Tuesday was our last day. A week flew by. We went to the gym at 6:30 (seemed to always awake early (my husband had gone a number of times..and I forgot to mention that the gym was being redone. So they had a mini-gym set up in a room. Bikes, stairstepper (don't try this if you aren't in shape!!), jogger, and weights. Not a full gym..but at least my husband could get his hour in. They said also if he wanted a full gym he could use the Hilton's at Nusa Dua..but that was hardly convenient for early morning exercise..as it still takes time to get there.
We had our last leisurely breakfast at the Club room... Then over to the Villa spa for our free 15-minute massage..which we'd nearly forgotten. It was definitely more than 15 minutes..and quiet and peaceful.
Then sat at the beach a bit..and took our walk up to the Four Seasons..at the end of the beach. Saw an 80-90 centimeter lizard? of some sort..run across the path. Few people from Four seasons are ever down on their beach chairs..I guess they are all up there next to their pools.
We walked back and noticed the massage lady who said her friend was going to arrive soon. So we went back and got money..husband wanted to do the massage thing again. (Will add that we left our things on our beach chairs day after day..and never had anything touched. Room key doesn't have a number..and usually not so much money..but MD player, watches, bags, misc.) We went to the massage place on the beach.. ..and there were two uniformed young ladies..who were just leaving. So I asked the massage lady about them. They were from the bank, taking her deposit. So even the bank comes to the customer in Bali. This lady had her two youngest children with her..her eldest was in school. So it's a good business for a mother. The Four Seasons road is just behind..so it's not perfectly quiet.. also a rooster crowed a bit.. (they seem to crow any time!). So if you want the perfect, peaceful massage..it's not..but it wasn't bad..and an hour cost 50,000 each. Kind of nice to support a local entrepreneur. Possibly you could bargain..but we didn't even try. It's located just after all the beach restaurants. Purchased a couple of items from the local hawkers who were mother/daughter.
After that we went back and jumped the waves a bit..then got in the pool. This is something I avoid.. but did the last day..indeed I got sunburned. I'm sure my sunscreen wore off as soon as we hit the water.
Then back to room to pack. Got everything in order. And off to lunch..had lobster at Roma's. We actually ate lunch there another day also. It appears the dinner special 230,000? would be a good deal as lobster alone with drinks came close to 200,ooo I think..
After our late lunch, then back to beach chair for a bit more lounging. Then to room to make sure we were nearly ready..off to the club room for afternoon tea.. I went up and confirmed that there was no good shopping there..(expensive jewelery store..and another shop with things priced in dollars..and overpriced all) So I ran across the street from hotel..next to the money changer..where a lady had a small shop..got some last minute items. We checked out and then headed to the Club room for an hour while we waited for our ride.
We ordered steak for our "last meal" and to be sure we weren't at the mercy of Continental airlines. Got to airport in good time..went through several security checks.. One note: my husband had packed a camera in the check-in luggage and had to retrieve it as they did not allow things with batteries in it. So do not pack something with a battery. Okay if you take the battery out..and pack separately? but not with it IN the item .. Or so it seemed. Luckily he knew just where it was..and it didnt' take long. Also the flight left early!. So don't cut it too close.
Immigration points..I forgot: on the way over at Narita (Tokyo) we were delayed about 15-20 minutes due to my name showing up on the FAA no-fly list. I have a very common name. In about 15 minutes or so they did whatever they do..and it was okay..but I was a bit worried there. On the return in Guam my husband had to be fingerprinted (both index fingers) and iris scanned.. even though we were just in transit. EVERYONE must go through immigration..even if you are only there to change planes.
Before the trip I wondered about money. Taking cash, leaving it in the hotel safe, and changing it little by little worked out just fine. Once you know how much you should get, it isn't too tough. Rate was a bit different here and there..but over all, unless you are spending enormous amounts, won't change your trip much. We were never cheated that way. Quite a number of people were happy to take yen and dollars as well.
Taxis: may have overpaid on that one trip..but to the tune of about 50 cents..oh well. Not too difficult really. You get a decent price for a daily driver if you plan ahead.. Perhaps because my husband is Japanese we were offered a days' driving for 600,000 R. by a guy at one of the seafood restaurants. I suspect they charge Japanese more for everything when they can. The two of us together may have thrown them off a bit though.
If you are not staying right in Kuta or Legian/Seminyak shopping will be more difficult. Taking advantage of the people who will come to you (tailor, DVDs etc) is a good idea. It's not so easy to get to all these places. It is a bit more spread out than we realized.
Around the hotel we certainly weren't clutching our bags but in Kuta (crowded) I was more careful..still didn't feel terribly worried though. Were never approached by anyone trying to get us to look at a time share. As I mentioned Intercontinental doesn't allow anyone in to bother you.. You also won't have the option of cheaper things inside..you have to go out for them.
The seafood places on the beach are really convenient. As I mentioned you can even run back to the Inter. toilets if necessary..it's that close..especially at Roma's.. (second ? place)
We saw a dead turtle one day..and some fish another day. Not sure why..saw some black stuff on beach..oil? OTherwise didn't see garbage . They have people keeping the beach clean.. Hotel had Germans, Indonesians, Japanese, Taiwanese..and I actually talked to one other American couple there..but we were few and far between. The hotel staff was excellent. Almost nightly band was nice entertainment without having to go anywhere and you could hear them while in the poor next to the stage.
One morning our balcony door lock was stuck..wouldn't open. Called and they came immediately and it was fixed within the hour. Very prompt.
Bali was hotter than I expected. We have the hot, humid weather here in Japan as well (miserable this year) but not in November..and here nearly every shop has A/C. In Bali there were many places without A/C. That made cooling off more difficult.
Distances were greater than I'd expected and/or the unbelievable traffic during the holiday week was unexpected. It seemed to really quiet down just before we left. So study your Islamic holidays before you go..when the Javanese are on holiday..it will get crowded.
(Local hawkers aren't happy either as they don't buy anything).
We did have a good time. If it's really hot..stick to that beach chair. There was a nice breeze right next to the water..and just another 100 meters in..it was hotter.
Hopefully we'll get to return again as we now have a better idea of things..and we didn't have any major problems. What's the secret of why people love Bali? A combination of things..but maybe it's the way the people smile..