We are back in cold Adelaide after 3 magnificent weeks in the 'Isle of Smiles'
We are: Rodger, Lia, Joe and Debbie
After 5 Bali trips this is my first JBR,so here goes. I tried to keep it short, but didn't quite succeed.
We started with 3 nights in Legian Beach Hotel in the Deluxe Garden Bungalows, recently refurbished, clean, comfortable and set in very pleasant gardens. We had stayed here back in 1982 and much has changed for the better. The old banyan tree is still near reception, however, Henry the monkey who was tied to it in 1982 wasn't. The staff were all very friendly and it was a good choice also because of it's location, close to shops etc. From here we arranged our tailoring, Kijang hire, etc. We then headed off up the west coast to Permuteran for 2 nights. The drive up the coast was pleasant but not as spectacular as we would encounter later in the trip. We stayed at Taman Sari, which looked the best option here as the grounds and rooms were meticulously looked after and once again the staff were great. The pool and enthusiastic barman were a welcome after the drive, Caipirinhas, caipiroshkas etc. The restaurant here was superb, great flavours (especially theBebek Betutu) well presented and inexpensive. Breakfast under the trees on the beach were a great way to start the day too. We saw a magnificent sunset over Java from the temple on the hill at the end of the beach and an equally impressive sunrise next morning. We arranged snorkelling from the hotel, 250k each including lunch pack, transport, boat trip, equipment and guide. To say it was worth it would be a huge understatement, easily the best snorkelling I have done anywhere, fish and coral of every size, shape and colour, and that vertical drop off !!! The water was iridescent blue, I can't wait to do it again, I will probably dive next time. After a perfect start to the trip, we took to the backroads for the first time, taking a right turn just after Serririt and heading up, up, up through Pedawa, Asah Gobleg and Munduk, through amazing scenery to Pacung Indah for 3 nights. We were greeted by David and over lunch we were reminded of that great view we remembered so well from last trip. David showed us to Suite 1 & the Executive Suite, complete with massive bed. Both rooms were great with views from every angle and very comfortable. It was happy hour in our Suite every night. (very happy in fact) Next day we took the roads west of Baturiti to Jatiluwih where the rice paddy views are amongst the best in Bali, despite a lot of burning off this time of year. Still breathtaking, as was our brush with the police. I stupidly was not carrying my licence or rental agreement and was told I would need to go to Tabanan to settle the matter. After a little while Lia came out and put on an Oscar winning crying performance, had me fooled, but did the trick. The policemen said they would help us and just let us go, no 'fine' even, what a surprise. We had put 30k in the glovebox to pay any 'fines', but not needed here. After lunch at Café Jatiluwih with 270 degree views we kept going along the beautiful winding roads through Penebel and eventually back to Pacung. Deb even had her photos burnt to a CD in a tiny village, where the guy didn't know how much to charge her, I think we gave him 20K, It was golf time next day, off to Handara at 6 am and first on the course, so a very quick round. I last played here 25 years ago, the course is as great as ever, my golf wasn't, still really enjoyed it. Our caddies were very helpful, especially reading the quick greens.
And the scenery made the golf almost secondary - almost. David kindly dropped the girls at the golf course as he was going to watch the football at Crackers B & G and we went down to Lovina for the afternoon and back up via a small winding,near vertical road from Anturan through Asah Gobleg again and back around the lakes. We checked out Crackers Bar & grill, very impressive. A big thank you here to David for his hospitality and help, thanks for that mate, much appreciated by all of us. (except the Crows - Eagles result) Unfortunately we couldn't get the caps done by the Adopta girls due to Galungan. Another great stay at Pacung Indah and we were off to Candi Dasa via David's back way out of Baturiti, past the bungalow project and via Catur , Kintamani, Rendang and almost Amlapura. We tried a short cut (which ended up a long cut) and ended up in Bugbug, then straight to Lotus Bugalows for 2 nights. They are right on the beach, with a pool and huge Bale next to it, a good spot for a couple of days relaxing. The rooms are spotlessly clean and the Italian restaurant here exceptional, even had one of the best 'Carbs' (fettucine carbonara) we have tasted anywhere. Second night we ate at Vincents, beautiful steaks and extremely enthusiastic staff, a real find. The grounds at Lotus are well looked after and, yes, the staff were great. Had a couple walks along the short stretches of beach and generally took it easy. Visited the Bali Aga village which was interesting, especially Lia's step into some Ox poo. There was a lot of activity preparing for the Galungen festival in a couple of days. Candi is very quiet, but we love it's laid back feel. The next 6 days were at Ubud staying in our old favourite Tjampuhan Hotel, it ‘s like coming home, Eustace still works there and is as welcoming as ever.. We had prebooked 2 rooms with balconies visible to each other so that we could call for happy hours at any given time, and we did. It was good to be in one place for a while to have a base to just relax. It is as beautiful as ever. Lia met Sukadara, head of room maintainence and he taught her some Balinese phrases which he said he would test her on next morning. Returning to our room that day we found 'Roja & Lia' arranged on our bed with Bouganvillea flowers. Apparently he does this for special events, newlyweds etc. (a bit late for us) but it looked great. Next day was a heart made of different flowers and fern leaves. We gathered the flowers and before breakfast we wrote 'suksma' on our bed. Sukadara was most impressed. We did the usual shopping etc. and also went Elephant riding as well as exploring the myriad of roads all around Ubud, dropping in to loads of galleries, wood carvers, gong makers, furniture makers, egg painters, markets etc. We also ate extremely well as you do in Ubud, no better than Mozaic, easily the best restaurant in Bali. We had the chefs menu, 6 courses of superb food, matched with an amazing array of wines. All courses were perfect, better than we remembered from 2 years ago. Chris Salans has just started cooking classes, must do that next time. We had planned rafting, but time ran out, once again , maybe next year. On the way to Ubud we dropped in to Tihingan, a small gong making village near KlungKung and I figured I would need to take a gong home. On our last day in Ubud, I spotted a gong shop in Jl Hanoman and after a bit of argy bargy, I was in possession of a solid brass gong. Excess luggage here we come, still, Sukadara said it was very good quality and we did get the Ulekan back ok last trip. It was sad leaving Tjampuhan, Eustace ran out to say goodbye and wish us well, we will miss it, but will be back. I can still taste the banana pancakes for breakfast. Tanjung Benoa was to be our home for the next 3 nights. We had chosen Rumah Bali, and Villa Bouganvillea, what a great choice. It is a 2 storey Villa, superbly appointed with a full size pool, huge entertainment area, full kitchen, huge bedrooms with equally huge bathrooms and walk in dressing rooms, big balcony, and 2 maids who were there 24 hours to cook, wash, iron, anything. Lia & Deb said they weren't going anywhere. As Rumah Bali is connected with Bumbu Bali, we ordered lunch and dinner from there and Wayan & Ketut set up both meals for us, one in the Bale by the pool and one in the dining room, how civilized. Both meals were excellent. Next morning it was up at 5.30, and after the girls had made us coffee, it was off to the cooking class with Heinz Von Holzen, a really impressive, intense passionate man. We visited both the local market and the fish markets at Jimbaran, with an overload of sights and smells. Thence back to Rumah Bali for Balinese breakfast and cooking. We cooked about 25 dishes and then around 1 o'clock we demolished them all in the big dining room. Heinz was holding court and was a great host, very passionate about the Balinese and their way of life, a most impressive person and a brilliant cooking class. We rested for the rest of the day and slept well. A drive to Uluwatu next day was relaxing, the monkeys almost undid my sandals (how did they find out about Velcro?), while one of them sat on my shoulders trying to nick my shirt buttons. All good fun and the view of the temple from the hill to the east was awesome. Dropped into Dreamland beach and the cultural park on the way back and vegged out for remainder of the day. Next morning after another great breakfast by the pool, it was time to say goodbye to the girls and Villa Bouganvillea, very sad, and brace ourselves for the onslaught of Kuta. A quick drive saw us back to Legian Beach Hotel and a room upgrade, very nice. We headed out to pick up our tailoring and I decided it was too far to walk from Brisbane Tailors to LBH, so it was around the corner to Nyoman at Sari Bunga Wangi and on to a motor bike. What great fun, not the power of the Kijang, but you can go along footpaths with it, saves time. Next trips I will definitely get a bike for the entire time in Kuta, so quick and easy to get to shops, emergency Bintang stores etc. I took Lia for a drive up Padma Utara and down Jl Arjuna and she would yell for me to stop when she saw something to buy in a shop. (what is a Pashmina, does it bite?) We even made it to the Supernova store after two circuits in massive standstill traffic, shouldn't have bothered. We had two days of panic shopping, packing, sorting out stuff before the fateful night we had to leave, where did 3 weeks go?
We had experienced so much, every time to Bali something different always pops up.
The restaurants in Bali have improved markedly, I'll just quickly run through some we enjoyed.
Where to start is easy, Mozaic, brilliant in every way a must, where to finish is more difficult. Ketupat in Jl Legian has superbly flavoured, mostly Balinese dishes in a beautiful setting by the pool, Living room in Seminyak , likewise, great food in an impressive garden, Poppies, the old favourite still doing it well, still looks great, Kori's in Poppies 2, can't go past the Tuna, for both courses, setup and staff are excellent, Un's on Saturday with margeritas and brilliant pasta amongst others and the band were fantastic with an asian version of 'Sway ', Lotus in Ubud, always a great setting and the food is back up to its old standards again, Vincents in Candi Dasa, food and service was spot on and I think Lia & Deb wanted to take some of the staff home, Lotus Bungalows in Candi, great pasta and pizza, Cafe Indus, Ubud great views and food a great lunch place, only rivalled by Beduur at Ubud Hanging Gardens, about 10 kms north of Ubud. Down the first funicular to have Pasta with Tuna overlooking 2 infinity pools jutting out over a massive gorge and Ayung river, stunning , Terazo, Ubud, modern, well presented food, Watan Baru, Ubud, good food in good location, Café Wayan, Ubud, always good and staff always friendly, Pacung Indah, food good, but could survive on the view alone, friendly staff, Hi Mirah, Taman Sari, great flavours, presentation, location and service, Lamak, Ubud, nice setting service and food good, innovative, a little expensive. Bumbu Bali, Tanjung Benoa, the best authentic Balinese food you will get in Bali.
We couldn't fault any of the hotels we stayed in all great in their own ways.
Experiences, too many to list them all but snorkelling, elephant riding, cooking, views, 'hellos', eating, bartering, friendly faces, Bintang, boating, walks, sunsets, happy hours, gongs, sunrises, markets and smiles do come to mind.
All in all a truly memorable trip, made more so by the friendliness and the beauty of the Balinese people, they never cease to amaze and impress me and are the reason we will keep coming back and back to once again experience 'Bali time'
Hope I didn't bore you all to death.
Matur Suksma
Nyoman Rodger, Wayan Lia, Nyoman Joe and Wayan Debbie