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Old Jan 22, 2010, 3:17 am
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HoneyBear13
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 4
Post Just Back Report - Bali (Dec/Jan 2010)

BALI 2009 - 2010 (December /January).

December 19th 2009 – January 3rd 2010

PREAMBLE:

This trip was in the planning for a year. We decided during Christmas 2008 that we would take the kids to Bali for Christmas / New Year. We would pay for their economy class fares and accommodation. They decided to pay for upgrades to business class.

The “kids” are two daughters aged 33 & 26 and the youngest one’s partner aged 25. Only our youngest daughter had been to Bali before, so with some trepidation I went ahead and planned out trip.

Given that we have been to Bali many times, we decided that for the most part, this trip would be about “the kids” and what they wanted to do.

FLIGHTS:

We flew return with Garuda and from memory the flights departed and arrived pretty much on time and without incident.

As I have wheelchair assistance, we were relatively fast getting through VOA in Denpasar and went to collect all the bags. The kids were not as fortunate and were queued for an hour to complete all the arrival procedures.

ACCOMMODATION:

Having stayed at the Suriwathi Hotel in September, we decided to book there again for this trip.

Suriwathi Hotel:

Is situated about 50 metres in off Jl Sahadewa (Garlic Lane), Legian, parallel to the beach and between Jl Melasti & Jl Padma.

The grounds are clean and there are garden views from each verandah/balcony. We had 3 rooms in the newer section of the hotel and these were very spacious.

Breakfast is included in the room rate, choices are very limited and not buffet style. Most mornings it was juice, an egg on toast and a cup of tea, sufficient for us to start the day.

We love the hotel’s location on “Garlic Lane”, close to all our favourite haunts.

During my last two stays at this hotel, I have not accessed the pool because the steps are steep and slippery and there is no hand rail. After much lobbying on my part and no doubt complaints from others, the management have recently installed a railing. While this should have been part of the overall renovation of the pool, I applaud the management for listening to their guests.

The hotel has a beauty/spa salon called “Bonita” located just near reception.
We all had different treatments there over our 2 week stay. This link provides a price list… http://www.suriwathi.com/neweb/bonita2.html

Suriwathi Hotel’s details are:
#12 Jl Sahadewa (Garlic Lane), Legian
Ph: 62 361 753162
E: via their website
WWW: http://www.suriwathi-group.com/


FOOD:

We ate at the usual haunts with a few additions…

• Billys Bar & Restaurant…Jl Sahadewa (Garlic Lane), Legian
• Bali Beach Shack Bar & Restaurant… Jl Sahadewa (Garlic Lane), Legian http://www.balibeachshack.com/
• Moonlight Bar & Restaurant (formerly Breeze)… Jl Sahadewa (Garlic Lane), Legian
• Blue Skyz Bar & Restaurant …# 363 Jl Legian, Legian
• Bonsai Café… # 27 Jl Danau Tamblingan, Sanur.
• Mozzarella…# 9 Jl Padma, Legian
• Indo-National…# 17 Jl Padma, Legian
• Café Wayan…Jl Monkey Forest Road, Ubud
• Ibu Oka 2…Ubud.
• Café Lotus…Jl Raya, Ubud.
• Sharkey’s …Jimbaran Bay www.sharkeysseafoodbali.com
• Flying Piano…Jl Werkudara, Legian www.theflyingpiano.com
• Top Deck Restaurant – Cracker’s Bar…Candi Kuning Markets, Bedugal.
• Wayan & Friends…Jl Padma, Legian.

SHOPPING:

Very little in the way of purchases this trip, although I was happy to visit “Magi” Shop and come out with 2 dresses. “Magi” sells bigger sizes and is opposite the Hard Rock Hotel in Kuta. If you are like me, I detest trying on clothes, especially when you are hot, tired and sweaty!!! It’s a bit of an ordeal. I am very happy though. I would certainly recommend a visit there.

Magi’s details:
# 51 Jl Pantai, Kuta
Phone: 0361 755284

A trip to Bali would not be complete without a visit to “Ketut’s Fixed Price” in Jl Sahadewa (Garlic Lane) where I had a couple of sleeveless tops and ¾ pants made and my husband got some polo shirts. The kids also bought up big here.

Ketut’s details:
Gang Sorga or Gang 2 Jl Sahadewa (Garlic Lane), Legian.

I buy bits and pieces of jewellery wherever, but this trip we stopped in Celuk at the request of the eldest daughter and found a nice shop with very reasonable prices.

Karang Ayu details:
# 36 Jl Jagaraga, Celuk
Phone:0361 298920


OTHER:

Fish Spa – “The Fish Spa”.
I located a newly opened “Fish Spa” Salon in Ubud. Their rates are fantastic and the premises are very clean. I had the foot massage while the kids had the fish spa. They loved it and felt that their feet were softer.

It is located on Jl Dewi Sita, Ubud.
Directions - The street number is unknown, what I can say is that it is on the right hand side approximately 1km heading away from the soccer fields that are located on the corner of Jl Monkey Forest Road and Jl Dewi Sita, Ubud.

Ph: 0361 2755812

Prices as @ January 2010 –
• Fish Spa only…15mins - 30,000Rp
• Fish Spa…15mins + Shoulder or Foot 15mins – 50,000Rp
• Fish Spa…15mins + Shoulder or Foot 30mins – 75,000Rp
• Fish Spa…15mins + Shoulder or Foot 60mins – 100,000Rp
• Foot or Shoulder…30mins - 50,000Rp
• Foot or Shoulder…60mins - 90,000Rp.


Labels - “Yoqiza – One Stop Technology Solution”.
My eldest daughter and I both make craft items. We were looking for a business where she could order some stickers she designed and I could order some sew-in labels. I mentioned this to our friend and driver Dewa Marco and he offered to contact a friend of his that we could discuss our requirements with.

We arranged to meet Dewa’s friend at the hotel the next evening. We were very pleased to meet with Imam from “Yoqiza – One Stop Technology Solution”. We discussed our requirements with Imam and his associate and they were able to frame up templates for both of us that we were delighted with.

Imam delivered our order to us at the hotel within a week and we were more than happy with the final results.

Imam is a student and is starting to build on his business. As I write this report, I have asked him to design some name and address stickers.

Imam’s details are:
E: [email protected]
Mobile: 081805577844

Elephant Safari Park – Taro
We had a lovely few hours at the Elephant Safari Park. There were 3 baby elephants with their mums in the big pool that the elephants cool down in. There were very cute.

Upon entry there is a guide that accompanies you to the elephants and explains a little about the park. The price of admission does not entitle you to ride the elephants; this is extra, so unfortunately I can’t comment on this. The kids each had a ride on an elephant previously at the Bali Safari and Marine Park so were fine just to watch, take lots of photos and feed the elephants with us. You do get the opportunity to get up close with the elephants and pat them.

Elephant Safari Park – Taro details:
Taro – 20 mins from Ubud.
WWW: http://www.baliadventuretours.com/BAT-Elephant_Park.htm

DRIVER:

For several years we have been using our good friend, Dewa Marco as our permanent driver. If he is unavailable we have the option of using one of his co-driving team or another driver of our choice.

As Dewa is our permanent driver he is in all my reports. When we are not in Bali, Dewa and I remain in contact. Throughout the years I have come to admire his commitment to being the best possible driver & driving team co-ordinator. He is a fountain of local knowledge and is extremely helpful.

Recently he purchased a new Toyota Innova vehicle that comfortably transported our family of 5 on both short and longer trips.

His Co-Driving team have either new or near new vehicles. We are happy to use one of the team should Dewa be unavailable.

The team show a strong commitment to ensuring that their clients enjoy their touring experience and that these ventures are targeted to the client’s requests.

For drivers of excellence, I highly recommend Dewa and his team.

Dewa Marco’s details:
WWW: www.discoverbalitour.com
Mobile: +62 8123918718 (from Australia)
08123918718 (in Bali)
Email: [email protected] and new Email address in conjunction with his new website is [email protected]
Personal Blog: www.dewamarco-tour.blogspot.com/ and
DM & Co Touring Information:www.dewamarco-team.blogspot.com/

Final Comments –
• I apologise for the lack of content in this JBR – many of the things we did we repeated this trip and I have reported on them in previous JBR’s
• As this trip was more for the kids, they did things that didn’t include us such as the Bali Safari & Marine Park, Turtle Island, Temple on the Lake at Bedugal, Tanah Lot & Uluwatu.
• We all ventured to both Ubud & Sukawati Markets, Jati Luwith Rice Terraces, Biarritz and Carrefour, places I have mentioned in previous reports.
• We had Christmas Dinner at the Bali Beach Shack with buffet style food @ 150,000Rp per head, with entertainment from Baby Balinese Dancers, the resident band “The Jiggy-Jig band”, followed by the two drag show performances.
• We also had dinner at BBS for New Years Eve but left early after the first drag show because the restaurant was so smoke filled it was stinging our eyes. The best part of very visit to BBS is the band – “The Jiggy-Jig Band”, we adore those guys.
• The nicest restaurant with the most attentive and gracious staff was “Mozzarella” on Jl Padma, Legian. Their food is very nice.

Warning – Taxi’s

• I strongly advise all tourists in Bali to use where possible a “Blue Bird” Taxi. In desperation we got into a Ngurah Rai Taxi and the driver initially refused to turn the metre on quoting me a price for the journey. I refused that offer and insisted that he turn the metre on, which he did reluctantly. When we reached the end of the journey, the fare owning was ¼ of what he quoted! Beware!

HoneyBear
January 2010
HoneyBear13 is offline