Today is my day of rest. No gym this morning, so slept an hour later. Still doing the waking up every couple of hours. Shower early today & off to see what delights are available for breakfast. I order my eggs & peruse the buffet. Damn, its beef bacon today - that stuff is just a little weird. And I don't like pork sausages - strike two! They don't cook their sausages enough in Bali - I like mine nearly cremated. Under the next closh is some vegetable fritter looking things - I'll try one, and there's some noodles again. Eggs ready, back to my table. Waffle & fruit, and a mini danish this morning. Yum!
Back in my room I start blogging, check FB & my emails. Next thing I know it's 2.5hrs later. Not a nanna nap, that was a full-on sleep! I do feel a bit more refreshed. I potter around with my iPad until lunchtime & walk up to the main road to Thai Corner again for lunch. Because their chicken in chilli jam was so nice last time, I order it again. The waitress with the lovely smile isn't working today. Just the boys. The dish was just as nice as last time. I watch the world go by from my table. This end of Jl Pettiginet is much more sedate.
I saw a few spas within easy walking distance & consider having a massage. Many years ago I was 'traumatised' by a massage spa treatment which involved the total loss of my dignity. I haven't had one since. OK, I'll give it another crack. I choose the one across the road that is also a beauty salon. It looks nice from the outside. The place is empty of patrons, but pretty roomy with nice fittings in black with red velvet chairs. There is a guy & a girl there. The girl asks if I mind if the guy does the massage. No, that's fine. I think. I'm led into a small room - it is very dimly lit by a fancy light sculpture. It has 2 massage tables in it - one narrow one against the wall & a wider one with not alot of space around it. In the corner near the door is a shower. The girl hands me a pair of disposable nickers & says to remove all my clothes & put them on. The guy starts to open the door but quickly closes it again at my screech that I'm not ready yet. In fact I was naked & about to don the nickers but instead made a grab for my handbag to cover myself as the door opened. Thank God my handbag is enormous! Heart pounding alot faster now, I finish putting on the nickers, which are bikini size on me & look around for the requisite sarong to cover my naked top half. Nothing. Great! This time the guy knocks on the door which gives me time to cover myself with my arms, comes in & asks me to lie face down on the bigger massage table. A bit awkward but I manage without a boob flash & he starts. No cover over me at all. There is no music - I can hear music in the salon faintly, but it is mainly drowned out by the creak of the swinging vent of the air conditioner. He starts off applying firm pressure on my feet, working his way up to my shoulders. Then he oils up & starts massaging in earnest. Who knew that the arch of your feet could hurt? Yowsa! Once he moved off my L) foot & up my calf it felt really good. The only part that hurt again was when he lifted my ankle to bend my leg backwards at the knee. Dodgy knees! Ow! After he finished my back half, he wanted me to roll onto my back. He had a towel ready to cover my chest, but I used my arms for good measure. He asked did I want my stomach massaged. Not on your life, Sunshine! No thanks, I say. When he finished the front, he got me to sit up & did some more on my back & shoulders. Mmmm, feels good. When he finished, he asked if I wanted to use the shower. No thanks, I say. Will I turn the light on? Yes please, clutching the towel to me. Damn, the shower looks awesome. It's got 6 x water jets at waist/chest height as well as overhead. Damn. I pay on the way out & walk back to the hotel. There is quite a bit of building works going on along the road, so by the time I get back to my room I have dirt clinging to the oil on my feet.
A swim is in order. On go my gorgeous bathers & my sarong & down I go with handbag in tow. I have my towel card now, to the delight of the pool boy. I get one of the towels & plonk my stuff near an umbrella. All the loungers are taken, as per usual. I get in & dive under, happy for my now greasy hair to get wet. Swimming lazily around for awhile, I then lean back on the ledge & look up at the sky - it's a brilliant blue. As my eyes follow the sky to the left I see some kites way up high. Wow, the string must be really long. There are lots of kites in the area - there always seems to be a strong breeze at the hotel. My reverie is interrupted by the sound of a lawn mower. The lawn next to the pool is being mown. Now I am transported back home to a sunny weekend with that familiar background noise. Then that is overtaken by the noise of the water jets in the shallows of the pool turning on, followed by the waterfall below the restaurant that feeds water into the pool. I see someone vacate their lounger so make a quick dash to claim it. I relax back, retrieve my iPad from my bag & start writing my blog. This is the life.
The sun is starting to set. Time for a shower & get ready for dinner. I like to have dinner around 6 - 6.30 pm so I can get a table easily enough at the restaurant of my choosing. I choose Ultimo again, as it was so nice last time. A taxi is called for me & a few minutes later we are off to 'eat street'. The table I am seated at is directly in line with the toilets. I can smell them and ask to be moved. No problem. The delicious bread basket is placed before me with a scoop of garlic butter. Their parmesan bread sticks are so yummy. I am hungry so I order a small serve of chicken ravioli with mushrooms to start & a glass of sav blanc. For main I order a Hawaiian pizza. The pizza was quite large but lacking in toppings. The total amount of ham on it was a single round deli slice cut into quarters. It still tasted good but was disappointing. The Trattoria next door make better pizzas.
Again it's a piece of cake to hail a taxi. I climb the Mt Everest of steps to the foyer. There is a guy playing the tingklik - a bamboo xylophone. I much prefer the sound of this to the harsher metallic sounds of the gamelan orchestra. There is a nice strong breeze blowing along the causeway as I walk back to my room. I say hello to the housekeeping staff cleaning someone's room. There is alot of staff at this hotel & every single one always greets you & smiles. It's lovely. My usual night routine kicks in. Facebook, write some blog, read & settle to sleep on my fantastically welcoming pillows to sleep.