Just back this week from another lovely 10 days in Bali.
Hope I don't come across as a whinger but I'm afraid the Legian, Seminyak areas of Bali have lost their gloss for us. The traffic is just too much to bear. It puts me off going anywhere further than I can walk as it's just not worth sitting in a taxi for ages. The traffic along JL Raya Seminyak was made worse by a few days of pipe works along the side of the road.
I think next time we'll try for a mix of Sanur, Amed and somewhere different....maybe north west or one of the islands. Enough whinging!! Onto some highlights.
We went with another couple and had a three bedroom villa called Taman Villa. It was on a little gang right next door to The Haven on Jl Raya Seminyak...just round the corner from Double Six. The villa was lovely. The swimming pool is shared with four villas but there was never anyone there. We just went through a garden gate into the pool area.
The villa was a short walk to Bintang so was handy for that but few restaurants within 'easy' walking distance. I'll mention a few we went to later.
Two activities we did for the first time were real highlights.
Four of us did a day trip with C-Bali. What a find this was! We have done Baik Bike twice and loved it but were attracted to C-Bali as it offered small groups and canoeing on Lake Batur as well as the cycling. I love their philosophy too....Cycle, Canoe, Clean and Conserve.
The canoeing on Lake Batur was beautiful and it was a different perspective from the usual one from the top of the ridge of Mt Batur. The cycling was easy and if you've done a bike ride in Bali before, it was much easier than that as it's shorter and there are many stops for points of interest.
Rachel and Sibran live and work in Bali and have a fantastic insight into Balinese village life. Even though we had been to Bali many times we still learnt heaps from them. They also do some great work within their community which you would be helping with by doing one of their trips. Just google C-Bali or email me if you'd like more info. Highly recommended!
My other highlight was swimming with the dolphins at Dolphin Lodge. The pens are a five minute boat ride off Serangan Island near Sanur.
I must say I was a little dubious about swimming with dolphins as I didn't want to encourage captivity of wild dolphins for the pleasure of tourists but after being at Seaworld in Queensland in June, I was interested to see any differences in the treatment of the dolphins and what the interaction involved. We had bought my dolphin loving daughter a swim with the dolphins at Seaworld for her 30th birthday. It cost us $275 and the actual interaction was about 20 minutes and did include a DVD. Luckily for her she was the only participant that day...they can have up to 12 people in a group and she did enjoy it.
In comparison the dolphin swim in Bali was a ‘whole' experience. I was impressed by the professional manner in which it was run. It cost $69 and included a pick up from our hotel. On arrival you are welcomed and given a cold towel and drink and sat at a table to wait for other participants. A life jacket is hung on the back of your chair whilst waiting. We were then given a run down of do's and don'ts and taken to the boat. After a 5 minute boat ride we were split into groups of six and taken to a pen with a trainer and two other guys who stay above and take everyone's cameras for the photo opportunities.
We had Richard and his dolphin Pluto. I have no reason to doubt what he told us and was reassured to hear they let the dolphins out regularly and they come back in the evening. He explained that Pluto would be very stressed if he was penned up all the time...fair enough!! He said Pluto once disappeared for 2 months.
Pluto was rescued from a fishing net when he was very young and Richard spent many months gaining his trust and then training him. We spent about 45 minutes in the water with Pluto, showing off his tricks and learnt a great deal about dolphins as well.
On returning to the Lodge we were given a towel, there is a shower and change rooms and we were then offered a hot or cold drink and driven back. The photos were fantastic and a lasting memory of a positive experience. Of course it's not ideal to have wild creatures in captivity but sometimes in order to save these animals they need to be looked after as they have lost their natural instincts and been humanized due to their rescue. As a fun and educational experience I'd highly recommend it. Book early though!
We didn't do much shopping. We did visit Ketut's and wow....it was so busy there was a queue out into the lane! You can't blame people.....I bought a great sundress there and when passing another time decided to buy another. She has sold out of them! So I tried to buy a couple from another seller down Garlic Lane and I couldn't get anywhere near the price I bought it at Ketuts. I was willing to pay quite a bit more to avoid another visit to Ketut's but the price she wanted was way too high.....so another visit to Ketut's was in order later in the week...again it was packed but I got my dresses!
I did have a king size doona made at Crazy Donny's. I'm really pleased with it and it only cost about $45AUD.
Some of the restaurants we went to included:
Café Seminyak - breakfast, okay but sitting with the traffic noise and fumes was a bit off putting.
Panterei - we'd had an uninspiring visit to this place last time but as it was one of the closest to our villa thought we try it out again after our late night arrival. We were pleased with our meals and quite enjoyed them in spite of the hit and miss service.
One of our party had a funny tummy so didn't want to venture too far so we went again later in the week only to be disappointed. My sister's meal was so salty it was inedible and when mentioned this to the waitress, she smiled and said 'thank you'....English not her strong point! When we said she should complain again she said if she thought they'd care she may have! We won't be back.
Lanai - very busy beach restaurant and our meals were fine; service was good.
Tekor - again on that beach strip. Meals were fine.
La Lucciola - an old favourite for weekend breakfast and it didn't disappoint.
Rumours - meal was great but I must be getting old...it was way too noisy and dinner conversation was difficult without yelling...not my idea of fun!
Nirvana - lovely meal and met the owner, Neil, who enjoyed a chat!
Queens Tandoor - Yummy Indian meal....always good and service exceptional.
Café Moka - OMG how much food can you eat? Stopped for lunch after the dolphin swim and decided on a sandwich as we didn't want a great big bread roll or baguette. They came out on huge foccacia like rolls...we should have shared! Delicious and took the other half home to hubby.
Went there for breakfast a couple of times and found them very generous with the bread and pastries. Great coffee too. Frequented by many French so it feels like a little bit of Paris in Bali!
C-Bali - When we read the spiel about the trip it mentioned breakfast and lunch in Kintamani. After our experiences with meals at Kintamani we didn't hold out too much hope for anything much but our meals were beautiful. They were provided by a small hotel on the shores of Lake Batur....Hotel Segara where C Bali is based. Breakfast was the usual eggs etc but lunch was delish. It was a plate made up of nasi goreng, mie goreng, chicken satays, roasted peanuts and a small freshwater fish from the lake. Sorry I can't remember the name but it was a beautiful sweet, white meat. The whole meal far exceeded our expectations!!!
Pearl - The highlight of this trip. A beautiful French meal for the price of a counter meal at our local! Jeremy, the chef, comes out to each table for a chat. My husband was a bit doubtful about getting enough to eat so we asked Jeremy which dish would satisfy his appetite and he wasn't wrong. He had lamb shanks but not your everyday on the bone lamb shanks...the meat was layered with eggplant and stacked; my husband declared it delicious (and sufficient). I had the barramundi and sis had the duck. All beautiful. Desserts were to die for! Do yourselves a favour........
I did say we went with another couple...but at the last minute my sister asked if she could join us and use the 3rd bedroom in our villa. She required some dental work and was quoted over $6,000 at home. She contacted Dr Rudy and could get the work done and a holiday in Bali for less that $3,000.
The day we went on our C-Bali trip she went to see Dr Rudy. He advised her she did not require crowns and her teeth were fine!! She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I'd hate to be her dentist when she goes back. She is only kicking herself she didn't get another opinion at home. But hey, can't complain about getting a holiday in Bali even if she did feel guilty about it.
So there you have it. My husband wants to return early next year for some dental work so we'll be on the lookout for some cheap airfares....not via Singapore....but that's a whole other story!