Have enjoyed reading your reports

Thanks for asking and for reading my short story. Here's Chapter 3...I seem to have been buried under a pile of work and didn't get time to post it on the forum but your message has prompted me to get it done. All the best....

Catherine

THE JAYAKARTA AND LEGIAN AREA

The Jayakarta Hotel and Residence
The good bits were that, firstly I could not fault the staff. From the Reception staff through to the Gardeners I could not fault them for being friendly, polite, cheerful and helpful. Positioned right on the beach the hotel is in a wonderful location within easy walking distance to shops and cafes. Being able to walk out the back door and enjoy a lovely stroll on the beach, walk to Kuta and beyond in one direction or to Seminyak and beyond in the other is extremely pleasant, whatever you want to do with it, it is just a lovely element to have at your fingertips (or feet, or stomach as the case may be). As many of the apartments at the Jayakarta are time share apartments each one has been appointed differently, some have fuller kitchens and have been renovated by the different owners. Many are owned by people from Java and I’m not altogether sure how the rental of these privately owned apartments works or how many are still owned by the Jayakarta Hotel. The kitchen in my room had a sink, bar fridge, a microwave and a selection of cutlery, crockery and pyrex dishes. There was also an electric jug and a water jug that was filled each day with drinking water. There was a TV in the lounge area and the bedroom and the bathroom had a bathtub (always a HUGE plus for me as I could spend my life in the bath). There was a small balcony, and I mean small, with a small table and a chair. The air conditioning was very effective and could be isolated to each of the rooms. Overall the apartment was extremely comfortable. The couch in the lounge/kitchen area could be converted into a double bed….also a bonus if you happen to have a husband who is a lousy sleeper, even though he was not with me at this point in time.

After moving to my “new” apartment I ventured out along Rum Jungle Road to find a convenience store to get a few supplies. There are two next door to each other, one open to the street and the other enclosed and air-conditioned. I went for the air-conditioned one and bought a six litre container of water and some other things which I can’t remember. It was getting on for dinner time for me, in Australia time, so went back to the hotel to eat. I went to the restaurant by the large swimming pools and ordered a Nasi Goreng, a nice enough meal but nothing that I could rave about. Hotel prices are, of course, considerably higher than you pay in restaurants and cafes outside on the street often without any evidence of superior quality however I was not up to going out anywhere and was beyond making any decisions, major or otherwise and I was drifting into a catatonic, zombie-like state. On reflection, the walk from the apartment to the hotel’s restaurants and swimming pools was probably longer than the walk from my apartment to the restaurants and cafes in the Rum Jungle Road, just a thought that has only now come to mind…..anyway must keep that in mind for the future. Then back to my room for a very quiet night.

When I opened the large container of water I had the sense that the seal was already broken but decided that I was probably mistaken. I had a few glasses of water, made a cup of tea and settled in to read my book, watch a bit of TV - the gripping CNN endless loop of the same story over and over. The night is a now a total blur but I probably had a bit of a restless night. Waking in the morning and feeling like I hadn’t been to sleep at all I went through the morning routine and did the marathon walk to the breakfast area, which is probably a very good way to start the day, a bit of enforced exercise. I arrived at the buffet breakfast area….”How many people?”, “Just one”….. “Mrs. Catherine, SENDIRI” became my personal breakfast announcement from this point on for every morning of my stay. Although everyone was very pleasant being on one’s own still has an edge, especially in the third world and there seemed to be a need to announce it to the whole room. Settled ‘’sendiri’ at my table and coffee poured I then realized that I’d forgotten to bring my bread with me. Groaning, willing it to materialize but knowing there was no other way to fix this than to make the journey to the apartment and back, a 15 to 20 minute round trip, I set off. So, de ja vu, back at the breakfast area with the swarming mass of hungry homo sapiens on holiday. A most fascinating and spooky event to behold - the human ant colony, driven by hunger, the offer of piles of food included in the cost of the accommodation so somehow free for the taking, the power of this must never be underestimated. I take my hat off to the staff for maintaining their cool and coping with this disturbing morning ritual on a daily basis. For me it’s a toast and coffee ritual with the occasional indulgence of eggs & bacon, I mean, it is free after all. And nothing like the smell of bacon and eggs, YUUUM EEEE! The down side is that it’s an instant fat hit and I know that starting from tomorrow for about a week everything I put on will be tighter and feel uncomfortable. It is also interesting to note that hotel toaster designs are sadly lacking. If anyone can invent a more efficient machine you should become a very wealthy person. This toaster was the kind that went around very slowly like a big mouse wheel, it took for ever and once around was never enough unless, of course, you like warm, dried out bread. I learnt the hard way that you must NEVER leave your personal toast unattended in case of theft – more on that subject later.

Without getting too detailed, things took a bit of a downward turn. Something in the last 8-12 hours had had a nasty effect on me. I had managed to acquire a “ to Bali’’ dose of the you-know-whats. Great, just what I needed. I decided it was the water. The container perhaps had been opened as I had thought and I couldn’t think what else to blame. Well, it could have been something in the Nasi Goreng but at this moment I was blaming the water. I took the container back to the shop where I bought it and said that I thought the cap seal had already been broken (and incidentally, the bit of plastic that is usually around the cap had been missing). I was given an instant refund, no questions asked and no further explanation necessary which I found very interesting if not very telling. I really felt quite rotten in a tired, vague sort of way but decided that there was nothing I could do and I just had to let it pass, after all I was here for a holiday and a rest so there was nothing in particular I had to do.

I enquired at reception about getting a DVD player which they could do for 50.000rp per night. It sounded OK and I decided to take a walk to the video store in Jl. Menuh (aka as Jl. Sahadewa) to see what was available – no good having a DVD player if there aren’t any good movies. I walked along the beach to Jl. Padma and along there to Jl. Menuh to the DVD shop. I chose a number of movies and the girl asked me if I had a DVD player. I told her I would rent one through the hotel for 50.000rp per night. Her price was 25.000rp per night and they would deliver it to the hotel and set it up for me. They also had credit card facilities. Altogether a great deal. Most of the movies I bought worked except for : 27 Dresses, Music and Lyrics, (a stop/start problem) Sweeny Todd (breaks up at the end of the movie) and a movie with Jo-Lo set in South America, Bordertown?, which was very good but HAD THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS MISSING! Overall most movies such as Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Kite Runner, Gone Baby Gone, to name a few, played perfectly well.

I enjoyed my week and had a lovely time walking each day, catching up with friends, swimming, reading and doing a little shopping. I had lunch at Ibu Ayu on Jl. Legian and also at a lovely place on the corner of Jl. Werkudara and Jl. 66. Bobby’s in Jl. Rum Jungle is also a place that I enjoy. Dinner on a number of occasions was at the Flying Piano in Jl. Rum Jungle. Close to the hotel, great food and friendly staff with interesting décor. I’m guessing the owner is Swiss and has been in Bali for many years. On occasion he plays his grand piano that is in the back of the restaurant and there is a resident local trio that plays cheerful music. I must say, though, that the trio do a very enthusiastic version of to My Paradise which is initially fun and entertaining but after the 20th time you never want to hear it again and it starts to make you groan. I ate steak there several times for dinner and thoroughly enjoyed it. I also enjoyed one of the restaurants on the beach in the area near Jl. 66 but can’t remember the name and I also came very close to dining at the Niksoma Hotel restaurant which had a lovely setting and a great menu. Can’t remember why I didn’t go there…..it may have been too early for dinner and I never made it back there as so often happens when you’re aimless. I had a day in Denpasar at Jl. Sulawesi looking at fabric and beautiful Indian braid which I bought in quantity and had a coffee at a lovely coffee place nearby….at the end of Jl. Sulawesi and across the road. I also bought some gem stones. Some from the place near Bintang Supermarket where I have shopped before and some others at a place in Seminyak that is off the main road and tucked away. I bit more expensive but excellent quality. More than happy to look out details for anyone who would like to go there.

My week came to an end and it was time to move on to the Champlung Sari Hotel in Ubud.


Coming up next…..My interesting drive to Ubud and my week at Champlung Sari

Hi Catherine

Enjoying your reports, cannot wait for the next one. You did a fair bit of walking, how comes it took so long to get to breakfast are the apartments away from the main hotel?

Yes, the apartments are in two blocks each side of the driveway into the hotel, near the entrance. The apartments have their own reception area with the main reception area for all the other rooms, which are in several blocks, located further into the hotel grounds near their restaurants and swimming pools.

By the time you walk back to the apartments, get the lift up several floors, get what you want and go back it can be about 15-20 minutes round trip. Maybe a bit less if you walk quickly, run up the stairs and so on, ha!

As with so many of the larger hotels, they cover quite an area however the Jayakarta is by no means the largest hotel. If you are familiar with the Legian area, the Jayakarta entrance is in Jl. Werkudara (at the end of Jl. Padma Utara) and it goes from here all the way to the beach.

Chapter 4 is on it's way. I'll be interstate for a couple of weeks and then will post the next installment.

All the best
Catherine

I loved Chapter Three

Cant wait to read what happens in Chapter Four.

This certainly seems like a difference kinda holiday.

Cheers,
Larry