In Reply to: JBR 5 August to 18 August posted by Denise_Perth on Sunday, 19. August 2007 at 10:52 Bali Time:
If you are a regular visitor to Bali then you'll probably know that every once in a while it can throw up a few negatives in your trip that just take the gloss off things a little.
Mostly they are small irritations that don't really get to you. But sometimes a collection of things can make you feel a bit jaded about the place - especially if you tend to visit quite a few of the same places each trip. It's happened to me and I suspect its happened to lots of other people as well.
My only bit of advice would be to try and see past it and not let your recent experiences colour your views too much on Bali as a future holiday destination. When you next you visit, make a pact with yourself not to see or do anything you have done on previous trips. I promise you you'll be amazed at how refreshing it is and how vibrant and totally interesting Bali will seem to you.
As for Garuda, the airline seems to be between a rock and a hard place at present. Consistency is not its strong suit, it has deserted a number of ports in Australia and NZ and it's no surprise when things don't go as professionally or friendly as you would hope. In many regards I still believe it is an excellent option for Bali though as there is something uniquely charming about flying to Bali with ts national carrier...in many regards it's like starting your Bali holiday in Australia.
As annoying as it must have been for you, I guess flying Garuda is one of those things that we have to do knowing full well that the experience could range anywhere between simply brilliant and simply disappointing.
I know it shouldn't be that way because your hard-earneds deserve better treatment. Sadly, though, the other flight options are often no better than Garuda's worst day!
As for the Hotel in Sanur that Garuda was going to send you to, I suspect it was probably the Gruda Beach Hotel. Located at the southern end of Sanur, the Sanur Beach Hotel was formerly known as the Aerowisata Sanur Beach Hotel and was owned by Garuda - it may still be the case, I don't know for sure. Garuda houses its flight crews here.
The Hotel itself is probably well into 30 years of age and whilst it is showing its vintage in a few areas, it is by no means run down. In fact I have stayed at this property twice between 96 and 2000 and found it to be a nice clean, straight property. It's unfortunate that the information you were given was perhaps not entirely accurate as a different perspective may have encouraged you to take advantage of the offer to extend your time in Bali.
Never mind...there's always another flight to Bali :)
By the way Denise, I certainly did not get the feeling from your JBR that you were anti-Bali or full on negative about the place. I thought it was a fairly balanced assessment of your personal experiences there. Unfortunately, occasionally, there are a few Bali uberfanatics on the forum whose hackles are raised at the mere hint of anything critical about Bali.
In some regards there is nothing wrong with and they are quite entitled to their views on the matter. As long as they offer you the same degree of latitude without verbally assassinating you for not seeing things quite through the same rose coloured glasses, then we'll all get on just fine :)
Regrettably, it seems that one or two have not quite learnt the rules of engagement :)