Hi again...I think i am slowly getting over the jetlag, soo cold here in nz compared to bali! I think my husbands havin withdrawals from the Bintang!
After having a great night sleep in a king size bed we headed off to breakfast at santika....they have a great buffet for breakfast, you dont know where to start! Omelettes are made fresh while you wait.
After brekkie we took our first step out into the world of Kuta to try a little bartering. A little became a lot and when you arent used to it it leaves you with a bit of a headache. Didnt take us long to learn tedak, mahal which is no and exspensive! The smells of incense and herbs and spices just totally surround you. We felt very safe in Kuta, there was security at the front doors of matahari, the stadium bar, and quite a few other restaurants which we didnt mind at all when they wanted to search our bag. We had two bracelets made up out of australian coins and also one ring while we sat and had lunch at the stadium bar. On my second day at santika hotel i sat on the beach and had my hair braided and my fingernails painted...what an interesting experience....one lady did my hair, her name was lilian and another lady did my nails...at the same time a guy called robin hood was trying to sell me watches, a lady called lilian big bum sold me sarongs, another guy michael was also trying to sell me sunglasses. In the end i think there were about ten people trying to sell me something! In the end we ended up buying something from most of them! That night we had a pleasant dinner at the sunset restaurant which was right on the beach. We never ate any western food while in bali only indo food, my only regret is i didnt do a cooking course so i could cook it when i got back home! We stayed in Tuban/kuta for three days, three days of shopping and swimming and drinking and eating! One of the pools at santika had a swim up bar which was great. A great way to cool off after a hard day of shopping and bartering. After three days in tuban we went up to Ubud which I will continue writing in the next day or so....there was soo much to experience in bali and i feel theres not enough words to describe the wonderful time we had while in bali...