Apologies for the tardiness of this report as we have been staying in a location with no internet service whatsoever! My daughter couldn't cope!(More of that on day 7 & 8)
On day 6 after a breakfast of poached eggs we headed off to find a taxi to take us to the Discovery Mall for a look around. By Bali standards it's a very large shopping mall with about 3 floors, unfortunately every shop seemed to be selling the same things, mostly shoes! We wandered rather aimlessly round for a while, my Missus was delighted by the fact that there was a Marks and Spencers and a Dorothy Perkins there! (I don't know why though, she never shopped there when we lived back in dear old Blighty! And true to form bought nothing from the Bali branch either!). When we'd decided that the girls had looked at enough shoes we ventured out to pay a visit to Bubba Gumps situated just over the road from the Discovery Mall on the same side as the Waterbom Park.
For those of you not in the know Bubba Gumps is a themed restaurant based on the Tom Hanks movie Forest Gump and the menu concentrates on sea food stuff although there is a good selection of none fishy stuff if required! The exterior and interior is decorated with various elements and quotes from the movie and has been very well done. The food is expensive by Bali standards but very tasty none the less with a novel method of calling for the waiter's attention. If everything is ok at your table, and you require no assistance you display a sign which reads the legend 'Run Forest Run!', when you require something, you flip over the sign to reveal 'Stop Forrest Stop!' this elicits , with much enthusiasm, cries of 'Stop Forrest Stop!' from the various waiting staff members, whilst they rush over to your table to take care of your every whim! I could see this becoming a bit wearing if the restaurant was very busy, or maybe I'm just a grumpy sod! As luck would have it they weren't overly busy whilst we there so I coped! We ordered drinks, 3 cokes @ IDR35,000 each , a Mango Sparkler @ IDR40,000. To eat we ordered a Clam Chowder, a Calamari Rings, a Cajun Shrimp, a Cheeseburger, a cheesy fries and a regular fries, all totalling IDR545,000! When we received the bill and saw the amount I momentarily contemplated I should 'Run Phiza Run!' in a vain attempt to avoid it, but one look at the sinewy limbed waiting staff told me they'd have me down like a pack of hyena's taking down an old asthmatic pit pony! So I paid the bill with good grace, and quickly ushered everyone away past the expensive looking souvenirs on the way out.
We decided to have a wander along the street looking at the various stalls on the way, my excuses to the various stallholders that I had no money left on me as we had just visited Bubba Gumps were greeted with sympathetic knowing nods!
We found ourselves back at Kuta Square which we recognised was relatively close to the hotel and had a leisurely stroll back, my Missus, as usual, doing her best in aiding and abetting the deforestation of the planet by accepting every leaflet she was offered!
On the way back I heard a new call from one of the stallholders, I'd got used to the 'Hey Big Boss, we got your size, 4 XL', this one cried 'Hey Big Fellah , T-Shirt? King Kong Size!' If one of them mentions Jabba the Hutt I'll ‘ave ‘Im!
For the evening meal we decided to go to a local Warung we had passed a couple of times, this decision was made to try out some local authentic cuisine (and nothing to do with it being cheap as chips and would offset our lunchtime extravagance!) So the lovely local dishes we had were, My Missus and my Daughter had Spaghetti Carbonara, Surrogate Daughter had Fish and Chips and I had a beautiful Hot and Sour Soup and a plate of Frogs Legs! Ok not authentic Indonesian but definitely local. Very tasty it was too, all for about half a farthing!
The following day, was really hot & humid, we revisited Legian to have a look at Kettuts fixed price shop, not much selection here so we went back to the one we had visited on day 2 (remember, the Pork Pie day?) it's called Yanthi Clothing Shop and is just behind Jl. Sahadewa down a gang and is located In a private compound. The Lady in charge (I forget her name, very nice lady) recognised us from our previous visit and I could see the Rupiah signs flashing in her eyes! Anyway, half an hour later and one trip to the nearby money changer and a swiftly emptied wallet, we left with a huge Bali bag packed full of presents for the good folk back home. With the humidity and me having to carry as much shopping as your average Sherpa at Everest, I was starting to look like an extra from the seventies comedy, It Aint Half Hot Mum! So an urgent pit stop was required at the Posers Bar and a cold Bintang, this time when we arrived at the bar we were greeted by ice cold flannels provided by the bar staff, nice touch. You could see the steam fly off when I put it on my head, bliss! As we were there we decided to have lunch and very nice it was. Good little bar.
We retired back to the hotel for a cooling swim and relax, then headed out for another wander round the local stalls and some dinner at a place on Poppies 2, I can't remember the name of sorry! We sat at our table people watching, a much underrated pastime in my opinion and enjoyed ourselves immensely. On the way back to the hotel we stopped off at the Warung we'd been to the night before as I had a craving for some more of their Hot and Sour Soup, so asked if they did take away, to which they replied' Yes'. Minutes later I was happily walking up the street my delicious soup sloshing away in the plastic bag I had been provided with, no container just the bag!
Upon returning to the room, I carefully decanted my soup into a more suitable receptacle, and a Glayvar into my mouth, which I then proceeded to thoroughly enjoy. Another day in paradise!
To follow - Day 8 and 9 - White Water Rafting /Elephant Park and moving on again.