Bali 2014: Day 4 – Last full day in Legian
Monday 10 November 2014
Last chance for a sunset in Legian today. After today we will be on the East cost so miss out on the sunset over water.
Given we were in bed so early last night, not a huge surprise that we both woke up pretty early this morning. Today is our last full day in Legian before our next destination Amed. So a day to relax and enjoy what it is about Legian that we both love. I know thus far our holiday hasn’t exactly been action packed – that was our plan. We have had such a hectic year this year we both just wanted a break to relax and “reset”. So my apologies if you are looking for an action packed adventure – but if you have been following our travels for the past 2 years you will know that isn’t us.
BREAKFAST
But before any of that – time for some breakfast. We went for a bit of a walk down Jalan Legian towards Jalan Melasti to Coffee Corner.
The Lovely décor and staff of the Coffee Corner. Had a very beach chic vibe about the place with the whitewash style to the furniture.
A large café with plenty of seats – as a tip I would go early, one morning we walked past here and it was packed to the brim. Today we were lucky only about 2 other people.
Bacon & Egg Sandwich – I went for the Bacon and Egg on Toast. Nice presentation and well cooked.
The amazing Iced-Coffee that Dan got. Needless to say she was pretty full after this.
The menu has most of the usual breakfast options, Bacon/Eggs/Toast/Pancakes etc. Meals came out pretty quick and the drinks were quite nice. Dan had the Iced Coffee which looked pretty amazing, I just stuck with the juice and coffee (another place that makes a pretty good Flat White coffee).
Located on Jalan Melasti a pretty busy street, grab a seat with a view to the road to enjoy people watching.
All up pretty good value, came to about Rp. 170k. Was nice to just sit and people-watch for a while. Bali in the morning is a pretty magical place, especially the streets around Legian – no traffic and barely any tourists out yet (most people seem to sleep in till around 10am).
SPA
You will never guess what we did after breakfast! Yep massage time. To be brutally honest travelling and eating can be quite tiring – plus going to Amed tomorrow my opportunities to have 2 massages a day will be greatly reduced so I need to fit as many in now as possible.
Since we were in the area we popped back into PiPs – Pampurring in Paradise on Jalan Melasti (helped that we happened to have a booking);
- Danielle – Back Massage / Foot Reflexology / Nail Colour Fix
- Ross – Massage / Facial
- Total: Rp. 300k
The staff here at PiPs are fantastic, if you plan on going a few times you can request your same therapist each time – bookings are essential here especially if you want a specific time. You will need to leave a deposit just to guarantee the booking.
As always the treatments were well done, I think I only fell asleep once during my massage so that is not too bad. And to the blokes out there – nothing wrong with a man getting a facial…..
SHOPPING
On the way back to the hotel we wandered up Garlic Lane (Jl Sahadewa) and stopped off at our favourite fixed-price store Miss Debby’s. If the idea of having to bargain for the best price on clothes sends you into a small panic, or you just can’t be bothered battling your way through the usual markets in Bali – check out the Fixed Price stores. They usually sell at pretty competitive prices, on most items they will actually be cheaper than what you can bargain down to in other stalls.
The “most-famous” in Legian is Ketuts, just across the road from Ketut however is Miss Debby’s. The prices between the two are similar I just prefer Debby because there is more room and usually less people. These two stores are famous on the TripAdvisor forums so as a tip get there early to avoid the crowds.
Since we are leaving Legian tomorrow we wanted to stock up on some clothing T-Shirts/Shorts etc. If you haven’t brought many clothes to Bali (and why would you) a stop off here is the perfect way to stock up for your trip. Don’t forget to buy a hat and a towel!
We got about Rp. 1.3Million ($130) worth from Miss Debby but in the process managed to knock off most of our Christmas shopping.
LUNCH
After a quick pitstop at the hotel to drop off our wares we jumped into a BlueBird Taxi and headed up to our lunch destination in Seminyak, Biku Restaurant. Popular with both Bali ex-pats and tourists alike Biku is the perfect spot to stop for a Lunch (or any meal to be honest). Definitely make a booking as this place can get packed in peak times.
Love the architecture of the Biku building, The building that houses the restaurant is a 150 teak Joglo which came from East Java
Handy Tip: Biku’s website has a great online reservations service, you get virtually instant confirmation and it is the perfect way to plan your visit. We made our booking last night so not too far in advance.
The menu here is quite varied but what they are famed for are their High Teas. We went for the Traditional High Tea which is always presented with the most delightful plates and tea sets.
A nice cup of tea is the perfect thing to wash down a Biku High Tea. They also have a number of cold drinks too which can be handy to cool down on a humid day.
I am not usually one for admiring crockery but the plates and tea sets here are pretty nice.
If you are a fan of Tea you are in your element, the Tea menu here is very detailed, with over 20 varieties of tea from across Asia and various blends, there are also plenty of alcoholic and non-alcoholic options as well.
Loved the dessert plate on our high tea. The little shortbread man and chocolate cake were divine.
Scones with Jam and Crème – nothing more traditional than that on a high tea plate.
Despite the luxurious setting Biku’s prices are pretty reasonable, all up for the Traditional High Tea for Two, with a couple of extra cold drinks as well as our tea the price was Rp. 300k ($30). Great place to take a group of friends for a nice lunch.
MASSAGE/SHOPPING
After such a filling lunch we decided to walk a little (need to work off those calories a bit). So wandered back down to Seminyak before hopping a taxi back down the Legian.
Pavements are not too bad up this way – little bit dodgy up near Biku but once you get around the corner they are pretty good.
We jumped out of the taxi at Jalan Legian near Double Six (Jalan Arjuna). Traffic was a little thick this afternoon so go the taxi to drop us just before Jl Double Six (save the poor guy battling down that way). Faced with the prospect of my darling wife looking at every jewellery shop between Jl Legian and the beach I opted to go seek out a Massage!
I can’t actually tell you the name of the place I went cause unfortunately I didn’t write it down sorry! Was on the RHS as you walk down Double Six just about 100m after the Minimart. It was not the most luxurious of setups but the massage was pretty good and the staff friendly enough – from memory it was bout Rp. 70k for an hour.
While I was having a massage Dan went to Kapal Laut and picked up a couple of gifts (so I was told – we will see how many stay in her jewellery box….) – Rp. 470k.
PRE-DINNER DRINK
Wandered down to the beach and I met up with Dan again at the Karma Beach Bar just at the end of Jl Double Six. Just a great basic beach bar, few beanbags and a couple of umbrellas. But a nice place to sit and enjoy the sunset.
Just look for the Logo if you are trying to find the place. Sorry about the photo quality, this is off the phone.
The sunset was going to be a challenge today, there was some pretty heavy cloud rolling in from the west so I didn’t expect much. That’s a handy tip for people who want to get great sunset photos in Bali – you may need to return every afternoon to wait for the day the light is just “right”. While you wait however, why not sit and have a drink – no need for you to suffer to badly for your art!
Weather was closing in a little bit this afternoon – really thought we would get a storm. Still even a cloudy day in Bali is relaxing and always a nice place to enjoy a cold drink. Was also humorous watching a couple of local guys trying to teach some young French girls how to play beach tennis! Hours of entertainment.
Sunset didn’t give me a lot of joy today – cloud cover was just a little too thick off over the horizon.
We fixed up the bill – Rp 185k for 6 Bintangs and 1 Coke (pretty good value). That weather was starting to look a worry so dinner this evening we chose something close. Café Marzano looked good so we popped in there. We hadn’t been back to Café Marzano since our infamous dinner back in 2013. Sadly a few too many cocktails that evening – we may have been a little disruptive that night but boy did we have some laughs.
Anyway popped in for a quick bite to eat:
- Entrée: Garlic Bread
- Main: Prosciutto Pizza
- Drinks: Lemon Squash / Cuba Libre
Sorry there are no pictures from here – can’t explain why to be honest I think we were both just a little tired and forgot to take any photos. Trust me though it was pretty darn good, the pizzas here are wood fired and really well balanced with their toppings. Dinner came to Rp. 250k.
After dinner it was back to the hotel to somewhat pack – moving to Amed tomorrow and trying to reduce the chaos that is our room at the moment into 2 bags.
Last morning in Legian tomorrow before moving to Amed. Always a bit of a sad moment when you leave one spot for the next. We have certainly enjoyed doing nothing in Legian – what I like to call on my holidays “unplanned chill time” – I hope it wasn’t too boring for those of you following along. But should hopefully give you a bit of an idea of what you can get up to in Legian.
Thanks for following along as always – please leave me a comment below let me know your thoughts on this post, or if you need any advice on Bali. Always like to hear from those of you following along with the trip.
Interesting posts. it seems like you take a trip to Bali with a very fun and colorful. I like it very much. especially regarding the review of your culinary. you really enjoy and appreciate every culinary dish that you enjoy. very nice. for me, is the essence of a culinary journey. very interesting. Great post. I like it very much. thanks.