26th Dec to 5th of Jan. Left Adelaide on Virgin Friday morning. A great 5 hour flight, we were lucky enough to be upgraded to the emergency exit row for extra leg room, the leg room in normal seats is quite good though.
We touched down at 12.40 pm and it was hot and humid as we thought. Walked straight through customs and immigration (this was a slow process here.)We were transferred from the airport by transfer company as we arranged with the travel agent, we should have just taken a 'Blue Bird Cab'( they use their meters ) it would have been faster and cheaper.
We stayed at the Santika Beach hotel resort, in a Deluxe room, a very nice place, good staff and breakfast was very nice. The resort has access to main road and beach and is within walking distance to Kuta and Discovery Mall. Plenty of shops and restaurants within walking distance. We would stay there again.
We went to PT Central Kuta(168 Raya Kuta Street Kuta) to change plenty of Aussie Dollars to Rupiah, here they have security on the doors and inside the building, The exchange rate will be good here most probably be the average you see around the streets. You won't get ripped off here as they count your money by machine and then you check again, before you sign for it and leave.
Don't change your money at the airport money changers as their rates are lower than in the street. We stocked up on supplies at the supermarket at Martharis building at Kuta. You can get familiar brands and some Indonesian brands here.
Took our mobile phone and bought a local sim card XL, to ring home or message, much much cheaper than Aussie simcard. The special instructions to get cheaper connections are listed on the forum.
We went shopping for large size ladies clothes, the shops we went to have been listed on the forum on a list, be aware that some of these shops are out of date and some have closed. I would recommend if you need large sizes, have them tailored.
We had 2 pairs of denim jeans made and a motor cycle leather jacket made. The workmanship and the quality was fantastic. The Tailor's name is Indra and his shop is on a lane off Singosari/Bakung Sari St Kuta, opposite Yosh Tourist Info , Hand Bags and Accessories at No 48. We also booked our tours and a driver for a day from Yosh Tourist Info, Sharon (Aussie lady) and partner Yoda were very helpful, took the stress out our first time in Bali. If you need help on your trip I am sure they can help, Mobile 081 338 694 589.
The tours we went on, were Elephant Ride and White Water Rafting on the Ayung river, this was a great day a must for anyone who wants to see the country and the rainforest and experience a great thrill. We also did the Bali Hai reef cruise day cruise, a good trip, the best thing was the Island tour to Lembongan Island. The hour long guided tour was eye opening to the village life on this island, we saw the local school, meeting hall, market, hospital, seaweed farming, handicrafts and general living areas of the people, we highly recommend. The reef cruise pontoon has snorkeling, water slide, ocean reef viewing vessel, scuba diving. This was a great day.
Some observations to share, we used Blue bird cabs as they have their meters running, some of the other cabs will try and barter on the fare! The cost of wine and spirits are extremely expensive , buy duty free on the way and drink lots of beer. Bintang in the mini marts is around 9500 rupiah per bottle in restaurants anywhere from 18000 to 25000 rupiah. The best and coldest beer is at the beach bars. We visited Eddy's bar on the beach at Kuta, the coldest beer in Bali! Bought many DVDs and Wii games, all the dvds worked good quality, and around 80% of the Wii games worked. We bought a Nintendo DS R4 card 4 Gb for 650,000 Rupiah and a set of discs with 800 DS games for 200,000 Rupiah from Mataharis dept Toy section on 3rd floor. We went to Jimbaran Bay for dinner at Seafood restaurant on the beach and a Fantastic dinner, expensive but a great dinning experience, we had King prawns, Windu prawns and red snapper and lots of bintang for 950,000 rupiah. This included transport to and from Ganesha Café. The sunset on the beach and the live music was great. Bought lots of Sarongs and Bintang shirts and bits and pieces.
On our flight out, we were worried about excess baggage, but to our surprise at the virgin check in, nothing was mentioned about the overweight bags, they just went straight through. I would suggest that when waiting for your flight home, you checkout the Dewa Lounge for some comfortable seats and air conditioning, you have to pay 120,000 rupiah. They have food and drink supplied included and bintang on Tap! If you wait in the airport there are limited seats if you can find them and it is hot.
We a great time and will be returning this Christmas.Can't wait..