Well we are just back from Bali and I thought I would write my JBR while it's still fresh in my mind!
The photos from our trip are online at: www.picasaweb.google.com/cyberbirth
This was our 2nd trip to Bali this year (8th trip in total). Our 3 week holiday in April (with our 3 children, my parents & two of their friends) was to be our only trip for the year however just after we returned (and before I had time to write a JBR) my midwifery partner had a very serious car accident which resulted in my having to take over her caseload for the next 4 months which meant being on call 24/7 with no days off!! So after this I sure needed another holiday so we booked a quick 10 day trip for late October and invited my sister and her husband along (their 1st trip).
We once again flew Pacific Blue - from Auckland to Bali - via Brisbane on the outbound flight - and via Melbourne on the return flight. This was our 2nd trip with them and as they are significantly cheaper than the alternatives we are happy to forego the meals and drinks and pocket the difference to spend in Bali. Our only problem was that 3 weeks before the trip they cancelled our return flight so we had to either come home a day earlier (not really an option as IMO you need at least 10 days to make the trip from NZ worthwhile) or add an extra day. Of course we choose the extra day however it did cause issues with having to get an extra nights accommodation which caused some last minute stress!
On arrival in Bali we made sure we got off the plane promptly (luckily we were seated near the front) and quickly made our way to the immigration queues. As the airport was busy and several planes seemed to be unloading the queues were already quite long (back at the level of the VOA counters) so the guys joined the queue while my sister & I bought the VOA's and then we re-joined them in the queue. While in the queue we noted lots of others doing this (including the VIPVOA guys). As the queues got longer (way back past the VOA booths) we noticed quite a few people were confused and were joining the queue without buying their VOA first so we helped them do the same so they didn't lose their place in the queue. This system really is confusing for first timers to Bali! Our wait time was about 15 - 20mins which isn't too bad and by the time we got to the luggage collection area our bags were waiting and off we went!
As we arrived on Galungan day our driver Wayan Adiarsa was not able to pick us up as he was back at his Village for the celebrations so we planned to get a taxi. We were worried about fitting 4 adults and baggage into a car but luckily as we were looking for the taxi counter a driver approached us and offered to take us in his van for only Rp60k which is only slightly more than a fixed price taxi would have been so we jumped at the offer - and tipped him well!
Accommodation
We had booked accommodation as follows: 3 nights at the Baleka Beach Resort (Legian), 2 nights at the Adi Assri (Pemuteran), 4 nights at the Kumala Pantai (Legian).
We had stayed at both the Kumala Pantai and the Baleka before, however only in the standard rooms at the Baleka, so this time we booked the new superior rooms to give these a try. While there I made the following notes comparing the Baleka to the Kumala Pantai:
Baleka (Superior Room): Cheaper, friendlier patrons, nice new spacious rooms, no breakfast included, good thick white clean towels / sheets, easy going staff, salon prices = almost same as street prices e.g. massage Rp90K, in-room safe, more suited to families, cheaper drinks / meals at the poolside, tea / coffee in room, 24hr pool, plentiful pool towels, lovely bathroom with walk in shower, central location.
Kumala Pantai (Deluxe Room): More expensive, more spacious surroundings / nicer gardens etc, closer to beach, in-room safe, great buffet breakfast included, 2 x pools but limited opening hours (9am - 7.30pm) which meant some days we didn't get to use them, staff & patrons not so friendly, room card not working x 3 over 4 days = repeated trips to reception, thin worn / frayed stained bathroom towels, stained sheets & pillowcases on bed, bathroom door wouldn't shut then handle fell off but fixed promptly when reported to reception, lovely powerful shower but the whole floor flooded when used, all drains very slow & gurgled up - in particular drain in bathroom behind toilet absolutely reeked when water from overflowing shower went down, H-block room we were given had no view & not close to pool / beach, crazy salon prices e.g. 1hr massage = Rp159K, air conditioning dripped on floor, combination bidet / toilet was a laugh, had trouble getting pools towels as they kept running out, had issue with confirming late checkout - first said maybe & come back tomorrow to check - then they said no we couldn't have this but then magically when we discussed between ourselves maybe moving hotels for the last night they suddenly said we could keep one of our rooms!!
All in all my personal viewpoint is that since both rooms were of a similar standard I would not pay the extra $$ for the KP just to be closer to the beach & have nicer gardens - especially as the room we were given in H block didn't have any view of the gardens (just rooftops) and was as far from the beach as you can get at the KP. Other deciding points for me are the friendlier staff / patrons at the Baleka and the 24hr pool hours as for me having a quiet after-dinner swim at 11pm is a real holiday treat - something we can't often do here in NZ even mid-summer! I know my viewpoint won't be popular as the KP seems to be viewed as the ultimate hotel by many but for me its lovely but just not worth the extra $$.
The other hotel we stayed at was the Adi Assri at Pemuteran and this was just amazing! Everything about this place was incredible - excellent value for money, breakfast included, wonderful bungalows, open-air bathrooms, two gorgeous pools right on the beach, lovely spa with reasonable prices and some unique treatments (I can recommend the cucumber & papaya after-sun body treatment and the four hands massage!), quiet / laid back atmosphere, attentive & friendly staff. My BIL couldn't believe he could afford to stay in a place as luxurious as this for around the same price as a camp ground cabin in NZ! We went here mainly for its location (for diving at Menjangan) but if you want a quiet spot for a few days to unwind from the madness of south Bali then this is the place!
Activities
Diving: We had pre-booked at dive / snorkel trip for the four of us to Menjangan Island with Sea Rovers who are based at the Adi Assri in Pemeturan. Unfortunately when we went to get geared up the day before we found they planned to divide us between two boats (divers in one, snorkelers in the other) which would have been no fun at all so after lots of discussions they finally agreed to put us all in one boat. Menjangan Island was amazing - we have dived / snorkeled quite a few locations in Bali and the fish here were the most plentiful we have ever seen. The coral was also amazing - although not quite as colourful as at Crystal Bay (Nusa Penida) earlier in the year. The only down-side of the trip was the lunch - in previous trips with other dive companies we've had great food (usually tasty local food stored in a chilly bin (esky) & wrapped in a banana leaf etc but this time the choices were all European (e.g. sandwiches, chicken nuggets & fries) which spent the morning in the boat in the sun in plastic lunch boxes! Needless to say it's the meal we believe started our ongoing need for charcoal tablets for the rest of the trip LOL.
Day Trips: We once again enjoyed a morning trip to the Fish Markets at Jimbaren Bay (recommend for any keen fishermen!) followed by a day at Waterbom Park and then a look around the Bukit Peninsular (Padang Padang was closed for the filming of the movie Eat, Pray, Love) before the sunset Kecak Dance at Uluwatu . We have seen the dance here before and enjoyed it again but next time will go somewhere else to see it (e.g. Tanah Lot) as we *hated* the monkeys there who were very threatening & scary and really spoilt what should be a wonderful views from the temple.
For our trip to Pemeturan we went there via Tabanan & the mountains and came home around the coast via Negara. Both were roads are off the usual tourist routes and were chosen because we hadn't travelled them before and so we can now say that over the years we have driven right around the coast of Bali and over most of the major mountain roads!
Transport
We once again used our favourite driver Wayan Adiarsa whenever we could - he is always such good company and so reasonably priced. His new van is also very comfortable, though it's good to know he still has his older van as this can fit larger groups if needed. This trip it was great to meet his wife & children and also make a stop at his village on our way to Pemuteran which was one of the highlights of our trip. Wayan tells me he now also has two motorbikes available to rent - this is not something I would ever do in Bali (I like my skin!) but it might interest others.
For short trips around Legian / Kuta we used just taxis. I know the Bluebird taxis are constantly recommended here but we find the others are just as good (so long as you agree to the meter before heading off) and we had an unpleasant incident with one Bluebird taxi that suddenly stopped on the corner of Jl. Padma and Jl. Sahadewa. We thought he had misunderstood our request so repeated that we wanted to go to the Jl. Melasti end of Jl. Sahadewa but he just kept saying ' no you get out now I don't go that way I want go back this way'. He was quite unpleasant about it and while it was only 200 meters from our destination it basically meant he had just taken us the long way around the block and defeated our purpose in getting a taxi which was to not have to carry some heavy bags in the mid-day sun! Needless to say we paid exactly the fare on the meter - his loss as we are usually generous tippers!
Shopping
What can I say - Bali is a shopper's paradise! As we'd been in April we had stocked up but we couldn't resist doing it again and yes we were just overweight again so thank goodness for the hand luggage allowance LOL. Some fav's are:
Aboden Motorcycle Shop (Jl. Raya Kuta) where we bought more motorbike / motocross gear as already our kids had grown out of some of the gear we bought in April - remind me to stop feeding my teenage boys so well!!!
Geneva - the usual great stuff including bedcovers for my boys (the first we've ever found that weren't flowery / pretty or too white!), lots of shell necklaces / jewellery, gifts for friends etc.
Ketuts Fixed Price (off Jl. Sahadewa) - we've been going here for years and her stuff just gets better & better! Great selection & sizes and no doubt others feel the same as her shop is always busy! (You really do have to wonder though why the other stallholders near her don't try her recipe for success??!!)
Merry's Tailor - 6 more pairs of shoes made (very happy with them but at Rp350K each this time the price was Rp100K more than I'd paid in April so less of a bargain but still great for me as its hard to get shoes my size here in NZ), a nice new handbag and a copy of my day planner diary ($NZ156 here in vinyl - made to my design in Bali for $50 in leather using the old ring binder)
Hardy's Supermarkets -in April at the Singaraja branch we got kids shorts / t-shirts sets with names screen-printed on the back while you waited for Rp 25 - 35K each so we called into the Tabanan branch and they had the same stall out the front so we got some more for other family members. We also stocked up here on some pharmaceutics that are 1/8 the price we have to pay here in NZ.
Eating
First the good .....
Bamboo Warung - always a favourite - we ate here several times as its always so cheap and lovely meals.
Warung 69 (Kuta) - we tried this one night and had a blast. We ordered drinks, starters and mains and within 5min they all arrived - yes all together! My BIL couldn't believe the total bill (so cheap!) and now fully understands why we have always moaned about the cost of eating out here in NZ! (BTW the cost of dinner for 4 here including drinks was less than 3 hotdogs from the takeaway caravan at the rugby in NZ!)
Echo Beach - we had enjoyed the Sunday night BBQ here in April but found it too crowded & busy so this time we tried going on Friday night when the band also plays. It was a much better experience - the same amazing atmosphere but much less hectic and the BBQ seafood was much nicer - probably due to the staff not being rushed off their feet! So my advice is to try Fridays!
And the not so good .....
Zanzibar: While the food at Zanzibar was really nice the service was terrible - we went here on the first night hoping to ‘wow' our first timers with the views and experience but goodness the waiting staff were thin on the ground and seemed to do everything they could to avoid catching your eye! We had massages booked for after dinner so having well finished our meal (but plates still not cleared) and with 30 minutes to spare we asked for the bill. When it hadn't come 15mins later we went up to the counter and waited another 5mins before we could get anyone's attention. When we finally got the bill it was a lot more than we had expected and we quickly realised this was because had charged us for two of everything we had ordered e.g. 8 mains for four people etc. You would have thought this would have been an obvious error that they would fix with a quick apology but oh no they tried to argue that's what we had ordered! In the end it was sorted but we didn't arrive at our massages very relaxed!
Bali Beach Shack: In all our trips to Bali we had never been to the Drag Cabaret Show so we decided to give this a go. As it didn't start until 10pm we decided to eat our main dinner earlier then go here for dessert & drinks. Arriving half an hour before the show we were immediately blown away by the very pushy owners who had the wait-staff shoving menu's in our face and wanting to take orders even before we had found a seat! We all ordered a dessert & a drink and were required to pay right after ordering which is not the norm in Bali. Anyway as soon as our drinks got to under halfway the owners (who were patrolling the place like sergeant majors) would send the staff over to try and take more orders. We all ordered another drink and then a few of us got a third but at that point some of us had had enough but they kept asking and asking to the point that this got so annoying and uncomfortable that we eventually left half way through the show. Seriously I must have been asked 20 times in the time we were there! Also I have to say that as funny as the show was it is NOT a family show as they advertise - yes I would consider taking my teenagers there (and I would say that's because I'm fairly liberal) but certainly not younger children. Also I think they could do with a little more planning between the dancers as to who they each choose out of the audience as my husband was taken up on stage for 3 of the 4 segments we stayed for - the first time it was hilarious - the second time he thought hey why me again but went along with it - but the third time he was pretty sick of it and led the dancer on a bit of chase LOL. All in all a good show but spoilt by the pushy owners who had dollar signs in their eyes!
Money
For this trip we took all of our spending money in $NZ cash. In the past we used to load up our Westpac credit card as they didn't charge you a withdrawal fee if you were in credit but unfortunately they stopped this a year ago so we chopped up the card LOL. We used the money changer on Rum Jungle Road (walking from the Baleka foyer they are on the left side towards Jl Legian). Here a link to a photo I took in April of the outside of their building: http://picasaweb.google.com/cyberbirth/BaliApril2009#5338477920125588738
They have always been excellent and very professional. We got a rate of between 6850 and 7000 per $NZ1 which is the highest we have ever got in recent trips to Bali. (In April it was 6500)
We also used an ATM once (the one outside the Permata Bank on Rum Jungle Road which gives Rp3million in one transaction compared to only Rp1million at many others) and got a rate of Rp7090.68 however our NZ bank charges a $NZ7.50 fee so changing cash works out better.
Laundry
As the Mum of three I spend a lot of my time at home doing laundry so having my washing done in Bali is such a treat - and so cheap! We use the laundry in the lane near the Kumala Pantai (turn left at the main gate then turn right down the first alley and walk about 20m) and the service has always been awesome. I love how nicely the clothes come back - they don't even need ironing! And I love the way the washing smells - in fact the smell reminds me of Bali so much that I got them to write down the name of the fabric softener they use and I went down to the Bintang supermarket and bought some! I plan to use this while away in our motor home only so it can be our holiday scent!
Massages etc
I always try on holiday to get a massage everyday. I managed this every day of this trip - except one - but I double up the next day to make it up LOL. We mainly used Eden Green (their 60min Balinese massage is good but the 80mins combo is the best!) and the Briella Spa. We did intend to try a few of the others but they often couldn't take the four of us at once. On the last day my sister and I did a package at the Briella - massage, body scrub, facial, manicure & pedicure - it was divine! Sadly the flower manicure had to go when I got home (nail polish is a germ risk for us health professionals!) but I'm hoping my pretty toenails will last for a few weeks to keep reminding me what a great holiday we had!
Any questions please just ask - and remember this JBR is just my opinion - yours may vary but that's why Bali is so awesome - there is so much choice that everyone should be happy (...)
Cheers
Sheryl (NZ)