Hmmm....a quickie in Bali, sunshine and glorious hot days, who could ask for more.
Did the Easter jaunt, just 4 days. Bali is quiet....at times I swear you could hear a pin drop. In the middle of the day very few people around the streets, but then it was hot and maybe most people were lazing by their swimming pools, sipping on a cool Bintang or cocktail.
This is a quick overview as I am flatout catching up on sleep. Yes I did the usual shout, shout wipe yourself out....would anyone expect less from me ??
The exchange rate over the 4 days was hovering around 6450 - 6500 rupiah to $1 AUD, depending on where you went.
All the dvd shops are open and virtually every new release I was after was available including the yet to be released Da Vinci Code.
Indo-national is one of the few restaurants doing a relatively good trade in the evenings. The new place as others have reported is big and open, huge high ceilings. Milt overseeing, and and as always a gracious host. The new restaurant location and size is excellent.
Wayan and friends also doing pretty well. My local haunt Billys was pretty quiet but a couple of large groups came thru and on Saturday and Sunday night had them running. We had a great time as always in the bar.
Stayed at Suri Wathi on Jalan Sahadewa, Tubes and Tina had booked my room while they were there a couple of weeks ago. [Thanks again for doing that.] I have to agree with them that the hotel is excellent value for money. The Deluxe rooms are fantastic and worth the extra rupiah. Big rooms, bathroom large and new, good air con and nice size tv [51cm]. For about $30 AUD a night you simply cant go wrong. If staying for a longer period than 3 nights you would get a better rate.
There were a few people staying at Suri, but I spent little time at the hotel, other than catching up with friends very late at night and proceeding to party until daybreak in the room...then sleep..zzzzz
Upgraded to Business class both ways with Garuda. Had to go via Melbourne both out of Oz and on the return leg. What a pain in the butt. Made use of the exec lounges in Melb and Bali. For me the upgrade is well worth it and strangely enough Business class was full on both legs of the journey.
I arrived in Adelaide pretty much on schedule and was at work by 10.15am Tuesday morning. OMG yesterday was a long day.
I will endeavor to do a Bopgirl type JBR over the weekend. Yes, there was much laughter and ROFLMAO with my mates. Laughter is surely the best medicine as after this whirlwind visit I feel human again and able to sit out the next few months until the PGAO [Pickled Gecko Adults Only] tour later in the year.
Meantime, should you have any questions feel free to ask...cheers :-)