Well, here I am, back into the swing of things, working, house chores etc,etc.
I must admit it's hard to get back onto the forum and read/post anything when
You have the post Bali blues, but somehow I have managed put pen to paper and
Write this up whilst things are still relatively fresh in one's memory.
Firstly a brief overview of the trip...
Mum, Dad (me) and 2 boys aged 5 and 4 ( the 4yo turned 4 when we were there).
Departed from Perth on Monday 13th July on Jetstar, returning on Friday 31st July.
VIP VOA. After much indecision about whether to do it or not, I finally gave in
And decided to do it with Murti Harsono [murti_harsono@yahoo.com] she charges
$20AUD adults and $14AUD kids. The swinging vote to get me to do it was from
My work partner who had been on the same flight, albeit, a Saturday flight and she went with hadi and said it save her approx. 2 hours as when she caught up with others
At her hotel, that were on the flight, they confirmed it. Our flight arrived 10mins early
And were greeted by one of Murti's 'lackies' and escorted through VOA and to the
Baggage belt, whilst he sorted out the Visa and customs, bags were collected and we were out of their to be greeted by Murti within 15min....wife reckons it was the best
Thing we did as the queues for both VOA and Customs were rather long. A guess as to how much time we saved ..90min?......Think you may do it?, well the following
Might make you think twice. My sister arranged VIP VOA, also with Murti for the
Same flight for the following Saturday (same day as my work partners flight a few
Weeks before) and her flight arrived at 2.15pm, 30 minutes early, no Murti to be seen,
So off to VOA, no queue, off to Customs, no queue, baggage collected and out of the
Airport in 15 minutes!. So that just goes to show, that a lot of the time it down to luck
As to whether it's worth it or not......
Accommodation: 12 nights at the Puri Damai and 6 nights at Bali Garden Hotel.
Puri Damai is boutique hotel in Legian, just about next door to the Kumala Pantai.
We booked a 2 bedroom appmt. For $115USD per night, we loved it, plenty of room for the kids, nice size swimming pool (plus a toddles pool).Kitchen, TV room, full
Size fridge, day bed etc,etc. If we go back, it certainly will be one of our spots to stay again.
BGH.: Returned to BGH for the second year in a row and stayed in the Family rooms
Once again and for the second time in a row were put in a room that was nothing short of disgusting. Bathroom tiles 'shifting' and filthy underneath, ceiling covered in mould and no verandah to sit out, on. ( room was right next door to the same quality
Room that we were first put into last year, before being moved.). So my wife went
Straight to reception and told them what she thought of it and promptly we were moved to a much better, although still 'basic' room. Now tell me, why the hell didn't they offer this one in the first place, or are they just hoping we will put up and shut up with it ?. The pools and restaurant out over looking the beach are the saving grace of this hotel, my kids just loved it there ( so did we). One thing I did notice though, was that the bintang is now 20000rp per bottle up from about 14000 last year. The only other thing that bothered me this time was, on most nights DJ's crank up the music from about 6pm onwards, sometimes so loud I actually think it sends people
Away from the joint....just as sunset arrives!. A couple of nights the music wasn't too bad, quite cruisy and a perfect match for the setting sun, but on most nights it was all
That 'booty-ass' stuff ( if you know what I mean). Which spoilt it for this old codger ;o/
We did the Waterbom park thing for my sons birthday, meeting up with friends and
Shouting them lunch and getting a cake from bread talk across the road which cost
180,000rp and they put writing on it and supplied candles. Waterbom park charged me 100,000rp just to get it in !. a great day was had by all and we paid the return within a week ticket, which now costs $11.50usd adults and $6usd for kids. ( half price).
We also did the Bali Hai, day trip to Nusa lembongan, beach club cruise, which ain't cheap at $300+ for a family of four. My kids did love it though. My five year old even
Got into snorkelling and he can barely swim !, they both did the banana Boat ride ( many times) went out with us on the Kayaks and did a treasure hunt set up by the staff for the kids. We left the Island a little early so as to do the semi submersible sub, which the kids just loved , they also have an underwater observation deck which they went down to have a look. ( meantime I quickly grabbed my goggles and jumped in
And swam down to the windows and surprised them....what a laugh :o) my 5yo promptly ran upstairs and did the same thing !, no fear this boy!) He even went on the
Waterslide that has a fair drop from the edge of the slide into the water, time and
Time again.
My wife took a sheet load of material over to bali to have some clothes made up for
Her by a tailor she used and was recommended to her last year. He is alex at Nia Tailor just off a little laneway to the right on jalan Melasti about 15 metres before you reach the intersection on melasti and legian street heading away from the beach. His
Phone number is 0361 750026. She went through oodles of fashion magazines ans cut
Out pictures and attached a small piece of material to them. She then got alex to come
To her hotel and measure her up and negotiate a price on some 21 items and I think the average price she paid was $15aud per item except for a jacket which cost her $35aud. My Brother in law also used him and was very happy with the 2 suits made for him, but don't ask me what he paid for them, cause I don't know.
Food while staying at the Puri Damai, breakfast wasn't part of the deal, so we would walk down to the beachfront resto's just up from double six road and to be honest, they were all pretty much on a par, one might have better pancakes, while the other's
Egg Benedict might be better. Priced for the four of us from 180,000 to 230,000rp.
Places we went to were. Blue Ocean, Zanzibar, lanai and Tekor.( We also had dinner
At a couple of them and preferred Tekor over the others.). Whilst we were doing the
Breaky thingo at these places we ventured up to Ku De Ta for breaky on 2 occasions
And believe me even if the food was twice, well almost, the price it was easily twice
As good and the setting leaves the other for dead. The second time we went there, it
Was on a Sunday and they have kids activities going and my 2 boys loved decorating
Cookies and making bead bracelets.
There's also a nice Italian resto that hasn't been open for long on the corner of Double
Six and Werkudara, it's called Café Marzano, owned by an Italian couple, they do
Great wood fired pizza, quality pasta and good coffee. Warong Asia, nearby became
A favourite of ours, with good thai food which we would often order take away.
Along with friend we all went out and spoilt ourselves one night and dined at
Sarong up in seminyak ( I think). The setting was stunning, drinks although expensive
Were very well made ( I had 2 'Thai Bloody Mary's' before dinner which were the
Best I've ever had). The food equally as good....cost $170aud for the 2 of us which
Included 5 cocktails and a 1 third share in a$100aud bottle of wine...ouch!, Plus a beer....all in all though it was a great night topped of with a quick visit/drink at Ku De Ta to finish off the night.
Other rest's visited on the trip....Un's in kuta, friendly staff, nice food, good atmosphere, Kunti Japanese, tiny place opposite poppies lane that has the freshest
Of fresh sashimi and sushi...yum. Boardwalk at the BGH, well made standard fair
And relatively cheap, especially for a resto within a hotel.
Prices of items/services
Bintang on the beach 12000rp and at most small shops. It was about 10500rp per
Bottle from the bintang supermarket and about 240,000rp per carton.
1 hr massage at Briella Spa opposite the jayakarta 65000rp....top place is this.
A word of warning to all you girls out there, be careful with your bags. A girlfriend
Of hours paid us a visit while we were staying at the Puri Damai and we went down a narrow lane ( which we used most days) between kumala Pantai and our hotel to go
Out to dinner on the beach strip and on the way back she had her bag snatched from her shoulder by a passing motorbike with 2 guys in the back. Now this lady is 56 years old and she went flying through the air before falling very heavily to the ground
Once the strap broke, she sustained heavy lacerations as well as shock, lost her phone,
Car and house keys and about $100aud., her hubby took her to SOS and she was given scans and luckily nothing was broken, but that set them back about another $100aud.
Oh and just one more word of warning, don't put your mobile phone in your boardies!
I cooked, or should I say drowned, not one, but two phones while I was there !!!, although the first one is now going again. After I drowned the 2nd one just 2 days before we left, in desperation, I tried my original phone I took to Bali and hey presto
It's working again, now lets hope the replacement one I bought from bintang market
For $55 does the same thing as the first in about 2 weeks time ;o)
Lastly, will I be going to bali again next year....?, hmmm, some reno's on the house
Are on the cards and one of our cars is in need of replacement. But then again all these cheap flights ex Perth and the thought of escaping winter for about 3 weeks will weigh heavily on our minds over the next few months.
Cheers
S