We have just returned from three weeks in Bali and hope some of you may enjoy reading about our stay. We have been many times over the last twelve years and after our third trip we settled on Ubud as our ideal destination! We are spoiled with fantastic beaches in Western Australia and have no young children so the peaceful, slightly cooler climate of the mountain town suits us well.
For the first time in years we flew with Qantas (frequent flyer points!) and although we had no specific complaints we were reminded why we prefer Garuda - seat room, meals and departure times. No problem with visa (always carry $25 in US dollars to speed us through) and luggage and walked out to an almost deserted arrivals court. We were greeted by our friends Sugi, who has been to Perth, to stay with us for three months, and her brother in law Putu whose driving services we use. We were very pleased to see them but I suspect not as pleased as they were to see us due to a very slow tourist season.
We drove off to Ubud past the stone and wood and painting villages - I swear some of those big sculptures have been there ever since we first came to Bali! In the distance we could see Mt Agung peeping through the clouds and combined with the distinctive traffic flow (give way to left and right and expect everyone to pull out in front of you) we felt we were really back again!
As one of the first people to stay at Kajane Villas in Monkey Forrest Road, we were keen to see if the standards of service and facilities had been maintained since out last stay in 2004. It was great! Although there were now 50 staff (before 15) and more rooms and villas, we were greeted with great enthusiasm and joy. Our villa, Beji Gita, was almost identical to our first visit - with a few changes we had suggested after the first stay. As I do a lot of reading and lounging on holidays I always miss a comfy lounge or chair and last visit there was an extremely elegant and artistic day lounge but it was totally un useable and uncomfortable. This time there was a new lounge inside and another outside but once again they just missed the 'comfortable' mark. Oh well the king sized bed is still fantastic with a high quality, thick inner spring mattress so I could laze about on that quite well. There were more interior lights with brighter bulbs too.
Restaurants: Cinta and Babyface restaurants opposite the hotel were absolute finds this trip and we spent many hours in each with friends or by ourselves, Cinta (sister of Terrazo and Batung Waru) gave us a 15% discount card after a couple of visits which was greatly appreciated. We ate extensively from the menus and were rarely disappointed. My favourite at Cinta was Sopor Ayam (Mild Javanese chicken curry) and at Baby face the fries with grilled cheese were great snacks and also their pizzas were great. I am a devoted fan of Casa Luna and Indus but we were extremely disappointed at the service, quality of food and cleanliness this visit and did not return after our first visit to each! I am regretting raving on to people about these restaurants now! TutMak next to the soccer field is also good - the best coffee in Ubud and absolutely great burgers for when you need an 'western' fix. I also love their Green Goddess Lasagne.
DRIVER: Putu Putra is the best driver we have had in Bali! He speaks good English, is a careful driver, knows all parts of Bali (and Lombok and East Java) and is prepared to take you to small villages that supply handicrafts to shops and even barter on your behalf! He has a NEW Toyota Kijang Innova 7 seater car with air conditioning. We always pay full rates even though he is a friend of ours and this is usually about Rp400 000 for a full day including petrol. His email is pututour@yahoo.com and his mobile phone is +62 081 2366 5584. Putu has good contacts at Balinese hotels in Ubud and gets a good discount for his clients. He is also able to get discount rates for White Water rafting, Elephant Park and Cycling tours.
Cushion Covers: Putu took me to Jalan Sulewesi in Denpasar to find fabric for some cushion covers I wanted made up by the tailor in Ubud. This street is always really busy and it helps to have 'security' as we dubbed Putu. He asked questions for me and as the first few shops did not have the right type of fabric I was glad when he finally got someone to tell him that sort of material is around the corner a bit. We left that shop and in the very next one we found heaps of suitable stuff! Clearly they do not want to help out their competitors! I highly recommend this shop and the Indian, Muslim, Balinese owner speaks great English and gave me great prices. He is Ahmad and his shop is in the first block on the right as you start to travel down Jalan Sulewesi. Phone 0361 978 456. The fabric (very thick cotton) was around Rp30000 a metre and I also got some thinner fabric for Rp25000. Out tailor in Ubud made up three large covers and eight small covers for Rp300 000. I am really happy with everything and they all fit. Only thing was they added quite a bit of weight. Putu took me to a coffee shop in Denpasar close to these shops and I was very skeptical but ended up with the best long black I have ever had in Bali and a nice (crispy) chocolate biscuit for Rp5000. Putu had a short black to which he added creamer and three sugars.
I got some exquisite painted wooden eggs this trip - quite large and intricately painted in beautiful waterfall and naked maiden scenes and they look fantastic in my renovated bathroom! The largest ones were about Rp300 000. We watched young men and girls sitting in roadside bales drawing and painting these eggs while carrying on conversations on telephone or with friends! Amazing.
This trip we wanted to get a large painting that depicts the Bali we know. We looked at heaps of galleries and shops and soon were able to tell the difference in quality and style. As we wanted something as a feature for our house we were prepared to pay about $500 to $600. The biggest galleries were too expensive for us and the markets and many shops had copies of similar paintings - which we also loved but had something special in mind! Finally we found THE painting - in a gallery not far from Kajane. It really stood out and there was another painting by the same artist there too. We nearly fell over when the owner said Rp25 million! That is over $3 000! So even with hard bargaining it would be unlikely we could get it. One night Mike called in after dinner to have another look at the second painting (slightly smaller) and the owner's wife was there and very keen for a sale! Mike offered 6 million but she was adamant at 8 million as her lowest price. He left it then but came back to me and said that was it! I gave him 2 million (less for shoes and handbags!) and said please get it! We got it the next morning and I think it is one of the best things we have bought in Bali. The painting is 1.5m wide and nearly 2m tall and depicts three woman in their traditional kabayas preparing offerings for a ceremony. It is detailed and colourful and I love it. It is currently at the framers being restretched - can't wait to get it back and show everyone.
We experienced the joys and tribulations of opening a bank account in Bali (Commonwealth Bank in both Denpasar and Kuta now) and also learnt the intricacies of buying a new car.
My days consisted of fruit and toast breakfast, walk to coffee at TutMak, browse a little in shops and then go to the Kenko Reflexology massage place opposite our hotel for an hour's foot and leg massage. Then a swim in our pool followed by reading and lazing about. Mike would walk each morning for an hour ending up at his favourite massage salon for a shower and a two hour massage. Putu would pick him up and bring him back for lunch. Mike has shown the masseuses some Australian techniques and use if towels for relieving pressure points. They keep a specially wrapped pack of towels just for him!
Our friend Sugi had started a small business supplying food and drinks to children at the local school in her village. She also does massage at Tegal Sari but there is not enough business to keep her income at a good level so she has been looking for other opportunities. We visited the school one day and I was really impressed with the gardens and overall appearance of the school which is not in a wealthy area but reflects the principal's attention to these matters. As we walked through the school we saw a small group of women with rickety tables and make shift shade covers preparing to sell their wares to the students. We both worried how Sugi was going to compete with these already established stalls. Then we passed a set of classrooms and there was Sugi's shop! It was built of brick and tile and has a roller door at the front and a side opening window as well. Every space was full of merchandise and was extremely neat and well ordered. It was a good copy of west australian school canteens ( well, a bit smaller perhaps). It was then I realized that Sugi's three months with us in Perth had made an impression on her! She had three other ladies working for her and she had fresh avocado juice made in the blender and with sugar and ice in a plastic bag with straw. There were plastic bowls of noodles and veges that the student paid for then took to the boiling pot of stock at the door and helped themselves (definitely NOT like our schools!). Sugi had a display fridge with various commercial drinks. Her family home backs on to the school yard so she has piped electricity and water from her house to the shop! There is a ladder to climb over to get to her place and a set of concrete steps in her yard. We were amazed! The school collects a donation from each stall holder monthly. Sugi was hoping to get a freezer to make her own ice instead of buying it each day and after we had seen her fantastic set up we were delighted to get it for her!
Sorry that this JBR is a bit disjointed but if you have any questions I would be happy to answer them - and thank you to all the contributors to BTF as I read it regularly even when not traveling!