with reference to many people but it was helge (have to spell it differently) that was stopping it from being posted, didnt know he was banned from here.
Anyway
Well as you all know we had received these tickets to bali, gratis, courtesy of Air P*** and their huge mess up last September, as this was the second of our free tickets I wasnt so keen to return to Bali so soon (I know, dont ask me why, I was just over the place)!!! We had been for two weeks in May and were now returning again in August as the tix had to be used up by SEptember.
So I came up with the brilliant idea of going to Thailand. So I emailed Mida in Bali and got some quotes off her for flights from Bali to Bangkok and return. Prices came in quite expensive (considering what you can pay from Australia WITH accommodation) but anyway we booked and so we were set.
Had two days in Bali either side of the Thailand trip. Was happy to finally get to S&S and meet Smudge and Scully, both of whom seemed to be having a jolly good time, other than that we met Eva, hope your trip back home was ok, and that you had a really good time in Bali, being on your own!!! TnT came with me and we toddled off with Scully to check out her lodgings in the Royal Family Compound of a balinese man who owns the place she was staying previously, cant remember the name. Turns out Smudge is quite connected to this man, as he stayed with him for something like 16 years!!!!! Bloody hell.
So when they found out Scully knew Smudge, they moved her into the royal lodgings!!! She's a dag I tell ya, must find out how her interludes are going with a particular man!!!
Also met, these two go getters were really nice and do a lot for kids in bali, so if anyone wants to help them out drop them an email. They will gladly fill you in on all the details of what they do. Email me if you want their email addie, the administrator is not letting me post this message and I think having their email address on here could be why.
One thing Im really disappointed about is not meeting Gwenda, time ran out for me on our return from Bangkok, so Im hoping her day went well, does anyone know how it went with the orphanage kids, did anyone off here help her with it???
We stayed at the Casa Padma these two days and it is a really nice place, the staff are gorgeous if a little timid, but then again they are young so that might have something to do with it. The rooms are huge but possibly a little noisy and unfortunately they leave the lights on out the front of the rooms and with not quite adequate curtaining, it tends to really lighten the room up. So having said that we chose to stay somewhere else on our return from Thailand.
Now I wont go into our trip to Bangkok much as this IS a bali forum, needless to say it was a pleasure to see, Koh Samui is oh so fabulous and Im thinking its like the Bali of thirty years ago, minimial amount of hawkers on the beach and almost deserted beaches, just gorgeous!!!! Would go there again in a heartbeat. Had a training session at a muay thai gym, big mistake, wondered why there was nooone else training until we were 1/2 way into it and I was nearly passing out from the heat, that WHY, cause its too bloody hot during the day. I dont think Ive experienced heat like Koh Samui, even in Bali, and Ive been in February when it was bloody hot, but this heat was saturating!!! Needless to say, alot of time was spent in the water and not too much time spent shopping.
Shopping is great over there, bags are fabulous, dare I say, the quality is much better than Bali but on the downside, I dont know if Bangkok is really tourist friendly, a very big bustling city, but not too much signage in English and barely anyone can speak english.
Ok so back to Bali now. My love affair with the place has been refreshed. It was just so RELIEVING to land back in Bali and see our old familiar friends, our dear taxi driver who never misses a beat with us, my gorgeous girl at Legian Garden Restaurant, and if anyone is going there, please give her big hugs from Shauna.
Yes bali is definitely my second home, it just FEELS so right when I get there!!! I must admit though I didnt do ANY shopping, just stuffed my face full of food, I ate my head off, went to KuDeTa for the ritual breakfast and perve on all the beautiful, pretentious expats that hang out there, god i love it!!!!!
Also saw the new Soho in Seminyak, which sounds like the place to go, its fashioned on an american diner, although it doesnt look anything like one. But inside the staff get around on roller skates and they are not allowed to use their balinese names they have to have american ones!!!! The menu is everything from hot dogs to burgers to indo food, but the best bit is, its really set up for kids and adults alike, there are tvs on the tables showing cartoon network stuff, so you can have a good adult chat if you want AND also order a cocktail if you feel like it, kinda like a one stop shop!!!! Plus the kids can run around no worries.
Ate heaps of Nasi Goreng, my all time fave, and mie goreng, whereever we were, I would just stop and order some, cant recall all the places now, went to the intercontinental again at Jimbaren Bay, always a nice outing there. Didnt manage to get up to Uluwatu again to Blue Point Villas, but if you can go spend a day at the pool there, its just so lovely and peaceful.
Lots of new shops going up in Seminyak, looks like the place to go albeit a bit more expensive, but still cheap by australian standards.
Was talking to a really interesting man staying at our hotel who is an investment consultant living in China, cause things are really on the go there. I was asking about investments in Bali and he was saying that it will be a good time to invest as the rupiah is dropping all the time and this is because Bali is going into a recession due to the fuel costs. Apparently Indonesias government subsides the cost of fuel so as to enable people to be able to get around, and with the cost of it rising all the time (as can be seen here in Australia), the Government is going to have to keep heavily subsidising it hence a fall in the economy (dont ask me, Im not an economist), equating to a recession of sorts. AFTER the recession is the time to invest apparently, just make sure to read all the fine print. I for one, would definitely be into it, if I thought I wsa getting a good deal. So good news for us travellers, not so good news for indonesia. You would think it would kind of b!
alance out though, cheap rupiah, more tourist, which means more money into the country, which means better standard of living for them, but not necessarily so, I guess.
Went out for dinner with TnT to Queens Tandoor, beautiful indian food and they even deliver, much to our delight. We were staying at the All Seasons this time and whilst it is a lovely modern light setting, the staff are VERY young and still green, so there were a few stuff up with room service meals and service, generally. Which is why one night we ordered takeout from Queens Tandoor, came in wonderful little aluminium containers with all the trimmings, mango chutney, cucumber and yoghurt stuff, just delicious and so so cheap, well compared to here anyway. All in about 1/2 hour, superb.
The All Seasons is a great little hotel and eventually as more little conveniences spring up around it, it will be a great place to stay. Had a couple of massages in their spa there and again, they are very new and still ironing out all the wrinkles but the massage was wonderful, my partner had a warm stone massage and felt the benefits of it immediately.
The pool setup is great although at the moment they dont have any umbrellas, so we would get out of the pool and sit at the bar, as it was the only shade, but Im sure in the future they will get some. There is a kiddies pool, which after being in Thailand, was heaven sent, as we didnt have to be in the pool for seven hours with Jordan (hes such a fish).
The weather in Bali was just gorgeous, if a little overcast, but so mild, you could almost have a little cardi on in the evenings. We passed the Beach Apartments coffee shop, it is being remodelled and refined and looks gorgeous, Im told the food is great too, so will definitely get there next time. Also saw Helge, and whilst his stocks are low and alot of films are poor quality (hence he wont sell them to you), his service is always impeccable and he is just so adorable, that I always get what I can from him and just get the rest from Sakura, shame about the unsmiling girl that takes your money, but still in the land of smiles, one dour face aint gonna kill me.
Went to the Stadium and had their yummy ribs as usual as well as their mie goreng and well thats about it.
Sorry its not startling you out of your reverie, but as ever it was so much fun to be there and so much fun to get home and still feel the connection by coming on here.
Love you all
Shauna