We decided to stay at the Sari Segara Resort the entire trip rather than stay at the Courtyard in Nusa Dua, even though the resort is dated and under renovation. I cancelled my reservation at the Marriott but for some reason, Marriott did not credit my account back like normal. Maybe I need to call them?
By this time, everyone was up and getting ready for breakfast. This time we dressed the kiddies up in swimsuits. When they were finished with breakfast, they jumped in pool.
Chris and I went to the gift shop after breakfast and found some neat gifts to buy. We will try to find them cheaper but will not likely find them at all.
Everyone returned to the room to change into regular clothes and get ready for the day.
My wife has a friend that she went to Uni with, RamaBierty. We plan to visit with her in Denpasar, and then later to visit with some other friends.
Before we left, I had to pay for the hotel stay. They gave us a nice discount for staying 3 weeks. They dropped the price about $10/day. The total on my MARRIOTT VISA was ($17.3mil RP/~$1730.00USD). This is for 2 rooms, 3 weeks, breakfast included. Not bad.
We were still waiting for Komang, our driver but after 25 minutes, I decided to take the Toyota Kijang for a stroll around the village. By the time everyone was loaded up, Komang, Bli Made, Dia and Atu rolled up on Motorcyles. Cool!
We decided that I would drive from Jimbaran Bay to Denpasar. So, I took the helm and drove. I used most of the techniques that I saw Komang use. I haven't driven a stick shift (except for my motorcycle) in a long tme. Plus, with right-hand drive, the stick is on the left and the turn signal is on the right side.
Our trip to Denpasar was largely uneventful but got a little tense at our destination. I had several people yelling instructions to me and I almost ran over someone on a motorcycle. So, I yelled and told everyone to SHUTUP! That cost me (10,000RP/$1.00USD) but was well worth it.
Overall, the trip to Denpasar was fun and I can find my way here again without a problem. Our destination was the Matahari, but when we arrived, we could not find her friend. We called and found out that she was a block or two away but not wise to walk due to traffic concerns.
Our final destination was Denpasar Junction. In my opinion, kind of a dumpy mall structure that had a greater than 50% vacancy. We went to meet her at J.COOL, a donut shop. Compared to the mall, this shop was great. I ordered a carmel coffee/salt cold drink. It may sound horrible, but it tasted awesome.
My wife sat and met with her friend, RamaBierty and chatted in Indonesian for about 2 hours. The rest of us piled into the Kijang and Komang drove us to the local pet market where we saw/heard crazy chickens, dogs, cats, Geckos, other big lizards, and monkeys. There was also a fair amount of inexpensive silver shops. We didn't buy anything but the looking around and smells where definitely ne of a kind.
We returned to Denpasar Junction to have lunch with my wife and RamaBierty and her daughter. There was 12 of us and the bill came to (200,000RP/$20USD). This by far was the least expensive meal we have enjoyed and mainly because it is off the beaten up tourist track.
After lunch, Sani said bye bye to her friend whom she hadn't seen in almost 20 years and we started the drive back to Jimbaran.
On the return, they all promised that I could stop in at the Honda Motorcycle shop to see how different the offerings are. And different, they are indeed. For one, nothing larger than a 250cc. Also, they offer manual or automatic transmissions. The automatic versions are what in America is considered a Scooter. The autos are more and more popular.
The low end model sells for about $1200 USD and the most advanced model sells for (27,500,000rp/$2750USD). It is the 250cc Honda Tiger. They do sell the Honda CBR250 but I am unsure of the price.
We returned to the hotel and I took the kiddies to the pool. Sani went with her cousin to find a laundry so we could have clean clothes. Next day service cost $7USD for about 3/4 of a duffle bag.
At the pool, I tested out the Fuji Waterproof camera by taking a number of pictures without flooding the camera. I thought that it was neat.
About 90 minutes later, Sani returned to the hotel and joined us at the pool. For a quick swim. About 30 minutes later, we went back to the room because we expected her friend Sakar to visit.
Sakar showed up a little early which was fine. We ordered out Domino's pizza from Benoa Square. They delivered in 30 minutes for (192,000/$19.20USD) plus tip.
I was really tired so I tried to lay down and sleep. It was pretty early, about 7:30pm. But, I couldn't sleep so I took a quick bath to rejuvenate myself. Unfortunately, a great number of bath-loving Chinese have arrived and the hotel ran out of hot water. The bath was short-lived.
I dressed up for a walk and Chris and I set out to explore Kedonganan, the village to the North of us. We had left for maybe 2-3 minutes and we were hit with a heavy downpour of rain. I copied the locals and stood under a thick tree. After the rain passed (10 mins max), we continued.
My original plan when I arrived was to get a good massage to shake off the jet lag but time just didn't allow for it for the price I wanted to pay. Last time I was here, we paid about $10/hr for massage. The place I was heading to charges $6/hr for Shiatso. Chris had told me a few times that his back was sore so this cinched the deal.
We made it to Gangga's Spa-Shiatsu & Beauty located at Jl. Toyaning No. 77 Kodonganan, Kuta, Bali (hand phone: +62 081 23913920, Nuoman Murdani).
My masseusse was Nilutt. She was short but very strong and she worked out all of my knots. At the end, they let Chris and I take showers.
On the way back, Chris and I stopped at Burger King, Benoa Square, so I could get a snack, but they were out of Fried Chicken. He and I ordered sodas and waited for the rain to stop. We walked back through the village and stopped again at a store. Chris bought a Pepsi Blue (mint Pepsi) and I bought an ice cream bar that looks like a Magnum bar but with Cashews.
We arrived back to the hotel to find everyone asleep. 10:44pm. Good Night All.
End of Day #4.
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