Set the alarm for 5am Christmas Day as we were due on the 9am flight from Perth. Had to wake Master 15 and Miss 9 up to see what santa had left. Quick tear through the prezzies, and off to the airport we went. No Hassels at either airport and we were at the Dynasty Hotel by 12.00 bali time. Raining, but warm. We couldnt check in until 2pm, so we had a look around the hotel, and wasted some time in their departure room. They upgraded our room to a Kids Suite, which is great if you have youngish children (bunk not big enough for the 15Y/O)as long as time spent on the playstation does not become a problem. Dumped our bags, and off we went shopping.
The rain was torrential, so no one around the pool. It was that wet and windy you could not even go from one store to the next without getting drenched. We were going through a change of clothes every hour. Continued raining for 4 days straight, So we utilised this time to get our tours organised and get my daughters hair braided. (100 000 - in hotel for hair down to her bum and it lasted 2 weeks and took 2 girls 2 hours. well worth it in my opinion.)
4th day:White Water Rafting. It was great. The excess water made for a very quick flowing river, which made it more challenging for our guide. I ended up out of the boat, and was thankful for the safety equipment. The rest of my family ended up with sore ribs from laughing so much. None of my men came to my rescue, the guide had the hoik me back up into the boat. In a couple of places we had to get out of the boat and walk around a few dangerous places, so keep this in mind when choosing your footwear. Both myself and my daughter were wearing crocs which were good, but my son wore his thongs which were swept away in the current and he had to go bear foot for the rest of the journey(ouch). My husband wore sandshoes, but we could not then get them dry for the rest of the holiday. We were told there was only a 5 minute walk up to where we had lunch, which was true, but they forgot to mention this was vertical. Lunch was lovely, and it was a great day.
Day 6: Quad Biking. This was about a 2 hour drive to get there and was our most expensive trip, but well worth it. My son and I both had our own bikes which we were suprised about as had read on the forum you had to be 16 to drive. My Husband and daughter went tandem.
Because of all the rain, the mud was thick, which made it even more interesting. They supply you with Wellington boots so you dont need to worry about your shoes getting muddy, and the boots protect your legs from the heat of the engine. For about the first 20 min they show you how to use the bike and test it through some mangrove tracks, then you drive on the normal road through the local village until you go offroad through the rice paddies. Spectacular scenery and some hair raising bends. The guides were a great help, and I managed to get around ok even though i had never been on a motorised bike before. I must admit I was a bit reluctent to do the last downhill when I saw they attached a chain to the back of the bike in case of emergency. But I survived. Not so Miss 9 who was so terrified says she will never get on the back of a bike again.(maybe a good thing). I would not take anyone under the age of 11/12 on this trip if the weather has been wet. Miss 9 is usually up for a scary challenge, and had no problem with the WW Rafting, and frequents rides such as the Giant Drop and Leathal Weapon on the Goldcoast, so heed my warning.
New Years Eve: The dynasty had a party for the Kids 7pm - 1am, so dropped off Miss 9 with some of the friends she had made to the Kids Club Function. They Made the mistake of handing the blowers to the kids as they walked through the door, so we couldnt get out of there quick enough. Left M15 in hotel to keep eye on M9 while we went out for dinner. We mostly ate at Febris, Green Garden, Italian across from Hotel and Minis. All were nice, but Febris was the Best. Picked up M9 from the party about 11.30 and were just in time to watch the fire works on Kuta beach. A Very different but nice new year.
Unfortunately our holiday went downhill from here. The weather cleared up, but we managed to pick up the flu that was going around the hotel. Miss 9 came down with it first(temperatures, cough, ear infection) Resorted to dipping her in the pool at 3am to get her temperature down, almost hopped on the next flight home, but then the antibiotics kicked in. For the next 10 days we tended to hang around the hotel or shop, spent a day at Waterbom. Also went to the safari park which was fantastic. Although I agree the White tiger is drugged. We did the elephant ride here (15minutes)and I was glad we hadnt taken the 2 hour drive to do the half hour elephant trek. We were picked up by the park bus from our hotel, but didnt really have enough time to do everything we wanted at the park.(3.5 hours in the park). I would recommend you pay for your own transport to the park, and spend more time there.
Shopping: We got a taxi(bluebird) to denpassar (35000) and did the shopping centres there. cheap shoes clothes and bags, but no good if you are bigger than a size 10-12. Caught a local bus back to kuta, which was a real experience and cost us 10000 for the 2 of us. Saw the local streets and places they dont take you in a taxi. Also did the Kuta department stores, but they are tending to look more and more like our shopping centres at home, so were of little interest. Did a lot of shopping from Dianne's market stall, just opposite the green garden hotel. She gives you no bull prices to start with if you are not into the bargaining. We preordered our dvd's which we wish we hadnt. The DVD's are cheaper when you get there, and you can also check that they work, and take them back if necessary.
All in all not the best holiday, but we still enjoyed it and intend to book again (not at Christmas/New Year as too wet, and also too crowded as all the Javanese are holidaying at that time of year in Bali and they bring their cars which leads to all the traffic jams.)
On a final note, for all of you who have made it this far. I will never stay anywhere else than the Dynasty with Kids. Their Kids Club was unbelievable. If I had let her, my daughter would have spent 10 hours a day there. They had an interesting activity for them every hour between 8am and 6pm. Everything from Tug of war games, to dressing in traditional costumes and frog catching then racing them. Something to interest everyone.
Thanks for reading!!!