Thanks for reading so far and your comments!
Day 5
So last morning in Villa Asih, there are now 13 of us but the new family of 4 that arrived last night went out for breakie, good move cos nothing happening in our kitchen! We hadn't seen maids the day before, I went into kitchen and still a dozen eggs there and 2 packets of pancake mixture, plenty of bread/juice so I go looking out back yelling ‘hello anyone there', one appears and I ask can we have this made up for breakfast! Oh ok no worries, they do it...we pack up and leave luggage in ‘guardhouse' at front as they had new people coming in and wanted to clean too. Last visit to Ketuts LOL, why did we need to keep going back there?? Last lunch/coffee at Coffee Corner. Villa Asih did provide transport for all of us (2 vans) to our next accommodation in Seminyak so we go back 1.30pm as arranged. I show them address - neither driver has any idea, I vaguely know it's down gang off Eat street, have a vague map of but of course that is in my suitcase derrrr... we set off and although we have Gang name we cannot find anything, after 30 minutes up/down Laksmana I get out, find my map which is no help pretty much so driver was great and making phone calls to Natan Hospitality who we booked thru and only phone number I have, finally find the right gang (all construction work going on in front of it directly opposite champagne bar).
So we had booked under Villa Panca, all 5 villas, over 12mths ago. I asked at one point is Rumi Villas and Villa Panca one in the same and got told no. Well it is! All the maids referred to them as Rumi Villas, all signage etc and they were awesome. As we pull in there are our 2 other families arriving from the 3 days in Ubud, great timing. Our 5 maids are all there to greet us and take each family to their allocated villa. I can't rave about this little complex enough, 22 of us and it was perfect. Family of 5 have 3 bed villa at end, it actually turned out to have smaller living area but 3 bed/3 bath but pool facing different way so got no sun. The 4 x 2 bed villas were great, mainly sunny from late morning to mid arvo but nice open living, bedrooms aircon and kids downstairs in twin beds with own bathroom and parent upstairs with a separate outdoor balcony upstairs too. For $175 a night we paid, awesome value. Tv's/dvd players in bedrooms only which was fine. The only negative about these villas - MOZZIES! Now they normally don't bother me but they did here, we had rice paddies next door did not help I guess. WE would all light coils in bedrooms about 5pm and spray and shut doors, by time we went to bed I had to put out the coil so I could breathe. Couple of the kids reacted badly to the bites but chemists were great (and cheap) for creams and antishistamine tablets. Oh and the roosters/birds started in middle of the night LOL!
The maids work 8-4pm and pretty much do whatever you want, ours was awesome, I wanted to bring her home. She went and shopped for ingredients, always only taking what they cost, no surcharge, came in and started breakie first thing each day, if we wanted her early we just had to ask (but I was very mindful she was travelling 1.5hrs to work so didn't like to), the best fried eggs/bacon, pancakes, fruit platter, even had my cup of tea ready as I came down the stairs, 2 days we got her to make lunch too, nasi goreng and chicken satay sticks, but with all the trimmings too and she would set the table! She did our washing/ironing everyday, always finished by time she went home (other villas were waiting 2 days he hee). I loved talking to her about her family life, so interesting and made me feel so materialistic and wasteful..you know how it is. I asked why she didn't work in Ubud and she said I am too old (30!) and they like to employ young girls from private schools, she gets 1 day a week off and so does her hubbie a gardener at nearby resort and of course it's a different day so they never have a day off together, her mother-in-law looks after her 2 children, such a simple life, but was she complaining she didn't have wifi or didn't want ‘that' for tea...nooooo!
We tipped her generously, I had taken over a bag of mine and my daughters old bra's, she was rapt, then the sandals we bought for white water rafting, gave them all to her and anything else we didn't want to take home, including all the snacks/food we thought we needed, she seemed very grateful, I bought her daughter a little gift too, wish I had done more....
So I digress. We check in and everyone is rapt and oohing and aahing, Coco Supermarket is very short walk so we go stock up and the men decide to book tea here for all 22 of us, at least they were pro-active for once! Few of the girls can't wait to start shopping so off they go, I lay by my pool enjoying the silence of no traffic LOL. Tea at Coco was average, the service was great though and sitting outside on decking in the warmth on our 1st night all together was lovely.
Day 6
So this is a day for bit of looking around shops of Seminyak in morning, more changing of money etc etc. Booked Nirvana for dinner, this time I took charge LOL, knew the fire show was on and got 2 big tables right in front. We all hit beach in the arvo, 10min walk down gangways towards KuDeTa, easy peasy. Beach was windy, nicer lounges to hire than beach at Kuta LOL but still 50,000 for 2. Kids enjoyed the surf, I can't bear the beach ladies hassling me sorry...when they just stand there for 30mins without moving it freaks me out. But much more bearable up here. Tea at Nirvana - awesome, I had lamb shanks everyone bagged me about ordering, weren't they jealous though for $14.50 the most expensive meal I had whole time away but worth every penny, calamari for entree was delicious too, everyone was rapt with their meals, probably our most expensive night out ($100) for the 4 of us, but 3 of us drinking a fair bit...fire shows (they did 3) were great and we all got up dancing too and the 2 x 18yr olds did a groovy dance for everyone, we thought it funny, not sure on rest of the crowd though! Great night had by all and thumbs up for my 1st pick of restaurants in Seminyak. You have probably guessed by now, I booked all the accommodation for everyone, researched for a long time finding something to fit everyone and within budgets, I am a bali travel forum addict and TA so had printed that much stuff out & everyone looked to me for guidance, plus our 3rd visit, only one other family had been before.
Day 7
2 families head off super early for bike ride (as recommended by us LOL), they left 7am and didn't get back until 5.30pm, a long long day, I don't remember it taking that long 4 yrs ago, they loved it but do they really need to have coffee plantation visit or breakie included, it just adds a lot of time on when the bus ride takes so long. 2 other families head off to Waterbom and my son goes with them so I have day with hubbie and Miss 18, bliss. It's our 2nd hot sunny day and we laze around pool, walk to Cafe Moka for lunch (via gangs from Drupadi that we remembered from 1st trip). I stay and do some shopping down Legian and walk to Bintang Supermarket for few more supplies, fair walk back but I don't mind as I walk a lot at home so feel I am still getting my exercise to keep off this food I am consuming. We book Trattoria for dinner for 7.30pm for everyone. Everyone pretty shattered after bike riding and Waterbom. Dinner was ok, nothing to rave about like I remember, I think it ended up being $75 for the 4 of us, us Mum's had to have wine, sooo missing it and it was ok.
Day 8
One family to Waterbom that hadn't been, rest of us another free day, once again eggs/bacon/pancakes/fruit all to perfection. To Nirvana for a facial which was ok not great, daughter has massage next to me and said they just kept putting cream on and taking it off, that is what it felt like too. But who can beat the value and relaxation factor hey! Nasi Goreng at villa for lunch, kids love it and say can we have this everyday! Most of us back to the beach in the arvo until about 4pm. Then 3 couples to Jimbaran Bay for dinner, other 2 families decided to do their own thing. Our kids didn't want to go, suits me, so they get pizza takeway from Pizza Club. We get taxi about 5.30pm, yep running late (missed sunset pretty much)took 40mins to get there...we knew from TA we wanted to go to Lia's Cafe and had to be very strong about that, course he pulls into another restaurant in the northern area & we are saying no no turn back, its south of the bay apparently, he wasn't happy LOL. We kept going south, 2 of us got out to look and asked a waiter and he said oh down there near the markets, back in taxi and we keep going, eventually see it and get out. One hubbie has his blackberry in pocket, he must have dropped in taxi. Taxi driver offered to stay and wait for 30,000 an hour, no probs, 2 hrs we say, didn't pay him for trip yet then which was $6.00, but we figure he must have found phone and did a runner! Once seated he says oh damn (or similar words) my phone is gone, he is a high executive at a big power company so very stressed, retraces his steps and taxi is all locked up. So we don't really stress, my husband rings it on his phone in case its dropped in sand, probably our biggest mistake, driver might have heard it ringing? We finish a sensational meal, $18 for 2 for platter of fish, squid, clams and prawns, with soup (that was yucky) salad, rice and fruit at end, absolute bargain and only $16 for a bottle of wine (double yay), once again TA to the rescue, hardly anyone there but I can see why it gets high reviews. Then the real fun starts, taxi GONE...we looked and looked, asked around, ended up hiring a driver for 100,000 to take us home and give up on the phone! Great night though, every trip I have wanted to go there and it all seemed too hard, last time quoted $40 to take us there LOL so know better now!
Finals days to come....thanks for reading!