Hubby and I just got back from 2 weeks in Bali. Had an absolute ball and the information obtained from the BTF proved invaluable.
AIRPORT
Got through payment of VOA and customs fairly quickly (arrived Friday afternoon). Paid in American dollars.
ACCOMMODATION
Stayed at the Bali Mandira in Legian in a deluxe cottage. The location is brilliant, beachfront, close to good restaurants, shopping etc. The grounds are immaculate, new pool is great, food here was good although the rooms were a little tired looking (think the whole place is getting an update). Only complaint with the resort was the cleaning - sheets were not overly clean when we arrived and weren't changed for days (until I left a note asking for them to be changed). Glasses in bathroom were only ever rinsed with water, never cleaned and never changed for fresh glasses in the whole 2 weeks. Found out the hard way as I'd used one for mixing shaving foam and 2 weeks later my hubby decided to smell the glass after we'd used it for rinsing our mouths after brushing our teeth and it reeked of shaving cream. Mmm...
With booking a deluxe room we were entitled to use the club lounge and its facilities. Free soft drinks all day, afternoon tea from 3-5.30pm, free cocktails from 5.30-7pm everyday. Free use of internet. Great place to meet people.
DINING
The BTF provided us with most of the places that we ate at. We generally ate where it was busy or where recommended.
Rama Gardens, Padma St
First meal we ate here was great. Service was good, staff really friendly, very busy. About $18AUD for 2 main meals (seafood), 2 drinks. Second meal we ordered chargrilled seafood platter. Nothing was cooked properly, seafood raw inside. Fish cooked dry on outside but raw on inside. Whole meal was covered in a hot sauce. Very disappointing.
Papas (front of Alam Kul Kul)
Italian good. Absolutely loved this place. Ate here 3 times in 2 weeks. Brilliant service, very clean, beachfront, friendly staff. Well worth a visit. Approx $20 per person for main meal, dessert and 2 drinks. Great tiramisu!!!
Drops, Padma St
Quite a modern restaurant. (too modern for Bali). Very clean and great food but for me didn't provide the atmosphere I prefer in Bali (however we did eat here twice). Service good but TOO quick. One meal we hadn't even finished our entrees and they served our mains. We asked for a half hour break before dessert was served but it arrived 5 minutes later. Couldn't relax and enjoy your meal. Approx $11 each for main meal, dessert, soft drink.
Bali Aussie, Melasti St
Tuesday night - not very busy however Sunday and Wednesday nights this place is full (Aussie Roast). Friendly staff, Meal ok. Approx $7 each for main meal and drink.
Bubba Gumps
We are both in our 30's, no children but we still loved this place. Tacky but in a great way! Great food, great staff, very clean, lots of fun. Must order the marguerita (and take your video camera) and MUST have the Alabama Mud Pie for dessert (share between 2-3 people). Approx $25 each but this included main meals, dessert, cocktails, cocktail shaker and glasses. Will pick up and drop off free of charge.
La Lucciola, Seminyak
Best meal ever! Fantastic location, very clean, wonderful view, brilliant food, outstanding service - never need to fill our glass, it was constantly kept topped up. Can't say enough about this place. Had my 30th birthday here and loved it. Must book, go around 5.30pm to watch the sunset and get a good table. Approx $60 each but worth every cent and more for (lots of) frozen daiquiris, entrees, main meals, dessert.
Kori Restaurant, Poppies II
Beautiful restaurant, great atmosphere, good music playing in background, Great service, great food. Approx $20 each for cocktails, appetizer, main meals. Better to book, ask for ‘cushion seating'. Own private dining area over a small water feature, sitting on large cushions at a low table - very romantic!
Zanzibar and Tekor Café, Legian - didn't eat here but always very busy. Looked good.
DAY TRIPS
Waterbom Park - had a good day here. Tiring on the old legs climbing the stairs to the slides but lots of fun. Entrance fee about $40AUD each. Food ok.
Mount Batur cycling tour - great day!!! About $32 each. 2 hour cycling mostly downhill although there were 2 steep hills to go up (I walked up). Great to see this side of Bali. Rode through local villages, stopped at a family home. Children running out from their homes to wave and give us high 5's. Long day but well worth it.
Quads - MOST FUN EVER!!!! This was one of our best days in Bali by far. Hubby and I rode tandem ($60 each) and it was brilliant. We had a great group of people that we went with and everyone rode at about the same (fast) pace so it was good. Rode through rice fields, local villages, river. Got to have real McCoy local coffee (makes you bounce off the walls). About 1.5 hour drive to get to Bali Quads and we rode the quads over a period of about 2 hrs. If we had time we would have done this trip again, loved it that much. Lunch was good too.
Bali Hai Cruise
Did the Beach Club Cruise. Good day, relaxing. Snorkelling from pontoon was fun. Lunch at beach club was a little stressful - bees and wasps EVERYWHERE. Trip back to Benoa Harbour was horrible, very rough seas. Can't be helped - even the staff were sick. All in all though a good day. Cost $83 each.
Rafting - were booked to do rafting for $28 each but hubby hurt his knee so we cancelled - those stairs would have killed him.
SHOPPING
Went to Surf Factory Outlet on Bypass road on our first day so not sure if prices were overly cheap or not as had nothing to compare them to.
Discovery Mall - good place to shop to get out of the heat and pick up some bargains in Centro Dept Store.
Geneva Handicraft - lots of bits and pieces to be bought here but not sure how much of it you could take home. 2 staff members followed me around the whole time we were here which was really annoying - am sure they were only being helpful but it was quite intimidating. Bought 2 sets of place mats (one set were taken from us at airport) and one table runner. Cheap prices, good not to have to barter.
Face to face - had some keyrings done with photos on which look great. Not sure how long they'll last but they look good for now. About $30 each.
Kuta Art Markets - very quiet here. Not many tourists (we were the only 2 people there at one stage) but got some good bargains.
Janoko Tailor, Poppies II. Had 3 x 3-piece ladies suits made here. Great service, very happy with suits - $68 each. Took 4 days, delivered to the hotel. Hubby had jeans hemmed for $1.40 each.
General guide to what we paid for things:
LV Handbags - 70,000
Chanel handbag (large) - 120,000
Chanel purse (new style just out) - 140,000 (they wouldn't budge but it is a beautiful purse and I really wanted it - was over the bartering by this stage)
Caps - 14,000 each; 2 for 25,000
DVD's - bought all ours from Jimmy Gorgeous on Padma St. Buy 20 get 7 free (same everywhere). Friendly, good service. PC games 20,000
Tank tops (mens) - 15,000; (ladies) 20-35,000
Socks - 50,000 (12 pairs)
Watches - 30,000
Tshirts - 20-30,000
Kids shorts - 15,000
Kids tank tops - 10,000
Large 1.5m x 1.5m print - 280,000
Sunnies - 25,000
Often when bartering if the person was really helpful we would throw in a tip when paying. They appreciated it and it wasn't alot of money to us.
GENERAL
Exchange rate approx 7250 - 7400 rupiah to $1AUD.
Time share - Aaaagh!!!!!!!!!! I was so glad we were warned about this before we went to Bali but nothing could have prepared us for how full on it was. Every second person on a bike stopped to give us ‘something for free' - we just ignored them after awhile. Saw a few people getting sucked in - poor buggers.
Celebes (near Legian Snacks). Good, clean for massages and hair cream baths. Good prices.
Melasti Beach Resort and Spa - This place is brilliant for any type of beauty treatment/massage. We went here for a 4 hour treatment for my birthday which we booked 2 months ago over the email and they confirmed it - needless to say when we arrived, according to them, we didn't exist. They had no booking and to say I was annoyed was an understatement. Luckily I had taken a copy of the email and they bent over backwards to fix the error. We booked the Temple Garden Suite (for no extra charge) and had a 1hr massage, 1hr body scrub and yoghurt wrap, soak in a flower bath (beautiful big double bath overlooking the garden), 1hr facial, 1hr foot scrub/massage. Treatment cost us $50 each and we left a large tip as the service was brilliant. Very clean, very relaxing. Went back here and had massages, facials, manicures/pedicures also.
Stadium Bar in Padma St, Good place to go to watch AFL games. Good atmosphere.
For those who are trying to work out a budget for when they go away, for 2 people for 2 weeks we spent about $3000 (including tours) however we did a lot of our shopping in the boutiques, surf shops, dept stores, had full days at spas, drank LOTS of cocktails etc. I would think a couple could live comfortably on about $2000 for 2 weeks if you shopped at the markets and ate at the cheaper restaurants.
We had a brilliant trip away and are already planning our return visit. We were a little concerned about how we would be treated with the whole SC situation but it was never mentioned once. In Bali it seems to be not a big deal at all which is good.
We were 21kg over with our luggage but were not charged excess. Others who were 5kg over were charged. Guess it's the luck of the draw!
Thanks everyone who contributes to this site, made our life easier once we were there!