Hello All
After reading the forum for the past few months , myself and my family decided to visit Bali for the first time (my wife has been 2 times already and hounded me for 3 years to go!).
I was scepticle of Bali but that was due to the wonders of Australian TV.
We stayed in Kuta at the Bali Dynasty resort for 10 nights, as there was low occupancy an upgrade to a pool room was a must and the resort was happy to accomodate.
The resort itself is old but well looked after, the staff were awesome and couldnt help enough, the breakfast (included) was great with a good variety to choose from( i went all Indo and had curries and all the gorings available).
we travelled to the usual places, Ubud, Tanalot, Bird and reptile park, Seminyak with the kids which all in all was a great experience for all.
we hired a local driver for $50 AUD for the day (9 hours !)and he was a plethera of knowledge and took to my family with ease, my kids treated him as one of there own and were sad when we had to leave.
So here it is "I am a Bali convert through and through, the people are fantastic, the food awesome, although we stayed in Kuta i found the experience pleasant and next time we return (probably next year) i will endevour to see more of this amazing country and its people.
Thanks to everyone in the forum for their valuable comments prior to my departure.
Closing comments are:
The VOA and departure tax will always be there (deal with it)
If you look for trouble you WILL find it ( be sensible)
Respect the beautiful people of Bali (you are a Visitor/Guest )
Everyone has kindness, show it and you will get it in return(we are all humans).