Left friday 14th August from Perth on VirginBlue. Us being wife, myself and 8 month old son. Flight was good and arrived on time. Had pre-booked VIPVOA and was glad we did given we were last off the plane.
Through voa and immigration and in our car to Ubud in 15 minutes - would not have been keen waiting in line with the baby for another 45+ minutes that i believe people from our flight took to get through.
Stayed at Alam Shanti. Hotel and staff are superb. Is a gorgeous oasis of gardens and Balinese design.
Our bub wakes at 5am so after a feed and a change and getting him into the baby bjorn we had the first of our Ubud sunrise walks. These got progressively longer as my walking stamina came back and by the last day i had walked from Alam Shanti into Ubud and along the Campuhan Ridge Top Walk and back again (i was pretty knackered after carrying my bulk plus an extra 10kgs that far). We made many friends on our walks as so many people stopped to talk to my little boy and i think a lot of Balinese were a little bewildered to see a man out walking a baby in a baby-bjorn at 6am in the morning everyday. My wife is from Jakarta so our baby is Hasian as my wife likes to say (half-asian) and the Balinese just loved him - he is a little chubster too so they were always squeezing his legs and being so affectionate - they truly adore children.
Had a bottle steriliser delivered to Ubud from Bali Baby Hire which was great and made life much easier.
We did not venture out to many places to eat in Ubud as it was our first time away with the baby and was a bit of a learning experience - we had food deliveries from Pizza Bagus (some of the best pizza i have had) and our favourite Batan Waru including a special babi guling feast for our anniversary. The Alam staff were extremely accommodating at all times and were so friendly and happy with our baby.
Did one trip to the Elephant Park which was good - great to see our baby's face when he got to feed the elephants close up. For those who are motorbike adventure fans we saw Charlie Boorman at the Elephant Park with his wife and two girls.
Had a few great massages at Alam Wangi Spa which now has some new treatment rooms and a pool back from the road next to Alam Shanti.
6 nights there went too quickly and soon we were off to Amed to stay at Life in Amed.
Arrived at Life in Amed and were immediately impressed by the beachfront villa and the hotel itself. Unfortunately, although it is a lovely hotel, Amed did not really suit our holiday desires so we only stayed the one night rather than the 5 we had planned. We wanted to go back to Alam Shanti but it was booked out as expected. We were planning our last 3 nights in Sanur at the Grand Bali Beach so we gave them a ring and managed to get a room early. We headed down to Sanur and got booked into a nice garden bungalow. These rooms are getting old and need a bit of TLC but it was very clean and we loved the peace and quiet. Staff were all great and again so brilliant with our baby.
I had not stayed in Sanur for 8 or 9 years so it was good to have another look. The beach footpath is superb and the sunrise walks were stunning each day - got some great photos ! And again we met many people each morning on our walks and loved the peace and serenity. The late afternoon also presented a great time to walk in Sanur as the sun set on the other side of the island giving the beach footpath cool shaded sections and the constant breeze made it perfect. Mainly ate at two places on the beach - the restaurant at the Tandjung Sari and the Beach Cafe. The Beach Cafe was a true find - they have a Dutch chef who did some superb dishes - his take on beef rendang was fantastic and the mango chutney he served with his lamb curry was amazing. The seafood he prepared was always super fresh and perfectly cooked (sometimes difficult to get in Bali i have found).
Had a few day trips in to Kuta to do a bit of a shop but pretty much stayed in Sanur.
Used H's service for DVD's as usual and once again happy with his service.
Not much else to report from this trip but my one piece of advice to anyone travelling with an infant would be to hire a good cot from Bali Baby Hire that has soft sides - we did not do this and missed a lot of sleep from our boy waking when he rolled over and bumped into the wooden sides of the cots supplied at the hotels. The one good cot was the one at Life in Amed where we did not end up staying for as long as we had planned.
Last 3 nights we moved into one of the Junior Suites in the Garden Wing at Grand Bali Beach which was a lovely big room near the pool. Good value for what we payed.
Flew home on the Virgin 3pm flight to Perth and was a good flight that arrived 15 minutes early.
All in all a good trip - certainly a learning experience for two relatively greenhorn parents !!! Our baby has looked a little lost since we got back as he has not been getting as much attention and cuddles and kisses from complete strangers which just reminds us of one of the great things about Bali and that is how wonderful and gentle and family oriented the people are.
Will be back again next year for trip number 17 for me (i think), number 4 for my wife and number 2 for our little one.
Thanks for reading.