Wednesday
Slept in a little this morning, that last cocktail at W definitely didn't help, so no pre-breakfast walk for us, just a lazy start to the day following by a swim. It's only 2 steps and a splash from our front door to the main pool and it's a beautiful pool to do a few laps in.
Our 'absolutely no shopping holiday' continues as we jump into a taxi to Bali Galleria. I chickened out on riding up there, I just don't feel the need to battle the traffic on Sunset Road and it's definitely a little warmer this morning. We like Bali Galleria and usually pick up some good stuff here. Duchy gets some shoes from Charles and Keith (2 pairs for 1mill) and I head to Matahari's for my usual and often fruitless search for my favourite undies. I think I'm in luck, they have some XXL's (they usually only max out at XL's which would fit a nine year old perfectly!) I start frantically searching for more XXL's which means taking boxes off the display and stacking them here and there. The numerous shop assistants can't cope with this and immediately start putting them back one even standing right in front of me to do this. I think their training missed out the fact that the whole purpose of a department store is to get produce off the shelves, not just display them beautifully. No problem, I employ diversionary tactic number one. I take two steps to the left and start mucking up the briefs section which I'm not interested in. That moves some of the assistants away from my section of interest. Time for diversionary tactic 2, I take a pair of undies out of the packet and put them on over my shorts, I was trying to get a vague idea of size this way, but it also serves to send one of the assistants away laughing her head off. I'm now free to identify and locate the undies of interest and find six pairs of XXL's. Happy days!
Now for singlets. The same process starts all over again and I end up picking up three. Then we go through the whole pink slip thing and as soon as I have successfully made my purchase I head to changing room to try on my new undies just to make sure on the size and they can't stop me from trying on undies I've already purchased can they! If they just left you alone the whole process would be so much easier, no?
I pick up four T's from a brand I've bought before and leave Matahari's happy but about 1.1mill lighter.
We start to have a little look around at the other shops but the keep fit display in the atrium is blasting out the most awful shopping centre music at full bore. At a dance version of Queen's 'We are the champions' we fairly ran out of there and got a taxi home.
Seeing as we had missed our morning walk, we decided to walk up Jl Petitenget to my new discovery, the MBL money changer. I've noticed that all week their rates have been consistently around 150 higher than the changers we normally use and today I get 9280, which is the highest I think we have ever got for our dollars. The walk up there is nice although sweaty betty is back as it's pretty warm. Duchy finds a few new shops she likes (Carga and Bathe) and we pick up a few pressies.
We walk all the way back down to Sea Circus for lunch passing the road up to Grocer and Grind which is closed for roadworks, closed that is to all traffic expect construction traffic, taxis and scooters, so not really closed at all then. Have I hit onto a new thing though. The roadwork signs are sponsored by Air Asia. What a good idea, I can just see that working back home all along with Kwinana Freeway and Great Eastern Highway. A 40km sign sponsored by Westpac, a lollipop stop sign brought to you by Burger King. I might promote this to Main Roads when I get back, it would raise a few mill surely and maybe they could finally add a second lane to the Judd Street flyover so I don't have to queue every morning to get on the freeway.
Sea Circus was good for lunch again, grilled fish tacos (not as good as the marinated pork but still ok) a lentil salad, couple of Bintangs, a chocolate mouse (Aahhhh) and a couple of coffees for 300k. They have had a sign out the front all week saying "The Queen isn't dead, so let's drink Pimms". Heresy I say!
While we were quietly enjoying our lunch a photo shoot team (to take photos of the new take away Gelato line at Sea Circus I presume) suddenly appeared at the adjacent table, complete with director, photographer, make up artist and two models. The make up artist went to town on the female model, geisha girl make-up, much pinning and spraying of the hair, ostrich feather things (the Duchess says fascinators) etc etc. This went on for about 45 mins while the male model tucked into his lunch. Finally the female model was ready, so the male model put down his fork, put a hat on, picked up a Ukulele and was ready to go. It's not that dissimilar back at the villa when Duchy and I are getting ready to go out for dinner, expect that I don't bother with the Ukulele.
After lunch we checked out a hotel next door to Cicada, not that impressed given the price tag was $650 per night for a one bed villa. They we ducked into a private villa complex across the road to check that out and while we were being kindly shown around one of the villas, Yenny the manager tried up-selling us. She wanted us to buy a villa in Dreamland from her. One minute we are taking deep intakes of breath at the $700 per night cost for the villa, next she wants us to sign up for a $290,000 villa in Dreamland sight unseen. (Is this in Bali or are we talking about Elvis's pad in the US?) That's it, I'm buying some Bintang singlets, I must look minted wearing a shirt with a collar.
I had a beautiful dusk swim this evening, watching the bats swooping the pool and listening to the "Eeee, Oooh" of the frogs. They sound just like the noise one of our dog's toys makes when you stand on it. She'd be going crazy at these frogs if she was here.
Boy, Sarong isn't half good eh? Back here for dinner I think for the third time now, the last time being our 16th wedding anniversary a couple of years ago. Didn't have to do a touch and go with the first table we were offered this time. Straight to a good table and quickly into another Mama San style Chilli and Honey Margie, followed by Prawn Dumplings and the most divine Crispy Pork Belly. Mains continued with my favourite Tandoori butter chicken and a Lamb shank twice cooked in Sumatran spices from the Coconut grill. Not sure what the Coconut grill is, but is sounds good. The Naan bread stuffed with lamb and yoghurt was awesome again. (Total cost, a cool mill). The stand off between Mama San and Sarong starts, I'm in Sarong's corner and Duchy in Mama San's but it's pretty close I think.
We finished up at Pot Head tonight, we had to check it out as we'd heard so much about it on the forum and from friend's earlier visits. It certainly had a good atmosphere, was very busy, it's a much bigger place than I thought it was going to be. There was a live Kiwi band on who kept saying "thank you potata hid". Sorry I can't even type a Kiwi accent can I? They were pretty crap actually, a bit grungy, give me a good DJ and some electro trance sounds any day. We skipped on more cocktails for which I'm grateful this morning and stuck with tea, coffee, a pear tart and profiteroles (300K) to finish the night off beautifully.
A quick poo post:
Going pretty well really. It's a little "Thar she blows" in the morning with a little bit of a "gentle breeze in the top sails" in the late afternoon, but so far the daily Travelbug washed down with Yakult is doing the job. Speaking of jobs, I've got to go.............