Background: Single female 32, travelling solo on 5th trip to Bali
FLIGHTS OVER
Flew over with Jetstar from Brisbane. Before checking in, scanned the list of flights on Jetstar and couldn't see my flight to Sydney (no direct flights from Brissy). Experienced a mild bit of panic, but found out that although on a Jetstar flight number, the flight was operated by Qantas. I arrived in Sydney a few hours before check in for international was required so hopped on the train and got off at Circular Quay to spend an hour and grab some lunch. It was a beautiful day and I really enjoyed meandering around. Time flew by so I skulled the remnants of my coffee and headed back to the airport. The check in lines at Jetstar in Sydney were tiny, so within 10 minutes I was checked in, through immigration and browsing in duty free. I was keen to buy some perfume, but was overwhelmed by selection so probably spent about half an hour too-ing and fro-ing before finally selecting Guerlain's new fragrance 'Insolence' plus a Paris perfume and lotion kit for backup!
Selected a few magazines for in flight reading and hunted down a feed as I knew I wouldn't be getting one on Jetstar. Not that I was spoiled with choice, I was surprised at how small the shopping and eating area is within the international terminal in Sydney.
We boarded the plane and probably left about half and hour late, though impressively the time was made up and we landed in Bali on time. Everyone had a bottle of water on their seats when boarding, and I had ordered the on-flight entertainment and I must say I was rapt with it. I can never sleep on planes, so this kept me content as I usually feel like climbing the walls with boredom. Would definitely hire it again if flying Jetstar. I had some chips and chocolate to keep me replenished but bought a coke ($2 for small can) and coffee ($3 for a Robert Timms coffee bag + water and milk). Couldn't really complain about anything on the way over. Well except for the dilemma that I always have - people putting their seat back!! Look I'm all for people being comfortable on their flights but I don't think you need the seat back for the whole flight! However I had a mum and approx 4yo in front of me and she had the seats reclined for the whole flight, no biggie, probably easier with the littley. But when I go to put my seat back the fellow behind me keeps kneeing the back of my seat and tutting. I hadn't even reclined the whole way at this stage. So I put up with this for a little while before putting my seat back into sitting position and then reclining it fully. I then put it back into about halfway reclined and did not get any further knees or tuts! I'm quite happy not to recline my seat at all but if the person in front of you is reclining theirs then as if you are going to sit in the piddling amount of space you have left. Ah the challenges of international travel! LOL
ARRIVAL IN BALI
We must have been the only plane that landed as we absolutely flew through immigration, within ten minutes of landing I had my luggage and headed out to face the throngs!
HARD ROCK HOTEL
I always use transfers, more expensive I know but I like to have someone there to pick me up. As luck would have it, I saw my name card immediately and had time for a quick smoke and chat with the driver before we take off in a lovely air-conditioned van for the short trip to the Hard Rock. Well I say short but for some reason Jl Kartika Plaza was full of traffic so it took us awhile to get through, but I was happy to take in the sights and sounds and enjoy being back in Bali.
This was my second time staying at The Hard Rock and what can I say? It has really grown on me. I was only in Bali for four nights (I work shift work and had five days off). If you want a genuine Bali experience then the Hard Rock is not for you. It is a huge complex so it's not really a place for meeting people either. But if you are looking for some R&R then it is great. I was in a superior room which has a king size bed, in room safe, cd player, balcony, bath/shower, cable tv etc. More than adequate for my needs. I was in the 'Pop' wing so was not too close to Centrestage and was not at any stage affected by noise. The Hard Rock is so themed it's kitsch but kind of cool. Most fabulous is the swimming pool, tres magnifique! So huge, you need never get up early to bar the sun lounges! The water is always cool and refreshing and a little known secret is that somehow they have music playing underwater, so you can lay back and float around and still rock out!
Buffet breakfast was included in my package and you can't really complain about the selection available. Fruits, cereals, yogurts, breads, cakes, an array of hot foods eg eggs, bacon, sausage & baked beans, as well Indonesian foods like nasi goreng etc, also pancakes and bread and butter pudding. Percolated coffee is served to you and topped up regularly, or else they have juices available (help yourself).
I got room service once and ate at Splash Bistro (situated beside the pool) a few times. The food was great and could not be faulted, pricewise certainly not as cheap as you could get it on the streets but definitely on par with Australia. I also went to the deli at the Hard Rock a few times, they did great baguettes and decent coffees and you can use the internet there as well. Definitely try the brownies if you go there!
SOCIALISING/ ACTIVITIES
Being a bit of a forum junkie, I had arranged a few meetings with members from the Bali Forum and the Bali Travel Forum. My first catch up was the morning after I arrived with Alex aka Matrix from the BF. Sweetly enough, even though I was travelling solo the Hard Rock had given me two vouchers for breakfast every morning so it meant I could shout Alex his. It was great to put a face to the name and we enjoyed a nice chat over bacon, eggs and coffee.
I had tried to book a lady from the BTF (Bev aka BJohn) and myself on Bali Buddaya Eco Tours to get mountain biking but had no response to an email I sent them. I had sort of given up on doing it but when I got to Sydney Airport, Bev had sent me an email asking if I was still keen. I let her know that I was and gave her my contact details in Bali. Well after my breakfast with Alex, I hit the shops for awhile and headed back to my room when the phone rang and it was Bev. She had booked the tour and I was getting picked up at 7.00 in the morning from my hotel. So thanks for organising that Bev! I have done the bike ride a few times before, but really enjoy driving around Bali and then riding through the little villages. It was quite a small group this time, just Bev, myself and another party of four. We had some banana pancakes and coffee at a restaurant near Kintamani then cruised down to pick up our bikes. The ride itself is all down hill so pretty easy and just great fun, yelling out 'hello' to all the Balinese children as you ride past. There are quite a few stops on the way eg at a temple, a weavers, off road to try local fruits, at a giant banyan tree, rice paddies etc. So there are plenty of chances to rest and rehydrate. When we get to the end, our guide asks us if we want to go further if we are 'atheletic'. Now I can ride a bike but I am not 'athletic' and didn't really feel like going any further but everyone else was as keen as mustard so not wanting to look lazy decided to keep riding as well. BIG MISTAKE! No more down hill riding, oh no! All up hill for the athletic! I puffed and panted my way up a few hills, consoling myself that there was still one person riding behind me, and thinking that once we get over these hills there must be a bit of down hill or at least flat road. WRONG! The hills continued and I had to get off and walk for awhile as the group rode further away from me. 'You want get in?' asked the driver of our van and I admit defeat and get in. The straggler riding behind me rides past, not even sweating very much but as she faces the hills in front of her, she too admits defeat, to my glee at not being the only piker! As we drove over the hills I was indeed glad I got in when I did, let's face it I'm no Lance Armstrong. Lunch was provided at the Appi Appi Café on the outskirts of Ubud, a buffet lunch of standard Indonesian fare which was divine. We got back to Kuta at about 3.00, it was a great day, thanks once again to Bev for organising it.
Had dinner one night at the Indonational with a group from the BTF. I was the first to arrive and was greeted warmly by Milton, everyone soon arrived - probably about 20 people in all. I had spring roll starter which was great, probably too big as I did not make much of a dent in my nasi goreng main. With a few bourbon and cokes my meal came to 100 000. It was a great night meeting the other forumites, I of course was one of the last to leave. I was very impressed with the service and would go there again. As I was in Kuta, and it was about 10.30 at night I thought I would get a cab back but as luck would have it none were around so decided to walk back along Jl Legian. Was a bit tiddly and must say I did not enjoy the walk home as being a single female was accosted for 'massage' etc all the way! There were a few cabs around about halfway back to the Hard Rock but my stubbornness prevailed and kept going.
Restaurant wise, I did eat at the hotel a bit but stopped in at my old favourite Bamboo Corner on Poppies 1, for an orange & lemon squash (doesn't sound that great but really refreshing)and nasi goreng, aprox 15 000 for both.
SHOPPING
To be honest, I'm over bargaining! I'm crap at it anyway. I bought a pair of wrap pants, a dress and shirt and a stall and paid way too much but still cheaper than I would have in Aus. I thought the lady at the stall started ridiculously high so it was hard to get a good price.
Animale
Everywhere had big sales on (due to Chinese New Year), all the downstairs section at Animale was marked down and I bought a fantastic blouse and a dress from here for about 275 000 all up(half price each). They were really different from anything I have seen here in Aus.
Matahari
Stocked up on lots of baby clothes here, not for myself but my mates who have littlies. Matahari had sales on as well, best buy was a couple of Ninja Turtle button up shirts which were cool as, got them for 90% off. Also got some wooden stuff, including a big fan to put on my wall. They had some cheap little buddha paintings as well. Grocery wise, stocked up on the usual Pringles Cheezums, waters and snacks. Fruit prices were great, paid $1 for a dragonfruit compared to the $5 it would normally cost in Aus. Also stocked up here on Panadol extra, plus a great range of cold and flu tables all for approx $1 a strip.
Centro
Wasn't that impressed last time I visited Centro but must admit I got a fair bit of shopping here on my one visit this time. Best buy was a couple of caftans, really well made and comfortable to wear around the house 59 000 each. Also found some different jewellery to what I had seen in most of the stalls. Also bought some thongs. Was tempted to buy a great knock off hand bag but prices ranged from 700 000 up so wasn't that keen! Had a Krispy Kreme donut here for sustenance!
Supernova
Got some Martha Tillar here - what else??!!
CD's
I just went to CD place down from Made's Warung heading towards Matahari. Got the name of it somewhere if anyone wants details. Bought 30 here for 10 000 each and got 11 free. They had Prison Break season 2 already, I have just finished watching it and all the CD's worked perfectly. They also had Season 3 of Entourage which also worked well. These aren't available to buy in Aus yet. Also stocked up on the new releases eg Little Miss Sunshine, The Departed etc but haven't watched any of these yet.
That was the main stuff I bought, and other than that just spent a fair bit of time wandering around, swimming and sunbaking. Bliss!
FLIGHTS BACK
Now this is where the fun started. I arrived at the airport early so read my book for awhile and then headed to the Jetstar check in counter. The line was already quite long and then I was handed a piece of paper from the travellers before me in line, which stated that the check in system was down and there would be delays checking in as they had to do it manually. I groaned to myself but was surprised at how quickly they did end up processing everyone. Very strict at the airport, all bags were tested for explosives including hand luggage. I still had a fair bit of time to kill so thought I would try and find one of the lounges that I had read about on the forum. I remembered someone saying something about upstairs from Gate 1 so headed up that way. It was $20 US to go in, I had left myself a couple of hundred thousand specifically for this so all was good. Not sure what lounge it was but I loved it! A great array of drinks, with some great finger food hot and cold, lovely little cakes. Newspapers + free internet access. Really comfortable seating, with balcony for us smokers. I saw some people getting foot massages, not sure if that was free but if so will definitely get one next time.
Bit of a counter story here - after I had arrived I rang my mother to tell her I had arrived safely. I had arranged for Global Roaming (I'm with Vodafone) which I have used in Bangkok and London but for some reason it did not work in Bali so I just went to a Wartel. When I had contacted her she said my grandfather had been hospitalised and that he may have had some small strokes but was ok now. I gave her the contact details for the Hard Rock but did not hear anymore from her re grandad. Though in saying that, the day after we had spoken I had an odd feeling every time I entered my room that there would be a message for me saying he had died. But nothing had happened, so I decided to surf the net whilst waiting for my flight. I got to have a browse of my cousin's website when the words hit me 'RIP Grandad' and I get the sickest feeling in my stomach as I know he has died. I felt torn between being furious at my mother for not telling me to being understanding as I know she knew I would have tried to get home and there was nothing that I could have done anyway. It was strange as I had gone from being happy with all and delighted at the spread in front of me to feeling shellshocked. I log off the internet and have two cigarettes in quick succession before we are called to board our flight. It is 11.00 in bali so therefore 1.00am in Brisbane so I know I can't call home and will have to wait until I land before ringing.
Once we are all boarded, there is a delay of at least 45 minutes as the cabin crew cannot get their passenger numbers to tally up. Everyone sits there getting more and more ropable and the crew wanders up and down the aisles counting. Finally we take off. I can't sleep so watch The Queen on DVD and then just flick through the channels until we land in Melbourne. I turn my phone and immediately get inundated with messages arriving. I ring mum and get the details of what happened, it still feels very unreal to me at this stage. It took ages to get through customs, which meant I missed my connecting flight to Brisbane but was just put on the next one so that was fine. It gave me time to grab some caffeine anyway.
So that was my trip, this has gone on for much longer that I thought it would sorry! I did have a great time even if I had some sad news at the end. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.