a hot day!
After lunch I took a break from the fun to videotape and photograph the family, then hit the slides again. After another hour or so, we were all ‘slid' out, and retired to the kiddy pool for some more sedate fun. There is like a jungle gym with rope ladders, bridges, tube slides, water spouts and water cannons everywhere, and the water is only about shin-deep, so great for the littlies. There is also a giant bucket on the very top, which slowly fills with water. Every 3-4 mins it fills up and tips over... apparently 1200 litres of water. You can stand right under it, and man, it hits you hard!!
Walked back home at about 4:30pm, stopped in to change another $100 at the Kodak (no ‘mistake' this time!) and hit the Dynasty pool just as they rung the 5:00 pm bell which welcomed ‘happy hour' YAY! Cheap Binnies! (we never went crazy, but we were consistent! Loved our large Binnie or two at happy hour!)
Taught the kids how to play table tennis; an interesting experience after a few beers for me, and with the two little ones barely able to see above the table!
Swam, used the Dynasty water slide (yes, grown ups can use it, too! Felt a little tame after Waterbom, though) and played table tennis till dinner.
Had a light dinner by the pool tonight. On this occasion, it wasn't a buffet, so we just ordered off the menu. Pizza, pasta, fish and chips all around; milkshakes and spiders for the kids, Binnies for me and cocktails for Julie (try to get them ordered before the bell rings again at 7pm to end happy hour!) all up came to 218,000rp (just under $30 AUS)
After dinner, it was straight to bed for the kids (8:00), and a bit of senseless channel flicking for us until we went under about 10:30 pm.
Tomorrow... shopping, and dinner at Pantai
Cheers!