bali or bust

Got up early this morning to catch the sunrise. Missed it on the volcano so this is redemption time. Very quiet on the streets. Made my way to the beach and got a good position out on a set of rocks. Was a bit cloudy, however, got to see an awesome sunrise. Always love watching the sun come up. I do shift work and i always enjoy coming home as the sun comes up. Sat out on the rocks for about 45 minutes taking it all in. Beautiful!

Breakfeast this morning was at Bali Bagus. Good breakfeast. Today is very sticky from rain last night. Went to Hardys to grab a few things. Heat is a killer. Need to lay low until the heat subsides. Decided to go out and head to a bar. Went to Jimmys Sports bar which was just down the road. This bar is located on the main road, great for people watching and drinking. Settled in for some drinks when the owner Jimmy came over introduced himself and we proceeded to chat. Very much a character. Always good to chat to locals when you travel. It gives you a different view of the places you visit. Some more drinks then headed back to hotel. The hot part of the day was over.
Tonight we are heading down to the Sinduh beach for a seafood dinner. Got rained out last night so we are pumped for some good seafood. Made our way to the beach and got a good position. It is an awesome location. Some rain clouds hovered in the distance. We ordered our meal. You could see all the seafood they had on offer when you ordered. We chose prawns, octopus and bugs. All freshly put on a plate ready to be cooked. Sat back down to enjoy our beer and it started raining. Only lightly but enough to make us sit undercover. Not a big problem as we were still looking over the ocean. After enjoying our beer our food arrived. A seafood smorgasbord. We sat back and took it all in and chowed down on this great seafood. No complaints with the food or location. Not many words were exchange other than "this is good" "mmmmm". After devouring our feast we sat back and surveyed the carnage. What started as a big plate of fresh seafood was now a mess of shells and scraps. Awesome!

We slowly walked back to our hotel with full bellys and happy hearts. Another day in paradise.

Decided that we would go to Kuta today. This is a place i have heard mixed messages about. We decided to make our own decision. So we grabbed a blue bird taxi and headed off. Half an hour later were in Kuta. Compared to the rest of Bali we have seen Kuta is very built up. Taxi dropped us off in Kuta Square. I must admit we were underwhelmed. Straight away hit up by guys trying to flog off timeshare stuff. Had read about this scam and we were hit up straight away. They want you to take a scratchie which gives you the chance to win lots of things. Everyone is a winner, however, here is the catch they want you to go to a meeting where they will try and flog off timeshare packages. Then you can claim your prize, however, you need to buy into the timeshare package first. Have read they are very heavy handed. So when these guys asked i gave them a firm "no". We stopped and had some breakfeast and had a brief look around. Bars, nightclubs, restaurants and shops selling lots of useless stuff. This is not jen and my type of place. Streets were being hosed after a big Saturday night. After being hit up countless times by shop owners and timeshare guys we decided he go somewhere else. Jen was keen to do some shopping so we went to Discovery Mall a giant 4 level shopping centre. Jens eyes glazed over as we entered the shopping mall. She was in shopping mode. It was nice to walk around in air conditioning without being hassled by touts. I brought a nice shirt and i needed some new runners after blowing mine out on the volcano. Jen brought some sunglasses and some presents. Had a quick look at the back of the shopping centre which overloked the beach. Nice view.

After some retail therapy it was time for a beer/cocktail. Across the road to a very nice bar. We decided it was time to leave Kuta. I understand thousands of people visit Kuta and love it, however, it is not what jen and i like. Been there done that. Back to the quietness of Sanur.
While we have been at the hotel we have heard from time to time some loud gongs. Jen has worked out it sounded when a new guest arrives. Come to think of it they did sound the gong when we arrived. Just didnt think about it. That is why the old owner is waiting for you downstairs when you arrive. Ah well.
Wanted to go for seafood dinner down at the beach, however, the clouds rolled in and the rain came down as we set out. We decided to pick something close to home so we picked Made Warung. Had been wanting to have beef rendang so as they had this on the menu it was out choice tonight. Only a few people in the restaurant and some weird balinese music playing. Got settled and ordered our meals. Jen is a bit over balinese food so ordered something different of the menu. Everything arrived ok and the beef rendang was very good and jen enjoyed her meal. Another balinese meal off my list of food to eat. The rain had stopped and we made our way home.

Another day in bali finished.

Had breakfeast at hotel this morning. Not to sure about this place. Rooms are good, service good, location good but... seems that certain guests get the rockstar treatment and there is the rest of us. Seems to be those of Belgian decent. There was a table reserved in the breakfast room for some weird reason. Then an elderly couple faked tanned to the max with matching receding hairlines strolled in and took centre stage. The owner shuffled in as quick as possible to greet them. Maybe in Belgium they are something but in Bali... breakfeast ok.
Today we are planning on spending it at the beach. We are going to find a shady spot hire some lounge chairs and relax. Jen has to drop some dresses of to Sarina to be altered later.
Found a good spot on the beach near the markets called Bennos. Usually you have to pay for lounges, however, with this place if you buy drinks lounges are free. Found our spot. Kicked back for the next few hours and enjoyed the sun, water, drinks and some food. This is the hottest part of the day and with a cool breeze we were in paradise. This is living. Ahhh the serenity.

Dragged our relaxed asses off the beach and dropped jens stuff in with Sarina. We will see her Wednesday. Walked back to hotel, still very hot today, for a break before we go out later.
The sun had gone down and it was a lot cooler so we ventured out to the Sanur Night Market where the local day markets turn into a food market. Lots of local foods to try. Now i had checked this location online as well as with locals and thought i had it sussed. Could i find this place. NO! Jen and i wandered around where i thought it was, couldn't find it. Decided to stop at a bar and have a drink. Asked the girl at the bar where the night markets are. Just around the corner. What the... Just around the corner and there they were. Finally! At last i get to have my authentic satay sticks. Let me tell you they were worth the wait. Now we have found this place we will be back again. Jen is so cool for putting up with my weirdness.

Tomorrow we are going into Kuta. Need to see this place to make our own judgement. End of another great day.

First full day in Sanur. Had a good nights sleep. We have not got breakfeast as part of our room here so we went to a place down the road called The Owl. Had a hearty breakfeast there. Then time to get a few domestics done. Havent washed any clothes since we have been here. There are a few stinky items we need cleaned. Went down road to local laundry place and drop stuff off. The laundry place is down a little alley. The laundry lady was there and as she took the clothes bag she reached around and rubbed my back "massage?" "Just the laundry today thanks".
Jen is wanting to have some clothes made while we are here so we are heading out to find a tailor. 30 years ago when jen last came to bali she went to a tailor called Sarina who was at the beach markets. Today jen found that tailor! What a character she is. She didn't remember jen, however, she remembered jens aunty pam. Jen wanted some work tops made. She was very helpful and sorted jen with her work tops as well as skirts and a couple of other tops. Great customer service and her prices are crazy low. Will pick up tops in a few days.
On the way we stopped off at local dvd store. Jens dad asked us to get him some dvds when were here. $1 each, however, if you buy 10 you get 3 free. Got him a collection of new releases. He will be stoked. By now the heat of the day has set in so it is time to go back to hotel have a swim and a couple of bintangs. As you do.
Noticed that the hotel we are staying in is full of old people. Some very old people. We are the youngest people i have seen here. This is not a bad thing as it is very very quiet here. Just an observation. The main age of most tourists in Sanur would be over 60 and European. Not a bad thing just another observation.
Went out for late lunch at Little Bird Warung. This is a reggae themed warung within 2 minutes of hotel serving Indonesian food. Cool vibe and very tasty food. I had a sate dish, surprise, and jen a vege goreng. A must if you visit Sanur.
Not much to report on for rest of the day. Took it easy with another swim then went for a walk around town in the evening. Had a light meal then turned in for the night.

Had a extra long sleep in this morning. Took our time getting up and went and had breakfeast. As usual a great start to the day. Back to our toom and slowly started to pack everything. We have loved our time here at Gajah Biru and hope to come back again. If you ever come to Ubud do yourself a favour and stay here. Said our goodbyes to staff, especially Gede who has been our go to man during our stay. Our car arrived to take us to Sanur and off we set. Goodbye Ubud hello Sanur.
Driver picked us up from hotel and drove through bali for another hour until we reached our hotel the Tamukami. This hotel is a bit more of a resort than the bungalows we stayed at in Ubud. Very impressive entrance and lovely balinese design building. Got checked in had complimentary drink also got to meet the owner. Old Belgian man in his late 70s named Eugene. He built this place 25 years ago. To our room. Clean, tidy and the mod cons. All good. Time for a beer then hit the streets to get our bearings.

The first thing we noticed about being in Sanur was how flat is is. Ubud was very hilly. Even though our hotel is one street from the beach there is no direct access to the beach as the big resorts have the only access. So we had to walk down a couple of blocks then down a road to the beachfront. As we walking along we stumbled upon the hotel jen had been to 30 years ago, the Besakih Beach Hotel. Ahh the memories.
The beachfront of Sanur is very much a tourist scene. Lots of resorts, shops, bars, restaurants, massage etc all along the beachfront. Jen and i found a nice spot sat back and took it all in. Us aussies are spoilt for beaches so they have to be pretty good to impress us. Sanur is ok. Took a wander down the beachfront which was nice and pleasant.

A couple of ladies who own stalls bailed us up and wanted us to visit their stores. Jen was up for some shopping so we went. They were selling dresses, shirts, pants etc. Jen picked a few things then the fun started. Time to haggle. The came in with a very high price. I dont usually haggle, however, jen isnt that comfortable with the conversion so i took over. They were not happy with my offer however i stood firm and they agreed. 1-0 to us. Next one i brought a couple of t shirts and jen a dress. Same thing again way to high. Stood firm 2-0. That was enough of shopping. Had a bit more of a walk around and then back to the hotel to cool down. Got a good read on the layout and will be better for the walk around.
Got cooled down got ready then headed out for dinner. Hit the street and the choice was endless. So what do we choice? Pizza! An italian pizza/pasta place which was the busiest on the street. Very good pizza. Went across the road to an aussie sports bar and watched the end of the storm v broncos. Storm won. Went for a walk down main street and had a look at what was about. A lot cooler walking in the evening. Town is very quiet at the moment as it is the low season. Lots of empty restaurants. Back to our hotel and the end of our first day in Sanur.