Hubby & I and 2 friends have been back 3 weeks now after our 12 days in Bali (following 4 weeks in the middle east. (Our last trip to Bali was in September 05). We stayed at the Bali Garden and were pleased the pool renovations were completed. The outdoor area now looks really great. Once they upgrade the bathrooms I think it will be a really top resort to stay in.
We spent most of our time in the new horizon pool. Now that they have 3 pools it would be nice if one could be made adults only. (It can be really annoying when you get a bunch of kids jumping in & out of the pool continuously and making lots of noise and I think there should be a limit on the use of blow up pool toys.) There were many adults who were just wanting the sunbake and read who were continually complaining about the kids running from pool to pool, splashing.
We did the usual jalan jalan for souvenirs, DVDs etc. There did not seem to be any new products to spend our money on though.
We ate at the following restaurants:
Melasti café (South Kuta)- decent inexpensive food & some singers & karaoke thrown in.
Stadium (South Kuta)- we had 2 really good meals there and not expensive.
Impala in Tuban- not impressed, poor service and small helpings.
La Monde (Legian) - I thought it very nice, but friend allergic to cucumber, stipulated this at least 3 or 4 times to the waiter but when his meal arrived there was still cucumber in the salad.
Wayan & Friends (Legian) a favourite of ours, 2 lovely meals there as usual.
Fabios - Italia (Seminyak) our top choice, great food and ambience for a special occasion.
We did a trip up to SD3 school in Sembung to meet our new sponsored little girl Nanik, and as usual were delighted with the morning spent with all the kids, we were given a tour of the school and as it was a special day for them they were all dressed in ceremony costumes which was a treat for us.
We had also planned to make our usual visit to an orphanage in Klung Kung but our friend Made (in Sanur) who accompanies us and interprets for us has been very will for a few weeks now and so we did not end up making the visit.
We didn't do a lot of the usual WWR or day trips out, just taking the time to do a lot of relaxing around the pool.
All in all it was another fantastic trip to Bali and we are already looking forward to the next one.