On her last trip Cool bought some cute little dishes with frogs on them. We had heard that really good ones were available from a place called Jengalla in Jimbaran, so off we went. WOW! The place looks fantastic from the outside, a cross between a fortress and a palace. If you are a fan of pottery, china & glass, you must see this place. The range of pottery is wonderful, brilliant original designs and a great range of colours. Vases, condiment sets. cruets & dinner sets, tea & coffee sets and many other items in beautiful colours. They also have superb glassware, and some of the most original and unique cutlery I have ever seen. These are real world-class designs in my opinion. They certainly aren't cheap by Bali standards, but the quality is high and compared to Claremont/Double Bay/Toorak etc, the prices are very good. If I had an empty credit card and an unlimited baggage allowance, I could have gone crazy! As it was we bought two platters with a dragonfly motif ($15US each), and Cool bought a large green bowl with a parade of frogs around it growing from eggs through tadpoles to adults ($16US each), and another the same but in blue for a neighbour. The green colour is similar to Celadon pottery but everything is also available in deep blue, red, ochre, white, off-white and other shades. Apparently they will pack your purchases for carry-on or baggage, or arrange shipping for larger quantities. Security guards stop you from taking photos inside, so you'll have to go see it all yourself!
Went walking along Jl Kartika Plaza that evening, decided to eat at a warung there and I now can't remember the name (Warung Batung??). Big mistake. It wasn't busy but there was a long wait for the food, which was dry and not very nice. The only poor meal of the trip.
I needed new specs, so we tried Optik Seis in Dynasty first after reading good things on the forum. I guess they were having an off day, because the girls behind the counter were more interested in doing their nails and talking on the phone than in serving me. Across the mall to Optik Melawai and it was a different story. First my eyes were tested, then a very helpful chap went through all sorts of combinations with great patience while I tried to make a decision - does this look too 'girly', will my students laugh at me if I get this one, do I even like this, etc. Eventually I chose a frame, then we found out that the lens makers had no suitable glass blanks (photochromatic, multifocal) and being January they didn't know when stocks would arrive. That meant I had to get plastic lenses which I wasn't too happy about, but I haven't had any problems so far (touch wood).
We did also go to one other glasses place in a little back street in Legian - can't recall the name but it is a forum favourite. They had a very limited range of frames and nothing that I fancied.
We gave the Krispy Kreme doughnuts a miss as they no longer had my favourite New York Cheesecake variety, but did some damage at Bread Talk - the bread & butter pudding is as good as described on the forum and almost as good as my Mum used to make!!
That night we ate at Impala - across the road form Bali Rani. It must have been a very big day for them, because between what we tried to order and what we overheard from the next table, they had run out of tequila, duck, snapper & prawns, even though it was only 6.30 pm!! We wound up having the local beef with pepper sauce & wedges, which was very good. I had a bloody mary which was fine & Cool had Bintang, which apparently is a local delicacy(!). I haven't been a real beer drinker since I was 16 in high school, but the raves about Bintang led me to try a couple of sips - Cool wouldn't let me have more than that! I thought it tasted cleaner & sharper than Aussie beers as I remember, and I could probably get used to it if it is icy cold on a hot Bali day or night...
After four days at the Bali Rani, we had arranged to move to the Kumala Pantai for the rest of the stay (Cool's niece had stayed there and recommended it). Getting the reservation by email was a bit of a hassle but all ok when we got there. The price was good and the room was lovely. We were in B Block ground floor near the Presidential Suite. All the gardens are beautifully cared for and looked superb. The pool is big and beautiful and there were no problems with lounge hogs. Poolside service & room service both were reasonably priced and tasted great (pasta dishes 25,000 to 35,000 rp, pizzas 25,000 to 40,000rp, good margaritas 35,000 rp.)
Breakfasts in the sea front area were always good, a few cute hotel kittens always 'on the bludge', squirrels in the trees overhead (watch out for falling nuts) and good views of the beach. The food was not special but always ok and the egg-man cooks a mean omelette. I liked that he didn't have a big bowl of pre-made omelette mix but made each egg mixture fresh for each customer. I was also happy that he knew just how to make eggs 'loose' but not runny, and remembered how I liked them every day.
The work on the new blocks was being done just outside our room but never caused us a problem except one morning when the workers had a very early start. We did have a mother cat & some new kittens living above our room in the air-con space. We could hear the kittens calling whenever they were hungry, but never loud enough to be a nuisance. Yes, Cool did bring some food from breakfast for 'mum' each day.
We made a morning trip to Denpasar with a few things in mind. First, we went to Badung markets just to see, hear, smell and take pictures. The food market is definitely worth a visit, the fresh fruit & veg and dried fish and herbs look and smell marvellous. The general markets upstairs are stuffed with handicrafts, clothing and home wares as well.
From there we headed to Jl Hasanuddin as I wanted to get a new gold chain. After looking in every shop on the block I admitted defeat! I wanted something with medium size links and not ornate, just a simple chain link but nobody had one my size. It was all bling and zing, diamond cut, woven chains, heavy box links, everything but what I needed. B*gger! I guess I'm just an old-fashioned guy!
Any guitarists going to Bali would do well to visit King Audio in Denpasar to try out a Marlique electric guitar. They are handmade in Indonesia and the quality is staggering for the price! I couldn't get the one I wanted (should have ordered it in advance) but the one I played was outstanding in a Gibson/Paul Reed Smith style (for the guitarists). The prices were so low I'm still kicking myself for not pre-ordering! There is a web site for them, I'll try to attach it but just Google 'Marlique Guitars' & you'll find it.
Just a bit more to come...