In Reply to: First Time to Bali - Travel Advice Pl. posted by SGSylvie on Friday, 7. December 2007 at 13:07 Bali Time:
Hi Sylvie,
I hope that you have a great first trip....I wish that I had this forum before my first holiday to Bali many moons ago.
Anyway, I have only stayed in Sanur once, and so I have limited experience on that side of the island, but a few recommendations would be:
1. Try Cozy spa - it is on Sunset Road, Kuta and was fantastic. Need to book an appointment, but worth it and then you can easily grab a taxi to Carrefour, a very large, new supermarket on the top foor on the same road. Worth a look at just the food section if you are into that kind of thing and stock up on goodies/food/drinks too.
2. Try a dinner at Ketupat at 109 Jl Legian, located behing Jonathon Gallery, cheap Indonesian food in a really lovely setting, beside the pool and they have outdoor dining bales. This was recommended to me on this forum and I thoroughly loved it. Cold bintangs and a huge menu, so will have something to please the fussiest eater, I do recall they had lobster on that menu, although I didn't order it. we stuck to satays, rices etc.
4. In terms of nature, we are planning on taking a day trip to the botanic gardnes in Ubud - apparently you can wander around on your own through the gardens and I am looking forward to that. Others will probably recommend the new safari park, but we haven't visited there yet.
5. For handicraft shopping grab a taxi and head to Geneva. It is located in Kerobokan on 100 Jl Raya Kerobokan and you will find so many things over the top two levels. Is fixed price and there are plenty of old dusty items, but you can usually find some treasure there. Tootsie's shop is no.28 in the Sindhu Beach markets in Sanur and will also give you an idea of prices, as is fixed price.
7. We have used the same driver for the past few years and everyone has their favourite. He is trustworthy and will find out what you want to see and do - name is Made Mangku. Email him and he has a web site: mademangku at hotmail dot com.
Fluent English and has access to a few sized cars, including a nice cold esky to keep you hydrated during day trips or when out shopping.
Good luck with your first trip and I hope that you enjoy the sights and sounds of Bali.
Caroline