knowing is half the fun

last time out, i talked about how i was hearing voices.

and indeed i was: it was the voice of the receptionist telling us our room was ready.

so with our luggage in tow, we follow her to the villas.  i was hoping we'd be at one of the villas like this one, which i was told has two floors and its own private jacuzzi.  nice, i thought.

one of the sea-view villas at nusa dua

but we walked right past it, and so, disappointed, i asked my wife "why didnt we get one of these sea facing villas?  i could use a dip in the jacuzzi."

she shrugged and said "we can upgrade for an extra 800 USD a night if you want."

nuts.  i need that dip in a jacuzzi the way i need an thousand dollar hole in my pocket.

so after giving the villa a final longing glance, we walk past it and through a series of hallways.

the place felt empty (not that i was complaining) as it was one quiet hallway after another.  we later find out that it was (relatively) off-peak season in Bali and we almost (but not quite) have the resort to ourselves (with an estimated 7 million visitors a year, sharing a bali resort with just a few hundred people is as good as it gets).

eventually we make it to lovely garden view room 3109.

intricate wood carving here, but you ain't seen nothing yet

in five minutes i'm on the bed, commenting about how nice and soft and comfortable it is.    that's about the last thing i remember, and my wife tells me i was snoring quite soon after that.

we wake up after a few hours (the bed was that comfortable), grumbling stomach and all and make our way through the lounge.

what's for dinner?

but decided to be a bit more adventurous (read: cheap; every good tourist knows that hotel food is ridiculously over priced), and opted to have dinner in one of the restaurants outside the hotel.  

we took the scenic route and passed through the grounds and took in a bit more of the sights

dining al fresco in bali is a must try

a number of quiet little alleyways dot the hotel grounds

Relax, with a capital R.  the seashore is about just a 100 yards away so imagine sleeping here...

finally after a multitude of distractions and taking the long way around the hotel grounds, we make our way to the hotel exit, ready to wander off into the streets, but not before a customary pic at the hotel's signage  (just in case we forget the name of our hotel)

so, with a sense of adventure, google maps, the name of our hotel, and our rumbling stomachs to lead us, we ventured forth into the streets of nusa dua.

[to be continued]