Hi everyone,
Our family (two girls aged 14 and 16, my husband and I)returned from our first trip to Bali two weeks ago after spending thirteen terrific days in Bali staying at Ramada Bintang Resort in Tuban. Despite complaints we found on the forum about this hotel being impersonal and westernised, we fully enjoyed our stay there. The rooms were fantastic and the staff were extremely friendly and helpful. I won't do a day-by-day account of our holiday, but will just talk about the highlights(and there are quite a few so be prepared for a long read!)
Bali Hai Cruises
We did two of the cruises that the Bali Hai Cruises company offered- the Sunset Cruise in Benoa Harbour and the day trip to Nusa Lembongan Island. The Sunset Cruise was fairly average- basically just donuts in Benoa Harbour. The food was ok- nothing amazing and as for the "entertainment"- I'll let you find out for yourself if you decide to go! Anyway, the water was fairly choppy and by the end of the night we were all feeling a bit queasy.
The Lembongan Island day cruise was excellent! You cruise out to a pontoon situated just off the island. The cost of the cruise included use of the waterslide, banana boat rides and the snorkelling equipment available on the pontoon, as well as glass-bottom boat tours. For an additional cost parasailing and scuba diving was also available. A trip to the island was also offered, but it was nothing compared to the pontoon. The cruise was well worth it but definitely forget the visit to the island!
White Water Rafting
Although there are many companies to choose from we chose Bali Adventure Tours. We opted for the Afternoon Package- it was US$10 cheaper (per adult) but only because it was off-peak. The rafting took place of the Ayung River. The rafting took about 21/2 hours or so and was absolutely fantastic. The only downside was walking down around 300 steep steps to get the river and what seemed twice that to return to Ubud at the top. Plus, on the way back hawkers are at you the entire time. The package also included a buffet meal at Yanie's at Ubud- it was great.
Waterbom Park
Waterbom Park definitely exceeded our expectations. We have travelled to water parks in the United States and prepared ourselves for a park of a much lower standard, however Waterbom Park was great. We spent around 4-5 hours there one morning. The lines weren't too bad. We got there as the park opened and were able to go on the slides with vertially no wait for the next 2 hours. The food was fairly good value as well and of course, like practically everyone in Bali someone is always on hand for to massage, plait you hair, give you a manicure etc.
Shopping
The prices were absolutely unbelievable! I cannot imagine what it must have been like when the Rupiah was 11 000 to the Aussie dollar! Overall, we did the majority of our shopping in Mataharis and other fixed priced shops. The girls were in heaven, buying heaps of stuff at shops like Body and Soul (opposite Mataharis in Kuta Plaza and Legian Street), Surfer Girl (Legian Street) and Billabong, Hot Buttered, Rip Curl and Quiksilver (Legian Street). The prices in these shops were about 1/2 of the price here in Adelaide and the was much more of a variety at the surf shops in Bali. We found Mataharis the best for shoes, but not much else. We did buy a couple of CD Roms at the Matahri for Rp 50,000, but discovered that one of the disks were cracked when we returned so look out for this. Matahari does have a supermarket but we found the prices were much better at a supermarket on Jalan Kartika Plaza next door to the Kodak Shop.
We thought that the Ramayana Department Store in Denpasar was MUCH better than Mataharis and definitely worth the AUS$2.50 cab fare (he he). We bought up big on makeup (the Indonesian brands- Revlon etc. was not that much cheaper than home), handbags (including an Esprit handbag for AUS$6.50!!!) and MORE shoes. The CD Roms were Rp 35,000 there and have all worked on our computer.
Now the big one- we did the bulk of our shopping at a stall in the Sindhu Beach Market in Sanur- Jeny's (Shop 29). Jeny's was terrific- we went there 3 times during our stay and bought everything from T-shirts to polos to sarongs to bags to shoes + more! Jeny and her assistant so hospitable and friendly, offering us drinks and willing to order things in for us. Jeny's is fixed price and she needed to be- it would have taken us days to bargain for all the things we bought. Here's a few prices as a guide:
Reeboks and Nike Sneakers- Rp 30,000
Short Sarongs- Rp 7,000
T-shirts (XXL)- Rp 20,000
Shorts - Rp 15,000
Caps- Rp 6,000
Sport Socks * 12 pairs - Rp 50,000
Taliors
We used two tailors- Brown Sugar on Melasti St, Legian (as per advice from the forum) and Frank's on Padma St, Legian. At Brown Sugar we had a leather jacket made for Rp 650,000, taking in a picture from an Events catalogue as a guide (that jacket cost around $700 Australian!) At Franks we had three dresses made (two for my daughter's formal and one for myself). These were $17 Aussie each or $36 with material and lining. I also had a suit made, copied from one of my own and my husband had two business shirts copied. We were very impressed with both the quality and the price. One tip- take your material with you! Frank did not have a wide range of material. We did venture to Sulawesi St in Denpasar but were hassled so much we didn't spend much time looking around. Beware of people who constantly follow you, recommending shops- they claim they bragin for you and then expect a tip, whilst the whole time the storeowner is boosting their price to pay this person commission.
Restaurants
Here is a list of the restaurants we ate at:
Bali Cafe, Jimbaran Bay- beautiful setting and delicious seafood which you have to bargain for. We picked this restaurant at random out of the 200+ at Jimbaran Bay and were definitely statisfied. Rp 208 000 for four including drinks, 1kg king prawns, two snapper, chips, rice and fruit.
Benno's Corner Cafe, Sanur- Just went there for lunch- hot dogs, salads etc. with delicious Bakmie Goreng. Warning- hawkers still pester you while you are eating.
Kartika Restaurant, Tuban- We loved this place. It had beautiful Indonesian food as well as sandwiches, steak, chicken and fish. We went there 3 times and was always less than $25 Aussie for four
Un's Paradise, Kuta (down Poppie's Lane)- Beautiful food and setting, more expensive than most but well worth it.
Poppies- We went there 6:30 one night and couldn't get in so we made a resveration. The service was not very good at all, but there was a variety of food which was great.
All- Stars Surf Cafe, Tuban- Excellent value for breakfast at Rp 9,500 for Pancakes, Eggs, Toast and Bacon.
Daddy's, Tuban- Excellent service and a variety of food to choose from but the TV is very loud!
Bali Too, Legian- We went there for breakfast and it was packed- this may have been the reason why the service was fairly average. The food was yummy though
SA Cafe, Tuban- Very inexpensive, but unfortunately the food and service was nothing to rave about.
Hard Rock Ccafe, Kuta- Excellent food, but do not expect the prices to be any different to any other Hard Rock Cafe. Probably our most expensive meal in Bali.
Well, that's about it! I guess I just couldn't stop. Thanks so much to evryone that contributes to the forum for your valuable advice, it definitely came in handy!
Lorraine