Just back from 15 days in Bali staying at our friends villa in Seminyak. Had a bit of rain the first few days but overall good hot weather. I would never be critical of Bali, its people or its infrustructure but I am becoming a little anxious when I see the amount of construction that is occuring.
Lets hope that it soon stabilizes and that the requirement for new hotels ceases. Places like Echo Beach and Berawa are starting to become well established which results in the lost of some rice padi's but still quite green and inviting.
I would like to thank the people on this forum for all the good information that is posted especially restaurants. We generally try a range from La Lucciola (fabulous breakfast) to Warung Murah in Jalan 66 which has great cheap local dishes.
We dined at Rumours (still great),LacaLaca and Casa Taco for good Mexican food, Ultimo (our fav Italian) although they have removed spaghetti nero from the menu, Pantarai(?) for good Greek food.
But the two standouts that were suggested on this form are Warung Malang on Jalan Mataram and Boardwalk at Bali Garden Hotel.
Warung Malang is a gem. Old style exposed kitchen, good seating, lots of fans and very clean toilets. Bintang was Rp19000 and very cold and most dishes were in the Rp40000 - 70000 range. Also the cheapest and tastiest king prawns that I have had in a long time.
Boardwalk is in a really good location and the extensive menu gives everyone a choice. The 'starters' were so good that we just kept ordering them (taps style).
The new Tekor at Sing Ken Ken is still worth a visit as is Blue Ocean.
Any downsides? Well the traffic is becoming a problem but as we put- put along on the Spedar Motors (scooters)we generally get there without much hassle.
Everyone was getting ready for Neypi and it was a treat to watch the Ogeh-Ogeh being built.
All in all a great holiday.
PS, small warning!! The Police are targetting motor bike riders and we have seen them setting up road blocks as early as 7am in and around the Seminyak area. So wear your helmet and carry your International Licence or have a pocket full of Rps.