Who: Me, hubby, stepson (14), our boys (7,4)
Staying at: Kuta Town Houses
Flew with: Air Asia
I've put a few posts on about bits and pieces already, so I'll just put the highlights here for reference!
KTH: Great! I would happily stay here every time. Massive rooms, good pools, good food, great staff. The price is fantastic too. The location took a bit of getting used to - it's down laneways, not on a main st and yes, we did have a few taxi's refuse to take us to the door. After a couple of days, that wasn't such an issue as we got our bearings and found the shortest way home. Nothing was too much trouble. The dinner menu is not massive, but room service is available until 10pm, which was handy.
Air Asia: Brilliant. Absolutely no qualms about paying half the price and flying with them again and again. Yes, the seats are tight, but no worse than any of the others and for $60 one way I am not silly enough to expect private jet luxury.
Eating out:
Kuta Steak House (down from KTH) was great. Lovely steak, great prices - $30 for 5.
Queens of India - YUM!! $50 for 5 - excellent for Indian and it was soooo yum.
Matahari's at Jimbaran Bay - not the best seafood I've ever had and it was pricey ($130 for 5). But we didn't bring enough money with us (plebs - not used to eating out) so I got to go on a scooter ride to the nearest ATM which was a blast!!! Poor driver though - his stomach muscles would have ached for the rest of the week after carrying me around on the back of his bike!! I will try somewhere else next time though. The boys loved the sunset on the beach and the atmosphere.
Bubba Gumps ($40 for 5). Boys loved it. Good themed restaurant. We intended to go back again, but didn't get there.
Agung Bali Cafe ($25 for 5) Great value, great food. Lovely chicken satay.
Tsavo Restaurant: Absolutely stunning food. It has been said many times on here that the food is pretty ordinary for the price. I had the salmon and it was beautiful Hubby had the steak and loved it. We are not seasoned restauranters, mind you. Maccas is eating out for us. But for my money, this was a special night. Breakfast the next morning was great too.
Sightseeing and Activities
Safari Park, Safari Park, Safari Park - I just love this place!! For all those concerned about the baby animals being 'drugged', I have the photos to argue against it! We arrived in the afternoon on Day 1 and patted Leonie the 4 month old Lion for ages. She flicked her ears at us and moved a couple of times. It was the afternoon and they do spend most of their time sleeping though! But in the morning, she took on my 4 year old and had energy left over for the hubby! They were wrestling with her and she was punching back! She was growling at Alex and headbutting him as they played together. Animals seem to love my husband (butcher by trade, so cows are the only exception) and Leonie played with him for ages too. She was chewing on his fingers and turning on her back for him to tickle her tummy!!!!! It was just brillinat. Then to the elephants which was also special. We spent ages with the mother and her 6 month old calf. Spend heaps on carrots too! What an opportunity for our boys to feed real elephants. They just loved it. The baby decided to wrestle hubby and wrapped his trunk around him pulled him in!!!! It was hilarious!!!! We will be back time and time again. The accomodation was wonderful and very comfy, big rooms. Booked it through their own website and took the Kifiru room. Big tick.
Waterbom: the boys really enjoyed this. As a mum, I spent most of the time going round making sure they were all OK. We were only there 5 hours - I thought we would have been there longer, but everyone was ready to come home.
Volcano: Been there (again), done that. Hubby and I went 9 years ago and said we wouldn't bother again. Took the boys coz they are boys and it got a big 'WOW' when we got there after them fighting all the way up. Had lunch with the flies (nothing to write home about) and then home. Stopped at the Monkey Forest on the way there - those monkeys are a lot bigger than I remembered. Only there 10 minutes. Stopped at the Coffee and Herb Plantation on the way back. That was great. Everyone enjoyed that. We saw pineapples growing. They sprout out from plants that look like cordelines - I didn't know that!! I assumed they grew up out of the ground. So that was interesting!! Lots of samples.
Sanur: Went jetskiing and all got a massage + manicure on the beach. Nice afternoon out, but I think we might have missed a big part of Sanur - unless it really is as quiet as it seemed! Got a driver to take us back to Kuta and he said it was his first fare all week - it was Wednesday.
Shopping: Discovery Mall - my 7yo loved this place. He just loved shopping in general and really got into the bargaining. But of course, Discovery Mall has a toystore and why wouldn't you go all the way to Bali to buy Hot Wheels cars and Transformers???
Ketuts and Jenny's for me! I don't like getting into bargaining without knowing what a good price for everyone is!
Best bits:
Massages - Carla Spa rocks. 1 hr massage, facial, wonderful creambath for hair - $15. I should have gone more often!
Hair cut and colour - Johnny Andrea. Although the girls didn't say a word to me or any of the other whitees in the salon, this was $30 for a full head of foils, cut and treatment. And a blow dry (why do they ask if you want a blow dry? Of course I want a blow dry!!)
Safari Park - gotta do it!
Buying bags (100-300 000rp) and DVDs
The market stalls around the corner from KTH (opposite Secret Garden). These ladies were all lovely and I enjoyed sitting with them for a cold drink a couple of times. They didn't bother giving me ridiculous prices - just good prices from the start. Business is slow even though there are lots of people around. When you get talking to them, you start to see how tough life is for them. I got some bargains and they got some business, so it was good for everyone! One of the ladies did my laundry for me and the TSirts still smell great!
Can't wait for the next trip in January!!