So I've been home a week, and no matter how much I talk about it, I can't get Bali out of my mind...So I think it's time for day one of my JBR....
On the 1st April I flew out of Sydney with my Mum....she was so excited as was I...It had only been 7 months since my honeymoon in Sept and I couldn't wait to go back. I think the fact that my Mum hadn't had a holiday in 15 years added to her excitement, and I was looking forward to showing her all I love about Bali, plus spending some quality time together as she lives in NSW and I live in Vic....
We flew with Garuda and had a great flight, no delays, and the food was great, service was excellent and a great movie ( after the Sunset-which I now own! he he). We got through customs and immigration in record time,( paid our VOA in $AUD,no problems there... I used a hundred note and Mum used a fifty, and we got our change in rupiah, good coversion at 7100, and I already had money and didn't need a moneychanger yet so that was a bonus! )We had none of the lines that hubby and I got last year, and collected our bags and off we were...out into the heat,humidity and hum of Bali!!! I was in heaven for two whole weeks!
After reading recommendations on the forum, I actually cancelled our transfer with the holiday company before we left, and we got a taxi to our hotel, fixed price at Rp 25000 to Legian beach Hotel on Melasti street; very happy, as we were already checked in when the transfer van arrived with three couples who had to wait....The transfer guy saw my Blue Garuda holidays bag and asked how we got there, and I told him by taxi, and he showed me his list with our names and "cancelled" written next to them and I sniggered quietly to my Mum....oh well those in the know....
So we got to our standard room, (yes in the commission block at the back of the hotel- but closer to the road for easy access to shopping and the hum... ), but very nice( a little smaller than my room last year at the Jayakarta but who spends time in their room 'cept to sleep and shower?)
After sorting out the air-con ( it was so quiet I didn't think it was working, but it did! Silly me- but they remembered my name after that! V nice!) we found our swimmers and headed down to the pool. Now my Mum hasn't swum in about 7 years, so she enjoyed it very much!! I loved the fact that the pool was so quiet and relaxing...last year I stayed a week at the Jayakarta, and although I loved the huge pool, it was very busy with kids bombing and splashing about all the time. Don't get me wrong, I love kids, I'm a school teacher, but sometimes it's nice to have some peace and quiet by the pool). =)
So after some lovely relaxing by the pool, and a wander around the hotel gardens, checking out the very cute little squirrels ( if that's what they are!)I though I'd take Mum out to show her a nice night, we decided to go into Kuta. But not before the huuuugest downpour in about 5 minutes!!! We were just walking down Melasti street, looking at the shops, and it was like a flood in the streets! We didn't care, just jumped in a blue bird taxi ( I trust them the most, they always use the meter and are really friendy when you ask them to teach you words or ask them about themselves...)
We went into Kuta, and wandered down Legian street, we didn't buy anything yet, "just looking", and Mum got a taste of the hawkers and locals...she had already been pre-warned by me, and armed with masses of printout from BTF ( thanks everyone for all the tips and ideas, especially Don Ron for the shopping guide-Mum loved that one!), she was well in the know. I had wanted a Bali sim card to keep in touch with hubby after reading about them on BTF, so we went to Matahari in Kuta square, a little shop inside, directly opposite the cafe part of Matahari supermarket, and I got an XL sim card, with Rp30000 credit on it for Rp50000, so I though that was pretty good. I was a little suspicious at first that it wouldn't work, as she said they don't give receipts, so I tested it out and called Hubby who was very happy to hear I was safe and sound! Mind you, it wasn't cheap to call Oz,she said it was Rp8000 per minute; but a 3 minute phone call cost me about Rp50000! so I went back and bought another Rp100000 worth of credit and decided I would sms him at Rp500 per sms...much better, but still not the same as hearing his voice...
I decided to take Mum to Poppies, as I loved it last year, and as we were out fairly early, it was pretty empty, didn't matter, we got a table with a fan as it was so muggy, so that was nice. Mum had gado gado, and I had the chicken satay sticks; mine came out on a little stone hotplate thing, with tiny banana leaf coals inside keeping my saty warm!!! So Yummmmy!!! I wanted more! But after a mixed fruit juice ( I was saving myself for cocktails~more on that later!), we were both really satisfied, and at Rp86000, we were pretty happy with the price too!
So we caught another taxi home, although we could've walked, it's so cheap to catch taxis, and it did start raining again...so we relented! We had a lovely night swim, one of many; so peaceful with the lights flickering by the pool, and no one around...then we headed to bed for an early night as we'd both been up since 4am!!! Beds very comfy, and air-con was working a treat so I slept like a lamb...
I don't want to make these reallly long, so i'll leave it for now, but more stories soon...cloudgirl