I was going to do a day by day account, but as I always do, I take copious notes for the first couple of days and then nothing for the rest of the time! So I'll give you a bit of a wrap up and hope that will suffice. I travelled over by myself and was there for six nights. I had just broken up with my partner so the ultimate aim was rest and relaxation with some pampering and shopping thrown in. It was my 40th birthday whilst I was over there and my best mate had managed to get her hubby to look after the kids by himself for a few days, so Tam was joining me for the last couple of days and flying back with me. Dates there were 31 Aug - 6th September.
FLIGHTS OVER/ARRIVAL
Flew Virgin from Brisbane, an afternoon flight. The plane was ¾ full. Left on time and got in half and hour early. Flight pretty uneventful, nice meal included as part of the fare. I squeezed onto the first bus to the terminal so had high hopes of getting through fast but as I rounded the corner to VOA that thought quickly disappeared! The lines were horrendous. Through VOA was quick enough but the queue to get into the country (is that immigration queues, I never know what exactly it is called?!) was ending at where the VOA counters began. The lines did moves fairly quickly, however I would hazard that it took me a good hour and half to get through. Tammi had the same issue when she arrived on the Thursday, and she arrived at 2.45pm in the afternoon. Should there have been an option to pay to get through quicker, I would have been on it like white on rice believe me!! When I finally made it to the counter to get my passport stamped, I was greeted with a smile and how are you which as we all know can be very rare! Once through, picked up my suitcase which by that stage was stacked and ready to be collected, got my bags scanned and headed out to meet my driver Komang.
ACCOMMODATION & FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS
I had booked the Febris Hotel but I couldn't get in for my first night, so I chose to stay at the sister hotel Green Garden Hotel. I was in room 212 which was the first room on the ground floor. It was my first time staying here. The room was clean, basic but had all you needed. I was given a juice to drink while check in was occurring and they as I was moving into the Febris the next day, the reception staff advised they would drop me off and what time would I like to go? I offered to walk as it really it just across the road and up a bit but she insisted it was part of their service and hey, who I am to refuse?! So I booked the transfer for 12, as that was check out time at the Green Garden and check in at the Febris was not until 2.00pm. It was about 1.00am in the morning QLD time by the time I crashed after watching a bit of TV.
I woke up at 6.00am Bali time. That was the way it went all holiday actually, pretty much waking up around 6 on the dot. I don't mind being up early though, means I am at brekkie without any big queues and you make the most out of the day that way. It was actually still dark so I sneak outside for a cigarette and feel a burst of happiness at being in Bali. I wanted to heal and rejuvenate and I knew that Bali would be the balm I needed.
Hit brekkie at 7.30. It was a small buffet with a cart that makes eggs any way as well as waffles and pancakes. Having got in late and not had any dinner the night before I was famished. First up, caffeine yes please! My thoughts prior to arrive were that I am going to eat healthily the majority of the time, of course this goes out the window immediately! Grab a small plate with bacon and other assortments and sit watching Tuban wake up. I am fascinated by a moped with bags trays and bags of food that is parked across the road and the locals that pull up to grab their breakfast enroute to wherever they are going. I am astounded when I see coffee poured into a plastic cup, wrapped tightly in a plastic bag and given to a rider who places it somewhere at his feet and rides away.
I don't have to leave until 12 and I know I should go and get some money changed but I find myself reading poolside and having an odd dip until it is time to leave. GG staff drops me at the Febris and my room is ready early which is great.
I chose the Febris mainly because of their spa as I intend to make full use of their services during my stay. My room is on the 3rd floor and certainly good enough for me. Clean, good aircon, flat screen TV with cable channels, a full size fridge, and nice little balcony overlooking the pool. The room cleaners make animals out of the towels in the room like elephants and dogs, a cute touch. On my birthday I come back in and find the cleaning staff have made two swans touching beaks out of the towels, decorated with fresh flowers such as frangipani and boganvillea and left a card wishing me a happy birthday. I was quite touched, and they got a 100 000 rupiah for their effort.
I'm feeling peckish again plus I definitely need to change some money so I wander up to the Lippo Mall as I haven't been here before. Quite a range of shops but hardly any people there. I visit again down the track and it was still really quite empty. I find a money changer on the bottom floor and get some cash. Feel like quick and easy for lunch so grab a coffee and sandwich at Starbucks and take advantage of the mall's free wifi. I made a promise to myself that I would try more restaurants this time, as when I travel solo I can tend to just grab something easy. I was too hungry to stuff around looking for a place and I need coffee so Starbucks wins this round!
Head down to the Hypermarket, which is massive. Spend awhile roving around exploring. I'm not intending to do much much shopping yet but pick up some nibbles and as usual I'm drawn to the medical section where I pick up some vitamins and a few other bits and pieces which are cheap as and catch me eye, such as gastro tablets and hydra-lite sachets. No I don't have the trots but they are cheap!!
Back at the hotel I decide a spa treatment is in order I go for Glowing Toes which consists of a foot bath, pedicure with paraffin, foot scrub, credo (to peel and remove dead skin), mini foot massage and nail polish. I do a lot of walking for exercise so my poor feet deserve the attention. The attendant seems to take a heap of skin of my fee even though I give them a pumice regularly myself. When she paints the paraffin wax on my feet it feels fantastic, yet for an odd moment I feel like I could start crying. It is unexplainable why feeling so good makes me feel so sad but it is momentary and I settle back to concentrate on simply enjoying the here and now. With tax, the treatment is just shy of $20 and for an hour and half of pleasure, money well spent.
Around dinner time I cruise down to the Discovery Centre. Not really sure where to eat so I check out the restaurants out the back overlooking the water. Settle on Dulang café, it's not overly packed but all the customers are Asian which usually bodes well for an Asian restaurant I find. Get Nasi Campur and a deliciously cold watermelon juice. The Nasi Campur is just perfection and I leave sated by not so full that I can't stop at Bread Talk on my way out mwahahaha. I'm hoping they have bread and butter puddings left and success!! Grab 2 for later. This healthy eating is going well so far! Go to SoftComp and grab 15 DVD's (buy 10 and get five free). They have a Shine Accessories upstairs so I head up and grab a few pairs of earrings. Decide it can't hurt to stop at Dianne's Fixed Price Shop on my way home. Her new shop is nice but quite crammed. Her and Elvis asks me what I am looking for 'nothing in particular, just looking' I say. This really strikes Dianne as funny and she keeps saying nothing in particular and laughing. I find some dresses for my mum, and grab a few dresses and shirts for myself as well. Dresses are $5 and singlets $3.50. My best buy is a 'Prada' overnight bag in purple leopard print for $10. Bright but totally me so sold!! A fair few Aussies come in and much joking and laughter abounds. I get my goodies and head back to the Febris. So far today my not spending or eating much has totally gone out the window but I feel surprisingly OK with both!
OK so that is the end of my day by day that I notated so I will just give you an overiew of the rest. I do recall after eating like a piggie at breakky the next morning, I actually felt a bit sick so I had a really lazy day. I was meant to be trying Biku but I just didn't feel right so I ended up cancelling. Not Bali belly just an upset tum. I had a free foot massage as part of my booking at the Febris so I went and did that and then just hung poolside for most of the day and read. I snuck in a massage in the afternoon as well, just because I could! Though I will have you know that after feeling sick it made me pull my brekky eating into line so I stuck to getting a fresh omelette with a bit of chili sauce for starters, and then a bit of fresh fruit every morning and this was just ideal. The Febris changed up their offerings every morning in both the hot and cold foods on offer. I had a friendly waiter that always directed me to the local fruit telling me what was good. Alright, let's get onto the wrap up.
EATS
Aloha Hawaiian - Discovey Centre. I just liked the look of this place but the music was really loud which was a bit offputting. The menu gives you an overview of a typical Hawaiian style meal, so I went for a mixed grill type dish with salad and pasta salad. It was just OK. It was lukewarm and I thought some of the meat looked pink in the chicken so that put me off a bit as well, the sauce was a bit overbearing. I drank a virgin mojito and the presenation and taste of that was excellent. Not a place I would return to.
Dulang Café Kuta Square - grilled fish and chips with garlic butter and salsa verde. It was delicious and cooked to order.
Flapjacks - this was on the day I felt sick. I had a Boston banana waffle (in a caramel sauce) with vanilla bean gelati. I had never been to Flapjacks before though I had wanted to because I love pancakes and waffles. This was on the day I felt sick so I just wanted something easy and to avoid to much spice.
Segara Asian Grill - back of Discovery Centre. I took Tammi here on her first night. It's overlooking the water and they have a nice set up with Japanese style seating (well that's what I think it is!) in that you walk up stairs to get to your individual table and then you sit down on cushions to eat. I had the nasi campur and Tam had the satay chicken and they both were delicious. Topped off with a couple of mojitos overlooking the water and having some laughs, it was a great location for her introduction to Bali.
Hacienda Mexican Bar and Taqueria, JL Kartika Plaza - we felt like Mexican on my birthday night, it's always been a favourite of ours. Tam got the chimichanga and I had a couple of entrees, feta stuff jalapenos and some flautas. We both really enjoyed our meals. Tam had a berry frozen margarita which was very nice, I had a mojito, it was a bit too sweet I prefer mine a bit drier.
Another Mexican joint - sorry I forget the name of it, it is near the Kuta Railway Restaurant if you on JL Kartika Plaza, the one where they have the train. Tam stuck with the chimichanga and I had sizzling chicken fajitas, again both went down well. Tam had a frozen pineapple margarita here and it was so nice and refreshing.
Fat Chows - I went here by myself for lunch after hearing the reviews. It was full but I could get a table outside. Had the Beef Udon and it was one of my favourite meals of the trip. Just packed full of flavour, really nice.
Coffees - Black Canyon do the best coffees I reckon, always go here if I there is one around. Also used Starbucks and Gloria Jeans on occassion
SHOPPING:
Dianne's Fixed Price Shop: I went here numerous times and I see there have been complaints about the service but Dianne and Elvis were very helpful. I mentioned that it is a bit crammed so you do have to give the racks a good go over to find what you want. I went back and bought a couple more of those Prada overnight bags for my mum and sister. I bought a really good quality Chanel knock off here for $20. As well as smaller Jimmy Choo handbag and a wallet - these were $10 each. Got dad a Hawthorn football shirt as well. Tammi found heaps of Frozen apparel for her kids, not just clothes - lunch boxes, bags, pencil cases etc. Also some gimmicky type stuff eg a pen that gives you an electric shock (and it does give a bit of a shock actually I tried it out!!)
Matahari - did some clothes shopping for my sister's toddler here. Had buy one get one free on an assortment of boys shirts which was a bargain
Friendly Department Store - Back end of Discovery Mall. First time I had been in here actually. Tammi got a heap of girls clothes for her littlies. I bought a cool sports shirt for $9. They had some good bargains if you bought a few of a product eg Tammi got three singlets for $11. A good range of female clothing and definitely worth a look.
Market stalls - went to a few of these with Tammi where I know we got stung as I am useless at bargaining! Even though I say we got stung, I wouldn't have paid the price if it was ridiculous. I actually found the sellers up Tuban end really quite reasonable with their starting prices so it was easy enough to get to a reasonable price for both parties. Heading back from Dianne's loaded up with my handbags, a seller in a bag stall a few up from her said we could buy any bag for $10. I was a bit dubious that we would get in and the prices would magically rise but he was good to his word, so I bought another handbag and Tam got one too
Geneva Handicraft - stopped in her on a day trip to show Tammi. I didn't buy much, I bought a handbag (I actually never realised how much I obviously like handbags!!), some butterfly magnets made out of feathers and a couple of small paintings for my bedroom. Tammi bought a few trinkets for her girls but I think was bamboozled for choice.
Coco and Ginger (Kerokoban) - Tammi wanted to stop here as she had seen the brand in Australia. They do the most exquisite little girls clothing. Top quality and just gorgeous. Tammi bought a few silky party type dresses for her girls and some other pieces, they really are divine. Australian pricing but gorgeous!!
SPA TREATMENTS:
I did treatments every day at the Febris Spa as I think they are reasonably cheap and good quality. I like that upon arrival you are seated and given a cold drink and a cold face towel, and no matter what you are getting done they give you a foot wash and scrub before taking you to the treatment rooms. You name it, I had it done, some days going twice! I had two favourite treatments that were:
Essence of Bali - 2 hours/ 240 000 rupiah - Foot bath, foot reflexology, massage on arms, neck and shoulders and crème bath for hair including blow dry.
Febri's Ultimate: 3 hours/ 340 000 rupiah. Tammi and I did this together in one of their spa cottages. It included: foot bath, outdoor Jacuzzi, steam bath, Lomi Lomi massage, mini facial, body wash, body scrub and mask. It ended off with us getting in a big double herbal bath and being served ginger tea and fresh fruits. Even though we joked we never expected to be bathing together in paper panties, we both loved it and the fruit and tea at the end was a nice touch.
DAY TRIP:
As Tammi was only there a few days I thought we should at least get out and about for at least half a day. I use my driver Komang on all trips and he picked us up at about 9.00am. We had vague plans which included going to Ubud. On our way we stopped at Geneva and Ginger and Coco and did our shopping there. Tammi and I are both coffee fans so Komang and I thought it would be good for Tammi to try the infamous cat poo café. Komang took us to a little place on the outskirts of Ubud where they firstly take you through a plantation and show the herbs and plants they are growing and how they are used. They have a couple of civets (the cat who creates the coffee!) on display but as they are nocturnal they were sleeping anyway. You are shown how they roast their coffee and then taken to tables where they present you with a tasting platter with different tea and coffees they have available. This is free, though obviously you can purchase any that take your fancy. The cat poo coffee was 60 000 rupiah per cup, so Tammi, Komang and I all had one. I've had it before, but Tammi also liked it, it is bold but very smooth and has a nice flavour. Tammi bought some to take home as well as a few other teas such as ginseng that they had available.
Though I hate the monkey forest, I thought Tammi might want to go so she could take some pictures to show her kids. She was a bit dubious so when Komang suggested going to the Bali Zoo instead we thought why not? I hadn't been before. I think it was 26 US to get in. I did feel sorry for some of the animals, they didn't look that happy so it was a bit sad in that respect. It was interesting to see the different varieties and they have several enclosures where you could interact with some of the animals eg a birdwalk and an animal feeding area where you could purchase a bundle of food and take it in to feed the mix of animals such as deer, goats, geese, guinea pigs etc. You could also purchase a bucket of food to hand feed the elephants so we did all that kind of stuff. We ended up having lunch there as it was just easy and we were hungry, Tam had a burger and I had the buffet which was $17.50 and quite good really. It was from here that you could get your photos and handle some of the animals, which was meant to start at 1.00. They had some man wandering around giving out numbers which was to be the order in which you could do this. It seemed really random the order in which he was giving this out, certainly not in the order of arrival which was annoying. We were right down the bottom of the list so I gave it a miss even though I would have liked to have done it. It was good going to the zoo, but something you only need to do once.
That's about the main things to report, I think! Certainly enough reading material for you all. Will end with a bit of a wrap up.
THOUGHTS/FUNNY AND ODD HAPPENNINGS
It was great having Tammi there, it's good to see Bali through a newbies eyes! Tammi had of course had people in her ear saying why are you going to Bali?? So she did not have great expectations but it meant that Bali over delivered in terms of what she was expecting. She absolutely loved it, from the shopping to the food, the relaxation and the people. So we have a convert! She is hoping to bring her family over and do Xmas 2015 there.
A couple of times we had laugh out loud moments that probably are nowhere near as funny to you guys as they were to us. When we were feeding the animals in the enclosure at the zoo, a greedy goat kept jumping up at me trying to get more food. As Tammi was laughing and trying to get a photo of this, a male deer with huge antlers was bullying Tammi to get some more food. She sidled over to me and said 'that deer just gave me a nip on the butt!!'. We had hardly any food left so we edged out of the enclosure palming food to most greedy of the animals and managing to get past an angry goose at the doorway out. Laughed my head off when we got out at Tammi getting nipped, no broken skin so all good.
The Febris Spa caused us some entertainment, we went to get a Lomi Lomi massage one day and the ladies took us into a large room partitioned off with a curtain and we were kind of just left standing there. There were paper undies on the beds. Tammi said 'are we meant to put these on' and I was just saying 'Yeah I think so' when an angry SHOOSH was directed at us from one of the other cubicles. It set us off into silent fits of uncontrollable laughter so we had to avoid looking at each other in case we started laughing again. Another time I was hurrying to get to a spa appointment and was wearing thongs as I hurried through the reception area, which has a tiled floor surface. I never wear thongs but my shoes were uncomfortable and giving me blisters so I picked up a pair to wear around. Some kids had dripped water from the pool all over reception and I of course hit a patch and my legs went straight out from under me and I hit the floor. People came running from all directions to assist as I jumped up as fast as I could, assuring them I wasn't hurt (only my pride!!)
BOTOX AND FILLER EXPERIENCE
I had botox as Radiance Bali in Tuban last time I was there and had booked to go again. Tammi actually shouted me my treatment as my 40th present from her. She wasn't sure what to get done, whether to get botox or get some filler as her eyes are quite hollowed out underneath and she always looks tired. I go to Dr Jo and she is really good, great English and thoroughly explains everything to you. She upped the amount of botox I got from last time but a few units. She said that I could probably do with a few more units that she gave me as she likes to ease you into the process and so you can judge each time the effect. I wanted her to give me the extra units but she said no, which is good and kind of proved to me it most definitely wasn't just about making money and that she is very professional. All up mine cost $228 for botox to the forehead and between the eyes. It takes a few weeks for the full effect to take place and I am extremely happy. My forehead is nice and flat and the line between my brows that is usually quite pronounced is all but gone. Tammi said she reckons it gives my whole face a lift.
In Tammi's consultation Dr Jo explained that she could use a filler to smooth out the hollows under her eyes. She suggested that as it was her first time that they would use a mL or less and Tammi could guage the effectiveness of that. Dr Jo warned that this may cause some bruising around her eyes for the next two or three days. She suggested Restylane as the filler as she believes this is the best product and 1mL cost 3 500 000 rupiah. Tammi was straight away like yes I'll do it! I said to her are you sure, I didn't want her to feel pressured to say yes just because we were there. She assured me she was good to go. Dr Jo suggested numbing crème that would take 10-20 mins to take affect and Tammi said 'I've had three kids, I'm sure I can take it!'. Famous last words!! The Doctor placed a series of shots around her under eye area. Tammi's face when that white and I could just tell by her expression it really hurt. However from watching, once the Dr had completed one eye the difference between the two was extremely noticeable. Tammi let out a small groan as she started the next eye but got through it. Once out in the sitting room I got her a water and she sat down, a bit in shock I think! Spending over 3 million rupiah meant that she got a free chemical peel thrown in. So while she went and got that done, I ducked out to Black Canyon to grab a couple of takeaway coffees for us. You are not supposed to sweat much after botox so I was applying my ice pack as I went. I thought she would be awhile so I got the coffees , stopped and bread talk and ducked quickly into a shop to look at some long pants before going back to Radiance. On my way I heard my name called out and there was Tammi, white face walking slowly up the road applying ice packs to under her eyes. She reckons as she walked out of the surgery she was palming sellers from the nearby stalls off left, right and centre, in no mood for 'you look my shop'!!!
Although the Febris would have only been 500m up the road, I didn't want to sweat and Tam just wanted to get back to the room so I hailed a taxi. In no mood for bargaining, I told him where we were going and said 'I'll give you 30 000' which he was happy with. Tammi reckons when I speak to the Balinese I mimic their accent (which I don't mean to, I just do). Feeling the need to explain why us lazy westerners were getting a lift rather than walking I burst out in my Balinese accented English 'Yes I know not far, sorry, just had needles in my head' ( why I didn't just say I had botox I don't know!!) Tammi burst out laughing and for the rest of the time we kept saying to each other at random times, ‘Sorry just had needles in my head' in a Balinese accent!! Anyway, for the first day or so when there was a bit of swelling Tammi was a bit worried that she had done the wrong thing getting the filler but now it has settled down she is really pleased and it her eyes look noticeably better. So she would definitely recommend 'needles in the eyes' lol.
The final odd thing that occurred was as we were walking along the beach path before breakfast one morning. We walked from the Febris down the 24hr MacDonalds near Poppies II and grabbed a coffee and were walking back to the hotel to grab breakfast. We noticed a huge congregation of guys dressed in black arm pants and black shirts with Laskar Bali written on them. I am a bit of a mixed martial arts fan, and these a lot of these guys looked beefed up like fighters. I was nearly going to ask one of them if they were but decided not to and kept on walking. As we were getting dropped off at the airport that night, we asked our driver who they were. He seemed like he didn't want to answer and he ended up just saying they were having a gathering. I looked at Tammi, and thought Righto mate, that much was obvious! Then he pipes up that they were a gang. I googled them when I got to the airport and let's just say thank goodness I did not ask them who they were!!!! (you can google them for more info)
Got through departures at the new airport quickly, hardly any queues. Heaps more restaurants and so forth now.
Flight left on time and before we knew it we were back home in Brisbane.
Whew! Thanks for reading folks, I know it was a long one! Any q's let me know. I'm sure there are typos and so forth, can't be bothered proofing it sorry