2004 - Bali, Indonesia
20 November 2004 - 25 November 2004

Day 1 and Day 2: In search of good food and a fast ride
After our long flight from San Francisco to Bali, we made our way by cab to The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, where we would be staying for two nights before moving next door to the Sheraton.

Upon arriving at the grandeous Westin, we were greeted with friendly staff and service (including a refreshing lemon drink during check-in). Our room had a pretty nice view of one of their many massive pools on the property.

The quest for our first meal at Bali was challenging. First of all, although we stayed in a first class luxury resort, we wanted to eat local food and pay local prices. After walking for a couple hours around the local town outside of Nusa Dua, we decided on The Lotus Garden, which was on the corner of a busy street. We ate nasi goreng and mie goreng, bali’s version of fried rice and noodles (pictured above), which can be found at almost any restaurant. Although it was an outdoor restaurant on a noisy street, it was just nice to settle down after walking endlessly in a rural-like town w/o tourist-friendly shops.

The next morning, we took a cab to the touristy town of Kuta. While walking down Poppies Lane in search of a motorbike rental, we ran into a small storefront next to the Kuta Puri Bungalows where Paul successfully haggled with a 16 year old kid for a scooter rental for the next few days. With new wheels in hand, we eagerly zipped around to explore the island.

For our second dinner, we found a very nice restaurant, Made's Warung, in the town of Seminyak, a more laid back beach town next to Kuta. We were seated in a peaceful, enclosed out-door courtyard and observed energetic house-kittens at play as we sipped on two tall glasses filled with blended icy-cool, refreshing fruit shakes while we waited for our dinner to be served. Within minutes, the waiter appeared carrying two large white bowls containing our order of noodle soup and a stir-fried noodle dish, which really hit the spot. Afterwards, we ordered a cup of coffee which Paul thoroughly enjoyed after the meal. We liked this restaurant so much, that we decided to make reservations for a special fixed-price dinner for the next night.

To view a bigger version of the pictures below, simply click on the thumbnail.








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