I got up at 5:30am to go for a walk. When the sun rose over Nusa Pedina, it was one of those postcard type scenes (I didn't take the camera, sorry). There were rays of sunlight, shining through the patches of cloud - sadly my literary skills do not allow me to describe this scene with due justice - it was truly beautiful. The beachfront promenade along the Tanjung Benoa strip ends at the Thallasso (formerly the Grand Mirage), so it was onto the beach from there. This was great for me because my heart rate shot up by about 30 bpm (I was wearing my heart rate monitor).
I walked to the end of the peninsula and returned to the now busy road (5:50am and full of scooters). I walked through the village (tourists generally don't venture this far up, it is a little way past the last hotel). There was a bustling local market, with locals buying flowers for their offerings, fruit and vegetables, fish, chickens. I felt privileged to be able to see the locals going about their business. It was very interesting. The food being cooked smelt divine. There were whole fish (little ones, not snapper, it was a long, skinny fish) being cooked on a skewer over burning coconut husks. The aromas were amazing. Corn was being cooked the same way, as were various sate. I wish I brought my wallet so I too could share what I'm sure would have been a taste sensation. I continued through the village, past the Buddhist temple, the Hindu temple and the Islamic mosque to the boat fuel station at the tip of the peninsula. I looked out over Benoa Harbor for a little while before venturing back towards the hotel. This time, I followed Jl. Pratama back to the hotel. The traffic was okay because it was all locals on their scooters off to work. In my experience, tourists on scooters are much more of a concern on the roads than locals. I saw a couple of kids, say 10 and 12, on their own scooters, in their school uniform.
I returned to the hotel - full of energy, excitement and enthusiasm. I woke up Mrs PPWAU because I just had to share my experiences (I probably should have waited - it might have made for a more pleasant Mrs PPWAU that morning - oh well).
We all had a nice swim after breakfast - the Aston Bali pool is fantastic (photo in link below).
We then hopped in a taxi Bali Collection - it was too early for the free shuttle, but a 12,000Rp taxi fare isn't anything to sulk about, particularly when you're headed to the pricey Bali Collection. We looked, and looked, and looked. Did we buy? No - for two reasons. 1) There was nothing particularly exciting; and 2) anything that was of interest was at a similar or more expensive price than home - and we didn't come here to buy crap we can buy at home (actually, we didn't come here to shop at all, but, in hindsight, I think Mrs PPWAU's plans might have been slightly different to mine).
Disappointed with Bali Collection, we took a stroll along the beach behind. The park here is beautiful with plenty of shade and some pleasant locals selling food, drinks, sarongs and shells (but without hassling too much). The beach itself looked lovely. We agreed that we should return for a morning or afternoon at the beach.
There was a hot air balloon at the Bali Collection which PPWAU JR wanted to go on, so I enquired about the price. US$25 per adult and US$15 per child (including PPWAU JR at 3 years old - I had even told them he was two!!). Call me a scrooge, but I baulk at paying US$65 to go 50m up in the air, sit there for a few minutes, then come back down. PPWAU JR didn't seem to mind (quite surprisingly).
We then walked through the manicured Nusa Dua streets until we returned to Bali through the North Gate. We stopped at the Tanjung Benoa art markets for some t-shirts, boardies, etc. These markets are more expensive than others, but we didn't mind paying a little bit more because they are so quiet. The markets are not overly exciting and in all honesty, I wouldn't go out of my way for them - they have the usual stuff, souvenirs, t-shirts, batik, linen (and didgeridoos!)
We had dinner in Kuta at Ketupat, thanks to a recommendation on the forum. Without the recommendation, we surely would have passed by without noticing the sign pointing down the driveway. Ketupat is a lovely little restaurant. The main restaurant is beside a pretty pool. There are also romantic poolside tables and bales with draped chiffon curtains surrounded by tee light candles. We sat on an intimate balcony overlooking the pool. The atmosphere here was beautiful. The service was friendly and the food was good. It is slightly more expensive than other places, but worth it, particularly given the beautiful atmosphere.