Phil and Lori Go to Bali - 2016 - Day 2

28th April, 2016.
We must have been still on Perth time, as we were up around 7am this morning, although we forced ourselves to laze around the room for a while before showering and heading to the breakfast area, upstairs of the Ninety Degree's restaurant here at the Satriya Cottages. I'd be lying if I said the breakfast here was the best in Bali, but you could certainly find something to keep you happy each day.

After breakfast we made the short walk west to Jl. Pantai Kuta, and this time we turned left, to head south. After a few stops along the way, we made our way to Matahari at Kuta Square. Before we could get in the door, Lori was bailed up by a timeshare salesman offering scratch tickets to anyone that would stand still long enough. When we finally got clear, we headed inside and were instantly set upon by perfume salesmen and women. However, we were able to shake them fairly easily and headed upstairs, where I picked up a pile of new shirts and trousers and some toys for Mikah, while Lori found piles of new clothes for Mikah.

Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/125 @ f/11, 15.1 mm (ISO 400)

Approximate location: Satriya Cottages, Jalan Popies II, Kabupaten Badung, Bali

By the time we were done shopping at Matahari, we were getting pretty hungry, and we both knew exactly where we wanted to go for lunch. We made the short walk to Gabah at the Ramayana Hotel and found ourselves a table by the pool. For me, I was hanging out for some Balinese food, and I opted for an Ayam Betutu, a local spicy chicken dish, accompanied by a Martini (real this time) with a Bintang chaser. Meanwhile Lori opted for a Gabah special Nasi Goreng and a couple of their 'Very Berry' smoothies. The food here has never disappointed us, and the view by the pool is certainly very relaxing.

Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/320 @ f/11, 15.1 mm (ISO 400)

Approximate location: Jalan Raya Kuta 1, Kabupaten Badung, Bali

After lunch we walked back up to a CocoMart bottle shop we'd checked out on the way to Matahari, where I picked up a bottle of Mansion House, a locally distilled gin. Indonesian spirits can be a bit hit and miss, however at less than a quarter of the cost of an imported bottle of Gordon's Gin, I figured it was worth a try. It was only after I returned home I found that a bottle of Mansion House had been implicated in a methanol poisoning case several years ago (I'm happy to report I did not end up blind or in hospital as a result of drinking this gin). From here, we flagged down a passing Bluebird Taxi for the short trip back to our hotel, dropped our shopping at the room and headed to the pool bar. Lori proceeded to educated the barman on the correct way (in her book anyway) to make a Toblerone, and I ordered a Bintang.

Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/60 @ f/11, 15.1 mm (ISO 800)
Approximate location: Gabah @ Ramayana Hotel, Jalan Bakung Sari 81, Kabupaten Badung, Bali

While we were drinking at the pool bar, we met up with a few fellow travellers, also from Perth, who had flown across on the Jetstar flight that left Perth half an hour before our Garuda flight. Craig, Gavin, Wade and their families had come to Bali for a couple of weeks away together. As it turned out, Gavin crews for an east coast Super Stock racer, Steve Norman, when he's racing in Perth, and Craig's wife, Michelle, works for the same company as Lori.

After a few hours exchanging stories, we decided it was time to think about dinner, so we headed back to our room, got changed, and worked out a plan for dinner.

Canon PowerShot G1 X - 1/100 @ f/5.6, 15.1 mm (ISO 800)
Approximate location: Gabah @ Ramayana Hotel, Jalan Bakung Sari 81, Kabupaten Badung, Bali

We walked back out to Jl. Pantai Kuta, and up to the Beachwalk Shops. We'd spotted a few places here we were interested in eating at, and the Sardinia Cafe was at the top of that list. We managed to snag a table out on the balcony and ordered a selection of tapas including salt and pepper calamari, cut like french fries, mushroom arancini, salmon skewers, grilled prawn skewers and soft shell crab. Of course we had to wash this all down with something, and for me that was a gin and tonic or two, while Lori found a smoothie more to her liking. We were pretty full by the time the desert menu came around, but we managed to make room to share a pannacotta, which Lori has spotted on the menu when we'd been here the day before.

We headed back to the room for a night cap before bed and I broke out the Mansion House. It turns out that while it may not be the best gin in the world, it's perfectly serviceable for a lazy gin and tonic. What's more an issue than finding a suitable bottle of gin, is finding tonic water in anything bigger than a 300mL can here.