Just remember, if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, then it's a duck......
Brekky at La Monde. It was O.K. Felt sorry for the poor buggars. Here they were mopping their white tiles and in we walk covered in black mud from the street. Who buys white tiles in Bali? Everyone by the looks of it.
We headed out with Raceng and left Cass and Shayne by the pool. We didn't really have a plan and I think it showed. We pretty much left it up to Raceng for the first stop. We ended up at Bali Collection in Nusa Dua.
Nusa Dua is not our scene but it's still worth a look. Bali Collection is pretty flash and similar in many ways to Centro and Carrefore. We travel on a budget so normally avoid this sort of place but don't let fear stop you. We hovered around the discount bins and found heaps of bargains.
Our four year old is fully kitted out with ¾ length Dora The Explorer pants and jeans. They were only $3AU and the ridgy didge article.
The wife got two for the price of one Giordano tees for 150.000rph and I let her talk me into buy two get one free body lotions.
We ducked into the Bualu Markets which run either side of the road leading to Nusa Dua. They're pretty good and quiet peaceful. The haggling is still enjoyable but no one tries to drag you into their shop. The prices are just the same as Melasti Street Markets and probably better than Kuta.
The wife got some nice roxy gear (collared shirts) for 25000rph each.
This is all sounding very sedate isn't it....We needed a sedate day but it came with a chuckle or two.
We wanted to go to the Bali Spa Factory, well the wife wanted to go, I wanted to watch dancing girls and get drunk but that was for the Phuket trip.....
Raceng did some research and found the Spa Factory was near-by so we headed there from the markets.
It's down a small laneway off JL Toya Ning. The web site is www.spafactorybali.com and email sales@spafactorybali.com phone: 62 361 701439.
The range is huge and all in a very small shop. Raceng thought it was funny that they had shelves hanging from the roof by wire rope.....what doesn't everyone have that?
Of course the boss tried every crème, poultice and concoction. Be careful when you squeeze the bottles to have a whiff. I have the softest nose in Bali.
There are little packs with lotion, shampoo, conditioner and something else that hasn't got a hope in hell of making me beautiful, for only $7AU. We bought a stack and yes that's what you're all getting for christmas.......
There are some bigger packs and for some reason they are priced in American dollars and not as cheap 128.000rph ($20ishAU). Bought a hand crème for the mother outlaw and again that was in US$ which worked out to be less than $10AU because of our exchange rate. Had to make up for the three headed comment yesterday.....
I think Raceng politely called me a poof when we got back in the car. He turned to me with a smile on his face and said, 'You smell nice. Like you've just been in a spa'. I think he was having a go at me but how could you hate a guy who's seen your bruises from paint balling, and I'm not talking about the ones on my leg......
We headed over to Carrefore for a feed. We went to Solaria which is a two storey restaurant near the front entrance. It's a pretty interesting place. It's like eating in your lounge room. You do your own order. The girls give you an order form which doubles as your menu and you tick what and how many you want.
I had the smoked chicken fried rice 17500rph and some really yummy raspberry juice. Remember what I said about the duck? Take note. If it looks like chili sauce and smells like chili sauce then it's probably chili sauce. Better yet it's probably stinking hot chili sauce that's going to burn the roof off you mouth and make you wish you ordered the raspberry juice with dry ice.....
I like chili sauce and have a pretty good tolerance for spicy food but I should have seen the warning signs. There were two bottles of chili sauce on the table. If you're in an Asian country NEVER try the one that's half empty. It's half empty for a reason.
We popped into the QuikSilver shop on the second floor. Despite it being a licensed shop the prices were pretty good. The wife bought a roxy hand bag for 115000rph and I bought two shirts for around 265000rph each (less than $40.00 and half the price of Perth).
Glad we didn't go too silly here.......read on.......especially if you're in Bali now and smaller than a men's XL.
We headed towards Kuta and stopped at the Animale factory outlet. The cloths here are nice but a little too mature for the wife. Let's face it, anyone who can giggle at poo jokes and monkeys spitting on me isn't mature enough to wear Animale yet. The cloths are nice and well priced. You can buy 12 pairs of shoes there for $78US as long as you buy the same colour (what's with that?).
We wanted to go to the Rusty Factory outlet but didn't quite make it. I spotted a sign just near the Bali Bakery saying a sale started today for Quiksilver and Roxy up to 90% off......
Needless to say that got our attention. What a mistake that was. Why are my powers of observation so finely tuned to a bargain?
This sale is huge. It's on the third floor of the supermarket at the Kuta Central Pakir in the Kuta Istana Galleria.
It's only on for a week starting today. There is a room about 80 metres x 120 metres full of fully licensed quiksilver and rusty clothing, jeans, board shorts, bags, shoes and accessories.
You can see where this is going can't you. 2.100.000rph later, the wife is smiling, I'm in tears and I'm one kidney short because I had to sell one to pay for everything.
I have to admit it was a bargain and given the quality I expect everything will last for yonks. The men's sizes are limited. The biggest is XL in shirts and I managed to get a 40 in board shorts.
We walked out of there and you should have seen the look on Raceng's face. He looked at the wife who was beaming and he was beaming. Then he looked at me.........
We got back to the hotel. She who must be possessed, sorry obeyed, ran to Cass's room and three hours later they came back after Cass spent 3.000.000rph (three million!) Yes the wife bought more but only a backpack to use as carry on for all her shopping. She's a thinker.
We went to dinner at Billy's Bar, across from Legends. I can't recommend this place enough. The food is great and well priced. Shayne said the beer is the coldest he's had yet and the kids were entertained with magic tricks and slight of hand by the guys who worked there.
We had a great chuckle and so did everyone else who was there. It was a nice way to finish the day.
No I'm still not speaking to my wife and am I the only one who spells metre m.e.t.r.e?