Saturday, 23rd December 2017
Today we had to rush through our breakfast as our chauffeur was ready and waiting for us at 9 a.m. As Ubud is in the middle of the island of Bali, we have not yet seen the beach and for Gerry, a true seaman, he cannot go far too long without seeing the sea………. And today we woke up to bright sunshine and perfect for our beach trip!
So our trip today was to Jimbaran Beach, some 1hr 15 minutes drive away depending on the traffic. Well traffic was bad! Not only the scooters but also so many cars and mini vans making their way on narrow 2 lane roads through little villages. It was only when we got to Den Pasar that the roads improved and then we got onto a toll road which has been built on stilts in the sea along the coast to ease the traffic towards the holiday beach resorts in Kuta and Jimbaran.
Jimbaran is located south of the airport and Kuta beach and is sheltered as it situated in a crescent bay. However, by the time we got to Jimbaran, the clouds had gathered from the sea and we had a strong westerly wind blowing that it was not pleasant to be on the beach. In no time it started raining!!! We asked our chauffeur to take us to the eastern side of this little peninsula as there we should not have any strong winds. So we drove to Sanur and indeed, it was very pleasant here – there were clouds in the sky but these were white ones and the sun was shining.
Having wasted so much time trying to get to Jimbaran, we only had some 1.5 hours on the beach – we went on a long walk and just took in the scene when stopping for a drink. Sanur is a quaint place and actually this is a point where high speed boats leave for trips to other islands such as Lembongan, the Gilli’s and Lombok. There were quite a few backpackers waiting for their trip across to the Gilli islands.
When we arrived at our car, our chauffeur had already planned to make another stop – this time for lunch and not far from Ubud – Bebek TebaSari Restaurant – situated in luscious green rice fields and built in the traditional Balinese way – little huts surrounding a pond filled with giant goldfish! Besides the service being excellent – we had Semara looking after us with her beautiful smile. Gerry ordered Nasi Goreng Special presented in a fusion way while I had a mixed satay of chicken and beef served with a heart of steamed rice. While waiting for our lunch we could take some scenic pictures of our surroundings and for me to enjoy a pot of green tea and Gerry his usual Bintang beer!
As this was a late lunch, for sure we will not be having dinner tonight! Our chauffeur said we only had 10 minutes driving back to the hotel, however as the traffic was quite horrendous it took somewhat longer and when we did finally arrive, we headed straight to the swimming pool for our daily dip! However our relaxing time at the pool was cut short as we were surprised with heavy torrential rains that we couldn’t actually leave but sheltered under the big parasol.
Good thing it’s been raining – I’ve been able to update my blog in the meantime!
