Just back from my 11th trip to Bali. Left on the 26th Feb with friend whom I met on a trip to bali 3 years ago. We were staying in the same hotel at the time and found that we live 5 minutes away from each other in Adelaide. Became close friends and this was our 2nd trip to Bali together since we met in Bali the first time. Would go more often if we could though!!
We stayed at the Bakungsari for the first 2 nights.....basic hotel but it is budget so we weren't expecting the Taj Mahal! We then moved to the Kuta Townhouses which we thought were fantastic. We had a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit. There is still a lot of building going on, a little noisy during the day but didn't overly bother us. Staff were very friendly and helpful.
We then moved on to the Padma hotel which we had pre-booked months ago as both our birthdays fell a few days apart whilst in Bali so we decided to treat ourselves to 2 nights there. The Padma was nice but very expensive for what you get....have stayed in cheaper hotels that are just as nice. We did enjoy our time there just the same though.
Moved back to the Kuta Townhouses for another 3 days......just about sick of all the moves lol
Last move was 6 nights at the La Bella Casa Villa in Seminyak. We found this on Ebay and were a bit dubious thinking that the pics looked way too good to be true. Arrived there and were pleasantly surprised. It was stunning. 2 bedrooms with ensuites, open plan outdoor kitchen, dining room and lounge room. Own private pool and very private gardens. We didn't want to leave!
Went down to the beach quite a bit, had a surfing lesson and made a fool of myself! Did the usual shopping, eating, walking etc. We ate a lot at Bamboo corner in Poppies 1 as it is so cheap and the food is fantastic. Average price for a meal and drink each cost us about 35,000 RP for the 2 of us.
Did a day trip to Sanur on motorbikes which was fun. We also hired a driver to take us to Ubud. We went to Ibu Oka in Ubud as Michele wanted to try the Babi Guling after seeing it on Anthony Bordains travel show. He said it was the best pork he had ever tasted. Michele said it may not have been the best she's ever had but she said it was certainly very enjoyable. As for me I don't eat meat but the staff ordered some vegetarian nasi goreng for me from a nearby restaurant and had it delivered to me as the only dish they serve is the babi guling. Michele and our driver Ketut had the pork and a drink and I had my nasi goreng and drink and the whole bill came to 80,000 RP for the 3 of us (less than $10)
Visited my friends Niki and Nyoman and took lots of clothes, bras and tioletries for them to share around with their families. They were very happy and proudly paraded their new clothes...including lifting their tops to show how good their new bras fitted!!!!!
We had 2 wonderful weeks in Bali and neither of us wanted to go home. Both very sad and tearful on our last night there but all good things must come to an end!
Said goodbye to all our Bali friends and left for the airport. We flew with Qantas as being from adelaide we don't have many options left for getting to Bali. Last time we went via Melb and syd on Garuda and missed our connecting flight so were stuck in Melb for 4 hours so we thought going with Singapore Air via Singapore or by Qantas via Perth were the better options. We chose Qantas as we thought 3 hours to Perth then 3 1/2 hours to Bali sounded the best option. Let me just say that I will NEVER fly with Qantas again. I said after my last trip with them last year that I wasn't going to use them again....they lost hubbies bag on the way to Darwin (we had a night there) and he was stuck in Darwin with no clothes, toiletries or even bathers to use the pool (which is why I always take a carry on bag with basic toiletries and clothes!) Anyway they never offered so much as an apology and were extremely rude, made us to feel as though we were the ones inconveniencing them! Hubby emailed them to complain when we got back but we are still waiting a reply after 11 months!
So getting back to the story, decided against my better judgement that we would go with Qantas. Found the staff on the way there very non-chalant. On the way back the staff were even worse. The man sitting next to me started making a funny noise and when I looked at him he was jerking, frothing at the mouth and his eyes rolled back into his head. I asked him if he was ok which obviously he wasn't! Michele said "leave him , he's just sleeping and snoring" but I knew he was having a seizure of some sort. I called the flight attendant by the time she got there the seizure was over but the man was quite confused and vague and was very pale and clammy. He had also been incontinent and was quite embarrassed when he eventually gained his composure. The flight attendant asked me what happened and I told her he had a seizure. She asked him if he had epilepsy and he said no, she turned to me and told me he did not have a seizure as he was not an epileptic. I explained to her that I work with people every day who have epilepsy and quite often have seen 4 to 5 seizures a day and was pretty certain that he had a seizure but she was adamant that it was just travel sickness. Anyway, the poor man seemed ok, he was very apologetic and asked me exactly what happened as he just remembers feeling a bit funny and then coming around to find he had wet himself and people were looking at him. I suggested that he should go to the doctor and get checked out when he got home, he said he would...hope he is ok.
We finally arrived in adelaide to find that once again good old Qantas had lost my painting and Michele's bag with all her shopping from bali in it. Again absolutely no apology and one very rude staff member....not good PR Qantas!!!! The good thing is that eventually it was found and delivered to Michele's house. I am going back to bali in October with hubby as my niece is marrying a Collingwood footballer over there, have just booked the trip and this time booked with Singapore Airlines! The whole family is going over which will be fantastic as we all live in various parts of the country so will be good to get together in Bali. Roll on October!!
Anyway hope I haven't bored everyone to sleep!!!!