Well where to start is the question anyhow here we go.
Week 1 Besakih Hotel Sanur.
For the price this hotel is fine but it could do with a few minor updates to the rooms to make it even better. That breakfast that everyone goes on about, all we can say is it was plenty to fill you up, the only down side to the hotel is they do not provide tea and coffee with the electric jug and cups that are in your room (bit strange that) also they do not replace the intial supply of soap etc. The rooms are made up while you are at breakfast that is a big plus. The staff were very friendly. The following are the restaurants that we eat at Mangos very good as usual, Bennos very good, Laser Bar not so good, Besakih good but pricey,Aladins had to be the best and for a cheap light snack for lunch try the Circle K.
For all of those things that we stock in the fridge Hardy's is the place or at least that is until you check out Carrefour's, it is worth just going there to take a pic with the guys on the roller blades and this place has the best fresh cooked bakery you would ever need and the prices are so cheap. Whilst on the big Super Stores, Mataharies at Legian is no longer and the Mateharies at Kuta is left for dead by the Centro Discouvery Plaza but be warned there are no cheap things there. We enjoyed our stay at Sanur and will be back sometime in the future.
On to Legian and the Puri Rajah Hotel, this place is actualy about $4 US a night cheaper than the Besakih however the two resorts cannot be more oposites the rooms and pools are more up to date, the breakfast is the same as the Besakih but you do get tea and coffee and bathroom goods replaced each day and as my wife says it is those little things that make a place. Once again we did the tour of the restaurants, Ricky's in our opinion was the best, followed by the Sinar (across the road from Melasti Resort), Patricks not bad, Bamboo (in legian St) this is run by the same people that had Bamboo Corner (it is no longer there either,they finished pulling it down yesterday), Maharta next door to Puri on the beach side very nice and you wont get a better price, there is another that we went to about 3 doors up from the Puri with the red boards out front they were also ok, but in our 14 nights we did not eat at what you could call a bad restaurant. The average pribe for the two of us including starter or desert, mains and drinks was around 120 to 150,000rph. Large Bintangs were anywhere from 17,000rph to 23,000rph.
We did most of our shopping (all the surf stuff, tee shirts etc) at two special shops one in Sanur and one in Legian (fixed price and no rip off), if you want their shop names drop me an email I have left it open.
Safari Park, all I can say is you must see it, it is a great day out but take your own drinks etc as they charge like a wounded bull in the park.
The Blue Taxi is a great way to get around to the super markets costs about 25,000rph from Legian to Carrefour and anywhere from 18,000 to 26,000rph from Legian to Centro.
It is amazing how some things have changed for the better over the last four years (this was our 15th trip) someone is ploughing a lot of money into the property market at the moment lets hope that they do not go too far over the top and charge an arm and a leg to stay at the new resorts when they are finished.
Over the last 3 days days things have become very quiet again probably because of all of the negative vibs being sent out by the press.
Are you thing of pulling the plug on that trip you have been looking forward to ? well the best advice I can give you is DONT, Bali and the Balaneese People need our support and some of us like to call them our friends.
Sorry for ranting on but that is me, I tell as I see it.
Happy Travels