I have typed and backspaced for the past 20 minutes trying to start this sort of JBR of mine. I am still struggling to come to terms with the tragic events of last Saturday and it brings tears to my eyes every time I read, hear, or think about it. But I also want to express to you all the wonderful time we had for 3 weeks (8th Sept - 28th Sept) in our '2nd home' Bali.
I have been to Bali approximately 20 times and my husband about 8 times so I really don't have much touristy stuff to tell as most days were spent just relaxing on the beach.
Tip: Make sure you take good care of your passports. Mine got a little bit wet on a trip to South Africa last year and it is now a constant problem at immigration. It will no longer scan properly so we are always taken aside while they check on details. This can have you waiting around 5 - 15 minutes. Annoying when you want to do some duty free shopping :).
We spent our first week at Padma Hotel in a garden deluxe chalet. This was the first time we had stayed at this hotel. The room was on the ground floor so we had an open air shower which was nice, with a separate bathtub. The room was a good size with sliding doors opening on to your balcony. The sliding doors also kept it nice and dark at night so there was no need for me to wear my blinkers, and it was quiet too.
Fresh fruit was left in your room each day, which was great to take to the beach for our lunch. This was also my first experience in eating the Balinese fruit Salak. How yummy is this fruit? Its got a rough brown snake skin outer cover which peels away to reveal a light colour flesh that breaks into about 3 pieces. Very dry & crisp but sweet. Does anyone know if this is available in Australia? I'm in Melbourne....
The garden deluxe chalets came with club lounge facilities - free internet, designated restaurant for the best breakfasts overlooking the beach, afternoon tea, and evening cocktails & canapés. We did wander in most evenings for a pre dinner drink or two. The only thing I didn't like was how parents let their kids pile up their plates with all the free food and leave little for others, obviously it's a cheap way to feed your kids a late lunch or early dinner! I'm sure they weren't even supposed to be in there during the cocktail hours. I could see other people making comments amongst themselves too. Oh well, a bit rude I thought, but then, I don't have any kids..
Padma is a pretty large resort but quite spread out. The pool is large but I prefer the beach. Way too many people all bunched up together for my liking, but of course it was school holiday time.
Overall I liked the Padma and would definitely stay again, although I think perhaps the chalets are looking a little tired. My husband's brother & mate were staying in the hotel section which they were a little disappointed in. I never saw the room though.
Our next 2 weeks were spent next door at the Bali Mandira in the newer hotel section at the rear of the property. We were on the 3rd floor. The room was quite nice, a bit bigger than their cottages with sliding doors opening onto the balcony. The only thing wrong is the locking system on the doors they crunch LOUDLY when opening the door and are LOUD when shutting the door.
As per every trip we spent each day on the beach out the front of the Bali Mandira, just in front of Billy's Bar. 2 beds & 1 umbrella for the day Rp 50,000. Had great fun chatting with our Bali friends - drinks from Billy, scratchy sand massages from Made :), Taro chips from Patrick who makes me laugh with 'put plastik in bag' and 'laterrrrrrrrrrr'. 4 packets for Rp 10,000. Nasi goreng, mie goreng and bali kopi from the guy cooking under the trees. Yum!
I walked every morning along the beach for an hour, what a way to start the day :).
One thing though, what was that brown stuff washing in along the beach each day? Oil? Algae? I have never experienced that before, so if anyone has any clues let me know.
The highlight of the trip for me was once again visiting our sponsor child at SD3 in Sembung. Prior to the visit we went to Makro and bought a heap of stuff to donate to the school - pens, chalk, paper, pencils, staplers, staples, writing pads etc. We also bought starburst lollipops to hand out to every child. The teachers had all the kids lined up and we went row by row handing out sweets to them. A few of the kids then took it in turns and sang songs to us.
I took over some silk fabric and had Asri from Alus Tailor copy my designer outfit (shoe string dress & jacket). It turned out great. She is not cheap though, I paid AUD $195.00.
Asri told me my outfit would be better lined so she sent me to Alta Moda at the new Kuta Galleria to buy the lining. This is a great place to buy fabric, they have 3 or 4 levels of different fabrics and cheaper than home. Although Asri told me if I went to Denpasar to buy fabric it would be half the price of Alta Moda.
We ate at all our usual favourites - Trattoria about 10 times (best Italian & cheap!), La Lucciola, Living Room, Gado Gado, Ku De Ta (although I didn't think the food to be as good as it used to be), Kafe Warisan, Sharkeys at Jimbaran & Poco Loco.
As we spend all day on the beach we are usually too tired to go out after dinner but did manage to get to Paddy's & Embargo a couple of times. Embargo was pretty cool & the music was great... partied till 4:30am. That was late enough for me as I don't want to be sleeping all day and missing out on the beach.
We caught up with BaliMoon (Jenny & Mick) for the renewal of their wedding vows. A great night was had by all - pre dinner drinks at Billy's Bar, dinner at Indo National (great food & cheap!) followed by various bars & many drinks.
We had planned to go to Lovina, do the echo bike trip, waterbom park, white water rafting & more but time as usual just flew by. Typically I was running around at the last minute doing last minute shopping. I think I need at least a month in Bali at a time!
As for bali belly, well, we were lucky. We took a dose of Inner Health Plus tablets every morning before breakfast and never once had a problem. The recommended daily dose is 1 tablet but we took 2 just to be on the safe side :).
Well that's all I can think of now & its Friday night and I am packing up & going home. I hope I haven't bored you all too much.
Shez x