Day 3
Despite a meticulously planned itinerary designed for maximum enjoyment, our plans for today had to change. Before being invited to dinner last night with our local friends, we had planned to get our early shopping requirements out of the way. Its essential to order any sewing we need done as early as possible to get it done before we leave. We've lost 2 nights now so we absolutely have to do this asap. We wake up to heavy rain which miraculously stops in time for breakfast at 8am, and we book Dedy our reserve driver for a trip to Seminyak for essentials. We change some cash at the hotel with the pathetic rate of 9400. Even worse than the airport but easy and trustworthy.
First stop for Dedy is Alta Moda fabric in Kuta. This is a taxi blackspot - very few drivers seem to know where it is, but by now we've worked out how to get there. We order 2 pairs of bathers, and about 5 dresses. Fabric prices are very good, tailoring is more expensive than some other places but the guy here seems to know what he's doing and you can see he's trained for years to make garments of good quality.
Dedy is great, waits patiently for us and takes us onto the next destination. He's charging us 250k for the half day ($25), from 9am till about 1pm. Next stop is Tambo beads in Seminyak, just past Geneva. Highly recommend. I spend about 600k on beads for friends and family here. Onto Carrefour (amazing bakery food, cheap toiletries and huge variety). We are running very late by now and won't be back to the Novotel till at least 1.30.
We had been asking Dedy how he gets work - he is one of a pool of 6 drivers who work for the hotels and get rotated each day. If he doesn't get a booking by midday he cannot make enough money for just an afternoon as no one wants to start a decent trip that late in the day. I always expect to pay 100k per hour, even though he's charging way under that, so we give him 450k for the whole day and book him to come back and pick us up again at 6pm for a quick trip to Nusa Dua. He is shocked to be paid 'in advance' but its just easier to give him the money and book it now. He can have a nap and we see him again at 6pm. We grab a late lunch at Altychnya, a tiny cafe near the Novotel. They do very quick and tasty basic offerings like burgers, fries and club sandwiches as well as the more traditional Nasi Goreng etc. Great service and reasonable prices. Like a lot of places, they seem well aware of positive feedback and have a high Tripadvisor rating which they strive to keep.
Now that the rain clouds have passed its very hot again and time for another swim. I barely get to the pool before one of the hotel staff invite me to attend a free cooking lesson by the pool - making Nasi Goreng. Its quick and simple, and about 6 of us come away with a huge serving of rice and the recipe to take home. This is what i love about the Novotel - the little free touches that make it memorable.
After a swim and a nap I use skype to call home and get ready for dinner.
Dedy collects us from the hotel again and drops us at Benihana (a Japanese Teppanyaki chain) in Nusa Dua which has apparently been there for about 8 months but has not had an 'official' opening.
R is just beside herself - she loves Benihana from a previous trip in Hawaii. Its a slightly more upmarket Teppanyaki which does not involve any throwing of eggs or rice, which suits me fine. Its entertainment without the messy participation. We are the only 2 people in the whole place which seats about 300, including VIP rooms and lots of private dining cabanas. They must have had to go and find a chef, because there would be no reason for him to turn up to work at all with no guarantee of any customers at all.
Our personal chef, Yogi, is lovely. A local from Nusa Dua, he's very tall for Balinese and has spent a few years in the USA so has a slight Texas twang to his accent which is fascinating to listen to. He is friendly and happy to talk about himself while he works, which is great. Even though Benihana's is a little pricier than some, we get a huge meal for about $30 Aussie dollars for two people which includes prawns, calamari, and beautiful steak, vegies and soup. Drinks are at premium prices.
We are so impressed by the surroundings, which are beautiful yet totally unoccupied, so after dinner we walk around the 3 properties which are linked together - Benihana, De Opera Beach club, and another Asian restaurant. This area is right behind the Bali Collection shopping centre, on the beach front and is like 3 open-air restaurants around a pool with deck chairs, cabanas and umbrellas.
Nearby we walk the beach path and find a huge area set up to look like a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean - complete with staff dressed as pirates, a shipwrecked pirate ship on the sand, treehouse, campfire with music, and a flying fox. Apparently 'Pirate Bay' is also new and hasn't yet had a grand opening, but it looks amazing. Its like a pirate theme park for kids, they do treasure hunts, half or full day activities, snorkelling or paddling, there is a restaurant etc. Prices seem high-ish but it does look like fun.
As usual in Bali, we find ourselves saying hello to every person we meet, and the two security guards on duty here are very friendly. VERY. The older of the two (I'm guessing 50ish) is totally mesmerised by R, and we do the usual questions - 'where you from, how long you here, first trip to bali'? Etc. Somehow he fixates on R, tells her how lovely she is and gets a mobile number out of her. Only problem is its MY mobile number. She doesn't have a local one so I get the love messages from Gus Rai the Security Guard for the next 3 days. Euuugh! Its funny now but at the time it felt like stalking.
We make our escape into the Bali Collection to order a carving from a shop we have admired on many trips. We are yet to meet the artist who apparently lives in Sumatra, but has agreed to be here tonight to meet us. We walk in to find 2 guys, one Balinese in traditional batik shirt and one who looks to be a Russian tourist. I say to the obvious guy 'are you the artist' he says nothing, but points to the other guy! Seriously, the artist doing the amazing animal carvings is a foreigner! We've imagined a local artisan who speaks no English. Once we get over the shock we discuss the order and go on our way.
On our way to meet Dedy, we run into two other Aussies from the Novotel, who have missed the free shuttle bus (which I now think is somehow manipulated to actually never run back to the hotels, thus forcing the usage of Taxi's who have a monopoly at the shopping centre)!! We offer them a ride with us, knowing Dedy won't mind 2 extra people to the same destination. We chat on the way back and give our friends Dedy's details if they need a driver. They use him later and we are very happy to have directed some business his way.
There is still time for a massage before bed at the salon across the road from the Novotel for 100k for an hour. Not the best ever but well worth $10.