RABIES, ALCOHOL SHORTAGE & RAINY SEASON: Part 2 - JBR
Following the placement of Part 1 & in view of potential further strange questions & criticisms, I feel this time round I should offer a Disclaimer...
DISCLAIMER: Whilst all reasonable measures have been taken to ensure the personal opinions & interpretations of the writer are correct at the time of placement, the writer reserves the right to offer no further explanations arising from such writings. This JBR is based on true events.
UPDATE:
We had spent 6 relaxing nights in Ubud after ‘smuggling' alcohol through Customs & avoiding the dreaded rabies outbreak whilst residing beside the Monkey Forest. We were now relishing the prospect of a further 8 nights in Legian - even though it WAS the rainy season.
LEGIAN
ACCOMMODATION:
8 nights at The Kumala Pantai Hotel was delightful. We had rooms in the new H section at the front. There has been plenty of positive feedback about this hotel, which I can now confirm. Yes, I would stay there again!
FOOD:
The Seaside Restaurant is a favourite of my boys since they have a pool table, so we ate there several times. We were happy not to venture too far & enjoyed the Lanai, Zanzibar & usual beachfront eateries as well as room service on a number of occasions. After breakfast, we mainly found that we were not hungry again till dinnertime.
ILLNESS:
My girlfriend became rather ill with the usual food poisoning symptoms after our first day in Legian. She was unsure if it was her last breakfast in Ubud or the lunch in Legian. True to form though, this was her daughter's birthday & there was my girlfriend, having travelled all this way - especially to celebrate her eldest child's 16th birthday with her in beautiful Bali, lay up in bed with the infamous Bali Belly!
A Dr. was called from Padma Clinic in Legian to administer injections & other medication to treat her symptoms. After 2 days & very little food, she felt her appetite had returned & ordered a plate of Spaghetti Bolognaise - against our better judgement. Her comment was, 'What's the worst thing that can happen?' That worst thing re-occurred & she was back to the Clinic for another injection the next day! After approximately $400Aus!! & 2 consults, she returned to her usual self but stuck to steamed rice & vegies. (The insurance claim is currently in the mail!)
We all experienced the odd tummy upset, as you do in most parts of Asia, regardless of the cordial, hand wipes, careful choice of restaurant etc. Nothing though that required medical intervention, thank heavens.
SURFING:
My husband, teenage boys & girlfriend's daughter all took great pleasure in surfing out the front of the hotel. There were quite a few rainy days, but surf was mainly good. The beach was busy with sellers & tourists alike. There was plenty to see & watch whilst there.
SHOPPING:
Discovery Mall, Matahari's, Bali Mall Galleria, Geneva, Denpasar, Kuta /Legian Markets & various Legian & many other shops... they all benefited from our shopping. Handsome handbags, faulty watches, glittery jewellery, striking sunglasses, beautiful bangles, sparkly sandals, unique homewares, picturesque paintings, distinctive wall plaques, countless dvd's & even some Toto bathroom fixtures were all purchased during our travels.
The usual copy surf wear were purchased from several stalls, but mostly from the ever-obliging Ketut in Legian - simply for ease of not having to negotiate. She is so busy though that you do have to watch what goes into your shopping bag as my girlfriend had to return after noticing that she ended up with items that were not hers & several of her items missing. This had happened to me on a previous visit also. It is never a problem for Ketut to swap, but a nuisance to have to return.
MONEY CHANGING:
Incredibly, whilst at a well-know authorised Money Changer in Legian, my girlfriend was given Rupiah at the exchange rate of the US dollar instead of the AUS dollar. She claimed it didn't seem right when she received her Rupiah. Outside though, she realised what had happened & that she had been given too much Rupiah. Others would have kept it - not my girlfriend... She promptly returned to advise them of their mistake. The girls working there were amazed, overwhelmed & very grateful.
THE DREADED PHONE BILL:
We changed our sim card for an Indo. sim, as usual.
My girlfriend though was not able to change hers since her phone was locked to her aussie server. I had advised her of the recent Smartphone where you can purchase the phone with credit quite inexpensively. Being the inventive girl that she is however, she advised that since her daughter in Aust. had plenty of phone credit on her phone, she would get her to phone her in Bali from Australia, which she did - REGULARLY.
On returning to Australia, my girlfriend found that she may need to now re-mortgage the house to pay her phone account! Little did she realise that she was being charged high rates each time she ‘received' an international call on her phone.
WEATHER:
It is the rainy season & it DID rain. We mostly travel at this time of year & do not remember it being as wet as it was this year. The rainfall was solid & torrential most nights in Legian (much less during our time in Ubud). I loved it - such a contrast to our dry Perth, Mediterranean climate. It sometimes rained of a morning but was never enough to stop our daily adventures.
WATERBOMB PARK:
'Same, same but different'....
This park never seems to change much. Fun for the kids but I think they have nearly outgrown it after having been so many times already. Wonderful in the Lazy River for we parents.... It became a sport & a challenge for my girlfriend & I to go around it without being drenched by the waterfalls from overhead.
TRAVELLING WITH A BEAUTIFUL 16YR OLD FEMALE:
Having teenage boys, it is an entirely different experience travelling with a 16 year old female. She would turn heads whilst out on the street. Appraising comments from the Balinese boys became common-place. I felt like I had to ‘protect' her!
She was an Olympic Shopper who really became quite Bali savvy in the negotiating department. My 14 & 15yr old boys couldn't care less about shopping & would prefer to just veg, as they call it. They were quite a contrast!
PRINTING:
We attended a printer in Legian who we had seen recommended on the BTF. The guy who we dealt with was a chain-smoking mix between Bob Marley & Jimmy Hendrix in appearance - a real character. There were posters of both artists everywhere. He is very relaxed - so much so that our printing wasn't ready on a couple of occasions when he said that it would be. He also made several mistakes - thank heavens this was only in the draft. This would not have been much of a problem except that the shop is quite dark & dingy, & the shop temp. those days we attended, was that of a sauna. His computer is very slow & suits his demeanour. Though we ended up with a good final job & the price was right, I think we would go somewhere a little more professional next time.
LUGGAGE CHECK-IN:
There was no doubt our luggage was excessive & we were prepared for the worst. (I blame it on the influence of a 16yr old shopaholic!)
We were a little concerned at check-in as we had not been able to weigh the luggage in advance at the hotel (no scales!)
My girlfriend was keen to take her packed mirror on board - even though at about 5ft, it was nearly the same size as her! She was advised it had to be sent as checked in luggage, as it was so LARGE. (Fortunately it arrived in Perth in one piece... This really did amaze me since we noted how rough the baggage handlers were at Perth airport on our return - they were literally throwing the luggage onto the trailers).
Meanwhile, we were allowed to carry on board paintings, stone plaques & other loose items - as well as our packed hand luggage. Although prepared to pay excess, we were fortunate our hand luggage was not weighed at all as I know this would have sent us over.
CUSTOMS:
This was our next hurdle... I was concerned that some wood items may be confiscated (as has been the case for us previously). It must have been our lucky day! We got through without any hiccups & were thrilled to have all declared items given the ‘all clear'.
My girlfriend though, had marked that she was carrying ‘DRUGS' on her Arrival card - it was only the medication she had been prescribed!! As a consequence, she was heavily delayed whilst her luggage was thoroughly checked. Never a dull moment!
OVERVIEW:
Another fabulous holiday in beautiful Bali...
Our 14 nights were over too quickly.
There were lots of funny/memorable situations/experiences - in spite of the rabies outbreak, alcohol shortage, rainy season & the accompaniment of my honest friend & her gorgeous daughter.
FINAL THANKYOU:
A BIG thank-you to (most) of the BTF contributers who continue to give worthy information over this & other forums.
Each trip to Bali since falling upon this forum has been improved through my readings of it. In 2007, this was particularly highlighted by the arranging of a 40ft container full of magnificent goods for our new house, following information gleaned from persons on this forum. You all know who you are & I thank-you!
Until next time....