THE BLOKES DAY OUT
Our husbands went out for the morning near Benoa Harbour for parasailing and Jet skiing. They negotiated a price with locals on the beach (behind the Dynasty), costing $Au 40 for 5 mins parasailing and 30 mins jet skiing. They loved it! This was followed by the blokes getting a ride on the back of a motor bike to the Bali Aussie and back for a few cold Bintangs. Even Grandpa joined in and had the best day.
THE GIRLS DAY OUT
We went to the Green Garden in Tuban for a 3 hour Royal bali for Her package. This cost 242,000 (Au $33), including welcome drink, spa, sauna, plunge pool, 1 hour massage, body exfoliation, facial, petal bath and ginger tea. It was heaven, and I think all three of us dozed off at one stage. If going with friends, be warned: you may have to share a rose petal bath topless. Oh well, by the end of the 3 hours we couldn't care less, and with our strategically placed frangipanis and disposable knickers we became good friends (ha-ha).
Not to be out done by the men, the girls also took a ride on the back of motor bike through Denpassar, Legian, Kuta and Tuban at night for about 1 hour. This was fantastic! None of us had ever ridden a motorbike before, let alone in Bali! We saw Bali from a locals view point, and got some funny looks from people on the way. We were taken on main roads and narrow laneways wide enough for only 1 bike! Scary at times, but that good kind of scary! Bike rides cost about 50,000 for an hour.
TRANSPORT
Of course we had the best driver, who was recommended from a seasoned Bali traveler. His Name is Kardek Ph: 62817552841 email: santrika79@yahoo.com. He has fantastic English, great sense of humor, and wonderful knowledge of Bali. Please consider him if you need a driver, you won't be disappointed.
HENNA TATTOOS
When in Bali we all get hair braids and tattoos, but please do the latter with caution. Test the 'henna' on a small area first for 24 hours to see if you react. We saw a nasty reaction on a young boy, that was blistered, weeping and inflamed. It will probably leave a scar. He was unable to swim or sleep due to the pain, and due to the parents lack of insight did not adequately treat the allergic reaction. This tattoo was done at a reputable establishment, and supposedly real henna, but you can still react to the real stuff too!
Off my soap box!
TUBAN BEACH
We wanted to donate some old kids clothes, toys and drinks to the local kids on the beach. As we walked down to the beach, I turned around, my son and husband had all of there donations taken from them before we took 5 steps outside the hotel. While I understand their desperation, I was disappointed that some people took the lot and we were not able to share out our gifts more fairly. I feel that the locals are used to visitors coming down to donate their excess baggage, and perhaps we should have made ourselves less conspicuous.
We did however (in my bags) manage to rescue the balls that we had intended to play with on the beach. My kids love playing soccer at home, and I thought that a game on the beach would be a great icebreaker for them to interact with the local kids. We all had a ball (pardon the pun) and the joy on the kids faces when we gave them the balls, by far made up for our earlier disappointment.
GOING BACK
Of course we plan on going back to Bali! We talked about our return trip 2 days into this one! We had a fantastic time, both adults and kids alike. Next time I would like to stay at Lovina for a week, then back to the Dynasty for the second. As you all have said before, the people of Bali really make it a fantastic holiday. The service and hospitality shown in Bali far out strips what we offer our visitors here in Australia. Hopefully we can all take a little bit of the Bali philosophy and make more of an effort with everything that we do.
Thanks for reading my rambles. If you need any more info, let me know.
Frizzymum and friends.