Have been home for 7 days! Wish we were back there.
We stayed at 3 different places 1st the Bali Hai resort in Tuban 6 nights, then the Bali spirit & Spa in Ubud 3 nights, and last at the Segara Village resort in Sanur 4.5 nights.
We had 2 wonderful weeks in Bali arriving on 6th March on time at 12.15pm. Through VOA & customs in about 30 mins. Driver from the Bali Hai Resort was waiting for us and other people who were also booked to stay there.
Our first taste of Bali traffic was when we were crossing the pedestrian crossing at the airport......Well!! They don't stop for pedestrians!! My 6 year old just missed being wiped out by a scooter!!
Arrived at Bali Hai Resort, had welcome drink & wet face washer, then of to our room. It was huge. A Family suite with 1 king bed 1 king single & 1 bunk king single. This was our favourite room for the whole trip. Highly recommend this resort & especially with kids. Staff were great. Kiddies Club was OK although my kids only went there once. Mostly 4, 5 & 6 year old, so my 9 year old absolutely hated it. We met quite a few other people that use the kiddy club and there kids seemed to like it. Mind you the staff are not trained in childcare And I am not too sure about them knowing first aid. They were friendly enough though.
We had been in Bali for about 1 hour and it started to pour down!! Still warm though so as I had planned to do, we caught a cab into to Kuta & headed for Mataharis department store to stock up on supplies. The cab driver dropped us off, pointed towards Matiharis, and there we were....in the heart of it all....rain pouring down on us and people wanting us to see what the have to sell!!! FULL ON!! Finally got up the steps that lead into Mataharis and was glad that the sellers couldn't follow us in there. Deep Breath now!!!
Checked out Macdonalds for a quick bite to eat before we headed back to our resort & discovered that there happy meals do not include fries!!
Decided we were now better prepared to head into Kuta the next day for our first Bali shopping experience. We loved it! Bartering, talking, purchasing, stopping here & there for a break & a Bintang!! We loved Bintang too!! The kids were really getting the hang of it all & we all agreed that we loved Bali!!
We never once felt unsafe or at risk...except for crossing the roads!! Got the hang of doing that too!
Met up with some other forumites at Indo National restaurant in Legian. Great food & great price. Then headed for the Garden Veiw around the corner for a bit of live music. The kids loved it as they got to sing with the band & enjoyed dancing & grooving!
Visited orphanage Panti Asuham Salam in Tabanan the day before Neypi Day. Only about 8 children there that were Christians. All the Hindu children were at Neypi celebrations. I enjoyed this trip, although after visiting some small villages & seeing how some families struggle to support their children, I wondered if they needed our donations more, as a lot of people visit the orphanage & offer sponsorship.
It was an experience being there for Neypi Day, Balinese Hindu New Year. Lots of dancing & celebrations leading up to the day of slience when we were not allowed to leave our resort. The idea is that Bali will appear deserted to the bad spirits & they will leave. It was a great day at the resort. We met a lot of people , drank a lot of Bintang & had a lot of fun!!
After 6 nights at the Bali Hai it was time to head to the Bali spirit & Spa in Ubud.
Got to Bali Spirit & Spa and the view from the reception area was amazing! We were on the side of a hill full of rainforest! We were taken to our villa which was a fair hike down the hill to our villa. A little more traditional than the Bali Hai with an outdoor shower! Small bedroom area downstairs with a curtain across for the kids (they didn't sleep in there!) with 2 extra small single beds. Upstairs was the main room with a queen bed.
Ok, it was not as ritzy as the Bali Hai, but we did want to experience a bit of Bali variety! Our balcony over look a river in which the locals would walk down to each morning from the other side of the hill and wash themselves and their clothes. This was interesting to watch with the girls upstream from the boys when washing.
When we got home after tea on our first night there we were face with ants....EVERYWHERE! including on our beds!! My husband is not one to complain, but decided this was the moment for him!! 2 Guys came down to our villa and sprayed madly everywhere, changed our bedding and wished us well...we were hoping for an upgrade as there weren't too many people staying there, but even when ask about this..we did not get one. OK. The ants were gone..everything is OK now, lets get to sleep.
On our second night there we lost power for 2.5 hours and found that the touch that they had left for us had flat batteries! Good thing that I had bought our own tourches.
Enjoyed dancing in Ubud and loved the markets there. Didn't go to the monkey farm as a show monkey in Kuta a few days before had jumped onto my daughter, and freak her right out...I wasn't that keen on having monkeys climbing all over me anyone!!
Lots of dragonflies at night which glow in the dark...were told that the Balinese eat them by frying them up with onion! Heaps of frogs...and the kids even saw a little snake which freaked them right out!
Did the elephant thing...managed to get them down to 1.2 million rp. ($165 A$) They picked us up from our resort, 40 min ride on elephants, (1 elephant per person) then we were given a 3 course meal and softdrink! We were returned to our resort. We absolutely loved the elephants!! This was the elephant camp and not the Bali Adventure tour that most people seem to recommend. We think they were fantastic and recommend them highly!
Loved the Lotus Café in Ubud. Great for lunch over looking a huge beautiful pond and temple.
The last place we stayed was at Segara village in Sanur. Room was good although it was a double room with king size bed, with fold out beds put up for the kids. The Bali Hai was by far the greatest resort and they also had the greatest buffet breckfast! Maybe the Bali Hai on Sanur beach would be the best!!
We loved it at Sanur...markets and restaurants along the beach. We loved the Mango Beach Bar and went there a few times. Great food and great price with entertainment every second night!
Met some friends at waterbomb park. Spent the whole day there and had a ball!! Even did the smashdown 3 times and ended up with 3 huge wedgies!!
Visited the Bombing memorial. Just unreal. I don't know how to explain the way I was feeling.
Did the glass bottom boat thing at Sanur....Parasailing at Nusa Dua and shopping! Shopping! Shopping! Fake Tatoos...which I am now recommending that people do not get...3 people that we met in Bali have since reacted to them. Check out these links for more info!
http://www.hennapage.com/henna/ppd/gotodoctor.html
http://www.expat.or.id/medical/blackhennareactions.html
Did so many things and had the time of our lives!
Leaving at 1.15am in the morning was a bit of a drag coming home to Adelaide...but the flight only took 4 hours & 20mins. Kids slept most of the way. We were all buggared and wish that we could have stayed in Bali.
We now understand the bug that people get to want to keep going back.
We met some great people and really loved the culture. Guess we had better start saving again!!