I have been a long time reader of the Forum and have been to Bali many times but have never posted a JBR. So here goes. Apologies in advance if it sounds a bit boring. The aim of this holiday was just to relax and that's exactly what we did.
Flew AA from Perth on the 5.50am flight. Left about 15 mins late but arrived on time. From getting off the plane to walking out the door took only 20 mins. Very impressed. Our luggage was first off the carousel - usually we're almost the last.
Got a taxi to the Masa Inn in Poppies 1 for 2 nights. We haven't stayed in central Kuta for many years, these days preferring Legian and Seminyak. We were pleasantly surprised. The hotel is a little oasis in all the hustle & bustle. Dinner the first night was at Poppies restaurant. We have never been there before and loved it. The pina colada in the barong style coconut was the highlight. Dinner the second night was the Secret Garden which was also very good. The days were spent mainly relaxing round the hotel pool or drinking at some of the bars in Poppies 1 and just wandering round the many little lane ways. The bar I remember most was the bar in the front of the Secret Garden. We usually ended up there several times during the day!
The third morning we were up early to be picked up at 6.30am for the trip to Sanur to get the fast boat to Gili T. The staff at the Masa Inn were great. Even though their brekky doesn't start until 8.00am, they asked if we wanted to pre-order and it would be ready at 6. Fantastic service.
I must admit I was a bit worried about the trip to Gili T having read about how rough it can be, but the crossing was really smooth. This was our first trip to Gili T and it won't be our last. Absolutely loved it. We spent 4 nights at Gili Hideaway. Fantastic! 4 little bungalows off the beaten track but still only about a 5 or 10 minute walk to the beach with all the bars and restaurants. On the 2nd day we took a Cidomo ride round the island. We had to get out and walk for a bit through some sandy patches, and also had to stop and have a Bintang to let the horse have a rest. That's our excuse anyway. Fantastic food at the restaurants. The only one I remember the name of was Extrablatt. Really good German food. Every evening was spent sitting at a restaurant on the beach front. Doesn't get much better than that. Snorkelling is great and the island is just so relaxing, we didn't want to leave.
Anyway, after 4 fantastic days on Gili T, it was back to Bali and the next 6 nights were spent at the Kusnadi in Legian. Again, this was our first time at this hotel and were not disappointed. Great value for money. The room had seen better days but it's clean and the hotel is in a very central location. The pool is lovely and the gardens immaculate. We'll be back again in September.
The restaurants we ate in were all our old favourites. Ultimo, Mozarella's, Blue Ocean and Yut'z. Didn't do much shopping - just make-up and a couple of handbags at Matahari. Again, the days were spent not doing very much of anything really.
Back to Perth on the 3.50pm flight and back home by about 9.00pm. Now I'm counting down to September when we'll be back again for only a week. We're taking a couple of newbies with us then so I don't think it will be so relaxing. Until then. . . . . . .