Ok so the girls were getting into the bali groove (cocktails and massages everyday) - and I was desperate to get to the tailor. La Risso just opposite Santika Beach hotel in Jalan Kartika Plaza in Tuban.
I was supposed to meet someone from the forum there at 10am on the Monday - sorry I didnt get there until after 12 as my sister was insistent we had a little stop at Carrefour first and then Geneva to scope out prices etc. So 4 hours later.....
My sister got a pale pink leather jacket - very nice. $120. I ordered - a chinese silk blue patterned dress, with matching dress length light overcoat for evening wear, the same fabric in a matching skirt and top, a grey trouser suit, a pink skirt with matching top from material I bought from home, two princess line dresses, a pale blue linen wrap dress and an extra shell type top. With some of the fabric purchased from Alta Moda the total cost was about $300 or so. Some people say may be pay a little more than elsewhere but the workmanship is great, they alter things no problem and never try to cut corners. I think I pay a fair price and they get a fair price.
La Risso's skills are in suits and while the dresses are great they had to alter the bust line for me even though they'd taken measurements. The suits and dresses are well tailored and nothing is too much trouble for them. Ask for Budhi or Pak Jero. I go to these guys once a year for suits for work - so does my husband. I offered to wear my sisters pink leather jacket on the plane home (and then conveniently forget to give it back to her when I headed off for my connecting flight home at Sydney airport) but she wouldnt let me. I think she was awake to my plan to "borrow" the jacket! It's really really nice!
After the tailor and another day lazing around Novotel Nusa Dua we headed off to Honeymoon Guesthouse in Ubud. Nice quiet street but right near the main action in Ubud. Janet De Neefe is building a new guesthouse in the same street - should be ready round Christmas apparently.
On checking in I confirmed that I'd emailed about the Thursday market tour and cooking class. Got the balinese smile with the answer, oh class full, no booking (even though I showed the confirming email from them.
Then silence and walking away. My sister is steaming as she didnt like the guesthouse upon arrival and was putting up with it because of the class the next day. Thought we'd wasted the trip up to Ubud.
I told her Tun Ken Ken (more polite balinese for no worries- after all we were in Ubud rather than downtown Kuta so no ordinary basa bali).
We wait quietly and then a big smile from one of the staff with an offer that we do the Friday class (menu not as good/big as Thursday class) but we get personal market tour before class. Everyone happy.
Honeymoon Guesthouse - what can I say? Very relaxing - we had rooms 19/20. Upstairs with views over Ubud including of volcano in the morning. Room has large double bed with mozzie net. They put in an extra bed for my sister. Great verandah where we sat and read and lazed. Nice pool area.
At the end of the holiday all of us agreed that Ubud was the best part. It was way more relaxed at night and in the day and nicer than Nusa Dua or SEminyak where we went next.
Each day in Ubud we would have the breakfast served by the guesthouse and then toddle into town for a real coffee somewhere with a little bit of shopping on the side. Then we might have a drive or book a massge/pedi etc. We made a our beauty treatments in the afternoon at Sedona over the bridge and then would toddle up the hill to Indus for drinks as the sunset over the rice paddies. Try the capiroskas - yummy. Sedona was cheap for pedi/mani but I dont recommend other treatments as it wasn't always as spotlessly clean as I would like still it was ok and oh so cheap. They also do hair colour/cut and the guy doing it seemed very good and was using western products. It is weird though being in Bali in a spa modelled on an Arizona town, being staffed by Javanese.
Next up - shopping in Ubud and Tegallalan (buy of the holiday was made here) and eating.