Judy and I departed Melbourne Wednesday March 9th, Australian Airlines, using frequent flyer points.
My corrected ticket was not available to be sighted until 3 or 4 hours before the flight
and fortunately my name was spelt correctly this time!
We bought duty free in Melbourne, then could again in Sydney.
Departed Sydney on time but the pilot found that a check light relating to the front
door was flashing so we had to taxi back to departure gate to check. Took about 20 minutes but we eventually left. Food was fine and tv monitors were working (unlike a number of times with Garuda).
Arriving in Bali the queues weren't large at all waiting to buy VOA. Judy paid with US$25 and I paid
using au$35. Easy as! I got 7000rp change and no hold up. I will use au$ in future.
Collected our bags with help of porters and firmly suggested that they ‘walk this way' as I didn't need the money changers. I paid them20000rp for 4 bags, so they did ok.
Bought Taxi voucher to Sanur 55000rp, and sucked in the Bali smells. It feels like the holiday has begun once I walked over to the taksi.
I took a photo of the board inside the Taksi stand which lists the fixed price fares to each location. I will put it in to the webshots albums soon.
Arrived Vila Shanti in Sanur, which is beachfront down a laneway off Jl Danau Tamblingan.
We booked a superior room and found everything just fine and dandy! The superior room, we found out later, is better because it has pair Bali doors with loops and padlock, traditional shutter windows and TV. When we checked out the standard room, we actually preferred the glass windows and single entry door and we couldn't care less about the TV, which only had Indo channels. We checked our valuables into the lobby safety deposit box and didn't bother to change money at reception. As I always like to do, we headed off down the beach. We walked to Sindhu markets but since today was Galungan, all stalls were closed, damn! We wandered over to Hardys to get supplies and money changers were closed, once again due to Galungan. Got back to the Hotel and tried to change money there but the money changer had left and would return tomorrow at 8.30. I still had a few thousand Rps so we limped by.
Walked along the beach and chose Bonsai café for dinner, along with most other tourists. Bonsai was really busy. We shared a delicious seafood platter, as you do and chose cocktails to wash it done, once again, as you do! Just as we finished eating the skies opened up and we walked back to Vila Shanti looking like drowned rats! Day one, and all good.
We had breakfast included with our accommodation so enjoyed fresh fruits, toast, eggs any style pancakes, pastries (although we didn't eat everything available!). Yumbos!
We walked along the road a little and found a wonderfully reliable money changer so stocked up our wallets. (A few days later, Judy was thrilled to be a millionairess in Rupiahs!) The banks were closed from Wednesday to Monday so the rate was down to 7200, whereas it should have been more like 7350. Aaah who cares, its only funny money.
When we walked out on to the roadway we were offered transport so thought we would give him a try rather than Taksi. The driver had one of those local passenger buses with the low bench seats and door permanently open. No one else joined us but I was vary at traffic lights. We stopped at Makro and loved walking along most of the aisles, buying bits and pieces for ourselves and the sponsor children. They sell packets with 40 x 5ml one use shampoos, Pantene, Head and Shoulders and Rejoice for 14000 which are really handy for travel. I went back outside to get a trolley and our driver spied me and offered to push the trolley. He hadn't been inside before and walked around with his eyes wide open. He loved it.
We bought some fruit and snacks for Nyepi. next day too. I took down the prices of print cartridges
for HP printers and the 23 colour and 45 B & W were both around au$45 which is about $10 - $20 cheaper than Oz. (Found them in Centro a few days later, in the Discovery shopping mall for $39 and $44).
On our drive over to Kuta square we saw lots of really large ogah-ogahs being carried for the big parade due around 3pm. We bought Versace jeans ( mine were au$23) and had them ‘cut' for 10000rp. Shopped in Matahari and bought far too many more Revlon lippies, eye shadows, mascara etc, I cant go past a bargain. Matahari supermarket was very very busy and we spent damn valuable time waiting in the queue to pay.
Back to Sanur and wandered down to the corner where the ogah-ogah carrying lads were congregrating. Gee those young fellas sure do let off heaps of stream swooshing and swirling their ogah-ogahs to stir up the evil spirits. It was great fun to watch.
Went to the lovely new Italian restaurant called The Village which is just outside the Vila Shanti, Griya Santrian entry on Jl Danau Tambling. Oh wow, its silver service and most impressive. Service was terrific. We shared a delicious pizza and a not so flash bottle of red wine. Wo, did it make our face grimace when we have a sip. I forget the brand (Indigo ?) but it was a Bali wine and the label said grapes grown in the north of Bali. Not to be recommended! Wasn't Wine of the Gods or Hattens.
Friday was Nyepi day so we spent the entire day within the boundaries of the Hotel. Its actually quite nice to have a slower day. I was there for Nyepi last year too and also enjoyed the day at the pool. At Vila Shanti the pool lounges and mats were reserved very early with towels. Gives me the irates(That reminds me Bali Garden Hotel now have a sign in the room requesting guests to consider others and not reserve pool lounges unless at the pool and it worked well).
I wandered down to the lobby at one stage to book in for the set menu dinner and was shown some beautifully painted blown duck eggs, painted supposedly by the staff members brother. I bought 3 eggs with birds, dolphins and butterflies, they were 25000rp each and each were stored in woven boxes. (Customs in Sydney found that there was some traces of egg fluids so sprayed to prevent possibility of Sars infection, and didn't damage the eggs).
Saw a Japanese looking couple wandering along the beach outside our Hotel when we were eating dinner. The men in black wandered down to move them back to their Hotel. I hope they weren't being disrespectful to the local custom, but rather were ignorant to the need to stay within their Hotel.
How disappointing to find Tootsies closed for the 3 days we were in Sanur. Lots of businesses were closed.
Next day we headed to visit the school and on to Ubud.