Travelled on Jetstar, and in spite of negative postings, especially by my good mate DC, I found them to be OK, and they got us there and back, which is probably the most important thing.
As there was problems with VIP, we did not request this and upon arrival were confronted by a terminal full of Korean/Japanese/you name it travellers, and queues longer than you would see if Collingwood ever reached a Grand Final!!
However, Baldie luck seemed to kick in, and a slippery looking very official looking immigration guy whispered softly "express?", and whilst not wanting to contribute to the further decline of corruptive standards in Indonesia, I was torn between my own personal standards and a 2 hr wait.
My personal standards have always been questionable, so nothing to loose.
A quick flash of the required loot, and it was out and away to the pre delivered rental Xenia.
Off to KTH, in full anticipation of copulating couples all over the place, only to find....shock horror not a hint of extra or inter maritals going on in public, but just family groups enjoying their holidays.
I was sorely tempted to ask for my money back, until I remembered that we are owners, so no chance.
KTH good as always, a bit noisy on weekends for the footy and pool now not open in the morning till 10am, but still great staff, top accomodation and a location that we enjoy.
Not to be defeated by the lack of public copulations, I had a look at the much maligned of late Secret Garden.
Again....total disappointment, as there was not one "butterfly of the night" to be seen, and no old guys at the bar perving on swimmers till I ordered a cold Bintang.
So, maybe its in the timing, or just different perceptions, but all seemed pretty much as normal to me.
I will not go into boring details, but we did get up to Amed for a couple of nights at Apa Kabar, and managed to get to Sails restaurant, where it was good to catch up with a couple of old friends from Bayu, although it was very strange to hear Balinese talking with Kiwi accents......don't know how that happens.
Well worth a stop for good food, well priced wine and great outlook.
I also stopped off at Sanur Beach Villas, for what was my most enjoyable visit there ever.
This was because BR was not there, so we drank a dozen Binnies, paid for 6 and legged it.
Plenty of Hati Hati going on around Kuta/Legian with footpath works all down Jalan Pantai Kuta, and some huge developments being undertaken.
Ocean Blue club....there one day and gone the next.
It does not pay to blink in Kuta at the moment.
I caught up with a few forumites around the place, and always good to see familiar faces, although seeing some duck for cover into a timeshare selling session just to avoid me did nothing for my ego.
One new service has started up oposite KTH, with Made going into rentals of Top quality Aussie strollers.
Our daughter took one out, and found pneumatic tyres the go for Kuta/legian streets, and also for the beach path walks.
I have contact details if anyone wants to mail me (just remove the "no spam" bit)
So, all is well in the Isle of smiles....no burkas and full cover on the beach, no rabid Javanese tearing arms off to sell a tee shirt, no foaming at the mouth dogs snapping at ankles, just Bali beautiful Bali and lovely smiling and friendly Indonesians from all over the Archipeligo.
Old favourites Tom Yum, Basil Leaves, Uns, Kuta Steakhouse, Alley Cats, Ketupat all still most enjoyable and providing a Cheap/mid range mix to make the rupiah (8,500 on departure!!) go that bit further.
I may post some small bits as they come to mind, but this is an overview, and confirmation for us anyway that Bali is still exactly where we left it, albeit it busier and probably even happier as a result.