Tokyo Blond Is Not Porn

Tokyo Blond is not a porn blog, about hair or even, as one pithy friend remarked, a micro beer or late 1980s glam metal band ("Dude, I just saw Skid Row and Tokyo Blond opened and played a killer set").


The purpose of this blog is to chronicle my experiences in Tokyo - poignantly, visually, irreverently - for fun.


Anybody can tag along...that is if I like you. This blog will endeavor to be entertaining and honest and frequent enough to keep those following interested including me.


Thursday, June 14, 2012

Baywatch - Jimbaron 2

That night, our first in Jimbaron Bay, we decided to take advantage of the beach BBQ.

It was a beautiful night and the twilight was necromantic.  Islands always seem to have this bewitching effect.  We walked though the resort, and then along the wide bay, hand in hand, breathing in the sea mist and tantalizing smoke from beachside fires.

Twilight on the bay

Even the villa doors are enchanting.

Table set for two.
Nice.

Firelight on the water.

The BBQ was set up at the resort's "Beach Club".  There were cabanas with "dining beds", inviting under billowing, diaphanous, colorful canopies.  Russell and I had eaten in a "dining bed" in Amsterdam once.  It's not as comfortable as it looks. We chose a table in the sand instead.

Dreamy but not comfortable,
at least for dining.

There was live entertainment.  In between fire dancers, a live band performed.  They didn't sing in English but that only added to the exotic feel of the evening.


For all I know she's singing "Feelings".
It's in Balinese so who knows.

The dinner was all-you-can-eat.  Not a good idea for Russell.  I think I lost count after his third tour.  Now, all-you-can-drink and we're talking!

Basically you point at the fish or meat you want, which was artfully displayed raw on ice, and they cook it for you and bring it to your table with appropriate side dishes.  I love side dishes!  But first a ceasar salad made table side.  Just one of a few surprises...

Ceasar salad beach side - now that's a first.

Plate 1 with appropriate side dishes.

For dessert a chef prepared, get this, Bananas Foster, tableside.  This is not what I expect: A) on the beach and B) in Bali.  

But good!
Beachside Bananas Foster - all righty then!

We stayed for two rounds of fire dancers.  They were different than the ones we have seen in Hawaii or even Thailand, which were very traditional.  These guys were "sexified".  The women had breasts and sexy outfits, which included several costume changes.  The single male had a wash board stomach.  I nodded enthusiastically as he danced for us, shirtless.  Yeah!  I agree.  Shirts are so superfluous.  Mmmmm.  I suggested Russell take his off.  He refused.

The group performed to uber hip techno music as opposed to the usual native tropical measure. Who needs a steel band on the beach when you can have disco?  Yes I'll have another round please... of washbaord.

Equal opportunity candy show with fire.

After dinner we went back to our villa, and the plunge pool.  Nothing like plunging under the stars.

The next day we spent all day divided between the main pool and the plunge pool.  Decisions, decisions.

We spent our last dinner in Bali at the Italian restaurant on the property.  I know, it's weird.  But the chef was actually from Italy and had just been married the weekend before.  An Italian and a honeymooner !!!

He actually came to our table and we discussed how great the food is - in Tokyo.  He wants to study there so he brought it up when we told him we were living there.  He was funny in an odd way.  When we gushed about how nice the Balinese people were, he got the funniest look on his face. It was as if he couldn't believe someone would say such a thing.  Odd, considering he just married a Balinese woman.  Trouble in paradise?


Dining on Italian under the moon globes.


Happy diner.
Wow my teeth look so much whiter with a sunburn.

The next day we said goodbye to the bay, and the plunge pool.  Goodbye to the trash and stray dogs.  And as we navigated through the multitudes of multi-peopled scooters on our way to the airport, I ruminated on all I had experienced in Bali.  And I thought, if it weren't for the trash and stray dogs, I would have really, really loved Bali.  It actually feels like someplace else.  Someplace sincere, with its own personality, not just another tropical island.  It has its own music, food, dance, architecture, dress and landscape.  Kind of like New Orleans.  That's hard to find - anywhere.

Parting shot.

What? No farewell bouquet?


And its own fried chicken too!

Twelve hours later I reconsidered.  By the time I got home from Bali, two flights later, I had the worst ear ache of my life.  It seems I contracted a bacterial infection from the Balinese water.

UGH!  


Wednesday, June 6, 2012

"Jambaron" aka Jimbaron Bay

We left the Sayan property with a little trepidation, not knowing what we'd find at the Jimbaron property, hoping it would be just as nice.  Plus we weren't really looking forward to the hour ride through the trash and stray dog encrusted villages along the way.  Russell was smart; he napped.   

When we got there we were pleasantly surprised to find, while different, it was a nice change of scenery from the Sayan property.  And for a moment I was glad we had decided to visit both Bali Four Season properties.

The view from the lobby was grand.

Uh yeah, this will do.

We were greeted with fresh flowers and cool drinks, similarly to the Sayan introduction.  A couple of adorable Balinese girls, about seven or eight, in colorful, traditional sarongs kneeled on a colorful throw making exotic flower bouquets.  Hmmm, I wonder what the legal working age is in Bali.  They walked over shyly and presented me with a beautiful mini bouquet and a smile.

Cool towel - check
Cool drink - check
Fresh handmade bouquet - check

A golf cart ferried us to our room.  The layout was reminiscent of a Balinese compound, I thought knowingly, having just learned all about this that morning.

Luwang - traditional entry gate

Bale - check

Plunge pool - check
We must install one of these back in Long Beach

Our place in the sun.

Sleeping Arrangements

Now this is nice.  Plus there's the outdoor shower too.
Nothing like showering outside, under the stars.


Welcome gift.

We decided to get something to eat and then lay by the pool.  An excellent plan.


Have hat; will cocktail.

Pretty little water feature.  Must be gorgeous at night when the candles are lit.

A regular.
This guy eats here every day!

The food was good, not as good as Tokyo but it worked.  Afterwards we nabbed a couple of chairs, and a couple of cocktails, by the main pool.

Yeah, this don't suck.

View from the pool.

View from Russell's feet