Arrived at Puri Alam at Munduk around 1 pm after lunch & directions from Ngiring Ngewedang restaurant (huge guacamole). Pouring rain on arrival, hotel not especially appealing from behind windscreen wipers - work going on building a new restaurant & rooms at street level. Lots of uneven steps down to our basic room - no fan, fridge or tv BUT hot water, very comfy beds with mozzie nets & best of all windows overlooking a huge terrace ... and the views!! There just aren't enough superlatives in the thesaurus to describe the ever-changing vistas.
The rain stopped, mist lifted rapidly in the sunshine revealing an almost bottomless valley below, rice fields & forests on the other side with Gunung Agung towering above. The weather was constantly changing & so was the view. Each hour brought something neww to see. Mesmerising. An electrical storm behind the mountains to the north with dark clouds competing with white fluffy ones from the south. A perfect rainbow ending at a farmer's hut across the gulch. Etc etc. And all could be seen from bed.
Agung is not Everest but I prefer the views from Puri Alam to any I have seen in Nepal. The food was good to very good. Although we had planned on doing a walk or 2, the rain made it impossible. Puri Alam is definitely on our return list.
Back to the coast - quick drive to Grand Kumala just off Jl 66 in Legian for 2 nights. Nice place & cheap. Friend Whoopee had been staying there. Husband left for his bamboo hut on the beach in Indonesian Woop Woop & I moved back to Masa.
FOOD
Had some great meals as always. Delightful dinner at Ultimo with Whoopee - great to catch up with her & with the duck ravioli & white chocolate Creme Brulee. Un's - excellent value as ever. Warung Asia - very good Thai food.
Lanai upstairs - perfect place to watch the sun set with very good food. Poppies for nostalgia. Ditto TJ's (went to it's opening decades ago). Agungs for Club Sandwiches. Basil Leaves for Thai curries - doesn't matter which you choose as they all taste the same - yummy. Not a patch on warung Asia but fine for a cheap feed. Also tried their fish cakes & Thai beef salad - nah.
In Ubud, Tropical Bale for affordable haute cuisine. Tutmak on the corner of the soccer field for Middle Eastern Platter (recommended by Whoopee). Kampung Cafe in Tegalalang near Ubud for great views & good Indonesian food.
SHOPPING
Bought Birkenstock-like sandals yet again from the shop near Un's - best & most comfy shoes for walking & great value at Rp200K. Animale Factory Outlets got a few million from me. Johnny Andrean for hair colour & cut & lots of shampoo, conditioner & curl spray. Manicures & pedicures at Jennifer in Poppies 1 - good & cheap.
Bought some large wooden carvings at a place we have been to before at the Kintimani end of Tegalalang - no probs with quarantine here, as before.
Leather bag from Tommy's - looked around a lot but Tommy's is hard to beat for quality leather, good workmanship & a variety of styles.
It rained a lot the second week which I quite enjoyed, especially as the near constant cloud cover kept the humidity down.
I found things more expensive than in November, the dismal $AUD rate notwithstanding - things just seemed dearer. Both hassling & traffic seemed to have diminished in Poppies 1, thankfully.
Through Aussie formalities very quickly & now back in lovely sunny Perth, my wonderful son & beautiful Burmese baby girl (she usually shuns me for days when I get back but this time she is pleased to see me). Husband has had his 60 day visa extended & won't be back until the end of July. Thankful for the very cheap mobile rates from Indonesia.