My fiancee and I returned to Perth last night after 10 fantastic days in Bali. It was our 3rd trip to paradise and it was most certainly the best!
Air Paradise: The flight from Perth left 15 mins early, so we were quite surprised - I've never heard of flights leaving "early" before! The staff onboard were great the whole way.
We landed and went through the whole visa process quickly, and returned to the amazing signature sights and smells of Bali. Our driver FUGLY was waiting outside and we were well on our way. Wanted to take a quick drive through Kuta before heading out to Ubud - so we did the drive-by Legian street thing and then headed for the hills.
UBUD
We stayed at the Tjampuhan Hotel, and let me just say that this place is UNBELIEVABLE!!! On arrival, we were greated by friendly staff who offered us some rice wine in wooden cups as well as cool towels. The hotel itself is spread out over the cliff-face of a gorge that overlooks the Ubud river. We were completely surrounded by beautiful balinese plant life! The rooms are quite basic, but we found that this added to the whole "relaxation" purpose of visiting Ubud. The spa is in a grotto that is built into the rockface of the gorge and what else can I say? The staff, the hotel restaurant (with free breakfast each morning), the two spring-water pools and everything else was just perfect, and it was exactly what we needed for three days before heading into Seminyak.
I was briefly "hissed at" by an extremely hungry baby monkey at the Ubud monkey forrest - scared the hell out me! This ancient place just seemed so spiritual - maybe because there is a "temporary" burial site for local balinese inside the monkey forrest!
Cafe Lotus: Such a great restaurant! Fast service and cool bintang on our first night there! The deserts are to die for! For two people I think we spent around 150 000 rupiah.
We spent the next day at the markets and on the main drag through Ubud, bartering and talking to locals. We bought two beautiful landscape paintings off a local artist named "BUGI" for 300 000 rupiah. It seemed like a lot to spend, but I'm sure that Bugi and his family need the money more than us.
Murnies Warung: The cooks at this tiny cafe claimed that this was the first ever restaurant built in Ubud. We had satay chicken skewers, gado-gado and a couple of cokes and it only cost about 50 000 rupes! Its gotta be the best value for money in Ubud!
Casa Luna Restarant: Judging from the way everyone spoke about this place on the forum I thought it would have been packed, but we were the only people there on this particular night. Actually, it felt like we were the only Australians in Ubud. We met quite a few Americans, Swiss and French, but no Aussies. Anyway, the food at Casa Luna was first class all the way! The next morining we left relaxing Ubud with our friend Fugly, and began the next phase of our holiday.
SEMINYAK
The Pelangi hotel is relatively new and this is obvious when pulling up outside reception. The huge walls stick out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the more traditional buildings in the immediate area. But what a beautiful place! The rooms are not huge, but how much time do you spend in your room when in Bali anyway? The bathrooms have been finished off really well with a stone or granite effect. The pool / pool bar / hotel restaurant (named the Rama restaurant) have been built in a way that makes you think you're in heaven when you see it for the first time! The pool is above ground and directly overlooks the surf at Seminyak Beach. Just perfect! The breakfasts at the Rama restaurant were buffet style with pancakes, chicken or beef sausages, fish curry, nasi goreng, friuts applenty, cerials, eggs and juices - EVERY DAY!!!
We went into Kuta almost every day for food and shopping and.....food!We tried to use the blue taxis at every opportunity because they are fast, cheap and reliable.
The Aromas Cafe put on the cheapest and best tasting pizza I have ever had! Back on Legian street and in the hub of Bali after so much relaxation was something we were very excited about.
In total we bought about 150 DVD's, all from Softcomp DVD shop in Poppies 2. This laneway holds the essence of Kuta - I just love it. The people that try to get you to buy all of their various wares and products were such a familiar sight and it brought back memories from staying at the Bounty in 2001, which is also located on Poppies 2. We bought a plethora of locally made clothing and homewares as well as the usual fake or copy products such as the Louis Vitton wallets and handbags, surf shirts, bintang shirst etc etc etc.
Kori Restaurant: Always the best, perfect from start to finish in calm and relaxing surroundings.
Hard Rock: We went to Hard Rock just because they have the best pork ribs in the world. The best! I think it cost the two of us around 500 000 rupiah for a three-course meal, but it was well worth it ......UNTIL - about 40 mins after we left Hard Rock "I GOT BALI BELLY!" And it has stayed with me for over a week! I thought the last place I'd get sick from food would be the Hard Rock, but what can you do? The tablets dulled the stomach pain for most of the rest of the trip so I can't complain too much - "twas to be expected".
We found a shop in Seminyak called "Dogs Tail", and it specialises in selling goods and fashion for Pugs. We have a Pug Puppy who is only 4 months old called "Maverick", so this was like the holy grail of shopping in Bali! We bought an Easter bunny outfit and an army jacket for Maverick and were lucky enough to see the shop owner's pug who is named "Marmeto". The lady in the shop calls him Peanut Boy, because he sits there eating peanuts all day!
Ku De Ta: We had to check this retaurant out, mainly because of all the hype surrounding how good it is, but to be honest I was dissapointed. Don't get me wrong, its easily the best looking restaurant in Bali, but the price for what you get is just WAY too high (or it was for us anyway). We paid 170 000 for a tiny peice of barramundi and 75 000 for a roasted quail that looked more like a party pie than anything else. 20 000 for bintang when EVERY other place in Bali charges 10 000?I reckon that if Ku De Ta dropped their prices just a bit, more people would be able to enjoy the view, and the place itself would get more business.
The Legend Restaurant: We had a few 2 for 1 cocktails before ordering the surf and turf. Such a good steack covered in garlic prawns and vegies - beautiful! It cost 100 000 for 2 main meals, 8 drinks, entrees and dessert!
Fugly took us on a day tour to Git Git Waterfall and Lake Bratan. The amazing views on the way to the top of the mountains are amazing. I had not seen this for 9 years but I was still awestruck by the rice terraces and the unstoppable views that just go forever. We stopped on the way at some cafe where the was a local with some Tucan Birds, and Snakes. We got some fantastic photos! Git Git waterfall is one of those places you have to see to believe! It must be 100 metres tall with a very fine stream of water falling into a shallow pool. Another great photo opportunity was had. I always do the Lake Bratan thing when in Bali, to me it signifies the entire Balinese culture. Fugly charged us 300 000 rupiah for the whole day, and it was well worth it. He has become a family friend over the last nine years and we always use his services when in Bali. He speaks almost perfect English and knows Bali like the back of his hand, so if anyone wants THE BEST and most EXPERIENCED driver in Bali, send me an email and I will give you his contact details.
I have to mention one particular cafe called "Romeniria" near the Pelangi Hotel. We got 2 pizzas and two small bintangs for 45 000 rupiah and the food was great! We told the staff how much we liked it there and they were overjoyed.
NUSA DUA
Another Day trip to Nusa Dua - on the way we were stopped by the police and they took their "fee" from Fugly. This is one thing that really peeves me about Bali - the corruption. The police already get such a good salary compared to the rest of the population on the island, yet they continue to take and take. Such a shame, but what could we do? I guess its just a part of life over there and as our pool bar guy said "money will always come first in Bali".
Anyway, we did the whole Parasailing / Jet Skiing / Banana Boat thing at Nusa Dua and had a great time. Regulations there now require a Balinese local to accompany any tourist on a jet ski due to that tragedy that occured a couple of months ago, so I had Olgy tagging along on the back of my jet ski. I sure gave him a joyride alright! He said he had never been so scared in his life! The 7 or 8 balinese men who work for this particular tour company told us that they only get paid 250 000 rupiah each per month. Thats only about $35 Australian per month!
We spent out last day in Bali just relaxing by the pool and talking with the locals on the beach in Seminyak. The trip went so fast, but also seemed like such a long time. It's funny like that isn't it? Glad to be going home, but so sad to leave. We had a few drinks watching the sun go down for the last time and reflected on the last ten days of non-stop Bali fun! Fugly took us for one last drive through the heart of Kuta and then to the airport. We boarded our Air Paradise Boeing 737 and left Paradise - Back to Perth.
NOW: I thank all of the people who have shared such valuable information on this travel forum - your experiences have helped to shape our experiences in Bali both in 2001 and 2005. Feel free to ask any questions regarding the hotels or anything else and I will do my best to reply. I'll do my best to try and put our photos up in the next week or so.
Cheers,
Joel
joelmartin11@hotmail.com