Well, after another massage at Lily Spa, Friday was for lunch at Copper Kitchen (yup, had all 3 meals there) and more shopping.
My lunch at Copper Kitchen was the Cheeseburger Sliders (black Angus beef, organic tomatoes and chipotle mayonnaise), followed by the Cereal Milk Panna Cotta (chocolate cookie base, coffee crunch). The sliders were good (although they had a very light “liver” taste, in my opinion) and the sweet potato fries were served in a paper cone to add to the very nice presentation. The waitress had suggested the Cereal Milk Panna Cotta to me. I found it rather weird, but finished it nonetheless. Maybe it didn’t have enough chocolate or wasn’t sweet enough for me; not sure.
Although Kumar had also invited me for tea, when I inquired of the staff about him, they informed me that he was resting in one of the rooms. I explained that he’d invited me for tea, but told them not to bother him when they offered to go get him. There was a possibility that I’d stop back by later that afternoon or evening.
Beings this was my final day in Ubud, my main mission was to stop by Café Havana. That restaurant is the drop-off point for donations to a children’s orphanage. Prior to my trip, I’d bought some children’s clothing at one of The Gap stores in San Francisco. They were on sale, anyway, so it wasn’t a huge expense. I had tried to buy an equal mix of clothing for both boys and girls, but didn’t want to buy too many things, for fear my suitcase would be too heavy. When I dropped the clothing off at Café Havana, they insisted on taking my picture. Ummm, ok…
Back at Ubud Market, I purchased a pair of shorts, a purse and a beautiful painting. When I first admired the traditional Balinese-style painting, the artist quoted a good price. Having already had lunch, bought the shorts and purse, I didn’t have that much cash on me. When I said that I was only carrying said amount in cash, he thought for a moment, then offered it to me for that price. I was quite surprised, but wasn’t about to pass that price up! He took the painting out of its frame, rolled it up and wrapped it for me with a little handle to carry it. I returned to the hotel and laid out by the pool, completely happy with that purchase.
A. sent me a message saying that he was feeling better and could come by my hotel later. When he showed up that evening, he came bearing a gift. When I unrolled the painting, he asked if I remembered it. The painting was of an Indonesian guy in a red outfit. “No…” I said hesitantly. When he said something about the red outfit, I asked “Something Russian?!” He explained that we’d been together when he took a photo of the guy in the painting. “Yes. And…?” He went on to say that it was at a place where everyone wore red uniforms. Then I remembered the place! We’d been at Coco Mart in Seminyak getting macarons for me and Haagen Daz ice cream for him. It was right next to the Red Carpet Champagne Club where everyone is dressed in a red bell hop uniform! Though I didn’t recall him taking the picture, it made the painting more special to me. We’d been so happy together on that day.
We eventually wandered down Jalan Bisma for food and/or drinks. He’d suggested the new Red bar/restaurant until I reminded him that I don’t like sushi. We stopped at a small bar/warung instead where I drank a Bintang and he had tea. For some reason, he REALLY wanted to buy dinner for me, although I wasn’t that hungry! A new pizza place had opened on Jalan Bisma, too, and it seemed to be quite popular. The place had been packed when we’d first walked by. We walked in and found a table in the back. I asked him which pizza he felt like eating, but he said that we could each have our own pizza. Since neither of us were that hungry, we finally decided on one that we’d both eat. After all that deciding and all that anticipation because of the restaurant’s seeming popularity, the pizza sucked! We both thought it tasted like cardboard. We managed to finish it, though he made me eat most of it. Once again, I was more than happy with my Bintang and he was content with his tea.
We went back to the hotel and talked for awhile. The parting was a little sentimental. He’s leaving Bali, will continue traveling through SE Asia for a bit, then will go back to Europe. I’d had an inkling of it, but thought that his intention was to leave in a few months. When he told me that he’d be leaving the following week, I felt a little pang. We’d made our own memories in Bali together, and I sort of had a love/hate relationship with him because of it. Knowing that this was not only our last evening in Bali together (and specifically Ubud) on this trip of mine, but more than likely, our last evening in Bali together forever, made me quite sad. Meanwhile, he was being somewhat passive/aggressive in our conversation. So the evening didn’t end on a magical note, or even a very friendly one. I fell asleep with a little cloud over my head.
Detail of Carving
Lunch at Copper Kitchen
Cereal Milk Panna Cotta
Inside Bisma 8 Hotel
At Café Havana