History - female travelling solo.
Day 4 -Transferred from SuriWathi to Samsara Hotel& Spa. Not an easy feat as it turned out, as it is reasonably new & location apparently not well known. The taxi driver had a battle finding it even with the help of the Bluebird radio operator, other taxis, & inquiring at a tourist info office. Samsara is a quiet oasis just off jl Legian. Lots of artwork, beautifull pool and statues, great big day bed just outside my room. However, havent quite got their act together, no fridges (an Aussie expectation in my opinion)& their spa is not operational yet.Instead they provided me with transport to Tari Spa at their sister hotel Bali Garden at Tuban.This prooved to be a bonus as it was the best Lulur & massage I've had. My previous fav was the Bodyworks at Seminyak. Checked out the shopping along Poppies 1 & 2. Ate at Bamboo corner, still good food & soooo cheap. Bintang, Nasi Goreng & black rice pudding rp 20,000.
Day 5 - Did the early morning beach walk, love seeing the beach activity & shops coming to life.Todays retail therapy was Discovery (including floss bun fix at Breadtalk) & Mataharis. Called in at Kuta Beach Club for lunch - great peanut sauce with their chicken satays. I usually stay at KBC so it was good to catch up with staff -dont know how they can have such fantastic memories, calling out my name as soon as I walked in. Then visited Mades Warung in jl Panai for black rice icecream ( the only place I have known to sell it) Todays bonus a well earnt foot reflexology accross from Bamboo Corner.
Day 6 - Rained throughout the night & woke to the sound of falling rain. Then came the realization the rain sounded very close - the plumbing under the hand basin had split & the rain was really a flood in MY room. Last day so took advantage of the lovely swimming pool , shopped for DVD's, another feed at Bamboo Corner & allowed the friendly hotel receptionist to arrange for her "friend" (boyfriend it turned out -LOL) to transfer me to the Airport for my return flight. So ended another very relaxing Bali holiday sob, sob..
Post script
On my travels one day I met a Melb couple,Bali Virgins, who had only arrived the previous night. It had cost them about Aust$50 airport porterage not knowing the value of the rupiah notes in their initiall confusion. I know the locals are feeling the pinch BUT its a sad welcome when they dont respect the tourists who are still travelling to Bali.
I was surprised a couple of times myself not being able to change travellers checks (including at Mataharis where I have always done so previously & at the one recommended on jl Legian with the security gaurds) Cant understand the change of policy as travellers checks are equal to cash. Had a couple of money changers try the sleight of hand with dodgy exchange rates on the calculator and incorrect notes so can understand the confusion if you had just arrived.
This time to Bali I took Inner Health tablets ( this was a hint I picked up on BTF) and must say I didnt have any hint of tummy problems. For what its worth I find usually after a few days of more fruit than normal & different foods etc I am a bit concerned as to where the closest toilet might be, so whether I was just lucky this trip or the tablets were the secret I dont know.