Left for Bali on a Wednesday flight with Garuda. After clearing the airport went to Taxi rank. This has now gone up to $55,000rp
Arrived at The Lokha Hotel in Legian and had a deluxe room on 1st floor (2 queen size beds), and the bonus was it was right at the back so nice and quiet. Prices for rooms at this hotel have risen by nearly double from last May 2008.
They are in the process of painting the hallways and they have put in new black cane lookalike dining settings..very nice. breakfast ok nothing flash.
Weather was quite muggy this time around (usually not humid in May) and unsettled weather.
EATING...
MOZARELLA...A new restaurant in Jl Padma, Legian It has a very nice atmosphere and the food is delicious ..Our group ate there on several occasions and each time everyone was very pleased with their meals.
WARUNG MURAH.. This is in Jl 66 down towards the beach end on the right hand side...Very reasonable prices...The only grog they sell is beer so if you wanted to take your wine or spirits you could.
ULTIMO'S..Very nice...
MANICAPIS.. Jl Raya Seminyak...Delicious food..only bugbear was when going with a group they dont want to do seperate bills..
QUEEN TANDOOR...Jl Raya Seminyak.. Fantastic if you like Indian food...not cheap but not that dear either... was great when we went there as we went with a group so tried lots of dishes. .
INDO NATIONAL RESTAURANT- Very cold beer..Nice meals..Prawn toast to die for, and a fabulous Spicy Bali chicken..yum yum sekali
LAOTA..This is on the road to the airport and usually only indonesians eat there..An indonesian friend of ours took us there and it was very cheap and very nice food especially the Chicken and Blackbean..
ORGANIC RESTAURANT-UBUD- Sorry not sure of name but great food..the best Gado Gado I have ever had...you have to walk along a narrow path thru the ricefields for 1km to get to it and all around the restaurant is vegatable gardens..they grow everything that they use in making your meals...great experience...if you cant walk far you can ring and they will pick you up on a motor bike..well worth trying..will post more details about this restaurant when I get the information
COOKING CLASS- Bumbu Bali Tanjung Benoa
I finally went and did this cooking class after 3 years of saying that I would..Absolutly fabulous..worth every cent..Cost $65usd (we didnt go to the market part) We cooked 22 receipes and it was hands on..highly recommended
On this holiday the streets were very busy with tourists and most of Legian area hotels are 100% full. Gone are the days that you could arrive in Bali with no accomodation booked hoping to get something in the Legian area.
Spoke to a few very disappointed people that tried this and couldnt get anything...from what I heard while over there most hotels are 100% full right up until November
VILLA ACCOMODATION
We went and had a look at a new villa that has just been built in a gang of Garlic Lane...its called Villa Rahasia..fabulous 1 bedroom villa with own private pool..very reasonably priced so will look at booking that next time...well worth having a look at their website.
This trip has been considerably more expensive than last May,due to the price of accomodation, beer and wine prices going up 100%. Food is marginally dearer....
All in all we had a great trip and cant wait to return....