Not Bali related but posting this as im trying desperately to raise money for my daughter to get her car back on the road, She has  2 yr old twins is a SAHM and she  and  her hubby are paying off $1500 from replacing the auto transmission a month ago after it being off the road for 2 months, she's only just had it back a week and the ECU had problems, more money, Just got it back to her yesterday and alternater died today, And its  another HUGE job to replace alternater ,the whole front axle drive has to come out...sigh. I can't help them at all this time.

So i've set up a funding site, if anyone would like to help it would be sooo much appreciated.
thanks lovely people in advance xoxo   Please help fixe Gemmas car and save her sanity

Days 9 and 10

Day 9

Reset the alarm so up at 8 Had Brekky and leisurely chat with Ursie and Wayan.

same every day at ubud bungalows, and the weirdest bread, like my effort in the breadmaker

Slow day today,nothing planned, went over to the shop for some supplies and some bintang, bought a blueberry premix to see what it’s like.

Spent the morning on the verandah, was too cloudy for me to swim. If the water is cold I have to be melting to get in,showing my age…sigh lol

Lunch at Saggitarious, Lumpia ,very nice, they serve 2 large ones and nice sauce and the nicest milkshakes 100k

Back to hotel ,more parking bums on verandah and nodding hello to staff

Was going to go for a walk but I kicked my toe going out over the doorstep when going out for a ciggy last night, forgot it was there and tendon in my foot didn’t want to go in my shoe,so gave it a miss and hubby went for a walk while I put some Sendi cream on it and watched more Midwife.

Les came back and went for a swim.

Nothing bought`!!! no money spent to day except on food. At this rate,by the time I get home I am going to be a larger size side of a barn than I am now!!

Just had some bintang and watched some more Midwife for the rest of the afternoon and contemplated where to have the next feed.

Now the Knee is complaining!!

Dinner was at Cip-cepi or something like that , it’s a place opposite saggitarius, that specialises in “bbq” 

It’s part of a hotel that I can’t remember the name of (helpful huh) anyhoo, we had the burgers, and added egg bacon and cheese, we were happy for them to charge the extra 10k for it, but they didn’t end up charging it. Hamburgers were fantastic…almost up there with Yaris ,but not quite . pre damn good though. Came with home made chips and salad,which had no dressing, but the burger sauce made it juicy and that became the dressing for the salad haha

We had dessert here too, banana split for him and Balinese pandang leaf crepe for me. Yummy. milkshakes ,coffee came to 220k. my knee didn’t want to let me up from my chair and les had already stepped out the front so the waitress put her arm out for the extra shove I needed, then heading out the owner offered to give me ride on back of motor bike, but we are only across the road. Kindness it comes from everywhere here.

Full as a goog,rolled across the road and back to hotel

Tried watching a movie……dammit dvd drive in laptop has carked it. It reads that there is a dvd in it and whats on it, but won’t play it. I tried several,so not the disk.I thought the laptop or the dvd was getting too hot and gave it a rest, but nope, I’ve killed the dvd drive somehow.

That was a very unexciting chill day, but hey we are in Bali 

Day 10

Its going so fast! 10 days already?!!

Up at 8 ,missed Ursie this morning, must have beat us up . Brekky done and dusted, scrambled egg, not a lot of choice here.oohh mango juice today ,I’ll have that! Haven’t seen the Faulty Tower waiter again since that first morning, they must have given him a different job lol never did hear Mrs Doubtfire again either.

We have to find a driver to take us to Legian tomorrow, we check out and leave Ubud for 11 days in legian.

We walked a fair way towards the Markets for hubby to go to a particular shop he liked, so rather than waste the walk, and the last full day, kept going down to the markets. Passed the Ubud Tattoo show, was pretty busy, didn’t go down for a look, wasn’t actually sure what was there to look at, stalls we could see were mainly inks and equipment or tshirts.

I bought some earrings…first price was 150k..for 1 pair haha, just cheap dangly things. I bought six pairs for 120k Had a wander around, ‘just looking..jalan jalan”

I’ve noticed that even though there seems like a LOT of tourists here, sometimes the street is teaming with them,like ants marching, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of spending. They are walking past the shops and massage places. We were getting good prices for first sales in the middle of the day sometimes..you know, first sale they rub everything with the money for luck. I really do think because the hotel room prices ,transport and food prices have gone up so much, that people are being more careful with the ‘other”spending.Just my thoughts, not sure it that’s it or not, but it just amazes me that so many people on the street but shops are empty.

Walking back from the markets, the sun came out… thought , better buy a hat…….no hats ,well unless I wanted a rice paddy hat …….there were hundreds of hats to choose from at the markets and I didn’t even think of it then……….

Bought Lunch on the walk back, can’t remember name of place, pretty setting in the garden but other than that only the 2 kittens begging for food were memorable, poor things must have just been weaned and mum not feeding them. Bit hard to eat without feeling guilty with the mewling. The 3 decker sandwich was ordinary and expensive for what it was. Also had to wait an enormous amount of time….for a sandwich and a few chips lol should have waited and walked on to vanilla pod, it wasn’t much further. But I was hot and tired and footsore.

Looking for drivers, what happened to all the men with taxi signs that have been waving them at us all week? Haha …Found one but his van too small for our luggage and boxes to be posted…not to mention the cock cage. The hotel want 300k to take us over,no thanks.

Made it back in one piece to the room, got the feet up, relaxed and watched Back some more midwife.

I saw good reviews and some yummy looking pics for Mamma Miarestraunt.

Found a driver to take us down, got him down to 30k from 70, but with the traffic from the tattoo thing ,we gave him 40k. there are precious few actual taxis here in Ubud bluebird or otherwise, !

Mamma Mia gets big tick from us. Wood fired. Crust thin and crisp, sauce and toppings tasty. Spaghetti bolognaise is just as my Nonna used to make. Only thing I didn’t like was the garlic bread, only 2 pieces and so much garlic it was hot, but is my only critiscism. Milkshakes were nice, service friendly and prompt. If you get a chance, definatly go. At 180k for the entire meal, it is actually cheaper than one large pizza at Twin Towns Pizza and Kebab!!!

Hadn’t really seen any of Ubud other than Monkey forest road above the hill and the markets,so decided to walk back. Asked a taxi driver which way we should walk, and to have a flatter walk would have had to walk almost all the way to the markets and then back down, he said was quicker to go straight up monkey forest, so had a leisurely walk poking our heads into shops.

Heard this ding dong ding ding mmm more like plink plonk plink plink noise and water running, this little musical thing with moving man and ox, was powered by water hitting a wheel. It was so charming I HAD TO HAVE ONE. But what?, ‘water ones finished” arrrgh Noooo..but wait…. “ have wind power” YES YES THAT WILL DO  they were 80k each so I bought two smaller ones at 50k each.

There was a divine 50’s style dress in a shop window, but shop was shut. My middle daughter would have loved it. Might get the driver to stop on the way if I can see it as I go past tomorrow.

Got to the bottom of the Monkey forest rd Hill, just took my time , its not as steep as it looks looking down it, thank goodness. I DID IT.

Reward… dessert at Cip-cipu  pisang goreng and milkshake each 110k

Think I walked about 3km today? Holy crap, that’s a lot for a sedentary sloth like myself haha

Hubby is so patient, it must be a pain to walk so slow all the time and watch the road and the footpath for 2 ppl, but he is determined I won’t fall over or off or into any holes.I’m sure people think I’m drunk half the time haha

Back to hotel to get my wobbly ankles and aching knees up off the floor.

Cheers all

Tomorrow Legian  found a driver with bigger size van and trip will cost 260k

Night all

Thanks for reading

Day 7 and 8

Day 7

Rained overnight again,8.30 brekky, omelette today lol brekky was organised today, no lost orders.I was disappointed ,No Mrs Doubtfire.

Quiet morning, just strolled up and down Monkey Forest Road, browsing in all the shops, saying hi to the people who are getting to know our faces.

“just looking,just looking jalan jalan” didn’t last long. Hubby bought a small gamelan at 50k bargained from 120kish and 2 wooden carved dragonflies, these are perfectly balanced and turn in the wind when sitting on a stick . 20k each from 100k each.

(photo to come)

I went to take back and change 1 dvd…and ended up buying another 10…hahah but I did get all 3 seasons of “The Midwife Calls” 

Had icecreams that we never buy at home for lunch lol Pomegranate magnum yum!!! $1.20 why are we paying $4 for the same thing at home???

Back to hotel, bed made. They are not changing the sheets, just making the beds, I know this as my elbow has a rheumatoid nodule that has been irritated and bled a little. I’ll ask the crew to change it today. Staff are lovely here ,always smiling and friendly.

Ubud Bungalows gardens

Hubby had a nap, I watched this weeks episode of winners and losers,found it on a site that has series from all over the world, so when that finished and Les still sleeping, I watched some Sherlock .love that series now, will look for it in dvd shop tmz.

Went for a cappuccino at café Ibunda ,attatched to hotel next door, I thought I’d have an iced chocolate, not what I was expecting lol basically choc powder in cold water lol they were mortified when I hadn’t drank it and asked why,so I explained that it wasn’t what I was expecting and what I get in cafes in Australia, so they are going to experiment. They gave us a tasting plate of ‘traditional Balinese snack” before we left, we literally couldn’t leave till we tried it haha. it was sweet corn and purple sweet potato with coconut sprinkled and palm sugar and coconut, I loved it, very nice. Not to hubbys taste though. cappuccino was ok. I was chuffed they chose us to try it, when I hadn’t liked their drink.

Bit more walking around then back to hotel

Went to a little warung for dinner, its attached to a hotel that I’ve forgotten name of but close by down on the right and opposite side of road to ubud bungalows . Prices really good, 20,and 30k per meal. Specials board is on the corner and you walk down the little lane a few steps.Les had sweet and sour chicken which was Balinese not chinese so was hotter than he expected but he enjoyed it,and was a good size serving.I had the “chicken gordon” hahaha it was lovely served with few veges and a few chips, not a huge serve but I enjoyed it and still value for money. With large bintang and a coffee the meal cost 110k. decided to have dessert elsewhere when it was dark and pretty with the lights.

warung bakery I think its called

Back to hotel and write some of this up, while hubby off to change more money lol

Back to the lovely Ubud Homestay for dessert. Hubby had cappuccino for dessert lol I had ohh dammit forgot the name,it has an bali name. was a warm banana ,split and in a sauce of palm sugar and orange juice , some chopped fruite, a strawberry and a scoop of vanilla icecream .DEVINE 

Back to hotel and a movie, which I snored through LOL

Day 8

Up at a quater to 8 phone went flat haha

Met the lovely Ursie from TA and her lovely friend Wayan from Amed, they are just next door ,its so wonderful to put faces to the voices . we chatted over brekky and we hope to see more of them.

Ursie and Me

Wayan and me

I’ve lost my glasses, haven’t seen them since I arrived here in ubud, but I know I had them when I got here.Probably fell off my head somewhere. Going to go on line and order another pair,should be at home when I get there.

Hubby went back to get another 2 dragonflies, she tried to charge him more lol but she sighed and gave them to him at same price as yesterday.

Arrrgh, tried to pay for my glasses online, but paypal kept denying saying, no delivery address…ok, try credit card, all good til I got to netcode sms…dammit I don’t have a mobile anymore, and so I did the commonwealth chat, what a great idea, they rang me on the bali phone, and sorted that side of it, but the site still would not process, maybe tried to many times? Don’t know, will get my daughter to try for me.

New people have moved into the room above, we only normally hear ppl as they walk up the stairs to get to the room, but whoever is up there now is thumping their way around the room ,I can hear everytime they walk across it and shut the wardrobe door and front door.

I went and had a facial and a foot/lower leg massage. Honey and cucumber facial 60k (devine) and half hour foot 30k at Samsara Spa. Its down a little laneway a few doors up from ubud bungalows, walking towards markets. Its at the top of the lane, a bamboo structure that just caught my eye ,looked so cool and breezy, and it was. I was so relaxed during facial, I fell asleep while waiting for the cucumber to do its magic . foot massage was amazing, so much so that my shoes were no longer tight when I put them back on, and had to pee like a horse when I got back to the room haha no detail too small you said…challenge accepted hahaha

Had some lunch at Saggitarious, really nice Lumpia , 2 large ones with a delightful nutty tomato/very mild chilli sauce for 1500rp a serve each and a strawberry milkshake each, they were very nice too,made with fresh strawberries cost 77000rp all up.

Back to hotel, watched some Call the Midwife, even hubby liked it, missed it when it was on tv, im hooked now, great show.

Found we can get 2gb footy call on the internet so listened to souths v manly game till just after half time.we had a table booked for dinner, so missed the end of the game. Souths won, that’s all that matters haha

Changed some more money, rate is 10.800 hubby bought a chime, it has a bird that bobs up and down lol 65k down from 150k.

Dinner again at Homemade, food is delicious here. Les had Nasi goreng again, and I had spag carbonarra. Everything is presented so well, wait staff are delightful and friendly, for us its like dining at a fancy restaurant, cloth tablecloths and napkins, candles. waiter pulls out your chair and puts napking on your lap, leave you alone to eat but anticipate when you are ready to order or finish etc. the two meals, a fruit smoothie, sprite and a cappuccino 220k.

Home made has quite a few stairs, deep ones, I feel disabled going up as Les helps me with his arm, and now the staff come in for the other arm ,so nice .But coming down I feel like a lady, being walked down the stairs like Lady Muck haha

Back to hotel, passed Art café, they had a guitarist/singer, sounded ok, if on tmz night we might stop in.

I have to take more notice when I step onto the road where the broken paths are, I nearly took out a bus tonight, a bit more of a lurch to the right and …eeek.

Hubby has turned in for the night I might watch some more midwife on call

Night all

Thanks for reading

day 6

Didn’t last the movie, crashed and zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Woke at 7……..just as I finally went to cancel alarm on phone,hubby decided he wanted it on for breakfast early. Just as well as we would still be waiting on brekky. There is one thing to describe the breakfast set up at ubud bungalows………..Faulty Towers!!! Waiting waiting, finally order, then waiter asking people who had already placed orders,including us, to order again as order lost or they couldn’t remember who ordered what, not sure.one group cancelled their order as they had a driver to meet. Food was ok ,missing puri oka breakfast. Choice of western or indonesion from set menu. Getting milk for tea was fun, waiter pointed to the sugar, “we usually use this” so a bit of charades ensued while we tried to explain milk, eventually…”white tea ‘ worked and we got a smidgen of fresh milk….later we discovered the creamer powder in amongst the sugar packets…

Dining area is in a nice setting, surrounded by lush tropical gardens overlooking a small ravine. From another property we could hear drums and roosters crowing and cicadas. Very jungle atmsophere, hubby said he expected Tarzan to swing through any moment. That then reminded him of feeding elephants at the safari park, lol he said he said Ungowa to it and it just looked at him….

Yeah we are pretty random..ha

I thought Mrs Doubtfire was behind me at brekky, we gave her some milk so she didn’t have to go through the charades, her accent is the same as Mrs Doubtfire…I could have listened to her all day lol so I said something to her as I left, just so I could hear it again haha

We decided to go to Ubud Markets today, it’s not far but decided to get transport.. 50k? how far is it? we told him we’d pay 20k, turns out its about a kilometre. Do you think we could get a cab back for 20k? not on your life. So hoofed it back slowly, sat half way with some pocari sweat, and hoofed it again. I think its about 1k? feet were sore and swollen and so put them up for a while back at hotel. It’s lovely weather, yes its hot but its not overwhelming, there’s a nice breeze,this is definatly the time of year to come to Bali for me.

We walked back from the markets to cries of “ahh big shopping?” all the way LOL we bought 2 quilt covers and a quilt, bargained down from 600k and 650 on the quilt to 220k for the covers and 250 for the quilt. Will probably post these back inside the cock cage lol

I’ve been asked for a list of prices of things we’ve bought along the way.

Candidasa

The cock cage was 70,000k bought on outskirts of Candidasa

2 shirred top dresses,long thick cotton, 150k each could not bargain lower but she started at 300 and I needed clothes lol

Tropical style button up shirt for 2 yr old 10,000rp down from 30,000

Very large wooden winged goddess or guardian, painted, bali style. ….1.1 mil rp bargained down from 2.6 mil rp.hubby had to have this, he’d never seen one as large, its over a metre wide with the wings attatched and over a metre tall.

UBUD

Patchwork quilt cover, turquoise and cream 240k, black and gold 240k and black and cream quilt 250k

Small shirred toddler size dress, 20,000 down from 50,000

Silver necklace with purple marble inside ornate cage at ubud markets 100k bargained from 450k

Chain to put necklace on 60,000 bargained from 150k

Silver worked bangle with 3 blue ‘stones’ 150k down from 650k lol was ridiculous price for it, still paid too much I think, but I like it.

Large penis bottle opener (request from a friend lol )ubud market 25k down from something ridiculous like 150k lol

Two small hanging sort of rounded hexagonal black and white lanterns with light fittings 250,000 Each I think she came down 100,000 on each. I think the place is called jk lanterns ,its on monkey forest rd walking towards the monkey forest not far from ubud bungalows.

2 small tin painted bees, 40k each , I did not bargain, thought it fair price.bought these at the lamp shop

Wooden circles painted and with applied light catchers ,each circle turns independently inside one another 100k down from 250k

Large tin cute fish 100k down from 250k both these from a little boutique shop not far from ubud bungalows, walking towards the markets.

Todays purchases when hubby went for a walk,

4 large round candle holders ,different colours, for the garden 50k a piece but he bargained to 150k for the 4 ,on monkey forest rd, right hand side (walking towards MForest)near and opposite side to the lantern shop

Dakon board game , this is really nice piece, is almost a metre long and hand carved and painted, for out eldest daughter for her birthday. 350k bargained down from 600k

While he was out finding these, I went and had a hair colour, I went to one of the cheaper spa/salons ,Aria spa,I like to give these smaller ones the work and was I happy with result. Though the hair colour wasn’t cheap at 280k for long hair, I read the pamphlet wrong lol but still happy and cheaper than home. Manicure 50k, eyebrows and moustache wax (Italian heritage, thanks nonna) 50k for both and a trim to tidy up the broken ends of my hair 50k . felt refreshed and happy to see the grey gone and a bald upper lip haha

Feet held up better today, bit puffy, but can still get my shoes on, so that’s ok lol

Went for a short walk this arvo, to feed my face ….had early dinner as we skipped lunch…think we had an icecream for lunch…. And walked till something took our fancy. Chose Ubud homemade resto where hubby had the best meal he has had so far. He had nasi goreng, really well presented and tasty. I had ham and pineapple pizza and then banana split, which was really nice, a real one , a sprite each and a cappuccino for him came to 220k. full as a goog we headed back to hotel.

Nothing planned for tomorrow, maybe some pool time,might go back to market and get another of those caged necklaces for a gift for a birthday.

Oh hubby wants you all to know his only spend today was 2000k on 3 bananas, reckons the rest was on my list so doesn’t count !!!

Someone commented no detail too small? You still sure about that? Hahaha

Seriously I could talk 3 hrs underwater!!!