Posted by Jim Smiley on Thursday, 18. February 1999 at 04:21 Bali Time:
Sorry for the lateness of this post, but with the holidays and all it's been kind of hectic around here. Thanks to all the people who contributed to this site for making our stay in Bali easier. My wife and I traveled to Bali for 2 weeks in Dec. for our 20th anniversary.We were not on much of a budget,so prices were secondary to our enjoyment of the area.
First off I'd highly recommend Singapore Airlines. They were fantastic. We used FF miles and flew Delta from Portland, OR to LAX and then Singapore through Taipei and Singapore to Bali. The flight was long, but the price was right. Return flight was shorter, Bali-Singapore-Hong Kong-San Francisco-Portland. Fly Business or First Class if you can. We went Business(Raffles) and it made a long journey not quite so bad. Highlight of the flight was an anniversary cake and bottle of Dom Perignon(sic) over the Pacific courtesy of SA. I still don't know how they knew.
Made arrangements with RC to pick us up @ airport so had no need to change money or find transportation. We stayed in one of the villas(#1008) and had the best vacation of our lives. Hotel was fantastic, staff was excellent and amenities were all we could ask for. If you go, ask them for their special dinner buffet. They brought a 9 piece Balinese band, dancers, chefs and waiters to our villa(which they decorated with 150-200 candles) and prepared a feast for us.
Most of our time as spent at the RC and almost all meals were eaten there so I know little of the other restaurants. For sightseeing trips we hired a car and driver through the RC (driver was Made Suka, an excellant guide). I recommend this approach as it made for hassle free shopping and touring. It's very nice to have all your needs supplied in advance.
If you have questions about the RC, or our trip in general, e-mail me and I'll try to help.
Once again, thanks to all who came before me and made our trip so much easier.
Regards;
JRS