Day 6:
The plan for the day was to rest for half a day in Sanur (relax around the pool, have a massage etc) before doing a half day trip in the afternoon. Of course that didn't happen and we found lots of things to fill in our time.
First up R met Annie and her son at the corner of Jl Segara and the beach at 7:15 and went on the scooter with them to see his school which is on the other side of the Bypass. I was slightly jealous as he has started Elementary School since my last visit and I hadn't had a chance to see his new school yet - but it was ok I would have lots of opportunities to go the following week!
Whilst they were doing the morning school run A and I walked to the Sanur fruit markets to wait for them. At the markets we tagged behind Annie while she bought meat, vegetables and fruit for her Warung. I love going to the markets, there is so much going on and lots of exotic fruit to look at. Bought a kilo of Mangosteen for Rp20,000, not sure if that's the local rate, tourist price or somewhere in between but I thought it was pretty cheap.
Annie's mother in law was also there and she likes me to try all of the different fruit and apparently it was time for me to finally try durian. I wasn't keen but I also didn't want to offend her. I had heard all about the tap, tap, taping that is involved in picking the 'perfect' durian so we stopped following Annie and watched the durian show. It took over 5 minutes for Annie's mother in law to find a durian that she was happy with. There was a lot of tapping, shaking and smelling. I'm not sure what she was hoping to smell but I thought it smelt nothing short of rank.
The stallholder then cut it open and extracted the durian from each section of the fruit. They then put the pieces in a plastic bag to take away. I thought I was in the clear and I could just dispose of it later, but no they wanted me to try it then and there. To say I hated it is an understatement but I had to pretend it was delicious and actually swallow it. Gross! I took the plastic bag and later gave it to a friend down the beach who was excited as it is 'expensive' - I think Annie's mother in law paid RP30,000 for the whole thing. I'm just glad that it wasn't wasted but there was no way that I was going to eat any more of it!
After the markets we caught a bemo to Lila's Warung, which is down a gang near Uluwatu Lace, heading towards the Bumi Ayu hotel. I wanted to check it out following a recommendation from Jan (Mermaiden) and we were not disappointed. I had the Indonesian breakfast - fruit, nasi goreng and Balinese pancakes and the girls had banana pancakes.
From Lila's Warung we caught another bemo to Hardy's to grab a few things and to get a massage. Someone at the hotel recommended the spa at the top of Hardy's so we all had a foot reflexology massage there. It was really painful but relaxing at the same time.
From Hardy's we raced back to the hotel where A lathered up and prepared for a few hours by the pool (still managed to get burnt) and R and I got ready for a cremation that was due to start at 12:00. Annie invited us to the cremation at Sanur beach; the cremation was for two elderly people from her village. A wasn't too keen to go so she opted to stay by the pool. The 'cemetery' is on the beach near the street that you can cut through to Hardy's that goes past the German Consulate. I had under estimated how long it would take to walk there from North Sanur and so unfortunately we got there a bit late and missed the procession of people as they walked from the Temple.
When we got there the cremation was underway and it was interesting to observe how different it was to an Australian funeral. Obviously people were sad but they were mostly sitting around in groups chatting and it was like it was a social event rather than something to be upset about. Annie explained that as they were elderly it was accepted; however if they were young it would be a different atmosphere. We didn't know what to expect but were happy to discover that we couldn't see the deceased as they were in big bamboo 'coffins'. Gas bottles and blowtorches were used to cremate the bodies.
We didn't have time to stay for the whole cremation, as we had to be back at the hotel, showered and ready to be picked up by Kadek at 2:00. It was a bit of a rush, so much for a relaxed morning. We didn't get around to having a swim (except for A who had a nice time in the sun), but we did manage to fit in a foot massage so it wasn't too bad!
From Sanur we headed to the Butterfly (Kupu Kupu) Park near Tabanan. R loves butterflies and it was another thing that I hadn't done before so it was a must do for this trip. I was really impressed with the park. We spent just over an hour there but I could imagine if you had young children you could spend longer wandering around looking for butterflies.
Once inside we were ushered over to an area where they had stick insects, leaf insects and big black beetles. R & A were keen to touch everything and the staff put the 'bugs' all over them but I made it pretty clear that I didn't want them on me! I love animals but I have bad reflexes with creepy crawlies and things that flutter. I didn't want to freak out and hit them off of me or squish them.. probably wouldn't have gone down too well in the butterfly park!
From the insect section we were told to walk to the butterfly aviary. There were butterflies flying around everywhere in the main enclosure but the aviary is where they keep the cocoons that they collect from around the park each day (they are removed from the trees and hung up by clothes pegs in the aviary - a bit strange but I guess the system works?!). They then hatch in the aviary, spend their first day in the aviary and then they are released into the main area where they live for 5 or so days until they die. Not a very long life!
In the aviary they put the 'baby' butterflies all over R & A's dresses. The butterflies were so pretty and had really vivid colours, so the photos turned out great. Again I didn't want anything on me, as I couldn't guarantee that my reflexes wouldn't kick in!
We then spent some time walking around the garden spotting butterflies in the greenery and watching others flutter by. R bought 3 butterflies in frames from the gift shop - maybe Rp80,000 each? - and they came with a certificate for Australian customs so they could be brought back into Australia.
From the butterfly park we went to Tanah Lot to see the sunset. I hadn't been to Tanah Lot before and so I didn't realise that there is a big market there. Unfortunately we didn't have anytime to shop as we got there at around 5:30 - the markets were still open but we wanted to find a good spot to watch the sunset. There were a lot of people walking on the beach/rocks and others were lining up outside the Temple, maybe to be blessed?.. but we were pretty tired so we just sat up near one of the cafes and took photos. Next time I wont try to fit so much in (no promises!) and will get there early to really check out the Temple and markets.
From Tanah Lot we got dropped off on Jl Oberoi in Seminyak for dinner as I wanted to try a new restaurant called Khaima, which has a mixed menu, one half is Moroccan and the other is Indonesian food. We had another great meal and couldn't fault the food.
After dinner we caught a taxi back to Sanur and had a cold drink at Annie's Warung before heading back to the hotel for a late night swim.
Day 7:
Day 7 was R's last day. We had preordered room service breakfast the night before and were up early ready to be picked up at 7:30 by Bali Baik Bike tours. I had emailed Wayan from Bali Baik Bike before we left Australia and it was good to have everything booked. We planned the bike ride for R's last day on purpose so A & I could rest the next day if we wanted and wouldn't 'waste' one of R's days in Bali if we had sore legs.
Had a smooth ride in the bus to Ubud stopping at a few hotels along the way to pick up other people. After we picked up the last people we went to a coffee plantation, we didn't try the luwak coffee but we did try a selection of coffees, tea and hot chocolate whilst overlooking a very scenic of valley of palm trees. A highlight was smelling the bark of a cinnamon tree, it smelt amazing.
From there we drove to a restaurant overlooking the volcano and had a second breakfast/morning tea which was a selection of fruit, rice, noodles and fried bananas. Was good to have a meal before we started the bike ride, especially as our room service food was pretty average!
From the restaurant we drove to the start of the bike ride and were put into groups and chose our bikes. A big tip is to take a gel bike seat cover with you (AUD$20 from Big W or similar). I was told to bring one by a friend and I think we were the only ones that had them.. they certainly made a difference! The actual bike ride was really easy, there were one or two hills at the end that I walked up but it was only because I didn't have my gears right. It was so easy and downhill that I didn't really play around with my gears during the ride so when it came time to use them I wasn't used to the bike so I just got off and walked up.
The highlight for us was stopping and giving kids lollies along the way. I think our group got annoyed with us because they had to keep stopping and waiting for us (others stopped to take photos so it wasn't just us holding up the group). But I figured it wasn't a race and stopping and interacting with the children in the villages, rather than racing past them, added another layer to the bike ride experience.
Many people have said to me that the bike ride was the highlight of their Bali holiday. I don't think I can say that, we had fun but as we had already done a lot of driving and had driven through lots of small villages and side streets so for us it wasn't as amazing as others had described. Sure it was good to be out of the car and we definitely absorbed more of the sights and took in the smells and noises around us but it wasn't as 'amazing' as others hyped it up to be. Maybe our expectations were too high? Or maybe if we hadn't done any other day trips and had just stayed in Sanur or Kuta or wherever it would have a bigger impact on us? Either way it was a lot of fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat, just isn't in one of the 'top 5 things I have ever done' like someone told me it would be..
After the bike ride we had a great meal at Wayan, the bike tour owners family compound. The food was great and just what we needed after a few hours on the bike. We arrived in Sanur at around 3:30 after dropping other people off at their hotels along the way. At Rp400,000 each it was great value.
I jumped out of the bus just before the Grand Bali Beach entrance, near Dunkin Donuts, as I wanted to buy phone credit and book A and I tickets to Nusa Lembongan (with Scoot) for the next day. The girls kept going in the bus and I walked back to the hotel.
Back in Sanur R had a few last minute things to do which included saying goodbye to Annie at the Warung, final presents for her family from Hardy's and Versus next door to Hardy's and I had nearly forgotten about gelatis from Massimo's so we caught a bemo to Massimo's to grab a quick gelati. Yum!
Back to the hotel for a final pack and then Kadek picked us up at 7:00 as R was catching a 10:00 flight to Darwin (to meet her Husband and son who were having their own holiday with her brother in law).
After saying goodbye, which was the best Bali goodbye ever as for once it was not sad as she was so excited to see her boys A and I headed back to Sanur and went to the pool bar at Segara Village for a few drinks before calling it a day.
So we were now one week down and although we had already done so much, we weren't quite sure where the time had gone!?
I later found out that Kadek had a word to R and said that he was worried and that she had to find a way for me to stop and relax and that it was like I had 'ants in my feet'.. always moving and wanting to do fit in as much as possible haha ants in your feet is my new favourite saying.. beats ants in your pants any day! Its hard for me to sit around and relax in Bali because although it is a small Island there is still so so much that I want to see and do!