Arrived 26 Oct for a 3 week stay, picked up by BloodyRon and head off to Sanur Beach Villas with a few very cold Bintangs onboard... at least this year Ron packed 6 and not 5 beers... he was very dissappointed last year when HE missed out on the second shout!
A quick unpack and we are off to the Spirit Cafe for Sunday arvo drinks with the Expats. If you do visit Spirit please purchase a "Sick Puppy" T-shirt... all proceeds go to the local Dog charity.
One more day/night with BloodyRon and Irma and we are off to Nusa Lembongan for 5 nights. I must say if you truly want a place to just chill out and relax with some great people Sanur Beach Villas is the place... Ron and Irma are the most laid back hosts you could find... I cannot rate their little patch of paradise highly enough. Just book in advance because they were booked out nearly the whole 3 weeks were in Bali.
Day 3 we head off to Nusa Lembongan... this year we decided to stay at Tanis Villas... what a great little place to stay, such a friendly place and great staff. In the past we have spent time at the Nusa Lembongan Resort and Bali Hai... although set back from the beach a little, I would highly recommend.
It was great to see Noris again from the Bar and Cafe Bali... it is always a pleasure to spend time with him. We caught up with a few friends from the Bali Hai and generally just relaxed. We also enjoyed a morning out snorkling around the island and spent a few hours each day at Dream Beach.
Back to BloodyRons where we head off to the Safari Park to meet up with friends from Perth we met on our honeymoon in 2005. A good day out... probably wouldn't rush back there next year but still an enjoyable day.
Last day at Ron's and it is Melbourne Cup, so we head of to the Senia for a day of betting and lots of cold beer (well done Pete). A good day was had by all except my dear Hubby who always backs the 10 horse except for today... Well we never heard the end of it!
We head off from Ron's to the Baleka... not a good arrival, they have us booked in a Twin room (we actually are on our 3rd wedding anniversary) but no matter how we tried it was the only room of the standard we booked available.
We are moved the next day down stairs to a queen room but there was a bitter taste in our mouth and we had heard a few horror stories before we arrived so we just didn't relax in this place.
We stayed 5 nights out of the 11 we had booked and then moved. No refund and also got charged for the one bottle of water we had on first night!
Did the Bali Baik Tour... won't go into this in too much detail but it was great day and good to see the local owner employers locals and sponsors the local orphanage... great guide, food, company, etc. Would highly recommend.
Took a half day out to visit Dolphin Lodge... anyone interested can contact me for details...
Surfing lessons at RipCurl were a blast... highly recommend.
Last 5 days spent at the Niksoma which was fabulous as always.
Small stuff up on our last night... out for a quick dinner at the Corner Bar... thinking.... I'm sure we don't fly out til the 15th... ask hubby What day is it? The 14th... are you sure? Yes! Ok, should have checked this earlier but time to check the documents... YEAH... one more night in Bali!
Give BloodyRon a ring... "Have you got a room for a couple of dopey Aussie's who stuffed up?" thankfully he did, so off in a cab to Sanur Beach Villas for one more goodbye.
It was great, we had the whole following day to just soak up the sun at the beach... lunch and dinner at Kesuma Cafe which was great and cheap.
So all in all it was a great trip... a little bit stressful on our family and friends with the whole Execution media, and to be honest if I was in Australia I probably would have felt the same... no matter how many times you stress that all is good in Bali, family and friends are always going to worry.
So that is our story for another year... to everyone who gave us info and advise... Thankyou!
To the Parkes who we met at BloodyRons, it was great to meet you and your lovely family.
To Ron and Irma again thankyou for your friendship and hospitality... it is always greatly appreciated.
To everyone else... Enjoy your up coming trips.
Cheers Jodie and Mark