Today is our last in Sanur and we spend a leisurely morning having breakfast, saying goodbye to the friendly staff, swimming & packing up for the move to Seminyak. Check out is at 12.00 but by 11.30 our driver Jaya has arrived and we're ready to go.
I'm hoping to stop off on Sunset Rd at Pt Lumbung Ayu, the shop I'd seen advertised in the Bali Advertiser, to see if we can organise the copper Chicken/Rooster cage lamp shades I want so badly! Unfortunately their website didn't show a phone No. and I'd neglected to check the ad and write their No. down so all we have is the address. We drive along slowly & keep our eyes peeled but can't see it anywhere. I ask Jaya to go down Jl Raya Kerobokan instead & see if we can spot anywhere else that has metal/copper lighting. We also need to change money so we park in front of a money changers & I have a wander down the street while hubby takes care of the moolah.
I go into a couple of places but nowhere has what I'm looking for. It's hot as Hades & after a short walk I give up, just wanting to get to the Semara for lunch and a swim. I always knew the shopping & shipping thing wasn't going to be as easy as it seems but I can't help feeling a bit disappointed. Back in the car we drive about 50m down the road and then I spot it - a shop selling the exact light fittings I'm after. Yeeha! Jaya turns around, parks out the front of the shop (Solaris) and hubby and I get out to have a look and ask about prices. Unfortunately 'the boss' is not there & the 2 girls in the shop can't give me prices but we discuss what we want, the size & how many and leave my email address for the boss to send me a quote. They don't have them in copper but I'll settle for the right design in a black metal if I have to.
Feeling a lot happier we drive to the Semara to check-in but the room is not going to be ready for another hour. The BP is itching to get to the Kids Club so we check her in up there, leave the luggage in the lobby and head over the road to Biku for lunch. As hubby & I cross the road, hand in hand and alone together, I say to him 'now THIS is why I love the Semara so much!'.
We manage to score a table at Biku without a reservation, although it's very busy and decide to have the Asian High Tea for 2 which we'd enjoyed back in September. Vegetable samosas, Vietnamese spring rolls, curried egg sandwiches, yummy little Chicken tarts with lemongrass & mint in the lightest flakiest pastry and a selection of sweet treats (the flourless orange cake in citrus syrup is sooooo good!). All washed down with the Biku cooler (iced tea with mint, lemongrass & lime).
Over an hour has passed so we head back to the Semara & find that our room is ready. I check on the BP in the kids club but she's not ready to leave just yet ('one more hour Mummy'). She's as happy as a pig in mud (& I feel like one after our lunch at Biku) so we go up to the room to change & have a swim. Aaaah bliss, I'll cool off & maybe read a bit before collecting the BP for some pool-time fun :-)
It's still very hot & I'm looking forward to my swim but hubby is first in the water & when he comes up for air he says 'wow, it's like a warm bath in here'. I jump in too and 'warm bath' is an understatement - it's more like jumping into a hot bowl of soup if you ask me. Oh well, refreshing it aint but at least it's wet!
We get chatting to a guy from Perth who's here on his own awaiting his wife & 4yo twins to arrive from the UK and we enjoy a few cocktails together (it's happy hour - buy 2 get one free). Hubby goes up again to retrieve the BP from the kids club but she's still not ready to leave! Now she wants to order some food & stay for 'one more hour Daddy'. We get 2 hours daily at the kids club included in our room rate and the hourly rate thereafter is still very reasonable - about AU $6 per hour.
When the 3rd hour is up, I go to pick her up and then we go back to the pool until it's time to shower & change for dinner.
The BP is feeling quite tired so we decide to eat at The Deck restaurant at the front of the hotel as we have a voucher for 2 main meals to use there. We hadn't been particularly impressed with the restaurant on our last visit but were hoping things had improved. At first it looked as though they'd lifted their game - more staff, quicker service - but things quickly deteriorated. I want a glass of wine & notice that they have the Cape Discovery on their 'happy hour' list and even though happy hour's not until 10pm I assume that I can still buy one at non-happy hour prices. 'Sorry madam, it's only for happy hour' I'm told. Surely I can buy a glass off the normal menu? 'Sorry madam, not until 10pm, you can buy a glass of Hatten's instead'. Umm, thanks but no thanks! I'm a bit P'd off & decide that I'll just share the BP's water rather if I can't have the wine that is not available for another 3 hours.
While we're waiting for our meals to arrive, a young South American guy approaches the table. He asks if we've visited The Deck before & if we think they've improved since our last visit. I decide to be honest & complain that it's unreasonable that they should offer something during happy hour but not at any other time. I explain that I don't expect to pay happy hour prices but ask 'surely the same drinks are available at any time of the day?'. He goes off to check & when he returns tells me I can have my glass of Cape Discovery & they'll only charge me happy hour prices. All good. That was until the meals arrived...
Hubby's Thai Green Chicken Curry tastes like a strange capsicum soup, my Beef Rendang is bland and a bit dog-food like, and worst of all the BP's Chicken Schnitzel is still raw in the middle. It's when the main meals arrive that we're told our entrees will not be forthcoming 'sorry Madam, the Chicken Lillit is no good already'. It's not the only thing that's 'no good already' LOL.
It's a real shame as The Deck is a great venue, spacious and beautifully decorated with a few different 'zones' including an area at the rear with pool tables. If only they could get their sh*t together with the food & service, it would match the calibre of the hotel it's supposed to service.
Hubby heads out after dinner to the Mini mart to buy some mixers for our Duty Free while I take the BP up to bed. He's been MIA for quite a while & I'm beginning to think he's gone 'to drop off the laundry' when he re-appears laden with cold drinks and... *drum roll*... half a dozen macaroons from the Bali Catering Co and a bucket of ice. God I love that man! The below par dinner is soon forgotten about as we sit on the balcony scoffing berry macaroons & drinking Hazelnut Bailey's on ice.
The perfect end to Day 1 in sunny Seminyak :-)