Day 1
We are a family of four and our kids Josh & Ella are aged 7 & 5. We flew from chilly Hobart to Denpasar return with Jetstar (exit Melbourne on 31st May for 14 nights).
Our holiday was going to be dietary decadent so at Tullamarine we decided to treat ourselves to a McDonalds 'healthy choice' dinner. Far be it from me to criticise a corporate giant but the eatery was very unhygienic to say the least. All the surfaces were covered in a thick shiny gloss of O.F.F.O.L (Oily F@#*#ing Film Of Lard). We made an attempt to smear some grime off a bench with baby wipes with very little impact. Gordon RAMSEY armed with a high pressure hose would have had a field day. Perhaps they can visit Bali for some cleanliness tips.
On the plane my son treated us to that magical comment every parent wishes to hear, 'Mummy I have a sore tummy'!!. Playing Detective we tried to deduce where he may have got that from? Perhaps it was just indigestion from his 'healthy choice' dinner.
Jetstar were an efficient budget airline. I don't expect anything except a seat and certainly not to be pampered. All flights were on time and being a tall bloke they kindly accommodated me in an exit row on each flight (bonus!). The crew do an about turn flight which puts the kybosh on the whole see the world idea of their job.
Sitting in the exit row the loos were in my constant view. I noted with interest the excess amount of pee all over the toilet floor. To my sick amusement I enjoyed watching many ladies enter barefoot and exit with a grimace wiping their feet on the carpet, HAHA. Oh the things blokes do to while away the time.
Immigration was the usual long queues of Indo bureaucracy gone mad. We moved at a snails pace between the three booths of pay for VOA and having your passports checked and then finally stamped. Why oh why can't this be done quickly in one spot? I struggle to fathom why efficiency is baseless in so many facets of this great place. Perhaps it is because labour is so cheap and there is no welfare that people concentrate on doing a sole task (sometimes slowly) to justify their employment? It also seems that they only people who don't smile in Bali work in Immigration.
Anyway we breezed through the customs baggage check area, fought off the porters and grabbed a cab at the pre-pay taxi counter. Off to the Sanur Paradise Plaza Suites, (henceforth to be known as SPPS as I don't want to re-type it or cut & paste it again and again).
The counter night staff at the SPPS seems to have been downgraded to just one so I lugged all the bags about. Oh well someone missed out on a tip. We ended up with a 2 bedroom apartment in block 1 which overlooks the main pool and backs onto the kids waterslide/pool/play area. We were close to reception & agree the best rooms would be anywhere in the centre of block 1 so you can watch the kids from your balcony (if that's your thing).
This was our second stay at SPPS. I would rate the rooms at 3 star and the grounds as 4 star. The beach is not within walking distance but it is accessed by a regular shuttle. If you decide to taxi back it may cost you a whole $2. The big bonus is the waterslide and kids pool area which seems to amuse the littlies endlessly (OK me as well!). It is a very family orientated place with plenty of friendly aussies and other nationalities to mix with. They are slowly renovating doing up the 3 bedroom loft rooms first. We later checked out one of these completed rooms which had quite a pleasant facelift with new tiles, paint and furniture etc. I think all rooms now have new comfy lounges.
Not that we don't like SPPS but this will probably be our last stay there. The place has a nice feel and the staff are genuinely pleasant and graceful. It's simply because we have done the hotel with waterslide thing to death. We plan to return in 3-4 years and wish to be down on Sanur Beach. We ate and shopped there regularly and it would be nice to just amble along to a restaurant or a shop at a whim. The kids will be a little older and more interested in hiring a bike to ride along the foreshore.
Sorry to ramble on. Anyway I wound back the watch 2 hours and downed a couple of the four complimentary Binnies in the fridge (simply to rehydrate myself after the flight). We tucked the kids in with Josh rubbing his tummy, .... Perhaps he was hungry? So I gave him the Dads obligatory, 'you'll be right mate!'
I then drifted off to sleep pondering why my view of Bali is so insular when back at home. I mean this is a country about the size of Tassie with a population of 3.5 - 4 million compared to Tassies half a million. Tourism is the number one industry so that makes it a little crowded and pumping on certain parts of the coast. It is probably just me but when sitting at home I imagine a Bali visited by just a few forumulites spread evenly about and bloodyron cutting a lonely figure at a deserted Sanur bar with a cold binnie in his hand.......