We spent a wonderful 8 night (1 night thanks to Garuda cancelling a flight home on Monday night) at the Bali Dynasty this year. The hotel was fantastic and about half full during the school holiday weeks. I would highly recommend the "bucket of cocktails" during happy hour and purchased a bucket so I can continue to tradition at home with my other "Bali loving" friends.
I don't like to write "just back" reports because I don't want to be "just back" but I would like to assure anyone thinking of returning, or going for the first time, to Bali that firstly the security is still as good as it was last year after the bombing and secondly that Bali desperately needs Aussies to continue to travel there.
The people of Bali were a little more desperate in the selling tactics this year which can be a bit wearing but if you keep in mind that they have lost a lot of their "spending" tourists, you can see why they are desperate. It was very sad to walk along Jl Kartika and be one of only two or three Australian Families walking there at any one time. There were lots of Japanese, Korean, Indonesians and some German & French but not a lot of spending going on.
We never once felt frightened and noticed that a lot of the shops and restaurants have continued to improve on their security during the last 8 months. The boys from Bubba Gumps (hello to Eka, Wijaya, Gede and all of you), were telling us that they have installed film on the windows to ensure the safety of their diners in case there was ever a car bomb outside the restaurant. The film would stop the glass from shattering and they were very proud to tell us of this improvement. Security in the shopping centres and hotels was still very noticable and the Balinese were certainly very pleased to have Aussies there.
We haven't unpacked yet but we are already planning our next trip and urge everyone to return to Bali without fear and with a full wallet!!!
Regards to all
Maria, Shane and Sean