First Day: Booking Programmes.

Ari Putri Hotel. Wednesday, 6th June, 10.25 a.m.

My concierge, Ferdi from Viator who arranged the hotel transfer and also gave me a little traveling tip on the do’s and don’ts while in Bali met me.

• Don’t drink from the tap.
• Don’t let any stranger know where you are staying while you are here.
• Leave all your valuables in the safe and keep the key safe.
• Tip where appropriate and appropriately – tip the hotel staff ONLY AT THE END of your stay.

Ferdi, my new friend, also gave a brief private courtesy tour of Kuta and Sanur after settling into the hotel where I found out that there are Starbucks® in Bali (yay, City Mugs here I come!) and also picked up a jerry can of drinking water, milk and some donuts for a late night snack before I slept to Olivia Newton-John in the background from my iPod.

I woke up at 8 in the morning, automatically. Breakfast was a strange array of semi-buffet. There was a buffet of nasi goreng and fruit platter where you helped yourself. You were also given a serving of 2 slices of toast and a choice of egg or omelet. As for coffee, don’t expect Luwak (though I wonder if they might have it for sale somewhere around here), it’s a very mild (read ‘diluted’) coffee made with water that is strangely alkali in taste. By the way, you might want to get used to this alkaline quality of the water. The taste of the water has a ‘round’, ‘soapy’ quality to it – almost like eating a cake or cookie with too much baking powder added to it.

I took the time, while breakfasting to browse through the available day travels. Right now, I am waiting for Ferdi to arrive and let me know more about the travel programs and book them through him.

Oh yah, I have also confirmed the cooking class with Michael from Bali Villas.