My boyfriend and I just got back from our first trip to Bali. After many people telling us we were "crazy" for going it turned out to be one of the best experiences we have ever had! It was also the first time my boyf had been on a plane so it was all very exciting! We flew Garuda - which was OK. I thought the plane looked a bit "daggy" to me. The food and service was nice though, although we only got lunch pretty much as soon as we boarded and nothing else for the rest of the trip so I was starving by the end!! The movie over there was The Wedding Date.. We arrived safely at Bali airport got through customs etc no trouble & I even managed to fend off all the porters which I didnt think I would be able to. Everything I read on this forum came true, the whole feeling you get as you're walking out of the airport is unbelievable, we were very overwhelmed! We finally managed to find the taxi stand and just as my boyf was getting out his money a bloody porter came and pinched his suitcase, as he didnt have enough hands to hold it. Luckilly he only got one bag & he led us to the taxi.
The trip to our hotel was amazing, we both sat in silence the whole trip wondering what we had gotten ourselves into!! Just the traffic, the dogs, the cats, the whole families on one motorbike, the ladies carrying huge baskets on their heads had us in total amazement.We arrived safely at our beautiful hotel (Hotel Padma, Legian) and we felt safe and relaxed. We spent the rest of that day unpacking and checking out the hotel, swimming & of course testing out the pool bar. We also ate dinner at the Bella Rosa in the hotel. The food was absolutely beautiful! I would definately recommend The Padma to anyone. It is so clean and the staff are extremely friendly and helpful. The gardens are lovely too. I couldnt fault it one bit. We were given 3 bottles of water each day and the rooms were kept extremely clean. The breakfast was also tops! Anything you could imagine and they changed the menu each day too so you werent always eating the same thing.
On our second day we thought we'd just explore Legian a little bit although it was Sunday and not much was open. We caught a Blue Bird Taxi down to Kuta Galleria because we had no idea where we were going if we were to walk! We ended up getting a really nice driver, Nyoman who asked us if we wanted to be taken around to all the sites etc on our holiday. We said yes and we agreed on a day he could pick us up.
We booked Jet Skiiing through the hotel and were given a lift to Nusa Dua the next day. I think we paid about $10aus each for a 15 minute ride. It was quite good, although we had to have the guide on with us as there have been too many accidents recently. That didnt worry us at all ,I didnt even know he was there really!
After this we caught a taxi to Waterbom Park. It was great fun! We only stayed there a few hours but thats all we needed.
That night we had dinner at Jimbaran Bay Cafe watching the sunset and were given a lift there and back which was handy. We had a Lobster and a massive prawn each - both BBQ'd..it was our most expensive meal of the holiday but well worth it! We paid 974,000Rp ($130auds) which included drinks too...
The next day Nyoman picked us up from our hotel at 9am for our day out. First stop was a place in Gianyar where they make jewellery from 100% silver. I bought a ring with what looks like an opal but I dont think it is! for 300,000Rp. Next we went to Bali Zoo Park. We paid 90,000Rp ea to get in. Pretty quiet here, not many tourists at all. The animals looked happy though & their cages were clean. We were allowed to have our photo with a Toucan on our shoulder for free. Next we stopped at Gianyar Temple (I think this is what it's called, or it might be the Elephant Cave - or both - not sure??) We paid 4,000Rp ea to enter. There were lots of hawkers around here that seemed extra desperate. Nyoman told us to just say No Thanks to everything - Lucky we had him with us! Here we had to pay 1,000Rp to use the toilet, which was the same with most places. Not very nice toilets at all! Lucky I had the tissues with me! Next he took us to see the Kintamani Volcano. Absolutely beautiful up here although many many hawkers. It actually got quite frustrating having pencils and chess sets shoved in your face while trying to see the magnificent views!! We decided to have lunch at the restaurant so we could look at the view in peace! We bought Nyoman his lunch which he was very grateful for. Then it was time to head back home, both very exhausted! We got home at about 4pm. We paid Nyoman 300,000Rp for the whole day but we always gave him extra because he was such a nice person and always made sure we had a good day. Had dinner at Mama Lucia's tonight which I thought was really nice, especially for the price. I had bolognese gnocchi and boyf had spaghetti and we also got garlic bread and two drinks and it came to 123,000Rp!($16aus) Bargain!
We went to The Ritz Carlton on one of the next days to use their Aquatonic Pool (as recommended on here ,thankyou!) It cost 865,200Rp for both of us for a 2 hour session. I think that works out to about $60 each. We thought it was well worth it though. It is so relaxing and the views are amazing - the bay and the golf course in the hotel.
We had dinner at Poppies tonight. We paid 240,000Rp for two main meals, garlic bread, dessert and two drinks each which I thought was pretty darn good!
Next day was another outing with Nyoman. He picked us up at 9am again and first stop was to a Barong Dance. We paid 50,000Rp ea to get in. We had no idea what they were saying but we actually found it really good! The costumes were beautiful. We then went to the Elephant Park at Klungkung where we paid about $80aus for a 40 minute ride. I absolutely love elephants so I thought it was unreal. Boyf loved it too. I read on here to only go to Taro, but Nyoman took us here instead as he said its not as crowded. He was right, we didnt even need to wait or book. I was totally satisfied and enjoyed every minute. Our guides were really good, they spoke really good English & were very funny! After the ride we got to have millions of photos with and on the elephants and I paid 300,000Rp for one to paint me a picture! Lunch was also included. It was a buffet, quite nice. Next stop was to the Monkey Forest in Ubud..We paid 10,000Rp ea to get in & we were lucky we had Nyoman to tell us to leave everything in the car because we saw a few people getting their things pinched! We got back to our hotel at around 5pm after another exhausting day!
The next day Nyoman picked us up again (by this stage we were getting very chummy with Nyoman, he even proudly wore his "G'day Mate" shirt which we gave him the day before! Very Cute!)He took us to Nusa Dua so we could go over to Turtle Island while he waited in the car. I wouldnt recommend Turtle Island. As soon as we got off the boat we were greeted by a lady (the guide) who grabbed my camera off me and quickly whizzed us around to all the animals and got us to hold them for a photo. I felt really sorry for the animals and how they were treated. Especially this huge turtle who we were told to SIT on for a photo! We were then told to take a seat & asked to buy a drink for all the staff! She then proceeded to tell us we had to buy some souvernirs as "that is how she makes her money & she doesnt make very much"...we ended up leaving feeling very ripped off. It wasnt a pleasant experience at all. We caught a boat back to where Nyoman was waiting for us & he then drove us to the Butterfly Park.We paid 40,000Rp ea to get in which I thought was a bit much, but then we realised we were the only tourists in sight so it was ok! We looked at a few butterflies (boyf getting bored - not his cuppa tea!) and we left to go to some Hot Springs. I dont know where they were but we were in a hotel which seemed really secluded. Sorry, I dont know the name of it! We paid 157,000Rp ea to use the "Private" hot springs for as long as we wanted. The view from our little "enclosure" was amazing. Rice paddies & jungle all over. So green & lush. We then went to Tanah Lot. There were sooo many people here as I think it was a public holiday for the Javanese. They were everywhere! We were asked a few times to be in a photo with groups of them! It made us feel like movie stars! Nyoman dropped us back at the hotel and we ventured out to Poppies Lane II which ended up being so confusing to find7! I think we walked past it twice! Eventually found it and had dinner at Kori! This turned out to be our favourite place, we ate here 3 times! The lighting is shocking as you cant see what you're ordering or eating very well but the food was yum and the service excellent! The Rock Hudson cocktail was delish!
Boyf went Scuba Diving also, which he said was awesome! He had never been before but has always wanted to. He paid about $80aus for a 30 min dive..which was great because over here you have to pay about $500 to just do the theory course! We booked this through our hotel & they arranged the transport to Nusa Dua and back. I just snorkelled as I am such a woos! Still really enjoyed that though, fish still came right to the top for me!! While we waited for our lift back we were bombarded with more Javanese people and were asked to be in about 20 different photos with different groups of them. We almost had to start charging! We headed into Kuta for some dinner, before dinner boyf did the "Slingshot" (Me again too much of a woos!) and I am glad I didnt- that thing looks scary! We had dinner at Bubba Gumps.. Very different! Food was nice though, and quite cheap.
The next day we were picked up at 12.30 to go White Water Rafting. We booked through the hotel also. The company was called Tropical Rafting and it was on the Ayung River, Ubud. I wasnt too keen at first but I thought I better do something adventurous! It turned out to be the best fun! Our captain was really funny which made us nice and relaxed..the worst part though was the walk back up...those stairs are an absolute killer!! My legs ached for 2 days after that!! Shows how fit I am!! We got back up at around 5pm and we were starving..we were served a three course meal which was delicious. It was very well worth it! We went into Kuta that night and bought some DVD's from a shop on the main street (cant think of the name) I bought 50 and got 20 free.. paid 10,000Rp ea...so far they have all been pretty good quality. I didnt check any of them at the shop, just when I got home.
The next day was our 4th day out with Nyoman. It was a very long day. He was taking us to Singaraja, the village where he came from and where his parents live. Its a 3 hour drive from Legian. We stopped on the way at the Crocodile Park, which I regret stopping at. It was not a pleasant place. We paid 75,000Rp ea to get in. There were enclosures of crocodiles everywhere, some were sitting right on top of each other and others on their own. They didnt appear to be very well looked after and the enclosures didnt look very secure!! Our guide asked us if we wanted to pay 50,000Rp to feed a duck to a whole family of crocs. I assumed it would be a dead duck but then realised after we paid our money what I had just done. He reached into a cage full of fluffy brown quacking ducks! I have never felt so awful..I paid for a live duck to be thrown in!! I couldnt bare to look, I even started to cry. That was enough for me!
We then stopped at Git Git Waterfall which was absolutely beautiful! The water is crystal clear and so clean & fresh. It made you want to dive in! We paid 3,000Rp ea to have a look at it. There are quite a few people trying to sell you things on the way down, like drinks out of an ice chest, sarongs, shirts etc...but its well worth it.
We also stopped at Lovina Beach, the black sand beach. We were the only ones around apart from 2 little boys selling shell necklaces which I bought two of because the boys were so nice!
We finally reached his parents place in their village. It was so nice up around this area. Lots & lots of rice terraces & lush green jungle and much quieter up here. His parents were the lovliest people. They couldnt speak any English but they were so happy we were there. His father cut down a mango each for us and a coconut to drink. I asked Nyoman if I could take a photo of him & his parents and they quickly rushed inside to put on their best outfits especially for the photo. It truly was an amazing experience.
Our holiday was coming to an end and we were getting quite sad thinking about packing up to leave :( We spent the last few days looking around the streets, shopping etc. We mainly shopped at the Legian Markets which we found to be good. I bought sarongs and skirts and boyf bought many bintang singlets and boardies!! We also liked Discovery Mall.
We had such an excellent holiday and we felt quite safe the whole time. The only time I felt scared was when we were in Discovery Mall when all of a sudden all the lights went off. You couldnt see anything at all.. i grabbed onto boyf's arm so tight waiting for a bomb to go off or something terrible like that. My hands were sweating & my heart pounding..luckilly though it was just a power faliure & they turned back on after about 30 seconds! Phew!
I would definately recommend Nyoman to anyone. He is the nicest, most genuine and honest man. He would go out of his way to do anything for us. If anyone would like his details please let me know and I will pass them on.
This has turned out to be quite long, but I have still probably missed heaps of things! If anyone has any questions please ask!
Thanks for reading,
Emma