Just arrived back on the weekend, here is my first JBR. First off, thanks to everyone for their great information, tips and suggestions that I had cut and pasted over the month prior to our visit and compiled our first Bali bible. I then cut and glued them into a note book in chapters: activities, shopping, eating, information etc. leaving room for our comments/prices and future suggestions. Husband, wife and 11 yr son travelled, our second trip to Bali. So here goes........
Surfing - great everyday, husband surfed 9 out of 10 days. Legian down to Dreamland. Weather perfect the entire time.
Hotel - Bali Mandira, Legian. Ex for everything, especially for M. for surfing, straight our front. Great pool area and table tennis table.
Shopping - Miss Debby's - Garlic Lane, ex. for quality surfing brand gear, all sizes and will of course 'find' more of anything and everything and quite she's lovely with it. Geneva fantastic easy shopping, husband wanted to fill a container, fixed prices, great for gift buying, curtains, furnishings, handicrafts etc... Bintang Original shop at Centro, husband shopped up big time again. Breadtalk Centro & Tuban was truly delicious!! Matahari's 50% off racks well worth a look, blacks jeans $12, black trousers $8 reg. jeans $15, pink cute leather shoes $15, L'Oreal moist. $12, Revlon nailp. $3, lip. $4, Nivea body lotion $2. Rama Jama, Robinson Denpasar great for mens and boys clothes/shoes but have to search however ex. prices and well worth the trip. Fantasy by Tini- Bemo Corner, amazing dresses, bought gown for ball, tried on 18, finally chose a beautiful cream gown. Denpasar markets, great photo place, loved it all but not for the faint hearted. I love photography so I took loads of photos of the local people/food/flowers etc. and always asked permission.
DVD's - and Xbox games, CD's, 'H' Ex. and delivered to hotel. All Xbox games work much to the delight of son.
Restaurants - well where do I start, ALL the food was truly great this time, some places were just better, friends joined us each night so there was 6 of us which made it so much more fun, here we go in no particular order:
Queen's Tandoor -Seminyak, my favourite, so worth the taxi ride - 6 of us squeezed in, food divine, service fantastic, all voted it the winner this year. $37 for a feast!! for both kings and queens.
Indo - great, very busy, good service, didn't enjoy my steak, M. Loved his Bali Chicken.
Ketumba - Jl Melasti, went twice, the family winner of Best of Everything - food service, location, décor. We had Greek Salad, satay, hungry butcher, best club sandwiches, son had calamari both times. Save room for the best desserts, crème brulee for M. and chocolate 'mouse' son and I shared both times. Around $30 for 3 of us each time. Would have gone more times but had a few more places on my list I wanted to try.
Jonis - Jl Padma for Mexican OK meals for 3 - $18, no Bintangs that night.
Puri Bali Indah - Jl Melasti, good Chinese $15 for 3 meals 1 Bintang
Wyan and Friends for lunch - OK
Ours - Garlic Lane, lunch good welcome/service from Nicky and staff.
Happy Hours at Garden View with loads of laughs with friends trading gossip and hearsay for her 'New Idea 'column or on the beach, Bintang Bintang Bintang...
Sunday Night Roast Dinner - Garden View, $8 each, including apple pie and ice cream yum, fun night, loads of laughs.
Business Cards - DekaGrafika on Jl Padma, good quality,
Laundry/Tailor - Pelangi - opposite Garden View to right, up approx. 6 shops, silver door, knock loud, call out and wall down entrance. Love the laundry services in Bali - 26 pieces for $6, made son new TaeKwondo pants, I took his old ones and they made an exact copy, hemmed trousers, repaired trouser, for $20
Waterbom - second visit there and still good, $100 for husband and son, good food and fun.
Paintball Park - Budang, this was truly the high light of our trip for 11yr old son!!!! he can't wait to go back. Father and son day out, they collected them from our Hotel. Everything plus more for them. They will go next year twice and give Waterbom a miss. They really had a fantastic time here. Around $50 each - 350,000rph discount entrance and included everything, they didn't need to buy additional ammo. $7 - 50,000 rph minivan return - they arranged, a bargain considering the distance south from Legain. Plus photo CD which was ex. - www.paintballbali.com A MUST do again. Ph 361 770300
2 days at Lovina, stayed at Melka Excelsior $35 for the room/breakfast, very nice only one other couple there. 'Wild Life Sanctuary' out the back - very umm, different, 2 dolphins in a swimming pool, otters, monkeys, deers and other creatures, e mail me if want. Ate at local rest. All good food.
Visited Helen Flavel Learning Center, Singaraja, just fantastic what they are doing up there. Made so welcomed, son shy so played table tennis on both visits with the older boys, took 3 huge suitcases/stripped bags of school supplies, clothes etc.. for them and a local village school further up the mountain that we visited. Their next project is to build a dormitory on the second floor so children can stay there Mon-Fri. Truly wonderful, dedicated people. A very worthy cause to support. So glad we visited them and sightseeing, first time up North. If people want to take supplies/clothes etc. for these schools and not travel north, they will arrange for the gear to be collected from your Hotel. Garuda gave us an extra 10 kilos per person on flight over, and we exceeded that but were fine to check it all in. www.helenflavelfoundation.org please check them out.
Summing up, another fantastic trip, happier people, excellent service, cleaner streets, food even better this time thanks for your suggestions, dogs healthier and 'fatter", still very quiet tourist wise on the streets. No illness, maybe due to raspberry each am, as was suggested. Money changing good, only once short changed but picked it up before we left changer, used the same place nearly every time - Kodak next to Garden View. Flight over delayed, 3 dreadful toilets and 7-8 young, loud, travellers in a very sorry state, not pleasant for those close by. Flight home delayed but much more peaceful. Very quick and easy VOA and return customs etc. Buy duty free before leaving Brisbane - they hold it for you and then just to collect it as you walk past on your return, too easy. Can't wait to get back there.
If any anyone has any questions or wants more detail/prices, please ask or email me at home. Thanks