Fri 15th June
This was our second trip this year however confusing as to where to check in - Qantas or Jetstar. Our bags were checked through to Bali and we hung around the airport for 3 hours taking it all in. The morning was pretty foggy and 3 C (Melbourne of course!)
Flight to Sydney left on time. I could see the Opera House and Bridge as we flew in.
Again, it's confusing when you get to Sydney. No-one tells you where to go etc. We just asked someone and walked to the transfer lounge and hopped straight onto a bus to the international terminal. It all happened pretty quickly and my husband didn't get to have a cigarette. There was little choice of food to eat once you've cleared customs - so my husband was in a foul mood. The flight over was pretty foul too - we had a group of guys in the seats behind us who were getting drunker by the minute, compounded with 2 ‘ladies' just over from them, one of whom sounded like a witch cackling, which she did frequently. After a while it got way too much and I asked the guys to tone the language down. The flight attendants threatened them with security but they were too blind drunk to really care.
Anyway, we landed 40 mins late. It was great to get off the flight and walk through the tunnel and get off to the bit where you go down the stairs to immigration - ahh that smell! Incense, heat and something else - felt like home. Queuing up for VOA was ok - a little slow, but not too bad. Our bags were waiting. We got through customs easily and it wasn't until we got to Subaliku that I realised we had a white cross on one of them! We changed a small amount of money at the airport for our coffee the next morning and went out to find KB (our friend). There he was, waiting for us. So good to see him. He had a few cold Bintangs, water, chocolate and chips. It was pretty late, we'd arrive around 11pm. We were pretty tired, but a little hungry so we drove through the streets, so good to see and still pretty busy so late at night. We ate our first ever ‘Bunkus' - takeaway, Bali style! It was lovely. We got to bed around 1.30am and slept until about 7am.
I awoke feeling ok. I was raring to go and woke H (11yo daughter) and M (husband) up. We did the walk up to Circle K, brought our coffee and sweet chocolate rolls. It was great to be there - it's part of our first morning routine. We started speaking our Indonesian, which was great too. It was a sunny morning. We didn't want to eat breakfast at Subaliku as I wanted to try breakfast at La Lucciola. KB dropped us off. It was a lovely place, great view and fabulous food. H was really taken with the horseriding on the beach. We didn't' find the price too much - for a full breakfast it was AUD$35. Agus picked us up and took us to the Bintang Supermarket so we could stock up on our supplies. H brought another one of the Mozzie zappers (ours had been confiscated on our way back from Bali in Feb). KB came back from his appointment with the sponsor for work in Australia - a little despondent as it was proving to be difficult to get a working visa/sponsor to Australia.
We stopped at Villa Naga Maya which was tricky to find, so that I could pay the rest of the deposit. It looked awesome! I was so excited. M came in and I told him not to look too closely as I wanted it to be a surprise for New Year.
KB drove us up to the Tegal Sari in Ubud. This place had come highly recommended on both the BF & BTF. Our room was wonderful. Right at the end of the property - Room 23, facing onto the rice paddies. AUD$60 per night for the 3 of us. We loved our time there. H and M were catching frogs and lizards etc. M had brought a torch with him and they would go out searching for them each night and trying to race them! There were all sorts of birds - we saw beautiful kingfishers, and all types of wading birds, honey eaters etc. We also saw bats each night, swooping down on the insects. We saw a massive locust too. We'd brought bali coffee and the little supermarket down the road sold those sweet bread rolls. So each morning we'd wake up and have a coffee and roll. I went for a walk to check out the area, there was still some light left. We were pretty close to most things. I noticed Dirty Duck restaurant and a few other places I'd read about on the BTF. We went to Warung Enak on our first night - we were the only one's there. It was the best Balinese food I'd had - great service too. Couldn't understand why it was so quiet.
17th June
We woke up early. Today we were going on the Bali Baik Bike tour. I was a bit nervous about this as I haven't been on a bike in years. We were picked up by Bagiada along with 2 American women from our hotel. Another couple were in the van - an Aussie lady married to a Turkish guy. We were driven to the coffee plantation which we'd been to before with KB and our friend a year or so ago. It was good to see the spices etc growing - always exciting. We had coffee, ginger tea, M even had a cigarette of the local tobacco. We didn't buy anything as we knew from experience that it was more expensive there. We had breakfast at a lovely hotel in Kintimani. I'd been dreading this too as our last experience was so foul - but I needn't have worried - it was a lovely clean place, good food, great view and lovely staff. When I tried to speak Indo and then my little bit of Balinese, the guy taught me some more Balinese - so friendly. I think it was called the Windu Saro - overlooking Mt Batur. We were very lucky as the weather was perfect. Some slight cloud. We got to see Mt Agung and Mt Batur very clearly. Bagiada explained a little about the history etc. After breakfast we were taken up the mountain and dropped off at the point where we got on our bikes. The bikes were in great condition and virtually new. We were all given helmets and a perfunctory lesson in the brakes and gears - the gears part going right over my head.
I was worried about falling off etc as I wasn't the most confident cyclist. H and M raced ahead and I just went at my own pace. It was mostly downhill, but the potholes were more of a worry! Also dodging the kids who wanted hi fives! I couldn't take my hands off the bike in case I went arse over tit because of the pot holes. The kids were cute though. We had heaps of stops and Bagiada and Nyoman explained about the way of life, watering systems, crops etc. Towards the end there were some horrible hills, I couldn't get the hang of the gears so walked up the hills which wasn't too bad. When I thought I could go no further, we'd finished. THANK GOD as my backside hurt so much!!! We were given cold & wet towels and a bottle of cold water - absolute heaven. We were driven to Wayans family compound where his wife Made had made a wonderful lunch. H spent most of the time playing with Wayans little girl trying to catch the chooks. The grandmother was a little concerned for her, but H, Dede and the chook's played for ages.
That night we were exhausted. We went to Pizza Bagus for dinner which was great.
18th June
We all had a bath this morning. It was lovely to look out over the rice paddies. We went for a walk up Jl Hanoman. We stopped at the Kafe which I think belongs to the Bali Spirit people. We had a wonderful breakfast. I had a very freshly baked chocolate & banana muffin. M had an omelette and H had the breakfast burrito. After breakfast we walked to the markets. It was pretty quiet as far as tourists go, but there were plenty of locals and they mostly left us alone. We whizzed through the market and I brought vanilla pods from a lovely old lady. H had wanted to buy a wooden carved horse, so on the way back we went into a wood carving shop and H brought her horse and a wooden croaking frog. The young man who served us was rapt. He was very friendly and wanted to practice his English. We walked the back way, looping around until we got to the Monkey Forest. We were a little apprehensive about going into the Monkey Forest, but H was so keen. We paid a small amount, about $3 in total and went in. We'd put all our things in the back pack, so that the monkeys couldn't take anything. We didn't' buy the food either as we'd heard the monkey's could be pretty aggressive. We saw one Japanese tourist pretty much covered in monkeys' There were some guides around and they'd half heartedly try and encourage the monkeys to hop off. The monkeys were interesting to watch and cute, but we were on guard. We walked around for 1/2 hour and then went to a little café we'd seen earlier called Bali Coffee and Silver. We had a cold drink and veged out for a bit. We brought a couple of batik dressing gowns. Must admit, I like the fact that they didn't do the hard sell on you in Ubud! We got back to the hotel and ordered transport to take us to Ibu Oka. This place is famous for it's Babi Guling. It was absolutely packed and I could see M going .. OMG, how long etc etc. But we were shown to a table at the back immediately. We sat on the floor and just took it all in for a moment or two. There were heaps of tourists and locals alike. All eating from these reed plates with thick baking paper on them. We finally ordered and shortly after were delivered this plate each of babi guling, rice, veges and assorted items made from babi guling like blood sausages which tasted so fragrant. It was very very cheap. We walked back to the hotel, only took about 40 mins. KB joined us that afternoon and we played Yahtzee! We all went to Pizza Bagus for dinner.
June 19th
Did the usual get up, Bali Kopi, sweet roll etc. Walked up to the Kafe and had another lovely breakfast. We went into the shop next door (some of the proceeds go to supporting local women) and I brought a lovely little wooden pot and a tiny brass budda. H brought a wooden horse she'd broken, but the lady fixed it for her. H brought me a metal frog and M a wooden mouse. We walked further and brought a stone carving of a frog for my mother. The shop had some little kittens who were very cute. We ended up going to the Ganesh Bookshop and having a good look around. Next door is the Bali Budda café, which I'd also read about. We stopped and I had a pot of delicious chai and M and H had cold drinks. We wrote out our postcards and posted them in the Post Office across the road. We walked down through little gangs etc which is almost my favourite thing to do in a foreign country. We saw 3 little girls singing like they were going on Bali idol! We ate dinner at Warung Enak again. Again, it was a lovely meal. Again, there was hardly anyone there.
20th June
Loved our routine of Bali Kopi, roll and walk up to the Kafe. The muffins weren't ready so by the time we'd finished our breakfast they'd just come out of the oven. We took them back for morning tea. KB picked us up a little late. I sent an email to Mum etc. Soon we were on our way to Amed. It started to rain lightly. We arrived after lunch. It was lovely to recognise landmarks. Amed was still so green. It was lovely to see the staff again. It started pouring down in the afternoon - torrential rain, but I didn't care, it was fabulous! There were a few guests there, V from the BTF and another couple with their baby who we worked out had been at the Tegal Sari same time as us. At night, the guitars came out and everyone started to sing.
21st June
Rain still bucketing down, but again, we don't mind. We keep on waking up early, partly due to the time difference and partly because we don't want to miss out on anything. Someone brings us up our Bali Kopi and our day begins. KB had invited us to his family's place to celebrate his Balinese birthday (celebrated every 210 days) and Komang J's graduation. He said there'd be heaps of food etc. We were looking forward to going as his place is so interesting with all the trees, plants, animals etc. Komang J drove us up in the rain. It stopped whilst we trekked through the jungle to his house (15mins). It was a bit slippery, but we all made it there. We'd only had a light breakfast and were looking forward to the lunch which KB and his cousins had cooked. When we arrived, we saw all the blokes sitting around already drinking. We were seated on the porch and it was good to see KB's dad and his other relations which we'd met last visit. We'd brought some posters, books etc for KB's school and one of the books was on how to draw Australian animals. The kids were lying on the floor drawing etc. Soon the food was brought out - heaps of sate, curried tofu, vegetables, rice etc. It was amazing, and I really enjoyed eating with my fingers. The guys were drinking beer, arak and lemonade. Soon M joined the other guys. I went and tried to talk with KB's mum. She didn't really understand me, but we sort of got the gist of things - ie she wanted me to look after KB when he came to Australia and that she suffered heaps of pain in her joints.
Us girls were taken back to Blue Moon and left the guys to it. About 6 hours later M and KB came back very much the worse for wear - M had turned native - wearing one of those Bali men's hats!
Sue, the wonderful co-owner of Blue Moon said she'd got some jewellery that needed repairing. I had a look through and found a wonderful and delicate silver bracelet with celtic knots linked together. Sue said she'd be able to get the local guy to fix the clasp and have it ready for tomorrow for H's birthday.
22nd June
H's 12th birthday. Every year without fail I'm awake at the time H was born - 5.58am!
We hung out on the day bed and KB came up and wished H a Happy Birthday. We had a light breakfast then went snorkelling for the morning. The rain had finished and the day was as clear and bright as you could wish for. We could see Lombok clear as day. We snorkelled for a while, then H went further out with KB and M and I hung out in the shallow bit just enjoying the feel of the warm water and sun. M and KB played like two little boys, splashing each other and throwing handfuls of sand. Both were hungover, but bravely soldiering on! KB had promised to take H on a motorbike ride, so off they both went for supposedly 15 mins but returned 2 hours later. KB's nieces and nephews turned up and the kids played in the pool for hours and hours. I went for a massage at this wonderful place called ‘A' spa. The guy turned up and I hopped in the car. It went about 5 meters and stopped - the car had broken down. I had to wait 20 mins for the owner to come by on his motorbike and dink me through 4 villages. I hadn't been on a motorbike for 30 years! I was greeted with a fresh towel and a juice. I had a calming back treatment which was amazing. I could hear the neighbours, the pig in the neighbouring property, wind - it was all so lovely. At the end - approx. 1.5 hours later I felt so relaxed. I got dressed and was given a beautiful pot of hot ginger tea. Thankfully the car had been fixed and I was driven back. When I arrived at Blue Moon, the kids were still in the pool - although they'd been snorkelling too. It was great to see them all getting on so well together.
That night, we sat down to an amazing meal which KB and the chef had prepared. Roast Chicken Bali style, potatoes, rice and vegies. So tasty. The tied balloons to H and the chair, handed out party hats. H got amazing presents. We sang Happy Birthday to H in English when the whole staff came out with a beautiful birthday cake and then everyone sang a lovely Balinese equivalent of Happy Birthday - such a wonderful night - H was so chuffed!
23rd June
Today we felt so sad at the thought of leaving Blue Moon. We went and had a look over the building site of the new villas, next to the existing ones. It was interesting to see women do the plastering as they have a gentler touch. The whole team live on site until the work is completed. It was good to know that we would be back in December.
KB took us to Sanur just after lunch. We'd been looking forward to Sanur just so that we could have separate rooms. We drove into the Sri Phala and loved the reception area. This was another place which had been highly recommended on the BTF. We signed in and were taken to our villa. It was big but a little dark. However, it was lovely, really clean and had everything we could need. We had our own plunge pool which was cool. We couldn't wait to go out and explore. KB took us to Hardies to stock up on supplies - I love foreign supermarkets!!! We brought heaps of Bintang, Bali Kopi, rolls etc. KB took us to the Cat & Fiddle for dinner which was great. Although the Ploughmans lunch was a bit of a let down. We played a game or two of Yahtzee.
24th June
We dropped our laundry off at Sue & Agus' watering hole because it said it was ‘good and clean' - and by crikey it was - and cheap too!!!
We walked down to the beach and were accosted for transport etc but it wasn't too bad. The locals were on the beach in force - so good to see them hanging out with their families. We walked along the esplanade, just enjoying the ambience. As we walked down the main street we came across a little market just past Hardies - Café Batu Jimbar and next door The Pantry had a food and produce market - just little but the produce etc was great. I really wanted to buy the jam and seeds etc. We brought a couple of cakes and ate them with our chai and coffee - great to watch all the people etc. Very civilised and expatish!
We caught a taxi back to the hotel. Veged out for a while and played in the pool.
That afternoon we went to the Beach Café and drank the afternoon away - an idyllic times - such a nice place to be. H had her nails done for RP50,000 - the lady was lovely - Lautha and did a good job.
We ate at the Sri Phala which was ok. Breakfasts were good there, but we didn't see another soul eating anything else the whole week we were there.
Over the next couple of days we just hung out at the villa, Beach Café etc. We were pretty relaxed. Tue 26th we met up with Smudge and the Cat and Fiddle and enjoyed the band again. We met Wayan, the little girl who had so nearly died - she looked the picture of health! We told Smudge we'd like to take the kids to Waterbom Park at Christmas. We met up with the lovely Chris and her family from BTF too. I also met L who's the nurse who helps Smudge so much - a real live wire - fabulous woman!
27th June
Dreaded Waterbom Park day! I hadn't looked forward to this day. However, Agus (manager at Sri Phala) leant me his discount card and we got in for 10% discount! You get a wrist band which you top up with money so you can have a cashless time. We also arranged a Gazebo which was great - we had a quiet little pocket out of the sun. We had the BEST time! The rides were fabulous and the Boomerang was scary as. M and I went on it - M prevaricating however, he gave it a go and even though he was petrified, he sort of enjoyed it We topped up the wrist band once more, easily with our credit card. The food was good quality and good variety. As it was Galungan it wasn't as busy as I'd thought it would be. It was summer holidays for school and there were heaps of people over from Java etc. H and I went on the Boomerang Ride together, we got a great photo of us! After Waterbom we went to Centro across the road a big shopping centre. We walked along the beach to Kuta where we had a quick look around Matahari's and the Foot Locker. We wanted to buy some cheaper sneakers, but Foot Locker was closed for Galungan. We got a taxi back to Sri Phala. KB came over that night and we had our first taste of Bakso - M & I loved it, but it was too spicy H!
We spent the last 2 days walking the esplanade and hanging out at the villa. The weather was overcast, but it only rained at night. We loved being at the Beach Café. One day H went exploring in the shallow waters and found some disgusting creature, sort of a sand worm which could turn itself inside out, but it was very thick and long - euch! She also found crabs galore. I love that she still likes to potter around. She's certainly not shy and will talk to anyone. I think the locals were bemused by her finds! One evening as we were walking back to the Villa we heard and then saw pigs being killed ready for Galungan feasts - a horrible sound and sight.
On our last day, we checked out of the Villa and got a taxi to Subaliku. We left our bags in the room and got a taxi into Kuta square. We all ended up buying a pair of Nike sneakers. As we walked along the beach to Legian, it was like we'd arrived home. Sanur was nice, but we really like Legian.
We brought our DVD's. Mark got ripped off whilst changing some money. We ate a light late lunch at IndoNational - tasty but really slack service.
Not long after we'd arrived back at Subaliku, KB, Komang J, L, Sue and the Irish family who'd been staying at Blue Moon arrived. We all had a meal together, singing etc. It was sad but lovely. KB took us and the Irish family to the airport, check in was pretty quick and we got our allocated seats. To our chagrin, the bald headed bogan from our flight over was checking in too! However, he was by himself and was seated in Starclass. Flight back was uneventful and not too bad. Getting through customs etc in Sydney was fine. We made our connecting flight which was running 30mins late.
That's pretty much it. Can't wait to go in December. Thanks to everyone who posts, all that knowledge helps to enhance our holidays!