The wife and I hadn't planned to go back to Bali so soon, but the Jetstar 2 for 1 seat deal changed all that. Bought 2 return tix from Brisbane to Bali for $450.00 each. We boarded our flight in Brisbane to go via Darwin which was a 3 hour stop over. Bought our duty free at Darwin airport and boarded flight with no problem. Having flown with Jetstar before I boarded the plane with very low expectations and we were pleasantly surprised with their service.
Arrived late Monday night and stayed at Petri's in Kuta. We've been to Bali 6 times before and we thought it would be fun and cheaper to book accommodation as we went this time. Next day we went to Ubud and found an excellent place to stay called Sagitarius Inn & Bungalows in Monkey Forest Road for $40.00 per night (including breakfast). Would definitely stay there again. Ate some great meals including chilli mud crab at Batan Warang. Best massage and body scrub ever at Sedona Massage and Spa near Hotel Tjampuhan.
Went from there to the Vila Shanti in Sanur for $75.00 a night (inc. b/fast). Excellent value. Had great massages at Ayu Spa down on the beach. Stayed 3 nights and had a great time. From there we caught a boat to Lembongan Island for a planned 2 night stay. Booked into the Moli Moli Resort for $80.00 per night (whenever I checked into accom I only paid for 1 night at a time in case we didn't like the place). Great room with a beautiful view of Mushroom Bay. We hired a motorbike and rode around the island that afternoon, stopping at Dream Beach for a Bintang. Got back to our room at sundown and went to have a shower. The water dribbled out of the shower head at a rate that would barely wet your hand. Not that that really mattered because there was no hot water anyway! Walked down to the bay and ate dinner at Bali Cafe. Entrees came out cold then the mains came out colder. We caught the 9.00am boat back to Sanur the next day.
So we headed to Kuta for some serious shopping. Found a place on the main drag called Hotel Prawita for $45.00 a night. Nice old place with a great pool. Went down to Kuta beach to watch the sunset which was fantastic. Headed back to the hotel around 8pm when the nearby nightclubs turned the volume up and it was kiss goodbye to a good night's sleep. Had delicious meals at Kopi Cafe. Caught the 11pm flight back to Darwin without incident.
Overall had a terrific holiday. I'm always scared of getting Bali Belly and I've found that taking a Lomatil tablet every morning will keep the bug at bay. It seems that whist all Balinese people are very friendly and helpful, they're main mission in life is to separate you from your money (especially the money changers). Lastly what impressed me the most was how much cleaner Bali is from our last few visits. We can't wait to get back.