I think I could write the entire length of an encyclopedia if I wrote a detailed JBR about my trip so I'll keep this brief and will be happy to answer any questions.
We flew the AP morning flight which was suppose to be a direct flight but we ended up stopping at Melbourne. Not sure what happened there but I was sick as a dog the whole way even with travelling tablets, so I didn't get to try the food but the staff were friendly and they seemed to serve lots of nibblies. Tried my first bintang from a can on the plane. The beer was a bit rough around the edges but I eventually got use to the taste and it tastes better when its icy COLD.
Arrived at Denpasar 15 minutes early. The first thing I noticed after stepping off the plane was the distinct scent that was in the air.
Before we left, I tried getting VIPVOA but no-one emailed me a response but it didn't turn out to be a problem anyway. I was one of the first to get off the plane but ended up having to go back as I'd left my camera on the plane and even so, I only had to wait a maximum of 10 minutes for VOA.
Amazingly, we immediately found our driver, Ketut Suparta, from the seemingly never ending sea of Balinese faces waiting at the front of the airport, all holding pieces of cardboard with surnames written on them.
In hindsight, we did too much on our first day. We changed money at a PT central money changer, went to Macro to stock up on Aqua, nibblies, etc, went to Hardy's Grocery shop to buy numbers and phone cards for our mobiles.
The drive to Kuta from the airport was a huuuuge cultural shock - the encounter with dozens upon dozens of families of up to five piled onto one motorbike, weaving in and out through the seemingly lawless traffic, the child beggars that would come right up to us, reaching out their hand and following us, persistently touching us, tapping us, all the street offerings, temples, statues, street stalls, those bamboo offerings on the side of the streets...
By the time we got to the Bounty Hotel, it was 5.30pm and we were SO relieved! The first thing that happens is the security guard comes up to us and offers us drugs. We're left thinking "what the?!". From this forum, I'd previously read that drugs are available anywhere and everywhere in Bali but I guess to be offered by a SECURITY guard?
It doesn't sound like much but by this stage, we were overwhelmed by the cultural difference along with being sleep deprived, me still feeling like a dog run over and both of us missing our toddlers whom we left with the MIL and just generally just feeling way out of our comfort zone. Got to our room and basically took refuge there all night.
The next day we mustered up enough guts to venture out of our hotel room to the pool. :P By that afternoon, we decided to head to the S&S meet and took our first steps out of the hotel and onto the streets of Kuta. Found S&S with no probs and met Susie, Sammy, Anne + kids and Smudge.
By the end of the day, our humour had come back and we saw the funny side of all the hawkers reaching out, grabbing us, all the "trraaaaannssport!"s, the "yessss BOSS, look, t-shirts/sunglasses/watches/etc etc etc, just looking, cheap price, yes okay, you try on", the "yesss, nice sunglass, I give you special price....(how much?)...okay, 950 000rp, good price, just for you" LOL
We did the usual shopping; wooden name plaques, Geneva, face-to-face keyring engravings, DVDs, clothes, etc.
We bought a few 22ct gold pieces on Jl Hasanuddin in Denpasar, where each gram of gold the day we bought it was about AU$10/gram = so cheap!
Across the road at Nasional Optikal Kompani, I had 3 pairs of prescription glasses (one was a pair of prescription sunnies) made for 2mil rp. They also have a 12mth guarentee and they have an agent in Australia so if anything happens, I don't have to go back all the way to Bali to get them repaired...though it would be a good excuse for another trip :)
I went around to a few optik places and found that it was cheaper in Denpasar, plus these guys were super friendly and helpful plus they delivered the finished product to my hotel room. :)
As for leaving Bali, our luggage bags were almost busting at the seams and one was 14kg overweight and the other was 13kg. We had our Aussie 'bribe' money ready as someone suggested on BTF but they let us through no probs.
Arrive back in Syd, we declared everything for customs, meaning all shells, wood, etc and we packed all the declarable items into one suitcase. My hubby took the nothing to declare bag and went through whilst I went through the goods to declare gate and we were to meet on the other side. I hauled my bag up onto the inspection table and realised that my husband had the key for the padlocks on my bag. THe customs offical decided to xray my bag instead and proceeded to let me go! I was in absolute shock as my entire bag was pretty much full of wood but was so relieved as it took me an hour of careful and strategic packing to fill my bag up. On the other hand, they pulled my hubby over and made him open his bag...!
**ACCOMODATION**
We travelled around Bali a bit and used the following places as a base for visiting surrounding areas.
1) Bounty Hotel - booked for standard room but were upgraded to Superior for free. Fantastic buffet breakfasts, great atmosphere, fantastic location.
2) Tegal Sari, Ubud - stayed in the Duplex. most definitely lives up to its reputation. Absolutely GORGEOUS settings, FANTASTIC service staff, one of those places I wish I could just pack up in my luggage bag and take home with me. We felt like cancelling all our other bookings and staying here for the rest of the holiday.
3) Tamu Seseh - (http://www.tamuseseh.com) we stayed in the 2bdroom villa for one night and we had our wedding here. Beyond breathtaking views and such a stunning, stunning setting. So peaceful, so tranquil, great staff.
4) Rambutan Cottages, Lovina - stayed in the Putri Villa. There wasn't much privacy in this villa as the front of the villa was floor to ceiling windows which was directly in front of the pool and restaurant area. Great place for families, lovely pool/restaurant area. Very lush greenery.
5) Courtyard Hotel & Apartments, Legian - stayed in a one bedroom apartment. Very stylish setting, though not good value for money I felt.
6) Villa Cepik, Sidemen - absolute GEM. This place is virtually in the middle of mountains and rice terraces, away from everything. It is run by Ida and her husband and there are 2 villa, one large, one small, both having double beds, TV, hot water, mini fridge, private pool, breakfasts, tax and service all included in the price. Ida cooks all meals (the most delish sate I've ever tasted) which can be eaten in the villa which has gorgeous views of rice terraces, mountains and fields OR in the bale which has the same views. Even the pool shares the same views of the above. All of this costs just 300,000rp for the large villa, not sure about the smaller one in RP but its US$25.
**DRIVERS WE USED**
Ketut Suparta - a funny, funny guy, fantastic to be with. HIGHLY recommended.
Ketutsuparta1968@yahoo.com
(mob) 08123986249
(home) 03617453965
Wayan Sueta - passionate about his Bali, a walking, talking guide book about Bali. Intuitive, friendly, down to earth. Fantastic if you want to see the real Bali. We did a few of his hikes, tours and he also organised snorkelling at Menganjen Island
(mob) 081 138 6761
sueta@indo.net.id
www.hiddenbali.com
Also used 2 other drivers but I would not recommend them.
**RESTAURANTS**
These are place we recommend or are worth mentioning:
~KuDeTa - stunning setting and ambience, wonderful service staff, astounding prices. We were treated exceptionally well on our wedding night.
~TJ's Mexican Restaurant, Poppies 1, kuta. Lively setting, great mexican.
~Sharkey's at Jimbaran Bay. They have a free transport pick up/drop off service, you just have to SMS or call ahead. We also tested their scales with the water bottle trick and found their scales to be off by a 50% increase from the original weight. We voiced out the dodgy scales and the person who was weighing our seafood were quick to offer us a "solution" by giving us an extra 1/2kg per kg we had, free.
~Bamboo Corner, Poppies 1, Kuta. Cheap meals, always busy, high turn over.
~Kori's , Poppies 2, kuta. Loved it loved it loved it. Stuffed ourselves silly. Fantastic dining atmosphere, we booked ahead for a bale. Intimate, cosy, great staff, fantastic food.
~Rainbow Cafe, Poppies 2, Kuta. Cheap yummy cafe meals, good for lunch.
~Warung Bambu (Lovina). Free transport service. Great setting, scrummy yummy meals, fantastic presentation, super friendly staff.
~Kakatua, Lovina. Cheap, tasty meals. Relatively busy. Large Bintangs just 10,000rp during happy hour!
~Casa Luna, Ubud. Nice meals. Try to pedas (hottest) laksa, but just don't try it the night before a 6 hour hike through central mountains where there are no western styled toilets. If you must, clog yourself up with immodium and buscopan. ;)
~Dirty Duck Diner, Ubud. Lovely place, nice food, though we were taken by surprise by the waiter who blatantly asked if we wanted to keep the 85,000rp change, who also provided lousy service.
~Warung Ibu Oka, Ubud. Adored this place. We ate at it every day we were in Ubud. It serves only one dish - rice, fresh suckling pig "babi guling" with snake beans mixed with papaya, ginger and shredded cocconut, along with other unidentifiable food stuffs that taste reeeaallly yummy but I have no clue as to what they are (nor do I want to know!). All of this is drizzled with a mix of pig fat juices, ginger, garlic, tumeric, saffron, chilli and other spices I have no clue about and oh I'm getting hungry just typing about it. All this costs just under AU$3 and kept me full all day.
It is fed nearby or in (??) a local community temple type building and the locals stalk the warung each morning, eagerly awaiting for the pig to cook. Once the chopping sound of the pig is heard, sandals are hurriedly kicked off at the entrance and the locals are quick to sit on well worn, dirty rattan mats beside rows of low tables. It is tastiest when eaten with fingers as the locals do and the closing time is whenever there is no more pig left.
**TAILORS**
We used Brisbane Tailors on Three Brothers Lane in Legian and also Janoko on Poppies 2. I'd be here all day if I were to gush about Janoko. We had made mens suits, mens shirts, women's pants made, lined jackets and a few items that were made from modified sketches which ALL turned out PERFECTLY. No alterations were made.
Brisbane Tailors on the other hand, they were quite expensive for what they made compared to Janoko and I had to have several alteration fittings for just one pair of pants.
We used Lembi Leather for leather boots and 2 jackets for less than $230.
Phone #: 08123941309 or 0361 758233
Email: lembi@bali-paradise.com
(bring along a print out of webpage for 10% discount on items)
Gede came to our hotel room to measure us up and the goods were ready within days. We were able to choose the quality, colour and texture of the leather and everything was made to perfection. The boots were perfect and I've worn them many times already and they've held up surprisingly well.
**THE WEDDING**
We used Bali Weddings International and they couldn't have been more helpful. Everything went without a hitch. I also used Paris from Milano Studios as my hairdresser and paid 250,000rp rather than spending US$80 for a hairdresser organised by BWI.
Used Dominik (http://www.weddingphotographybali.com/) as our photographer and he delivered the finished product to our hotel room 3 days after the wedding. Highly recommended, great person and wonderful work.
I've attached photos but keep in mind I have yet to sort through photos of Villa Cepik...it was such a photogenic place, I went overboard with the pics :)