We are up early to have Breakfast next to the lions again. They are very lazy. There are only Males on display (which makes sense) but they are not at all energetic. A section of window in the restaurant has a family of Meerkats which is also new since our last visit, and they are very cute and entertaining to watch.
Breakfast is ok, but a limited Buffet. I get the feeling that the chef who made our wonderful dinner last night doesn't work the breakfast shift. Again we want to make the most of the head start we have over the people who haven't' had the advantage of staying overnight, and we are scouring the park for animal encounters. The lion cub and Bintaurong don't come out till after 10.30, but there are elephants to feed bananas to and we see a huge Iguana (the size of a large cat) being carried to the Petting Zoo area. We follow him and all take photos with him, and head back for more animal photos with the Bintaurong again. Aaaggh. About now Emily whispers the words 'Chihuahua Lady ' to me, and lo and behold, there she is. The lady from the airport with the huge bouffant hairstyle which could hide a small dog in it. It is a small world.
We go to another animal show with eagles, a huge python and more bloody Bintaurongs, this time they are the parents and much bigger than the baby we've been playing with. They are well trained and perform on cue, but the trainer notes that they do in fact eat MEAT on occasion, which would probably have changed a few things had I known this pertinent fact before!
We try to make it to the Piranha feeding time, but there are too many people crowded around the small window, and the piranhas in this tank actually have double chins ( I kid you not) compared to the other display tank which doesn't get a twice daily raw chicken to eat. We head back to the hotel pool for a swim which really does make a day at the Safari Park a lot more tolerable.
We check out of the hotel at noon and have lunch in the main restaurant, texting Kadek that we are ready to go a little earlier than planned if he is available. He says he is very sorry but he has something on at his daughter's school and he can't get to us before about 4. No worries, we have our lunch, which is average compared to the lovely dinner last night and plan what else we will see until he arrives. Kadek texts us to say he will now be here in an hour and we head off for a few last minute items before meeting him at the park entrance. I hope he hasn't missed any important event at the school, but he said its one of those boring end of school year things and he is glad to get out of it!
We are off to Ubud to pick up my friend Katt (refer to her own JBR's on this forum) and then Kadek will take us all back to Seminyak. Its a long long drive and traffic is horrendous, but at least its cool in the car and we are on our way.
As Katt has mentioned in her own JBR, Ubud is nothing like it was 10 years ago. I would not have been surprised to see a McDonalds there now, it has that many tourists and big chain stores.
We finally arrive in Seminyak about 6pm and as we are just about to get to our hotel, I see another friend from work just walking down the road and we frantically wind down the window and shout out to him. I find out later that Seminyak is just filled with friends and work colleagues.
Our room at the UPaasha is not quite ready, so we leave our bags and head to the rooftop bar for Happy Hour(s) which in true Balinese style lasts for 4 hours. Its an amazing view and we are all just happy to be out of the car, having a cocktail and nibbles and watching the sunset.
We have dinner at the Junction, and for some reason I'm no longer in love with the Prawn and Mushroom Ravioli in Lemon cream sauce. It may be I'm just too hot and tired to enjoy pasta, or I'm getting a cold and can't really taste it, or I've just had one ravioli too many. Not a great meal but I'm just keen to get to the room and have a shower and relax.
This is my second stay at the Upaasha, which while possibly not the perfect hotel, has a lot going for it in that the rates are very reasonable, the location is perfect on eat street, the pool is in full sun (which actually matters when you are there in the cooler months) and they have a wonderful checkout policy which means if you arrive in the evening, you check out in the evening, not the mandatory midday like most hotels. This feature alone saves us a half day rate as our flights always depart around 11pm and going without a hotel room to rest and refresh in is not the way I want to spend my last day. We extend our checkout time by arranging for Katt to check in 2 hours after us so we can all leave together at 8pm. Katt gets an amazing upgrade to a penthouse type room on the same floor as us.
Despite the fact that our standard room has a bed, a day bed and a huge couch, the hotel have still provided a full extra bed for Emily which is very comfy. I do find out later that they intend to charge us for this bed, and they only relent when I show them my printed booking form which states that kids under 12 stay free. I didn't ask for the extra bed and imagined she would sleep on the day bed like she did at the Novotel. Not happy with extra sneaky charges.