In case you missed my other JBR report a few days ago, this is the next installment. Sorry for the length...lots to tell.
To recap, we are a group of 11 girl's from Canada (ages 40 - 63). For most of them it was their first trip. This is my 14th trip to Bali, since 1983. We spent the first 5 nights in Ubud at Alam Sari and then the last 6 nights at the Sofitel, Seminyak.
Before I continue, I was remiss earlier in not mentioning how much I love this Forum. I know some people put a huge effort into offering advise and suggestions while some just go on shortly before their holiday and then again when they need a 'fix'. Either way, I have found many of your suggestions invaluable and wanted to thank you for that. I've been on this Forum for about 5 years now and love to see all the familiar names (even if I don't post very often).
Back to the JBR...
We left Ubud on Nov. 11th and were very sad to say goodbye to all the staff at the Alam Sari. They really did make us feel so comfortable and the service was fantastic. We had a transfer arranged to depart the hotel at 1000AM. The Alam Sari is very close to Tegalalang so stopped here first. Found some great glass wind chimes, bamboo wind chimes, hanging glass decorations, grass type photo albums and all sorts of plates, bowls, candle holders and picture frames made with cinnamon or bamboo. Most of the latter stuff we bought from Portraits which is right on the main road in Tegalalang. The crystal chimes and glass items are from a store called Mama.
Today was the day that 6 of the girl's would start their serious shopping. The other 5 of us were let off to shop in Ubud until 100PM when we all met up again at the Dirty Duck. The serious shoppers only had one stop...at Lumbung Sari in Peliatan. Web site is www.budiasa-art.com. I had bought some sea grass furniture from them 2 years ago and shipped it back to Canada. So far it has held up pretty good. They sell a variety of bamboo, rattan, banana leaf etc., furniture as well as lamps, bowls and other accessory pieces. You have to bargain with them and the service can be quite slow, especially when 6 girls descend on them unannounced.
The rest of us shopped in Ubud. The first thing we did when we got out of the car was have a minute silence for Remembrance Day. We must have looked quite odd as for 1 minute the 5 of us just stood on the sidewalk with our eyes closed. I had abit of a giggling fit as I imagined what people were thinking as they walked around us but managed to remember the seriousness of the past wars and what our veterans had sacrificed for us. Basically we only had time to shop along Jalan Hanoman and Dewi Sita with a quick toilet stop at the Nur Saloon. One of the girls had used their services the day before and wanted to show us around. It just so happened as soon as we all got inside their ‘compound' things started happening and we all had to use the ‘facilities'. Thank goodness their toilets were free. It never seems that there is much warning so we were all thankful we were not in the middle of the Ubud Market when nature called.
We all did quite abit of shopping at the Ubud Market at various times during our stay in Bali but I honestly think the prices were better at the Denpasar Market. The Ubud Market does have tons of stuff though so if you don't make it anywhere else, you'll be thrilled with what they have to offer.
Our lunch at the Dirty Duck was excellent. The restaurant used to be owned by a man named Agung Raka (he also had some bungalows and an art gallery.) Unfortunately, he passed away about 3 years ago and now his wife runs the businesses. She happened to be there that day and I was introduced to her. I don't think she was very involved before his death but I was happy to hear that she is very hands-on now.
After lunch was over we took lots of photos of the beautiful surroundings at the Dirty Duck and then we got back in the van (which was filling up rapidly with more and more bags) and made our way to Tanah Lot. I must confess that as much as I love the view at Tanah Lot and understand that it is a very sacred place, we really were looking forward to the shopping here. I found from my previous trip two years ago, I remembered that the sellers were friendly and the bargains pretty good. Other than the postcard ladies, everyone is pretty laid back. One of the girls renamed Tanah Lot, ‘Shop A Lot' as we all bought so much. They seem to have lots of the celadon type pottery and not too expensive. I got some great shells there that are hanging on strings. I think they are supposed to be wind chimes but will look great outside in the summer hanging from the trees. It was really busy at Tanah Lot with a bit of a festive atmosphere. Eventually we had to leave as we had no more room in our vehicle with all our new purchases!!
We arrived at the Sofitel around 700PM and were abit embarrassed to see our luggage in the lobby. I had arranged a separate luggage vehicle for us from Ubud to the Sofitel. When we arrived in Bali we all had 1 bag each but by the time we left Ubud we each had at least 2 suitcases and quite a few cardboard boxes (still some wine left) and many plastic Makro shopping bags. I'm sure the hotel staff wondered what kind of guests they had arriving!!
Everyone gathered in our room to share our ‘Shop A Lot' buys and then we did our own thing for dinner. By 930PM I didn't feel like going out for dinner so my room mate (who is my Step Mother) and I ordered room service. It's not something I normally do but we were bagged. I had the linguine with scallops and vegetables in a carbonara sauce and honestly it was the best I've ever had. Who would have thought from room service? The next morning everyone was comparing notes of what they'd eaten the night before and quite a few of us had had the same pasta...all raving about it. I don't mean to go on about it but if you are heading to Bali and are a picky eater just relax...they have such excellent food and there are always lots of options. As much as I love mie goreng it is nice to have great options.
The Sofitel is a European hotel chain and as such, there were lots of Europeans there, especially men. We had booked the Deluxe Ocean View Rooms mostly because we live about a 12 hour drive from the ocean and it really makes a holiday complete for us Calgarian's if we can see the ocean from our room. In theory you could see the ocean from the 3rd floor rooms but for us on the second floor our views were obstructed by the trees. Not a big deal but in future I probably would just book the garden view and save the money we spent to get the ocean views.
The rooms were excellent. Beautiful bedding and extremely comfortable beds. Everything in the room was made of either wood, marble or glass. The staff was quite accommodating and got used to just leaving the big container of ice in one of our rooms every night instead of just filling our ice buckets. The pool was beautiful and we never had any trouble getting chairs. They also didn't care if you took more than 1 towel. That's a pet peeve of mine when hotels get stingy with their towels.
The buffet breakfast was not your typical Balinese spread. You were offered a freshly squeezed juice (of your choice) as well as coffee or tea when you sat down. All the eggs, pancakes and French toast were made to order. On the buffet was an assortment of breads/pastries, salads/cheese/meats, Asian food - congee, rice, noodles, vegetables and then a variety of fruits, yoghurts and granola. They didn't seem to have the waste (or line ups) that a lot of the other buffets experience and the food was delicious.
The beach in front of the Sofitel was just okay. I'm not sure why but the sand directly in front of the hotel was a very dark color. On either sides of the hotel though it was back to the nice light color. Kind of weird but there must be a good reason for this. The whole time we were there, the waves were huge and there was a lot of ‘bubbly stuff' in the water. I asked the pool guy at our hotel what it was and he just kept saying it wasn't oil. It looked kind of like sewage but someone thought it might be from the sand as the tide was really strong. The beach was really nice to walk on, in either direction, if you stay ahead of all the beach sellers. Our hotel was 46% occupied but there was hardly anyone on the beach. As soon as you got close to the sand, the swarming started. Of course with 11 women, it didn't talk long for the free for all to start but we all had fun bargaining and came away with good buys. Some of the girl's have already said that they wished they had bought more on the beach so take it from me, buy lots! It might all look the same when you are there but you get it home and realize that the presents you were meant to give away are now things you really want to keep!!!
The weather was also really nice the whole time we were in Bali. I know it had rained a lot a few weeks before we arrived but other than a few showers at night, we didn't experience any wet weather.
The second night at the Sofitel we decided to walk to Fabio's Restaurant. It took us about 1 hour, mostly because there were so many great places to shop along the way. Before we left Canada I had decided that I wasn't going to buy anything too big on this trip. I have done the container thing a few times from Bali and have no room inside or outside my home for anything else. I had joked that all I had room for was jewellery. Boy, did I find some great jewellery. More on this trip that any other. Lots of beautiful silver jewellery and also the costume stuff...mostly made with beads and shells. I also bought a ring from a store called the Talismans of Power at #30 Jalan Raya in Seminyak. They have a web site www.sacredriversilks.com but I just looked at it and it shows their location in California, so all the prices are in $USD and are way higher than they were in Bali.
Fabio's was our most fun night of the trip. Luckily for us, they had a band there that night. They came to our table and played a few songs and then the girl's started giving really big tips for them to stay. They had to move to the other few tables that were occupied but came back to our table about 20 minutes later. Once the band came back, one of my friends put on these crazy glasses she had brought with her. They are the kind that look like normal frames but the eyes are all wonky with lots of blue eyeshadow. Wearing the glasses, Tracy started dancing but only we could see her. We almost pee'd our pants we laughed so hard. Then she turned around and faced the band and the waitresses and continued to dance. They were doubled over too.
Some of the girls sang with the band and we also did a congo line around the restaurant. We encouraged our shy waitresses to join us. At first they were hesitant but eventually they were all dancing in a big circle with us. One at a time someone would go into the middle and the Balinese girls even did that. They were so cute (and small!!!) Before we left, 3 of us had bought the congo drums that Victor, the drummer was playing. He is charging us $200USD each and is making each of us a set, which we will ship in the container. There's 2 larger drums, 1 small drum and a set of symbols. We all had a turn trying them that night and they were so much fun (and my kid's are going to love them). I forgot to mention but the food was also excellent at Fabio's. I was there 2 years ago and it has been totally renovated since then but still the same great food. We walked back to the hotel (with a stop at 7-11 to by water...I'm sure the staff thought they'd been invaded by aliens as we'd had way too much wine to drink) and even managed to do some more shopping on the way back.
Day 3 at the Sofitel and 2 of us decided to go to Paul's Place to shop. It's right near the Oberoi. Lots of beautiful clothes with a variety of sizes. Paul happened to be there and was very helpful in putting outfits together for us. He also had some great necklaces and bracelets. The prices weren't cheap by Balinese standards but most of what was there, you wouldn't find in Bali. Paul lives part of the year in Seattle and is a very nice person, if you have a chance to meet him. I mentioned that I had heard about his shop on the Bali Travel Forum, which he was unfamiliar with. I've got his card so I'll send him the link.
That night we had an amazing dinner at the Living Room. That was probably the prettiest restaurant that we ate at. It's so beautiful at night with the gardens glowing with all the candles and lights. I had never been there before but I understand that they have moved from across the street and now have a much bigger space. FYI, I had lumpia and grilled prawns and the cost was 242,000 rupiah (with a 15 % tax that they include). The bottle of wine I bought was 420,000 rp. Certainly expensive by Balinese standards but really cheap compared to eating in a similar quality restaurant in other beach resorts around the world.
They also had a little boutique (almost right next to our table). They must have known that we liked to shop. One of the girl's bought her Christmas Party dress there for about $100CAD. It is beautiful. Not sure of the material but a very lightweight black fabric with a layer of lighter fabric around the hem, that makes it swirly and then a ton of little bead and sequins sewn in a pattern down the front. It looked beautiful on her and as we were sitting so close to the shop, we all got to give her our option on all the clothes she tried on. Bought another glass beaded bracelet there as well. The security as this type of restaurant was also very tight. Our car was searched inside and underneath and all out bags were checked. I was quite happy to accommodate any of the security searches that we encountered. Hopefully they are helping.
Day 4 at the Sofitel was another big shopping day for the 6 serious shoppers. They started out at Letros on Jalan Bypass in Sanur. Two years ago I spent 5 days in Bali comparing furniture quality and we eventually bought from Letros. On that trip we also seriously looked at Geneva but after really inspecting their furniture we weren't that impressed with their quality of finishing (or construction). I know there are better quality places which maybe have better drying techniques but they are also a lot more expensive. You can spend a lot of time comparing/shopping/arranging shipping while you are in Bali but if you are buying lots it is so important to really check out what you are buying. I guess like anything, you get what you pay for.
Letros will also arrange the shipping so the girl's will have the other items that they bought elsewhere brought to Letros to be packed in the container. The cost of a 40 foot container from Bali to Calgary is $6000USD. That seems to be the going rate to Canada. For anyone that has ever shipped a 40 ft. container, it holds a ton of stuff. Two years ago we ended up filling a warehouse with what we'd bought. On that trip we had 3 families, 6 adults and 9 children. It was great to have the 2 other couples with us as I don't think we would have justified doing a container otherwise.
In addition to the wicker and teak furniture, the girl's also bought Balinese umbrellas, garden lights with the thatched roofs and are hoping to have some room left over for some pottery. The furniture will take another 2 weeks to complete so they have till then to see if they have anymore room.
On Day 4 the rest of us ventured into the Denpasar Market. We were abit disappointed as at least half of the shops were closed. If you've never been to this market, it is abit of a maze and I think is 3 or 4 stories high. When you first arrive there, it seems that there is always someone (male or female) that starts to walk along side you. They say that they will guide you through the market for free. Well, as we all know, nothing is free and they do get a kick back from everywhere that you shop. There were 4 of us that were shopping here and we started with one lady but were joined by her sister-in-law about 30 minutes later. The bonus (and we found it to be a huge bonus) is that they carry all your purchases...on their heads!!! So you're free to shop to your hearts content, while someone else carries everything for you. That leaves your hands free and you are not dragging all your bags into every stall...some of which you could hardly turn around in.
Our ‘guides' did try and take us to shops where they knew the owners but we also just wandered around where we wanted to go. I specifically wanted to find an art store that I had bought a painting at 3 years ago and they were not able to find it. Eventually I found it on my own and they just stood back and watched as we made our decisions. I found the prices to be very cheap in this market but you really have to bargain hard and be prepared to walk away. There was only one seller that didn't come after us but we all decided that they were having a bad day as they were quite grumpy.
After we were finished shopping, the 2 ladies came with us to find our driver, whom had said he wanted to wait. We felt bad as he had waited 2 hours but he was happy to get another trip from us. We had hired him through our hotel (although he didn't really work for the hotel directly but seemed to have some close association with them). We gave our ladies about 60,000 rp. each and they seemed thrilled. Of course we also gave them some hand cream and other things we had with us and they walked away smiling and waving to us. As they say, ‘Good for you, good for me'!!! I love this concept of having a ‘shopping assistant' even if it does cost a few more dollars. Last time I was in this market I was with my Mother and by the end she was showing them her bra and comparing it to what they wore. Where else would this happen?????
Now we were on our way to Kuta. I'd been anxious to get to Kuta for 7 days now, just to see how the activity level was there, and of course to do some shopping. My favourite bit of advise on the trip was, 'never leave your room without abit of money as shopping opportunities are everywhere'. Having said that, I will say that even walking along the beach with no money, you can still shop. The seller will often say that you can take the item back to the hotel with you can they will collect the money from you later.
Back to Kuta, this time we didn't want the driver to wait for us so we paid him extra and he took all of our shopping back to the hotel for us. Where else in the world can you trust a stranger to go back to your hotel with your stuff, and not even just it a second thought. Perfect, we were now in the heart of Kuta with free hands again!!! One quick stop to an ATM machine and then did some shopping along Poppies Lane One. The other girl's were quite surprised at how narrow this ‘gang' is. Bought some DVD's, more jewellery and some loose silver beads. I honestly didn't find it that quiet in Kuta but my last 3 trips to Bali have all been in November and I think this is a quieter month anyway.
Then we headed into Poppies for lunch. It was the perfect place to stop as it's a little bit of heaven in an otherwise hectic area. The food is so delicious and still quite cheap. There were some very large bees flying around our table and landing on the flowers. Holly thought they were humming birds they were so large. The ponds are lovely and you really feel like you are sitting in the middle of a tropical jungle. We ended up walking to Poppies Hotel to use their internet. They have a beautiful pool surrounded by stones. It looked like a grotto and I wondered what it was like to stay there.
That night we had our first and only disappointing encounter at a restaurant. To be continued...