JBR
After two weeks in paradise, it's always hard to know how to start these things as all of the information starts to blur after a while.
I think I'll start with the plane trip over.
Getting There:
After worrying over our luggage situation, we just up and left with what we had packed and decided that we'd worry about any forgotten items once we were there.
Got to the long term carpark at Sydney airport with no probs and waited for the shuttlebus to the airport. Thought their $99 unlimited parking was a godsend.
Arrived at the check-in counter at about 7:10am with about 15 people ahead of us, and the line moving fast. Kids were over-excited and luckily we checked in and were headed for breakfast by 7:30am. After breakfast and a spot of duty free shopping, we heard the boarding call and decided it was in our best interests and that of our fellow travellers if we held off until the last minute(how prophetic, in hindsight!) to board (did I mention yet how over-excited our kids were?!) I headed outside for a pre-boarding ciggy and left the kids and hubby in the sports shop. We then headed up to the passport counter and the lines were LONG and moving slowly! It was then that we heard the final boarding call. Where did that hour go? I started panicking and physically trying to move the line along, which didn't help. By the time we got to the counter to show our passports, they were announcing that boarding would close in one minute! (Here's where Griswald family vacation springs to mind)
We got through the security check and then we heard the announcement that boarding for our flight was closing and we RAN, luggage flying and shoes falling off, all the way to the gate. I had visions of us driving home and trying to explain to our children why we missed our plane. It was a very frightening experience.
As we boarded, I thought we must surely be the last people, but as it turned out, we had to wait a further 50 mins for our flight to depart due to other late-comers.
The flight was great and I couldn't believe how well behaved my boys were throughout the whole flight. I had a few complaints about my kids not getting the children's meals we had pre-ordered, as they had run out, and I was also expecting some kind of children's activity pack, but they seemed to be non-existant as well. I couldn't fault Garuda overall though, the flight was excellent, and the Johnny Walker flowing freely!
The Dreaded V.O.A:
After all the conflicting stories I'd heard about the VOA, I decided just to take it as it came. We had purchased our US $ from the airport after we checked in and were prepared for the wait we had heard about.
As it happened, we got through immigration and VOA within about 30 mins, which I thought was excellent.
We headed for the baggage carousel, and lo and behold there were our bags, ready to go.
All except for one!
Which we had to wait over and hour for "due to technical difficulties"!
The kids were getting hot and hard to handle and this point and just wanted a pool to jump into.
We headed outside the airport and I was watching my husband and children carefully for their first reactions to Bali, as I remembered how frightened and confused I was on my first trip. All looked promising!
We met our driver and loaded the van and headed off to our home for the next 16 nights, Garden View Cottages at Legian.
THERE!:
Arrived at GVC, not knowing what to expect. Were welcomed with a refreshing Balimoon cocktail, which, to this day, I'm still wondering if they gave my children as well, as they were rather sedate that first evening and in bed early without having to be asked!
Were directed to our family bungalow, which was, as we had requested, the closest bungalow to all of the facilities, unfortunately, there was no front access and we had to trek the back lanes to reach it. We had no expectations as to our bungalow (apart from hot running water, a flushing toilet and comfy beds), as we had paid a budget price and were expecting budget.
One out of three aint bad?
Ok...so the beds weren't that comfy, but I was expecting hot water and a flushing toilet at the very least!
I was also kind of concerned over the steepness of the stairs leading to the second floor and loft. I had terrible visions of one of my boys getting up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet and falling down the stairs and breaking a limb!
We decided to leave it for the night, as we were already settled, and hit the shops and bar instead. (Well, that was my idea!).
Left hubby and boys at the pool while I headed over to the Loji for urgent supplies (Bintang and ciggys!) and water.
Took hubbys keycard to ATM to withdraw Rupiah. It didn't work. No probs I thought. Used mine successfully and withdrew enough to last a few days.
Back to the bungalow and trying to think of inventive ways to load up a (very small) bar fridge with Bintang!
Time to hit the pool(bar!)
Sat all the kids around the poolbar, and introduced them to the staff. Went through all the do's and dont's with them.
DO:
*behave at all times.
*use their manners
*be nice to each other (this includes not trying to drown each other in pool as I had seen them doing when arrived back from Loji)
DONT:
*leave mummy and daddys sight EVER (this includes trying to hail own cab to Timezone in Denpasar!<YES, they really did try it!>)
*attempt to cross road on own (Experts after three days, and the nearest pool table was across the road in La Monde restaurant!)
*drink anything that isn't bottled
*order room service or sign room tab without asking.(HA! Why were there 18 tabs signed by my 11 year old, 8 by my 9 year old and 2 from my 6 year old! when we were settling the bill on our last day?$$!)
First Supper:
Went to the GVC restaurant for our first dinner. Couldn't figure out why middle son refused to order. Finally coerced it out of him. "Mum!(rolling his eyes) Don't you think it's a bit expensive here? I mean, 32,500 for a fishermans basket. I thought you said Bali was cheap!"
Explained to them all the rate of Rp. to our dollar and all was good.
Trekked off to nearest DVD place after dinner, Twice DVD in Jl. Padma Utara, where they made friends with little 3 year old Made after asking her where the bin was and being directed to all the Mr. Bean DVD's!(They spent many hours in here with the lovely family that ran it, watching DVD's with Made)
Ended up purchasing most of our DVD's here. Finally got a good copy of The Day after Tomorrow, a day before we left and an ok copy of Spiderman 2 (which had just been released in the cinema the day before!)
Spent the rest of the evening at the GVC bar, getting to know the staff and other travellers and enjoying the excellent band that plays there.
Day 2:
Woke up early and headed out for walk of back lanes with middle son. Love Bali mornings!
Still no hot water and made a pleasant complaint to staff on way out. Was told we could move to another bungalow after 2pm.
Off to Denpasar for shopping(after depositing children in Timzone with 50,000 rp. cards)
Caught a blue cab, which was 21,000 Rp. on the meter. Gave the driver 30 and asked him to meet us in the McDonalds carpark in 3 hours, which he did ! )
Checked out the Matahari and purchased some lovely huge beach towels for 50, 000 Rp. each. Stocked up on shirts, shoes, and knick-knacks to make our bungalow more homely.
Came back "home"(as my children lovingly referred to GVC after 1 day!) and changed bungalows, to another one at the end of the garden. Had hot running water and flushing toilet! and lovely indoor/outdoor bathroom, with 2 showers and a bathtub, and HUGE bamboo looking king size bed that I couldn't wait to fall into.This one also seemed to sparkle a little more than the other one. After adding a few finishing decorative touches, I was rather happy with it and decided that our choice of accomodation was almost perfect for my family.(Also had resident pet Gecko, which I think was on steroids!)
Visit to poolbar in afternoon was most enjoyable. Watched kids swim whilst downing Bintang. Met some other hotel guests and their children, and one lady in particular, Lee, who we struck up a lovely friendship with and spent many hours of our holiday enjoying Bali together.
Decided on La Monde for dinner, which was enjoyed by all. Kids formed a loving relationship with the pool table, which they visited on a nightly basis (staff didn't mind them being there, as long as they paid for their games and brought a drink or two), while we enjoyed the band downstairs at GVC in relative peace.(Have I mentioned yet how awesome the band is?!!)
Met with some more people, most notably a group of kiwi girls, who worked in sheep shearing in W.A.one of whom was called Dolly! Threw down many a cocktail with these fun loving girls.(Thanks for the laughs girls, if you're reading!)
More to follow, it's happy hour!