I don't often post a JBR, but always keep an eye on the forum and would like to pass on some info this time to try to repay the many good tips and enjoyable reads I have had in the past. We are a couple in our 50s from Adelaide and have travelled to Bali on a regular basis over many years; we were there 17 - 27 January 2014.
For the first five days we stayed at Bali Agung Village. What a lovely little place this is! We were not expecting too much for $58 per night - but were pleasantly surprised. Firstly, although we had only noted our Flight Number details under the 'comments' section when booking on an internet site, when we arrived through the new airport there was a sign with my name on it - and yes it was a free transfer. Aha we thought, this is a good omen for the start of our holiday! (most of the other, and more expensive, hotels we have stayed at have not offered this service). The new arrivals terminal doesn't have that Bali feel about it, but it was ok I guess, just a big hall with a flat roof, I thought I was going to see the wavy roof that I could see when flying in. The line to immigration was very long as quite a few planes had arrived at the same time, but that is just luck of the draw. No air bridges for Virgin; we were bussed to the terminal. VOA was $30 Australian.
The gardens of the Bali Agung Village are so beautifully maintained; the gardeners have a real pride in their work. Actually all the staff, from gardener up to manager, were unfailingly pleasant , polite, and some very chatty. This was a major plus for us. Another major plus was that it was so quiet at night; being down a little lane we heard no traffic noises at all at night, and in the morning, not even a rooster. The pool area is lovely and the breakfast with a pleasant open seating area overlooking the pool was good too.
We just had a standard room (they also have villas) which was quite adequate; we didn't spend that much time inside. There was a lovely balcony area and the WiFi worked well. Ok, the towels were a little grey (when we arrived the towels were fashioned into elephants, complete with stick-on eyes, so I suppose the grey colour was quite appropriate - who has seen a white elephant?) and the bathroom is quite tired, but this didn't worry us at all - we were paying for 2* not 5. The place has a real ‘Balinese village' feel to it so is very appropriately named, once inside the compound it felt like we were in Ubud rather than Legian/Seminyak. The doors (and windows) are those typical wooden Balinese ones that shut with a timber batten on the inside, and they had a padlock and a bottom latch on the outside to secure when you went out. This does make it quite dark inside, and if you open the windows or doors you let in the bugs, but that was not the problem we had with the door. One morning we found ourselves locked in! We couldn't work out how this happened until I poked my head out the little shutter window and saw that, somehow, the bottom latch had slipped down and locked us in. I thought about climbing out the window (which would have been possible -but not too glamorous) and then decided to wait for the security guard (they have excellent security) who walks regularly around the compound on his beat, always with a Selamat Pagi, Soiree, Malan, depending on the time of day, or just a kind nod. Anyway, I got impatient to wait for the guard to make his round trip, so did the obvious thing (which funny enough wasn't at all obvious to me at the time) which is ring Reception. I had barely opened my mouth and they said, 'No Problem, Security Coming', and he was there in 1 minute flat. I think people get locked in their rooms a lot because Reception knew what the problem was before I said it. I thought it was funny (others might not though).
You know how you always wake up early the first morning of your holiday? (with or without rooster) Well no exception here, on the first day we woke up at 6am and were ready for our beach walk 10 minutes later. Another thing is when you travel with just two is that you don't have to worry about what you look like or that you wear the same thing every day, and you don't have to wait for anyone else to get ready. We knew from past experience that the beach on this side of the island would be filthy, so were not surprised at all by all the rubbish, mainly plastic, washed up on the beach. Some Balinese say the rubbish comes from Java but, correct me if I'm wrong, the problem arises with all the rubbish the Balinese chuck into the rivers, and then it rains and washes out to the ocean, and then the tide brings it back to the beach. A problem without an easy solution, and a whole other recent thread.
We had a companion on our first morning beach walk - a happy little Bali dog. As we were walking back from about the W Resort, I saw woman walking towards us, a little dog at her heels, looking at her adoringly every couple of steps. I was wondering how this woman could have her own dog in Bali as she very much looked like a tourist. Anyway, once we passed each other, the little dog left the woman (without a backwards glance) and started to follow me. All the way back down to Double 6, he shadowed me. I would stop, he would stop. I would start going the other way, so did he. As we walked back towards Legian, the various other dogs on the beach who had their own territories would come down and challenge my little dog - he would crouch down in the submissive position, tail under body, to say 'hey I'm just having a walk with my new friends, I mean no harm'. And so on we went for a kilometre or two, and then, as suddenly as he had adopted me, he left. No backwards glance goodbye, no thanks for the company, he just took off. He left the beach and went to the road on his merry way; morning exercise for the day completed. I was quite hoping the following day that I would see him again, but sadly no.
The clientele at Bali Agung were mostly European, actually mostly Dutch; but a good mix between young and old. One couple fascinated us; I think they were French (we knew they were not Dutch because we can spot a Dutchwoman a mile away - see report to follow on Sanur) - we certainly understood their body language! They were both usually dressed in long white pants and long white shirts with sheakers. She was say late 30's (I thought younger, but husband thought not) and he was bald with a very shiny head (but reasonably fit looking) and at least 20 years older. So, the odd thing was that she, constantly, and I mean every single time we saw her, had headphones on and was on her iPhone or iPad (and often both at the same time). She was even texting on the iPhone in the pool (I was really hoping she would drop it in), whilst walking to her room and whilst eating. I know it was mainly Facebook messaging, because of course I was nosy and had to look over her shoulder and see what was taking up her holiday. Anyway, she and her partner (at a pinch it could have been her father but I don't think so) when they were together say at breakfast, continually argued (she still had the headphones on and device in hand), and then there would be some large hand gestures and he would storm off to his room, and she would stay by the pool - or in the pool - and continue on in a world of her own with music and social media.
In Seminyak (this area is almost Legian - we could walk to Double 6 in about 15 minutes) we had a routine of spending our mornings walking the beach, then breakfast, a little shopping, swim and then dinner. Which brings me to the food. We often travel with another couple, or a couple of couples, and there is always that thing of ‘where shall we eat' , ‘what time shall we eat', then walking and looking and having hard time to come to a communal decision. So this time, being just us, I made a short wish list of places to eat and there was no-one to consult or satisfy but myself (and my husband who is happy for me to make all decisions relating to food) At home: Me: 'what would you like for dinner tonight honey? He: 'I don't care darling, whatever you like' (yes whatever you like, as long as you plan it, buy it, cook it, serve it, and then clean it up - sound familiar? Actually I am being unfair - and he will read this at some stage - he is the best BBQ cook ever (truly!).
I had read up on TripAdviser and had picked out 5 restaurants for our 5 nights in Seminyak. Only made it to 4 though as we had one night off when hubby stayed in (the bathroom) and I had cheese and biscuits and beer on the balcony the day he was sick. (There was rampant gastro through our place, I was lucky to escape it, and thankfully it was only like a 12 or 24 hour thing - I don't blame the food or hygiene at all, it's just something so easily spread and can happen anywhere). The night hubby was sick was actually a good night for me; there was a bit of gentle rain and I quite enjoyed just sitting outside quietly, and I had a little cat for company.
Back to the food - Our first night's dinner was at Ginger Moon on Laksmana (Eat) Street. We were lucky enough to snag a table outside at the front and could watch the passing parade of people, cars and motorbikes. The dumplings and crispy pork belly were standouts. Opposite was a place called The Kitchen Club - it was totally empty, whilst Ginger Moon was totally packed. We felt so sorry for the surfeit of staff waiting, and waiting, at the front for customers. And it was totally empty again a couple of nights later.
On our first visit to Bali many moons ago when our kids were little, we had heard (not via the internet, which was still a relatively new thing, but via word of mouth) that the most fancy place to eat for a special occasion was La Lucciola. Back then we organised some transport for our two families which was a large kijang type vehicle, open at the back as I recall, and had no idea where we were going, only that it was past the (even then) busyness of Kuta, in the countryside somewhere. We bumped along a narrow dirt road, the kids in the open back of the vehicle, rice paddies or fields on either side, until we came to a big parking lot near the beach (it felt we had been driving for ages) and then we were so excited to see this wonderland, even lit up with fairy lights then, which was La Lucciola. I remember that when we had finished our meal, and hadn't thought to arrange for our driver to wait for us, that we had to pay about three times as much to get back to Kuta, as there was no option but to take one of the opportunist taxis waiting there. A couple of years later we went to La Luc again, and on that narrow dirt road was, of all things, a Greek restaurant! Still in the middle of no-where; and we had a wonderful meal, and the owner was Greek. Of course that long-stayer is Mykonos, although we haven't visited it again (it is now run by a Dutchman, I think, and not so very good Greek in my opinion (hubby is Greek) - although the advertised lamb chops ‘the best in Bali' when we walked past one evening nearly tempted us.
Anyway, to continue with the food.
Once a trip we go to Rumours (Eat Street) and I almost always have the same meal; tuna spring rolls, lobster spaghetti and, to finish, the cream brûlée. Unfortunately the brûlée let me down this time (texture too thick and gluggy) but the rest of the meal saved the day. Hubby had a great steak. We'll come back here on another trip for sure. Good value too.
Had read heaps about Merah Putih in Seminyak so was excited to visit with great expectations; it has only been open 8 months. The building and decor is indeed fantastic and a bit difficult to describe (google pics if interested ). Almost cathedral-like with towering roof and transparent canvas? columns which collect rainwater and purify it for use in the kitchen etc. Apparently it's spectacular when it rains and the water trickles down the columns. Incidentally, although we knew it was wet season, it only rained a couple of mornings, and most nights for only an hour or so. So we were very lucky with the weather and it didn't disrupt our holiday at all, except for a bike ride, but that's another story. Anyway, whilst the meals were all beautifully presented, I think they all actually looked better than they tasted. Not really that memorable (and not a cheap meal for Bali, at just under AUS$100 for 2 cocktails, beer, 2 entrees and 2 mains). I did however have my best drink of the trip - an expresso martini, which was so yummy, my mouth is drooling as I type .
From Tripadviser reviews I was also looking forward to visiting Sarong in Seminyak - and this did not disappoint. The fact that I can remember every dish we had shows how memorable it was for me. We had fancy scallops with crispy duck, the most delish naan bread, an amazing melt in the mouth waggu curry, blackbean crusted barramundi, pilaf rice and we shared a gooey chocolate cake with ice cream for dessert. With Mohitos and beer, the bill was just over $100 - this was easily the best meal of the trip, and also the most expensive. If I was on death row (hopefully unlikely), this meal is what I would order. It was easy to book (necessary) over the ‘net and they followed up with a confirmation email the day before, and then even a follow-up email after the event to seek feedback. The standard of service was exceptional.
We ordered Bluebird taxis from Bali Agung to get to Laksmana (30,000rp min fare when ordered) as the quick way to get there was too dark and too narrow to walk at night. There is a little short cut road from Bali Agung to the back of the Oberoi Hotel - and for about 400metres the road is one way only. We were worried that two cars travelling opposite directions would get stuck, and that one would have to reverse back, but on the second trip worked out that there is a 'lookout' at each end of the narrow bit and they have walkie talkies to let drivers know whether to wait or whether the coast is clear. These guys are organised and paid by the local community.
We were sad to leave Seminyak and our little village - but had our next stop to look forward to - Sanur. Apparently I can't pronounce it properly as sometimes the comeback was, ah you mean you are now going to Saah - Nuurrrrr.
JBR Part 2 - Sanur - to follow