This should be the final one....hope I haven't sent you all off to sleep!!
I forgot to mention about another incident we had in Bali. Jodie got a UTI and we did not bring anything with us to relieve the pain. Off to the apotek (chemist) to see if we could find some Ural or get a pharmacist to help recommend something else. I went to the Guardian Pharmacy on Jl Melasti, just past Garlic Lane heading towards Jl Legian. Well, what a shemozzle! We couldn't find any Ural, so we attempted to explain the problem, which caused them all to laugh! Jodie was very embarrassed & couldn't get out of the store quick enough! We then walked through every corner store looking for cranberry juice, with no luck, so we settled on yakult & apparently that did the trick! Next time, we'll make sure that we pack a couple of s packets of Ural, just in case!
On with the final sections
PAMPERING
This is why we love Bali sooooo much (well, along with the people, weather, food, shopping, et al...what's not to love??). Loved getting pampered for next to nothing, as we don't get any of these treatments done back home cause it's too expensive. We only went to a couple of places a few times, but I think next time I'll be spending a lot more time getting pampered!!
* Putri Spa, in a lane off Jl Padma Utara, near the new hotel (All Seasons?? Can't remember!). We had an hours massage & a pedicure each, and I do remember it being very cheap. The only thing I did not like was that we were not given a towel/sarong to cover up our 'bits' while being massaged and, as we were not planning to go & it was a spur of the moment decision to go, we were all wearing our underwear & not our cosies. I just felt a bit uncomfortable about it. Also, the lady massaging me was drinking a bottle of coke during my massage & was burping all the time. She then had to go to the toilet, which was attached to the massage room, didn't close the door, I heard EVERYTHING....including her not washing her hands afterwards & coming straight back to massage me. Now, I am not that big of a germ freak & that good old phrase 'its not wrong, just different' may have a place in this situation but......it was all I could think about after that!! Needless to say we did not return back.
* Melasti Beach Spa. All I can say is wow! It is fantastic! I believe they have moved or refurbished the place, but its huge & they have heaps of rooms & workers there & are always busy. We had the 1 hr massage & body scrub a couple of times, which is absolutely divine! I also went there for a 1 hr facial, which made my skin glow. They more expensive than the Putri, especially since they add on the tax & service charge to their prices, but I believe they are first rate. Also, they do have a half price special going.....which has been on since October last year & looks unlikely to finish! If they do, then I think it would be too expensive, well for Bali standards anyway! Larissa also went there on our last day to get a manicure & pedicure done & they did a terrific job. They French polished her fingernails & then put the flowers over the top. Next time will definitely spend more time & money here!!
* Beach sellers out the front of the LBH. We got our nails done here quite a few times over the 2 weeks. They remembered us from last year, which was nice. We paid about 70,000rp each time for a manicure/pedicure, which may be deemed to be too much by some, but I go on the belief that if you are happy to pay that price, then why haggle over something worth nothing to us, but could mean the difference between their children eating a meal or not. On the plane on the way back, when I told a guy how much I paid for this, he laughed at me & said I got ripped off & should have only paid 20,000rp. Hopefully, I would like to believe more people would agree with me on that point!
FEW TIPS/OBSERVATIONS
Just thought I would wrap up my JBRs with a few tips I have picked up along the way. Some may not help the seasoned Bali travellers, but I am sure they would be useful to others!
1. Try to learn some really basic bahasa Indonesia. The locals really do appreciate it!
2. Don't pay for transfers with your package, as it is very expensive, compared to getting a taxi from the airport or arranging for a driver to pick you up. Last year, our previous TA (emphasis on previous!) actually talked us into getting private transfers! I think we paid about $40-50 each for this privilege. Obviously, we booked before we found this great forum & were none the wiser...from the way the TA was talking about it, I had visions of a stretch limo picking us up!! Since there were 3 of us this trip & we all wanted to travel together in one car, we got a driver to pick us up for 50,000RP...$6.66 for the 3 of us! Oh well, you live & learn....which leads to my next tip
3. Do look around for quotes. Our TA that we used last year quoted us nearly $600 EACH for what we ended up paying...for exactly the same thing! Unbelievable! We used Nicki (Nicno on here) & she is an absolute doll....even when I was giving her grief about problems we were having confirming our hotel booking. We will definitely be using her again.
4. Do be generous when bargaining & realise that 5,000RP is less than a $1 to us, but could mean a weeks supply of rice of their families. On the last day, if I got a price of 60,000RP, but only had 70,000RP in notes, I just gave them that & told them not to worry about the change. Some of them couldn't believe it & still wanted to give me the change! One guy actually gave me some incense & a big hug, so I felt that I actually received more in their gestures from what I actually gave.....if that makes any sense?!!
5. Do use the blue taxis, which I noticed have upgraded their fleet of cars. Must be because of all the BTFers telling everyone to use them!! However, because they are always busy, some times we had to wait awhile for a free one to become available, while many of the other taxis drove by empty! We did catch one of the other taxis on the way home from Paddies one night & I think he had his meter rigged, as it cost 10,000RP to get to the LBH when the streets were deserted! We rarely paid more than 12,000RP to get to Tuban in bumper-to-bumper traffic, so I don't think I will use them again.
Finally finished!! Hope you are still all awake & I haven't bored you all to death! I just want to say thanks for everyone whose bits of info I have taken from the forum, especially Didiaust Do's & Don't's list, Donron's price guide, LynneD's restaurant guide, Filo's toilet guide, et al. Also, a big thanks to Colleen, how gave me a heap of information before we left that was greatly appreciated. I had notes printed off, but I thought one day that the room cleaner threw them out.....mad panic!! Quickly went to the internet café & was able to print off those emails again. Phew! We later uncovered the sheets had fallen behind one of our suitcases....oops!
Anyway, if anyone has any questions, please email me.
Cheers!
Bec