A Day of Pampering

Woke up with a throbbing head and a throbbing, blue foot.  Yikes!  Haven't had a hangover in ages - it's pretty awful.  I tried to have breakfast, then promptly threw up, but almost immediately felt better.  Amazing how that works sometimes.  Poor A was still sick too - we are certainly quite a pair.  In less than a week, we've blown threw our stash of advil, pepto, band aids, etc.  I wonder how we'll survive Vietnam where we'll be staying at less posh places...We are like a traveling pharmacy!

The sun was gorgeous early in the morning so we lounged by the pretty pool.  Everyone else was still sleeping and hung over.  We had ordered a simple lunch for the group (nasi goreng (fried rice) and chicken curry) at the villa, so people started dragging themselves up for it.   One of V's friends had planned all these special birthday festivities for V - very awesome - she baked special "40" cookies, compiled a scrapbook with photos contributed by everyone at the party and V's family, and created a box for necessary things for those over 40 filled with gag gifts everyone brought (think lots of creams, lotions, ben gay, etc.).  All in all a very special celebration for V.  It's amazing how international this party is - we have people from all around the world and all ethnities - we are like poster children for diversity and world travel.  :)

One of the girls who had been to Bali numerous times recommended a snake skin shop with loads of handbags, shoes, etc. for incredible prices.   A bunch of us headed there in the afternoon and literally brought back the store.   Not sure how we'll bring everything back ... but we'll deal with that later.

In the afternoon, a small group of us had 3-hour spa treatments at Melasti Spa and A went off alone to Tanah Lot, a gorgeous temple on the sea.  Her photos are gorgeous!  So, while she was doing cultural things, I was getting a cream hair bath, a scrub, a massage and a flower bath.  While it was all very nice for an amazing low price of about $40USD ...there were some weird things about the treatments.  First, the order was entirely off - they washed and blew out our hair first which made no sense, the scrub treatment often left you bare and cold in the room and you were facing huge windows (which later someone told me were opaque on the other side . .. thank goodness or certain resort guests were getting quite a show - lol!),  ... I also don't like not showering before the scrub and massage - it just seems a little gross ... my fav part was the gorgeous flower bath - filled to be brim with pink, purple and white plumerias.  The fragrance was amazing!

For dinner, V arranged for a party at Ku De Ta - a highly recommended (by the Luxe Guide) and trendy dinner/drink spot on the beach.  When we arrived I was a little surprised by all the security - which reminded one of the unfortunate bombings in Bali.  In our villa we hardly noticed, but it is a very harsh reality that this beautiful country is often wracked by inconceivable violence.  Anyways, once inside we were transported to a gorgeous and very modern setting overlooking moonlit waves.   Absolutely breathtaking.  Even better was that the food was phenomenal!  I had corn soup with lobster (yum) and a saffron risotto (with prawns and calamari).  After feasting we grabbed a couple of cabanas to have drinks while enjoying the moonlit view.  Then we returned to the villa for more partying; but since my foot was even a more distinct shade of blue, I decided to call it a night.  (I'm a bit scared that it's worse than I imagined ...)

As an aside - A was missing some money.  We think it was the villa staff, which would be very sad.  But this is a good reminder to always lock your stuff in a safe or carry it on you when you travel!