Chapter 2: The Daun Bali

On our first trip to this fabled land, we tried our luck with budget hotels in the cultural fields of Ubud and the modern edgy Seminyak. So on our return, we opted for the off-beat hipster Canggu.

We went with the Daun Bali on Jl.Nelayan due to its rave reviews on Booking.com. (9.3 for a decently prized stay with a tranquil pool and the works!) The actual surroundings looked as amazing as the pictures - the view, the location and the tranquility. The caretaker was a young guy with an eternally stoned look who kept repeating things. However, a fairly efficient manner and friendly smile made up for his occasional lost moments.

We scored a balcony room on the first floor which made the view even better. Living here sure does help in making the switch from "I was just at work" mode to "I am on vacation" mode. Unlike the Red Dot in Bangkok. Now, that one was a major buzzkill. Matchbox of a room with sharp edges of modernization. The Daun Bali is rustic; artificially so, but feels all the same. Hardly any polished surfaces, old-timey

tiled bathroom walls and tiles. I would take artificial rustic any day over glossy sophistication. The walls of the room were adorned with what we liked to think as portraits of a musing Indonesian woman and her stubborn child. There was yet another wall painting which was quite a trippy eye-catcher. Birds flying out of a cage that is a woman's body. A riveting thought captured in perfect strokes.

The brilliant feeling of tranquility was somewhat extinguished with a meal from the downstairs Cafe Daun. Being ferocious gluttons who

had an airline lunch, we decided to kick-off the gastronomic journey with a beef burrito, a chicken stroganoff and watermelon juice. The dinner (there is truly no way to say it delicately), sucked beyond measure. This led us to crack open a couple of packets of snacks we stashed for such occasions. Though we didn't anticipate it would get to that within hours of our entry.

The new snack line from Marks & Spencer came to our rescue- Piri Piri Pea Snaps. The flavor is amazing, with less than 1% sugar. Small vacuum-sealed packets inside the larger packet to preserve flavor. It was a welcome change from the bloated packs which may serve better as parachutes. M&S has put a lot of thought into this one and it shows.

The next morning, even the Pea Snaps couldn't make up for the cakey banana pancake I had at the Cafe Daun for breakfast. It came as part of our room charge and we wanted to give it a go despite the flavorless dinner experience. The eggs and toast breakfast was average at best and banana pancake was a perfect example of how it should not be. We summarily decided that coffee was the only item we could ever consider having from the Cafe Daun.