Woke at 5:15am this morning by two little excited girls!! Meg pulled back the curtains shouting "it's morning!". There was no way we were going to be able to go back to sleep. It was the best night sleep l'd had on ages though, gonna love this king bed!! Miss Boo was up making us a coffee, never again! Wasn't her coffees making skills but rather the powdered milk and cheap coffee. The girls and l had a bath which, although small, was devine. It's the little things you miss on this road trip! Anyway, we all got ready and made our way down to our first buffet breaky. It was enormous! So much on offer. There was soup, noodles, scrambled eggs and bacon, fruit, pastries, cereal and juices. You name it, it was there for the taking, and we did. Boo was up and eyeing off what she wanted. It was quite funny cause boo got eggs, pancakes, bacon and sausage while Meg chose fruit, yoghurt and pancakes. Marty had a ball and l had my first ever waffle!! OMG they are delicious, can't believe l've never had one before now. Will be having more of those on this stay, hope l don't end up looking like a waffle!!
After breaky we went for a walk down Jalan Kartika Plaza road to check out the shops and beach. We were greeted with smiles and 'hello's' from all the staff we passed, such lovely people. We made our way eventually across the street, having to wait for heaps of scooters to pass, and headed out to Kuta Beach. As soon as we hit the sand we were accosted by bloody women wanting to braid the girls hair. So with that, we got back onto the street and walked up the uneven, pot holed footpath. This place is done thing else, something Marty and l have never encountered. It's busy, dirty, poor, and also filled with all this amazing architecture and beauty. I am totally spellbound walking around looking at the buildings, land and people. Seeing the girls had woken so early, a walk was probably the wrong thing to do. But we were on a mission, we did need supplies. So we made our way to the Discovery Plaza, veering off down side streets to markets along the way. But with Meg whinging about sore feet as she opted to wear her tightish runners and Boo whining about how far we were walking, we decided to get the girls thongs and head back. On the way home Marty and l had determined that we would book the girls in the Lil Rock Kids Club as soon as we got back. And that we did!
We took a swim in the pool when we got back. The pool area is amazing! It's huge and filled with such vibrancy and joy. Made all by the staff, so friendly and kind. The girls hit the water slides starlight away. They had such a great time! Marty and l decided to swim over to 'The Shack', which is the swim up bar, and have a bintang and a berry crusher with vodka. We got talking to this couple at the bar which gave us some really cool advice and tips about Bali, especially some cheap and delicious spots to eat. Which after lasts might meal costing so much, we were glad to know. We had a pizza and chips by the pool for lunch which left me craving salad and fruit. Getting in need of some fresh food l think....
Marty and l then checked the two girls into the kids club, which they were so excited about. Sort of made it easier to leave them there. It looked pretty cool too. It had games, tv's and this big slushy and popcorn bar, surely enough to keep the girls happy anyway. Marty and l were like excited kids. First time without them for nearly 14 months! We went for a stroll up Poppies Lane 1 and that's when l saw a new side to Marty. Watching him talk and haggle with the Indonesian market people was both educational, amusing and adorable. He showed a new side to me today, one that l hope to continue to see. It took a bit to get our heads around the money but eventually we think we had it. As we strolled up the lane, able to fully take this place in without kids interrupting your thoughts, l felt overwhelmed with sorrow for how much these people have to work to get money. Their all selling the exact same thing so their luck or knack of getting a customer is all that weighs the difference between a sell or not. Marty showed great humility when he bought a pair of shorts from this guy just because he begged so much. It was his eyes that showed him pleading that made me sad. We did however have some laughs with the locals, their impersonations of saying "g'day mate" was hilarious. If you didn't see them you would think they were a true blooded ocher Aussie! We stopped for drinks as happy hour had started and we got two for one, total cost for drinks being $60,000 rupiah! That's two bintangs and two araks (like vodka) for $6 aus!! Marty and l are gonna be piss hags by the end of this trip! Lol. Anyway, by the end of our market shopping trip we got 4 bintang singlets, four dresses, a sarong, bag, pair of shorts, 15 DVDs and 3 hats for about $60 AUS. Cannot believe it. So happy with our half day out together. Had been wonderful to spend time together, without the kids. We laughed, joked, had fun and held hands like we were just going out again.
We eventually went and picked up Thr kids snd headed back to the pool for one last dip. The girls had had a great time at kids club and are eager TI go back again, which is good cause we were eager TI send them back again!! Lol. They watched The Simpsons, made fruit drinks, did face painting and even did some dancing by the pool. All I'm a couple of hours! Hopefully they will sleep tonight and sleep in tomorrow morning.
For dinner we decided to try the Sandbar restaurant. It was only a 5 min walk up from the hotel. On the say we went to Kuta beach and watched a beautiful sunset. Again getting flicked on by hagglers, getting a little annoying when all you want to do is watch the sunset but instead your fending off these women wanting to braid the girls hair. There were heaps of people on the beach to see the sunset, sort of reminded me of Mindle Beach back in Darwin, but just on a larger scale. Meg and Boo had fun chasing the waves, which were huge by the way. The sand is grainy and not the nicest, but the atmosphere was awesome. There were huge kites being flown in the air and even a jet leaving its mark in the sky with a huge white line. The colors of the sky were glorious with pinks, greys and oranges. Beautiful! Marty even got chatting to this bloke Wyran, who is Balinese and lives in Ubud but just came back from a month in Melbourne and was staying at our hotel. Whilst chatting he said that he could arrange this tour down in Nusa Dua to snorkel, parachute and go to turtle island. We were very excited, gave him our first names and room number and he said he will call us tomorrow night with cost. He said that he would take us maybe Thursday if we wanted? So we then left the beach and were heading to the Sandbar when we decided to stop and watch him. He said he was going back to his room at the hotel, but instead he got on his phone then headed back to the beach. Right there we were suspect! Bloody just got conned! Will not get sucked into any of there stories anymore. So when he rings, we're out, b******! Why can't they just be straight up with you instead of concocting stories?
Anyway, we got to the Sandbar, greeted by beautiful staff. Girls had a delicious carbonara, even Meg said so! Marty had an awesome huge homemade beef and mash pie and l had a mouthwatering delectable lamb shank and mash. Best meal l'd had in a long time!! All for $23AUS. Can't believe how delicious and cheap the meal was. Funny thing also happened that Boo had to go to the toilet, so l took her and on our way out Marty was there taking Meg. By the time l got back, our drinks had been cleared. They were full. They offered to get us new ones but I said to the bloke, happy to forgo the drinks and just pay our bill. When the bill came, all that was charged was the drinks! I couldn't believe it. I quickly got the bloke over and reassured him that we would indeed pay for our meal seeing it was fantastic, just not worry about the drinks. He, and our waitress, were so joyous and thanking us! For gods sake, who do they deal with? As if we wouldn't pay for the meal! It was amazing! Even told him we would be back a lot more over the next few weeks.
Anyway, the girls got home and crashed straight away while Marty and l had a night cap. Such a wonderful eye opening first day in Bali, can't wait to see what's in store for us over their stay. Tomorrow we're off to Waterbom Park for the day, should wear us all out....
Bell Xxx