Sorry yes I'm slack and I'm very late!
My 8th trip but 1st time with my partner of 12 years (Honeymoon without the wedding)
Flew over with Jetstar - no problems really, they all suck just as much as each other. Left and arrived on time. We arrived at around 10.30pm - I really didn't want to shock my partner as soon as we got there with traffic I had visions of him racing back onto the plane.
Yes he was attacked by porters he had the "first time to Bali look" it was unavoidable. We were picked up by the Ramayana no problems. Rooms very nice and bed comfortable. I think this area is great for first timers, everything is very accessable and u can escape to Centro if things get too much :) I took it pretty easy on him for the first few days although he did down 2 Smirnoffs at 9am after his first walk up to get money changed. He is a country boy I'm surprised he coped for as long as he did!
Then for a change of pace we headed to the Bali Safari Park for 2 nights which was fantastic. The park is good for a day but other than that you have to rest up and really relax because you have nothing else to do other than swim, drink and eat at the Tsavo Restaurant which i highly recommend. We spoiled ourselves, with drinks and an average of 2 courses each per meal it was around the $70 mark all up. Food was worth it. Pool area is great, staff excellent, no complaints other than the stupid idiot jumping into the park to get a pic of the Rhino....my theory - Rhinos wont charge if you are wearing green, if u wear a blue and white t-shirt they will have a go. It was funny to watch none the less.
Then we headed down to the Bali Mandira. Basic room, Im sure i could have gotten better value elsewhere. Ate at Flying Piano, it was a basic meal but its worth going for the Arak and meeting Cheeky Bastard and his brother selling DVD's. The trick is they throw shiploads of Arak at you and then you start throwing money at them. It's like a fantastic comedy though and well worth it! Ate at Yutz's im still undecided about this place, i think i chose the wrong meal and i sat in a spot right under a spotlight so i was extra hot and just needed to get out of there. Posers worth a visit for the location, but hubby loves watching traffic:) A couple of highlights was this great duck restaurant out of Ubud amongst rice paddies, fantastic meal and atmosphere. Sorry if i can find the name I'll come back and let u know. But the meal highlight for this trip was Potato Head. You just must go to this place, not cheap but the view and surroundings is amazing. Hubbie had the tasmanian lamb was about $35AU (which was probably goat from Jakarta) and loved it! I had a seafood risotto, never tasted seafood so fresh in my life. Anyhoo if u want to know anything I've left my e-mail open. Sorry should have more paragraphs/punctuation but I think u r lucky i even got here in the first place! Enjoy your trip xx