Just back after 19 days of fantastic fun and 57 meals where I didn't have to cook. We spent the first week at Villa Rumah Kami, Lembonan Island hosted by the efficient and helpful Komang and his staff. We had a week doing not a lot but walking/exploring the island, snorkelling, surfing, eating and talking to the locals. Komang organised a memorable birthday party for my 10 year old daughter including local Balinese dancers, a feast for dinner and the biggest iced cake you have ever seen. She was very impressed. Villa RK is a great place for 6-8 people to kick back and be spoiled. Check out their website for more info.
We were fortunate enough to witness the Pengelem ceremony on the 2nd last day. This ceremony is held on the beach and is to bless the sea for keeping the fishermen safe and all that the sea brings the people (at least that was my understanding). It was great for our children to see and fortunately we were warned in advance there would be a duck sacrifice so I could tell them to look away. The duck was taken out by the menfolk in a fishing boat and thrown in the water amid more prayers. At the end of the ceremony we were offered our choice of anything from the offerings, including expensive looking delicious apples and navel oranges from South Africa. We felt very privileged to witness this once a year ceremony.
There are some lovely villas being built on Lembongan including the newly completed Penyon Guest House which was next door to our villa. It has 3 bedrooms upstairs, lounge/kitchen downstairs with fold back doors going out to lovely pool area with great views of Agung and Playgrounds surf. It's owned by Aussies and is $180/night for entire house or around $60/night for 1 bedroom plus the run of the house.
We reluctantly left Lembongan dreading the hustle and bustle of Bali after such a relaxing, hassle free week only to be warmly welcomed by the wonderful staff at Wilsana 1, Seminyak. A lot has been already said about this villa so I won't repeat it all, only to say that the website does not do it justice. We had a glorious 5 days of pampering by Wayan and the other staff. They are so efficient and were happy to spend time telling us about their lives and families. We felt we were part of the Wilsana family by the end and I was very sad to say farewell. We ate at Poppies and Brown Sugar and had 3 dinners cooked by the Villa including wonderful seafood and a curry night - all very traditional and totally fresh - I would stand over Wayan's shoulder asking questions while they were cooking. One of the staff taught the girls to make offering baskets. So from our experience of villas we have found that you learn so much more from the staff than you ever would staying in a large hotel. We really felt we got to know the people we were staying with and learned more about their culture, ceremonies, families, etc. Thanks to Paulo for recommending this villa to me more than a year ago.
We then headed to Ubud where we stayed at Ubud Village Hotel in the Superior rooms (thanks Mama Colleen for the recommendation) which were conveniently located right near the pool (rooms 101/102/103/104). Had a lovely time up there. We did the bali Baik bike tour which I can recommend to anyone. I know lots of you have already done it, but for those who haven't, it is a great day out. Wayan's wife cooked the most delicious lunch in their compound and we got to meet their pet pig which was HUGE.
Next day the dads took the kids white water rafting organised by Bali Baik and the mums and daughters hit the markets. Even my 73 yr old father did the bike ride and the rafting which shows how safe it is. Because the Galungan ceremony was fast approaching the locals were out in force buying all the goods they need for their offerings etc. so the markets were a very busy place with lots of colourful sites.
We ate at 3 Monkeys, Café Wayan, Café Lotus, Pizza place on Monkey forest Rd and various other restaurants - all good food and ambiance.
Finally we transferred back to Deluxe Rooms at Bali Mandira for our final 3 days of surfing/shopping. We stayed in the old Superior Rooms (2 storey) which have been recently renovated and are now Deluxe. They are very nice - we had 2 adjoining and they were spacious and the monsoon shower was the best. Highly recommend these rooms. We were in 505 and 506. Ate at Lemongrass Thai, Mykonos and Trattoria - never had a dud meal.
The final couple of days were very quiet as the Galungan ceremony was taking place so all the locals had returned to their villages, very few shops were open until our final day so we were in a last minute frenzy of bag/tshirt/jewellery shopping.
All in all another wonderful Bali holiday and hope to return again soon.