We woke up with the sounds of kids swimming… Yep, Filia and Livia woke up very early so that they could swim immediately… Nia said, they had been up and in the pool since 6 in the morning! Of course, Aina just had to join them.
The villa had many different floaters and water toys, so the kids were super happy being in the pool. There were endless floaters, balls and squirty toys from the big bag of water toys.
By 9-ish, Jessi, Nia and Ari had to go to the church for the wedding ceremony rehearsals. Popo (Ari’s Mom) and Bond (Nia’s hubby) had been out since the morning to buy accessories and dining stuff for the reception tonight. So, it was me and Kungkung’s (Ari’s dad) turn to watch the swimming kids and make sure they’re done, washed and ready for the pre-wedding lunch trip by noon.
By noon, we were all washed up and made up. We all squeeeeezed into a van, off to Bale Udang Mang Engking Kuta restaurant. Our group got there a bit late because our driver got lost. Apparently, roads in Bali may appear and disappear without notice. In our case, a shortcut road by the beach all the sudden got blocked by a long wall. No more roads, and we had to turn back. So, beware of shortcuts in Bali; they’re kinda seasonal.
The restaurant, Bale Udang, looked really nice! There were tables right above the water, with fish swimming below you. Our group was too big to occupy such tables. We had the parents and siblings of the bride and groom, their spouses and the kids, and the cousins, aunts, uncles and some extended family and friends. So, we ended up on the looooong table on the side of the pond.
On the back end of the restaurant, there was a sheltered playground for kids. So, this place was very kids-friendly… We had quite a few miserable kids who’s not used to the hot and sticky weather of Bali… Ari’s nieces live in New Zealand, and was all red on the cheeks from the heat. But the most extreme ones were Shuta’s sister and her kids. They live in Canada, maintaining a ski resort! I bet being in Bali felt like being cooked in an oven. So, having the playground under the shade was a life-saver for the moms.
Their food was delicious, too. They also served all kinds of sambal (spicy sauces), but their sambal matah was my favorite. Soooo gooood, I couldn’t stop eating because of that. If you like spicy stuff, you should try their sambal matah.
The only thing bad about the restaurant was that we had to wait an awfully long time for the food and drinks to arrive. Like it took half an hour for a small dish of sambal to arrive… Kids were thirsty, everyone was hungry… I guess, though, it wasn’t entirely their fault. Apparently, the weekend of the wedding fell on the same weekend of Kuningan, the last day Galungan, one of the biggest Balinese holidays. For the Balinese, it’s time to be off from work and pray in the temples to do offerings to their ancestors. So, the Bale Udang was understandably short staffed.
But for us, since it was a family celebration, we took our time and still came out of the restaurant stuffed to the brim.
As soon as we got home, the kids wanted to have another round of swimming again… I guess, Bali is too hot for them. This time, they invaded Villa Arika, the villa where Shuta’s family stayed, and went swimming with Shuta’s nieces. I guess they had a good time, because they were there until almost sun down…
