Hi
myself, wife and daughters (both 7) flew Virgin from Perth (flight half full) without a hitch. Landed in Bali and were taken as arranged to the Jayakarta (Max and Suzannes).
Things seemed a little quiet, altough the restaurant strip along the beach near the Jayakarta seemed to be doing OK. things we did on our holiday were-
Eating- didn't go out for brekky much but ate at Tommy's a few times (really nice and very fresh food) and Legian Snacks one morning (thanks Agung who gave us a lift home when he found out how far we had walked and how many times we had eaten there in the past.)
we also ate at Ketupat, Daddy's cafe in Tuban(long taxi ride from Jayakarta but the Greek Mezze platter is worth the trip)Gateway of India (Sunday Buffet- good but perhaps another meat dish would have been nice) Queens tandoor in Seminyak(excellent)Seaside, Lanai, Blue Ocean, and Kumala Pantai Italian (all very good)along the beach front.
we went to lunch and dinner at Sawasdeeka in Rum Jungle Rd, good Thai with a few options for kids. pleasant with fan cooled pavilions. we also tried warong Asia for lunch (fantastic Thai food)Warung Ala Asia in Padma Utara (opp Carla Spa- good Indo food).
drinking- family holiday so no bars etc but had a few Bintangs, San Miguels etc. during the day drank lots of flavoured Mizones and Pocari Sweat( terrible name but does the job and tastes OK!)
Days Out- spent 2 looooong days at Waterbom - kids loved it and went on all the rides. food court ok and reasonably priced. also went to Bali Safari marine Park (with some reservations) turned out to be excellent and no sign of drugged animals. photo with Ronny the Ranga was brilliant! Uma food court was Ok as well- not over priced.
Shopping- quietest shopping holiday of all time (wife and I have been to Bali 8 times) - went to Ketut's fixed price shop which I can recommend. bought most of our clothes there. Ketut is great, even provides water for her thirsty customers.
bought 2 discs full of Nintendo DS games in front of Matahari. all working so far, both were 500k. 32 games on one, 37 on the other. only bought about 2 dozen DVD's (10,000rp buy 10 get 4 free) all bar 1 ok so far.
only bothered haggling once (well and truly over this) and will continue to buy mainly from fixed price whenever we go back.
Misc.- Taxis- only caught Blue Taxis and had no hassles. meters turned on straight away, most drivers very friendly and chatted away with those who spoke a bit of English.
VOA was no problem as was withdrawing money. Comm Bank ATMS are everywhere (max 3 million cost $2 per withdrawal. in fact didn't use a moneychanger at all.
Apartments are excellent. recommend them to anyone. 3 or 4 minute walk to pool no big deal. kids made a few friends (as did the parents) which made our holiday even more enjoyable.
Had a couple of massages at Eden Green- "strong" massage for 70k was exactly that. well worth it. Kids had their hair braided at Jayakarta for 150k each.
we had a totally awesome holiday and look forward to going back again soon. thanks to all the forumites whose knowledge and recommendations I tapped into.