We, Regina (my wife) and myself flew from Melbourne on the 21st August with Garuda and all went well and on time. Arrived to be met by Made, a driver we have known for 13 years.
Made then drove us to Amed where we stayed for the first 5 nights at the Hidden Paradise Hotel. Hidden Paradise is situated on the beach and is the only hotel that has Sun Lounges on the Beach in the area.
Snorkelling from this Beach is the best in the area and kept us in the water for hours. We also hired a motor bike and travelled to Talemben where we dived on the USS Liberty. This dive site is protected with no fishing allowed which gave us a wonderfull view of larger fish in abundance.
Restaurants in Amed that we ate at serve many local dishes which have some of the Best flavours in Bali. Brith restaurant opposite Hidden Pardise was the best with Hidden Paradise second.
Kuta, the next 5 nights, we stayed at the Barong Hotel and enjoyed some great shopping and dinning at some of favourite restaurants.
Kori, Bali Corner cafe, Gong Corner, Gegeg Bulan, Secret garden, Kunti Sushi Bar. Also ate at the Sky Bar (fantastis) MaJolly (fantastic) and Somewhere (Julan Benisari, also fantastic)
Gili Trawangan, the next 3 nights were we stayed at the Beachhouse Hotel. we flew with Merparti (15 min) picked up at airport by the hotel and driven to a private jetty where we were take by speed boat and delivered to the Hotel, all up 1 hour from Bali to the Hotel..
We just loved the hotel and what it offered, nothing was a problem.
We took advantage of their deli and odered a bottle of wine (on ice) and an anti-pasto dish, glasses and an opener and of we went on the islands tansport (horse and cart) to watch the sun set in the west.
it was a cloudy evening but a brilliant sun set......ahhhhh
The Gilis looked more inviting than we expected from the photos we had seen and we will definatly be going back.
Our Last 5 nights! The Ida Hotel in Kuta.
Ida would have to be the best budget hotel in Kuta. The hotel is 30 years old but not tired looking. We stayed in one of the Delux Bungalows with 2 x queen beds and an over head bed awning that is a piece of art and also complimenting the ornate pitched roof. The outside bathroom is new and one of the best bathrooms we have seen in Bali. Located in the heart of Kuta behind Matahari complex, the gardens are well cared for with many frangapani trees, a very large and old Jack fruit tree which had an abundance of very large fruit.
This hotel is so quiet that you forget that you are in Kuta. Sitting in our bathroom you can only hear the wind in the trees and the odd cuckoo bird and the odd plane going over.
The staff are a happy bunch with Gusti the longest member of 30 years
offering as much information on the Hotel and Bali as you wish to know.
The Ida is well worth dropping into for a drink and see for yourself what this hotel has to offer as words do not do this place enougth justice. We will be making this hotel our central base in the future.
Departed last saturday night, the streets were packed due to the Kuta Karnival beeing on and so we got to the aiport with 1 hour and fifty minutes before flight time. Wow, what a que to just get into the airport! Then nearly every booking counter had a large que whick took us an hour to get our boarding cards. Already they are calling boarding for our flight. Up stairs, through depature tax and immigrasi then there is another que to line up to get into gate 3,4
we made it onto the plane with a few other late arrivals, the doors close and off we go.
I have left out many other things we did, such as visiting the Mother Temple, going to S&S, the wonderfull people we met, my birthday, Nusa dua, massages, shopping etc, as I am not a literate type person and struggle to type the basics, also because this was our 36th trip. But if any questions, feel free to ask.
Looking forward to our next trip, regards Bob and Reg