Yay!! I had a good night's sleep, amazing how those green bottles act as a sedative. Tuesday morning, up bright and early, switch the TV on, and we had torrential rain during the night. Off I go to breakfast, I need another clean England shirt so as to ward off those crafty Germans. I suggest to my wife that we do a pincer movement in between the pastries and passion fruit, and sneak up on the toaster before they notice. I actually thought of testing my accuracy by throwing the bread into the slots from 5 metres, this would not need me to be close to the device, and I could attack the chicken sausages under the cover of a couple of teacakes. Damn, I'm foiled, the Germans see me, they advance quickly, and they occupy all slots. I have to stand a wait , looking at their smug faces... little do they know their whereabouts of their pool towels, so I just glance gleefully in their direction. Eventually, and total ungracefully, the bread thumps to the bottom of the toaster. Move in, grab, retreat. I visit Ibu Omelette, she has the tricky job of placing my eggs either side of my toast in symmetrical formation. She does it, the yolks do not yield, a true genius is this woman. I have my chicken sausages, I have at least a litre of HP sauce swishing on my plate. I gain the poise of a gazelle returning to my seat in order not to spill. The Germans spy my actions, they mutter under their breath...I start to whistle 'two World wars and one world cup...doo-dah...doo-dah'..... that shuts them up....for now at least. I expect a counter attack at some stage, but I'm ready, and no-one dare go for my chicken sausages, I'm expert black belt at origami...just let them try.
I return to the breakfast bar for a rice pudding with a bit of strawberry jam.... I have got to like this over the last couple of days, it reminds me of school dinners all those years ago. My wife informs me she isn't feeling too well..... oh no... have the Germans infiltrated our tea cups? Have they dared breach our exclusion zone and drop something in it.... Like ...unclean water? EEK! She can't finish her breakfast , but she is strong and brave, and tells me that it was about time we ventured to the pool to 'tan up' a little bit. Having had a melanoma hacked out of my left tricep area less than a year ago, I field her comments with fear and trepidation. I cannot yield, I have to be strong... I have to continue in my quest to rid the Novotel of the pool lounge hog, it is my duty. Winston would have been proud of me, I'm sure he would have given me the V sign too.
We venture down to the pool, armed with books, magazines, a badly done Sudoku and water. I use my wife's vanity mirror in a periscopical fashion to make sure the Germans do not approach the pool towel hut. My device works, we secure two loungers by the pool, in shade. I whip off...(getting excited are we girls?) my England shirt... my Queensland scar is there for all to see. I hear some French conversation, I think they are in awe of my physique , and are pointing and chatting amongst themselves. I find out later they actually said I was a bloody fool for exposing myself to the sun when I had a bloody big cancer scar .... How the mighty fall...I was at a low ebb... it's something only a Bintang can fix.... 'dua Bintang tolong'... they are duly supplied... and I grab one of those seats actually in the pool ... I must have nodded off because I was bloody sore when I woke up.What a stupid thing to do !! Daft Pom!
When I woke up, and it must have been all of 15 minutes, the inside of my right leg felt like it had been attacked with a branding iron. Fortunately, I remembered to bring some after sun cooling gel, I plastered the burnt area , it made very little difference. I'm so sore, and those crafty Germans may now detect I have a soft spot for attack. Only one thing for it, I have to wear longer shorts and carry the bottle of gel around with me. However, we are not to emerge from our room for a few hours, I think Mrs W is coming down with some ailment, and I'm wondering if she has caught the virus I had, and that it wasn't 'Bali Belly' after all. I go get some water from Mini Supermarket, she will need plenty of hydration by the looks of things
We spent the afternoon resting in the room, watching TV and reading books and papers. I also take the opportunity to update my travel journal ( hence this drivel)... and hope she is going to be OK for our trip to Sanur this evening. Like a trooper, she decided she was not too be beaten, as she had been looking forward to meeting a fellow forumite at the Griya Santrian. She was duly ready on time for us to catch Mr Bluebird outside the hotel at 6.30pm, and off we go to Sanur. Now then, either they have moved Sanur, or, my memory is shot, but I certainly never remembered how far away from TB it is. I was watching the taxi fee rolling on, I thought we may have got lost in interpretation and we were actually going to Lovina!! Anyway, three quarters of an hour later we arrive, and Sanur looks remarkably like it did last time I was there. I had no idea were the Griya Santrian was, so we are at the mercy of our driver.
We alight from the taxi, and I give our driver 140,000 rp...I hope I have enough left for dinner !! I approach reception, and I say ' well this is STORMY I presume?'...to which I got the response ' and Wharfie I presume?' I introduce the boss to Stormy, and she precedes to give us an impromptu tour of the Griya Santrian, and what a great hotel it is. Beautiful pool, lovely grounds, good standard of accommodation, and good location right on the beach. I had tried to catch up with Stormy on previous trips, and situations dictated that it never happened, so it was a joy to meet her after all this time. We walked along the boardwalk, and passed many restaurants. We eventually settled on the beach at Sanur Beach Café... ordered drinks.. and a tuna steak, beef rendang, and Mrs W had a very spicy Mie Goreng, ( possibly not the best idea!).. Unfortunately Stormy had to return her meal has the fish was rather raw, but enjoyed it upon its return. We spent a couple of hours chatting and having a real good catch up, this was one of the high points of my holiday. Stormy, you are a lovely lady, and it was a pleasure to meet, I hope we can do the same next March.
I think we left Sanur around 11pm, and again hailed a taxi in the main street. Now, compared to yetserday's antics, this driver was ‘driving Miss Daisy'..and we both agreed he was the most sedate pilot we had ever had, it was almost as if he was in slow motion compared to the world that was whizzing past the cab on the outside
We arrived back at the Novotel around midnight(ish) shell out another 140,000rp to the driver, and retire to our room. My wife is far from being 100% , and I immediately check the toilet roll stocks. Today was a lovely day, the Germans had been outwitted, I met a fellow forumite at long least, we had dinner in a beautiful setting , but ...I'm a bit worried about the boss....and the inside of my right leg.( to be continued, and thanks for reading)