Bali, Day 5: A Birthday, a Cremation and a Sumatran Band

Today's weather: Bit of overcast in the morning, perfectly sunny in the afternoon

Today's exchange rate: IDR 9300 to 9500 per Aussie $

Mum was awake quite early today, but I managed to stay asleep until about 6:00. Mum and I spent a little while on TripAdvisor before having a short chat with Dad on Skype so he could say Happy Birthday to Mum. Yes, it's my mum's birthday today everyone, so send your love and wishes! Mum's words this morning were "I'm feeling a bit older today but I'm in Bali so I don't care." I guess that's the attitude you need to have as the years go on.

I was starting to feel a bit hungry, so we showered and dressed before heading down to breakfast, which goes from 7:00-10:30. We had a choice of a Continental, Indonesian or American breakfast, which is included in nightly rate. Mum and I both settled on an Indonesian breakfast, with me getting fried noodles and Mum getting fried rice. We also had juice and a fruit platter. Service was quick, but Mum was sad to see that there was no birthday candle in her egg. What a let down. Regardless of this, we enjoyed our breakfast, where we had a view of the pool. The hotel is beautifully set out.

Fried noodles

Fried rice

Happy Birthday, Mum!!

After breakfast, we returned to the room briefly to sort out our laundry (just being done by the hotel) before going for a walk. We walked South along the main street, stopping to look here and there. There are a good of new shops that have opened up that we went to look in. Next door to the new Bread Basket is a shop (can't recall the name) that had some clothes and jewellery Mum liked the look of. It was closed unfortunately, but Mum made a mental note to come back later when it was open. It was then we spotted the shop next door; Jenggala. Mum got very excited when she looked in the window and saw what was there. Shelves and shelves of her favourite green porcelain home wares. And better yet, the shop was open. All these homewares are Balinese made in a factory in Jimbaran. It's easy enough to find bits and pieces of them (or similar ones) through the markets, but never have we come across a shop that stocks only these products. They didn't just have green; they had red and blue and yellow and black. So many beautiful mugs, plates of all sizes, bowls, teapots and accessories. Mum was over the moon. We didn't buy anything then, but will definitely be returning before we go to buy some things. The shop is located at number 51 Jalan Danau Tamblingan, next to the Laghawa Hotel.

Street sign

Inside Jenggala

We walked out on a high note, looking forward to coming back and making some purchases. It was then that I made the comment that maybe we should add more luggage to our flight home; it doesn't look like 15kgs is going to be enough.

We continued walking along and cut through the street of the Consulate to get to the beach path. It was so pleasant down by the beach; there was only a few people out running and walking and a beautiful breeze blowing through. Absolutely perfect. We walked back North along the beach path at a nice, leisurely pace. We cut through the Sand restaurant and stopped here for a quick toilet break. This is where, as Whinnie has kindly informed us, the new Sunday markets will be located from September. It's a great little spot and it'll be good to see it put to use now that all the bonsai trees have gone.

Back to the main street we went and walked up the familiar drive way to the Tamukami. We had a little bit of time to kill before we were due at Koa Spa for our facials, so we just sat ourselves on a pool lounge and then decided to head over to Koa a little bit early.

Koa Spa is nestled on the Main Street, right between the Respati and LaTaverna. It has a nice little shop at the front and the spa at the back, which has very reasonable prices. The girls weren't quite ready for us yet so we had a little browse through the shop. Koa has their own products of body scrub, body butter, oil and soap available here. They smelt so deliciously good, I think I'll have to go back and buy a couple of things. There are 3 massage tables at Koa, each separated by curtains. Mum and I were invited into the last 2 and our facials began. It was the usual sarong over us, our faces gently being washed, cleansed, scrubbed, masked, washed again, toned and moisturised. While our mask was on, we were massaged on our chest, shoulders and arms and we also got a quick foot massage before the conclusion of the facial. All up, it was 1 hour and cost IDR 120,000. It was absolutely blissful. The girls were fantastic and I'm no beautician or spa therapist, but I think they used a fantastic technique. The spa, for the most part, was quiet; there was very little talking between the girls, but unfortunately because of the shop at the front, there was the sound of people coming and going and a few people who were obviously ignorant of the spa and chatted away as they always would. This did detract a small amount from the quality of the treatment. A sign in the shop asking people to keep their voices down wouldn't go amiss.

Facial products used

Nevertheless, we thoroughly enjoyed our facials. I paid as a birthday treat to Mum and we walked out with soft skin, feeling über relaxed. Mum was however disappointed that she still had wrinkles. Koa Spa is definitely one I would return to.

 

We continued on our walk along the main street and ladies, you'll be so happy to see what we found: another shoe shop! The same styles and the same prices. We were both so happy. Now Mum could get some and we could get some for my sister. Sam had specified that she would like some nice bright ones, so I chose ones for her, while Mum chose some for herself. She was once again left devastated to find that this shop also had no spotty shoes!! She was left to choose another pair and luckily her size was available. She also bought a handbag from here. The shop is called Tina Collection and is number 96 Jalan Tamblingan; the main street of Sanur.

Sam's shoes

Mum's shoes

Mum's bag

We walked along a little bit further and stopped at a shop that Mum hadn't spotted during our morning walk. It was closed at the time, but Mum had spotted a couple of things in there that she liked, so now we were back! It's another recent addition to Sanur called Ilu Rose found at number 122 Danau Tamblingan Street; the main road, just North of Hardy's and across the road from Yulia's Homestay. While Mum was busy trying a few things on, I noticed there was a procession going on outside so I went out to look. It was for a cremation and just earlier today, Mum had said "Wouldn't it be great if you saw a cremation procession while we're here." She has been known to possess a psychic prowess at times. So here it was, with all the ladies dressed in their pink, the men in their dark sarongs, the music and of course, the coffin. It was really something to see. It brought all the traffic to a stop, and as it continued down the road, all the scooters were coming up behind the procession trying to push past all the foot traffic. Within minutes, the streets were back to normal. Another thing I love about Sanur is that it still has the local life that doesn't stop for the tourists.

Mum ended up buying a new dress, a top and a couple of necklaces for myself and my sister. From here, we continued our walk to Hardy's to get some more water to keep in our room. The bag was quite heavy so I suggested we jump in a bemo to get back to the hotel. We had walked about 10 metres up the road when one came along. We flagged it down, I handed over IDR 10,000 (it is 5,000 per person, right?) and we were off. One stop along the way for a local to get in and we arrived back at the Tamukami. Bemo's make things much easier sometimes, especially when you have a heavy bag to carry a whole 500 metres maximum.

Mum's dress: IDR 200,0000 on sale

Top: IDR 250,000

Harmony balls: IDR 175,000 each

We went straight up to our room to put our things away and get in our bathers; it was time for a swim and to have lunch by the pool. A lot of the pool lounges had towels on them, but as the pool boys are the ones to remove them and replace them with fresh towels, it was hard to know which ones had been abandoned for good and which were still being reserved. After checking with an American couple that a couple of lounges hadn't been used in a while, we decided to take our chances. We ordered our lunch of club sandwiches, Mum's being made with her gluten-free bread, and then into the pool we went. The pool area has been very quiet so far and the water is such a beautiful temperature!

Our lunch was quick to arrive, and it was delicious! I gobbled mine down in record speed, it was so yummy.

We relaxed in and around the pool before deciding to move to some shadier lounges at the other end of the pool. The pool boy had now gone around to collect the used towels and replaced them fresh ones, which was a sign for us that they were safe to take over. After a while, Mum decided to leave me by the pool and head back down to Jenggala in the hope of making some purchases. I continued my poolside relaxation and had a FaceTime chat with a friend. Mum soon returned to my side, not quite empty handed, but not armed with the goods she had planned on buying. Unfortunately, Jenggala's credit card facilities were not yet up and running which just means we'll have to go back AGAIN before we leave. Mum did buy ANOTHER skirt from a shop called Soul and Luna, across the road from Hardy's. There are many of these shops scattered throughout Bali; Sanur, Seminyak, Legian, Ubud, and Nusa Dua.

Mum and I both had another swim, enjoying the peace and quiet before returning to our room to shower before dinner. We spent some time relaxing on our balcony, listening to nothing but a few people chatting, birds chirping and the water in the pool below.

I was getting restless after a while so I decided to walk down to the nearest Circle K or CocoMart to get some more mozzie spray. Mum decided to come along for the walk and went to have a look in Miracle DVD which was next door to Circle K. She bought a few DVDs that were on the list and the lady in the shop was very honest about the quality of the movies. When Mum asked if the movie was a good copy, she was responded with "This one watchable, this one watchable, this one bad." So Mum got the few that were watchable and we started making our way back to the hotel. We still had about an hour before dinner so I suggested we instead go down to Sand for a drink. So down we went, cutting through the back way, and chose a table on the sand.

It was a beautiful time of day, with the sky just starting to get a bit darker. There was a bunch of young kids playing on the sand with a puppy and it's Mum, the tide was low so there were people wading through the water and that amazing breeze was keeping us cool. We ordered our drinks and just sat back to enjoy the atmosphere.

Sand restaurant

 

After paying for our drinks (IDR 50,000), we walked back to the hotel to finish getting ready for dinner. The Tamukami had been generous enough to offer Mum a complimentary 3-course meal for her birthday, so dinner was decided long before we even arrived in Bali. We took our table and read through the menu. Mum's 3-course meal was a set menu of chicken ball soup for the entree, fish curry for the main and fried banana for dessert. Due to her gluten intolerance, they happily switched this to just a fruit plate. When Mum went to remind the waitress of her condition, she informed her that she already knew as they (the staff) had discussed it earlier. I decided on stuffed mushrooms for my entree and grilled snapper with a lemon garlic butter sauce. One of the hotel owners was making his way around the restaurant with frangipanis and putting them behind everyone's ear; a very nice litte touch.

I feigned a trip to the toilet and asked the waitress to if birthday candles could be put in Mum's fruit and if we could sing Happy Birthday. I was once again told this was already organised. This just goes to show that the communication between staff members is really good, but it also means I cannot take credit for any of it.

The service was great and the restaurant also happened to have a band playing. They took to the stage and played some really feel-good music. They then approached each table and played a couple of songs for each, asking for requests. They really added to the atmosphere and provided everyone with some great entertainment, especially when they started yodelling for a young Swiss couple. During this time, we were served our entrees and our mains. Both were delicious and Mum and I were very happy with our choices. Just before the band got to our table, it was time for them to take a break. What good timing. While they were taking a break, I just happened to have another urge to go to the toilet. I had a little chat with them to confirm that they were going to sing Happy Birthday to Mum, not me as when they were going for their break, they had said to me "Oh we be back soon, to do special one for you." They were well informed on whose birthday it was and once again, it was all organised.

Stuffed mushrooms

Fish curry

Grilled snapper

Just as our dessert was coming out, the lights were turned off and the band started playing again. I couldn't contain myself; I gave Mum a wicked grin and she said "Oh Anna, what have you done?!" I really wish I could take credit for it. The band sung Happy Birthday and Mum was laughing away. It was fantastic. You can see the video on my FaceBook Page. Mum received good wishes from the waitress and each member of the band. It was then our turn to request a song. Mum asked for a happy one and they delivered. And then another request. Mum had said that they should play some ABBA so I asked for it and Dancing Queen was the one. What a great song for the occasion. We were then left to enjoy the rest of our dessert.

Mum enjoying the music

Banana split

We stayed to enjoy the music a little longer and as we were getting up to go, one of the hotel owners approached us to wish Mum a Happy Birthday. The owners had been sitting out enjoying the music and having dinner too, so they got to witness Mum's birthday surprise. It's great to see the hotel owners, and older ones at that, taking such an active roll in the running of their business.

Mum and I retreated to our room where Mum told me she wasn't expecting it at all. She should have known better though because even if the hotel hadn't done such a great job organising it all, I would have done it myself because I do love a good birthday celebration. I went back down a few minutes later to thank the staff and the band and give them a tip. They went above an beyond and gave Mum and very special night.

So for now, it's off to bed. Tomorrow we have a bike tour which we are getting picked up for at 7:30. Having to get up that early means one thing for me: getting up even earlier to watch the sunrise!

 

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