Can't believe I am back in suburbia after yet another wonderful trip to Bali, this one being my 10th and the family's 5th. We stayed at our usual hotel being the Melasti Beach Resort in Legian in the old suite rooms which we love because of the large size rooms. Room 117 on the ground floor suited us and was right between pool and beach so very happy with that.
Lots of people staying at the melasti over the 2 weeks and plenty of kids to play with our daughters aged 8 and 10. We met some wonderful people around the pool and shared lots of laughs and shopping hints each day which was always fun.
Trip highlights
Swimming with the dolphins at the Melka hotel was a wonderful experience. There was 7 of us did the trip up to Lovina for the day to do this and it was well worth the drive even though it took a while to get there. There are 3 pools and each pool have 2 dolphins in it being 2 baby dolphins, 2 males and 2 females. They are wonderful creatures and very gentle and playful as well. I got lost just looking into their eyes, they really appear to love people and playing around with them in the pool.
for 2 adults and kids to swim with the dolpins it was 450,000rupiah for 1/2 an hour, even though we were all in there for at least an hour. My husband swam with the males who were very frisky if you know what I mean and at one stage he tried to get out for a rest but they nudged him back in the pool for more fun. My husband was exhausted after his swim and they all got plenty of exercise.
We stayed at the hotel and had a very nice reasonably priced nasi goreng special yummo, but my eldest daughter was the envy of all. We had bought punnets of strawberries on the way up and we washed them and ordered ice cream for her so she scoffed into that.
2nd highlight
Our bicycle tour with Bali budaya eco cycling tour. We did this last year and enjoyed it so much that we did it again and took mum with us. We were picked up at 7.15am and taken to kintimani for a yummy breakfast overlooking the volcanoe eating pancakes and fresh fruit. we then drove 10 kms downwards and picked up our bikes and rode for 25kms through villages and rice paddies stopping at various places to learn about balinese culture.
The ride is very easy as it is all flat and slightly down hill so anyone would be able to do it. My youngest daughter who is nearly 8 has only been riding bikes for a short while and one of the guides whose name was Win stuck to her like glue making sure she was safe at all times. I was so impressed with his concern for my daughter throughout the trip I gave him a generous tip at the end when we had made it to our destination safely.
We finished off the trip with a wonderful freshly cooked balinese feast of approx 9 different dishes that even the kids liked. The trip cost approx $40 per person and is a great day out.
My next JBR I will tell you where we ate and shopped. Any questions about any of the above just ask and I will be happy to answer but if you are going to have a go about the dolphin swimming don't bother!!!
cheers
kathy