Family Day

07 Dec 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Beach, Cool Stuff, Fun Facts, Fun Spots, Restos & Food, Travel Tags: , , ,

Family day today….Yeah! I know it sounds silly, cuz I get to see my parents Every single day, but family day is a dedicated day each week, where it’s just us – no appointments, no meetings, no house-cleaning people, no Nanny (even though I love Ami, and sometimes I do miss her on family days too when mom and dad are too boring!)

Today was quite eventful!
1- Petitenget Beach – It was a bit cloudy so was not too hot so we could actually run around the beach without burning our toes, like last week. Sand castles and burying our feet in the sand…Ah what a great start to the day!

Building sand castles at Petitenget Beach

Where Is everyone? must be too early!

2- Bike ride to Denpasar – Perfect for a mid-morning nap!

Streets of Denpasar

3- Bird Market – Went once, but should be enough for me…
4- Lunch at Sakanaya/Ramen on Jl. Sunset Road – I was so hungry before we got there, but then I fell asleep when we arrived. It was perfect cuz I continued my nap while mom & dad ordered. Then, the lovely smell of the Ramen Broth gently woke me up. First words out of mouth? Mum-Mum (ie. LET’s EAT!).

Sakanaya & Ramen Restos - Yummy!

Ooh, the Char-Siu ramen in Miso soup was delicious – I am a little sumo afterall! The fish cakes from Sakanaya were also yummy, but the burrito that dad ordered was a little weird. For older folks who actually eat raw fish, I would probably recommend the Sashimi plate (good quality and very reasonably priced), or go for a fried or grilled fish. Although this spot is set on Jl. Sunset Road which is a busy road with quite a bit of traffic, the setting is still quite nice with tables set outside on a deck.

Just look out for the huge Blue sign with “RAMEN” written vertically and the “SAKANAYA” sign is in front. You’ll see it on Jl. Sunset Road heading from Kerobokan towards Kuta.

They supply for “Ryoshi”, a very popular Japanese restaurant here in Bali. Here is the truck loading up before making the rounds to bring the fresh goods to the restos.

Ryoshi Truck Loading Up

5- Pit stop at home for a quick shower to take off the sand from the beach
6- Bike ride to Kuta – Good afternoon nap (Man, the traffic was so bad. Kuta was actually worse than Denpasar, if you can believe it!)
7- Chill out at home for a nice dinner and a cool Bintang!

Bintang anyone?

Ok, I didn’t really drink the Bintang, but I tried to

Did I say I LOVE Family Day! It should be everyday! xx

Bali Zoo!

07 Dec 2011 1 Comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Travel Tags: , , ,

Since I was little I’ve loved animals… I don’t know if it’s cuz all my toys are animal-shaped or that most of the characters in my books are animals, or that mom and dad like to show me animal sounds… Which I recognize pretty well, and am able to start imitating for the most part. My faves are the Cow, Horse, Elephant, Dog, and Fish (I know, it technically doesn’t make a sound, but I can move my mouth like a fish does under water – bubble, bubble!)

Since coming to Bali, I’ve also been hanging out more with the local ‘animals’:cows, chicken, roosters, ducks, dogs, snakes, cool birds, ,…Not to mention the endless amount of ants, mosquitoes, geckos, Jeckos, and other unknown insects and reptiles…

I’ve been waiting for mom and dad to bring me to the zoo here, and they finally did today!

Well, it wasn’t exactly the Bali Zoo, it’s actually a place called the Bird Market on Jl. Veteran in Denpasar. They don’t only have birds there, they have all sorts of animals. It’s sorta like the zoo, without an entrance fee and it only has two little alleys with animals on display? Ok, it’s probably not as cool as the REAL Zoo because they don’t have Tigers, Lions, Elephants and any exciting animals like that. However, there are still some interesting creatures to check out!

There were: Bats, Owls, Big Lizards (with large poop), a real Mean-looking Rooster (good for cockfights I presume, which is a very popular ‘hobby’ for the men here), and colourful chicks…

Big Lizard - Big Poop! Yuck!

Mean-looking Rooster

Colourful Chickies

My favourite part was when we saw the painted little snails. They were so cute with their colourful shells with different faces painted on. You could actually buy a little house and pick out a few to bring home with you…Yes, they actually move!

 

Painted Snails - Super Cute!

It’s really weird, the big stands in the middle of the two alleys of this ‘Animal Market’ actually sell Silver Jewelry and semi-precious stones, in addition to displaying the weird creatures.

Although I was quite excited to go at first, I was a little uncomfortable after a few minutes. Some of the animals don’t look very happy and appear to be in need of a better environment. I will spare you the images, but seeing cute bunnies crammed together in cages that are too small, and monkeys with neckcuffs, among others was quite disconcerting.

Unfortunately, we did not spot this huge poster at the entrance until we were leaving – but it can give you an idea of what’s on ‘display’ inside.

Poster at entrance of Bird Market

It was a very hot day and almost lunch time, so we luckily did not stay too long.

I think I’ll stick to the cute animals in my books for now!