September 22, 2011 / Bouncing Around

I'm so proud that I slept in until 6am! We planed out points of interest for the day and then had a delicious breakfast by the serene hotel pool. We rented a car with a driver for the day to save some money on transport and take us around. Madi, our driver, is a young, friendly, Hindu man who is very conscious of our comfort and hospitality towards us. And unlike some drivers, he isn't overly talkative either. We started at the Bali Orchid Garden in Sanur, a 40 minute drive from our five star hotel.
I haven't mentioned but our hotel is new and has one of the coolest pools I've ever seen, which runs like a river through the middle of the hotel complex. The decorations are stunning yet not over done. Just simple and elegant. Each night there are two men playing traditional instruments in the lobby that look like xylophones.
As I usually do, I digress...
The orchids garden was beautiful. We were greeted by a guide who have us a glass of tropical juice and a cool towel and then toured the grounds. We took many pictures which I look forward to seeing on a computer later and posting.
Next we drive to the Bali capital, Denspar. We did a 3 mile walking tour outlined in our travel book which provided us to see two Hindu temples, the outside of an old palace, two markets selling textiles and another selling fruits, flowers, spices and chicken parts. Yes, chicken hearts, chicken feet, and chicken wings. We also visited a central park with a memorial commemorating the fight against the dutch invasion in 1906.
Next our driver took us where we could hitch a glass bottom boat out first to see coral and fish and then onward to a turtle sanctuary and conservatory. The turtles were amazing and we got to hold two and take pictures with them. They had ones only a week old and another as old as 70 years. Not only did they have turtles, but they also had porcupines, bats, and toucans. We also got to hold a sea eagle, a snake, and an iguana. Our final tourist stop of the day was in a small fishing village called Benoa. We visited a Chinese Buddhist temple, saw a mosque, and visited a traditional dance school with a beautiful stage. A local man took it upon himself to offer to walk around with us and give us tourist tidbits, but we were able to dodge his request for a tip in return. Luckily the Balinese do not push for tips verbally but rather hover which is much easier to dodge when tips are uncalled for.
We returned back to Nusa Dua for an evening massage. We had one hour aromatherapy massages for $10 each. And they did wonders on our still aching muscles from surfing. We walked down the street from dinner and had shrimp and lobster dishes along with some tasty tropical fruit mixed drinks. We also had on the house, Arak, a strong rice spirit that is 100% proof.  Even when served with some lemonade it makes my mouth pucker. Post a drink or two more, we crashed and were asleep by 10pm.