Hi guys,
Yesterday we were driverless. It was Nyoman's cousins proposal day, and as Nyoman is his best man he headed off to Ubud to assist. I'd love an explanation as to why/how this works, I'm used to a proposal being one guy, one girl, and hopefully a big yes. A crowd hanging around sounds like just a lot of extra pressure on the girl! haha.
So anyways, our big plans for the day had changed and we were now villa bound. Did this stop us? No Way!!
First order of the day, mum, Auntie and I were off to the spa for facials and foot scrubs. Our appointment was for 10am, at 9:50 mum noticed the time, screeched, bustled us (well shuffled us) out of the door, and with umbrellas in hand marched us to the top of the Gang.
Now we were booked into Sic**ilia Spa, which is on Jl Arjuna, very close to Double6. But as we weren't sure exactly where it was, mum decided to grab a passing taxi to get us there on time.
What she hadn't taken into account, is that the spa is to the left, the taxi can only go to the right, so we did a VERY big loop. Luckily the taxi driver spoke to the spa and sorted out directions etc, so we were only 5 minutes late.
We could have walked there (even at a shuffle pace) in a couple of minutes.
The spa is lovely.. wonderful atmosphere, furnished beautifully, proper hairdresser basins and chairs if you are getting anything hairdresserish done. (new word, think it will catch on?), after you leave the spacious reception/hairdresser area there is a further dozen rooms set up for massages, facials and the like. All very comfortable. Ours had 4 beds, lockable storage cupboards for our belongings, and very bright flourescent lights which meant every flaw in our features could be closely examined by the gorgeous girls who were tasked with fixing us! haha
The facials were nice... I have sensitive skin, which reacts badly to a lot of product, but the spa staff were great and catered for my skin, and it was without a doubt the calmest facial my skin has ever had. No redness, no sting, no heat. Just pleasant, soothing and refreshing.
Auntie is sure that some of her wrinkles have disappeared, I personally think it was the steam treatment. No fancy machines here! It was a hand cranked steam treatment... along with a creaking, cranking sound effect... I had pads over my eyes, and I have to tell you, I was rather freaked out wondering what the odd sounds were! Steam lasted for maybe 5 seconds.. a couple of puffs on either side of the face, and finished. hehe
My facial concluded first, and I hopped up to get dressed while mum and Auntie continued to lay in their mask plastered, eyes covered state. I played a trick on Auntie, and gave her a continuation of the neck and shoulder massage we had received as part of the facial. She smiled, relaxed, and when I said hello Auntie, she jumped a foot, ripped off her eye pads and laughed herself silly.
Mum nearly fell of the table with the giggles, and the ladies at the spa had a good laugh at the whole situation as well.
After facials, came feet. Into the hairdresser seats, little tables with a drink and little cookies next to us, and bowls of lovely hot water for our feet to rest.
We then enjoyed the pleasure of a full hour of leg and foot rubbing, massaging, scrubbing and generally just blissing.
While we were there a group of 9 people (ranging from teens to granddad) descended. They all decided on massages, were lead through to the myriad of rooms and a virtual battalion of ladies appeared to pummel and soothe their tired muscles.
I was impressed, thats a lot of masseuses to have hidden in one establishment! :)
After our foot treatments, we skipped out and made the short walk back to the villa, where we rescued the menfolk from Master 2.
The "guys" were banished down to the beach to find entertainment of the food and bintang variety, and us ladies (plus Master2) decided to hail a cab and head back to Discovery to return a few purchases.
Well... I have a new regard for Nyoman our driver! The bluebird taxis we used were clean and the drivers friendly and efficient, but oh my goodness the ride was much more dramatic and startling than any Nyoman has subjected us too. And the crush!!! Bumper to Bumper all the way from Legian to Discovery. I was so sorry for the poor driver. A half hour journey, and the meter only read 32k. We paid 50k and still felt that it was too low. How do these people survive on such low wages??
In Discovery things went smoothly, clothes were returned, and exchanged for items that fit. Browsing and then gifts were purchased. Nothing to report except a pleasant shopping experience, followed by the return taxi trip back into the hell of peak hour.
For dinner we walked down to Cnr66 restaurant. Meals were okay, very well priced, with us all being fed, half having desserts, and 2 rounds of drinks for most at only 670k. Ask if the dishes have chilli before you order. Its not advertised but a lot of our meals had a LOT of chilli, so you have to be careful. They were great for Master 2, had a high chair, toys, colouring in crayons and paper etc, to keep him occupied.
I still haven't come across a restaurant that offers children sized cups, for his drinks though, its always massive big glasses that he can't reach the top of without kneeling.
After dinner we shuffled back to the villa, and I went to bed. In fact, I was asleep before Master 2. Exhaustion from months of stress at work has finally caught up to me, but Bali is weaving its magic, and I'm starting to feel human again!
Today, back to Sicilia for a haircream bath, hair cut, and blow wave. Then afternoon tea at Biku, before heading out to Tanah Lot and Echo Beach this evening :)
Busy day! Have a great one everyone!
BaliDaze