Well, here goes my attempt of a JBR. I thought I would break it up into general sections, otherwise I could go on forever!!
WHO
My sister Larissa (23 years old), my cousin Jodie (28), & myself (26). My sister & I first went to Bali in Oct 2004, absolutely loved the place & couldn't wait to get back! We convinced our cousin to come as well, against the wishes of her family who did not want her to go, but were more than happy for her to buy lots of stuff for them while she was over there (always the way!). My sister & I are from Sydney, whereas Jodie is from Dubbo in central NSW.
WHEN
31 July 2005 to 13 August....not long enough!!
FLIGHTS TO BALI
We flew with Garuda from Sydney on the same flight as Kylieann73 (see her post below re the dramas!!). Got to Bali at 3.30pm, meaning we missed out 1.5 hours of our holiday!! Luckily, our pre arranged driver was waiting for us at the airport with icy cold water, which we definitely needed after waiting in line for 40 minutes to get through immigration.
HOTEL
We stayed at the Legian Beach Hotel, as we did last year, but stayed in a deluxe cottage, instead of the superior cottage like last year, due to the 3 of us sharing the room. We did not think the superior cottage would have enough room (barely enough for 2 with all our shopping LOL!!!), but we were more than happy with the deluxe and were quite impressed with the fold out bed they supplied; was expecting a flimsy foldout mattress thingy, but the mattress was quite thick and comfy (or so my sister said!!).
We were in cottage OC (it became our joke for the holiday). It was in the corner of the resort near where Jl Kuta Pantai (the beach road) turns into Jl Melasti, but it surprisingly wasn't that noisy. We were more or less directly behind that surf shop outside on LBH on the pedestrian beach road, so we were really close to the pool & beach, which was great!
We liked the LBH as it was relaxed, quiet, etc. Its not for people looking to party and they have a lot of European clientele. Also, noticed a lot of people claiming sun loungers while at breakfast & then only used them when they felt like, which I think is very rude!! However, seeing that the LBH has 2 pools, they had plenty of loungers & there wasn't a problem getting one. But I reckon if I couldn't get one, I'd just move their towels.
Part 2 will come tomorrow, with details of things we did, shopping, tours, adventures & mishaps!!
Cheers
Bec