More About Kuta/Legian/Seminyak

Saturday, August 5^th: Kuta

More About Poppies

We continue to be enchanted with our little oasis in Kuta, Poppies Cottages. Service is fantastic. Every evening before sundown, two women come and light the mosquito coils on the front patio and in our bathroom. And they recharge the electric mosquito repeller that is plugged into the wall. In the morning we have breakfast brought to our patio and we eat outside listening to birds and watching the cats on the thatch roof of the adjacent house. This morning we had two banana crepes, a Spanish omelet, wonderful bacon (its International Bacon Day after all), fresh pineapple juice, jam, and Bali Coffee. The cost? $8.70 including tax and service. The same thing at the pool, our delightful pool. Clean towels, cool drinks, and you can order lunch off the menu. Again, astonishingly reasonably priced.

So let’s describe this wonderful pool (pics will follow). It is a freeform pool with water a delightful refreshing temperature. There are fountains of water coming from “masks” in the wall. Multicolored bougainvillea leans over and shades about 1/3^rd of the pool dropping delightfully romantic flowers to float on the water. Frangiapane and palm like bamboo also surround the pool. Spotted doves and lyrical song birds flit in and amongst the bougainvillea flowers. One of the “house” cats patrols atop the coral wall. After a refreshing dip we laid on comfy chaises and read and napped in the shade. Heaven.

Walking Kuta:

Kuta is a pretty frenetic place full of tourists and surfers of all nationalities (heavy on the Austailian). Motorbikes, taxis, bemos, and trucks cascade down the narrow streets. Shop owners call to you in passing. It sounds a bit much, but I think we were expecting it and frankly aren’t that overwhelmed by it (at least in small dosages). For one thing, people are very polite, even when they are trying to sell you something. With only a few exceptions a polite “no thank you” is accepted and you are bothered no longer.

Legian Street:

Legian Street is a tree lined busy street filled with surf related shops, restaurant, and night clubs. It is famous, unfortunately, for the Kuta 2002 bombings that occurred at a well known night club popular with tourists in particular Australian tourists. 202 people of many nationalities died (including Balinese and Javanese workers)and another 244 were seriously injured. It was a tragedy both for those who died as well as for Bali itself. Bali is a very peaceful and gentle island and the bombings came as an unacceptable shock to all. A little bit of the “old” Bali died that day along with all the people.

Suffice it to say, Bali (at least Kuta/Legian/Seminyak) doesn’t appear to have let their guard down since. All cars/trucks/motorbikes and people are checked out before entering the major hotels and many restaurants. Security officers stand in front of many of shops, banks, restaurants, and clubs They are always polite and often helpful.

Along Legian Street near where the bombing occurred, the Balinese have erected a beautiful memorial which lists all the names of those who died. It is on a prominent corner and was funded by many people and business owners in the area (there are also memorials in at least 4 cities in Australia. We stopped by on our walk in the area and reflected on the many events of the past decade across the world that has forever changed our perceptions of humanity.

Seminyak:

One evening we ventured up to Seminyak for dinner. We ate at Sate Bali which serves traditional Balinese food. It was on a tree shaded street in a quieter part of Seminyak. We had the “Rice Table” (Rijstafl) where we could sample a variety of Balinese dishes and desserts. It was good. We especially like the pork dishes. I liked the minced duck in a banana leaf. And with the exception of the traditional black rice pudding, we loved all the mostly fruit inspired desserts. The only little surprise was that they took only cash….almost the last of our cash. So there we were without cash for a taxi. And ATMs are not a common sight in many areas. So we took off walking to the main area of Seminyak looking for the ubiquitous money changer office. Fortunately we didn’t have to walk too far, and the rate wasn’t too bad. So with cash in hand, we grabbed a taxi for the shopping district where we walked off some of our dinner before going home to bed.

Practicalities: Phones, Money, and Internet:

Internet: Our hotel has free WiFi…wireless (so I am typing this from bed after an afternoon nap). There are many places with free Wifi. Some restaurant/cafes offer free WiFi during hours where business is typically slow. Others who offer internet at a charge, offer it at a very reasonable price. Now this is in Kuta. We will see what other areas have to offer.

Blackberry My blackberry works here. I signed up for the international plan before I left so that I have unlimited email and texting. So that is primarily how I correspond with folks at home.

Skype. We have skype on my notebook, so we’ve used that to call home (you can call to phone numbers as well as connect to computers). We tried it out to call my mother and it worked like a charm. It cost us about 2 cents a minute. Far less than the $2.40 reduced rate charge on my blackberry and the $4 buck a minute “regular” charge by cell phone.

Local Phone. Our friend David lent us his Balinese phone (he visits here each winter) to use while here in Bali. We bought a sim card for $5.00 bucks that gives us about 300 local minutes. So we can more easily call our hotels, drivers etc.

ATMs. Not all towns have them once you get out of the bigger towns. Also, sometimes there are scams/rigged machines. So the best advice is to use ATMs associated with actual banks. Exchange rates are good but you know those fees on both ends!

Money Changers. CHECK THE RATES and commission fees. They vary widely, street to street and day to day. Ask your hotel for a reputable money changer. Some will try to fast talk you and confuse you when counting out the money. If you feel uncomfortable cancel the exchange if possible. Fortunately in Kuta there are very good money changers with good rates.

Travelers Cheques. I feel old. Travelers Cheques are going the way of the dinosaur. We knew that before we came (AAA doesn’t even sell them anymore). But it turns out that MANY money changers really ding you for cashing a traverlers cheque. We can only figure there must have been quite a counterfeiting operation going on with TCs that increased the cost of doing business in them. However our money changer is an authorized American Express outpost and cashes them for only slightly less than the exchange rates for dollars. They also have offices in Ubud so we’re set.

Bali: Arrival and Kuta: Post 1

Thursday: September3rd, Morning:

What a delightful flight from LAX to Hong Kong. Yes, I know it was 14 and ½ hours, but Cathay Pacific Biz class (thank heavens for American Airlines frequent flier miles) is really super. First (the most important) the seats recline FLAT and every position in between flat and upright. The cubicles are private and quiet. The temperature in the cabin was pleasantly cool, enough to use the nice fluffy duvet we got for a blanket. Food was excellent, got both dinner and breakfast. And they served dinner right away so we could eat and get to sleep. And sleep I did. Besides the comfy seat, I took 1 ibuprofen 1 5mg ambien (the smallest amount) a glass of water and two fingers of a very nice port (and I didn’t eat heavy for dinner). I slept for almost 6 straight hours and dozed for another two. Heaven! Flight attendants were exceptionally attentive and pleasant. And to top it off the little biz class kits had dermalogica spritzer and moisturizer…my favorite brand and one that doesn’t make my eyes water.

So here we are in Hong Kong Airport. It’s a gray somber day outside. Hills rise to the left of the tarmac. We board in a few hours for Bali again on Cathay Pacific. I just took a shower in the first class lounge…feel refreshed and revived. We had a little dimsum for our 2^nd breakfast of the day. Have free wireless and my bberry works. Yes!

Friday, September 4^th, Kuta, Bali: Full Moon

The Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to Kuta was uneventful and pleasant. Getting through immigration check was a little less pleasant. There were several plane loads of people processing through at once. And although it took only minutes to buy our 30-day tourist visa, it took well over an hour to get through passport check, just too many people and not enough imigrazi officers. It was very hot and humid and we were tired. But a friendly group of 30 something surfer dudes from California kept us entertained just by being stereotypical stoner dudes from California who had more than a few beers on their 16 hour flight from LAX.

Kuta

We were met outside the International Terminal by the friendly driver from Poppies Cottages where we will stay for 4 nights. He was a welcome sight as I stared into the sea of hotel drivers from across Bali waiting for their arriving customer. It was lightly raining, also delightful after sweating in the terminal. It took us about 20 minutes to drive to Poppies (located on Poppies Lane 1) in Kuta. As expected the roads were full of taxis (Taksi) and motorbikes. But after all the warnings we received at how bad the traffic is, all we can say is that isn’t even half as bad as the traffic in Hanoi or Saigon (which of course means it IS still pretty bad). So we feel perfectly fine negotiating it as pedestrians. We’ve even had a few cars stop and wave us across the road, an unheard of act in Vietnam (where such politeness would probably cause a 10 vehicle pile up).

Poppies Cottages: Oasis

We arrived at Poppies Cottages after driving through streets lined with stores, restaurants, surf shops, bars, and hotels and filled with tourists and surfers from all over the world. We maneuvered down the ever narrowing Poppies Lane until we came to the coral and stone walls and picturesque wooden gate. Poppies Cottages on Poppies Gang 1 is a magical, beautiful, oasis in the midst of crowded and hectic Kuta. There are 20 lovely, private cottages. Sitting in my room I can hear none of the hustle and bustle, only the doves, birds, and occasional rooster crow.

Our cottage is a roomy and comfortable thatched roofed structure. With wooden framed windows looking out onto gardens filled with palms, bromeliads, bougainvillea, poinsettia (huge evergreen poinsettia) and small shrines and statues. Everywhere you look there are flowers. There are ponds filled with fish. Deep red/orange dragonflies dance about the water. Number markers telling the direction to your cottage are simply decorated with a single fresh flower. The free form swimming pool is well shaded and is lined with fountains. Poppies has free wifi and a small library with computers available for use.

And then there is the bathroom which is my favorite bathroom ever. It is partially open air (although screened for mosquitos). Part of the roof opens to the sky, below which is a gravel bed lined with plants and Balinese statues. So as you take a bath you can hear the wind through the palms outside and if it rains the rain would gently fall to the gravel bed below. The rest of the bathroom is under cover with stone floors.

There are 3 resident long legged cats: two are grey and white and one is a ginger/orange cat. They are quite comfortable with attention.

Around Town

Made’s Warung

We dropped our luggage, took a shower, and took a nap! But once rested we were off for a stroll and food. We walked down Poppies Lane towards the water. We eventually made our way to Made’s Warung, a local institution. It’s located on Jl Pintai Kuta. It’s a large Warung: two stories, open to the street. With high ceilings and a thatched roof, the restaurant boasts a large wall filled with pictures of old Bali. The décor is whimsical including many statues of curious characters some religious, some not. Food offered is Indonesian, Balinese, and International. We tried the pork satay, BBQ ribs (served braised in a broth), and the fried noodle special. They have the local beer (Bintang) on draught. I had a beer, Jerry had a coke. It was plenty of food!! Total cost? $15.

Kuta is definitely not a sleepy little surfer town anymore and we didn’t expect it to be. But it is definitely still a surfer town. Surf board shops, surf lessons, billabong and quicksilver shops abound. And of course surfers of all nationalities (heavy on the Aussies) are everywhere. We spent some time drinking a fanta sitting on plastic chairs under a shade tree at the beach and watched the waves. They ARE beautiful…long curls of water. And this is the ‘easy’ beach. No wonder they all come here to surf, we haven’t even seen the “good” surf beaches yet.

Smart Salon

Kuta is also a shopping town: everything from knockoff Oakley sunglasses and Bintang Tank Tops to beautiful made crafts and clothing. There is also an abundance of places to get manicures, pedicures and massages. We stopped at “Smart Salon & Relaxing Spot” (Jl Pantai Kuta No 204). A clean, modern, and restful looking place, Jerry and I each had a manicure, pedicure, and foot reflexology massage (including a mini head and neck massage). For the two of us it was $36. And frankly, we think it was one of the better manicure/pedicures that we’ve had anywhere.

Pithe Can Thropus

After our mani/pedis we wandered down Jl Pantai Kuta and found a beautiful store called Pithe Can Thropus. The store had beautiful made fabrics, purses, puppets, sarongs, and many other items. Excellent quality and innovative designs (especially the purses). I found a lovely sarong with birds on it which I bought. I may head back there before we’re down for one of the lovely purses (my weakness).

Poppies Restaurant

There are McDonalds and Starbucks, but also delightful and delicious local warungs boasting delicious Indonesian and Balinese dishes at very reasonable prices. We ate at Made’s Warung last night. Today for lunch we tried Poppies Restaurant (across the lane from where we are staying). The restaurant is set in a lovely garden with flowers, palms, and pond (and another long-legged cat who was rather vocal about thinking she deserved some portion of our lunch). I had the mie goreng (a fried noodle dish) which was lovely. Jerry had a Caesar Salad which was good (and came with hard boiled quail eggs) and a delicious tomato soup (which was OK…not great…but OK). A delightful gesture was that at the end of the meal our waitress brought us a tray with ice cold wet towels and toothpicks. The towels were deliciously soothing after a day of shopping and walking in the sun.