Hi All, sad to say we are home again after having a wonderful if not short trip to Bali. Flight was from Perth with Garuda and was uneventful. We flew out the late flight leaving at around 1pm and it was running slightly late but we still landed at 5.45. Paid Aussie Dollars for VOA with no problems and it had just changed to $10 US for 7 days instead of the 3 days it first came out as. I was surprised at how empty the plane was approx 50 people on a 124 seater. This was for flights both ways, my husband and I had the exit row and 3 seats each both ways, no problems. I reckon everyone on the flight could have had a row each.
Stayed at the Melasti Bungalows, which is a regular stop for us as we like the location and it is very good value. Having the Melasti spa helps and it is really close to the shops, which is a must for me.
The main reason for this trip was to visit the dentist, (thats what I told Hubby anyway). Went to the dentist in the Bali Galleria Mal on the Bypass road and was very impressed with the way they run the clinic. Had a check-up on the first night and discussed treatment and price so I was very comfortable with the whole thing. Returned the next day for the first part of treatment and 3 days later for the porcelain crown to be fitted. All up 1.5 hours and $300 later but I was quoted $1000+ here at home so it paid for my trip as well.Feeling fine with no problems so far.
As My hubby and I where celebrating ou Wedding Anniversary we had decided that we wanted to spend some time in a Villa and treat ourselves. We looked at a lot of Villas and although we where impressed with them we felt that alot of themm had high walls around the pool and no grassed area to relax in and felt very confined.
We really loved the layout of Villa Heliconia but unfortunately being High season it was not available for all the dates we wanted. Villa Jodie (named after one of the Bombing victims) is on Laksman Road in Seminyak and this is also very nice, but we felt a little too modern for our tastes although we where able to negotiate good rates. We finally found Uma Sapna Villas, located on Jl Drupadi(?? spelling). It runs between Dhyana Pura & Laksmana in Seminyak, closer to Laksmana. This place was our idea of heaven. They have 6 1 bedroom with plunge ool, 4 1 bedroom with pool and 2 x 2 bedroom with pool. I could not praise these Villas or the staff and the Manager highly enough.
We hired our Motorbike from the Guy accross the road from the Garden View in Legian. We have hired from him before and never had any problems. Riding around this trip was very easy and never had any problems with the police. My husband does have a bike license and a International License. We also always hire from a authorised hire company as apparently they pay an extra fee for a license to hire vehicles.
Finally visited Bali Deli and spent many a lunchtime sitting out back enjoying a leisurely lunch. Also stocked the Villa up on Spagetti Bolognaise and Lasagne and Potato Bake for other lunches. I was very impressed with the variety of food available and prefer this to Bintang supermarktet.
Had Jewelery done at Mayang Jewellers in Kuta Square. 2 rings resized, 1 Bracelet repaired and 1 paddlock bracelet repaired. I had lost the padlock and they had to supply & fit another clasp and slightly modify this bracelet. All up $55 so it was well worth taking it as I was quoted $40 for Braclet to fixed here at Zamels.
Did lots of the usual shopping and Fairy dresses where better priced at the shop in Poppies lane. Agree with whoever posted the best waffles are at the A & W in Jl Panuai Kuta and this became a regular stop for mu husband while I was making my way along shoppong along the way. The only draw back of having a bike is that wheever you see something you like you can't keep saying stop, stop as husband gets very angry, so it is best to find something he likes and arrange to meet him there.
There has been posts recently re sim cards being out of date. We had 2 sim cards from previous trips, one of which was out of date on the box that it was purchased in over 6 months ago. We where able to re-activate these and still had the remaining credit on them. We use Pro XL and have these done at the Discovery Mall. It was so cinvenient hubby & I having 1 each.
Well that's it for this trip, will be happy to answer any questions, although I might have to go back very soon as I can feel a tooth ache coming on and well it is my birthday soon. LOL
Thanks for reading