I got a call this morning at Global Xtreme internet cafe in Kerobokan from Bruce Briscoe, owner of BaliTravel-Insider.com. He lives in Ubud and was going to be in town for the day and asked if I wanted to meet up.
I said I’d love to and made sure I was on time for our 12pm appointment at the Hard Rock Cafe.
When I arrived there were no other customers and I had a chance to browse the menu. They serve a variety of American favourites, burgers, onion rings, sandwiches etc. The environment, sitting on the second floor overlooking the ocean, with snacky type stuff to choose from and a bar reminded me of Santa Barbara. My second cousin Richard would probably start things off with a Bloody Mary and a Coors Light. I settled for a watermelon juice.
After several minutes Bruce arrived with his companion Yanti from Surabaya Java. Bruce had e-mailed fom the Baliblog a while ago and I was glad he followed up. Bruce moved here in October from San Francisco and loves it. We talked about the cultural / language differences, me telling Bruce about the new CD set I have which is a great help and Bruce telling me that the best way to learn the language is to get a girlfriend. He also noted Steve Martin’s quote about learning a foreign language ( ‘they have a different word for everything’).
Bruce told me he was refered to the Baliblog by a friend of his who is the author of Moon’s guide to Bali, glad somebody’s reading this.
When it came time to order Bruce explained he asked a friend of his who is a restaurant expert where the best onion rings in Bali were. She said the Hard Rock. Then he asked about the best burger, she said the Hard Rock. That was it. Ever since Bruce and Yanti have been making trips every couple of weeks and Bruce reckons everything they serve here is just plain good.
I ordered a California Club sandwich, Bruce an Original BLT and Yanti a basket of chicken strips. I was tempted to splash out on a margarita and just pretend this was California but I held back.
Bruce told me the story of how he came over this time for good. He has visited the island before but had told people he couldn’t live anywhere but the Bay Area. He was in Hawaii for a wedding and someone suggested he rent his place in SF and rent another place in Bali. Coincidentally a buddy and his wife were moving back to the US and needed a place. Bruce had 10 days to make a decision as his buddy had to move in somewhere. Before long he was on a plane to Bali and heading up to Ubud where he prefers the quieter lifestyle. Bruce does say that there are superb restaurants in Ubud.
We joked about the traffic over here and he told me his progression through the vehicles, starting with a 200cc motorbike, graduating to a Suzuki Katana ( Samurai ), then a larger 4 wheeled vehicle then to a Toyota LandCruiser. He reckons the Suzuki was laughably small, while the LandCruiser is like an armored car in the small streets here. For him the mid sized vehicle is the choice.
The Hard Rock started to fill up over lunch but not to the point where it was busy. Service was decent and the food was good quality.
Rating on this occasion.
Location 9
Selection of food 6
Atmosphere 8
View 9
Quality 9
Value 7
Service 8
My bill was 81,000rp which is a little more than I usually spend on a sandwich, but I got to check out the HRC.
Bruce and Yanti are getting married in October and Yanti promised to e-mail me. She is muslim but is converting to Hindu so they can both share a Balinese wedding. Can’t wait to see Bruce wrapped up in a sarong with white face make up and lipstick!
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I keep getting Bali updates from Bruce and each one gets more interesting and tempting. I live in Southern California and when I look over the edge of the palisades in Santa Monica and watch the sunset I virtually envision that paradise called Bali due west from where I am standing. If only I were 20, even 10 years younger!!
Bob…you are never to old to go to bali!
Hi Nick, spy cam here. Guess what? The guy who referred Bruce to you is Carl Parkes, Moon Handbooks author. He won big awards for his guide to SE Asia and Thailand. Didn’t do the Bali guide, but no biggee. So, the spy cam bit is that he took me to lunch yesterday, I mentioned the BaliBlog, he mentioned Bruce and meeting you, etc, etc. Our worlds are getting smaller and smaller. I want a chocolate milkshake a the HRC when I come, and no doubt Jeff Brady will want a t-shirt when he and Susan get out there.