Free Flow!

We could be standing in the middle of the most crowded intersection in the world with neon lights, traffic, noise, and signs in foreign languages; and Mike will still be able to pick out the advertisement for a buffet or all-you-can-anything. So how he saw the Free Flow Dim Sum sign among the lush overgrown bushes, on a corner of a busy intersection I will never know, but there it was FREE FLOW DIM SUM at the Sanur Harum Cantonese Restaurant at the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel, which I initially thought was a shopping center.The southern beach areas in Bali are very touristy, with most dining establishments catering to western palates with well known Indonesian specialties thrown in on the 'local dishes' side of the menu. With all the exposure to western tastes we can say Bali does make a mean club sandwich and pasta dishes! Over the last few months of traveling we had developed quite the method for making our complimentary breakfasts last for most of the day, but for free flow dim sum we decided to eat lightly and prepared for a big lunch - free flow only happens between noon and 3pm. So we planned our attacked and headed over a little after noon for 3 hours of dim sum!

As we walked up to the entrance of the hotel, we came upon an open space lobby with a lush water garden that stretched back towards the hotel rooms.The Cantonese restaurant was situated close to the front of the hotel and as we walked in we noticed two things. 1: we were the only people in the restaurant except for a large group in a separate room in the back. 2: there was a row of steamer trays along the back the restaurant in between the private party and the dining room. Immediately we thought jackpot - steamer trays full of dim sum all to ourselves! However we were informed the steamer trays were for the large party in the back and was quickly handed a sheet of dim sum items we could mark up for our free flow. To our delight the dim sum items listed were your typical steam/fried dim sum items, along with some new items. There were the familiar siu mai (steamed pork and shrimp dumplings)

fried shrimp dumplings and sesame bean pattiessteam pork bunsand a wrapperless siu mai

Of the new dim sum items our favorites were the bacon wrapped fried shrimp and pork dumplings drizzled with a hoison bbq sauce

and the wonton knotted pork dumplings

We finished our dim sum and was asked if we wanted to start another sheet - oh that's right it's FREE FLOW so we quickly marked up another sheet with the items we liked the most and sat sipping our complimentary jasmin tea while we waitedFree Flow Dim Sum Rules, so much so that we returned only a few days later - those bacon wrapped dumplings were delicious!As we were leaving we noticed one of the largest and most ornate Garuda statues we have ever seen in the hotel courtyardGaruda is a mythical bird-like creature in Hindu and Buddhist mythology who is able to destroy the universe and has a wing span that can block out the sun. We saw Garuda statues at most businesses, small and large, some like the one at our resort, were carved from one piece of wood. This one was by far the most intricate and colorful we had seen.So beautifully detailed that Mike said he wanted to tattoo his chest like Garuda'sLet's hope he's kidding.

Welcome to Bali

During our travels in Malaysia and Singapore we didn’t visit any beach areas in either country. In Malaysia we decided not to visit the famous Perhentian Islands and eastern coast due to monsoon season. We didn’t want to make our way to the eastern side of the peninsula just to sit in a hotel room watching the torrential rains. Coming from the Pacific NW we may be used to rainy weather, but in SE Asia there is a whole other term for rainy. In Singapore we were too busy with the hive of activity that is the city-state to bother finding a beach. So by the time we reached Bali we were ready to relax and take time to enjoy ourselves, with little thought about much else.We decided to ease into the beach life by staying in Sanur, the quieter side of the island. Known by the party crowd as Snore, Sanur is on the southeastern side of the island and was quaint, quiet, and full of Dutch retirees. Indonesia was a Dutch colony and we heard Dutch citizens can stay up to 6 months on the island, and with the exchange rate of Euro to Rupiahs retirement must be nice.After quickly making our way through Bali’s cute little airport (island airports are just adorable) with the sounds of gamelans playing we headed off to our little hotel the Sri Phala Resort. What a deal! Our HUGE room came with a daily international breakfast and a private balcony over looking the lush scenery

a cute little pool

gorgeous tropical grounds

and beautiful Balinese architecture

The beach was just a short walk up the street and we were thrilled to find it nearly desertedNo mobs of tourist, big resorts, vendors selling everything from daytrips to board shorts, loud bars or restaurants - just calm, clear, clean waterAt one point we looked around and saw maybe 5 other people, just us and the boats – paradise!Calm, clear, clean water does have its disadvantages, after only a few hours in the water we were sun burnt like never before, that first night will forever be memorable as the stingiest, like an overcooked thanksgiving turkey which was not properly basted or covered during cooking - ngứa và để đầu!

The beach boardwalk is filled with restaurants and bars not visible from the water due to the natural slope of the beach and the boardwalk being placed further up. The brick paved boardwalk feels uncluttered and sparse to due the distance between resorts. Shops and restaurants are clustered together inbetween the lush manicured resort lawns, next to clusters of local merchants, temples, and residential apartments with the ocean and beach on the other side. This made for extremely pleasant and always interesting walks along the beach.Down by the pier, on the quieter end of Sanur, along the jetty there are large communal platform shelters dotted along the bay. These platform shelters are found everywhere in Bali and are incredibly handy when waiting out a sudden downpour.In the evenings we would go down to the boardwalk and sit in one of the platform shelters and watch the fisherman fish and families enjoying late day swims. We wouldn't describe Sanur as happening or super exciting. Being in Bali during off season does feel as if you have alot of the beach to yourself. During our time on this side of Bali we took many walks along the beach boardwalk into the main shopping area, drank alot of Bali Dry Sparkling Ginger Ale, played pool at the jazz bar across the street from the hotel, and ate alot of western food at any cafe which advertised free wifi.