JBR - 2-20 September 2008 (LONG)
This was our tenth trip to Bali and the main purpose was for a friend's wedding held in Ubud. We stayed for 18 days and had another fabulous experience.
I have split the trip into headings to make it more readable.
VIP VOA
There have been many recommendations on this service and it was absolutely fantastic! We arrived from Perth on Qantas at around 4.30pm on Tuesday 2 Sept and I knew there were other flights arriving around the same time, so my friend in Bali organised the VIP service. The man was waiting for us with a sign and we followed him, bypassing the long lines, to the right, where the local passengers go through. Handed over our passports and were told to go and collect our luggage. We didn't even see an official, to check our mug shots, all done for us within 10 minutes. Cost was 175,000 Rp each and well worth it. Took longer for my bag to appear than the actual processing. I will never line up again with the hoards, but rather pay the extra fee to get by the pool quicker! Waved through customs too. My friend had 11 bottles of wine/champagne in her luggage the previous day and got through with a $30 'fine' in the little room and she was stoked that she could drink her favourite drop during her stay!
Accommodation
We stayed in 3 self-contained places over the holiday:
MELATI BEACH APARTMENTS
The first 4 nights we considered just as a room with a bed needed, as we had plenty to do with the wedding party and weren't planning on spending much time at all at our accommodation. We were pleasantly surprised with the apartments and they were really lovely.
Located behind the ‘Coffee Shop' the apartments easily missed, but we asked taxis to drop us off at the Poco Loco restaurant, which was just across the road a little.
Anyway, the apartments surround the central pool and we were in Room 103 on the ground floor, spotlessly clean, with a small kitchen, lounge, bedroom and nice bathroom. It took a day to get our large water bottle replaced, but that is the only complaint. Staff helpful and happy and great value for $US100/night. I did find the bed to be a bit hard at first, but soon got used to that.
ANDARI VILLA.
This was our second week-long stay at Andari and it is absolutely sensational...the website is still under construction, but once they do, they will be fully booked all year, so I don't want to say too much about it!
The villas (2 or 3 bedroom) are all less than 12 months old. Located just off Jalan Double Six down the laneway opposite the Kumala Hotel on Jalan Werkudara (that is the Grand Kumala, not the Kumala Pantai). Just look for the sign to Villa Pisang Mas and you will find Andari. Quiet area and great location, close to beach, food and shops.
These villas don't allow children under 12 to stay. Our villa had 3 bedrooms, a huge open lounge/dining room, large pool and 2 day-bed areas. Absolutely stunning and well appointed with everything that we could possibly need. The kitchen had plenty of lovely glassware, including champagne and cocktail glasses. (Makes a change to staying in places where they just have 2 of everything). A blender and plenty of cooking utensils, condiments etc etc. The fridge was stocked with 6 bintangs and 6 cokes to start with, included in the price.
Our helper arrived each day at 8.30 in the morning until 4 each afternoon. She did our laundry, bought us breakfast supplies and cooked them up, tidied up and lit all of the mossie coils each evening before she left. Fantastic service!
A G U N G BALI N I R W A N A
This is a small resort on the north-east coast that I have raved about in previous reports - with 3 villas right on the beach, a restaurant and a spa. We had booked all three villas with our friends and stayed for a week.
It is isolated and spotlessly clean and the staff are absolutely lovely. This was our sixth trip here and unfortunately it didn't quite meet our expectations this time. We noticed small things, like leaking taps and that the food is no longer as good since the original chef has left. Our friends enjoyed it, but would not take the 3 hour drive to return there.
SPAS/SALONS
Massages, fingers and toes.............
Our favourite salon for massages was at 48 Jalan Werkudara, Legian just past Su's Cottages called Eden Green. Cost 60,000 Rp for a 1 hour full body massage. They have both male and female masseurs. No individual rooms, so you do hear people coming and going, but just do it quietly and you aren't disturbed too much. Manicures and pedicures were done thoroughly and took about 2 hours to do, with a great new UV light to dry them properly. Much busier than last trip, so I made bookings to ensure I had a place on the slab when I wanted a massage. Also prices up on average about 10,000 Rp compared to March, however that won't break the bank and can't complain with the wonderful quality of the services provided.
I had my hair done for the wedding at Manik- Jl Legian Tengeh No.427, with Claire. (It is the main road coming from Kuta to Seminyak, which we would call Jalan Legian).
It took an hour to get my medium length hair into an up-do and it was fabulous, didn't budge for more than 12 hours into the night. Highly recommend this hair salon, run by a mother/daughter team originally from Melbourne. Plenty of teasing and spray and I was transformed into a wedding guest!
WEDDING
The wedding of our good friends was held in Ubud, at Villa Bali Gita, a beautiful resort about a 20 minute drive from the centre of Ubud. The ceremony started at 4.00pm and we drove up after lunch to assist with the set up music etc. There are 5 villas with a central pool, a cinema/library, tennis courts, common dining area surrounded by magnificent gardens. Took a lot of fairly steep steps to arrive, which would be difficult for the elderly, but the families that stayed here didn't venture out once, because they were so well looked after for their 5-day stay in luxury. They raved about the food, the staff and the service and all are planning on going back again next year.
More than 50 guests had arrived from Australia for the ceremony and it was a really beautiful setting. Pre-ceremony drinks were held in the garden, followed by seating in a bale with covered and ribboned chairs. The celebrant was dressed like a priest and they had the longest vows I have ever heard - promised everything to each other!! It was a lovely, intimate ceremony. The girls had orchid bouquets and the same for the boy's button holes. Two Balinese girls led the way, dressed traditionally in green and yellow and we all threw flower petals over the wedding party as we headed to the pool area for pre-dinner drinks. A large gamelan orchestra serenaded us and the girls returned to dance for the bride and groom. The dinner tables were set up under cover, as it had rained in Ubud each night and this was no exception. Started with a pumpkin soup, then an Indonesian buffet dinner of fish, chicken, curry, satays, beef, noodles, rice, vegies, babi guling - plenty of tucker. Only problem, (which I later found out is very common in Bali), was that all of the food was cold! The bain maries weren't turned on and so the food was all cold, which wasn't a pleasant surprise, but everyone was hungry, so we all hoovered up the meal. The wedding cake was chocolate and really nice, served with other traditional brightly coloured sweets. They had ordered the flowers, cake etc all through the villa with the set up of the wedding.
Hatten wines were served and this was the first time I had tasted them. Everyone was asked to bring their own wine or favourite spirit to the wedding, so we had a few bottles of duty frees Margaret River. I did try the Hatten bubbles and their white too, but I must admit I really didn't like it at all. (I know many of you enjoy a drop of Hattens, but I would prefer to drink beer thanks and I am not a big beer drinker, but the Hattens was just not to my taste).
Much dancing during a fun-filled night until we arrived back in Legian in the wee hours of the morning - the return drive was much faster. Then it was time to try and remove the pins from my head whilst keeping some of my hair intact, which was no mean feat at that hour, after a long night. I was tempted to leave it until the morning, but couldn't have slept with a crunchy heap of hair at the back of my head anyway!
All in all, I gave Yolande and her staff at Villa Bali Gita a resounding 10/10 for the wedding.
DINING
Vincents - Candi Dasa
We drove around the east coast when we headed north for a week and stopped off at Vincent's in Candi Dasa. Groovy music and a lovely bar area and out the back is a garden setup with tables and we chose a corner dining bale, with comfy cushions. Lovely setting, no views of the nearby ocean, with great food. Had a chicken curry pita bread with salad and it was very tasty. We ordered the same thing on the way back south, must have been a different chef, as wasn't quite as good as the first trip a week earlier, but everyone loved their meals and the nasi goreng looked fantastic.
Japanese
Ryoshi on Jalan Raya Seminyak has moved a few doors south to larger premises, but the food and service hasn't changed a bit. Very fresh and delicious - the best Japanese I have eaten in a long time, washed down with bintangs. There are plenty of cooked meals on the menu too for those not fond of the raw stuff.
Thai
Warung Asia, almost on the corner of Jl Werkudara and Double Six. Bright orange sign. We ate here at least 3 times and enjoyed lunch and dinner. Recommend to book because it gets very busy. Cheap prices and sensational Thai food.
Spanish
An old favourite - La Sal on Jalan Drupadi. We had 15 of the wedding party for a dinner of an assortment of tapas, washed down with Corona beer, wine and sangria. Creamy potatoes, chicken croquettes, prawns in truffle oil, mussels, deep fried mushrooms and double roasted lamb. Cost was about $A500.
Mannekipis (a few doors from Made's Warung at Jl Seminyak No.2)
I had read about this one in Bali Eats, as a Belgium restaurant with jazz nights, so we ventured there on a Thursday night and sat upstairs. Lovely food - I had a Belgium stew with chips and salad - very tasty and around 50,000 Rp. Hubby had snails as an entrée and meatballs and they both tasted good too.
The restaurant sign is white, with a gray cherub on it.
Sarong - Petitenget
Again, I saw this one on Bali Eats and went for hubby's birthday dinner. Talk about sumptuous surroundings, candelabras, deep cushioned chairs. Busy on the night, as they had a wedding that arrived about an hour after we did, so we were seated outside in a lovely garden area, away from the festivities.
They have a tandoor oven and the menu had quite an Indian flavour. We had the best rogan josh and butter chicken I have ever tasted, with naan bread, rice and vegies, we had over-ordered and didn't manage to finish it all. The most expensive food item on the menu was 100,000 Rp. Cocktails and wine added to the bill, but was a memorable birthday dinner and we will return there again.
Ultimo - Jl Laksmana, Seminyak
This is an old favourite of ours, and we recall how we were one of two tables in the restaurant a few years ago - how times have changed....no chance to get in without a booking. The outdoor area has been crammed with more tables for diners and although the food is great and excellent value, it was a bit over crowded for my liking. They still make great frozen margaritas. We ordered the set menu for around 85,000 which had a simple salad, followed by a pasta, steak as main and desert.
Yutz, Legian
We went here once each for breakfast, lunch and dinner (not all in the same day!)
Breakfast was a swiss potato rosti with ham and cheese - very filling and tasty
Lunch was a goulash soup with assorted plates of potatoes - again, reminded me of mum's home cooking.
I had read on the forum about the steaks and yep, it was the best steak I had ever eaten in Bali......fillet steak with the rosti, vegetables and salad. Excellent value around 80,000 Rp for the steak dinner.
Zanzibar Restaurant, Legian for breakfast.
We enjoyed a full breakfast of bacon, sausage, eggs, toast for about 40,000 Rp. Great value and nice to watch the world go by at the beach.
Tip for dining is to go to the chemist and invest in a box of Travellan. We ate one before any meal and had absolutely no tummy problems at all. Make sure you bring from home and pack as a safety insurance.
SHOPPING
Jengalla
We found the factory outlet in Sanur - if you walk out of Hardeys supermarket, then turn right and cross the road and a few doors up is a ceramic shop. I can't recall the name, but it wasn't Jengalla. Had 30% off seconds stock - very dusty goods and assorted pieces, but if you looked carefully could find some lovely serving dishes and platters and I got some in a dark brown colour and took them home as hand luggage.
Bikinis
After reading tips on the forum, I bought a set of my favourite bikinis to Climax Swimwear to get copied, but they wanted 350,000 Rp for them, which included material or else 180,000 Rp to make if I supplied the material. The lady wouldn't budge on price and I figured I would just find a new pair for that price because they were a basic bikini with triangle top and bottoms with side ties. Glad that I didn't get them copied, because I found a little shop called Beach House on Jalan Werkudara, walking from the intersection of Double Six, where everything was 50,000 Rp - so I found 3 pairs of bikinis for total price of 150,000 Rp and no waiting to be copied. That was my bargain of the trip. They are made of lycra and have sequinned butterflies on them.
Alia Jewellery almost opposite the Bitang supermarket stocks great silver jewellery. I bought all the girls at work little pearl stud ear-rings here for less than $7 each.
Modena (kitchen supply shop) is just down the same road as Alta Moda (the fabric shop). We went there to find some napkins, but ended up with groovy champagne glasses, which have an unusual bent stem in bright blue glass. Hard to describe and cost 80,000 Rp each, but ended up as hand luggage and all 12 glasses made it home in one piece.
In search of more napery, we took a taxi to the Haveli factory outlet on Jalan Kunti, to find it was closed! Most disappointing - but opposite the main shop on Jalan Seminyak they have relocated the outlet, the prices are higher than what they were at the old location, but is still in existence. Paid 25,000 Rp for the napkins to match a runner I had bought at Tenngenan (sorry for spelling) on the East coast, where they make traditional weaved ikat.
I finally found sarongs that could be made up as tablecloths, because previously I found them all to be 170cm long and my table is 180cm long. A small shop on Jlan Werkudara sells sarong material by the metre (20,000 Rp/metre) and sewed up the ends for me, so I selected many different colours to make up the tablecloths for our bbq table this year. They were ready the next day and will fit the table perfectly.
Apotek/Supermarket
We have a trip coming up to go to Borneo later this year, so I knew I needed some anti-malarial tablets. I stocked up at the apotek near bintang supermarket, 70 tablets for only 21,000 Rp, I couldn't believe it was so cheap. Called doxcycllin.
Also finally found the dettol hand wash gel in Bintang for about $1 per small bottle to pop in hand bag or purse. Much better than hand wipes, as you don't have to dispose of the tissue, just wipe on hands before eating and it evaporates.
Total Cushion
I wanted to buy some sets of bed runners with cushions as gifts. Had them made at Total Cushion located on Jalan Padma Utara in Legian. I have had cushion covers made previously, so I went back there. Plain cotton with some wavey line embroidered along the edges in solid colours - no sequins or fancy work. I ordered them after I found Azalea Moda (had been recommended on the forum who also make runners and cushions too) along Jalan Seminyak - so I intend to check out this shop next trip for more fancy ones.
Animale
I did go past the new outlet, which is within a block of Bintang supermarket - same side of the road, towards Kerobokan. But I didn't have time to go inside, but I know where it is for next time, as I was going to buy a shirt for my mum.
Booze
Trying to find a bottle of Bacardi turned out to be quite an adventure, our driver searched high and low and found what appeared to be the last bottle somewhere in Kuta. We tried some white wines from Chile that were reasonably priced around 200,000 Rp mark and found them to be very nice. Otherwise the small bintangs were available to quench the thirst.
GENERAL
My overall comment is that Bali is at the busiest I have seen in the past 4-5 years. The flights have all been full and noticed most the number of people when going out to dinner and having to book restaurants in advance. We didn't venture to Kuta at all, just stuck to Legian and Seminyak. Didn't get to all of the eateries we had planned, but that leaves more for the next trip. I'm so glad that Bali is getting busy again, as they have had hard times and it's time for things to pick up. September is the best time of the year to go - less humidity, we had no rain (apart from the night of the wedding in Ubud) and cool breezes without making it too cold for walking around in hardly any clothes at any time of the day or night.