Posted by suzie on Tuesday, 6. October 1998 at 15:13 Bali Time:
My husband and I recentley enjoyed two weeks in Bali and had a great time. Our flight package included 6 nights at Hotel Wina in Legian, awhich was good but the food left a bit to be desired, so we ate out. One of the best spots we found to eat was at the Terrace By The Sea Cafe in Legian .... fantastic 5 star food , and reasonabley priced..we enjoyed shopping and made lots of bargains work our way.We hired a driver and car,Laurie,and for $15 dollars and his lunch he took us to the south of the island...we saw Nusa Dua, the temple at Ulawatu,along with it's mad monkeys, and then had lunch at Jimbaran Bay...what a feast..Balinese barbecued prawns, fish salad, rice, sambals and drinks for three poeple for about $20 AUD.We then hired a car for $90AUD for 9 days inclusive, plus a few rupiah for insurance, and travelled the island for the rest of our stay. We had previously booked our further accommodation via the net before we left Australia. On the way to Ubud we had a look at the arts and craft towns along the way, the silver is excellent as is the wood carving and pottery. We also stopped off at the Bird Park which is just a wonderful way to spend a few hours, and ate lunch in the superb restaurant there...you would be mad not to try the tropical fruit salad there it is the best!In Ubud we stayed at the Honeymoon Bakehouse Guesthouse for the ridiculously cheap cost of about$15 AUD anight per couple...which was great. This place is a Balinese home stay type of guest house run by an Aussie ex Tafe Domestic Science Teacher by the name of Janet De Neefe, who is a genius. She also runs a fantastic restaurant, CasaLuna, in Ubud, where we ate the cheapest and best food I have ever had anywhere! She also runs a Balinese cooking school and a kindergarten, and a Balinese style homewares shop, and is in the process of opening another fantastic restaurant on the Tchampuan River in Ubud, which, I am sure, will be as successful as the other one. She is just a little whiz, and all this whith a pile of kids, one of which is only 3 months old. To top it all of she is also a lovely person. Whilst there we took advantage of having the 4 wheel drive and drove up through the mountainous areas of Bali to Lake Batur and Mount Agung, and the views were spectacular. We drove back to Ubud via KlungKung and this drive was one of the prettiest in all of Bali, rolling hills, many rice terraces and lots of local colour.Driving in Bali is no problem as long as you do as the Balinese do,display good manners and take it in turns to turn, overtake etc. Whilst in Ubud we took advantage of the cultural delights and watched the nightly Balinese dancing in the temples...this was just fantastic, definately not to be missed if in Bali. Fom there we drove via Mengwi, where there is an amazing water palace, surrrounded by a river and beautiful moats, and this is one of the loveliest experiences we had in Bali. After leaving Mengwi we ambled on down to Berawa Beach, near Caangu, where we had booked our final 4 days over the net, at a fixed Aussie dollar price, before we left..this place is the best....quiet, peaceful and beautiful, and you get completely left alone. Once again, the food was fantastic and very reasonable. Aslo this place had the best service that we found in all of Bali. From here, we travelled to Gilimanuk to see the Java ferry crossing, then up and around the coast to Singaraja and back down through Tabuan Province,through the mountains, and this has to be the MOST BEAUTIFUL AREA in all of Bali. Altogether I guess my husband took over 100 beautiful photos with which we will be abel to remember our trip. We met wonderful poeple wherever we went, always so helpful and polite, and always smiling and happy...the rest of the world could learn a lot from the Balinese Poeple about common courtesy and just plain good manners. In our whole trip away we experienced no trouble of any sort. We had no problem changing money or with hawkers. Just be polite and they leave you alone. I am definately going back to Bali as soon as I can, but next time I hope to be able to stay longer...what a wonderland! For all of you lucky poeple out there who are going soon I hope you have as nice a time as we did. Have a great trip.