On our holiday we did a fair bit of shopping. Mainly shopped at the surf shops. Most billabong shops had 50% off certain items, these were sometimes limited but usually we were able to find a bargin.
Did a trip to Makro. Brought a case of beer, deposit 33,000rph for the crate. Brought heaps of skin care for the kids and myself. Hubby brought up on diesel treatment (for his motorhome)and car accessories.
Tried to spread our money around to different market stalls when buying TShirts, shorts etc. Hubby usually likes to buy wood items but he was relatively quiet this trip. His main concern was the weight as he went a little overboard in Makro.
Found the increase in taxi fares quiet significant compared to last year. On average prices 50% more than November 04. Still cheap compared by australian prices.
Went into denpasar for a afternoon. Girlfriend wanted some gold cubix ziconian earings so went to the gold street. So much to choose from. From memory I think she paid about A$95. Got some makeup from Matahari's. Due to my size (generous size 14) not many clothes to fit me at the department stores. Shoes have always been a bit of a favourite but did'nt see anything that really took my eye. I found the stock in the shops was'nt as good as it was last year, the variety just did'nt seem to be there. Amazingly the staff seemed to out number the customers by about 10 to 1.
My youngest has acrylic nails and needed them refilled. Did a quick search on the forum and found the Melasti Spa does them. Cost 183,500rph (includes 21% tax, while I waited had a nice facial advertised for 1/2 price 75,000rph plus 21% tax. Facial lasted 1 hour 20 minutes - had Balla and it was excellent. Would certainly recommend as a must do.
From studying the forum I made a list of 15 resturants I wanted to visit. During our stay we visited 9 of them. Had great meals all of them. Just down the road from our hotel is a new resturant that has only been open for 7 weeks. It's name is Sana and is owned by an Australian couple. Brian (the owner) is a delight to talk to. the menu is simple but by international standards. The decor is simple but really nice, looks very classy. If you just stay for drinks you get complimentry nuts, if you order you get a plate of fresh bread and cheese sticks. After your meal you get a complimentry choclate liquore (20% alcohol. The service is exceptional. One night they had an influx of guests and were run off their feet. Needles to say the table was not set up when we arrived but soon was, and amazingly we were expecting delays in our food order but we did'nt have to wait long at all. Beer is very cold which helps when deciding whether to stay awhile.
Popped into the Indo National, at times the resturant did'nt look all that busy, during the day it was often deserted as like the streets. Milton and Kerry are hoping to move into the new resturant in Padma Street by Australia day.
Part 4 to follow, any questions please ask