This is my first JBR so I hope I don't bore you with too much Bali holidaying,and excuse any mistakes.
We arrived in Beautiful bali for the 4th time with 12 family members and it was so great to be back .Just like home .Got to our hotel in Tuban The Dynasty and straight to the bar for drinks and tea .It was my husbands birthday and to his surprise a cake came out for him and happy birthday was sung by everyone. Then another cake came out and happy anniversary was sung to my sister-in-law and her husband for their 30th wedding anniversary.
This was my sister-in-law and her husbands 1st time in bali. It took us a couple of years to talk them into coming with us ,so it was really good that the Dynasty made them feel so special.
Went shopping the first day as you do cause you need something to wear while you're there of course and the sister-in-law was in heaven.
Took them white water rafting where we thought there was only 60 stairs back up but unfortunately for the legs there just happened to be 240 stairs. Was not happy when my husband has bad hips and we didn't think he'd make it ,but never mind him it was me and the sister that struggled.(S#@! So unfit). But besides that, what a fun fun day we all had.
Couple of days later we all went on the bike ride down the mountain and had another wonderful day,the sightseeing was just beautiful and lunch at the end was really yummy.Unfortunately my 14 year old son got Bali Belly and slept in the back of the van all day and never seen anything which he was really disappointed in ,so, we'll have to go again just for him.
2 days later decided to go to Uluwatu for the scenery and sunset but when we got there it was really packed so our driver took us to a place called Blue Point which we had never heard of and I must say it was just magnificent to see, the view was just breathtaking and really worth the trip ,which I might add is near where my nephew decided to propose to his girlfriend earlier that day and of course she said yes.
After a week at Dynasty we left for a the Jayakarta to try a different place as the Dynasty is getting quite expensive now and so we knew we were down grading to a 3* but wasn't really impressed with the place as it is terribly run down and in bad need of renovating.I know not everyone agrees with me but everyone has different opinions .Thats what makes the world go round right! We are glad we stayed there as we would of always wondered but wouldn't stay again. Anyway it didn't stop us from having a great time as it is a perfect location and the beach bars are just the greatest as is the restaurants near by.
At the beginning of the week we went straight to the tailor as my husband wanted a suit made up and I wanted a formal dress for my daughter made up After reading on this forum we went to Janoko in Poppies 2 for the suit and they sent us to Lizza's just up the road in Poppies 2 for the formal dress.Both tailors did a magnificent job considering they made the dress from a photo and I just took my daughters measurements from home .When we got home and tried the dress on her it looked stunning. These people are so talented it amazes me.
We took our mum to a Mystical High Tea in Seminyak for her birthday, as I have never been to a high tea before I didn't know what to expect but I have to say it was well worth it. The food here was so delicious I could understand why it was packed.
Couple of days later we went on 3 Island speed boat tour and again another great day. The water was so crystal clear it made the snorkeling perfect. It is a real eye opener for the kids to see how some of the Balinese really live on some of these islands and to see how happy the kids are was good for our kids to see .
Next the guys always wanted to go deep sea fishing, this was the one big thing they were looking forward to so they organized to go with someone just off poppies 2 .Well I must say it would have been better and cheaper for us to go to the fish market as the 14year old son got sea sick,( even after taking sea sick tablets),That aside not one of the guys caught a fish ,not a bite or even a nibble all day, The food was cold and the bottled water was hot .Needless to say the were pretty peeved by the end of the day. For the price they paid for this trip it was quite disgusting how the day ended up, so that was an expensive lesson learnt that day. But we girls had another great day shopping, so not all was lost
Well time for all the family to leave us and my husband and I get 4 days to ourselves,so we treated ourselves to a luxury hotel over at the Novotel Benoa and I gotta say WOW! This place is just beautiful,we never expected it to be this good. Thanks to Wharfie for your advice,we booked a beach cabana and we were in heaven.We would sit on our own private sun lounge and I'm sure people walking by would think we were rich but far from the truth as we were just really lucky to get in on the asia wide sale and got 50% off the room.The staff here were just lovely people and treated us like we were really special.We had never been over this side of the island before and it was lovely.It was so different from Tuban and Legian and was nice to go and just unwind and relax.
My favourite restaurants were ;Garis Garis, Febris ,Bali Garden , Indian in Tuban, Kori, Zanzibar, Lanai, Seaside, Indonational ,Gracie Kelly Pub, just to name a few.
My Sister and brother-in-law who were anti bali are now bali lovers and are already planning to go back next year just as we knew they would.
So thankyou to all the formumites for all the help,advice , stories and taking the time to answer questions, you helped us have a great holiday.
Keep up the good work.