Day 1 Tuesday 25/5/2010
Woke about 3 am. Taxi ride to Perth airport was scary as driver didn't
seem to be awake. Flight had heaps of young children but was surprised at how good they were.
We arrived at Denpasar about 11. We were at our hotel by 11:30. Booked in and went straight to Carrefour for supplies. Had to buy a new SD card for camera because the one brought in Aus wouldn't work, knew I should have checked before leaving home.
Retired to hotel then went for a long walk along beach. Had a coffee
at a place across from Breezes
Then went to dinner at Lemon Grass. As we were entering a woman told us not to waste our money there. Wife had the Vegetable Thai Green Curry. 7/10. I had the Chicken and chips 6/10.
We went back to hotel and fell straight to sleep. Wife was not happy because we were in the middle of a conversation about her going to a spa.
Day 2 Wednesday 26/5/2010.
We woke up early about seven. We had breakfast at the hotel. Wife had the Continental breakfast I had the American. Decided we would not be eating breakfast at the hotel too often.
Then we took the long trip to Kuta Art Markets. I didn't realize how far out from kuta we were staying. We bought some clothes for the next couple of days. Then off to Gloria Jean's for a coffee. I love the cold towel they provide on arrival.
Dropped into Captain Blacks bikers club picked up a nice t-shirt and a stubby holder.
Returned to hotel and had many Bintang's around the pool. Then off to a spa. Wife and I both had manicure, pedicure and massage. I got a Mohawk haircut. All this took three hours.
We went for a walk down to the beach. While on our way we checked out the restaurants. Decided to go to Harry Juku for dinner.
For dinner wife had tofu stir fry. I originally ordered a pizza but was told no pizza so went for a Chicken souvlaki. Wife gave HJ an 8/10. I went 8/10 would have been higher if they had pizza. The food, service and ambiance were very good.
Then off to Bintang supermarket for some supplies. We had a coffee and Black Forrest in the Cafe next to the market. Then back to hotel to pack off to Jogjakarta early in the morning.
Day 3 27/5/2010.
Woke early had a 4:45 wakeup call from reception. This would be the earliest I have ever woken in Bali. There would be a couple of more early mornings to come before flying home.
Off to the domestic airport for our flight to Jogjakarta. I was surprised to see how busy the airport was. Once checked in and through security we went to find somewhere for breakfast.
I found a nice place near the security. I ordered the chocolate croissant and got a cheese one instead. Wife ordered Gado Gado but was told it was not ready. Wife ended up having Oreo cookies for breakfast.
Flight was just over an hour. No in fight movies or TV shows but did get a light breakfast. Wife is a Vegan so couldn't eat the breakfast so I got two.
We were picked up at the airport by a driver and he took us straight to the hotel. Jogjakarta is a big city with over 3000000 people. It took about 30 minutes to get to the hotel. We were too early to book in so they let us leave our bags and we went for a look around.
We didn't think to take a map so after doing a big circle we ended back at the hotel. Wife had a nice vegan breakfast and I just pigged out.
After breakfast number three for me we got a tourist map. Went to Marlioboro Street and down to the sultan's palace. Spent about half an hour having a looking around. We were warned that there are two entrances to the palace but only found one so not sure if we went in and saw the whole palace but by this time we were too hot and tired to care. While there we found a guide for our trip to Borobudur.
Went back to the hotel and our room was ready.
After packing away our few belongings we changed and went down to the pool. While sitting around the pool we ordered two Bintang. When they arrived I asked for stubby holders. A long and detailed discussion evolved and the guy was off to find us some stubby holders. Very soon after our man returned with a glass bowl full of ice. Not quite what we expected. When we ordered our next beer he turned up with a wine bucket full of ice. Definitely kept the beer cold.
Not long after this the sky opened up and it started to soak the place. We retired to our room where we watched a bad movie that had Madonna staring in it. I couldn't take the movie so as soon as the rain stopped we went next door to Toko Progo shopping centre and had a look around. It started to bucket down again so we were stuck there for quite a while.
We spent the rest of the afternoon vegging out in our hotel room. Early evening went looking for a place for dinner. We first looked at Milas Cafe a vegetarian place but because it was still raining we decided against eating there. We ended up at ViaVia. A nice place with a great menu. For starters wife ordered Fried Tempe and I ordered Garlic bread. What I got was small pieces of bread with crushed garlic toasted on it. Very tasty but not what I am used to.
For mains wife ordered spaghetti pesto and I ordered Chicken Provencale. Unfortunately when wife's meal was delivered it had bacon not good for a vegetarian meal. Meal was sent back and replaced with one without bacon. My chicken was a bit dry wife meal was very tasty. Me 4/10. Wife 8/10.
Day 4 28/5/2010
Woke up at 4am. After a quick shower we were down in the lobby by 4:30. Our driver tells us on the drive out to Borobudur that today is a holiday for Buddha's birthday. The traffic up to the temple is heavy and on the way we got stuck in a traffic jam.
On our arrival we were told a big ceremony was going on so the gates would not be open until 7am instead of the usual 6.
We had breakfast at one of those stalls they have near all tourist attractions. Eventually we paid our $15us for our tickets and entered the temple. The place was packed. Wife and I slowly made our way around the base of the temple. The temple is massive with intricate carvings of the story of the Buddha all over its walls.
Slowly we moved from the lower level to the upper traversing each level clock wise. What a spiritual experience. Even with the great crowds I could feel we were in a place of god.
The journey to the temple summit and back down again took about 2hrs. It would have been longer if we had traversed each level 3 times as recommended by the temple.
On our way to our next destination we got caught in the biggest traffic jam. It seemed all of Jogjakarta were making their way out to the temple for the afternoon ceremony.
When we eventually got back to Yogya we went to the Hindu temple Prambanan. I thought it was impressive in its own way but not quite up there with Borobudur. We had lunch there but wife's vegetarian dish came complete with chicken and meatball! I had Nasi Goreng special which was ok.
We then declined driver's invitation to visit silver smiths and returned exhausted to our hotel and spent afternoon by the pool. Asked for stubby holders for our Bintangs and finished up with a bowl of ice to stick the beer in and then a wine bucket!
We went to a restaurant called Bedhot for dinner. Wife had a traditional Javanese dish called oseng oseng which she really enjoyed. 9/10. I had chicken schnitzel which was a bit over cooked but tasty 5/10. Retired to bed exhausted.
Day 5 29/5/2010
Woke up early and went down to breakfast. The breakfast menu was massive. We had a massive menu to choose from everything from eggs to dim sum. I started with some Danishes then moved onto omelette and potato finishing with coffee and fruit. They even had enough choice for wife to be happy.
After breakfast we went to Marlioboro Street to do some shopping. We found these great thongs with designs on them. Our son was a fan of Sponge Bob Square Pants when he was younger so got him a pair with Bob on them. Our daughter in-law is into Hello Kitty so got her some with kitty on them.
As we were going I spied a silver model Harley Davidson. The seller originally wanted 750000rup I said too much and walked away. About five minutes later the seller rushed up to me and offered the Harley for 300000rup. I now own a model Harley made out of something that looks like silver.
Booked out of hotel at midday but as flight not until 8 that night we caught taxi to a nearby plaza which was huge. The place had five floors full of shops and eateries. Wife was very excited at finding a vegan stall in the top floor food hall. She gave the meal a 9/10. I on the other hand had something that was supposed to be a pizza. It was horrible and I give it a minus 5 or 10!
After filling in time with checking out many shops and drinking coffee we headed to the airport. We had fries in an airport cafe and I had a box of something on the plane while wife resorted to Oreo cookies again. Arrived back at our Bali hotel at around 11 that night and crashed out!!
Day 6 30/5/2010
Today we are off to the national park. I have decided to hire a car and drive myself. Went to one of the local car/bike hire places but they only had medium size cars. I was looking for small car like a Jimmy so went to three other guys looking for a Jimmy. No luck except for one with no tread on the tyres.
Returning to our hotel we checked on price of driver and car. The cheapest quote we got was 700000rup. Decided to go back to the first guy and get the mid range car at a cost of 200000rup a day.
We set off using Google maps and a paper map. The drive up to Gilimanuk was long and slow by Australian standards. We were starving and famished by the time we got to Negara so when we saw a sign pointing to Hardy's we decided to stop for lunch.
Well we got lost and ended up in this big purple painted building that had a food hall that consisted of one Fried chicken place. We decided to go to the supermarket and buy something there.
So for lunch I had an ice-cream and some cashew nuts with a side serve of Oreo biscuits. Wife had an orange, cashews and Oreo biscuits. We pushed onto our hotel.
We found the turnoff to Mimpi with no problems the difficulty came with finding the driveway. We over shot the driveway by 15kms before we stopped to ask directions. Then we missed it again by 8kms. Finally a nice guy showed us on our map how to find the entrance and told us it had a big sign out the front. What he didn't say was that the sign was advertising something else and the name Mimpi was at the top hidden by tree branches and was only visible from one direction!
We got to the hotel settled in then went off and organised a guide for the next morning. He charged half the price that the hotel was advertising. After that we relaxed in the swimming pool and hot pools. A bit of light entertainment was watching a guy teach a water massage technique. The hotel seemed to have an oversupply of attractive Asian women all doing a massage course.
Had dinner that night at the hotel restaurant. I had the Chicken cordon Bleu. Wife had Gado Gado. The chicken was brilliant 9/10. Wife Gado Gado 10/10.
Day 7 31/5/2010
Woke early suffering from over consumption of Bintang. Had a brilliant breakfast at the hotel and met our guide at 7:30 for a three hour trek.
Well what can I say? What an experience. Our guide was brilliant knew his stuff and you could tell he loved his job.
He first took us thru the mangroves and showed us the flora and fauna. He dug out some coastal crabs with one massive pincer. He showed us the different kinds of mangroves then we went into the backyard of a house and he showed some baby birds in a nest.
From the house we crossed the road and entered the jungle. The guide showed us monkeys looking to catch fish in a stream. What he really wanted to show us was Black Monkeys but none seemed to be about.
The trek took about 3 hours and was filled with many interesting sights. However the thing I will remember will be the climb back out of the park. There were way too many steps. It made Borobudur look like an anthill.
We returned to the hotel freshened up had lunch and started the long trip back to Seminyak.
A good trip back till we got close to Seminyack I took a wrong turn and ended up thinking we were lost. Then after deciding it was time to ask for directions wife saw a street sign for the street we wanted to be on. Five minutes later we were back in our hotel.
After freshening up we took the car back and hire a motorcycle for the rest of our stay in Seminyack.
Diner that night was at kyana Morocan restaurant near Mykonos. The food was fantastic and the service was A1. Wife and I both had couscous hers was vegetarian mine with lamb. We both gave the place 10/10.
Day 8 1/6/2010.
Our day of rest. On our way hone the night before wife bought a can of Baked Beans. The hotel kitchen was happy to cook the Baked Beans so for breakfast she had baked beans on toast. I had the American with Bacon. The bacon was like rubber, this will be the last time we eat at the hotel.
We spent the rest of the day doing a bit of shopping and just relaxing. Wife found a flyer for a vegetarian place called Little Green Cafe so decided to have lunch there. On our ride over there we got stuck in a traffic jam. By the looks of it a power pole had come down and while the workers worked on it the traffic made their way around it any way they could. Wife loved the veggie place I hated it.
Went to 99ers coffee for the afternoon relaxing and reading. Nice coffee but terrible toilets.
Intended going to Ours for dinner but not enough menu options for wife. We finished up at a place called Ketumbars. Good food and friendly service. I had Hawaiian pizza minus pineapple 9/10. Wife had pasta dish minus cheese 8/10. I had chocolate mousse definite thumbs up and wife had fruit salad which was huge. I think they gave her extra as she had it minus ice cream.
Went on to bar near hotel called Barcode where had more drinks and live music with excellent singers and guitar playing.
Day 8 2/6/2010
Woke up feeling seedy was worried I had Bali Belly but was only Bintang Belly. Went to SoHo for breakfast I had pancakes and wife had toast, fruit salad and muesli. Liked breakfast there so much will go there tomorrow.
After breakfast we went for a ride with no end point in mind. Ended up near Garlic lane where we bought some DVDs, a Harley shirt and 2 pairs of shorts. Where we bought the shorts the seller's first price was 600000rup ended up paying 200000rup. She told me I was a hard bargainer. I took that as a compliment.
On the way back to the hotel we got lost again but worked out well for wife as she found another vegetarian place to have lunch. Earth Cafe has a good range of food for a veggie place. I had samousas and chapatti bread wife had a Hugalafel sandwich. We gave it thumbs up for both meals.
The stop nearly killed us. As I was pulling out of the car park a very attractive young lady walk in front of us and I spent too much time looking at her and not at the road. The taxi driver who swerved to miss us said something and I am not sure it was a compliment.
On the way back to the hotel I went right instead of left and did a wonderful tour of the country side eventually coming out just near our hotel. We spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool. Then after a brief down pour of rain we went to Black Canyon for coffee.
As we were preparing for dinner we got a call saying the bike hire guy was here to pick up the bike. I was sure that we had it for another day but when checked paperwork it said 2/6/2010 not 3/6/2010. I sadly returned the trusty steed. Looks like taxi for the rest of our holiday.
Dinner was at Zula vegetarian paradise. I had chunky chip wedges and a nasi goreng wife had stirfried noodles. Chips were great nasi goreng ok 6/10. Wife loved hers 9/10.
After dinner we went to find a bag to take all our goodies home. Found a large bag and sellers first price was 350000rup. We ended up paying 150000rup.
Our final drinks were at Bush telegraph. Good cold beer, good music had a great time.
Day 9 3/6/2010
We were up early and I felt lucky because I had no hangover. Off to SoHo for breakfast. When we got to restaurant found we only had 50000rup notes. The driver said he would wait and take us back to the hotel. Breakfast was great but way too much food.
After breakfast went next door to get some money out of the ATM. The machine said it had given us our money but none came out. Looks like we are down 1000000rup. Will check with bank when we get home. Went to another ATM and got money this time. Then back to hotel and packing.
Packed and booked out we wait for our taxi to take us to the airport. We expected a 30 minute trip but got stuck in a traffic jam so trip took 50 minutes.
The usual crush to get through check in and massive lines at immigration. Once trough we relaxed with a coffee and waited for boarding call.
Another holiday over and back to home.