Happy Birthday Papa Butch!
DID: Some difficult decisions today. Pool or beach? Goggles or snorkel/mask? Lunch served to our lounge chairs or at the restaurant? SPF 15 or 30? Drinks at the swim-up bar or in the Regency Club?
Water temperature much cooler than Thailand/Vietnam. Actually refreshing as opposed to bathwater-like.
Gavin took me to the hotel playground while Rhys napped. They have one of those swings for 2 people that’s like a see-saw, haven’t seen one of those in years!
Jason did drag us out of the hotel for dinner. Glad he did, but after a hard day of sun + swim I could have easily gone for room service.
Walk to dinner took much longer than it should have. Concierge said it would take about 10 minutes. Map showed a 90-degree bend in the road just before the restaurant. We walked…and walked…and walked…but no sharp turn was happening. Didn’t really mind the walk but would have taken the stroller had the plan been to walk this far. Started to think the concierge meant 10 minutes in a taxi. Finally we reached a market which Jason could see on the map was past where we were supposed to be. Hopped in a taxi, back-tracked nearly all the way back to the hotel! Walk back to the hotel from the restaurant took 10 minutes or less, so concierge was right after all. But that bend in the road was actually just a slight curve, grrr.
Didn’t see anything in Sanur that wasn’t just for tourists. Restaurants were mostly relaxed/casual but nice (they are definitely aiming for families and couples, not backpackers – if turning right from the hotel. Left leads to backpacker land). Lots of artisan workshops, spas, clothing boutiques, a few souvenir market stalls here and there. Prices about 10% of those within the Hyatt resort (ie a manicure costs $4 as opposed to $40). I’m sure we’ll be walking this street again out of convenience but I don’t feel particularly drawn to it. Individual businesses are fine but it lacks overall charm/character/heart, feel like I could be on a Pacific island anywhere, doesn’t say BALI to me.
ATE: Free breakfast at the Regency Club. Great omelets, an interesting flourless sugar cane cake concoction in a push-up cone contraption made from palm leaves, coco-crunch cereal, fresh mango juice.
Lunch - Omanu Omanu Grill, poolside at the Hyatt. Fresh, partially DIY lemonade – they serve sparkling water mixed with lemon and a pitcher of sugar water for you to mix in yourself. Jason thought the best part was the sugarcane stalk-stirrer, he ate all four of them. Gavin had chicken nuggets with mashed potatoes, Rhys had a cheeseburger and fries, I had Balinese chicken satay (slightly spicier than the Thai version) and Jason had mie goreng (spicy stir-fried noodles with chicken). All very good but at Australia prices, so we won’t be doing this every day!
Snack – Happy Hour drinks at the Regency Club. Hot snacks of the day were galettes with tomato and basil and chicken tikka sticks. Other munchies included chips with guacamole, shrimp in salsa verde, cheese and crackers, mixed nuts, chocolate cake, vanilla cream puffs. Highlight was the live music, two musicians on bamboo xylophones. Stage sits on the other side of a small canal from the bar, was just waiting to hear the splash of Rhys falling in as he tried to get closer to the musicians. Got lucky today but I fear that one of these afternoons he’ll be in!
Dinner – Café Batujimbar in Sanur (www.cafebatujimbar.com). Mix of Indonesian and Western items on the menu. GnR had a grilled ham and cheese with fries. I had chicken marinated in Balinese spices plus greens that had been stewed in coconut. Chicken was good, greens had a touch of curry that I didn’t go for. Jason had beef rendang which was excellent. If he’d offered me a trade I would have taken it in a second! Overall nice restaurant for local flavors.
SLEPT: Internet is $17/day here. Booo. So what we’ve learned over the last 2 months is that the big chain hotels are the only ones in Asia who charge for internet. Must get away with it because their guests are mostly Americans and Europeans who are used to paying for it elsewhere. The gardens and pool/beach facilities at the hotel are beautiful, and designed such that you can feel you’ve got your own private spot.
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