Wednesday
Another nice breakfast and leisurely morning spent lazing around the pool. I have two days of dry to catch up on which takes most of the morning. We decide to wander down towards Sanur for lunch and decide on the way that we will try the Bonsai again. Lo and behold who should be sitting out the front but Libby and Andrew so we join them for a few Bintang's before eating. They have already had lunch and said that the Bonsai salad was very nice but this time we want to try something a bit more substantial. I order chicken with cashew nuts and vegies and Glenn has bakmi goreng. Both meals are very nice and the bill comes to Rp 106000, which includes two large Bintangs.
After lunch we wander down to Tootsies as Libby owes her a few thousand rupiah that she was short yesterday and I wouldn't mind seeing what she has in stock at the moment. Of course it's the usual: 'you come look my shop, business very quiet, look my shop after you go Tootsies', etc etc. We haven't changed any money yet today and are running a bit short, so I can only buy a 'Billabong' type denim skirt (Rp 60,000) and knee length denim 'Roxy' type shorts.(I think they were Rp 75,000) I will be back another time to buy some t shirts. All of the surf type clothing etc is out on display on the shelves this time.
It is very quiet in the markets and everyone is desperate for business. It would be nice to buy something from every market stall but not possible. When we come back I will buy from stalls other than Tootsies, even though they often can't sell for as little as her. We leave lots of disappointed shop owners behind.
There are a lot more tourists around than when I was here in January this year, and in October last year, but still a far cry from my visit in March last year. In March the streets were packed, with tourist numbers larger than ever, even more than pre the first bombing. It really saddens me to see how things are now, the people are really suffering.
As we wander back along the beach we are in big trouble because the sellers along the way can see that I have purchased something when I had said that we were only going for lunch. I must remember to bring the back pack next time!! Lol. There is no point trying to explain that I had no intention of buying anything when I saw them earlier.
There is a group of boys about to launch a huge kite so we sit on the beach to watch the launching. I think the most difficult and time consuming part of the venture is untangling the twine. Three boys walk way out into the water.. the tide is low.. once they are far enough out the kite is released and off it soars, just like that, easy peasy. No running, no huge effort.
It's a beautiful kite with a golden dragon head and a long long stripped red and black tail, ending in white. I have never seen such a huge kite. Billy tells me later when we are talking about it that it's a village owned kite, and is used for competition. They are worth lots of rupiah.
Once it's as high as it will go we continue the wander home and spend an hour reading around the pool before heading off to meet the others at Corridor. After some cocktails and Bintang's we walk down to the Ananda restaurant on the beach for dinner. It's very basic but the food is nice and it's cheap. It's particularly nice to be away from the traffic noise. The only thing we can hear here is the sound of the water. I had a fisherman's plate and Glenn had curried chicken. There wasn't a huge amount of seafood but it was tasty and fresh and more than enough considering the large breakfast and lunch I had already consumed. The chook curry was good. What I didn't like was the wine. I had a glass of one of the white Hatten wines and found it really strong tasting. I prefer a more subtle wine. Being the piggy that I am, I drank it anyway, but in future I'll be sticking to the cocktails or Bintangs. The total of the bill with meals, including three large Bintang's and the glass of wine was Rp 102000.
Andrew invited us to have a look at the Paradise Plaza where they are staying. It's pretty much the opposite extreme to our little Sri Phala. It is huge. The pool is beautiful and there are all sorts of function rooms, restaurants, a gym and a spa. Their room is right at the back, they seem to be totally on their own. Glenn teases them about the hotel knowing about their reputation and putting them far away from anyone else. The room is nice and bright at night, normal hotel size, but there is no balcony. The window is a bit like a bay window but it doesn't open.
When we get home it's about 11pm and the boys that work in the hotel are sitting around playing cards. They only seem to have one female staff member here, and we only saw her on the first night when we had dinner in the restaurant. I've got to know most the staff now and it's nice to be greeted with a cheery :'Hello Peta, good evening' as we pass them.
We wish them all Selemat Malam and climb the stairs to our lovely room and hit the sack.