Selamat Pagi Sandy Bay!
The view from our bed at Island House was amazing!
What a way to wake up and greet the day.
The bedroom had large glass sliding doors on 3 of the walls which you could open completely. At night they were closed by the staff, the bed was turned down, lamps lit and the air con switched on. There was also a ceiling fan and a pedestal fan just for good measure.
The bathroom was absolutely outdoor.
We discovered early on in the piece that we needed to choose our shower time wisely.
Directly opposite the outdoor shower is the 'Devil's Tears' one of the top tourist attractions on the island which is popular at sunset. The staff arrived early and liked to sweep the grassy patch in front of the shower too!
Thankfully the toilet was located behind a small wall housing the vanity.
There was a lovely ornate privacy screen shielding you from the view of the restaurant on the beach and I know you'd need a pair of binoculars or super human vision to see anything in detail but after a near close encounter with a 'sweeper' on the first morning, I got Rob to run reconnaissance from then on.
If it had really worried me I could have used one of the other bathrooms but there was something really special about showering with Sandy Bay .
We had decided to just take it easy that first morning.
Luke discovered the joys of a hammock with an ocean view and tried to hold off on telling his girlfriend just how fantastic our new digs were. She was already feeling immensely jealous.
I made a very ungraceful attempt of getting in the hammock and clumsily got quickly out again. Note to self don't ever attempt this with a drink in your hand or maybe just leave the hammock alone in the future.
Come lunch time we thought we'd head off on the 'average' scooters Ketut had lined up for us.
Both the guys had their international bike licenses and Rob was keen to put his to use.
Yes I know it was slightly hypocritical of me to happily hop on the back of a scooter after my years of 'motorbike hate' following Luke's accident. There really is a huge difference between the speeds, roads and traffic though. Putt putting around at 20k on Lembongan was fun and safe behind our experienced and licensed riders.
Although care had to be taken when climbing onto the black vinyl seats that had been baking in the sun! Avoid any contact with bare skin (I used a sarong which I carry with me in Bali) and climb on and off the bike on the side without the exhaust pipe. Both are good tips for new players or you could end up losing some skin.
We rode through the winding, narrow roads avoiding the numerous potholes, enjoying the sights and trying to identify the plants that looked so unfamiliar to me. There was an amazing looking timber mill - Bali style, all open air with every part of the process on display from the fallen tree to the finished products, some being beautifully carved doorways. The guys began calling it Bunnings but I think it did it a injustice.
I spotted a TA recommended restaurant so we thought we'd saunter in and give it a go. 'Gomez Kinda Mexican Restaurant' was empty and we thought maybe, completely for a minute or two when we couldn't find a soul but a smiling lovely emerged from the kitchen and helped to get us settled under a couple of fans.
Phew, it was hot.!
They seemed a little disorganised at first and when we ordered some drinks they seemed a little non-plussed.
We busied ourselves with the menu and within around 15 minutes we could hear a blender whirring in the background which was a good sign :0)
From what we could gather from the flustered young lady that came in to turn on some mood music after we had received our drinks, she had taken off to get a bag of ice only to have her scooter break down on the way and then her mobile phone wouldn't work! I had 2 Margarita's to show my appreciation of her efforts :0)
'Gomez' has very mixed reviews on TA but they delivered where it counts I think, on their quality food. They know what they're doing in the kitchen. Rob 'had the fish of the day' which he loved and the nachos and the pinto bean dish that we all shared was delicious. I'd return.
On the drive back I spotted a little stall with a basket full of ginger out the front.
A piece the size of my hand for 2,000rp (20c)! and we were on our way to having a ginger tea bali style again. We stopped at another stall and I shimmied behind the floor to roof blinds he had down to guard his wares from the harsh afternoon sun.
He was a happy smiling Bapak with no English (bahasa inggris) so I broke out some of my Indo.
Saya mau gula merah (I want sugar brown). He beamed and laughed but nodded and produced a large hunk of solid brown, I'm assuming it's palm sugar. It looked like it would definitely do the trick, so I gave him his 10,000rp and he followed me out to wave us off happily.
We stopped off and had a look at dream beach.
We whimped out and decided against the walk down the steep stairs to the beach. Instead we opted to return to the villa for a swim. I had wanted to travel around and check out the other side of the island but I think I have already mentioned it was Hot!
We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing around the pool, watching the ocean, enjoying each others company and soaking up the atmosphere.
Ketut made reservations for our dinner at Indiana Kenanga and they sent a driver for us
.
Wow, this van had just a narrow wooden plank to sit on and it was a painful ride for me. I'm playing the '50 card' on this one...I needed a cushion :0(
On arrival you're dropped at the entrance of a long narrow lane at the end of which you walk through a lovely little tropical garden with some (I think) spa rooms off to the side. Following the stepping stones and over a little bridge above the small swimming pool, up a couple of steps and you find yourself in the restaurant right on the beachfront. We were some of the first patrons for the evening and were greeted warmly and shown to a table where we kicked off our shoes and wiggled our toes into the warm sand :0) got to love that.
I had a good feeling about this one.
And thus began the Martini leg of my holiday.
And Pam's love of Pina Colada's.
I love being able to see the chefs in action and I think it would be great for them seeing the diners enjoying their creations also. If they get the opportunity to look out that is.
Pam's duck
My chicken bon bon with sweet potato mash
Rob's scallops
Luke's Lamb.
Everything was just delicious but the absolute stand outs for me were the 'garlic volute' soup entree and 'The choux must go on' dessert.
Maybe it was the martini's or perhaps the wine but I started talking "death row meals" here :0) Both the soup and the dessert have made it on to my 'last meal on this earth' list, they're just fantastic.
Clemente the head chef who does the rounds of the tables is a very nice young French guy who seems to be living the dream. With experience in a few European Michelin starred restaurants he now heads this wonderful kitchen on a tropical island. His surfboards are propped against one of the walls and when the surf looks right, (which he keeps one eye on from the restaurant) he can grab a board and head out.
He seems like a very happy content man :0) and we were a group of very happy and content diners and counting our lucky stars that we had found a world class restaurant on this wonderful little island.
And so we headed home, a couple of minutes on the vans torturing board of a seat and the driver pulled over and helped me into the passenger seat next to him, what a nice guy.
We headed back to the villa for some more island dreaming.
Sampai Jumpa!
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