Background
Mum(that's me), Mr 14 and Mr 17 are off on a Budget Bali adventure. I am 5 weeks post op after knee surgery and have only been able to walk without crutches for 2 weeks (the first of those weeks was more like a Quasimodo shuffle than a walk haha) I am a bit concerned as to how the old knee will hold up to the Bali footpaths (or lack thereof), but hey, it's Bali and taxis are cheap :)
This is Mr 14's first trip, Mr 17's second and my 10th, but the first time I have been on a strict budget. I booked super cheap AA flights back in April to go to a friends wedding during the Sept/Oct school holidays, then 2 days later injured my knee at work and have been off work since then. While WC covers my basic pay there is no overtime and I was relying on this to pay for our accommodation and spending money. With the invaluable advice of people on the forum and the many contributors to hotel reviews on TA we have had a fantastic Budget Holiday :)
Flight & Arrival
We departed Perth on AA's 1.30 pm flight which was delayed by about half an hour, so left around 2, on 29 Sept and arrived in paradise at around 5.30 pm. We had row 6 seats so were amongst the first off the plane which was great, by the time I had hobbled to immigration half the rest of the plane had passed us, but as we were the only arrival it was only a short 10 minute wait for immigration and as we didn't have checked bags were out of the airport ahead of most of the other passengers to be greeted by the smiling face of our driver from Bali Sorgawi Hotel for our complimentary transfer.
Bali Sorgawi Hotel
What a find this friendly, central little place is, It is situated down a long (about 100m) driveway off Jalan Legian, almost opposite Legian Paradiso. With the price @ US$43 per night, including cooked breakfast for the 3 f us, I wasn't expecting anything flash, but was pleasantly surprised. Our room appeared to have been freshly painted and redecorated, was clean and smelt lovely and the airconditioner worked a treat. There was a kettle provided in the room with plenty of complimentary tea, coffee and sugar which is something that is rare in anywhere but 4 + star in Bali and I found that a nice touch. The bathroom was a little strange though, it was like a super duper sized loo with a shower, but it was really clean and served our purpose with soap and shampoo provided. Whilst the room was rather small for the 3 of us it fit the bill nicely and far exceeded my expectations and we really only slept in it, or the boys took a break and watched DVD's while Mum was out getting massages or doing Mum things :) Breakfast was limited, but more than adequate for the price we paid, choice of eggs 2 ways, nasi goreng or about 4 different types of noodles with tea/coffee or juice and fruit. There was also limited room service which we didn't use, but the prices were really cheap. Spent a bit of time in the pool, but not much, it is more than adequate for the size of the hotel and appeared to be well cared for. I would happily stay here again, it's nice and close to shopping/restaurants, very quiet at night thanks to the long driveway and is superb value for money, though I wouldn't have more than 2 people in a standard room. They do have family rooms, which are twice the size of standard but it was not suitable for us as they are all upstairs and I couldn't do stairs.
This is getting really long, so I'll post it now and follow up soon with restaurants, tours and other stuff a bit later for anyone who is interested.