Flew out on Qantas on Sept 2 - on time (hubby flew 9 days earlier - 2 hours late). Food great, for a pleasant change. Took yonks getting thru the airport stuff - several planes had just landed, including one from China, to my surprise.
Hubby (after a week surfing Kuta, Lombok) met me with a car (Jimny for Rp70K/day - can do better with time to look). Spent the first week at Jimbaran Hills Resort, a timeshare freebie. For me, it was in the middle of nowhere & I felt a bit entrapped (altho there are 4 shuttles a day to Kuta or Nusa Dua). But hubby was thrilled to be within a short drive of the best surf on the Bukit without having to endure the traffic of Kuta/Legian to get there. He even considered buying into the Resort! Bless him, he spent at least half of every day with me (my beach belle days are long gone).
With transport, it's a great place to stay, convenient for day or half day trips, rooms set around either the large pool with a big, curly water slide, or around a smaller pool (where we stayed). They have some good environmental ideas - refilling water bottles & only changing linen & towels twice a week to cut down on water waste & plastic pollution - I wish more hotels would do the same. We didn't eat there at all, although we were told the food was good quality & good value. Rooms well-appointed, very comfy. Excellent amenities. Met some great people there.
Moved down to Tuban to a place hubby had scouted in April - Dayu Beach Hotel (typically, nowhere near the beach) in a short lane off Gang Puspa Ayu, off Jl Kartika Plaza at the southern, opposite, end of Discovery Plaza. For Rp150K/night (excluding brekky & after bargaining) we had an upstairs room with good aircon, in-room safe, hot water (the bathroom could've done with a scrub), Indon TV, small fridge, heaps of storeage & a big pool with 3 levels. Only 16 large rooms in 2 blocks facing the pool, with a stairway in the middle so only neighbours on one side. Great private balcony. This is an excellent choice if you're on a budget yet want the little extras & a convenient location. DVD player available from K'tut at reception for Rp25K/day. Very quiet, which we prefer - it was like having our own private hotel. I felt very safe there after hubby left to surf Roti.
Ate at (mentioning only good places):-
Swell, often, on the way to Ulus - a huge screen showing surf movies with (amazingly) good soundtracks. The tuna, olive & anchovy pizza with free garlic/pesto toast, is excellent - rp50K including a big bintang. Best pizza we've ever had in Bali & it competes with many we've had in Perth. A varied menu & as it's also a bakery the breads/pastries are yummy, too.
Green Mango near Ulus is also very good - the chicken mie goreng was huge with a sliced char-grilled chicken breast fillet on top for only Rp15K. The guide book said it was excellent & we agreed.
Tutmak in Ubud, on a corner next to the soccer field - I had the smoked mackeral & broccoli chowder, a special of the day (surprisingly, it was also a special of the day exactly a year earlier), hubby had the mediterranean mixed plate & ooh'd & aaah'd with delight at every mouthful. Yummy creme brulee, 2 big birs - $141K.
Ketupat in Kuta/Legian - always our favourite for our last night together before he goes off to find uncrowded, good surf elsewhere in Indonesia. Such a beautiful place. Tofu stuffed with crab & vegies, chicken with vegies & lime & chilli dressing, huge Nasi Campur with about 10 side dishes (including goat), 2 big birs Rp145. Best bargain anywhere. Cannot praise Ketupat highly enough for food, ambience, service.
Bamboo Corner in Poppies 1 - very cheap and very good as always - wish they'd improve the loo, tho.
Pantai on the beach in Tuban - good food, reasonable prices, priceless view (loos could be better).
Uns in Kuta (on a small gang running between Poppies 1 & Jl Pantai) - just superb for western food. Ate there often. My fave was the snapper encased in potato (a thick piece of fish on a bed of pureed potato with "scales" of very crisp potato on top & a butter& red capsicum sauce - Rp60K). Welcoming small iced margarita (made with arak, I think), icy cold towel, complimentary appetiser of a small meat patty with 3 swirls of sauce. Frozen (arak?) margaritas Rp20K. Great loos, lovely setting at night.
Warungs - usually for lunch - nasi campur di bunkus (takeaway). Every time different depending on the things we chose, and every time delightful, never more than Rp10K each & always more than we could eat. Small bottles of kecap manis & sambal lampung from the supermarket enhanced it. NB always travel with a spoon.
Bread Talk - It's a mixed blessing staying close to Discovery Plaza. I usually lose weight in Bali with all the walking, but this time no, and it's all the fault of Bread Talk. I think we worked our way thru the whole range.
EDO (or ECO?) opposite where Poppies 1 joins Jl Legian - great lamb wraps & the cinnamon rolls with cream cheese topping are well worth the price (eating area upstairs).
Went to Jimbaran Fish Markets one morning on my quest for knives (got a good variety there, cheaply) &, altho I had to drag hubby kicking & screaming, he enjoyed the place as much as I did - never seen such a huge variety of seafood - Sydney Fish Markets, eat your heart out. We were both awestruck. Everything was so fresh, and despite the heat there was very little odour. For a foodie, it was heaven & I wished I had access to a kitchen. It reassured us about eating seafood in Bali.
Bought a heap of Martha Tilaar for my "tired" skin, altho it was a hassle having to go first to Super Nova, then the M T spa, and finally Puri Ayu in Jl Bakunsari - go there first for the full range & other skincare brands, too. The supermarket at Super Nova is excellent, dirt cheap, with many things around half the price of Bintang Supermarket. EG a big Aqua is Rp 1,600, can of tonic Rp3575. For myself & friends, I bought huge quantities of my fave Enak Eco satay sauce blocks, other spice mixes, Kopi Bali, incense, vanilla beans, saffron etc etc all very cheap & much lower than Bintang prices. Doesn't sell alcohol, tho.
Love Seminyak for shopping - lots of odds & ends, earrings, some nice beaded thongs at Jaques Ruc & unusual necklaces (each item under $10). Bought clothes at Animal Factory Outlet (lots of Jaques Ruc stuff there, too). Beware the clouds of mozzies that emerge as you go thru the racks - wear repellent!! I was scratching for days after. Got a great triagular "Prada" watch for my 19 yo son (Rp75K)- a HUGE hit, Mook shorts for his female friends (rp5K) etc etc. Had 12 weeks in Bali within 13 months so I'd pretty well exhausted the shopping.
Decided to come home early (on Qantas with an open ticket, it cost US$25 fuel levy to change flights & couldn't fly direct) - had to leave at 0025 & go via Darwin. Arrived at 0430 Darwin time (and a HUGE thank you to the lady at S&S who told me to be sure to do my duty free shopping in Darwin - in my befuddled, tired state it wouldn't have occurred to me), checked in luggage at 6 am then a dear old friend collected me, did a cruise then out to his exotic bamboo hobby farm about 45 mins down the track to Alice Springs. A beautiful piece of Oz, The Badlands, he calls it. Very much liked Darwin, it has a lot of Asia in the populace, the scenery & especially the smell getting off the plane. Yummo lunch then back to the airport for departure at 3.15. Have to say that, food aside, it was the best flight ever - a beautiful, clear afternoon over the Great Sandy Desert - the view was beyond words. Altho I was cursing at having to come home to Perth via Darwin, I'm glad I did & I'll actually TRY to do the same again, inflicting myself on another old friend I'd missed this time.
We found the weather to be milder than the same time last year, very pleasant. Despite all the planes we could see landing from our observation point sitting in Pantai restaurant, Bali is still quiet (where do they all go to?). Hubby said there are few Aussie surfers, especially young ones.
S'all.