I'm a first time poster and thought I might share my most recent trip to Bali with the family with you all as before we ventured over I was reading the forum for hours every day and picked up so much good info that maybe someone can get some useful help from our trip.
We(wife Fiona, son cameron 15 and I Peter, were in bali 2 weeks and daughter Steph 17, joined us for the last week) we arrived From Hot steamy Darwin on Jan 12th after a quick 2hr 20min flight and unlike most whom we read about on the BTF, found the weather quite nice and cooler and less humid than home. The flight(full) over on garuda was uneventful, but you knew you were on Garuda when the movie started and a couple of the TV's didn't work and the sound was so low almost every person spent most of the flight with one or both hands on their ears pushing on the headphones trying to hear the movie. its very difficult to eat chicken and noodles and try to hold earphones in one's ear. The only thing that was loud was when someone binged the hostie call button and 100 odd people all ripped their headphones off and started shaking their heads as the bing almost blew out everyone's eardrums. We left Darwin at 7.30am and with the time difference landed at a almost empty airport at 8.35am Bali time, visa and customs were a breeze and then off to the MBR in our bus.
We actually were travelling with other friends, Husband and wife Harry and Lee and their 2 sons Matt and Jake 17 and 15 respectively and another friend Doug and son Todd who is 13.
We had all been to Bali a number of times, the last time for my family was July 2005 and this was the first time for any of us at this time of year(rainy season).
We got into our rooms at the MBR by 10am we had one of the older suites(they are huge) room 101 near the big pool and the others had rooms in the newer part that were also very big and comfortable.
A quick walk down the path to the beach was first priority followed by a quick Bintang and fruit juice for the kids. a wander around and changing money was next followed by food and quick trip to familarise ourselves with the area. My family and I had stayed at the MBR in 1998 and thoroughly enjoyed it and the room size and were happy to be back, it is very well situated and easy to get to(except for the roadworks that were happening at the time)and very central to heaps of eating and drinking places. We stayed at the Pelangi in 2005 and also liked the Hotel etc but it was very hard to get to and from.
We found no fault with the MBR breakfast(well the bacon could be better quality) nor the pool and will probaly stay there whenever we visit Bali again. As you seem to do on day number One in Bali, the men gravitated towards the swim-up bar for Bintang in the arvo while the girls chatted and relaxed in and out of the water. Too many beers later it was time for a quick nap.
The next few days were spent just eating, drinking, organising DVD hire and the early stages of the inevitable shoppa-thon. The dvd hire was 20,000rp a day and a great investment especially for me. I was on a mission to get some stubby coolers made up for my running group back home and on day 4 after searching for some places suggested on the forum but not having any luck finding them , I settled on a little place up a dodgy looking alley opposite Posers bar and grill? I paid slightly more than I had planned but there was a fair bit of printing and a logo that needed to be copied and I was happy with the end result. Getting a 100 coolers home in limited luggage space along with over 100 dvds etc and clothes was a nightmare, but by jamming them in anywhere and everywhere I got them back ok.
Everyone tended to go their own way during the day (as you do) and then we all went as a group for dinner. having been to Bali before and after the first bombing and before and after the 2nd one, if anyone tells you the tourist numbers are back up as I have been reading lately then my eyesight must be worse than I thought. During the day you could wander down the main area of Legian rd and look and and down the road and hardly see another tourist. Things are very quiet and the shops and restuarants are almost empty in the day time though at night many of the eating places seem to fill up, but boy the Balinese are doing it tough. But we did our bit for the economy and tried not to bargain the locals down too much and personally I paid way too much for plenty of the things I bought but they need all the help they can get.
Unfortunately for me by the end of day 4 the stomach started to cramp and the Loo beckoned me many times, I had experienced the real Bali belly back in 1981 and ws not looking forward to what was coming.
Luckily it wasn't as bad as 1981 and I think I had more of a virus, hot sweats and cold chills, dying rear and stomach pain but thankfully no driving of the porcelain Bus . It got a bit monotonous after a while saying see ya to the family and friends as they went of to yet another restaurant/bar for food and Bintang while I lay there groaning and sipping electrolite drinks and the occasional dry biscuit watching dvd's and the tennis(life can so unfair at times) By day 4 in bed I had had enough and got a doctor to visit and A$190 later I was on my way back to beer drinking health(just)a day or so later.
It was a full week before I could eat and drink like one should in Bali, but that's life. The kids filled in their days boogie boarding or attempting to surf and shopping in the many surf shop outlets, got bangles and bought fireworks and bargained for BB guns that fell apart after firing off about 2 shots( they have to learn the hard way) or they hung aroud the pool. They boys went to Waterbom for a day on their own and seemed to enjoy it immensly especially the new ride(can't remember its name). I missed going to Waterbom as I did going up country for the Bike tour but Fiona, Cam and Doug all said it was worth the long bus trip there and back(they went with Sobek tours).
In the 2nd week after my recovery the 2 families did the Whitewater rafting, despite 6 trips or so to bali I had never been to the WWR, we did the long one 12k again with Sobek and it was a real hoot, except for the long stair climb at the end which had most of us gasping for breathe, even the fit youngsters. Fiona and I both managed to fall out of the raft at different times and god knows how that skinny little boat capt dragged my 100 kilo frame back in but I'm glad he did, he and fiona both fell out at one stage, I got the blame for that as well..not sure but once again my size was mentioned as a possible reason..boat balance??. I must admit it was pretty funny when they both went leaving Cam and I looking at each other thinking holy cow now what do we do now as we were rapidily moving further down river away from Fiona hanging on grimmly to a rock in the middle of the river and our boat capt scrambling through the water trying to help her. All ended well apart from Fiona getting a cut and bruise on one shin and a few bruises for me and I for the life of me cannot remember who our raft capt was but he was very good in a tricky situation and we were grateful for his help and quick actions. The see smile on his face after Fiona tipped him at the end of the trip was worth the bruises we got.
I should end now and will finish another day.