Day 12 - Saturday
So one family has left & 3 leaving today/tonight. Our maid has day off but replacement comes in and breakie all ready by 8.45am, her eggs aren't quite the same LOL but still good. I need to get to Tommy's to pick up handbags and as 2nd family is leaving this morning 11am and one handbag is for that Mum I decide to go myself at 9.30am and hopefully be back to give it to her. I jump in cab & there in no time, this is the time of morning to go shopping in Legian! Only taken me 2 weeks to figure that out. Walk into Tommy's and a completely new display of bags on show, could have bought 3 of them! He shows me the 2 we ordered, one orange, one black, must confess I nearly said want to put this one on shelf and I will take another....they are good, great copies in fact, but I am sort of disappointed as I really wanted tan and he couldn't do that. But then head back up Garlic Lane, get some Beats for nephew then back to Ketuts (just in case... and yep got some more of those shortie coloured shorts with lace, great for pj's I reckon). Back in taxi going up Melasti and was back at villa by 10.30am! Mum 2 was rapt with her black bag so all is good, they get picked up 11am.
Family 3 has gone bike riding - they did Safari Park day before and trying to cram it all in, their Dad is one of those that can't sit still so decided Wednesday we really should have done bike ride so they were picked up 7am, dropped all their luggage into our villa before they left. Family 4 bring their luggage into our villa too at 12 noon and disappear shopping to Legian/out for lunch for the day. So we have day to ourselves! I am thinking I wish we were going tonight too but soon get over that.
I had emailed Biku day before requesting lunch reservation for Sunday when we have to check out and have few hours to kill, no reply yet. Miss 18 and I head down street for manicures, can't remember name of place but it was great, across road from Nirvana though, thought we would try somewhere else. Hubbie and Mr 15 meet us afterwards for lunch and I suggest let's jump in taxi to Biku & see how we go or make reservation for tomorrow for sure. Well, didn't realise it was so close and what a nicer part of Seminyak we hadn't ventured to, driving along and I am ‘oh there is Living Room and there is Breezes'...read about never knew where they were. BIKU - WOW, it was 1.30pm and they said oh just clearing a table if you want that, yep...I wasn't going there and not having high tea, so that is what I ordered, awesome for 85,000, my own pot of tea with cute tea cosy, little jug of milk, sugar on tray, a little bowl of fresh strawberries/cream then my OWN 2 tiered Royal Doulton plate of little sandwiches, 2 little warm savoury pastries, and 2 scones, fresh cream/jam, couple of little tart things...thought I had died and gone to heaven. SOOO sorry I didn't make all us 5 mum's come here one day but we never seemed to have a day all at home! And if we did we went shopping or to beach with the family. As one Mum said ‘we need a girls trip, the family kept getting in the way' LOL. Hubbie had barrumundi with stir fry vegies, Mr 15 yet another serving of fish/chips and Miss 18 yet another burger and fries, all agreed they were awesome. Then Miss 18 says well I need some scones so she gets her own serving and Mr 15 has the choc cake, all yummy and we can't move we are so full, think the whole lot about $40! When we get back to villa later there is reply to my email confirming my appt for the next day LOL, which I replied to saying been sorry and loved it, so nice to see the system does work.
So I say we are going to look at Potato Head which is pretty much across the road, down the long driveway, friends have been here and raved so I want a look. We walk ‘all the way down' (long way according to teenagers) and are told sorry no entry cos Mr 15 wearing a Bintang singlet! Not the singlet that is the issue but the advertising of Bintang! Very disappointed...we head back in taxi, daughter and I get out at Flea Markets, haven't been there yet either, boys go for massage and more dvd shopping. Flea markets - well they are very civilised and some nice stuff, harder to bargain but she gets Vans and a DKNY watch, paid a bit more but as I told them all I am over the bartering just give me your best price straight away! I see a whole stall of fixed price gorgeous leather bags....$55 for a perfect tan one but I refrain. We head to Seminyak Square, I get nice orange top for $27 in Body and Soul though.
Back to villa to relax finally....I really am not good at that, too much I want to get done. Family 4 comes back, its nearly 5pm so drink o'clock and we need to finish some off so we sit with feet in pool drinking and chatting about that the last week, they went to Thailand last year, first time to Bali...what are your thoughts? Well funnily enough ‘same same but different' LOL. Beaches better in Thailand and they like the whole resorts on beach areas but they have warmed to Bali but still no straight answer really. Time gets away, they are getting picked up 7pm for airport and all of a sudden she says oh its 6pm, no time to go for tea now and I say oh crap, we have to pick painting up! Grab Hubbie but still think no hurry, we decide to walk down and take our time....get there and all shut up! I panic of course, we are leaving tomorrow...there is a van in driveway so we go out back and door open and shoes at door of course, we yell out and guy comes out, next to no English, we ask to come in and there is another guy inside painting (no English either) who is copying this awesome red bamboo photo onto canvas, we see our painting on the floor! It's amazing...this is what we want we said, but we can come back tomorrow, no we are closed Sundays! They make some calls and manager turns up 15mins later, thank god! We are rapt, course you would think hubbie ordered it and chose it etc etc he is so happy with it, perfect copy and perfect of Miss 18, Mstr 15 looks a bit ‘chinese' but otherwise perfect and puppy - amazing! They wrap it all up in cardboard perfectly with a carry handle in a few mins, obviously do this a lot, we are gonna try to take already on frame.
Back to villa and Family 3 just home from bike trip, Mum is NOT impressed, her whole last day riding a bike in the rain in Ubud, a long long day, it wasn't with same company we had recommended, they did coffee plantation first and got breakie 11.30am, as she said ‘why bother', then bike ride, got lunch at 3pm and it was very average. She did not want to hear about my lovely time at Biku LOL. Other family are just leaving as we get back and we head off for tea as last family leave 8pm, feeling a bit sad its all coming to an end but pretty keen to be home now too.
We go to Ultimo's for dinner, had to wait for table for about 20mins, but worth the wait, Hubbie had best steak he has had in Bali, I had great fish, total bill with few drinks $52. All very quick though, bit rushed, they are trying to refill the tables of course. Home and no-one else to talk too, feels very weird, we watch a DVD in bed, first time in 13 days we have watched at DVD, kids are onto season 2 of One Tree Hill though.
Last Day - Sunday
Last great breakie, back to cereal and toast next week! Usual bacon/eggs/banana pancakes/fruit/toast...will miss this. Narna is keen to get cleaning, new guests coming 2pm, we can store our luggage in laundry from 12 noon she says, we are going to airport 3pm. We linger around all morning, weather overcast again but I have one last swim before showering and finish packing. We leave about 11.30am and go to Carla's Spa. Hubbie for massage, Miss 18 for pedi while Mstr 15 and I do the fish spa, my first time, didn't like it....I only last 10mins and get out & ask for a pedi too, they did great job, all so cheap. We then head to Black Canyon again, for lunch, gee kids order burgers and fries for something different, I get my last nasi goreng in, great coffee again. I spot some tops in the markets there I like but get frowned at....'we don't have to spend ALL our money you know'...Miss 18 keen to go to Nirvana Spa and get sides of hair braided like Miss 17 from other family did on her last night. We go up and the 3 of us all decide on 30min foot massage while we are waiting, $19 for the 4 of us! It's all over now, we walk sadly back to villa and driver is pulling up as we get there, sad farewell to Narna who brings our luggage out, wouldn't let us go back in villa to help.
Standing in queue to check in and an official comes over looking at painting and takes Hubbie to counter to get bubble-wrapped for $7, we then check it in as luggage and they mark it fragile, they said too big to take on plane, but all good, it survived both flights. Flight leaves on time 6.15pm to Darwin and is pretty good and quick, then long wait until 2am for flight to Melb, everyone tired and laying around then flight is delayed - what the! We don't take off until 2.40am but pilot makes up the time and we land on time 6.45am in cold Melbourne! Holiday well and truly over.
So to summarise and few tips for those that will be newcomers:
So Hubby says time for a change, Bali 3 times in 4 years we need to try somewhere else but I am very happy to return, where else can I go for massage/facial/pedi and eat out all the time so cheap, not to mention the shopping and getting things made! A girl's trip next time I think. I can do without Legian/Kuta, would just go there for one whole day to get cheap shopping done, it's too busy and traffic ridiculous. I prefer Sanur, which we did last time, but teenagers didn't want to go there. And Lembongan Island on my list next time. Of the 3 new families we took only one would return I think.
The weather was nowhere near as hot as July 2010 on our last visit, really only had 2 days where we were looking for shade and a swim which was bit disappointing but so much nicer for shopping and walking about, overcast most of the time and often breezy but certainly a lot warmer than Victoria!
Since coming home out of the 22 of us, someone from each family has been sick with something, either bad cold/flu like symptoms, tummy issues or gastro, who knows if related but of course they are all blaming Bali. Miss 17 got infected underarm gland, doctor told her from shaving in bali shower! Never heard of that one. I took raspberry juice for 1 week before leaving and on trip over it leaked so threw it out and then I had nothing, I was fine the whole time over there until I got home too. The rest of my family took nothing and were all fine. The sickest family were the ones who took Travel Bug and Travelan everyday so go figure! No-one had any extra vaccinations.
Will never fly via Darwin or anywhere again either, only direct and sadly don't think you can avoid the overnight flight. Think I said that last time, but we did it again but didn't save anything this time $ wise after Air Asia fiasco.
We only took CASH in $100 bills, I kept it very close to me until we got to safes at each villa and would take $200-$300 out each time & only changed at Auth Money changers, never had a problem. I used credit card at places like Carefour, Mataharis, Bagus Watches, Dentist and some of the restaurants, no problems anywhere. Some of the other families took passport travel cards and then had trouble with limits per day and stuff and were forever borrowing of the rest of us & of course got a much lower exchange rate, I never had under 9500, a big difference on 2 yrs ago when I think we were getting 7500.
We would return to Rumi Villas or Villa Panca in a heartbeat but I do like to try somewhere different each time.
I found the wine much better this time, we bought a 2l cask of Hattens Rose from Bintang S/Market to have in villa, it was fine with ice. Most restaurants house white wine was fine, still expensive by Bali standards though but I am not a beer drinker and cocktails get too much sometimes. Next time I would try to take more champers in with me but once again declare it. I did take 2 little bottles of lime juice with me (read it somewhere) and could stomach bintang with lime juice added, just filled 2 of those 100ml travel size bottles with it.
Didn't achieve everything on my list this time but got pretty close, still didn't get to Pearl Restaurant like I really wanted and La Lucciola, Echo Beach and Padang Padang I would have liked to visit but even though 2 weeks it goes nowhere, as my friend said ‘kids got in the way' LOL!
Thanks for reading, I loved reliving it, I probably check in everyday at least once on this forum, very addictive even when I haven't got a trip booked, this forum is main reason we had such a great holiday with so many recommendations and other reviews so thank you all!