We have just had another fantastic holiday in paradise and cant speak highly enough of Bali. After the uncertain thoughts of not going we are so glad we did. Xmas and New Year was spent here, different, but sooooo gooood.
It was trip no.2 for myself and my wife Lyndy but the rest were Bali virgins....(our two daughters Amy,18,Hannah,16,Our best friends Paul and Christine and their daughter Daniel,15). I can safely say everyone has got the bug and are planning their next trips as we speak. The start of the trip could have been better...Garuda flight delayed by 4 hours in Adelaide....we got there at 6am,didn't leave until 10am...another hour and a half delay at Melbourne airport and then finally on our way. The familiar smells and humidity at Dempasar airport tells a story by its self doesn't it? The familiar traffic snarls were there and it took a while to get to Seminyak with the girls going oooh and agh at everything unfamiliar to them. I thought this trip would be great to see Bali through their eyes and I wasn't wrong.
We stayed this time at Bali Ayu in Seminyak and were more than pleased with our stay. Fantastic, happy staff, good food and cold Bintang (which we sampled on a regular basis.) Last trip we stayed at Sanur and Ubud and also loved it at these places but enjoyed the difference of Seminyak.
Of course with five girls in tow shopping was a major event this time round and Paul and myself found ourselves at different watering holes throughout the trip just to escape with a cold bintang and a chat to the locals.
We found it common place for the Balinese to thank us for coming back to Bali and the sorrow they feel for their own people. More than one asked us to tell John Howard to take off the travel warnings so the Aussies will come back.
Anyway here are some hopefully helpful hints for travellers to Bali at the moment.
Firstly enjoy yourself and have a bloody good holiday.....We all felt very safe everywhere we went in Bali and had a ball.
Second....shopping.....(the wife tells me I have to relay this)....its bloody good!
If you are after top quality Billabong and Quicksilver clothing see Wayan at Yanthi clothing shop (its actually at her home,which is beautiful,and she will love to give you a bit of a tour if asked), Sahadewa st, Legian. Collared Billabong shirts are 90000rp,and T-shirts and board shorts are 40000rp fixed. Wayan will bend a little but generally fixed price. Great when you need a break from bartering. The quality of these clothes are excellent. We have been back almost a week and they wash up fantastic...wish I got more. Wayan speaks very good English as she is a teacher,(when not selling surf clothing.)
Before you get to Wayans you will pass Jurrasic Leather which is owned by Made' and Rudy. We had some jackets made and a couple of the girls had boots made, great job and very reasonable,(I had a tan/dark brown arms bomber style/biker jacket made for $150au) Made will take Ozzie dollars too if easier(that way you don't have to change a huge amount with a money changer) The girls boots were almost knee high....fantastic, soft leather for $90au. My wife Lyndy needed a couple of alterations made and sent her jacket back with my niece who left today as Made said to do that if needed.
By the way if your looking for a great watering hole after getting your Billabong and leather gear done, head around the corner to Sana, on Melasti,Kuta. This bar/restaurant is owned by an Aussie couple, Brian and Annie Hayes,we met only Brian but a very nice bloke! The place has only been opened 6 weeks or so but looks fantastic. The hamburgers are to die for...made from 100% sirloin and they taste like it. They were going to put on a BBQ but a downpour put a stop to that. One important thing to know about Sana is they have an all day happy hour where small Bintangs are 6500rp ! The staff came up and asked what kind of music we liked and after someone saying U2 they put a music dvd on and you can watch it on a big screen behind the bar. We stayed here until the rain stopped and luckily we weren't driving....good time had by all.
Back to Seminyak....across the road from Bali Ayu is the Bebekbali restaurant which specialises in duck dishes (bebec is duck). Not many of us tried the duck but I can say that we ate here 2-3 times during our stay and every time was fantastic. We actually had our Xmas night dinner here and the staff were great. Seminyak is full of restaurants so you can take your pick..The Living Room,La Luciola and Kudeta are expensive but nice...Too many too list but try lots of them...beats cooking! If you are after a great driver while at Bali Ayu please call Wayan Jaya, mobile 081 338566877 or they all know him at Bali Ayu, a great guy who more than once took us on day trips (350000rp for the whole day) tell him Andy from Australia sent you,(we stay in contact via sms and email). On one day trip we mentioned we wanted to get some tattoos this time in Bali but wanted a clean,reliable one and Wayan took us to a friend of a friend who would do a free tattoo for him if all of us wanted to get one. We went to 'Tattoo by Alit' in Dempasar. Alit is an excellent artist. I had always said I would get a gheko on my shoulder but couldn't find one on the walls or in his books that was just right so he drew one freehand....perfect! He did the same for a couple of the others and they were really happy. Very quick, clean and new needles and inks each time. I already had a couple of tats so new what to expect but the others had a surprise waiting.....they hurt a bit ! Still we all got them (except our girls) and they all look great.
Back to Bali Ayu.....I'm jumping about here.....For a great barman see Made or Jeremy at the pool bar. They are great fun guys and feed off our humour. We left them with some oversize sunglasses and straw hat for candid pics with the tourists so get a photo. Next to the bar Mr,Silver or 'Hi Ho' I called him (as in Hi Ho Silver !) has a small shop/stall of silver jewellery. Most of the prices are fixed and he will honestly tell you what kind of quality the silver is you are buying....but lock up your daughters ...he's very smooth with the ladies. Lol. You can get a great massage within the spa at Bali Ayu and very good prices....50000rp for an hour massage and they know what the're doing....fantastic to loosen up the aching muscles and Bintang hangovers,(not that there was many....ha!)
The rooms were spacious and a/c worked well and as already stated the staff were excellent,always ready with a smile and hello.
Nusa Dua....water sports....as we arrived we were pounced on by the water sports staff....very good but paid with commission I feel. Almost everything was $25us each or 250000rp,except scuba which was 1 dive for $75us??????? Anyway after seeing what they offered Christine went for a Parasail as the was a dream of hers...the rest of went for a walk on the beach,(to the left)..and I met a nice guy there who had a couple of glass bottom boats and would take us for a ride over the reefs,a trip to turtle island and snorkelling for 60000rp each, and if all seven went we only had to pay for 6......bargain.....done! A great day....snorkelling was so,so, but turtle island was an eye opener....we were the first tourists for the day and it was after lunch. Anyway we paid top dollar at the souvenir counter and bought them all a Bintang each,(yes,I know,more Bintangs) but they were great people who were short on tourists and dollars. Turtles,bats,monkeys,snakes and bloody big ugly lizards...you get to manhandle them all and we even learnt a thing or two. Spend a little time and money at Turtle island and see how the other half live...and buy them a Bintang and a souvenir and I promise it will make you feel good. Say Goodaye from 'Mr.Bintang' in Adelaide, they will know. The snorkelling would have been better if the visibility was better under the water but we had fun and saw many coloured different fish that were attracted by one of the staff with a handful of bread.
Another day we went up to the volcano and through Ubud....saw the wood carvers....my daughters were blown away at the craftsmanship. The hawkers at the volcano were'nt as aggressive as I remembered last trip but were still persistent.....tidak,terimah kasih....was said frequently.
New Years Eve was spent at The Venue at Seminyak...good night, plenty of drink, and also owned by an Aussie ex pat and was walking distance from the hotel. For any CC drinkers out there this was the only place that I found in Bali that serve Canadian Club whisky. Anyway I think I have bored you enough....to cut it short wouldn't have been fair. I will add some more if I think of it. We had an amazing trip and are seriously considering next year to do it all again. I would say to anyone considering going with family or friends to do it and enjoy. Considering there were seven of us we didn't have a problem and I feel we all grew even closer for the experience. It is still a beautiful place to go except a little quieter than previous trip. The Balinese are hurting because the tourists are not coming, its just not fair that these people have to suffer for the things a few idiots seem to find necessary to do. Any questions on current times in Bali or Bali Ayu or Seminyak please ask. Cheers, Andy.