Bali Singapore May 2009
Day 1 - left home at 5.30am for our 10-00am flight. Flight was on time and great with Singapore airlines. Comfy seats, plenty of room and nice food. Arrived at Singapore 16-00 local time and wandered airport aimlessly. I love Singapore airport there is always plenty to see and do there (especially those free massage chairs)
Arrived in Bali at 21-30 and out of airport by 22-00, with no problems at all. Then met by security guard (posing as driver) from Bali Mystique and whisked away to start the holiday. Arrive at Bali Mystique with mixed emotions...and were shown to a 2 bedroom apartment (205A) for our first night...Great apartment, rose petals strewn all over the place with hearts on the beds. A great start to a holiday I was unsure about.
Day 2 - up at 6am and walked to Petitenget temple, down onto beach and along to The Resor Hotel and back along the road to Bali Mystique. After brekkie we started the next part of our journey, off to Candi Dasa to see Mystiques 2 new hotels, Bali Santi and Bali Flamboyant. The drive up to Candi was wonderful, everything looked lush, green; fresh and clean (I was surprised at the changes to the roads and that Bali was a lot cleaner than 3 years ago) the greens of Bali are so vibrant, like nothing anywhere else I have been.
Arrived at Bali Santi, shown to 2 rooms (one indoor bath and one outdoor) Wayan had made up for us (both with more flowers and hearts), however after showing us the rooms he advised us that the boss has told him to put us in new villa in Bali Flamboyant....more flowers and hearts in this room (yes it was our belated honeymoon). Beautiful villa, overlooking the beach, with 3 walls of sliding windows, a big tv, kitchen, huge bathroom and private plunge pool....Ah this is the life. Then Wayan tells us the AC is not working.....it went boom and stopped...oh dear we have to decide between this magnificent villa with no AC or one of the other new rooms (they were lovely too but not as nice as the villa) decision made, we stay in villa with no AC, there was a great ceiling fan and no mossies so it didn't really end up a problem. Pete and I are the only guests in Paradise. The view from our room is across the water to Padang Bai.
Both hotels are beside each other, with a new infinity pool located on waters edge at Bali Santi, restaurant is at beachfront between both hotels. Bali Flamboyant is still being done up with new villas so there are still some of the old backpacker units there too. It is such a lovely place, total relaxation here for a few days.
Both these hotels are easy walking distance into town, if you get tired there is plenty of offers of transport. We did nothing here except walk, swim, eat and relax. It was heaven.
FOOD - Balissa restaurant, Nasi Campur, sate ayam, drinks RP42000.
Toke restaurant, Lumpia, sate babi, sate udang,drinks, coffee RP287000
Day 3 - more of the same, had a lot of fun with the staff in Candi, great fun practicing my indo and their English... met a backpacker from the UK who is in Bali Flamboyant and spent quite a bit of time talking with him. He will be in Melbourne the week we arrive home so we have given him and invite to our place. Candi Dasa is on our list of must does for our next visit to Bali. This time we chilled out totally, next time some exploring will be done.
Day 4 - Last day in Candi, strolled into town, exchanged money (rate varied 7200 to 7400). Picked up by Nengah and driven to Bali Mystique mountain hideaway. Spectacular scenery, rice paddies, small villages, jungle, and finally down a very small rutted road to another little piece of paradise. We arrived at a place that looked like it came from lifestyles of the rich & famous. The villa is at Tampak Siring, a small but important town:
(The hallowed spring of Tirta Empul in Tampaksiring dates from legendary times. In popular folklore, it was made by lndra when he pierced the earth to create a spring of amerta, the elixir of immortality, with which he revived his forces who were poisoned by Mayadanawa.
The waters are believed to have magic curative powers. Every year people journey from all over Bali to purify themselves in the clear pools. After leaving a small offering to the deity of the spring, men and women go either side to bathe. On the full moon of the fourth month each year, the villagers from nearby Manukaya take a sacred stone to be cleansed at Tirta Empul. When the weathered inscription found qp the stone was deciphered, it gave the bate of Tirta Empul's foundation as A.D. 962 and described the cleansing ceremony. For a. thousand years these villagers had been abiding,. by this tradition without having been aware of the meaning incised on the stone! In 1969 the temple at Tampaksiring was completely renovated. Many of the shrines were built anew and painted in bright colors. Outside the temple are rows of sales stands where you may buy souvenirs-the bargain being carved bone jewelry. On the hill above the sacred spring is the Government Palace built in 1 954. Once a resting place for Dutch officials, the site was chosen by former President Soekarno as his residence during his frequent trips to the island. South of Tirta Empul, on a line joining with Gunung Kawi, is Pura Mengening. There is a definite connection between these three places. At the latter temple there is a freestanding candi similar to those candle the facades of which are hewn from the rock at Gunung Kawi. Like Tirta Empul, the temple has a spring of pure water, which is also a source of the River Pakrisan. Pura Mengening might be the commemorative temple of King Udayana. )
WOW, what a place, a hideaway in what feels like the middle of nowhere, yet is quite close to Ubud. The gardens are like botanical gardens, orchids, palms, crocus, coleus, you name it and you are sure to find it here, I absolutely adored the gardens. There are many statues, winding paths and also an old original stone village hut hidden away. The accommodation consists of a main house and 2 villas. The main house has 4 double bedrooms with baths, a large dining room, kitchen, living areas, and a library. There is a pool and Jacuzzi that overlook the valley down to the river, a pavilion for relaxing or having a massage and a larger bar area near the pool. The villas are huge, the bedroom is about 4 squares and there is an enormous bathroom. I believe Bali Mystique will have pictures on their main website very soon. I took many of the gardens and outside of main house and they are on webshots, just look for caronjoy.
Stopped here for an hour or so and had drinks with the owner. Pete described the place as like a lost city...I call it a hidden oasis. I think the whole place will be rented for $1000-00 per night, unsure about individual rooms though. For $1000-00 I think it is a bargain as it accommodates 10 people in luxurious surroundings.
Next we drive back to Bali Mystique and are given bungalow 109 with outdoor bathroom. Nice room, king size bed, dressing room, in room safe and large bathroom with 2 hand basins and front porch with comfy seats. Bali Mystique has 2 sides, the apartments that we stayed in on our 1st night and the bungalows that were the original property. There are 2 pools and one restaurant where we had breakfast (brekkie was included in our room rate) each morning. There is also a beauty salon and massage available at our hotel.
FOOD - This evening we walk to Osteria (Italian opposite The Legian). Brushcetta, Nepalese Calamari, Fritto Misto, chocolate mousse, affogato, coffee and drinks RP287000