DAY 4 - Benoa
Another huge breakfast with so much food but I'm getting a bit over the eggs and bacon by now and despite the wonderful range of choices, I just want some Vegemite toast.
Today is a planned 'quiet day by the pool' so we grab a couple of lounge chairs and settle in for some reading and a nap. In all the years we've stayed at the Novotel there has usually been a good mix of nationalities, and certainly not the loud, obnoxious guests you might expect to find in Kuta.
However, with a wedding and a large group of Aussies here, it is probably inevitable that they will be a bit more rowdy than the French and Germans. Its not the adults this time who are loud - its the kids. They run around the pool, doing 'Bombs' near other swimmers, screaming and throwing soccer balls the length of the pool. They are told off (very nicely) numerous times by the Novotel staff, however their parents do absolutely nothing. Dont get me wrong here - I have a child of my own, so I don't hate all of them, but I do expect that everyone has the right to enjoy their holiday without having to wear earplugs.
Several times the staff from the kids club come out and start an activity to distract the feral kids from annoying all the other guests, and for short periods they are entertained with ping pong, Olympic games or other kid friendly activities. After exhausting all their repertoire of activities, the kids are back in the pool and manage to hit a lady floating around on a pool noodle with a basketball to the head. If looks could kill..... she was not the only person who also told them off. They were standing right next to me, running past my lounge yelling and I had to use that 'special' tone of voice which managed to scare them away for a while. Not the best day, and even worse was hearing that they are staying for 2 weeks! No chance of them leaving before us.
We book a massage by the beach with the Hotel staff and enjoy an hour of semi-peace away from the kids. They are still there after we finish and I don't know when their batteries will run out as they have been running at full speed since about 11am.
We had planned to drive into Seminyak tonight for a little bit more shopping and eating, but we called Kadek, our driver, and he says he's stuck on the bypass road on the way back to Benoa from Seminyak. Traffic is at a standstill due to the convention and all the heads of Government (including Julia) and a trip that usually takes 20 minutes eventually takes about 3 hours for him.
We give up on our plans and walk the street near the hotel to find somewhere for dinner. We choose the Green Leaf, which really looks much the same as all the others, except their live music is slightly better than Karaoke and we settle in. Dinner is cheap and just fine - satays, nasi goreng, calamari and the usual freebies.
We walk back to the hotel, and settle in watching trashy tv. I'm just about asleep, and R definitely is, when I hear someone jiggling our door handle. They keep trying as if they are about to break into our room, so I creep over to the door and peek through the blinds, coming face to face with an Asian man who is just as surprised to see me. He beat a hasty retreat mumbling some kind of apologies, I can only assume he got the wrong room, but didn't take the hint when his key didn't work.
We are still getting love messages via SMS from Gus Rai the security guard, so this guy breaking into our room is a little bit unnerving.
DAY 5 - Friday
Another huge breakfast range, another vegemite toast. And maybe a pancake .... all good.
After our previous dinner at the deserted Japanese restaurant in Nusa Dua, and given the obnoxious kids inhabiting our hotel pool, we decide to spend the day at the Beach Club there. We catch the free bus to the galleria, and walk in the huge empty entrance to the restaurant. The staff are stunned to see customers, but their faces light up when we say we want to have lunch and enjoy the pool. They scurry about activating their customer contingency plan.. someone shows us to the pool, someone else gets cushions for us, towels, the music goes on, menus arrive. We are showered with so much attention we feel like rock stars.
We choose an elevated Cabana with a table, lounges, and our own executive toilets and changing rooms. We tell the waitress we'd like to just order some snacks to start with, and she offers menu's from the thai style restaurant. We order nibblies and drinks, and I swim around the huge pool with not a single other soul in sight. Love it. No kids, no noise. Just lovely warm water. The day continues like this, swim, eat, nap, read, swim, eat, nap, read.
For a change of pace, I check out the beach where the water is actually almost hot, and so clear. I swim along towards the pirate ship, hiding under my large straw hat and dark sunnies just in case our stalker security guard is working. I think he's on night shift, so its safe to go back to the pool and send R down to the beach for a swim.
We've managed to spend a very quiet and relaxing day here, for a grand total of under $50 in food and drinks for two people. The Beach Club concept works wonderfully in Bali.
We reluctantly pack up our stuff and say goodbye to our 6 or more dedicated staff, and walk out to the Galleria shopping centre. We quickly browse a few shops and purchase what looks like a sculpture of a dog made out of palm leaves tied on a wire frame. He's very cute, weighs nothing, and probably won't get through Quarantine. We name him Palmer.
Once again we look for the free shuttle which never actually runs back and end up booking a taxi.
Time for another massage which is particularly good and another dinner at La Scala. Again its great value and we get lots of freebies.