Thought I would do a quick JBR
Travelled to Bali to stay at Besakih in Sanur for two weeks with our daughter and son in law and were absolutely delighted when KellyG popped out from the shadows with her family having decided to stay at our hotel for the end of their holiday. Their trip was to attend a wedding and what should have been a happy time with us turned into a bit of a nightmare for them. We had a great time really but poor Kel was racing round Bali trying to get home due to Indojet fiasco. We cared for baby a fair bit ( a complete joy) but the poor baby had one very busy day at the airport and indojet / ozjet offices and Kelly was worried sick. I am not sure if she has posted but honestly she had every mobile number known to man for anyone in any way associated with the companies. She was relentless and eventually secured a flight home. The insurance company couldn't help as the company were not insolvent just ceased trading temporarily... they paid for all calls though :) plus they listened in :))
The poor office girls were the ones left on the front line and you had to feel sorry for them. The Australian consul offered $400 or something to be paid back at a later date. They really were out of money hadn't brought their cards but we would have got them home. So many people affected by the companies, makes my blood boil. I really don't understand what was going on and still is but those poor people who have lost out break my heart.
Anyway we waved off KellyG and co and missed them for the rest of the trip... well we missed the baby...
We planned a bit of a wedding for next year during our trip and even though there is heaps to do my future DIL ( hehe) is very happy with the planner who is Katie from Baliku. Katie is a lovely girl and we all got on with her so well and we trust her to bring a dream to fruition.
We ate at some nice places, we loved the Beach Cafe and Mango, we quite liked the Village. When Beach Cafe is busy the food isn't so good, go for lunch and be amazed.. On the beachfront some kids do a bit of a Barong dance with a small gamelan...if you see them give them a few rupiah, they are from a local orphanage.
We ate again at Poppies when we went to do the Kuta sunset thing with our Son in law who is a Bali virgin, Poppies was great as was the sunset..
Bintang Bike tours were excellent and we ended up with the cat poo coffee which is really very lovely, I have a jar here and it was expensive for a small jar but you just have to do these things sometimes LOL
The rest of the crew went to the Safari park and seemed happy enough with their experience, then the younger ones went rafting..I didn't want to go unless it was Sobek and it wasn't ...fantastic adrenalin rush apparently but a few hundred steps up to lunch..A few hundred down too but going down is usually easy I guess.I didn't get the name but our daughter said Sobek is so tame compared to this company. I think I wouldn't have liked it much.
We rode on the ocean on a junkung and on a glass bottom boat, it was so beautiful, Sanur is beautiful and it was so nice to just walk out onto the beach front and find a cafe or a free WIFI, a massage or a manicurist with absolutely no hassles, it was bliss.
We liked the Besakih, not stayed there before but have walked through many many times. The staff are lovely, the breakfasts good, the rooms are a bit tired...well some of them...some need a good scrub. The gardens are beautiful and renovations on a small scale are underway. We met some great people in the hotel, people who have stayed at the same place for years and love it because they have tried but never found a better alternative. The hotel has a beautiful resident dog named Betsy who is loved by everyone.
We were lucky to be invited to a ceremony for a shop opening..."Ubud Huts and accessories" A Seminyak type shop with realistic prices, we bought a bit from there, all good quality crafted products. The shop reminds me of a Subi store if you are a perthite.. So good luck to Bev and to Agus her trusty manager. This is apparently the same crew who sell Ubud huts in Perth. The shop in on Jl temblingan after Piccadilly in the row of shops which houses circle K and the bank etc, it is the end shop...they have a nice shop dog too:)
Daughter and I wanted a spa and the men wanted to go to the bird park and botanical gardens so we separated for the day. I chose the Green garden spa at Tuban and was well pleased. The cost was 330,000 for pick up drop off and a royal package, it was really nice and has been too long since my last spa..I always mean to go in Bali and always run out of time.
Desi still at Breeze cafe with lease extended, Tootsies still the same and the family seem to be coping with their traumatic loss. Shopped at Jennys too and Kenys. We bought a few DVD and all are good even the new release ones.
We caught up with some old friends which is always special and decided since it was some years since we had been to the Jazz bar in Sanur we would go...not too impressed, caught a taxi back to Lazer, then to the Irish Parrot place..nice place good laugh good food. I forget all the names of the restaurants we tried, I named the ones we liked:)
ok can't wait for next year
sheesh tis a while since I did a JBR. I really must have had a great trip :)
I have the photos of the classic bungalow closest to the beach for you Geri...send me an email I have lost yours rusky35@hotmail.com