I Love The Way You Are Baby - Day 4

My birthday...



Dead Can Dance - Host of Seraphim.......we are just spec's in the cosmos.

Up early in the morning and ready and waiting to embrace Bali.

Darien was keen to join me on my walk down to the beach.

I love wandering the streets and beaches really early in the morning. So different from the hustle and bustle of later in the day.

The restaurant Mexicola just a couple of doors down from our gang. I didn't get around to giving it a go but Luke dropped in for a taco lunch one day and said it was pretty good.

The streets are so quiet but a blue bird is never far away :0)

Cutting through the Temple and La Looch carpark to the beach.

The beach clean up crew.

The tide was coming in rapidly and we had to turn back when we reached an outlet that had become impassable. On our return we found ourselves having to walk right up on the top ridge.

Daz headed back to bed when we got home and I busied myself on my laptop, which included checking out TA of course. We had bought it just prior to our trip for work purposes and I was still finding my way around it. Away for 3 weeks this time, and the book work couldn't wait that long. It does pay the bills and holidays after all. 

The laptop was proving to be invaluable and 4 days ago on the first morning of our trip found me back at work ...but what a setting! 

Have I mentioned how handy it is to be travelling with your IT guy and that first morning I had to rouse Luke and get him to iron out some of the kinks of the accounting program I use and sending/receiving internationally what a relief to have someone that knows what he's doing.

My IT guy doing his stuff on the first morning.

When everyone had surfaced it was off to La Looch for breakfast. Yes again! But you really can't beat it in my book. We have by now tried everything on  their breakfast menu and find absolutely everything delicious and they are reliable. In our experience their high standards have never slipped. Plus I had a hankering for some of those fantastic hash browns.

Chorizo eggs.

Espresso granita

An absolute pampering session was on the cards today too. I had been toying with the idea of having my hair cut short which was a big one for me as I've never had it above my shoulders. All summer it had been annoying me and I was constantly wearing it up anyway. So the time had definitely come. 

What better way to celebrate than with a whole new look. Min wanted a new look also since she began Art College this year she wanted something 'edgier'. 

Luke knew of a salon where a good friend of his always went and I had always liked her hair. Luke went on reconnaissance with Min on the back of the bike so she could point it out to the Blue bird driver later. Luke and Matt decided to have a cut too so we would meet them there.

Since arriving in Bali I had wanted to track down the "One Love Ltd." store that I had read about and every time we had driven along Jl Petetinget I had kept my eyes peeled without any luck. Low and behold on our morning walk we found another outlet right at the end of our main street. After our pampering we were going to meet Maddie back at the villa and hopefully find a bargain or two.

On the way to the hairdresser we popped into Amo and made our booking for after the haircut. A body scrub, microdermabrasion, oxygen facial and a mani/pedi for me. Yep totally looking for that new woman feel. Having trouble remembering what Min had but I know she had a massage when I hadn't surfaced yet.

Wow and the haircut was quite an experience. Michael is a guy I'm guessing in his 40's and with my limited Indonesian and his limited English I just let him concentrate on the job. I pointed out a picture in one of their  magazines and away he went. I have never had someone take such care over a cut before and he did everything with a flourish whipping the gown on and off of me like a magician revealing a rabbit in a hat!

He washed it then cut it asked if I wanted it blow dried and when I said no he cut it some more and then blow dried it anyway.

I thought whatever, lets see how it looks when a professional blow dries it as usually I'm a tussle and go girl. I hated it, it looked like a mushroom but he wasn't done yet. Away he went with the scissors again taking great care with it, off came the gown again another wash and a tussle with some product applied back in the chair. 

He asked if I liked it and I sure did. Off with the gown and I was half expecting him to shout "Next" as he ushered his next client into the chair. 

We all had a different stylist and were all very happy with the results. Min had almost a boys cut and loved it. All for the exorbitant price of around $10 each. I'll be back :0)

Loved the pampering and the professionalism at Amo too.What a shame that it has now closed it's doors. Definitely not due to a lack of clientele I think as both times I visited it was busy, busy. 

On the way back to The Maharaj we popped into Sarong to confirm our reservations for dinner that night. We had never been but it had been on the 'to do' list for years. I was really looking forward to it.

Look what I found waiting for me back at the villa. The wonderful staff had been at it again.

I'm always warning people to watch out for the slippery tiles in Bali and it's usually me that goes bum up at some point. That day was no different and the ever attentive Putra was there to lend a helping hand  to put me back on my feet and brush me off, full of concern. No harm done though. He was quick to offer me one of my special drinks :0) 

Then we were off to One Love Ltd. which is a store that has all the end of lines from the swanky boutiques. It was a bit of a disappointment though with all the prices still 'up there' and most of the stock seemed a little grubby too, which probably had to do with it's outdoor on an intersection location.

We headed home to get ready for dinner and Sarong was everything I had read it was. Absolutely beautiful atmosphere. The furnishings are gorgeous with wonderful subdued lighting, couches, drapes and candles. 

The cocktail and food menus are fantastic with a good wine selection too. The pork belly was a stand out. The waitress warned us that we had possibly over ordered and we took a couple of our choices off but there was so many things we wanted to try!

Though very dim this pic shows some of the lovely furnishings.

Not a lot of photo's taken here as I think we were preoccupied with what was going on with our taste buds.
Over Min's left shoulder in the picture above was a table of 10 excited women which raised the noise levels in the intimate and relaxed atmosphere. We were seated at a table with chairs but the tables with the couches looked great and I will be trying to nab one of those next time I think.

The staff had no problem packing up our leftovers for us (yep we had over ordered) and they traveled to Ubud with us the next day.
Putra had successfully orchestrated Operation Cake again which was nice but we were all at bursting point so we took the cake home for the staff to enjoy. When the restaurant staff arrived with it singing, the table of women became uproarious! Hands off ladies this one is for little 'old' me :0)

Min, Matt and I moved on to Zappa's for a night cap and some live music, I would have been content to head back to our sanctuary but Min can be very persuasive. "Oh alright just one or two then" hmm famous last words!.
Min wasted no time in making the bar staff aware of my birthday and within minutes 2 band members had one of  my arms each and were dragging me up on the stage. I have been known to get my groove on but 'not' on a stage and 'not' after so little to drink.
They did persuade me to  have a shot of  tequila on stage though which went down way too easy! A few more rounds of those were ordered when I returned to the table. Some band members switch  for each song and it looks to be a bit of a free for all with a few members of the audience having a go.
We were some of the last to leave Zappa's that night and poor Min needed to hang her head out the window on the way home.
When we had tucked her up into her bed, Matt and I struck up a conversation with the 2 security guards and we sat around the table practicing Indo and English with them until  I noticed it was 4:30 in the pagi! 

We were leaving The Maharaj in the morning and heading off to Villa Madu in Ubud.

I'd had a beautiful birthday. Just leave it up to Bali to make me one very happy girl as usual.

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