Today is the final day of a 12 day trip to Bali. If you are currently in Bali or planning a trip,you may appreciate the below list.
Best 10 Activities
1. Fire Dance at Uluwatu. Spectactular dance and plenty of Monkey's to feed at the temple (plus great views !!). Kids loved the monkeys !
2. Elephant Park. Its not every day you get to actually feed/ride an elephant !! Great for Kids.
3. Waterbom Park. Half day is enough - but the slides are fantastic.
4. Massages at beachside of Aston Hotel. Only 30K RP ($4 AUD)for half an hour of bliss !! The entire family enjoyed a daily massage.
5. Shopping at Kuta. Great for CD/DVD/PS2 Games (11K RP each) & Gameboy games. We also purchased lots of clothing from Matahari Dept Store and I got a couple of Mambo Loud Shirts from a Surfware factory outlet for 150K RP each ($20 AUD).
6. Area around Ubud. Beautiful rural vistas - like a travel brochure come to life !!
7. White Water Rafting. Half a day for 1 adult/child cost $60 US - relatively expensive but hey - how often do you get the chance to raft down Grade 2/3 rapids ?! Organised (as was the snokelling below through Kadek Wibawa 081 756 5709)
8. Dining at Kori Restaurant in Poppies Lane 2. Make sure you get to sit on the cushions at the back of the restaurant. Great food - Food/Drinks for approx: 600K RP ($85AUD) for 6 people. We liked it so much we dined their for 3 nights !
9. Snorkeling at Nusa Penda Island. Went with Quicksilver - ride over on the Catamaran was a laugh - live show featuring the host Mona Lisa (!) was unintentionally hilarious !!
10. Balinese People. As a general comment, I can say that the Balinese are some of the friendliest/most tolerant people in the world. We did two tours through in an airconditioned van with an English speaking balinese taxi driver named Ketut Landra. Very pleasant & reliable (ph: 081 2391 9628) - he even has a website (www.kooltoursbali.com). I would recommend him if you are looking for a day or half day tour of the island. Full day 300K RP.
We stayed at the Aston Resort at Nusa Dua. Great rooms, terrific omelettes for breakfast, good Gym and only a 35K RP taxi ride (60K for van carrying 6 people). Didn't like the food in the restaurant, but found next door at the Penninsular Bar to be well priced and great food.
Weather has been great over the past 12 days - hardly any rain (and its Monsoon !!).
Anyway, hope you get something from the above. Despite the travel warnings, I would strongly recommend a trip to Bali - the Balinese people were hit very hard from the bombing and have not yet recovered. The best way to help the Indonesian people cope with the current Tidal Wave tragedy is to come and invest some of your money by holidaying in beautiful Bali !!!
Regards,
Mike