A taste of the night
Trip Start
Feb 12, 2008
1
3
15
Trip End
Apr 09, 2008
Seminyak,
Indonesia
Sunday, February 17, 2008
But I wanted to see what delights my own little neighbourhood of Seminyak might hold - and I could walk home
Hu'u Bar
. My trusty Lonely Planet told me astonishingly that 'it's flash, brash, phoney and filled with bony models'. I'm looking but I can't see any! The writer also told me that 'it's an elegant and sophisticated scene'. I've come to realise that I have to wait until 9 pm to eat dinner (or preferably later) so that I can kick on to a bar or club and not be home by 10 pm. The restaurants are packed at 9.30 pm and some of the ritzy restaurants (the best ones in Seminyak will set you back about $22 for a main meal and $5 for a cocktail) have an international standard bar just oozing smooth. After a comfortable cocktail at Reflections, I make my way to Ku De Ta, the most expensive restaurant in Seminyak and famous for sipping cocktails watching the sun set over the beach. According to my friend the Lonely Planet guide, this is the place where 'the adults perfect their bored look over drinks'. It's fully booked and now I know where every foreigner is in Seminyak. Second choice is The Living Room, another deliciously designed open-aired, high-ceilinged structure straight out of a Somerset Maugham story, its gardens decorated with thousands of tealights. The meal is exquisite, service impeccable and there's a stylish, sophisticated bar open until 3 am. After a walk down Gado Gado street filled to the gills with clubs and bars, my psychic senses don't drag me into any of them (also it was only 10.30 pm). Gay bars abound and Seminyak seems very gay friendly (not that there's anything wrong with that). I've heard of Zappaz for live music so grab a taxi and pull up a stool at the bar
The garden at Hu'u Bar
. The place is owned by British Norman who tinkles the ivories in between the band sets. He's a talented pianist and engages in amusing chatter while playing. The band is good (guitar, electric piano, drums and two or more singers), creating a pleasant ambience with a range of covers from latin to jazz to 90s, and the singer, Lucy, encourages people to dance. Laura, partner/owner, made me feel welcome and it looks like this place will become my local.Obsessed with testing other nightspots, I walk over to Hu'u Bar where I've been told there's a retro night. It still amazes me that a single woman can walk down dark lanes alone and not feel in any way at risk. What defines retro? Beach Boys? After an $8 cover charge which included a drink, retro turned out to be jiving on a disco dance floor to early 90s house music with a couple of 80s hits thrown in. The place itself is a fairyland of large cream cushions on the grass outside amongst more tea lights and billowing white net curtains around a glistening pool. It has a decadent ambience reminiscent of the Arabian nights and harems. The clientele is a mixture of ages so it really depends if you like the music and bring along a good crowd. I didn't and I didn't.
Comments
There is a light on in the cave.
Are you relaxing as much as you need to, to be able to write the world's greatest novel? I would love to hear about all the gastronomic delights you are tasting. In my cave, I can sit and read all about your experiences and then come back to earth as I find that the printer has a paper jam again and it is time to attend another meeting. RT