Dirty Dozen x 2Tour
Theme Song 'April sun in Kuta' (Cuba)
6th April to 20th April
Hi all,
What started out as a summary, is now a bit of an epic! Please bear with me as this is my first report.
We were a group of 24, all friends, split into 6 families. 11 adults and 13 kids, ages ranging from 5 to 15!armed with our 'Dirty Dozen x 2'beer coolers!
We departed Sydney on Garuda at 10.00am, arriving Bali at 2.30pm(local time). We stayed at the Bali Garden Hotel for 14 nights. As we had booked as a 'group booking', we were greeted by our own 30 seat coach! We had checked into Qantas group check-in, in Sydney, we were all seated together. We breezed through VOA and Immigration, and into that 'smell'. If only someone could bottle that smell! It must have been quite a sight seeing 40 somethings jumping up and down, giggling 'we can't believe we are in Bali!'it has taken nearly a year from booking the holiday and the wait was finally over.
We had stayed at the Melasti Beach resort, Legian in 2005 and decided a change of hotel was in order. We loved the Melasti but thought that we would always compare it to this holiday so we opted for the BGH. Well, what can I say? I never thought that I would go back to South Kuta, but we absolutely loved it!! Most of our families had deluxe interconnecting rooms. That is definitely the way to go with 2 or more kids. Eventhough BGH'S rooms have not been renovated for quite some time, the beds were the most comfortable, the toilet never leaked, the shower is probably the best shower I have had in Bali, however, a word of warning, make sure you don't flood the bathroom! The aircon never broke down. We had 2 balconies overlooking the pool and the coffee shop. One of our group had the largest balcony (which could fit all 11 adults for drinks), and a great view.We were happy with our rooms , eventhough our bedhead was straight out of 'Green Acres'.
Eventhough the BGH is 3 star the pools area is 5 star! They are still finishing the gardens and footpaths, we were made aware of this when we arrived. They also have a mozzie reduction programme twice a week, so mozzies were never a problem.
Breakfast was great. All the usual choices, if you didn't want to wait in line, sometimes the queue was quite long, you could order soft, hard or poached eggs from the kitchen. Each and every staff member was very happy and pleasant. It is nice to be spoken to by name.
The 'bomb' beagles were gorgeous. They have about 5 of them and they 'sniff' the grounds and perimeter several times each day. We could not have felt more safe, anywhere else.
The 'spa pool' was very cooling with smaller bales along one side. The infinity pool, which is saltwater, is beautiful. The main pool with tables and chairs in it was our pool of choice. The kids loved sitting at the poolbar ordering milkshakes, etc and Bintang for the parents!
We all took pool noodles with us and they are great to laze around the pool in. We left them for other families to enjoy. Other highlights of our trip were (not in any order):-
NUSA LEMBONGEN with Bali Hai cruises. We had a fantastic day. We snorkeled, swam, went on a tour of the village and enjoyed the Banana Boat rides (all included in the price). If you have a group, shop around with the tour desks and see who will give you the best discount. They had a terrific band on the boat, even one of the captains? Came and danced with a few passengers, one of which was my husband!, and a Russian girl who performed a bit of a 'pole dance', complete with swaying boat.
A BBQ lunch was provided and would have to be one of the best buffet lunches I have had. There were fresh dinner rolls, king prawn skewers, satays, coleslaw, salad with several dressings, fish, fresh!! Wouldn't hurry back.
POPPIES . This was our first time that we had eaten here and the food was lovely, but the service was slow. It was the only restaurant that was almost full. Well worth the wait!!The satays came on their own terracotta cooker, with coconut shell ashes and they wrere beautiful. You can even buy the satay cookers there.
PUB BAGUS. Had the 'special'Prawns Thermidor for 69000 rupiah. Absolutely beautiful. However, a huge contrast between night and day. Very lively in the night but extremely laidback during the day. Was hard to get someone's attention to get the bill!!
THE PUB. 'Still cares for you, best satays and the coldest beer by far. We met the new owner, Made. He was very concerned that there rumours on the BTF that they are closed. His mother Wayan, gave him the business because she got married. They were busy repainting and he has ordered new shirts. I assured him that we would let people know. Eventhough with the changed traffic conditions, do yourself a favour and go and visit them. It has been around for so many years and would be a great shame if it went to the 'grayeyard', like Casablanca, etc.
CHI CHI MEXICAN restaurant, just down from the BGH, on the opposite side of the road. We didn't make reservations, but because everywhere has been so quiet, they were blown away by our crowd. They brought in more waiters and chefs. Apart from running out of cold beer, and kids not getting their entrees until AFTER the adults were having their main meals, they tried very hard and the food was delicious. Will go back again.
THE PANDAN LEAF. Opposite the BGH , to the right. What a find!!The only reason we had decided to eat there was the '2 for 1 bintang happy hour'The food was sensational and the service, brilliant. I had an authentic dish, from Lombok. It was cooked and served in a bamboo pipe and was fantastic. Apparently, that is the only restaurant in Bali who uses this cooking method. Would be the find of the holiday.
DEWI SRI restaurant. Tuban. Prawns and crab were delicious. The chilli crab is extremely hot! Don't let the formica and views put you off. The only complaint I would have is the price of the lobster. My husband went to chose 1 from the tank, the price was 75000 rupiah per 100 grams. I wanted a 400gram lobbie. By the time he came back to tell me that they only had 700 gram lobsters, and did I want that, they had already started cooking it! Note to self, Don't go by the menu for the sizes, look in the tank first!!Eventhough it was our most expensive meal,besides Murnis, it was delicious. I think I will stick to the crab and prawns next time.
KAFE BATAN WARU, BGH. We had our first nights meal here. It was lovely and well priced for a hotel restaurant.
BOARDWALK restaurant, BGH. Well priced again for a hotel restaurant and the Mie Goreng was the nicest we had in Bali.
BUBBA GUMPS, opposite BGH. One of the best nights that we had! The prices were reasonable and the service fantastic. Order yourself a margarita and enjoy what happens when they bring the drinks out to you!!One of the kids celebrated her 6th birthday there. All of the staff came out with their makeshift instruments from whatever they could find, and clashed and banged and sang happy birthday . It is a birthday Paige will never forget!RUN FORREST!!
LEGENDS, Garlic lane. We came here to see the band from the Bali Hai cruise. It was also very quiet, but the food great. All of the kids, and some of us adults, got on stage and sang a few songs with them.
A & W Discovery Mall. The BEST 'fast food' restaurant in Bali!!I like to avoid fast food while here, but on a couple of occasions, after a long day out, it was quick and great!! Why don't we have it here, in Sydney??
BALI BEACH SHACK, next door to Legends. This is a fairly new restaurant and bar which is owned and managed by an Aussie brother and sister. Eventhough, we basically stumbled upon it after Legends, it was lovely. The décor is great and the nicest toilets around. They even have Bloo Loo!!It is a really nice place to enjoy a quiet drink or meal, with live(but not loud) music. Give this place a try, you will not be disappointed.
There was also great shopping to be enjoyed by all. Hubby, son and I went into Denpasar as we had not been there for a few years. We went to the Ramayana department store and were not disappointed. After rave reviews on this forum, I armed myself with Martha Tilaar!! I have used the moisturizing gel, the Botulike serum, night cream amongst others. The only downside is 'what do I do when I run out!!!' Their website is in Indonesian and they only have a very limited range on EBAY. Oh well, might have to go back when I run out! We were taken to the 'Istana Pancing House of fishing', in Denpasar by our driver Wayan Adiarsa. What a find. My husband bought Shimano rods and reels, and was very pleased with himself!
We also stumbled upon The Tupperware Factory outlet. Purchased quite a bit from their catalogue. If you spend 1 million rupiah or more, you get to choose a free gift. Well, I had to have that!!I got 2 free bowls with lids as my freebie. Bought quite a lot for that amount. Very happy indeed.
Went to Geneva and didn't get past the first floor!, already had a trolley full. Purchased the 'hairy lanterns' for 12 dollars each. I have paid up to $100- over here. We sprayed them and had no problem bringing them in. The other warehouse mentioned on here, forgotten the name may be new, but nowhere near the choice of items and is closed every Sunday.
I went and got myself a lovely frangipani tattoo, at Ka's Tattoos, opposite the hotel. Thankyou to Bonnieblue for holding my hand!!Dho-Dho drew it freehand and I was most impressed. I am very happy with the result.
Other highlights of our trip were:-
Sitting at the end of Kuta Art Markets,at sunset, at the bar, with 'Jimmy Bintang', having our legs massaged, watching the kids surf and thinking 'it doesn't get any better than this'.
Waterbom par. Always a great day. Reserved 2 cabanas the day before.
Wayan Adiarsa, He had a 25 seater coach for us, with an esky, or they like to say 'big ice cube', he was very knowledgeable and a lovely man.
Nyoman from E.R tours. He picked us up from and to the aiport. We decided to hire him for a day and were very impressed. He had a 30 seater coach, very comfortable. Both drivers we would hire again.
SAFARI PARK. Enough has been said, had a great day, very enjoyable.
BILLY'S BAR. We had the forum get together here on 8th April. Many thanks to didiaust for arranging and having name tags, you are a wealth of information! I hope you are fully recovered. Bonniblue, it was lovely to have met you and your family and thank you for taking me for my tattoo, much appreciated.
I have to give a HUGE thanks to Filo for sending me the 100 teddy bears. We handed them out, the memories of seeing those children's(and parents) faces is a wonderful gift you gave us. Thankyou. Bali is a better place because of the wonderful things you do!!
Last and definitely not least, thankyou to the forum. I compiled the huge amount of information I obtained, for my 'Bali Book', which I subsequently left on my kitchen bench!!!!!!
Oh well!!
Mickeydean
The dirty dozen x 2