We had booked into a villa in Sanur. The driver (Adi) met us at the airport and off we went to Sanur. My husband looked in the small esky on the back seat of the vehicle and found 8 Bintangs on ice. 'My boss give to you, Adi explained'.
By now FIL was in raptures, he was going to meet up with an old school mate and beer had been provided. He was already loving Bali. MIL and myself were more excited about the upcoming shopping trips. I had taken a lot of good advise from travel forums and had all the good places written down.
Adi drove us to a lovely two storey traditional style villa with three bedrooms and three en-suites. The private pool was big enough to slip into and relax. There was even a fridge on the second storey balcony. Of course this was also loaded with beer.
Our host (Ron)had even put two roasted chickens into the downstairs fridge. There was a loaf of freshly baked bread to go with it. FIL and Ron of course were happily rewinding the years and telling each other how good they could run, jump, shag, fight, wheel a barrow and ride a bike. Between the two of them you would have thought that they had invented the wheel. Ron gave us a hand phone with a list of numbers stored in it. He said that the two chickens had come from a small place named J & C (Juicy & Crispy) that also does take away ribs and salads.
I consulted my list and did not find this place on it. Ron noticed the list and said 'For the first two days please trust me. I will show you good places in Sanur that will never be written about on any travel forums'
This of course lead to talk of lunch. We were lead in the direction of a small local warung named Bintang Muslim. This is run by a delightful lady from Java. Our son (Paul) who is 15 did not want any of the local food, so Ron took him across the road to Man Frydays. This is an English style fish and chip shop. Apparently it is very popular with the English expat community.
Before long we were hooking into a great local style meal. Just the sort of meal one craves for when away from Bali. Paul wandered back with a couple of pieces of fish that were large enough to feed the whole family. I can understand why it is popular. I made a mental note to have a meal at Man Frydays at a later date.
Even though we had taken the morning flight up from Perth there was no thought of rest. There was shopping to be done. Paul, MIL and I went in hunt of various treasures, this time I was going to be able to use my list. We arranged to meet up with the men at 6.30. The suggested meeting place was the Fire Station on Jalan Danau Poso.
After being attacked by the beach sellers on Sindhu Beach we purchased some much needed useless items and made our way to the Fire Station. This is an upmarket style bar and restaurant that has a pleasant feel about it.
FIL was quite happily having an ice cold Bintang and munching on some Scotch Eggs. He reckoned they were nearly as good as those his grandmother used to make. With the men happily settled in we enjoyed a few drinks and then decided to try the food there. Among the wonderful food prepared was a great crispy pork belly with caramel vinegar sauce and Asian greens. There was also a wonderful crispy skin red snapper with seared scallops, green beans and cauliflower puree. When this was all finished the idea of bed was getting very attractive.
We made it home and all commented on what a wonderful first day back in Bali it had been. Paul suddenly announced 'Hey mum, Ron is going to take me swimming with the sharks tomorrow. Isn't that wonderful?'
This is what every mother loves to hear when she is about to drift off to sleep.
Next installment, swimming with the sharks.