Sanur, Bali

07.06.08: OK, maybe not for young one’s and/or party animals, but our 7:30pm flight from Singapore to Denpasar, Bali seemed late for us! When we finally got on the plane, Kailani fell asleep fairly fast. This can be nice for Sean and me not to have a two and a half year old jumping all over the walls and us. When she woke up towards the later part of the flight, she was completely burning up. Of course, our thermometer was in our check-in luggage, so I didn’t know exactly how bad it was. I was not only afraid that she might have caught the same bug that Sean had in Singapore, but was wondering if Indonesian immigration would allow her into the country! (They did check her temperature at the Hong Kong airport.) Fortunately, she did cool down, just a bit, when we disembarked. Now, the only thing we had to worry about was how to pay for our visa-on-arrivals, as we didn’t have enough cash, and they didn’t take credit cards or traveler’s checks. We ended up having to “sneak” past the immigration line to get to luggage carousels where they had ATMs. Blame it on being tired I guess, but I couldn’t get my head around the $1 USD to 10,000 Indonesia Rupiah conversion rate, so we got tens of dollars worth out, thinking we were getting hundreds. This, we did a couple times too! Of course, the immigration lines went from almost nothing to long and slow by the time we got back there! But, we were allowed into country #13 with nothing more than a long wait.

Our hotel in Sanur, The Paradise Plaza Hotel, run by American chain Radisson, was as nice as expected. I booked it that way, figuring I didn’t want any unexpected surprises arriving in a new country so late. I also booked us a “bonus” room with an outdoor but covered large size bathtub, rain shower and toilet area. Just outside that was a zen garden, a bonus to look at while bathing, showering or doing other things. By then, Kai’s fever seemed to subside. I checked inside her mouth to find a new molar in the way back corner. Just as you think the “teething” phase is all over, here comes a new one! I was just so grateful that she wasn’t sick!

The next morning, we did find one little “bait and switch” with our hotel. One reason we picked this hotel was because we thought, if for some reason we didn’t want to go to the beach, this place had a kid’s pool, complete with water slide. Unfortunately, it wasn’t ON the property, rather a couple kilometers away at the Paradise Plaza SUITES. But at least they provided an hourly shuttle that ran from one property to another, the shopping area and the beach. Unfortunately, we decide to jump on the shuttle during the driver’s lunch break. Good thing a taxi’s only a couple bucks! The water slide was fun. I kept telling Kai about it before we got there, and she seemed scared to do it. I told her she could try the “baby” one first. When we got there, she didn’t want to go on the baby one, she was all over the big one…over and over and over again… After that, we decided to check out the beach. We go to pick up the shuttle, but this time we missed it by a couple minutes. Again, at least the taxi’s cheap. When we got to the beach, I realized why our guide book said Sanur’s nickname is “Snore”. Usually “snore” sounds much better than “big party beach”. But, this place seemed to be right in between, not much going on but local kids playing on the water near the boat harbor, but not a secluded tropical hideaway either. There were very way less restaurants or shops than what we were expecting. But, we did manage to find something to eat. After, we started walking toward the hotel. Kai fell asleep in the backpack carrier. When we got across the street from the hotel, I noticed a sign for an organic spa. We went inside to check it out and ended up with massages for two in the couple’s room, Kailani napping on a massage table mattress on the floor at our heads. It worked out wonderful and we both RELISHED it immensely! For ~$10 USD each, the price was a bit high but EXTREMELY worth it, after having a bad massage in Phuket which lead me to the chiropractor. Sean also had an extremely short and unrelaxing one there too. They also sold the infamous Balinese salt, so we took some home and had a “family bath”. Later that night, we walked out to catch the shuttle to the “shopping area” to find dinner only to find it doesn’t run that late. The hotel’s transportation desk was happy to get us another taxi. But for some reason, the lady kept suggesting other places besides eating at the night market. We kept saying “No, we WANT to eat local food” and “Yes, we are OK with eating at carts!” OK, maybe Sean and I were talking for ourselves, because we did end up having to get some McD’s for Kai, who doesn’t care for spicy. (That’s about the 2nd time in her life she’s eaten it!) Kailani was also still giving people at the Night Market a Thai wai (hands in prayer position and bowing her head) and saying “Kup Kun Kaw” which is “Thank you” in Thai. We all need to learn to say “Terimah Casih”, which means “Thank you” in Indonesian!

Our 2nd day in Sanur, we were really lazy. We woke late and decided to try the hotel’s all-you-can-eat dim sum. After the feast, it was about time for Kai’s nap, so we walked down to the beach with her in the backpack, which usually puts her out. As soon as she was out, we headed back to the organic spa. It wasn’t quite like the first time. Kai woke up in the middle. But, she went back to sleep, so Sean was at least able to finish his massage. (His masseuse woke him up after she saw Kai rolling off the mattress and tried to console her, but couldn’t.) Later that day, we packed up for our next stop on the island of Bali and ate a light/fast dinner next door to the spa.