Thanks for tips & advice from the forum members many of which I used or passed on to the newbies in our group. 7750-7880 on the street, weather the nicest I have experienced hot without being to humid & nice breezes most mornings. Less sweating then in Sept/Oct last time. Swimming everyday. Bought Mentari Sims for Rp25,000 with 5000 credit each set up.
Family of 7 flew out from Sydney to Perth on Qantas FF on time but a hell flight over Canberra running into the worst turbulence ever experienced, many on the flight were crying & screaming out as we dropped many a time during a 3-6min period. Then flew AA Perth to Denpasar leaving 30mins late arriving in Bali at about 9.40pm. Free hotel transfer waiting for us.
First 5 days spent at Satriya Cottages Poppies 2. Stayed in room 108, older kids in upstairs rooms. Large rooms, bathroom shower leaked needs some TLC but was clean & comfy. Great sized terrace with chairs & table & privacy from garden. Hotel grounds beautiful, quite & staff very friendly would definitely recommend this hotel if wanting to stay near the beach around Poppies area.
Enjoyed the market shopping & eating in the Kuta area. Visited Matahari, Centro, Geneva, same same as last trip did not buy a lot but enjoyed looking. Organised 3 pairs of prescription glasses. Took my script from Aussie had my glasses man visit me at my hotel so much easier. Also viewed samples of stubbie holders ordered for a 40th party in Bali & business order along with business cards. This had been pre arranged via email before we went to Bali. Had a wonderful canvas done from a photo of my children cost Rp210 000 rolled.Bought at Bintang Silver as always, Sita Fashions & many more.
Took a trip (on Motorbikes) over to Sanur to visit friends staying at Villa Shanti. This was similar to Satriya with the Balinese style buildings but small rooms. The pool was on the small side as well. Had lunch & dinner at 2 different beachfront warungs both very nice. Took a walk around the area very, very quite, no water on beach only exposed seaweed as tide was extremely low. Talk about beach lounge hogs, friends said when they were up walking at sunrise 6am many Europeans putting towels on the lounges & we watched & laughed as they turned their lounges every half hour to follow the sun.
Moved over to Legian at Hotel Kumala Pantai to meet up with the rest of the group, now 24 of us ( 18 newbies) Friends had the new rooms at Block S & SG. We had an Ambassador Suite & a Deluxe room 1st floor in Block A. All rooms were great the older rooms were still in great condition very clean & Block A was a peaceful setting. The Ambassador Suite was an excellent choice for our large family with plenty of room, 2 bathrooms, 2 TV's, 3 balconies & the large living area with a rollaway bed in it. Breakfast was not the best food or variety so had a few big breakies at the coffee shop in front of Beach Melati Apartments & Zanzibar. Had laundry done across the road many times all good.
Another family of 5 stayed in the penthouse at Beach Melati Apartments. It was huge with a lovely outdoor lounge area & every thing you need. Apart from a running toilet system & a bathroom drain smell that couldn't be rectified (covered the drain & burnt many an incense stick) they enjoyed their stay. It has a small pool, no garden/grass area, no direct beach access & no included breakfast.
Most of our large group enjoyed the Buggie/Quad adventures, White Water Rafting & Bike Tour this being the highlight of their trip. Many a great meal at Blue Ocean, Zanzibar, Lanai, Seaside, Yutz, la Casa, La Monde, Wayan & Friends & many a local warung. The big 40th Birthday Bash was upstairs at Zanzibar, all 28 people served at once beautiful feed then the sky opened up & had us running for cover with plates in hand. Didn't make it to Nirvana was so looking forward to eating there so will try again in March.
Had many a bintang around town & on the beach with our local friends, Gee, Rais & Rukman at their beach bar & some jam sessions on the guitar.
The one huge upset of our holiday was losing my luggage with AA! Check in was 8 bags only 7 arrived in Perth. Filled out report with Airport lost luggage department in Perth at 5.00am Wednesday morning no email or request lodge with AA or Denpasar airport until Friday afternoon when I finally got a competent staff member on the phone. I am very cranky & upset as it had not only mine & hubbies clothes from home but also our new wardrobe from Bali, presents, stepsons new skateboard, sunnies, my Bali Bible, shopping & 2 of the new prescription glasses in it. Now to deal with Travel Insurance claim as it appears I will never see that bag again.
The lost bag was a suitcase, 1 of 3, then we had a bodyboard bag & 3 soft Bali bags. I taped these 3 times with clear large sticky tape bought from Bintang Supermarket with no problems all made it back in one piece & definitely cut down on weight. Flight Denpasar to Perth AA on time 9 degrees on landing Yuk! then Virgin Perth to Sydney using FF again. Had a 7.5 hour wait in Perth as Virgin had changed their flight times on 1/7/2010 couldn't change flights but the savings we made using FF Syd- Per return allowed us to score cheap AA flights.
Have deliberately left out company & personal business names so as not to upset the forum administrator but am happy to provide these details via email if you want to click on my email link. Back in March just hubby & I for a short visit but have so much I missed out on this time to do & re shop for my lost items.
Cheers