Having read many JBR's in my time and not having done one I feel a little guilty.
However this one contains nothing to do with spas, massages, tattoos, high end shopping or high end eateries.
VOA - escorted
My original booking with AA was for 0830 arrival however I take it due to lack of bookings on this flight it was cancelled and I was shifted to 1410 arrival.
Due to three other flights arriving within half an hour of mine I decided to go for the fast track VOA. It was a very pain free experience as you bypass all the queues and they even carried my bag out to the waiting car that I had also booked thru them which was just in the drop off area and not the multi story car park.
The only problem was that the guy wanted to charge an amount greater than what had been quoted by email. After a little discussion we agreed on an amount as this was fine by me as I am always happy to reward good service. BTW escorted VOA AUD 20 plus 75K for transport to Masa. Actual VOA was AUD 32.
Hotel
After reading many reports on that hotel I decided to give it a go as the fat man down the lane had put their prices up since my visit last September. The hotel is well maintained and they were painting out some of the rooms and building whilst I was there.
The only drawback was the very flaky and slow Wi-Fi which I could not access from inside my room 208 which is by the back pool. Sometimes it took over half an hour to send an email with drop outs in the process. It has one of the best choices of breakfast I have seen for awhile.
Arrival of the bogan family.
In the first three days of the week I was there most people would just relax in the pool and with young kids learning to swim. Then the bogans roll up with the two teenage kids who spent most of the time doing bombies in the pool. Mrs bogan had one of those voices that only had one setting - talking (I use that term loosely) to her two sons who would in turn shout back. You almost felt after awhile that you were living their lives. Anyway after a couple of days they left and you could see others were no longer talking thru their teeth.
Car rental
I had arranged prior to arrival thru the same company I did the escorted VOA with to supply a car with driver for a day. It was confirmed and agreed at a rate 325K for up to ten hours and the driver was to meet me in the lobby at 0830. After waiting for forty minutes no one had showed up and I was later told that the driver had got his dates wrong and that they would offer me free transport to the airport on departure.
I also checked with another company who had a similar vehicle which was AUD 33 per day but it seemed to be fully booked until eternity.
I just wonder if they advertise these low rates to get you in what we call bait advertising as the normal rate seemed to be around 450 to 500K from others I spoke to.
Rafting
Did rafting on Telaga Waja along with a group of 54 Japanese students and seven westerners. One student who looked like a mummy's boy fell out of his raft and put on a royal performance when we dragged him into our raft but the two Japanese in my raft assured us that he was actually OK. I am sure there is a story there for his mummy.
Mountain bike tour.
I did one last September which I enjoyed but decided to try another company. The latest one felt more like a race with people pedalling madly downhill rather than coasting.
One guy would either race ahead or come racing from behind and pass people on the inside. Apparently he was waving to some people and ran off the road and crashed into a parked motorcycle. If you happen to be reading this and your mother has not told you that you are an idiot then I just have.
Food
As long as I feel full I am happy so most meals I had at night were at the Bamboo Corner and thanks to some one alerting me to the fact that there are tables out the back. It feels a bit like a Singapore restaurant thirty years ago with the house cat eating a piece of chicken off the tiled floor. Food however was very good.
Also liked the pillow buns from Matahari Kuta square where six buns were around 10K.
Other trips
Went to Ubud for a day trip on the shuttle bus and to Lembongan for the day. It has been about thirteen years since I was last there and all along the waterfront now has many restaurants and hotels.
The new airport
I found it rather impressive with good food stalls and check in procedure. There were plenty of seats and good free Wi-Fi. The only thing was the confusion at the head of the maze for immigration so like others I just jumped over the taped maze and headed for some guy twiddling his thumbs whilst the headless at the top of the maze engaged their brain. I just love that 'happy end' announcement they make over the PA. Around Kuta you have to pay if you want that.
Looking forward to September when I get to meet my two sponsored children thru the Bali School Kids program as one of the contacts over there with the program has kindly taken some photos of them for me.