We had a fabulous dinner at Sarong restaurant and the next day we decided to layabout the hotel in and out of the pool and not a lot else as we were planning on meeting some more friends at Rock Bar Jimbaren. The Sherrys and another couple, Guy and Robyn, had arrived the day before staying at the Legian Beach hotel. We had heard fabulous reports on this place and had high expectations. The bar is in the Asaya resort, an extremely upmarket place where only the rich and famous can afford to stay whilst the poor and helpless (us) are allowed to visit.
The bar opens at 4pm each day and is accessible via an inclinator which takes you down in groups of 8. They have a dress code and no board shorts, singlets or bintangs tshirts allowed. Dave arrived not having received this message, in a singlet and boardshorts. Ruth, Daves wife raced up to the resort shop and bought him a new t shirt 300,000 rp and as Dave stood on the queue he took his boardies off and turned them inside out so they looked like a plain pair of shorts. At 4.20 we joined the queue, at 4.45 pm we were told that the bar was full and there was no guarantee we would get down, we were however, welcome to utilize any of the other bars on the premises or stay in the queue and try our luck. We opted to use one of the other bars and sat around on the lawn for a couple of hours and enjoyed each others company the t shirt was taken back and dave stripped again in public to turn his boardies back the right way and we paid exorbitant prices for drinks (ie 95,000 rp or about $11 a bintang after tax!). A couple of the group decided to sneak in the back way to get a look. Whilst a nice outlook the reports back were "nothing special"
We decided to head to Gosha for dinner, an old favorite of all of us and so started the trek back via taksi! The normal 80,000 rp cab ride increased exponentially due to traffic and with bursting bladders and a price on the meter of 120,000 we jumped ship and took off at a fair clip on foot to cover the remaining 2-3kms, as the others had told us they were already at the restaurant, they lied!
We had broken land speed records to get there and then sat for around 15 mins waiting for them, the only consolation ice cold bintangs at reasonable prices. The other cab had the same issue with traffic and that group bailed as well at 150,000 rp! With our seafood and steak picked and ordered we sat back and had a good chuckle about the afternoon with our eye on the clock as we needed to get back to the hotel for the imminent arrival of Vicki.
We sat in the hotel bar and played pool until Vic arrived at 10.40 then took ourselves off to bed. We had a 10am pickup to Villa semadhi in pemutaran north west Bali. A 4 hr drive that took in reality 6hrs due to the increased traffic because of Ramadan.
The villa, one word, awesome!
Massages, staff, pool, beach, boat what more could you ask!
Denis, Maz and Vicki on bikes through the villa
On Friday night we went to Tower resaurant for the 'highest level of dining' . The view was amazing. We ate on the 4th level of the tower outside, it was a bit breezy but tremendous fun, food was great, logistically it was amusing watching the staff carry drinks and meals up a spiral staircase passing tourists on viewing platforms, as it is a tower in the national park that looks out 360 degrees around Bali, you can even see Java. To help out the staff, we thought we could move downstairs for desert. This resulted in Vicki knocking the cutlery out of the hands of an obliging waiter on the stairs on the way down, and then being ordered back to our seats to finish our meals....after all, it was the 'highest level of dining' we had asked for, and that was what they were going to make sure we enjoyed. We absolutely did!
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale........
Saturday morning we were picked up early at 7.30 and driven right up almost to the farthest north west corner of Bali to go snorkeling at mengangen island. Awesome day, brilliant coral and fish, then back to the villa for massage, swim, bintangs and rest. Although, Greg did get adventurous and tried his hand at doing some kayaking.....without much success. There will be a video to have a look at, courtesy of PJ...again, he was the on the spot newsman.
Dinner was arranged at the Frangipani Restaurant, a local place with some good wraps. It certainly lived up to its reputation. Sensational! And they allowed us to bring our own white wine. The staff were helpful with great senses of humor. Unfortunately, They wouldn't sell Net her martini glass? What a great night!
A super early start to the morning on Sunday. Up at 5am to go on our trek with Putra to the top of the very high mountain at the back of our villa. The name of which we have to check up on....In complete darkness, we climbed one of the. Out difficult treks I have seen. It was literally six inches wide in some places, steep, loose stones and covered in stinging nettles and blackberry bushes...and we couldn't see a thing. Only just over a one km walk took us about fifty minutes! But so worthwhile. Without doubt the most spectacular sunrise I have ever seen. Breathtaking, stunning. Even the great photos don't do it justice. The walk back, although in the light, was even harder. Old man Cato really did it thought with those chalky knees of his!
Next up, a day of cycling, snorkeling & Babi gulang!
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