| |
Left for Bali on February 7th with my better half, who I'd
like to refer to as Boss since everyone else did there! He prefers
Transport, but Boss so suits him! We had two more fabulous weeks in our home
away from home, making this our tenth trip. The weather for the most part
was fine; we had one full day of rain with occasional showers. I'll just
touch on a few points as we did the usual; lying about smartly in the sun,
shopping, partying. First off, we felt totally safe here, and encourage
you all to visit Bali and help our/your friends by easing their current
economic crisis. We stayed in the Besakih in Sanur, and as usual loved it.
The establishment seemed a bit tired this time, but the staff were/are
incredible. What can I say?
Everyone welcomed us 'home' and we felt like we were home! Our
housekeeper, Ida, is a peach; we brought her some gifts from here, lots of
girly stuff like creams, lipsticks, soaps, etc., and she reciprocated with
fruit, flowers, and homemade banana fritters and some type of Balinese sweet
made with some chewy rice product covered in coconut. We heard from the
staff and saw from our surroundings how quiet and slow it's been, so I'd
like to suggest that everyone start donating tips if you can, when you can.
It's so appreciated!
Regarding the Sanur beach project, it seems to be progressing smoothly
with estimated completion date in November. We noticed construction
happening south of the Griya Santrian in front of the Gazebo and Bonsai
restaurants. It can get a bit noisy, and work can only get accomplished at
low tide.
In Sanur, would like to again mention The Village restaurant for good
Italian food, especially their pizza. Also, the Lazer Sports Bar has good
grub (garlic prawns and pasta marinara were our favorites there) but would
like to recommend the Lazer Sports Café a few doors down. Air conditioned,
good food (different menu from sports bar) and good, strong coffee! The
Arena is the new incarnation of Olaf's Koki's. It's on Sanur bypass and Olaf
is now serving the same menu he had before.
Went to Jimbaran Bay one night and our usual place, Roma Café, has been
bought out and is now Café Wayan. The food is just as good, but our host
claims the prices doubled. And perhaps I'm jaded from going so often, but it
seemed to me buggier, dirtier, and the only functional toilet was NOT
recommended by the Boss as it was apparently pretty gross. Guess the thrill
is gone...
We got a good jump on our Christmas shopping so have a few mentions about
this. First, we used a driver named Dewa Yadna, #081 236 03473. Very amiable
man and reasonable (200,000 rp./day). Our first excursion took us to
Tegallalang, just north of Ubud. We were dropped off at the top of the hill
and walked down with Dewa following to pick up our purchases. Was Sunday and
a full moon so not everything was open, but these shops do cater to
wholesalers, i.e., the more you buy, the cheaper it is. Was hot but
tolerable with the breezes, and the prices are great on this street. Bought
a few sets of leather candle holders, and watched them being made. Sister
wanted some metal fish candle holders, so found a great shop there for these
(Bali Good Handicraft, Jl Gentong). Worth the stroll, because we hit Ubud
next and the prices seemed outrageous after Tegallalang.
Another day we asked Dewa to take us to the Sukawati market area, south?
of Ubud, for a few hours in the morning. Gets real hot here so the earlier
the better. This is one place where the locals buy their goods for their
shops. My favorite purchases this trip were those crazy birds made of bamboo
whose heads bob. We bought a load of these for gifts. And for those that
can't transport bamboo, we also found sturdier versions made of wood. Found
these on a side street near Sukawati market as we rarely go into the market
proper; too hot, dark, and I'm sure a fire hazard.
Our main shopping was in Batubulan; we bit the bullet and bought 4 stone
statues to ship home. We were introduced to Mastra at Sapta Prima Cargo in
Sanur (62-0361-299555) by a friend from Guam who was there to fill a
container or two of furniture. Kathy has employed Mastra in the past and
he's very accommodating; he drove her around for a week, she bought stuff
and tagged it, and his employees go back later to gather the goods and ship
them. Very professional, and made it so easy for her/us. Naturally, the
shipping for us cost more than the statues, but we'll have some fond
memories when we view these little works of art in our garden this summer.
Went to Denpasar with my Javanese friend to buy some material. I paid
15,000 rp. per metre for batik, bought 12 metres to have 6 sun dresses/loungers
made for the hot Texas summers and gifts; then went to 'my' seamstress and
for 165,000 rp., got the things made up. So, for about $6US each, I feel I
did okay. And they wash and wear, as long as you buy rayon and not cotton.
So cool and different than anything I could get here! I did this last year
and love 'em!
Enough with the shopping! Of course we went into Kuta to pay our respects
at the bomb site; so very sad and empty. All of Kuta was pretty darn quiet.
We were told planeloads of folks were landing, but don't know where they're
all staying. We noticed some minor improvement in parts of the sidewalk, and
many new stores (to us as we were there last in June '02) which seem to be
catering to the Asian tourists. Met up with the Canadians at S&S's one night
(hi, Pete and Judy!) and we were the only two couples there. The Boss gave
Sammy a nice tip, and Sammy's response was that this will buy rice for my
children tonight. So naturally we went back a few nights later and met up
with Peter Ryan and Arthur Clark. Had great good fun with them, and
proceeded through a gullywasher of a downpour to the Indo-National
Bar/Restaurant (Jl. Sahadewa 13d, #61 0361 286466), where we met Cheza and
got reacquainted with Milton and Kerry, having met them several nights prior
to this evening. Haven't eaten there yet, but the cold face cloths are a
sweet touch, as are the icy Bintangs and the lovely hospitality! And Milton,
you still have my umbrella, remember the one you said you'd hold for me so I
wouldn't forget it?!
RE: money, specifically US, if the dealer wasn't a Kodak shop or
authorized money changer where they have machines to detect counterfeits,
our $100 bills were no good (even though they were pristine and straight
from the bank) if the date on them was any earlier than 1999. This was a new
one on us.
Brought lots of lollys just to see those smiling faces of children and
adults alike light up when given one. Favorite moments were sitting outside
the hotel room at night or early in the a.m. and listening to the animals
create their own lovely music. While I sit here watching my tan fade, I
envision hanging on to the edge of the pool, staring into the ocean, warmed
by the sun. But back to reality; after our 21 hours in the air to get home,
it's cold and rainy here. At least we have our memories, and we know we'll
be back to our home away from home!
Hope some of this info proves useful.
Ruth
|
|