We left Sydney on 16th Sept for 14 days staying at MBR. After a short delay we finally flew out. This time we flew AP and found the flight a bit longer than with Qantas. I think the planes are smaller and the flight speed lower, but service was excellent and food and drink was plenty the whole way. As usual I slept the whole way, even though it was a daytime flight but hubby and 3 kids (8, 11, 13) all stayed awake watching the movies and eating and chatting.
Paid VOA in Australian dollars, hubby stood in line and I went with all the passports and AUD to the window, paid, stamped and got change in rp. Very easy. Don't bother with USD.
Alot of planes were landing and it seemed to take ages to finally get through and collect our luggage. In the meantime hubby is getting more and more irrate as he isn't a good flyer to start with. To my surprise there were no porters at our luggage this time so we casually picked them up and with a friendly wave and smile from the customs officer we were out and on our way to our hotel.
First time at MBR. Very different to the Dynasty, where we stayed last year. We had adjoining rooms on the second floor in front on the long pool. I would have preferred the older section but you can't get adjoining rooms there. Hotel is in a great location and would probably stay there again.
Breakfasts were good at the hotel but I would give the dinner menu a miss. We ate there once, the night of the Rugby league semi final as we watched it at the sports bar then had a quiet night in.
Kids enjoyed it at MBR, alternating between the two swimming pools and playing pool in the afternoons in the room upstairs at the restaurant. They easily made friends with the sellers on the beach. They also took with them a Rugby league ball and had a few games with the locals on the beach. A strange version of AFL, League and soccer. Very funny to watch.
I am not good at taking notes so in brief in no particular order.
Some of the places we ate:
Legian Garden (Jl Melasti) Excellent - our favorite
All Star Surf Cafe - Op Centro.
Bubba Gumps - Pricey but a treat for our boys.
Bali Aussie - Friendly, ok food but bit pricey
Gosha - again an old favorite
Pappas - Great food, nice for a special occasion
Wayan & Friends
Porchettas - (Jl Legian)Great food
We always enjoyed the walk home along the beach walkway after dinner.
Special buys:
2 beautiful pearl necklaces. 1 dark blue/black, 1 white with silver spacer beads and burgundy shell pieces. Bought these from Jay on the beach in front of the MBR. Very nice young man. He even made the darker strand longer for me on the spot. Amazing to see him thread and knot each pearl.
Had a king size doona (light padding) and pillow cases made with small butterfly designs embroidered into the fabric. Approx AU $25.
2 white limestone lanterns approx 30cm high (base, carved middle, roof) that you put a tealight candle in.
Went to Geneva and bought alot of things there including many carved geckos which I now have running up my hallway wall. Also curtains rp60,000 each, and a lamp made of glass pieces that looks glorious when lit.
Klim washing powder - now all my clothes smell bali fresh.
and you can't beat the many sequin sandles for rp20000 a pair.
Didn't buy too many clothes, boys got their usual B'bong shirts, shorts, sunglasses etc.
Places we went:
Didn't do too much this year. We tend to take our time and just stop and chat to the locals while we are there. We took the boys to some of the places we didn't show them last year. Tanah Lot (beautiful but I find it a shame that the cliff tops are now all restaurants and market stalls). Monkey forest near Tanah Lot. Monkeys were very cheaky and quite agressive. Middle son was bitten on the hand (didn't worry him too much) but we threatened to release him into the wild if he grew excessive hair and a tail by morining. Elephent temple, Ubud markets, and some art galleries.
Our driver, Wayan (Harry) who is usually outside the Kodak shop accross the street from the MBR was excellent.
My eldest son has longish hair and decided on getting it plaited with beads at the ends. This lasted all of 2 days because he was getting a little embarrassed when we would walked along the street and the sellers would say to me "bangle for your daughter".
The little shop across from the hotel was very handy for our supply of Aqua (totally addicted to the fruit flavoured one), Bintang for the bar fridge and nibbles for the kids. Hired a DVD player across the road at the DVD store for rp20,000 per night which is half the hotel charge.
No bali belly to report. We did take our Raspberry cordial and jam but forgot to use it.
Only complaint that I would have about our stay is the BB guns. There were bullets flying everywhere at the hotel.
We flew out on the 27th, at 11pm, all our luggage packed into those soft bali bags with the floral designs on them and the zippers tampertelled mainly to stop them from opening during transport. We find these a very light and inexpensive alternative to suitcases. Again I slept all the way home but was informed that food again was plentiful and although a nightime flight there were movies to keep those who didn't sleep entertained.
Sydney airport was a breeze and we flew through customs. We declared all our wood pieces, but the customs lady tried to cut the tampertel from the bag, cutting her finger instead and then didn't bother checking our bags at all. Had quite a few DVD's and Xbox games without being questioned.
I didn't want to post anything sooner as 3 days after we arrived home we heard the terrible news of the current events. My heart goes out to them all. It will not stop us from returning and I am already saving for another trip possibly next year. I asked my boys if they would want to go back in light of recent events and they seem to have no hesitatation in returning.
I hope this has not been too boring a read. I must have walked past the S&S several times but never stopped in. I hope next time I will gather the courage to drop in and say hello.