I got so much info from other peoples JBRs (once i'd figured out what it stood for!) that i thought it was only fair to post one myself!!
My sister in law planned her wedding for 20 oct 2005 and originally had 40 people flying out with her. Unfortunately aftre the bombing that number dropped to 28.
Me and my husband flew out of Adelaide on the 18th oct. Dodged the porters at the airport (BTF tip #1) and made our way to the Ramada Bintang Resort at Tuban. What a hotel!! The rooms are great - we were on the third floor, and the breakfast buffets are divine! I couldn't fault anything with this hotel, they even turned a blind eye to some male members of our group who decided to climb the floodlights and dive into the pool at midnight hehe. I'd read a post on this forum saying some really bad things about the Ramada Bintang, that the rooms were crappy and something about an all night disco that kept you awake.....i experienced none of this, i don't even think they had a disco! Some bad karaoke at dinner time maybe, but no disco!
Best staff members at Ramada Bintang were Kariya (usually in the swim up bar) and Eka (also known as big-tall) and Ekas mate, we called him small-tall, i have forgotten his real name already!
Most nights we ate at Mini Seafood which is directly opposite the Ramada Bintang. So so cheap!! And they had enough choices on the menu that it was easy to keep going back! The last night we splurged and had a lobster feast which was the only meal for the of us that cost over AUS$25 (including drinks) At Mini Seafood, Ketut is in charge of the food orders and Wayan does the drinks - great guys. Unfortunately even though the place looks like it can seat about 250 people there were never more that 30 or so - but it was like that everywhere!
We also ate at C-Line one night. (turn left out of Ramada Bintang and walk for about 2 mins) They had a good choice of western as well as indo food, and while it was nice, there was no kick to it. My cousin ordered a chicken cashew dish, while i ordered the chicken curry and the base on both dishes was exactly the same. This is only my second trip to Bali, but i have lived in Bogor (near Jakarta) for a year as a teenager and i know what indo food should be like - and this wasn't it. It would be a good place for those who don't react well to spicy food though!
The shopping was FANTASTIC! I had such a good time shopping! Went to Sukawati markets (dirty and stinky but so cheap!) and bought loads of beaded sandals for 15,000 each. In Tuban and Kuta the cheapest they would go was 20,000 for those. Needless to say I now have a pair for every day of the week, as do all of my family! Also bought Barong masks and great big fans there and a bit of clothing for the kids.
Ubud markets were also great. Cleaner and just as cheap as Sukawati.
Went to Poppies with my mother in law and grandmother in law. I's always thought this was the busiest place to shop in Kuta, but i'm sure we only passed about 10 or 20 other tourists the whole time we were there. Best place we found on poppies was Dewi Shop 28 Poppies Lane 2. She was lovely and didn't bother trying to charge over what was a reasonable price. Some of the other traders there (i guess they are really desperate after another bombing) were really intimidating! They would physically try to drag you into their shop even after you had refused politely. My MIL and GIL were getting very upset toward the end (they'd been told to refuse politely and couldn't understand why they wouldn't take no for an answer) so it was left to me to be the Indo speaking body-guard.
Shopping closer to the Ramada Bintang, good shops with lovely people were : Tiara Shop 21 Jl Kartika Plaza - ask for Johny Begood, Jenny Shop oposite Green Garden Htel Jl Kartika Plaza, D&T Shop next to Ramada Bintang - ask for Tia - those beaded sandals again! Rani Shop Jl Kartika Plaza (Bali international Flea Market) ask for Rani or her husband Bruce, their brother in law also works there but i didn't like him much, they had those great satin dressing gows adult size, 4 for 50,000 each which i though was a fair price.
Our driver was Dean. He took us out on Saturday and Sunday. Pretended to get lost down a narrow gravel road somewhere near Ubud. We got blocked in by a truck and he told us to get out and have a walk until the truck moved on. Of course he had a big laugh at us afterwards as he had planned the whole thing and knew exactly where we were! We had the BEST two days driving around with him! He took us to a village where his wifes maid lives and we visited the maids families house and they showed us around. I was busting for the loo and for the first time since 1992 had to use a squat toilet with no electricity (very dark in there!) and no toilet paper, but thank goodness after all this time i can still squat and pee with good aim! I would recommend Dean to anyone, i know that Cinnamonbell has him booked this week too and has used him before. His website is www.balisbestdriver.com Friendly funny guy, i will definatley recommend him to anyone!
The wedding we went for, was at the Laguna Sheraton at Nusa Dua and it was LOVELY! I won't say too much about it as i think my SIL (aka Kriddy) will want to post her own JBR. We had both been lurking on this forum for months before our departure!
At no time did i ever feel unsafe in Bali (besides some scary hawkers!) Every where we went, cars were checked. Security was all over the place. Even check your bags on the way in to Matahari. I also saw lots of families with young children - even though i opted to leave our 3 at home though that was more a money issue than a security issue!
Can't think of anything else and i've probably taken up enough space! We would love to go back and are planning a 3 week Bali/Lombok/Bogor trip in 2007.
Thanks guys for all your advice to me before i left.
Oh yeh - nobody got Bali Belly real bad. A few cases of the squirts but nobody was stuck in their room too sick to go out!