JBR - OCTOBER 30 TO NOVEMBER 7
Sorry it's SO late! We're both struggling to remember whether this was trip 8 or 9 to beautiful Bali. It had been 2 years since our last visit and so were looking forward to seeing the inevitable changes that had taken place.
We flew Jetstar from Adelaide. Aboard the Airbus A320, it was, to use the technical term, ‘squishy'. Despite getting away late, we made reasonable time. I was feeling very apprehensive about clearing through Immigration in the new airport after hearing some of the horror stories (2-2.5 hour waits), but I needn't have fretted, we had a DREAM run. As we only take carry on over, we strolled out in to the sweet, sticky air of Bali in around 15-20 minutes. Our hotel pickup was waiting, and told us that several planes had been delayed, great news for us!
We arrived at U Paasha Seminyak around 10.30pm. Check in wasn't overly friendly, but efficient, and they had taken in to account our ‘Special Requests' when we booked through their website. We got our wish of being on the ‘5th floor', which is actually the 4th floor, but there is no 4th floor in the elevator. This most likely due to the owners/developers being Chinese - the #4 is considered very unlucky. The rooms have an incredible amount of space. You could easily fit about 6 people in the shower! Bed was King and comfortable and the view from the narrow balcony was impressive. 180 degree views which would pick up a silhouette of the mountains and then sweep around to overlook Seminyak, Petitenget, Kerobokan, the buildings & trees would make way for the sparkling ocean to come in to view in parts, before being broken in to by the horizon. Yes, the balcony would be a great spot to catch the spectacular sunsets that Bali delivers, if not for the narrowness of the balcony and the extreme heat of the concrete underfoot. Breakfasts at U Paasha were of a very high standard as far as buffets go. Plenty of selection, good quality, staff eager to please - could not fault. But the ‘Pièce de résistance' was the rooftop pool and bar! The pool is probably 25-30 metres and only 1.1m in depth. If you are one of the many who enjoy grabbing a lounge and ‘camping' on it for the day (not our kind of thing) - you would need to get there early. As for the bar, well it is a little underwhelming aesthetically, but has a brilliant view for sunsets with happy hour to boot. Also on the top floor is the gym - small, but adequate. Dumbells ranging from 2 to 20kg, 5 cardio machines (3 treadmills, stepper and cycle), leg station, upper body station and a couple of benches. To give you an idea of size, it felt crowded with 6-8 people in there. So that is U Paasha. We could not have been happier with location, facilities, service & food! Now, back to the holiday.....so we'd checked in to U Paasha late, we're very tired, but I needed to eat something, anything! We trudged directly across the road to Café Bali. Having eaten here several times over the years, we've always found it to have good food and reasonable prices, not this time. The prices were fine, but the food was terrible. Maybe it was due to how late it was? We only ordered Prawn Dumplings and a pasta (think it was a linguini) but couldn't make it through either. On the plus side, my first Bintang of the trip was cold and refreshing. Then it was off to bed, it'd been a big day!
5.30am, I am wide awake! Would've LOVED to sleep in, but my body said no. Up to the pool & gym for an hour or so before returning to the room where my better half has begun to stir. After breakfast (very good, as stated earlier) we set off to do all the ‘Day 1' things. Money Change, exchanged for 10580Rp, this was our highest rate for the trip, it fell to 10350 by the time we left. Toiletry and lolly shopping at Bintang Supermarket, we always stock up ‘big', and bring plenty home - Martha Tilla, haircreams, underarm deodorant, toothpaste, Mentos......SO MANY Mentos! But as we're returning in March '15 we refrained from going over the top, just buying what we needed to get us through until the next trip. Then it was on to House Of Komang for tailoring. I needed some jeans taken in, whilst my darling wife, who has far too many clothes, needed more clothes. She'd brought fabric from Australia and was having 6 pieces made and a couple of alterations also. She had requested that the skirts be lined using Komangs material, which we were charged for, but the final products had no lining. That was disappointing. Finally we headed down to ‘Donny's Lucky Shop' to get my shorts & singlets to kick around in. I have no idea what we did for lunch. Possibly nothing as we didn't want a full belly impacting the first of four massages at Jari Menari at 4pm. The ‘Massage with Movement' was our selection, and after about 5 minutes in, fair to say we both realised just how long it'd been since we stretched. We danced that fine line between pleasure and pain, the long, deep strokes accompanied by the testing stretches. Stumbling out, it was a though we'd both taken a very strong sedative. We were dazed and vague, but already looking forward to our return to Jari Menari in 48 hours. At $45 for 90 minutes and all male masseuses, it's not for everyone, but if you're after the best massage in Bali, seriously, do it.
Dinner was something that B (the one with too many clothes, aka ‘my wife') had been looking forward to trying for many years. The last time we visited it had been closed. It was French Restaurant ‘Pearl'. We sat outside, under the rope lit tree, quite romantic. The Lobster Bisque as entrée became a little too overpowering for me in the end, however the main of panned Scallops was devoured. For B, she started with the grilled Scallops and followed with the Lamb Shanks, both devine. We felt exhausted after an early start to the day, so opted out of dessert and headed back to U Paasha. Mustn't have been much after 9.30 before we ‘nightlife animals' were in bed.
5.50am, I am wide awake! 'Okay mind and body, I acknowledge there has been a slight improvement in your ability to sleep in, but seriously, any chance tomorrow we may be able to try for something around 7am or later?'. It's Victoria Derby Day, after a leisurely morning strolling around Seminyak, we duck up to Adrenalin Sports Bar in Seminyak Square to watch a few of the races. Most pleased that Damian Oliver steers Preferment to victory, the winnings going toward a few extra cocktails and Bintangs, after which we descend the stairs and venture across the road to Sisterfield for some of the AMAZING Polenta chips -YUM.
Up to the rooftop pool at U Paasha for a swim and more drinks, drinks that we clearly do not require - hiccup. Tonight is the night we're supposed to be dining at my favourite venue of the last ‘however many trips', Kaizan. Like a child who receives socks and underwear for Xmas, my disappointment could not be hidden. Kaizan had closed. Replaced by retail - a Nike store and something else. Being that I am obsessively in to sport shoes (specifically basketball shoes), B suggested I go and have a look, but I refused on principle. I would NEVER shop at a place that taken my favourite restaurant from me! So it was sulkily to bed, with no dinner.
6.15am, I am wide awake! Progress. I managed to sleep passed 6am. After the usual gym, swim and breakfast it was time for our first (and only) Mani/Pedi of the trip. We went with ‘Cool Spa'. I kicked back flicking through the pages of ‘1984' and before long was feeling like George Costanza, the hand model! It was only early afternoon and we'd come across VinPlus, opposite Bodyworx Spa. Great decision to have lunch there. It was Octopus risotto for B and grilled Snapper for me. Delish. This was to be our best day of eating in Bali. We followed up lunch with dinner at La Favela along Eat Street. Blink and you'll miss the entrance. The venue is eclectic. The food was exquisite. The service was atrocious. The wait staff, one girl in particular, had an arrogance and aloofness about them that sullied and otherwise enjoyable evening.
6.10am, I am wide awake! I have given up on all hope of getting a decent sleep in during this trip. It's our final day at U Paasha. A lazy morning of strolling around Seminyak and dropping off laundry, we decide to venture to Bintang to ‘stock up' on some soft drink and other things to take to our Villa. Agreement is reached that ‘Sip' across from Bintang is always good quality, so we take the few steps required. I'm informed that the restaurant has a ‘No Singlet' policy, but it's not a problem, they have a shirt I can wear. Given the humidity I can't help but feel a little guilt and shame thinking of the poor person who may need to wear the shirt after me. Food and service as reliable as ever. We did the ‘All-Day Snap Lunch' set menu (2 courses for 75,000k++), both choosing Smoked Salmon Ravioli to start, then it was the Steak Hache for B and the poached Mahi-Mahi fillet for me. Small portions, but all that is needed. We made our way back to farewell U Paasha, sneaking in a final dip in the pool before heading up to Petitenget to check-in to Javana Villas. We've stayed here from memory 3 times previously. The 13 metre private pool is the reason. All the pavements and driveways along Jl Petitenget in the north were a disaster zone. A new restaurant ‘B.O.B - Best Of Bali' with large illuminated sign has opened next door to Javana. Guests at Javana receive a discount, I believe around 10%. We didn't eat there, and it was disheartening walking passed each night seeing the place empty. Hopefully, for them, things pick up. There is also a multi-story building being erected behind the restaurant. The labourers would no doubt be able to see in to the first few Villas on the right hand side of the property, so if you are considering staying at Javana, either request a Villa to the left hand side or as far from Reception as you can.
We checked-in and got ‘Buggied' down to our Villa. Previously at Javana we've only had villas with glass sliding doors that run the length of the pool. This villa (#10) only had glass sliding doors at either end of the pool, with a solid wall of about 5 metres length in the middle. Considering the amount of time the Villas have been around, they are well maintained, but the cracks are very much starting to appear, mostly in the bathroom area. Rusted areas on the mirror, chunks of plaster peeling in the shower, toilet difficult to flush. If you're seeking a ‘Wow' Villa, this isn't it, but for us it's perfect. Reasonably priced (we paid around $180AUD per night), huge pool in a location we love.
****OKAY, SO ALL OF THAT WAS WRITTEN WHEN WE'D JUST ARRIVED HOME - THE TRIP IS NOW BUT A HAZY MEMORY, BUT I'LL TRY AND FINISH ***
Our stay in Petitenget is mainly about lying around in the Villa and the pool. We did do a day trip to Canggu to investigate accommodation options for our March trip. We had a tour of LV8 Canggu - yes, this place has the most jaw-dropping infinity pool and an incredibly impressive gym, but outside of that it was concerning. Cracks in the walls in the rooms, rust everywhere, not things you would expect from a venue that was recently built. After our day trip we both decided that we would give staying in Canggu a miss and simply take another day trip there, this time to the Canggu Club.
A couple of the other dining venues we spent time at before I sign off.
La Lucciola - ‘nuff said! As always - superb.
Barbacoa - Appealing appearance, food reasonable in both quality and price, service atrocious.
Salt @ Sentosa - No longer bears the Luke Mangan name - food still great though. Service exceptional.
Sambal Shrimp - Exceptionally friendly and helpful staff, food unfortunately a different story.
The Parlour - One of the highlights. Brilliant service, delicious food with a ‘finer' style dining feel. Recommend.
Mykonos - Got lazy one day and figured ‘go to what you know' - same as always, cheap, reliable, easy.
Rayjin - Teppanyaki in Petitenget - HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Fresh flavours, wonderful experience. You should book as the entire venue only seats about 15-20 people!
Think that's it - sorry the report tapered off from highly detailed to ‘bare bones', but the old memory aint what it used to be.
Hope you enjoy - we should have another JBR in the coming months.