My first order of business on Wednesday was to hit up Cocoon, the restaurant/bar with the pool where one can lounge away the afternoon. I intended to be there at 8:30 a.m., but in reality showed up a little after 9:00 a.m. After the on again-off again rain in Bophut Beach, I was determined to soak up some SUN! The pool area wasn’t open yet when I arrived at Cocoon. That threw me for a loop, as I specifically remember being there around 8:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning before. One of the staff explained that they no longer open the pool area until 10:00 a.m. So what was I to do for the next hour or so, give or take? Well, there’s always drinking at the bar, but I actually thought breakfast might go along well with my drink! Eggs Benedict it was, then. My choice in cocktails was a watermelon cooler – watermelon juice, mint, lemon juice and vodka, topped off with a little soda. I dawdled with my food, as only I can, until realizing that the pool was finally open. I paid my bill, then settled into one of the daybeds surrounding the pool. Surprisingly, no one else was there yet, considering how popular it had been in years past. Then I noticed a sign stating that use of those daybeds requires a minimum spend of 350,000IDR (something in the vicinity of $32-$33). Fine by me. I drank two glasses of sparkling wine, a Cowboy shot (butterscotch and Baileys) and rented a towel, which more than took care of the minimum spending requirement. Three luscious hours were spent alternately sitting in the pool and soaking up the sun while napping, drinking and people watching. I was slightly hammered, too, by the way! It was a wonderful morning!
As I was walking down Jalan Raya Seminyak, I decided to pop into my favorite jewelry store to peruse their silver. They were having a sale of 30% off their Hill Tribe jewelry. In the past, I don’t even recall seeing Hill Tribe jewelry in there, but looking at jewelry tends to give me Stendhal syndrome! The Hill Tribe jewelry was magnificent. On Bangkok Airways, there had been an article about how many of the Hill Tribes have a traditional amulet known as a “spirit lock,” though it kind of looks like a basket to me. The spirit lock is often given to children at birth and either worn on the back or worn on chains attached to neck rings. They are to lock one’s spirit/soul inside, in case of illness, accidents or spiritual malaise. There were several spirit locks on display at this store. Naturally, I wanted the largest one! They also had beautiful bracelets from the tribes, none of which fit me (but maybe that was a good thing). I was ultimately taken with a relatively large butterfly pendant, a butterfly ring and a rose ring, so settled for a smaller spirit lock. When asking the salesgirl which Hill Tribe made the jewelry, she hadn’t a clue. My later research, however, informed me that the spirit locks are common to Hmong, Karen and Akha Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand, Laos and Burma.
There was still quite a bit of time before sunset, so I strolled in the surf on my way to La Plancha. Once there, I plopped myself down in one of their brightly colored bean bag chairs under one of their brightly colored umbrellas and proceeded to order up a beer and a sandwich. It would be easy to spend the entire rest of the afternoon into evening there simply people watching, listening to music and staring out to sea. My appointment at Spa Bali was at 7:00 p.m., though, so there wasn’t much lingering after the gorgeous sunset.
My appointment at Spa Bali was for a massage and a facial. Having stayed in that area and having tried many spas up and down Dhyana Pura, Spa Bali remains my favorite, even though their prices are slightly higher than other places. After drinking in the heat that afternoon, an hour massage and an hour facial meant a two hour NAP to me! Believe me, the massages in Bali are MUCH more relaxing than those in Thailand!
For dinner that evening I decided to try Rolling Fork, a relatively new Italian restaurant over on Jalan Kunti, close to Bali Deli. The restaurant was small and there were only two women in the place upon my arrival via taxi. Later I realized that one of the women was either the owner or, at least, someone associated with the restaurant, and the other woman had been her friend. During my time there, a few other couples wandered in, though. The décor was a little rustic with doilies, Mason jars and a certain style of flatware, though charming. I decided on the special pasta and a strawberry-mint juice, which came with a cute little heart-shaped shortbread cookie. The pasta was fine, but nothing too memorable. Still, I’d go back and try something different.
Rather than turn in for the night, I wandered down the road to my apartment and stopped in at some little warung that had BBQ. Upon closer inspection, the bar was filled with middle-aged and older expat men fawning all over the young and young(er) – than the expat men – Indonesian women in their tight, sexy clothing. A few tourist couples were there; one couple at the bar and another at a table. That’s definitely not my scene, but I figured a drink might make it more bearable to me, as there wasn’t any room in my stomach for BBQ after eating pasta! I ordered a beer, which was cheap. Then I settled in for an hour or so of serious people watching. It never ceases to amaze me how men will make fools of themselves over women who truly don’t have any interest in them. As at most bars, these women dress sexy and flirt only to make tips. Then again, an expat man would present an opportunity for a better life for many of these women, so maybe some of them really WERE interested in a few of the expat guys. Who am I to say?! In that respect, I’ve also come across situations where, since these type of women think I’m Indonesian (or Thai or whatever), they see me as a threat when they’ve honed in on a particular expat man. When they hear me speak in perfect English, they’re a little confused at first. After that, they loosen up and are friendlier towards me. What I really want to say to them is, since I’m from the U.S., I see these types of men (middle-aged and older men, generally with some form of Yellow Fever) ALL the time and have no interest in them. So, Ladies, go for it! As I’ve been known to tell obnoxious men who approach me at a bar, I’m here to drink, not socialize! Some expat man insisted on buying several shots for a few of the bar girls, who kept refusing them, saying that they couldn’t drink any more. Thus, the Aussie owner, sent one of the shots my way, along with a shaker of salt and a lemon slice. I wasn’t PLANNING on drinking tequila, but what the hay? I slammed that shot and nodded to him across the bar. No need for the salt and lemon – that’s for sissies!
I thought about my day in Seminyak – pool time, plenty of alcohol, shopping for unique jewelry, a massage and a facial, a beautiful sunset, a decent dinner and a shot from a stranger. Not bad, Tina Bellina, not bad at all.
Eggs Benedict from Cocoon
Relaxing at La Plancha
Sunset from La Plancha
After Sunset on Seminyak Beach