Okay apologies but I have been sucked back into "normal" life and been very busy catching up on the bookwork, housework etc so haven't had time to post final JBR bits! I reckon the bali blues hit the first tiem you have to cook dinner or do the dishes!! Ok here's my last ramblings!!
BALI ZOO
Well we went here just as a spur of the moment thing when the other 3 adults in the group were ill (tying a rope from themselves to the toilet and not venturing beyond it). Myself teenage neice and daughter were not looking forward to a day at the hotel so ventured out the front hired a driver and off we went to the zoo. As a day filler inner it was fine but having been to the safari park already this was a let down. Yes you can see all the animals but I was not impressed with the way the lions are made to climb the wire to get chunks of meat offered on sticks by the paying tourists.
My 4yr old certainly enjoyed the day as did we all but I doubt I'd go again! Word of warning on the petting zoo in there- one of the ponies is FERAL- kicked at us and kept nipping at us! I think it wasn't happy we had no food for him?
WATERBOM
Okay I'll be brief as everyone has heard tonnes about this. It is a must do as it is great fun for all ages but very expensive. We went in between Xmas and New years sometime and it was extremely busy so had to wait 30mins in line for the slides. I certainly wouldn't go again in peak times!
SHOPPING
We mainly shopped in the immediate area around the Dynasty- just across the road is Diannes and up the first alley across the road to the left is Rikas. These are both fixed price and are really good! We asked Ketut at Rikas to get 3XL shirts for my hubby in lighter colours and just went back and picked up the next day. Both these shops are fantastic! We also did some bartering in the lanes nearby and I found it great fun- especially when they start with a price which is ridiculous! A good idea is to visit fixed price shops before bartering so you have a general idea of what to pay. We paid too much the very first day at Lulus Big Bum Big Tit shop on beach in front of Dynasty- yes that is the name of the shop!!
We also went to the Discovery Mall where I found the prices to be much the same as Oz- we dashed up there the very first arvo we arrived when I realised I hadn't packed my bathers??? OMG! How could I have left them behind- cost me about $65 AUD for the mistake!
Did a trip out to Carrefour as we'd heard they had a good camera selection- looks like somewhere I'd like to go back to for a girl look but this day I was with hubby and BIL who HATE shopping and were just on a mission to find a good camera. Talked to a guy in Kodak shop there who said Cannon had a display with specials in the Galleria so off we went. They had the camera hubby was after for 7 million 800k rp with lens memory card etc. Cannon 500d EOS- so just under a thousand AUD and have since seen them here for 1500 without the card and bag.
BABYSITTER
I was very reluctant/wary about using babysitters- you know the whole leaving your kids with strangers thing. A lady I know here had given me the number of their nanny who they use every trip(they own a timeshare and visit 3 times a year) so contacted her on arrival and she was already busy for just about our entire stay. This put me off but in the 2nd week we decided to use one of the hotel's sitters just for a few hours in arvo whilst we went shopping during their sleep times.
I WISH I'd done it from the start- Dewi was so good with the kids- they loved her and she loved them etc! we then had her for several afternoons whilst we went shopping or swimming and never a problem!
A Big THANK YOU to all the forum users for sharing info- we gathered so much useful info from here!
As a first timer to Bali I like the rest of you have fallen in love with the place and can't wait to go back! Luckily i had already planned a gilrs trip for Oct- me and 8 others including mum and my youngest sister. We will be staying in Seminyak then in villas.
We are also already planning another family trip for next year- we are thinking March- would appreciate your feedback on what it's like there at that time of year! What's the weather like then and is it less busy?
Thanks for reading!!
Jas