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Published: November 14th 2009
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Bali 6th November 2009
Having 'done' Myanmar David decided to look at where AirAsia fly to from Bangkok. Bali came up as ridiculously cheap so we just
had to go. Added to which Ann wanted to be somewhere
exotic for her 60th so
Bali seemed to fit the bill perfectly.
Overnighted at the very comfortable, if strangely named,
Great Residency airport hotel at Bangkok we arrived in Bali to yet another hot and steamy country. As we had no Indonesian cash, we made for a set of ATM's in the arrivals lounge. To our horror the one we chose took our card but no cash came out!!! Fortunately it gave back the card. When we got outside we were assailed by a whole host of
moneychangers!!!!! Of course you get the worst rate there but at least it was cash. We tried to find the bank to cancel the tranaction, to no avail. [b[ Welcome to Bali.
Nothing to be done we took a taxi to
Ubud for our first 5 nights. Our first impression of Bali is that it wasn't quite what we expected but that quickly changed when we reached Ubud. We stayed
Saren Indah
Hotel pool in paradise at
Saren Indah Ubud hotel which was lovely. Beautiful rooms in 3 blocks of 4 (2 up 2 down), with pool, free wifi etc set in beautiful tropical gardens literally dripping with hibiscus and frangipani blossoms which were gathered up and arranged artistically on the paths and steps, tables and beds! ..... Ahhh!!!!!
The hotel was set a little away from the town which actually suited us. There were a few restaurants and shops nearby but the hotel laid on a free taxi service into the town, leaving every hour and picking you up wherever you wanted. Other than that you could take a 10 minute walk through
MONKEY FOREST to the main street. You were meant to pay to go into the forest and see the monkeys but there was a path around the edge, with plenty of monkeys for us thank you!! They can be quite aggressive apparently but they mostly leave you alone if you don't make eye-contact!!!! Walking back to the hotel in the dark was a bit nerve wracking though...... thank goodness we bought that head torch in Brum.
Ubud itself is a shopping, eating and massage
mecca. Here you can buy
East Bali
One of the 2 live volcanoes on Bali anything you can get in Bali. There is a big daily market and most day trips will bring you here for several hours. So the place is a buzz during the day but then gets very quiet at night. Like everywhere else we have been, there are not a lot of tourists this year though it is still quite early in the season I suppose. All the better for us though not for the locals. Ubud apart, the crafts are centred around villages, so one village will be stone carving, one will be wood,carving or silver making etc... There are literally thousands of shops selling stone carvings. Given that they would be incredibly heavy to ship.... who buys them?
The night we arrived the hotel had a special dinner around the pool with Balinese Dancers. Keen to immerse ourselves in the culture we booked a table for 7.30pm. The poor staff spent hours putting candles everywhere, making entrances from palm fronds and decorating the poolside with flower petals and setting out the tables......... at 6.30 there was a tropical down pour and everything had to be hastily moved undercover.......shame..... The meal was a bit wierd (Balinese/Western fusion) but the
dancers were lovely. Have to say, like many things cultural..... they did go on a bit long!!! We sat next to a family of 3. John Karen and Pip. from ..........Hagley, W Mids. How nice to hear the black country lilt, so far away from home!!!
Had a really nice meal, complete with cocktails for Ann's big day, went shopping a lot, took a taxi tour around East Bali for 8 hours (the guide book said you can go around the island in a day....... not if you want to stop anywhere you can't) and generally hung out by the pool. Spent time talking to Pascal and Yonke from Holland, really nice people taking their summer hols in November to escape the dreaded onset of winter in the Netherlands.
On then to
SANUR for some beach time. We have 6 days here. Again the hotel is a delight
Tamukami. 'Meeting point in Paradise' and it certainly is! Only complaint is that the swimming pool is too hot! Great breakfasts, everything you need. 1 street back from the beach you have to walk through some gardens then a cafe to get on to the beach. We'll probably just chill
here, maybe take a trip or two before heading back north to Chaing Mai in Thailand then home!!!
BALI a tropical paradise for tourists, especially if you are from Oz. (3 hours to Perth). Plenty of hawkers trying to sell you tat... sorry souvenirs or massages or a taxi but they are generally polite and good humoured if you decline.
Bintang Beer! Hot and steamy. Glad we came, doubt we will come back.
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Jill
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANN
Glad you had a happy birthday Ann in a place that you loved can't believe you're anywhere near that age. Present when I see you in December. Thank you for taking me on the trip with you really enjoyed all the blogs. Love Jillxxx