Bali (Day 8) - Lovina

Today we leave Amed Beach and head northwest to Buleleng.  But first, a shower...and what a shower it is:

Since our days in Bali are now limited, I decided to have a traditional Bali Breakfast instead of the American Breakfast that has been offered at the places were were staying.  This is Mie Goreng (Fried Noodles) and it was so delicious.  This is definitely comfort food.  Tim stuck with the American Breakfast. 

We packed up and were at the front desk by 8:15 AM.  The driver was already waiting for us even though we weren't supposed to be picked up until 8:30 AM.  One thing in Bali you don't have to worry about is if your driver will arrive when expected.  They are always there and always early.

We checked out and jumped into the car for the long 2.5 hour drive to our next lodging in Buleleng.  This driver was very fast and was always trying to get in front of the car that was in front of us.  It wasn't the most enjoyable ride, but I guess he got us there.

​After that anything but relaxing drive, we arrived at the most relaxing looking place so far.  The room was clean and bright and there were flower accents throughout.  The best part...the outside shower.  I can't wait to use it.

Check out this view from our front patio.  I will definitely be using that pool later today.

The owners of this villa are super nice and suggested a grilled fish restaurant for lunch and then a Buddhist Temple to see afterwards.  This sounds perfect since we don't want to do too much today and enjoy the pool.  I told them when I made the reservation that we wanted to rent two scooters for the two days we staying with them, and the scooters were there and waiting.  The service here in Bali is amazing.  

Around 12:45 PM we headed down to town for the 20 minute ride to Warung Ikan Bakar Xenia, the restaurant suggested, and ordered two parrotfish, as suggested.  They fish was fresh and seemed to be caught this morning. 

We grabbed a table with a view and awaited for our lunch.

It was definitely worth the wait.  The fish was grilled perfectly with a bit of sweetness that must have been the sauce they basted it with as they grilled it.  Yum!!  Oh...this whole meal (Tim's serving was just like mine, only his fish was a bit bigger) was 88,000 IDR => $5.87 USD.  I would eat this everyday if I lived here.

After lunch we rode the 15 minutes to Brahmavihara-Arama, Bali's largest Buddhist Monastery.  It had many different levels and gardens and buildings and was beautiful.

The monestary had a gate that we were able to take some fun photos in since the place wasn't very busy.

This is the view from the top of the stairs, inside the gate.

We walked around the grounds for about 45 minutes enjoying the views and the tranquility of the place.

We had to take some more photos with the gate before leaving.  

We left the monastery and was back to the villa buy 4 PM.  I put on my swimsuit, grabbed a bear from the fridge, and headed to the pool...ahhhh.

I drank beer and floated around on a water chair for an hour and a half or so, headed up to the villa for an awesome outside shower, and watched the sunset from our front patio.

Dinner was served at 7 PM.  I had that delish Mie Goreng again for dinner...who can't go for a little more comfort food...and Tim had Chicken Satay.  After dinner we headed back to the villa for blogging and quiet.  Well...it was quiet until about 9 PM when the neighbor decided it was a good night for Karaoke.  The Karaoke lasted until about 11 PM.  Tim listened to music though headphones, and I fell asleep with little problem.

Tomorrow we ride the scooters south to see the sights.  It should be a wonderful day.  Until then...