This was a quick break for hubby, my gorgeous 70 yr old mum in law (1st timer) and myself, as our last time in May was eventful and we wanted to clear the cobwebs of the past (especially for hubby).We arrived at Perth airport nice and early 6.45am for a 10.05 Jetstar flight and checked in got our tickets nice and quickly, we sat down and had breakfast then bought our alcohol and perfume and we were ready to go ...umm not.....we had 2 hours more before we took off. By the time we got on the plane I was so so excited to be leaving all my worries and problems behind ......Bali here I come!!!!!!
We arrived without a problem, went through and paid VOA fairly quickly and before we knew it we were outside and that gush of steamy hot air hit me , ahhhhhh im baaak! Bought our ticket for taxi and before you could say 'Bobs your uncle' (well actually hes my father!) we were in our taxi and had the very short drive to South Kuta to Kuta Royal Complex where we stayed last time just further down the road in the Ulung villa. Our villa manager Spike greeted us and Deni our cleaner who knew we would be very thirsty had our fridge filled with Bintangs and a few tucked into the freezer so that our thirst was quenched with a really cold one hehe. So after having a nice chat about how everyone was we settled into the villa (5 min ) and we were off to have some lunch and walked the path towards the Green Garden Hotel. We were pleasantly surprised that the whole pathway was now paved and I don't know maybe I was so happy to be back ,but I really think its faster walking through there now.
We had a very light lunch , hubby kept on saying 'Ahhh this is the life' as he finished Bintang after Bintang (hmmm he must have been really dehydrated from that looong flight hehe) we walked out and went for a slow walk to get mum used to the atmosphere, she did us proud and took it all in her stride. We then caught a taxi to Legian and unbeknown to the Bintang man (aka as Hubby) we went to see Ketut as Bintang man only bought the clothes he was wearing and a pair of shorts and a singlet top and I wasn't doing any laundry or going anywhere near one! Well he wasn't happy to say the least, but let me tell you I am the best speed shopper .... We managed to buy 3 bags, a top for me and 8 pairs of shorts (4 in the thicker denim type material) and 4 Boardies and 7 singlets and we were out of there in 30 minutes and off to Uncle Norms to get Bintang man 'MORE BINTANG' lol. Thirsty work shopping! We were greeted by everyone with the 'Your back' How are you? Wheres Bob? (yes he really is my father) ect . We settled in, mum and I had the cocktails, Bintang man had more Bintang and that's where it started to take its toll, whilst we were waiting for dinner to come out, hubby couldn't keep his eyes open hahahhaha it was so funny watching him struggle to keep awake, so we ate quickly, listened to a little music and we went home and let hubby sleep off the Bintangs.
DAY 2- I really hate people that don't get hangovers and my Hubby is one of them, he woke up all happy like the night before never happened and was ready for another day . We went to our local waroeng near the exit to our villa and had brunch , they do the nicest Nasi goreng and Mie goreng here as well as spring rolls and their specialty is Ayam Betutu (Chicken) that is if you can handle the smell, everyone is friendly and welcoming. We then went to see Dr Rudy and we both had our teeth cleaned and hubby had an xray , cost $122.33 on our credit card - bargain and my teeth feel so good. Im going back next year to have implants, damn I will have to go for 2-3 weeks! Gotta hate that! I went to Kumara Spa for a massage in the afternoon and it was bliss! After we got home and had a swim and relaxed we headed out to the Pantai Restaurant in Tuban (near Mah Jolly) We have gone back here each time and sadly they have lost me this time, its slowly gotten more and more expensive but the quality of the food just wasn't the same, seafood was dry and calamari was chewy, we ate our meal and went home a bit disappointed.
DAY 3 - So Excited today we organised through our villa manager Spike a driver to take us to St Regis for Sunday Brunch, we left at 10 am, I didn't want to be late! As we were driving into Nusa Dua there were police sirens and a cavalcade of official government cars drove by and yes it was...the president of the USA drove past us as I was waving away (to the embarrassment of hubby) and no I didn't see Julia! Lol
We arrived at St Regis and the view was breathtaking and spectacular .We were greeted warmly and as we were early we decided to look around. There was a wedding that morning as we saw guests arriving and going into the golf carts to obviously go to the beach. We decided to take photos around the water fountains downstairs and we got some wonderful pics. We moved back upstairs and went into the King Cole Bar and the feeling of old world opulence came over me. This was my destiny (well for a few hours anyway he he) We ordered Cosmopolitans and sipped away and listened to the piano man play. Ahhhh life is good! I was super thirsty and had to order another cocktail a passionfruit pulp cocktail, and then another Cosmopolitan (mum and hubby were having their 2nd) we then moved on to the Boneka restaurant and I was in heaven, the table settings, the food OMG the food was a feast for the eyes and stomach, we chose to have the food and drinks package. I wont go into the details of all the food but let me say it was perfect! The wine was superb (Italian) there was plenty of choice for food, so if you're after something different or your celebrating a special occasion id thoroughly recommend it!
I left St Regis soooo full, it was that last dessert I tried to squeeze in (with success let me tell you), we went home to our villa and didn't have dinner (hmm wonder why lol)
I floated around our pool like a beached whale - Life is good!
DAY 4- Well after yesterdays fare we didn't have breakfast either just a cup of coffee, but by lunchtime we were ready to eat. When we stayed at the villas in May our housekeeper was Poppi who had opened her own wareong in the same street as the villas called 'Waroeng Poppi's' (a long walk or quick taxi ride) Jalan Kubu Anyar, we got a taxi and had to pay 50,000 rp as we ordered it (should have gone out on the street and got one) it wasn't a problem, we got there and Poppi greeted us and we asked her to serve up her best dishes, we got an ice cold beer and sat and waitied, it's a small place and early days for her. The food arrived and it was fantastic, very different to what we have had before, we had Nasi Bakar Isi (rice in banana leaf) it had prawns in it, it was full of flavour. Soup Bentut (looked like ox tail) very tasty, Chicken in spices (the tiniest half chicken) yummo, and the best spring rolls ive had in Bali. We will definitely go again. She is open for dinner everyday, you have to ring her for lunch. We walked home it took about 10 min to get back to the villa and relaxed all afternoon, life is so hard sighhhh!
For dinner we went to Gubug Mang Enking Restaurant - we tried to get in on Saturday night (Day 2) but they were booked out. We had a Gubug booked (hut) and there are 2 types one where your feet dangle above the water (you don't fall through as there are lengths of bamboo under) and traditional where you fold your legs. We were initially seated where you fold your legs but they could see that mum (70yrs old) was struggling so after we had sat down they asked if we would like one where our feet would dangle and yes we moved (I found it a bit uncomfy also but ill blame the move on mum lol) Once we settled we ordered watermelon juice and some beer, the juice was warm with ice in it, beers were cold. We ordered a few of the seafood dishes and their array of prawn dishes in a cast iron pan and nasi goreng. The view of the canals and huts is very romantic and a different dining experience but the food was average compared to Poppis for lunch.. We finished early and headed back to Uncle Norms for some music and hubby wanted some hot chips, we got there and got mum to have her first tequila shot and Jaeger bomb, there were a few kids there on their schoolies and they were giving ‘nanna' the thumbs up! We drank too much of everything and got a taxi home when the band finished playing.
Day 5 - Well we woke up realising that our holiday was coming to an end and time was ticking away and we still had to get some dvd's and take mum to explore Jimbaren at lunch time which we hadn't done before. Poppi came by and gave us some chocolate brownies that were yummo and went really well with my coffee. We then drove to Jimbaren and went looking to find the waroengs where forumites suggested but couldn't find them, so we went to the last restaurant in the line up of main restaurants (away from airport) and had snapper and prawn dishes which were lovely and service was great! Hubby went for a walk up the beach and found the waroengs we were looking for, so we will have to go next time. We left Jimbaren with a happy, sad feeling and went back to Kuta to buy the dvd's we needed and went home to pack our bags and get ready to go to the airport in the evening. Hubby had a whinge that he didn't get to have a looong relaxing day and the holiday wasn't long enough, he grabbed some Bintangs from the fridge and went in search of some locals to drown his sorrows. I went to check our itinery to see what time the plane was leaving and found out ...ohhhh noooo I got the day wrong, we were leaving TOMORROW! I told mum that I made a mistake, and she couldn't stop laughing at me. I was in panic mode as we are foster parents and our foster child was coming home the next day as were our 2 dogs, I walked out to find hubby and there he was drinking his Bintang and I told him I had good news and bad news and to say he was ecstatic is an understatement, he went back to the villa hopped into the pool with another Bintang and said 'Ahhh Life is Good!' Me? I went onto the Internet and sent our emergency emails in an hour I had my answers that all was ok and then I hopped into the pool with a bourbon and coke to relax, he he. Later that evening we went back to the Green Garden Hotel for a light dinner which was fantastic as always and listened to the band till we decided to walk home.
DAY 6 - Wow this really is the last day! We went to the local waroeng near the villas and had brunch. Then went to Kumara spa and had a massage, hubby and mum had the body scrub and we meandered our way back to the villa and hopped into the pool for most of the afternoon. We had a power failure for most of the afternoon so had to pack quickly whilst we could still see and we went to the airport early, said goodbye to Spike, Deni and Yuli. Everything went smoothly at the airport we sat down and had a light dinner and flew home. Arrived at our doorstep at 3.30 am and couldn't find the house keys, emptied every single bag and no sign of any keys (2 weeks to date and no keys here or in bali lol) Thank god, my hubby is agile and he went up and broke into the house through the roof. Our house alarm went off but he managed to disarm it before the neighbours came out! Yay we could sleep inside! So now planning another trip next year! Thanks for reading!