We, being my Mum, Dad (both in their late 50's), my sister Larissa (rissa_m) & I (in our 20's) left for Bali on 14 July, my Dad's birthday, for 2 weeks in paradise. It was my 4th trip in as many years to Bali with Larissa & the old folks 2nd time since 1988. This trip was going to be our last family holiday together before I jet off to the UK to live/work for the next couple of years.
Left Sydney with Garuda pretty much on time. The flight seemed to drag on, probably because we were too excited to get to Bali ASAP. No problems with the flight, except when we landed at Denpasar, so did a couple of our planes. Took about 1.5 hours to get through VOA, immigration, customs, etc & onto our hotel. I think the taxi trip was a bit of an eye opener for the parents though!
Arrived at the Lokha Hotel in Legian for our second stay here. Mum & Dad had a ground floor superior deluxe room whereas Larissa & I had a deluxe room on the 2nd floor. We love this hotel for its central location and the staff are really friendly. Also, they seemed to have fixed the leaking shower problem that they had last year, as we had no problems at all....well, except for when the shower hose developed a mind of its own & spurted everywhere. But I think that was more our error rather than the design of the bathroom.
We generally went down most evenings to S&S and met a lot of friendly forumites, some new ones & some we have gotten to known over previous trips. Included Dennis (dennisc) & Carole, Mel (tubans_great), Bev (sheebeejay) and all her tribe, Annie (juba anne), Audinary, Smudge, Perthdodgy & his mates, Denise (Tilts) & her husband, and I am sure that there were a few others who names escape me. We all had a great time down there & more often than not, usually ended up going out to dinner with them.
To stop rabbiting on, I'll try & do a summary of what we did, where we ate, & what we bought!
THINGS WE DID
* Elephant Park at Taro - took the parents up there for an elephant ride & they both held on as if their life depended on it, even Dad!! Great day, included a buffet lunch.
* Driving Tour - we hired Gusti (recommended by dennisc) and we drove us through Ubud, up to Kintanami, back to Ubud markets, to Sanur to show Mum & Dad around. Would recommend Gusti as a driver as he has very good English, knows what he is talking about and very helpful. By this stage, Mum & dad were pretty tired so we got back to the hotel at around 4
* Sponsor Kid Visit - without a doubt the highlight of our holiday. Larissa & I started sponsoring 2 girls from different families through the Helen Flavel Foundation last year and through the help of Helen, we visited both girls. We actually went to Larissa's girl's school and stood in front of the class & helped with their English! Definitely a highlight! We visited each of their places, where presented with coconuts at each house and tried to communicate with the families through the interpreter and my very little Bahasa Indonesian. Each family was so grateful for what we gave them (we stopped off at the markets beforehand and bought them some rice & food) and they couldn't stop thanking us. Was a very emotional time & my parents said afterwards that they were glad that they ended up coming with us as they initially didn't plan to. Definitely a must for anyone who sponsors kids to visit them in their next trip.
* Spas - unfortunately, I failed in my mission to have one treatment per day and probably only had about 5 in the 2 weeks. Went to the Melasti Spa, Ambiente, & the spa at Waterbom Park. My favourite was the Avererada treatment at the Melasti Spa, where warm oil is poured onto your forehead with a scrub included. Only problem was, it took forever to wash the oil & the scrub off you in the shower! Bliss nonetheless! Had our nails done by Louise, who is near the Legian Art Markets at Jl Melasti. She comes to your hotel & can do flowers as well as geckos, hibiscuses, and palm trees. Very cute.
WHERE WE ATE
Didn't have a bad meal anywhere, although a few where a bit average, but sing ken ken!!! We ate at Drops, Seaside, Billy's, La Monde (above Loji shop), Indonational, Gracie Kellies, Papas Café, Rama Gardens Warung (where they show AFL/NFL), Ours, La Lucciolas (for the sweet tooth breakfast...twice!!), Koris, Jonis, Uncle Norms, Ketumba, and I think that's about it. Favourites were Billys, Drops & La Monde.
WHAT WE BOUGHT
I didn't buy much this trip since I am about to go to the UK, but I got some prescription glasses & sunglasses made from Optik Seis at Discovery Mall (took a week) & some runners (ASIC from Athletes Foot at Kuta Square). My sister had leather boots & a pair of sandals copied from Bali Brumby. Both shoes were from home and they were copied to a tea, so much so that she had another pair of boots & sandals made in brown leather. Dad also had a suit made at the same place & this fitted first go. This was the first time we used Putu at Bali Brumby & the first time that anything we got made in Bali fitted first go, so would definitely recommend Bali Brumby for your tailoring needs.
Dad bought a thousand watches from Baliboy at S&S and Dirty Harry's in Garlic Lane. I secretly think that Dad was trying to out-do dennisc with who could buy the most watches! Us girls bought clothes from Ketut's fixed price shop in Garlic Lane, silver jewellery from the beach, hand bags in Garlic Lane & other knick knacks along the way. I bought some MT products on my last day at the Melasti Spa, although I know I probably could have got it cheaper at Supernova. It was just easier & less stressful to get it at the spa while having my last treatment!
Dennisc may be cranky for stealing his thunder, but he discovered an Indonesian/English translator at Carrefour for 175,000RP. It was so good that we went there the next day & bought ourselves one as well. Apparently similar products that aren't as good retail for over $100 in Australia, so its money well spent. Now, when we travel anywhere & come across an interesting word, out comes the translator! Also, there is a small range of MT at Carrefour but I think Supernova is still the place to go for your MT needs.
LOVINA
Mum & Dad left on Wednesday night & Larissa & I had booked overnight accommodation at the Aditya Beach Cottages in Lovina, which we had hoped to coincide with our sponsor kids visit. That wasn't to be, but we still wanted to go up there to go on a sunrise dolphin boat ride.
We used Jonny as our driver as recommended by Island of the Gods for the journey to & back. Along the way, we stopped at the Mengwi/Taman Ayun Temple, the Botanical Gardens with a great view over Lake Bratan, and a look at the Candi Kuning markets including a stop at Crackers Bar & Grill.
We booked a sea view cottage at Aditya & the view from the veranda was stunning, watching the sunset over Lovina beach. Very relaxing & could easily spend a couple more nights up there doing absolutely nothing. We rose the next morning very early (too early for Bali!!) for the 6am Dolphin Boat ride. We booked through the hotel, for 55,000RP each. We watched the sun rise & then the fun began! One boat (of around 50 mind you!) would spot a pod of dolphins, would go towards it, then all the other boats would motor towards them until they disappeared and the whole thing would start again when they were spotted again. All good fun though.
Gee, I had hoped to keep this short & sweet, so in summary:
1. Still didn't do a lot of things that I wanted to do, ie the Kacek dance at Uluwatu, Tana Lot Temple for Mum & Dad, lots more restaurants to try out, etc, etc. Plus I am determined to succeed in my mission of one treatment per day!
2. Would stay at the Lokha again just for the great location
3. We have a few more baliaholics on our hands.....both the parents have said that they would go back again tomorrow if they could!
4. Met some wonderful people off the forum that really made our holiday...thanks again for your lovely company & I wish to meet up with you all again, someday in Bali
5. Recommend both the drivers we used, as well as Bali Brumby.
6. Definitely will miss Bali over the next couple of years...so the Bali blues have definitely set in big time!
Any questions, please feel free to ask & I'll try to help.
Cheers!
Bec