We (me, partner and our two children) returned last week after a fantastic 17 day holiday. We spent time in Legian, Ubud and Tuban so I thought I'd split a JBR into three sections.
Skip this JBR if you don't want a long read.
Departure
We flew with Garuda on the morning flight from Perth. The food on the plane was adequate but neither child was keen on their meal. The four of us were seated three in one row with the other parent directly across the isle. This configuration was the same on the return flight. I thing these smaller planes with lesser capacity are actually a good thing when you land at the other end for formalities.
We had gathered a very large suitcase full of clothes, shoes, joggers, spectacles and small toys, and our weight leaving Perth just a kilo or two short of the 80 allowed between the four of us. Note to self: always make contact with Garuda prior to leaving just in case of weight problems.
We made sure we had our liquids in a large sealed plastic bag as per the new LAGs rules before we got to the airport but noticed there were plenty on hand for use in the customs area.
I walked the isle of the aircraft and saw only one empty seat. The flight on the way back had about six empty seats towards the rear of the plane
Arrival
I was considering purchasing USD to pay VOA and, after comparing the rate given at the airport to that on the streets that day, regretted I had neglected to do so. I don't think it would matter for just one person, but for a family of four, even when taking into account the fee charged by banks to convert, we would have been better off in the transaction. The amount in question might appear trifling to some but a quick calculation suggested it would have been enough for a round of drinks. I think it is the three way exchange that does it - USD to Rupiah then the AUD to Rupiah. The problem is that you don't actually get any paperwork showing the conversion so end up getting back in change an amount not easily verified. For those who enjoy math, we were charged AUD $124 for the USD $100. I handed over AUD $150 and was given back the equivalent of AUD $26 in change at a rate of 7800. The rate on the street, once we had left the airport was around 8300. But I'm not going to be the one holding up the VOA queue.
We had lots of luggage - too much even for two taxis - so I pre-arranged a pick up wit 'Mr Made Tour & Transport' a driver who I found on the internet. His colleague was waiting at the airport and had us in his van in no time at all. The aircon wasn't that flash as the car had been parked in the sun for some time and the back door of the van would not open so we had to shove the luggage through the side door. No big deal but we were a little cramped for the ride. We paid Rp 100,000 for the transfer which I was happy to pay being the same price we would have paid for two taxis.
Accommodation
We arrived at the Melasti Beach Resort in Legian around noon. This was to be our accommodation for the first six nights. After seeking advice from this forum we booked an old suite room and were given number 113 on the ground floor. For those who are familiar with the layout it was about two down towards the beach from the main pool. Perfect position. There has been much discussion on the forum regarding the bedding configuration of the suites so I am happy to confirm that this room had one king sized bed in the main room and two pull down singles in the adjoining area. Try as we might, we just could not fill this room. In one word - huge.
I have mixed feelings about this hotel. The kettle took a little over 20 minutes to boil. The bathroom just looked grotty. The rooms were on the dark side. The bath towels were grey. The wiring was very suspect. The pool had a lot of cracked tiles and the pool ladder was less than stable. Never, never enough pool towels available. Quite often we would go for a swim only to find no towels were there for guests to use. The food was really not good. No internet cards for nearly two days. (Before someone tells me I could have gone to an internet café, I wanted the card for my daughter to use and she is not old enough to leave the resort on her own.) But I think you have to always remember it is a three star hotel and it has plenty of positive factors to balance.
On the upside the price was just right. The staff were very friendly. Another plus for us is the room configuration; allowing us all to share a room that still lends a little bit of privacy at night with the sliding door. The bed was huge. The resort was also pretty quiet at night and I also liked that aspect. I liked the small grassed area near the beach end. I loved the beach road and the (almost) direct access to the beach. So unlike the hotels further down in Kuta. I really enjoyed looking out on the ocean during breakfast and either watching surfers catching a wave or, on some mornings, the absolute dumpers with no one riding. The easy access to the beach made a morning walk an absolute must.
It also has a great spa on site which we managed to visit. Daughter had a hair cream bath for Rp 85,000 and I had a massage at that same price. A nice clean establishment.
Food/Drink
On our first night in Bali we attended the forum get together organised by didiaust (Di) at Billy's Bar. Great to meet other forumites. Di made contact with Smudge so we could arrange when and where to catch up to pass on the items we had bought up. As we had been up since about 4am to catch the flight we only stayed for a couple of drinks and had a relatively early night. Hi to anyone reading this who was there on the night.
While in Legian we ate at Wayan and Friends (twice), Drops, Legian Snacks (twice), Poppies, and once at the hotel with the favorite for all being Wayan and Friends. I tried the cap cay at most places with the children stuck to nasi goreng or similar so food was pretty cheap. Zanzibar was closed so we couldn't try that.
Partner needed some cold/flu tabs so I went the Boston pharmacy that is directly opposite the supermarket on the ground floor of Matahari in Kuta Square. When I asked for some medication I was given some tablets that cost over Rp 200,000. I then asked if they had Panadol cold & flu and purchased 1 packet @ Rp 7,200. Bit of a difference. This is not the first time I have been given the most expensive item in a range at this particular place so it pays to ask for something cheaper if shopping there.
Money changers
We mostly used PT Central on Padma Utara and never had any issues when we did, with the rate being pretty stable at 8300 or 8400 during our time there. There were some pretty wild rates offered on signs pointing down an alley and other less than accessible places though.
On the night we tried to go to one of the restaurants on the beach strip we were out of rupiah and tried to exchange at a money changer in the mini mart near the Kumala Pantai. I was feeling a bit peeved this night as I had read about this place on the forum and was cross with myself that we had ended up in this position.
When we went in to the tiny deli there were a couple of young Russian guys having a heated exchange with the operator. They appeared less than happy with their end of the deal. The operator pushed the rupiah over to them and said something along the lines of 'take it - good exchange.' When they once again queried the amount it was pointed out to them that the missing rupiah was 'commission' even though the sign outside clearly said 'no commission'.
Knowing the reputation of this place my blood started boiling listening to this - I felt obliged to join in with my fellow tourists and fronted the counter standing alongside them. I was pretty vocal in pointing out that the place had the worst exchange rates in Legian, and that the sign outside clearly said 'no commission' and that he was being dishonest (the rate on the board outside was 7850). The place cleared within about thirty seconds with the Russians picking up their jaws and taking their USD back and the couple of people buying ice-creams dumping them back in the fridges and bolting. Well, we still had not changed our money and the children were getting hungry but I felt pretty chuffed.
We walked through the Kumala Pantai and asked one of the chefs at the station if the hotel had a money changer. He responded by saying no, but that there was a money changer out on the beach road. I said 'thank you but we have been there and he is a thief,' to which the chef nodded his head, smiled a little and said 'yes'.
Not to be beaten we walked on through the hotel with two hungry children in tow and tried the next money changer we came across. The rates on the sign were not surprisingly good, but good enough to arouse suspicion. As soon as my partner went up to the counter the off-sider started in his ear 'hey mate where you from?' etc etc. Well by this stage I had had it. I did the double-cross and sidelined him and started asking where he was from along with other pleasantries normally saved for the unsuspecting tourist. Sensing failure of plan A the money changer switched to plan B. He had counted out a stack of 50s into 1 million and simply took a couple of notes from the top of this pile to start the next. Hey? My partner challenged at this stage and was given the stock-standard reply given when any money changer is caught being less than honest....wait for it....you know it....'commission'.
Watch Repairs
Took note of the repairers that have been mentioned on the forum and commenced our quest. My partner has a gold watch that needed a new link and we had some others that needed batteries/cleaning and it was the watch that needed the link that was proving difficult. Apart from heading into Denpasar we tried all of the others and more still that were suggested to us when there. We finally had luck with the guy running the booth on the second floor in Matahari Kuta Square. He works down the rear of the store near the Revlon counter. He said he works every day and it is just a matter of catching him as none of the other staff seem to know his movements. He managed to fix the band and put batteries in 6 watches for Rp 550,000 - around AUD $65.
Tailors
Had the details for Climax Swimwear so had a pair of one-piece made for Rp 350,000. When I tried on a pair of bathers made from a print material, the cloth was slightly thicker than some I felt in plain colour. When I placed the order I asked to have the bathers made out of the denser material. The woman then showed me the material she was intending to use and I was happy with that. I'm no cloth expert but it might pay to check as I don't think the thinner material would last as long. I ordered on one afternoon and was told I could collect them the next evening around 7pm. Very quick service if they are making a pair from one of their own styles. One thing comes to mind as I type this. When I went back to collect a day or so later there was a different woman in the shop. I went into the cubicle to try on the bathers and while I in there I heard her ask my daughter if she would like a drink of water. My daughter accepted the drink. When I came to pay for the bathers I was also asked to pay for the water maybe Rp 7000 (??) I small sum I know but I felt it was a bit sneaky as most shops/tailors offer complimentary water to their clients.
We went to Merry's Collection to order some leather jackets to be made. We were not measured up by the shop owner as, unbeknown to us until we got there, he has Sundays off. But as we were leaving for Ubud the following day we had to order the jackets there and then. The outcome may have been different if we had gone on another day. All items needed alteration which was a pain because we were not coming back to stay in Legian which meant an extra trip up there. There are some very nice handbags on display in this shop that can either be bought as they are or made in a different colour. I did just that myself.
Kuta Galleria
A visit to Ace Hardware was in order for my partner to check out the hardware stuff. As others have mentioned it was like a Bunnings store; it was also littered with stuff you might find in a Red Dot store (apologies to anyone that is not familiar with these stores that we have here in Australia for making that comparison). We bought my son one of those American footballs from Ace Hardware and had fun with that on the beach - cost Rp 40,700 - a little less than AUD $5.
One for the 'woodies' - my partner bought quick release clamps that he says are better than some he has bought here in Aust. Very easy to use (he says). He had to take the larger ones apart to fit in the suitcase and weighed 8 kilos on the hotel scales. If there are any other mad wood workers around who might be considering such a purchase and want to make a price comparison the receipt prices 24 inch clamps @ Rp 92,000; 12 inch clamps @ Rp 73,000 and key chain (??) at Rp 14,800.
We tried to find a money changer at Kuta Galleria but had no luck. There is a small bank there but does not operate an exchange facility. We were sent to the supermarket and hunted around there. The information desk called someone over the loud speaker and a guy materialized but the rate was much lower than elsewhere. Suggest if heading out that way for any purchases you need to cash up before you go.
Outings
We went to Waterbom Park on the Friday, guessing the crowds may be smaller than on the weekend. Although it was school holidays we did not have to wait for any length of time to go on any of the slides. We hired a cabana for the day right next to the food court and the pool that has the volleyball net. Have to say I think the wristbands for payment are a great idea. We 'banked' all the cash we had on us for safekeeping and were given a refund at the end of the day; along with our deposit for the cabana and towels. I think if you are there for the day and want to eat and drink you should take plenty of cash. In our case deposits were needed for the towels, cabana and the actual wristband (I think). So you still need funds for food/drink and any of the activities that require extra payment.
The only disappointment was that the boomerang was closed for remodeling. I also did not see the small climbing wall/post that I recall being there previously. TIP - my son has pretty sensitive skin and suffered terrible rashes on the inside of his legs last time; caused no doubt by the friction of running around and climbing the stairs with wet boardies on all day. This time I liberally coated him with Vaseline on the inside of his legs. No rash whatsoever.
We went down to Sammy and Suzie's beach bar to meet Smudge and make arrangements for him to collect the things we had bought up with us. Sammy's price of bintang here would have to be the cheapest @ Rp 10,000. Very pleasant sitting on the beach meeting a few fellow travelers.
We went to Sunday morning breakfast at La Lucciola which was recommended on this forum. The icy cold granitas were lovely as was the food. I can't thank the person enough that sung the praises of the hash browns. My son is a hash brown addict and so I ordered him two serves thinking he will get two hash browns. Before they arrived my partner and daughter also thought they might like to try this much lauded potato dish so we ordered two more serves. Those that have dined there will understand what our table looked like when the four servings arrived. There are no less than four in a serve so we ended up with sixteen of the things! This was on top of the eggs Benedict/ smoked salmon dish I had, and the cherry ricotta hotcakes with honeyed mascarpone cream my daughter had ordered. Well our eyes nearly popped out of our heads at the mountain of hash browns on the table. The staff took some away when they realised we really were not expecting the amount we got. Although there is no way we could eat them, we were readily prepared to pay for them but they did not appear on our bill. What a lovely restaurant and setting for a lazy Sunday breakfast. Cost for us was approx AUD $40.
I have just found didiaust's recipe that she placed on the forum and I hope she doesn't mind that I have reposted it:
Posted by didiaust on Sunday, 7. January 2007 at 07:46 Bali Time
Par boil 3 or 4 large potatoes & a piece of sweet potato (make sure they are still very firm)
Grate both
You may also use a choice or all of these
Grated Zucchini Carrot, Celery ( I microwave once grated to soften)
Beat 3 egg whites till stiff and fold in the vegie mixture
Salt & pepper to taste & a pinch or 2 of dry mustard
Shallow fry
Summary
I don't think Legian is the place for us. The stall owners in the area, particularly in Jl Legian and more so in Jl Padma Utara, can be overzealous in trying to entice you into their shops. Some in Padma Utara actually step out on to the pavement to block your path. I also really objected to the children out on the streets ostensibly selling bits of string. The method of operation went that they would ask you to buy the string thingy and if they got a 'no' response they immediately asked for a coin. After numerous encounters I got the impression that they really did not expect a 'yes' and were more interested in getting an Aussie coin. In my mind this boarders on begging and proved to be a constant harassment. The gangs of children mainly congregated around Poser's Bar corner and into Jl Padma and, as the footpaths are narrow around the area, could not be easily avoided. A couple of the stall operators also asked us for money when we didn't want to buy. Please don't misunderstand, I readily donate both here in Australia and overseas but not in this manner.
Will continue with a report on Ubud and Tuban later.