Yee hah, we're baaaaack!! Flew out of Perth this morning on the Garuda 7.10am flight which meant a very early morning wake up for the 3 of us. Not even Miss 6 was grumpy though - the one time you can wake up well before dawn and jump happily out of bed is when you're heading off on holidays!
Flight left on time, and arrived 25 mins early. Bonus Bali time, what a great start. Miss 6 hits the arrivals hall & asks "what's that funny smell?" aaah that's the smell of Bali baby :-) We were out & met by the smiling face of our driver Jaya by 11am, our scheduled arrival time.
We make good time to Sanur, despite the traffic snarl due to the roadworks on Sunset Rd and arrive at the V*lla Puri Ayu well before midday. Our room isn't ready yet so we decide to hit the pool & have a bit of lunch while we wait as we're told it will be at least an hour or so before we can get in. The food at the VPA is very good value, prices on a par with cheaper restaurants & very tasty. One of the reasons we like staying here - you don't feel the need to head out for lunch to save a few Rupes if all you want to do is hang by the pool.
Jaya stays for lunch and waits for us to drop the luggage at the room so he can drive us up to Hardy's for the essentials - SIM cards, limes, mint and sugar for Mum & Dad, a 6 pack of Yakult & mini Cornettos for Miss 6. The little one is becoming a chip off the old block - she's not content to just go to the supermarket, she wants to shop upstairs and says she "needs" shoes, new bathers & sunglasses. I'm so proud I could burst :-)
After shopping Miss 6 and Jaya play a game of badminton at the hotel with the set we just bought while hubby & I unpack a bit. Gotta love that man - he's a driver slash child minder all rolled into one fantastic package!
We head to the pool for another quick swim and I check to see if I can have a massage. Can't get one by the pool until 9am tomorrow & I just can't last that long so we decide to go for a stroll to the beach, have a massage for 3 and an early dinner.
The massage was fine, but all I'll say is this... next time I'm not taking Miss 6 along for the ride. I remember now why hubby & I take turns to go off on our own. That child NEVER shuts up. The 3 ladies thought she was hilarious... me, not so much! After what seemed like the longest 1 hour massage ever, Miss 6 has a hankering for sushi so we abandon plans of dinner on the beach and walk back past the hotel to Sumo, a great Japanese place on the same laneway that we frequented when we stayed in Sanur last year.
We over ordered, over ate and walked out $29.50 poorer and at least a kilo or 2 heavier I'm sure! If you're staying down this neck of the woods Sumo's worth a visit. I love the big wooden Sumo statue at the front with his arms raised in victory, and the way the waitress bangs the gong to summon the chef (who was probably enjoying a siesta at the time). It's unpretentious & cool little place with great food.
I discovered (to my absolute horror) that I've left my Kindle sitting on my bedside table at home so it looks like writing HNRs are going to have to keep my occupied until I manage to buy a decent book. A quick visit to the VPA "library" shot down any idea I had of finding something to read there - unless I can learn German in less than a week.
Tomorrow we plan to do nothing but relax & hang out together. It's been a crazy, hectic few months for us back at home but we have switched seamlessly into Bali mode already :-)