Nusa Dua, Bali, where we stayed at an incredible resort

Following our lunch in Kuta, we drove to Pandawa Beach for a quick stop at the beach. It was a pretty beach, but more crowded than others we went to. I think they advertised a lot of activities like kayaking and scuba diving.
My sunburn doesn't look too horrendous there...It was, though.

I realize this doesn't look crowded, but most of the beaches we went to were pretty empty, which was great! I was surprised. I believe it was due to it being the hot season.

I waded into the water of course.

This appears to be very old netting.

A small temple near the beach.

These were in 5-7 caves along the road near the beach. We got out to take a picture of one of them.

Afterwards, we headed to our hotel, which was, without a doubt, the fanciest hotel I have ever been to. Hye Jin got us a bit of a discount at the Mulia Resort.

This was our room. The beds were unbelievably comfortable.

Yes, the bathroom had an awkward window, but also curtains so we didn't have to deal with that.

There was a little patio to sit at.

The grounds were stunning as well. We went swimming during the day on our first day and I read my book by the pool (Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue. Of course. I love Bill Bryson with a passion that cannot be quenched.)

They had beautiful fountains that lit up as it got dark and into the night.

A temple on the grounds of course.

This was the pool, which was right on the beach. It had a swim up bar. I got a smoothie there one day just because.

The beach chairs. The service at the hotel was amazing. There were people and their main job was to bring you towels if you needed one. They were so friendly as well, as though that is the best job in the world. At breakfast, someone was constantly coming by to ask if you wanted juice or coffee, or whisking away your plate as soon as you finished.

They were also really efficient. The safe in our box needed the batteries changed. Someone happened to come by our door asking if we needed anything. They left and came back without 2 minutes and fixed it within about 30 seconds. And that is why it's great staying in a fancy hotel.

You can see my sunburn quite clearly based on the very white skin surrounding it.

Near the main lobby.

The view from the balcony of the main floor. So beautiful.

Our first evening we headed to a shopping center to get dinner.

While there, a man requested that the band sing "Lady in Red." The worker didn't know it, but he said the band probably would know it. I jokingly and under my breath sang, "Lady in reeedddd."

Unfortunately, he heard me quite clearly and said, "Well, you can sing it if they don't know it!"

Oops.

Also, these dead fish were displayed at the entrance to the restaurant. At one point, a very large group of people came in. One of the women proceeded to go over to the fish, grab one of the pink fish and start waving it around, asking her group if they thought they should eat that particular fish.

They did not eat the fish.



The green lobsters were a little alarming.

My meal from that evening.












The restaurant.

Afterwards, Hye Jin wanted to buy a make up bag, so we went into a shop. She chose her bag, found a dead cockroach inside and immediately decided not to buy that bag. Yikes.

The next morning, we got breakfast which included sushi that was amazing. (I got sick several days letter, so that was luckily not the cause of the Bali Belly incident of 2014.)

We wandered around to take a few pictures in the morning.

This dolphin was near the dining area and was a bit weird.

I then proceeded to spend the entire day laying on the beach, occasionally swimming in the ocean or pool, reading my book. It was quite wonderful and relaxing. The water was beautiful and warm and calm.

I finished my book and started reading Dave Barry's old book about his trip to Japan, which I related to on three levels. One: He visited Beppu, where I also visited and experienced the same language barriers. Two: He interviewed people who had lived in Japan for a long time and knew they'd never be accepted. Three: He struggled with bowing. I also struggle with bowing.

The sunset that night.

That evening, we got room service because the restaurant itself was closed and we had a massage appointment. It came with a foldable table. I got delicious noodles and more satay with peanut sauce. Again, I cannot emphasize how much I love peanut sauce and wish I could have it for every meal without being extremely unhealthy.

There was a lizard on the wall of the spa. It was large and slightly alarming. Also, she massaged my very sunburned forehead which hurt in shocking "my face is going to actually fall off" kind of way. Ouch.

In the distance are the private villas of the resort.

The following day, we headed to Ubud, the land of monkeys and lizards, but that will be another blog!