Please be aware that this, and following parts of our JBR, are personal observations only, of which hopefully some information may be of assistance to others, I do not normally quote prices, (as many other 'professional' shoppers have this well covered) unless to assist in making a point.
We left Perth a week ago last Saturday, for 9 days in beautiful Bali, we went by Air Paradise and we can not speak highly enough of them, we actually left 15 minutes early, having boarded 30 minutes prior to the schedule departure time, everything went very smoothly so the Captain said lets go!
Flight smooth, food good, drinks plenty, service excellent, seats comfortable, one or two spare seats in the front section and some down the back, despite friends being told this was a full booked plane, and having ourselves been waitlisted for a couple of weeks back in February, when we booked, don't know how or why it works this way?
VOA no problem, fortunately the AP Flight times have us arriving (both coming and going) as the only flight being processed, another big plus for AP, the only thing one might say is that at least the VOA officials could smile as they take your $25US 'donation' to the Indo economy! {;o)
Managed to dodge the 'Porters' but then got caught by the 'Taxi Porters', which grabbed our bags while I was purchasing the voucher, luckily I had a couple of $AU coins which I gave them, despite them showing me a $10 note and requesting the same to drag two bags 100 meters!
Found the Griya Santrian as delightful as ever, our requested room, Superior Beach 112, ground floor overlooking the fish pond, pool, palm trees and ocean, was not ready (6 pm late checkout), so they put us in a Garden Wing room, this is the first time we had look at these.
They appear to be the same overall size and design as the Beach, however the bathrooms extends into the bedroom by about a meter which gives it more space to allow for a separate shower recess and a bath, rather than a combined one in the Beach rooms.
Didn't bother to unpack, rather just went and changed some money, checked out the local stall prices, and went to find the 'Phone Lady' at Hardys as recommended by Tina G, thanks Tina she was just so helpful, got it all sorted and SMS's are the way to go, at 500RP to Aus it's so cheap to keep in contact, even a phone call to Daughter only ended up costing about 20K Rp, @ 7.7K Rp exchange rate that's about $2.50.
Hardys grocery section on the bottom floor has an extended range of just about anything you could want, and or could purchase at Makro, and at about the same price, if your in Sanur save the Taxi Fare and shop here for your Oral B Toothbrushes!
Bintang large 8.2K, small 4.3K, local 'Scotch' (firewater) on special @ 65K for 700ml bottle that's about $9AU, mind you it tastes like a $9 'Scotch'!
Walked back to the Lazar Sports Bar, for our first icy cold Bintang, and just in time to watch the last quarter of the Eagles / Crows game, sorry no SA Supporters there, probably just as well, anyway we all booked or spot for the following Grand Final Saturday!
Back to the Griya and popped down to the pool bar for our free welcome cocktail and then enjoyed a delightful dinner in the restaurant, by which time our luggage had been moved to our requested room, which had been made ready for us.
How relaxing this is, the cool breeze heavy with that frangipani scent, the waves breaking on the reef, the all but full moon glinting on the still waters of the Sanur Lagoon, the soft lights illuminating the tops of the palm trees, this is our Bali, and what more could you ask for. {:o)
To be continued, regards BJC.