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Published: March 18th 2013
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After a shocking 12 months which saw us NOT get to Lake Eyre and a couple of other hiccups, I surprised Peter with a quick week getaway in Bali. HAving been to Bali December 2011 and thoroughly enjoyed Seminyak, I thought we should try some other part of Bali to even the balance.
We headed off from Brisbane - Denpasar on board a small Virgin plane, it was a long flight to say the least. A bit on the cramped sided and the 6 hours went past very slowly. On arrival into tropical Bali, despite being quite exhaused at midnight, we were met by our driver and headed off to Pat Mase Villas in Jimbaran Beach.
The trip from the airport to the Villas took about 30 mins. We engaged the driver and guide for a couple of side trips while we were there.
The Villas were fantastic. I booked a one bedroom villa, but it was more like a compound, and we had access to our own private pool, as well as the pool that 4 villas shared. The eating area/living area was beautifully appointed, but the most outstanding feature of these villas was the gardens.
Pat Mase Villas have 24 hour check in, and the reception is manned by security. There's a tiny restaurant which we used a couple of times.
We wandered down into Jimbaran Beach the first day, then headed over to Kuta. We organised a couple of day trips, one to the Volcano, and one to Ubud. Both of these were full day trips and cost aroudn $70 for the day with the exclusive use of an airconditioned car and a driver.
Peter went fishing for a day, that was a bit disappointing, but an experience none the less.
Perhaps one of the best things we did was eat on the beach at Jimbaran Beach. We sat right on the tide line, and the waves washed over out feet. We ate a lot of seafood, and drank a lot of Bintang. It was really great being able to select your seafood and have it cooked to your liking. We did get ripped off with a squid, and what we had selected, and what was served to us were two different things. Still, in the spirit of it all, the food was mostly great.
We found our selves on
Kuta beach a couple of times, and had fun drinking beer, eating hot corn off the cob, and sitting on the beach watching the sun go down. It was, after all, a time to be recharging our batteries. This we did well.
We went to Uluwata Temple, that was also great. There's a little Italian eatery at the top of the hill at Jimbaran that is outstanding, and possibly the best Italian we have ever had. - Is it wrong to go to Bali and eat Italian?
I had a day at the Bamboo Spa at Jimbaran corner. It rated this on Trip Advisor as excellent. It was on a par with Aussie prices, but a great way to spend the afternoon. We had a number of cheap massages, as you do.
What did we buy?
Obligatory cheap sarongs
Knock of Raybans ($5 for 2 pair)
Kites for the boys, and T shirts.
We also bought some 3D glasses for Lydias TV. These were from the big department store near the Waterbom Park. Not cheap and they were genuine, but cheaper than you can purchase here.
Last time I went
to Bali (2011) I stayed at Villa Tenang in Seminyak. It was beautiful, a little different from the Pat Mase, as Seminyak is far more upmarket than Jimbaran, but both were lovely.
We felt quite safe at all times, we discovered that we ate at the restaurant that was bombed at Jimbaran. Mostly the Balinese are happy to talk about the bombing and make it clear that they love Aussies. The bombing was carried out by extremists from Java, and not local Balinese and they are quick to point this out.
I really found Kuta a bit of a bore, prices much dearer than other Asian countries, and just a bit grotty for my taste.
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