Part one of some notes from our trip last month .....
Flying with Singapore Airlines.
This was a very pleasant change from the usual Australian east coast schedules and service levels on other airlines. We had a great time flying over and back with good seats, excellent service and convenient flight times (no midnight horror out of Bali). A choice of 60 movies and 200 CDs on demand with a personal screen in economy class and drinks from the trolley 3 times in the first hour of a flight were good indicators of the quality. The stopover package provided by S.A. was very good value and included discounted accommodation (2 nights at the Carlton on the way there and 1 night at the Excelsior on the way back), airport transfers, river tour, free bus around the city and 50% off hotel meal bills. Singapore airport is very well run and you can be off the plane and through customs and immigration in 15 minutes. We will definitely do this again.
Sanur.
We stayed 7 nights at the Besakih but found it a bit more crowded and less enjoyable than previously. More people is great for the hotel and the new trainees with jobs in the restaurant, but we got a bit sick of the pool crowd. Especially the loud Aussies (*cringe*) standing in the middle of the pool boasting about their hangovers and letting us all know their opinions on crap Indo food and the Muslim religion. Do you really have to smoke IN the pool? I could go on and list a catalogue of other annoyances but I am bound to insult someone who probably doesn't deserve it so I will stop. In the end it's my problem not theirs and next year we will have to find a new hideaway in Sanur. (all suggestions will be received with gratitude)
On the positive side the beach is looking great and most restaurants were full every night we were there. All of our favourite restaurants are still doing it well, but our special one this year was the simple warung style of Kami Sama. We loved everything we ate here and the staff, ambience and value were unbeatable. Try siap mepanggang (chicken with Balinese spices) for 25,000Rp or the sate lilit (minced, spiced fish on sticks) for 30,000Rp and you will agree.
I already posted a couple of weeks ago about the incredible massage we had at Merciful Mothers in Touch in Jl Sindhu, so I won't repeat it here. Just do yourself a favour and check it out.
Candi Dasa
After reading Filo's account of the Grand Natia we were keen to stay there but the 2 front rooms were in use and the rest of the place is a bit dingy with no views. We couldn't negotiate a reasonable price at Ida Beach Bungalow so we looked for the first hotel back down the main street and arrived at Kelapa Mas. It's great to walk in and discover a new gem and this is a very simple but attractive beachside hotel with a large central garden of palm trees. Rooms are 150,000Rp a night with fan and (intermittent) hot water with aircon also avialable for a bit more. It was surprisingly cool and windy when we arrived so we only needed a fan room. We tried to spread our business around the restaurants in town but I think the hotel was as good, if not better than any other place we tried, especially for traditional style dishes.
The fishing boats come in to the beach at the hotel back gate morning and afternoon and it's a great scene when they return with the catch. The wives and kids all sit in anticipation and rush out to the boats with tubs to collect the fish and we enjoyed watching the show in the evenings with a sunset background and a good stiff duty free drink. The mackerel were really biting while we were there and some boats had over 250 fish.
We had our early morning walks up to the headland that Filo described last year and the sunrise views were quite spectacular with the light spreading along the beach and Mt Agung standing guard in the background. Some photos are included in the link below.
I can highly recommend the driver at the hotel, a young man by the name of Nengah Suarjaya. We were so impressed by his good humour and informative manner that we used his services for the rest of the trip. He can organise some very interesting off the beaten track tours and walks in the nearby hills and villages and he took us for a fantastic day out at White Sands Beach. He bought some fresh fish from his cousin in the morning and these were cooked on the beach over coconut husks by Nengah's friend Gusti who also provided COLD Bintangs, rice, vegies, fresh sambals, fruit and coffee. You can contact Nengah at the hotel or by phoning (0363) 41369 or 081 338 774346 and his email is suarjaya@hotmail.com.
More to follow on Amed and Ubud.