Thank you forumites for the great advice given to us before we went to Bali.
Have been back over 2 weeks now and this will be my first JBR so bear with me.
Great 3 weeks in Bali. Stayed at Legian for first week, then up to Ubud for 3 days, Mara River Safari Lodge for 1 night, then back at Legian for another 10 days.
The highlight of Ubud for me was visiting the Birthing Centre and seeing the wonderful work that is done there. It was a very humbling experience to see babies being born in such simple surroundings.
Mara River Safari was a standout experience for my husband who thought waking up to the sound of lion's roaring was something out of this world. The beauty of staying there meant that we could walk around freely in the morning and take advantage of being able to take photo's without anyone around. Looking out our balcony and seeing Rhino's and Zebra's was fantastic. I truly recommend staying at Mara River.
Legian was great. We didn't make it to the beach as we met new friends around the pool and ran out of time during the day to make it to the beach. A new experience for us not going to the beach, but time with friends and a Bintang or five seemed too good leave.
We ate at some beaut places, Mozzarella, Yutz's, Flying Piano, many right in Legian that I can't remember. All good food and the standard of service and quality of food is a far cry from my first trip in 1986!!!
Shopping was the best. After visiting Ketut's in Garlic Lane, it gave a good indication of prices. I was able to better her prices in the Legian Markets and also in Kuta - but at the same time, depending on the sellers, also gave in - why barter for the sake of $20k when it's a lot of money to them and less than a coffee for us.
Balinese people are so warm and friendly and inviting. Very appreciative of anything given to them and the lipsticks and makeup I had been saving from my samples went a long way to making them happy.
Only made it to 1 full massage and 2 foot massages - gosh where did the time go all day. Oh yeh, relaxing, reading, talking to new found friends, drinking, eating....gosh...only so many hours in the day to do all that. But that's what being in Bali is about....taking time out in paradise.
Looking forward to next year...wish it was tomorrow.