We have been back just over a week now (feels longer!!!) from our month long Bali holiday (seemed shorter!!!). And, wow, what a time we had! I must apologise up front to those friends & forumites we fully intended to contact whilst over there, but just didn't get around to calling! The time went so quickly & we moved around lots and before we knew it we were home. We're already planning our next trip & can't wait to get back!
A couple of general things worth noting:
We only used our credit card at the hotels we stayed at and have had no problems/security issues with it. We only use Bluebird taxis - I know some people argue that they're all the same, but we have found that others sometimes have faster meters or drive us crazy trying to organise a ‘program' for outings such as dinner at Jimbaran Bay. We've never had this happen with Bluebird, so we stick with them.
TUBAN:
Hotel - Febri's:
Once again, we had a wonderful stay at Febri's. You just can't beat it for value if you want a new hotel with huge rooms, great service and very cheap room service/restaurant prices. We had a family room, which is huge with a queen bed and bunks for the kids and enough room to swing several cats! The rooms have a full size fridge, tea & coffee making facilities, in room safe, wardrobe, cable TV with all imaginable channels, and a lounge that can fold out into a bed.
My favourites in the restaurant are the tuna with Balinese spices, which comes skewered on a lemongrass stick (I ask for it medium-rare for it to be cooked to perfection) and their strawberry juice (just add arak for something very similar to a strawberry daquiri!) And at Rp25,000 for the tuna and 14,000 for the strawberry juice, the price is right!
The breakfast at Febri's consists of toast, fruit, juice, tea & coffee, and several hot dishes - some Indo and some western. If that's not enough, you can order extras for a very minimal charge.
Shopping
Black & White Sports Store, Jalan Kartika Plaza on the opposite side to & just north of the Green Garden Hotel:
We bought some of the skate shoes that have the retractable skates in the bottom of them for our 6 yr old for a fixed price of Rp135,000 and we're really happy with them. They're not leather, but they're pink and sparkly & she loves them! They also have adults joggers here (not huge sizes) and general supplies such as toiletries, drinks, postcards, etc.
Jeny 29, Jalan Kartika Plaza, Gang Samudra No.29, right down at the beach end, second to last stall:
Jeny's will be moving from here by October, as the Ramada are apparently building some new villas & these stalls are on their land, so they'll be kicked out. Amy (the owner - Jeny is her Mum, who runs Jeny 29 at Sindhu Markets in Sanur) will let me know where she's moving to & I'll post on here as soon as I know. The Jeny 29 in both locations are fixed price & about as cheap as you can get - beaded thongs 20,000 for adults, 15,000 for kids, sarongs 10,000, etc, Email me if you'd like to know what else she sells - she can get anything you want with a couple of days' notice, it seems!
Diane Shop, Jalan Kartika Plaza, opposite Green Garden Hotel. Fixed price as long as you tell her that a friend sent you. She can also get all manner of things for you to buy, just ask. Email me if you want more details of what she sells. Worth noting that I found her very pushy & demanding on this trip, which I haven't experienced in the past, though I'd heard others have been put off by her pushiness. Just don't accept her pushiness & she settles pretty quickly! I actually told her that if she was too pushy I wouldn't return & she just looked sheepish & smiled & settled down.
Waterbom Park - Jalan Kartika Plaza, opposite Discovery Mall.
Just as wonderful as always, I just thought I'd include some prices here as I have some receipts:
Locker for the day:
30,000 plus a refundable key deposit of 30,000
Family size cabana for the day:
50,000 plus key deposit of 50,000
Pool Towel:
8,000 plus deposit of 54,000
I know some people have said that the food is expensive, but we haven't found that to be the case, with pizzas for AU$5, nasi goreng for AU$3, etc - we don't bother to leave for lunch, we just eat there. It's also worth noting for those who have in the past left to eat at Discovery Mall, that when we went there the foodcourt has all but closed down as most stalls have moved to the new Carrefour shopping centre. It was the same at Matahari Galleria - only a couple of places left to choose from & very, very quiet there. So sad!
That's about it foir Tuban, more to come on Kuta, Legian, Sanur & Nusa Dua.
Cheers,
Sue