part two: nusa dua, bali

friday 22 november - monday 25 november

after a two-hour drive and a couple loops around the resort area we arrived at our LUXURY RESORT, the laguna, in nusa dua. the place was gorgeous--beautiful open lobby/reception area, flowers everywhere, and lagoon-like pools spreading out towards the beach. we were a little early so our room wasn't ready yet, which gave us some time to explore the hotel and walk along the beach path to neighboring resorts. it was noticeably warmer and sunnier here so we decided to snack on some tim tams in the air-conditioned computer center (free internet time!) before heading to our freshly made room.
our room overlooked one of the many pools, but we opted to plant ourselves on the beach for the next few hours. cushy lounge chairs, fresh young coconut, and free wifi...this is the life.

woke up at 530am on day two in nusa dua--guess our jet lag hasn't quite worn off. we started with a breakfast of papaya with lime,  muesli with milk, and some strong balinese coffee. today we had a driver (putu) who would take us around bali for the day. first stop was a balinese dance show which told the traditional story of the barong; there was more acting than actual dancing, but it was neat to learn about the story. next up was a small coffee plantation where we tried luwak coffee (beans pooped from a mongoose O.O) and a selection of teas and flavored coffees. we liked all their teas (even the ginger one!) and really enjoyed the coconut coffee and vanilla coffee. also, sugar goes a long way in enhancing flavor in all the drinks. now it was time for lunch and a little shopping in seminyak. we ate gado gado and nasi goreng and stocked up on snacks from cocomart. from there putu drove us to uluwatu temple with a quick stop at padang padang beach. uluwatu is set atop a cliff and offered up some really stunning views. the sun was peeking through the clouds and cast some beautiful beams of light on the ocean. it was pretty refreshing to be so high up and out in the open. after taking in the sights, our last stop for the day was a jimbaran seafood dinner on the beach at new moon cafe. we picked out our seafood (red snapper and mussels/clams) and sipped our young coconuts (finally we got spoons to scrape out the coconut meat!) while enjoying the sunset and awesome-looking sky. what a great way to end our balinese-filled day.

finally a solid night's sleep :) yay! a little bit of tv time and a breakfast of mangosteen and cocomart snacks and we were off to the beach. searched for the perfect spot under a tree and proceeded to read, nap, dip in the water, collect shells, snack, and repeat for the next four hours.
given our SUPER taxing day, we needed some nourishment and made dinner reservations at bumbu bali. seating was outside in a courtyard setting that resembled a traditional balinese home. this caused for some bug bites with our dinner, but at least we were distracted by the bounty of food. we dined on the rijstaffel, or "rice table," which consisted of the following dishes:
  * cram cam (chicken soup with shallots)
  * sambel be tongkoi (tuna salad with lemongrass)
  * sate babi, ayam, lilit (pork, chicken, and
    seafood satay)
  * ayam pelalah (shredded chicken with chili, and
    tomato)
  * tum bebek (minced duck in banana leaf)
  * be celeng base manis (pork in sweet soy sauce)
  * be sampi mebase bali (braised beef in coconut milk)
  * kambing mekuah (lamb stew with cardamom)
  * ikan bakar (grilled fish fillet)
  * pesan be pasih (diced fish  grilled in banana leaf)
  * two vegetable dishes: jack fruit salad and green bean salad
  * desserts: seasonal fruits, balinese cakes and glutinous rice flour dumplings, green bean in
    coconut milk
the highlights for us were the pork and chicken sate, lamb stew, braised beef, and the fruit plate. and let's not forget the welcome flowers ;) free shuttle back to the laguna and a satisfying way to wrap up our last night in bali. off to jakarta in the morning!