Being a bit long winded I think I will have to break this report up a bit so here goes the first instalment.
Left Melbourne on Sunday 4th of Nov. by Garuda, booked with Flight centre Bundoora, staying at Barong Hotel for 22 nights and incl. breaky, transfers, accomodation, insurance etc, $1950.
Left home in pouring rain and dropped off at departures by my lovely lady who couldnt get time off due to recently starting a new job. I was willing to wait until next year but due to having my 4 front teeth missing she who must be feared suggested in no uncertain manner that I go forthwith and have said impediment addressed immediately if not sooner.
I had previously researched a couple of Dentists in Bali after being told of the work they perform over there and settled on Dr. Rudy Selindeho to perform my make-over miracle. By the way I am 55 year old fencing contractor. Dr. Rudy suggested I give him approx 8 weeks notice so I booked everthing 9 weeks prior. I had been quoted $12500 in Melbourne to fix all the problems with my upper fangs, Dr. rudy quoted me 4-4500 US. and he would need around 18 days. Off to Bali.
Garuda flight was on time and comfortable with good service and staff. Arrived pretty much on time around 3.00PM. Bali time, I think. Got thru customs and VOA very quickly, paid $25 US. left over from trip to Mexico and Vegas in March.
I decided not to wait for transfer bus as it may have sat and waited for other flights so I approached a cabby and asked him "how much to Barong Hotel?" He replied 15000Rp. Now I may have just got off the plane but I knew thru BTF that it was going to cost me around 40000Rp. so I said to him "whats your name?" to which he replied "Ned Kelly". My immediate thought was "I'm in trouble here!". ON the way to the hotel he suggested that I should just give him some Australian currency and $20. Aus should cover it. When we got to the hotel I handed him 15000Rp. and said that was for the fare and then I gave him another 20000Rp. and said that it would cover the tip so all in all I think I came off better.
The Barong hotel turned out to be a very good choice for me as it is quite comfortable, the double bed was excellent, the room was a little bit small but it made the a/con work well. The bathroom was small and included a toilet and hand basin and given that I hoped to not spend too much time in there it was sufficient. Only problem encountered in there was during showering I would end up with water around my ankles as the drain hole was pretty well clogged up.
The Barong Hotel is so central to everything. 200 metres from Legian st. and comes out about 50m. from the monument to the left and around 50m. to the right gets you to the Bounty nightclub and espresso bar opposite and all the nightclubs, bars and restaurants and shopping you would want. (Not to mention all the traffic and exhaust fumes you could consume very quickly).Ah, It's all good!. The Hotel has a big pool to the front with a view of the reception area and all the patrons coming and going which was particularly interesting if you are into the antics that people get up to on holidays. The back pool which is a bit bigger has the 24 hour swim-up bar was much warmer but was well patronised until around 2.AM. most mornings and was always the place to catch up with the goings on in our little Peyton Place as well as the best place for the shoppers to brief and de-brief each other on the latest prices and places. A few of the younger guests also got de-briefed in the wee small hours when old farts like myself were tucked up and studying the ceiling thru closed eyelids but there always seemed to be someone there to witness and report on these nocturnal romps.
Breakfasts were adequate with eggs upside down and inside out, plenty of fresh fruit and juices, pastrys and toast, pancakes and sausages etc, and the menu varied a little bit dependant on the guest list. Most of the guests would have been Aus and about 50%of these were from Perth, The mix changed a little bit over my 3 weeks with some from Japan, some from Dubai and others from England, Holland, 2 or 3 from US. and even some from other parts of Indo.
Poolside on Thursdays we had a guitar player who was very good until he started singing, also on Thursday night poolside was a Barong dance (go figure) which was well attended as it cost 165000Rp. which included all the Bali moon cocktails you could drink which was good value considering the cocktails were 35000Rp,++ each, buy 2 get 1 free. Bintangs ,which I dont drink, were not suffering any kind of shortage large or small. During the Barong night the tables and chairs were set-up around the edge of the pool and part of the pool away from the swim-up bar was off limits to the swimmers. Staff at the hotel were always very friendly and happy and some guests were baby sitting the kids of some staff willingly as well as inviting kids from outside to come in for a swim and a drink/snack. The kids had a ball. As I said before, A very friendly place. Restaurants and shops accross the road from the entrance as well as shops, stalls, spas and all manner of touristy stuff at or near the entrance which I think I failed to mention is in Poppies Lane 2 and about 150 metres from the Bounty hotel where the younger tourists stay.
Typing with 1 finger has taken me about an hour to get this far so I will gather my thoughts and report more about my actual holiday and the dental side starting tomorrow where all names will be changed to protect the innocent. BILL