May 3rd, 2016.
This morning started with our usual breakfast at the Swiss-Bel, followed by a dip in the plunge pool before heading off on one of our daily walks. Today we headed up to Warung Little Bird, just along Jl. Danau Tamblingan. We had heard a lot about Warung Little Bird before coming here, and it certainly didn't dissapoint, with some of the best and also the cheapest food we'd had on the trip so far. Lori and I shared a plate of Mie Goreng Chicken, Cap Cay Pork and 6 Chicken Satay Skewers with rice and vegetables. Any of those selections would have been a meal in itself, but we just had to try them all. Our drinks with this meal were an iced mocha, a latte and a chocolate milkshake, and we got change from 200k rp. The food here was amazing, and during the day it was a nice relaxed place to hangout. We walked past on the way home around 9pm though, and the place was pumping. Packed to the rafters, the food and drinks were flowing and the house band was keeping the crowd entertained.
Left - Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/5 @ f/5.6, 26.833 mm (ISO 640)
Right - Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/160 @ f/5.6, 40.232 mm (ISO 320)
Approximate location: Warung Little Bird, Jalan Danau Tamblingan 110, Sanur, Kota Denpasar, Bali
From Warung Little Bird, we walked further along Jl. Danau Tamblingan, which of course meant we stopped at every silver shop along the way. We also stopped in at the Bali Animal Welfare Association's shop. BAWA work to better the lives of animals in Bali, with a particular focus on the stray dogs of Bali. Their programs include sterilisation and rabies vaccination programs for the stray dogs of the island.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/60 @ f/5.6, 15.1 mm (ISO 1600) Approximate location: Warung Little Bird, Jalan Danau Tamblingan 110, Sanur, Kota Denpasar, Bali
We then walked on past the Pasar Sindhu Night Markets and made our way out onto "the bypass", Jl. Bypass Ngurah Rai, one of the busiest roads in Bali. We then headed south along the bypass, and heading back towards the beach opposite the Griya Sanur. Along the way we stopped in to a local supermarket called Boca's, which reminded me of an IGA back home. For most of their products, they were also a lot cheaper than Hardy's on Jl. Danau Tamblingan. Not far from here, I had to duck into a service station, and found out the hard way, how to use the 'hygiene hose'.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/500 @ f/7.1, 15.1 mm (ISO 400) Approximate location: Jalan Bumi Ayu IV, Sanur, Kota Denpasar, Bali
We explored a few of Sanur's back streets on the way back to the hotel, where we made our way to the back entrance, at the restaurant deck, and thankfully the restaurant staff recognised us and let us in.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/13 @ f/4, 15.1 mm (ISO 1600) Approximate location: Pasar Sindhu Night Market, Jalan Pungutan 49-53, Sanur, Kota Denpasar, Bali
A quick change into our bathers, and it was time to visit the pool bar again before heading out to dinner. Tonight we took a walk down to the Pasar Sindhu Night Markets, at the northern end of Jl. Danau Tamblingan. These markets are fairly small, but also quite busy, with half the square set aside for a clothing market, while the remainder of the square formed a vibrant food market filled with small carts.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/13 @ f/4, 15.1 mm (ISO 1600) Approximate location: Pasar Sindhu Night Market, Jalan Pungutan 49-53, Sanur, Kota Denpasar, Bali
Here we had chicken and goat satay skewers, smoothies with durian and mango, a chicken martabak and a sweet pancake about an inch thick, filled with all sorts of dessert goodness. A bottle of sweat tea and a couple of bottles of water completed the meal, all for around 120k rp, or approximately A$12. The martabak in particular was worth more than the whole nights bill, just to see it made. Mind you, something from tonights dinner would come back to haunt me, but that's a story for another post.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/13 @ f/4, 15.1 mm (ISO 1600) Approximate location: Pasar Sindhu Night Market, Jalan Pungutan 49-53, Sanur, Kota Denpasar, Bali
After dinner, we walked back down Jl. Danau Tamblingan, past the now pumping Warung Little Bird and back to the Swiss-Belresort Watu-Jimbar, had a few gin and tonics in the room and then fell asleep happy and fill of food.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/13 @ f/3.5, 15.1 mm (ISO 1600) Approximate location: Pasar Sindhu Night Market, Jalan Pungutan 49-53, Sanur, Kota Denpasar, Bali
Make sure you check out the video of the guy making the martabak below.
May 2nd, 2016.
Another lovely morning here at the Swiss-Belresort Watu-Jimbar. After a delicious breakfast, we took a walk. First stop was the laundry up the road, that we had used last year, to drop off our dirty washing from the last week in Kuta. The price was 20k rp per kilogram, with another 10k rp express service fee on top to get it back the same day. All up less than it would have cost to wash it ourselves in a laundromat back home. After dropping off the laundry, we wandered down to Hardy's to do a bit of shopping.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/60 @ f/11, 15.1 mm (ISO 800) Approximate location: 3 Monkeys, Jalan Danau Tamblingan 114-116, Sanur, Kota Denpasar, Bali
A couple of hours later, having bought everything from a 2.5k rp pack of cardboard dominoes and some more fountain pen ink to a pile of clothes for Mikah and about 6 small steel and brass sculptures, both for our house and for gifts, we made our way back out onto Jl. Danau Tamblingan, and started walking back to the hotel. Along the way, we checked out a few more silver shops and dropped in to 3 Monkeys for lunch. This was one of our favourite dining spots last time we'd been in Sanur. Todays lunch was a selection of Lamb Briouat with Tahini Yoghurt Sauce, Balinese Spiced Duck Fried Spring Rolls and Goat Cheese Fried Ravioli accompanied by a couple of smoothies and followed by a Pannacotta with Broken Baklava for dessert. The pannacotta here is amazing and it won Lori over last time we'd been in Sanur, to the extent that we came back several times just for pannacotta and coffee.
Hero3-Black Edition - 1/120 @ f/2.8, 2.77 mm (ISO 232) Approximate location: Swiss-Belresort Watu-Jimbar, Jalan Danau Tamblingan 114-116, Sanur, Kota Denpasar, Bali
After lunch, we returned to the hotel room, where I had a couple of gin and tonics in the plunge pool while chatting to our neighbours, a couple in their 70's from Rockingham who hadn't been to Sanur for at least 20 years and were pleasantly surprised by what they'd found. We then headed off to the pool bar for some Crazy Lori's and Uncle Phil's during the 3 hour long happy hour. At the end of happy hour, we headed back to the room, got dressed for dinner and made the short walk to pick up our laundry.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/60 @ f/5.6, 22.06 mm (ISO 1600) Approximate location: Swiss-Belresort Watu-Jimbar, Jalan Danau Tamblingan 114-116, Sanur, Kota Denpasar, Bali
On returning with our now freshly washed and pressed laundry, we called Mikah for a chat before heading to the hotels dining area for the Balinese Buffet, one of the regular (and well priced) offerings at the Swiss-Bel, this one being a huge spread of good local dishes, which sets you back only 98,800rp per head.
Over dinner we had a chat to a couple of sisters who were here on holiday from Sydney, swapping stories of our experiences so far in Sanur and Seminyak, before we decided to call it a night.
May 1st, 2016.
Today's the day we move out of the Satriya Cottages and leave the hustle and bustle of Kuta for the more relaxed pace of Sanur and the Swiss-Belresort Watu-Jimbar. As usual, we started the day with breakfast at the Satriya, then we headed back to the room, packed our bags and checked out, leaving our bags with the staff at reception. We headed west on Poppies II to Jl. Pantai Kuta and headed south via Kuta Square to Jl. Kartika Plaza. We headed to the Discovery shopping centre for the first time this trip, and spent a good couple of hours wandering the shops before heading to Burger King for a bite. I think this was the first time Lori and I have ever gone to Burger King in Bali, and certainly not something we're planning on making a habit out of. After lunch we flagged down a taxi to take us back to the hotel and ended up negotiating a deal to take us back to the hotel, load up our bags and run us out to Sanur all for 120k rp.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/250 @ f/4, 15.1 mm (ISO 640) Approximate location: Jalan Danau Tamblingan 42, Kota Denpasar, Bali
On arrival at the Swiss-Belresort Watu-Jimbar on Jl. Danau Tamblingan in Sanur, we found the room we'd requested wasn't available, however the hotel were happy to work out a room upgrade to a plunge pool room with what they referred to as a Hollywood bed, being 2 twin beds pushed together into a super sized king bed, which worked out really well for us. However, to make this happen, we would need to give them an hour or so to rearrange our room, which we were certainly able to work with. We took a walk along Jl. Danau Tamblingan, checking our a few silver shops along the way, and stopped at The Glass House, intending to grab a coffee each. Once we got inside and checked out the menu, we instead ended up having a slice of lemon meringue pie and a smoothie each, and we were both very happy with our selection.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/800 @ f/5, 35.208 mm (ISO 800) Approximate location: Jalan Danau Tamblingan 25, Kota Denpasar, Bali
After leaving The Glass House, we headed back to the hotel where our room was now ready, and finished checking in. We headed to the pool bar where Lori and I taught the bar staff how to make our favourite cocktails, a modified Toblerone with vodka, Baileys, Kahlua and hazelnut liqueur and ice, in a blender and given the name Crazy Lori, and my twist on a White Russian, simply a traditional White Russian with a shot of Malibu, that was given the name Uncle Phil for the week. While we were hanging out at the pool bar we met up with a a couple of travellers from Perth, who also ended up knocking back a few of our signature drinks.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/100 @ f/11, 15.1 mm (ISO 800) Approximate location: Jalan Danau Tamblingan 47, Kota Denpasar, Bali
After happy hour wound up at the pool bar, we headed back to the room, got dressed and headed out to Barb's Sports Bar, just a short walk down the road from the hotel, to watch the Formula 1 from Russia. A Nasi Goreng each and a fair few Bintangs over the next couple of hours only set us back 300k rp (around A$30 at the rate on the day), a fraction of what the same would cost back home. We walked back to the hotel, poured a gin and tonic and hit the plunge pool before bed. It surprised me that despite the plunge pool rooms being highly desired here, hardly any of the pools actually seemed to be getting a lot of use while we were at the hotel.
April 30th, 2016.
This morning we headed out of the Satriya Cottages and headed westward on Poppies II, then south along Jl. Pantai Kuta. A little way along, we stopped in to Starbucks for a coffee, as the hotel coffee just wasn't doing it for us. However a quad shot hazelnut latte from Starbucks certainly did the deal this morning. We walked the length of Jl. Pantai Kuta this morning, through the craziness of the tourist areas in the western parts of Kuta, across Bemo Corner, past a number of local warungs and into what appears to be Kuta's motorbike workshop district. Here we crossed the local river and headed to Toko Central, where I was on the lookout for a new plastic buckle to replace one I'd stolen off my old Tamrac Expedition 8 backpack to repair my Oakley luggage. This was not a problem, it turned out there were quite a few different options on offer, at only 15k rp, and with a gift of a bag of local fruits and treats thrown in from the store manager.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/1600 @ f/4, 15.1 mm (ISO 100) Approximate location: Outside Satriya Cottages, Jl. Poppies II, Kabupaten Badung, Bali
From Toko Central, we headed a little north and then east again and out to Jl. Sunset, where a short walk south brought us to the surf brand outlet shops. And, you probably guessed it, but Lori found some stuff for Mikah here too, shoes this time. We were ready to take a little break from walking by now, so when we were done here, we hailed a taxi to take us up the road to Carrefour.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/640 @ f/5.6, 44.042 mm (ISO 100) Approximate location: Jalan By Pass Ngurah Rai 120 AB, Kabupaten Badung, Bali
By this time we were getting a little hungry, so before heading upstairs to do our shopping, we dropped in to the A&W in the basement where we shared a mango chicken pocket and fries, with a root beer float (apparently I'm a little weird for liking these) all to myself. Upstairs at Carrefour, we picked up a few basics, things like a cheap pair of thongs for me, some water to chuck in the fridge at the hotel and some small cans of tonic water to go with the Mansion House gin. I'd been hopeful that perhaps a large international chain like Carrefour may have actual bottles of tonic water, but no such luck unfortunately.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/40 @ f/5.6, 40.786 mm (ISO 800) Approximate location: Fat Chow, Jalan Popies II, Kabupaten Badung, Bali
After Carrefour, we hopped into another taxi, heading straight back to the the hotel to drop our shopping at the room before heading back out and next door to Fat Chow for an afternoon snack. We opted to again go with the two entrees from the other night, Tokyo prawns and chicken in pandan leaf. After a bite to eat and a gin and tonic here, we headed back to the Satriya, dropping in to reception to check up on our pool bar tab. It was pretty reasonable, so we decided to go back for another session. Just a quiet one here today, catching up with our fellow travellers and swapping stories about our days before heading back to the room to get ready to go out for dinner.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/15 @ f/3.5, 18.047 mm (ISO 1600) Approximate location: Kori's, Jalan Poppies II, Kabupaten Badung, Bali
Lori and I decided to walk down Poppies II and see what we could find that grabbed our interest. We ended up at Kori's, a Japanese restaurant with a serious Aussie twist, in a secluded setting just metres from the craziness of Poppies Lane II. The restaurant has a very Japanese feel to it, but with a very healthy dose of Australian items on the menu, including Western Australian beef and Tasmanian salmon.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/50 @ f/4.5, 24.541 mm (ISO 1600) Approximate location: Kori's, Jalan Poppies II, Kabupaten Badung, Bali
We had a lovely meal here, highlighted by the half shell scallops (pictured above), and accompanied by a drink each. The meal was a bit on the pricey side for Bali, but still a very respectable price at 550k rp for the night. Value for money wise, probably on a par with Fat Chow, and outstripping Sardinia Cafe by a fair margin.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/3 @ f/2.8, 15.1 mm (ISO 1600) Approximate location: Kori's,Jalan Poppies II, Kabupaten Badung, Bali
By now, we were both pretty tired, so headed back to the hotel to wind down with a drink, hit the shower and head for bed.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/20 @ f/2.8, 15.1 mm (ISO 1600) Approximate location: Kori's, Jalan Popies II, Kabupaten Badung, Bali
29th April, 2016.
This morning, we decided to head to Seminyak. Knowing full well that we would require a taxi at some point, we started walking east along Poppies II. Not far from the hotel, we stumbled upon one of those things we always keep an eye out for while travelling, an awesome little coffee spot. Nebula is a cool little cafe and restaurant, serving good coffee and offering up free wifi for their customers. This is definitely recommended for a caffeine fix if you're in the area. In our case, we ended up heading to the coast in the morning instead of inland, so we didn't walk past in the morning again before we headed off to Sanur a few days later.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/200 @ f/10, 15.1 mm (ISO 640)
Approximate location: Jalan Popies II, Kuta, Kabupaten Badung, Bali
After a short stop for a coffee break, we kept walking along Poppies II and out onto Jl. Legian, turning north towards Seminyak. We made a few stops on Jl. Legian, picking up a few supplies, including some of the best bug spray we've come across, Balinese company Utama Spice's Bug Begone and some Stop Cold to put a hold on the colds we'd both brought from home with us. A little further on we stopped again to check out a silver shop, although we prefer to do our silver shopping in Sanur, which has a pretty high concentration of silver shops for a sleepy coastal village. Another little walk and we were at the Legian Paradiso, where we grabbed a drink, although 43k rp is a little on the high side for a Bintang. A little way north of here we stopped in to a small supermarket to grab a soft drink, and found more coiled incense burners here, this time for 143k rp, the best price we would find them for on the whole trip. Leaving here, we flagged down a taxi for the rest of the trip to Seminyak.
Left - Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/160 @ f/10, 15.1 mm (ISO 640)
Right - Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/60 @ f/5.6, 15.1 mm (ISO 800)
Approximate location: Jalan Popies II, Kuta, Kabupaten Badung, Bali
At Seminyak, we headed to Grocer & Grind, an Australian owned restaurant, who have recently opened a Sanur location as well. We opened our account here with a coffee each and ordered lunch. A chicken Caesar salad for Lori and a GG Melt (a chicken and bacon burger with melted cheese) for myself. When the food arrived, we ordered a couple of smoothies to accompany it.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/60 @ f/8, 15.1 mm (ISO 160)
Approximate location: Jalan Kayu Jati 8, Seminyak, Kabupaten Badung, Bali
After lunch, we took a short walk to the fairly new looking Seminyak Village Shopping Centre, but left empty handed, finding it just a little too fancy for our tastes. We continued to the smaller of the Seminyak square markets, where Lori picked up a few nice dresses for Mikah. We walked a little further to the larger market area, the Seminyak Flea Markets. Next to the Flea Markets, we stopped at a bar boasting the "coldest beer ever". While they were pretty close (the outside of the bottle was frosted), there weren't any ice crystals in the beer, so the 'coldest ever' claim is still in dispute. Regardless, it was still a good, cold, refreshing beer, and we were now ready to continue on to the Flea Markets. Here we found yet more cool clothes for Mikah before finding a taxi to get us back to Poppies II, where we would walk from Jl. Legian back to the Satriya Cottages.
Both - Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/640 @ f/8, 15.1 mm (ISO 320)
Approximate location: Jalan Kayu Jati 8, Seminyak, Kabupaten Badung, Bali
Back at the hotel, we made our way to the pool bar for a few drinks with our fellow travellers before heading back to our room to get ready for a banquet the hotel was putting on that night. Apparently they do this 3 times a year, and the cost of 200k rp per head (plus drinks), we were assured, would be money well spent.
Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/80 @ f/4, 15.1 mm (ISO 1600)
Approximate location: Satriya Cottages, Poppies Lane II, Kuta, Kabupaten Badung, Bali
Dinner was a feast, set around the pool area, featuring Babi Guling (suckling pig) and a huge range of chicken, fish, salads and soup. This was followed by an equally impressive array of desserts. Everyone ate well, and the pool bar was kept busy ferrying drinks to the tables all night. Traditional Balinese dancers and a local cover band entertained us throughout the evening before we wound the night up with a late night dip in the pool.
