ok here is a bit on our holiday - don't want to boor you all sensless with too much ...WE HAD A BALL - LOVED EVERY MINUTE - AND IT DIDN'T COST AN ARM AND A LEG!!!
We arrived on 22 in Bali at 2.30pm and got out to our transport at 5.40 There were 12 planes landed and only FOUR staff on the immigaration counter. VOA was a shemozzel as no signs and lots of people got to immigration only to have to go back to VOA and que again then que again for immigration. Not happy people. Lucky we cottend onto what was what and managed to que jump a bit!!
Sanur was so busy; the most we have seen for quite some time, which is good for them. Mostly Dutch and Germans with an influx of Korean and Taiwanese at Bali Beach Hotel. This place is really getting tired.It is very clean and the staff helpful. However it is the only place with that great view ... room 610 view down beach towards Hyatt for first nights; 634 for last two gave views across straight to Nusa Lemboogan/Pendina. Bruce says the rooms can be a bit tired so long as clean cause he just loves sitting on balcony having his "sundowners" --- even cold Bintang at lunch time goes down better with that view!!
One reason we stayed 2 nights at Sanur was tha I wanted some optical sun glasses made. Including the divine frames (levis for women in a kind of kaki colour ) were 1/3 cost of here. I took my scrip which was tweeked slightly and they are the clearest I have ever had. So worth the 2 nights at Bali beach. They take 7 days as I have graded lenses and they have to be specially made. If any of you go and need some let me know and I will send you the address for the shop at Galleria.
Suffice it to say that we just loved Nusa Lembogan.
Nusa Lembogan is like visiting Bali in 1977 - quiet, no hassles to buy. Simply ask if you want to buy if you say no then it is no hassling like at Sanur. We sat on the wall of the ocean one morning watching supplies unloaded. EVERYTHING has to be shipped in. There were 3 pigs each one in an onion sack. Squeeling like mad. The purchaser was a young man who had a baby boy 3 months old. Theycelebrate life every 6 months until the child is about 3 (I think) and these were going to be fattened up for the next 3 months and then used for the banquet/religious celebrations. The eggs were the best we have ever eaten and just transported in big woven palm baskets. Sometimes tomatoes tasted like seaweed which we were told is often used as fertiliser (explaining the taste) All in all we had fab food where ever we ate.(cheap as chips and served delightfully). I think it would be a bit tooo quite for you guys but we loved it so much we will go back.
Oh YES COCONUTS is simply divine. Breakfast was included and simple but very tasty. Staff just delightful. The villas are basic but the view divine. Lucky I booked airconditioned villa. They stop at villa 6 which was ours and it was 64 STEPS up to it. Now these steps have a rise of 3 times normal steps.The non aircon ones rise to 280 steps for the top one... now way hozay not for this little duck. By the last couple of days I packed a bag of goodies and left them at reception to use as I needed during the course of the day because once I was down I stayed down and once I was up I stayed up!
We walked about 5k each day, had lots of "coldest Bintang in town" and then ate late "Dunch " about 3-4pm. That way we didn't need dinner (I wasn't doing those steps just to eat!) and had drinks and nibbles in the evening in our villa watching the seaweed farmers in their sloops tend their farms. Sunrise/set was good and we finally saw Mt Agung for the first time in years. Although still very misty.
Had a day trip around the Island on a local outrigger. Crystal Bay is a great diving spot off the coast and that really describes the water. I have never seen it so clear!!
Have heard that Garuda will be flying from Brisbane as of November. Garuda will hopefully fly out of Brisbane/Denpasar at a reasonable hour. Virgin was good but the seats are so so so hard but they fly out of Denpasa at 4pm (6pm Ausie time) which is SO much better than 12.15 am!!
We arrived home on Sat at 11.10pm and were home and in bed by 2.45am.
Went to pick the kids up at 3pm Sunday. They seemed to have loved the stay and I was impressed that they had been freshly bathed; had no fleas and were just so pleased to see us. Naturally they had a bbq chook for their tread dinner that night!
We are thinking of next trip.