Part 1
Just dragged my weary body out of bed as my hyperactive husband woke me
up with the Lawn Mower, it's 11 am Sydney Time, oops sorry forgot to
change the clocks back for daylight saving, actually only 10 am. We have
now been home a little over 24 hours, not enough time for the suntan to
fade but enough to start to feel a little human again after that long
sleepless flight home. Realise it's only 5 hours but it always feels like
10 to me. Enough of my whinging and onto my report. Will do as much as I
can but will obviously have to break it up into parts.
Bit of background info first, we are a family of four from Sydney, Dave
33, Kerri 29, Jaime 6 and Peta 4 (both girls). Oops and a half on the way
due start of October, obviously yet to be named but will either be Reece
(Girl) or Reife (boy). Dave and I have been travelling to Bali almost
every year since 1999 and this was our kids 5th trip. We had always
previously stayed at Dynasty with the Kids but last year changed to MBR.
We were looking forward to getting back to Dynasty this year. We were
flying over with another family of 5 who had never been to Bali before and
also meeting two other families over there on the 20th March. One of those
comes over every year, the other never been to Bali before.
Flew out on the 16th March 10 am flying Garuda. No delays departing
Sydney. Check in etc. went smoothly, no queues through customs, didn't
really notice any increased security due to Sept 11, but I wasn't really
taking much notice. Did bit of Duty Free, Dave picked up new style Arnette
sunnies for only $149.00 which saved about $60.00. Flight over was good,
arrived 10 minutes early. Food inflight was fine as far as airline food
goes, service was excellent, kids got spoilt as usual. Movie was Shallow
Hal, very funny movie. Got into Bali just on 1pm, queues at customs were
long and we were at the back. Dave decided to grab all the kids and go and
sit up the front next to the wall near the customs desk, the kids and him
managed to make enough noise that they felt it would be better if we all
skipped the queue and went straight through. Took all our passports into
the office, stamped them, we made a small donation of 20,000 to their Xmas
Party Fund and we were on our way. For those with small kids this usually
works, not the first time Dave has done this. Baggage handlers however got
their revenge by making sure our bags were the last out. So all those
people that we copped dirty looks off for skipping the queue got a little
satisfaction by still getting out quicker. Went through the baggage check
section no probs, which was a relief as we had a suitcase full of tubes of
blockout we took over for our friend who sells them to the Surf Shops in
Kuta/Legian. Would have been an interesting conversation explaining why we
needed so much for a 2 week stay. Also had a cask of wine for our friend
who was too scared to carry it in. Got out the front and had to wait 10
minutes for San Michele Bus to arrive. Don't normally get transfers but
Dave took his Mini Mal over this time and our friend Pete had to work and
couldn't pick us up. I am sure the locals would have found a way to get
his 8ft board into a taxi, but not sure how many pieces it would have
ended up in. Got to hotel within a few minutes of being collected from
airport. Was greeted at Dynasty with nice cool drink and smiling staff. We
were originally booked into a Family Poolview Room but arranged an upgrade
by email two weeks before we left to the Executive Suite at of cost of a
little less then $20AUD per night. Our friends were in a Premier Room
which are the ones that sleep five. Was pleased that we were given the
room we requested being 191, ground floor, kids club side overlooking the
main pool. Told our friends we would meet them at the pool. Got to our
room and was extremely happy. First room was a large room with a door to
the pool and corridor, four seater dining suite, two single beds for the
kids, writing table, dresser, mini bar, tv and a Water Cooler which not
only produced cold but also hot drinking water, hot enough to make coffee.
This was complimentary and replaced when empty. Bathroom had large vanity
and separate shower and bath. Toilet and a bidet or as my four year old
keeps telling everyone a bum washer. Main bedroom had king size bed,
wardrobes, table and chairs, dresser, tv etc. We were impressed. Stepped
out onto large balcony which wrapped around the corner, two small tables
and four chairs. First thing we noticed was how empty the hotel was, pool
lounges available everywhere. This was to change by the time we left.
Weather was awesome, not a cloud in the sky, humidity wasn't too bad at
all, normally quite high in March. Grabbed a couple of towels from the
towel hut. Noticed different system for this now, used to have towel cards
you handed in for a towel, now just signed for them. Boys and towel hut
remembered us straight away and couldn't believe how big our kids had got.
Jumped into pool which was more like a warm bath. The pool renovation
looked sensational. The black stones previously around pool had been
replaced by small light coloured ones. The ugly plastic grate around the
pool replaced with light coloured sandstone. The Volley Ball area has been
completed retiled with a slate like material which prevents slipping.
There is a large waterfall at the beach end which you can swim under and
also a dry area under the waterfall where you can walk through or pull up
a lounge chair, a lot of people chose this area to get a massage as the
massage hut was closed for renovations. There are around 5 statues that
spurt water into the pool as well. Two in the toddler pool and I think two
in the main pool. Overall the pool now looks great. Swim Up Bar sits
around 10 in and 10 out of the pool. Has a marble bar and is very
spacious. Unlike some other Pool Bars that you can't stand at as they are
too deep there is also standing room around if there are not enough seats.
This Bar has happy hour from 5pm to 7pm. We spent a lot of time around
this bar as I think Daves bum got permanently attached to one of the seats
from 5pm onwards every night.
Have to continue this later, Dave wants to go buy a DVD player for all
his new DVD's. Will get back later with more on Hotel and why our friends
ditched the Premier Rooms. Hope I haven't bored you all too death.
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Part 2
Back Again.
I left off earlier with update on Dynasty Pool area. Anyway, so we were
in the pool waiting for our friends who travelled with us, I mentioned
before that they had booked into a Premier Room. Well two hours had passed
and they still hadn't shown up at the Pool. Just as I was about to go in
search, one of them appeared on the verandah of a Family Poolview Room. To
make a long story short, they had viewed three different Premier Rooms and
wasn't happy with any of them. Eventually, the hotel allowed them to
upgrade to Family Poolview for additional $10 per night. However, they
would not put an extra bed in the room for the third child who is 4. Our
friends said that even with this condition it was still better than the
Premier Rooms. This got me curious as to how bad they could be so I asked
them to show me where they were. We had only ever stayed in Poolview and
never really ventured up the other end, other then to walk through
reception. If anyone has stayed at the Dynasty they will remember the
large wide corridors with glass type roofs and beautiful gardens with make
you feel like you are outside. Well this ends the minute you enter the
Premier Room section. It is behind the main reception area but unlike all
the other rooms which are Poolside of Reception you actually start heading
back towards the main drive. The corridors are narrow and a bit dim, they
do open to a verandah kind of area which gives a beautiful view of the
laundry and garbage type area. If you are lucky enough you might even get
right next to the laundry so you can be lulled to sleep by the sound of
industrial dryers. Or even better the sound of the hammering etc going on
in the Fun Pub renovations. I could not blame my friends one bit for
rejecting the rooms, no balcony, taxi trip to the pool. No thanks. For my
mind, if this was the only option I had, as much as I love the Dynasty I
would stay at another hotel like MBR which caters to families of 5. It is
also very sad to see so many agents push these rooms onto unsuspecting
families of four or less who would be much more comfortable in a Family
Poolview, Kids Suite or Family Gardenview.
Getting back to the Hotel Renovations, the upper lawn area is closed,
but I had a sticky beak and the Pool they are building looks great. It is
a narrow long pool with bed type chairs you can lay on. There is a sign up
saying that it is due to be finished 1st May. There has also been a double
story Sunset Bar being built, should hopefully capture some good views.
Unfortunately, Kartika is building some luxurious looking Villas directly
in front of Dynasty which has taken away the Beach Views. The Fun Pub
Renovations appear to be going strong. The entire of the downstairs lobby
was closed off for our last four days so I think some major work is
happening down there. The Tropical Cafe has been totally renovated and now
has permanent areas established for the Buffet Meals. Area looks great.
However, if you stay on the opposite side of the kids club, you may
sometimes get a little smoked out by the new Pizza Kitchen. I think that
is the renovations pretty much covered, any questions, feel free to ask.
First night we wandered down to All Stars for a quick meal, the place was
empty and we were way outnumbered on the street by locals. Food was great,
staff were great, family of 4 with beers, soft drinks around 190,000. They
have Happy Hour from 6pm to 8 pm, with 25% off all meals and drinks. Sumo
Wrestling in the suits four nights a week and is an absolute laugh. Dave
had a go, won a small Bintang, but probably sweated out the equivalent of
a large Bintang. He said that it would not be for someone who is
claustrophobic.
Next day we took our friends down to Kuta Art Market, taught them the art
of bartering and showed them where Matahari was. We are not big market
buyers more into the surf shop stuff. Probably can't help too much with
prices, but our friends paid the normal 15000 to 20000 for shirts and
20000 to 30000 for shorts. Not sure about dresses. We buy a lot of timber,
but hard to price as depends on the intricacy and work involved. If anyone
wants a price on something specific I might be able to help, just ask.
Kids got Baby G watched for 15000 and Lazer Lights for same price. Both
broke before we left. Pretty much just went back to hotel around lunch and
worked on relaxing and tan. Dave went for a surf but was a little
disappointed with wave size. Water down the beach a lot cleaner than last
year.
That night we went to Poco Loco, this was quite full. Found the service
not as good as usual but maybe we just got the Dodgy Bros. waitress. Meal
with Drinks 200,000. Food was great as usual.
Next day took our friends down Melasti Street Markets, by this stage they
had pretty much mastered the art of bartering and were quite confident to
be let loose by themselves. Gave us a chance to visit Backdoor which is
the surf shop opposite Bali Rock. Picked up a cute little black wrap
around Badgirl skirt for 80,000. Bargain. Called into Bali Rock for a coke
and caught up with all the staff. Picked up a few of my Glitter Sandals
that I live in, three pairs for 105,000. Ended up coming home with 10
pairs, one in every colour. Still haven't worn so of the ones I bought
last year yet but I am sure some of my friends will pilfer my new ones in
a flash. Dave grabbed a pair of leather sandlas for 40000 on the corner
Jalan Melasti and Legian. Started to wander up Jalan Legian but the kids
hit the wall so we took them back to hotel. Again relaxed and worked on
tan, Dave went for a surf. Unfortunately Dave came off a wave on a reef
and ended up with a nice gash full of coral in his foot. Called the nurse
who recommended stitches, yeah right. He got her to clean it, whacked on a
bandaid and went off to the bar. After, what felt like a zillion visits to
Apotiks (Chemists) I managed to get some Waterproof Bandaids so he could
continue to surf and swim. To his credit he did keep it dry for 36 hours.
Also bought him so Amoxyl for 20,000 and antibiotic cream. Cream was
useless and the Savlon Powder and airing seemed to heal it in no time.
Beginning to sound a bit like local GP, so I will continue. That night as
Dave couldn't really wear a shoe we ate the Buffet at the hotel. Pasta
night 79000 each, kids eat free. Great Feed and was really relaxing as
kids had made friends by this stage and they all went off to play which
let us relax a little.
Next day, we put the kids in Kids Club, this is free but if you leave
them for lunch costs 26000, includes a Kids Meal, there are around 10
choices, Soft Drink and Ice Cream. The girls loved it. Dave and I grabbed
some of our Rupiah and decided to do some serious shopping. Didn't mention
in my first just back, but we took most of our spending money in Rupiah
over there as we got a rate of 5500 in Sydney through a friend so I can't
give any info on Money Changers, Rates etc.
We started off at Bemo Corner and by the first surf shop had spent
700000. For this we bought heaps though. Dave got two really nice pairs of
cord material board shorts, heaps of T Shirts and I got a pair of three
quarter Badgirl pants. This shop is great. It is also called Backdoor and
I presume is the same as the Backdoor in Jalan Melasti. By the time we got
to Surfer Girl we had nearly run out of money. Just enough to grab a great
little volcom dress for 150,000 and hipster mambo pants for 171,000. I
realise that this probably sounds a lot in rupiah but when you convert to
AUD this is cheap. We would learn later however, that we could get
cheaper. By the time we got to Kuta Lines we had about 30,000 left. Time
to go back. got back to hotel, kids refused to leave kids club so we
thought we would take a walk down the beach. First we checked out the
Private Bungalows of the Santika Hotel next door, someone recently did a
Just Back Report on this place and raved about it, I can now understand
why. Extremely private, nice pool, fantastic aspect. Also checked out
Santika Hotel, bit smaller than Dynasty but much quieter. Not a kid in
site. Bliss for couples. Wandered down to Ramada Bintang, nice hotel but I
expected more, the pool in the brochure looks so much larger. Pool looks a
tad tired and in need of update. Stopped at Pantai for a coke and check
out the Menu. Looked good. Put that on our list of musts. Continued on to
Holiday Inn. Much preferred this to Ramada, nice little private beach
area, nice pool, looked like somewhere we would enjoy only a tad too far
from everything. But hey transport in Bali is so cheap would not stop me
from staying there. Again Pool looked a little tired, but I am staying at
the Dynasty which has a brand new pool area, so that is bound to happen.
That night we again ate at the hotel as Dave wanted to air his foot and I
think I had walked him out of energy that day. The Dynasty has a policy of
eat three buffets get fourth free. Dynasty Buffets are good and good value
so we didn't mind eating there twice in two nights.
Next day the rest of our friends are arriving from Sydney, so we are
pretty excited to see them. Did more Surf Shops in Jalan Legian in the
morning but this time starting from Melasti. Again ran out of money and
was back at Hotel at Lunch. Our friends Peter lives in Bali at Nusa Dua
with his Balinese wife and kids. He makes surfboards for a living and has
been over there for around 12 years. They had called and were coming to
meet us for dinner that night. Our friends got to Hotel about 2pm. They
both had Family Poolview Rooms but the opposite side to us. Since there
was so many of us we decided that night to wander down to Pantai for
dinner. To all those people that were enjoying a peaceful meal there on
Wednesday 20th March, I apologise. 10 Adults and 11 children later, their
peaceful meal was soured. Pantai was fantastic, cheap food but fantastic
food. I think our meal for 4 with drinks was around 150,000. This
restaurant has a great aspect and it's good to see you can still get a
great meal on the beach without having to pay La Lucciola and Ke De Ta
prices. Pantai is on the beach in between the Ramada and Holiday Inn.
I better leave it at that for now.
Probably bored you all to death. Our program for the next day was Ubud,
will continue with that tomorrow.
[top]
Part 3
Just to a answer a few questions from previous reports before I start.
- Dave informs me that you can hire long or shortbaords on the beach
from 15000 to 40000 per hour, cheaper if you hire for the day. Board
quality depends on what you want to pay.
- Boats to take you out to airport reefs are around 20000. Make sure
you don't pay them until they come back to get you.
- The boys also hired boats to take the down to Uluwatu and Padang
Padang. Worked out around 35000 per hour. Between the four of them that
is very cheap though.
- Glitter sandals that I bought were from the second shoe shop up from
Bali Rock heading towards Jalan Legian.
I think that was it.
On our fifth day we had an Air Con Mini Bus from San Michele with a
driver and guide for 8 hours. They had thrown this in for us in our
package at no cost and we weren't really fussed whether we used it or not.
As David still had the cut in his foot that we were trying to heal, we
decided that we may as well spend a day away from the pool and beach. Bus
picked us up at 9.00 and we spent the first hour driving around trying
different chemists for Waterproof Bandaids. No luck. We then headed up to
Ubud as kids wanted to visit the Monkey Forest. Drive up was nice,
relatively no traffic. Got to monkey forest along with what seemed like
three coach loads of Japanese Tourists all armed with their cameras. At
first they seemed more interested in taking photos of our kids more than
the monkeys. I have no idea why, and it was quite amusing to watch. They
left after about 10 minutes and we were left alone with only a scattering
of other tourists to wander the forest. It was actually extremely tranquil
and peaceful, the tall tress provided plenty of shade and the sounds of
the monkeys in the forest was fascinating. We weren't attached by any
ferocious monkeys and all in all really enjoyed our time there. Next stop
was the markers, Ketut our driver dropped us off and said they would pick
us back up in 1 1/2 hours as there was no where to park the minibus. BIG
mistake. The markets were awful. There was plenty to buy, but it was
extremely hot. The kids were whinging and the sellers kept grabbing them.
The army and police were there knocking down peoples little stores while
all the locals stood there and watched. We had no idea why this was
happening and didn't want to ask. Peta (my four year old) nearly got
knocked out by a piece of falling timber. We bought a few little timber
items that we could have easily bought in Kuta/Legian but that was about
it. The markets in Ubud are not very well laid out, and there are a lot of
open trenches that little feet could easily slip down. We had been there
before but not with the kids and would probably not take them back there
again. After about 30 minutes we had had enough and decided just to wander
down Monkey Forest Road and browse in the shops. This was much better. I
had said in my previous posts that we weren't really big market shoppers
and preferred the fixed priced places, so we really should have known
better. We stopped for a coke in a restaurant and pretty much decided that
Ubud wasn't our scene. Before I get flamed and lectured on the ins and
outs of Ubud, I realise that there is probably much more to Ubud than the
markets and the shops in Monkey Forest Road, but this is just my opinion,
I think all in all we were just really hot and the kids were tired and we
probably had a bit of a negative attitude at the time. The army and polisi
in the markets were extremely intimidating and that probably got us off to
a bad start at the beginning. Anyway, we were finally picked up by the San
Michele Bus and they took us a Restaurant about five minutes away. I had
asked to go somewhere overlooking Rice Fields and probably should have
done my research here before I went and got a name of a place. Anyway,
they took us to a restaurant that was overlooking a rice field but it
looked like it hadn't been used for about a year and considering it was
end of rainy season should probably have been a tad greener. It looked
extremely dry and more like a cow paddock. The restaurant was however
clean and got a nice breeze which was cooling. What the restaurant lacked
in views it made up for in food. Our lunch was absolutely delicious, and
if I could remember the name of the restaurant I would highly recommend
it. After lunch we decided we were ready to head back to Tuban via a Surf
Factory Outlet our friend Pete had told us about. Driver and guide had
never heard of it, but with my scratchy directions Pete had give me we
found it. It is on the Ngurai Bypass about 400 metres down from the Bali
Mall/Galleria but on the opposite side of the road. We went in and were
pleased that we had stopped. From memory I will list what I can remember
that we bought with prices. Mens Rip Curl Button Up Collared Shirts
122,000 (heaps of designs). Volcom Dresses 90,000 (I had already bought
one for 150,000 in Kuta) Rip Curl Dresses Ranging 70,000 to 150,000. Kids
Billabong Hats 15,000. Billabong Backpack 30,000. Got three denim girls
Billabong Sleeveless Jackets for 50,000. Spyderbilt Denim Shorts for
Ladies 60,000. Roxy and Billabong Shirts for ladies 70,000. Mens coloured
and white T-Shirts from 80,000. Ladies Billabong Bikini 122,000. There was
more that we bought but I think that will give you a general idea. We
ended up going back there again later in the trip as we ran out of money
the first time. Continued on then back to the hotel for a swim. Our
friends had decided to eat the Buffet at the hotel that night as it was
Satay Night and good value. Yet again the food was great. The next three
days we pretty much spend doing shopping here and there and relaxing. Dave
was back in the surf but now had an ear infection as did Peta. Called the
Doctor at the hotel and $220 AUD later they were both armed with Drops and
Antibiotics. Their ears were never so bad to cause them a large amount of
pain as we called the doctor as soon as they both felt it coming on. Dave
ahs had a bad ear infection in Bali before and learnt his lesson to nip it
is the bud as early as possible. Friday Night I think we went to Impala
Seafood just down the road from Dynasty just before Kartika. Had never
eaten there before and could not believe how nice the food was. Restaurant
was packed, which is always a good sign as you know that the food is
getting turned over at a good rate and not sitting in the fridges waiting
to go off. This restaurant has an Indonesian Menu and a Western Menu, huge
variety of food, and you can order either small, medium or large. This is
a good idea for the Indo food if you want to try a few things. Meals and
Drinks for 4 came to 200,000. Saturday Night we were all suppose to meet
at Nagasari for dinner at 6.30. Unfortunately, Mullo and Billy went to
meet Louie the Greek (another friend who was over there) at Benny's Cafe
for a beer in the afternoon and forgot the name of the restaurant or so
they claim. We waited a while and ended up ordering without them. Food was
OK, not as good as in previous years. We sat at the cushion tables which
the kids enjoyed, was actually more expensive than what we had remembered.
All in all we had a good night but would not be returning there for dinner
again this trip. Sunday ate at the hotel as it was Roast Night, Dave loves
his Roasts and was looking forward to it all day. Food was great. This
meal was free as we had already eaten there three times previously. Works
out to be great value.
Enough for now. More later.
[top]
Part 4
On the Monday we all decided to go to Waterbom Park. Had been there in
previous years and always had a good time. We purchased the tickets from
Daddys across the street from the Hotel. forgot to mention in previous
posts I think where we went for breakfast. A lot of the time we gave the
kids something at the hotel from Room Service as Dave was out surfing and
I wasn't hungry or we went across to Daddys which is an old favourite of
ours. However at 90,000 for four probably isn't one of the cheapest
brekkys you can get in Bali but the quality of food is fantastic. We did
venture up to Melasti one morning and had brekky at Bali Too which is
12500 for Buffet or 15,000 for American Brekky. Food was nice but found
the Eggs very greasy as did my friend along with her Pancake. Apart from
that, if your down that way, worth a visit for Brekky.
Getting back to Waterbom, our tickets were from memory 126,000 per
adult and 76,000 for kids over five, under five are free. Family pass is
350,000. Waterbom was great as usual. Few changed since last year. There
is a new speed slide which the kids absolutely loved. Also Eurobungy which
is 50,000 for 10 minutes for kids and 60,000 for adults. There is a new
food outlet section which can be a bit confusing at first, but gives your
wide choice as to eating options. Lots of little counters with different
things, you order what you want from each, get a docket then take all your
dockets to a register pay, grab a table and hope that all the
corresponding food for your dockets arrive. Which it did by the way. I
much prefer the old food counters instead. One order, they bring it to
your lounge chair, much more civlalised. Can imagine the new system would
be chaos on a busy day. Luckily for us the park was relatively quiet so
there were no queues for slides etc. The lazy river also has a new feature
wall (may be new or I just never noticed it before) as you float past
there are some concrete monkeys shooting water at you out of their mouths
and other parts of their bodies (use your imaginations). Quite funny to
look at. We had a fantastic day and would definitely go back again.
That night we had already pre-arranged babysitters with the hotel at
20,000 rupiah per hour and decided we would head off to Seminyak to a new
Pub we had heard about. Luckily our taxi driver had heard of The Bush
Telegraph, our friends weren't so lucky and arrived 30 minutes after us
and two taxis later. it is opposite Santa Fe in Seminyak just off Jalan
Legian. The actual Pub was here in Sydney for the 2000 Olympics. The new
owners bought it and transported it to Bali. Big screen TV showing all
major sporting events. Extremely Aussie orientated, big fake croc on the
front verandah, fosters on tap. Aussie menu. Food was awesome. Nice to sit
out on verandah and watch the passing foot traffic. Would definitely go
back.
Imported steaks with different types of sauces, chips and veges from
45,000. Would definitely recommend this pub. Even just to drop in for a
beer.
Just getting back to the Hotel, forgot to mention before, all the usual
activities are still happening, frog races, bingo, volleyball. Live
entertainment with dinner, happy hour from five, love buckets (cocktail 1
litre) for 45,000. Kids Club Staff have not changed and the staff were
excellent with the kids.
I might leave it at that for today. Still to come is Green Garden Spa
where I went for a full pampering, and the drama of one of the kids
breaking their leg at the hotel.
[top]
Part 5
Before I start, I would just like to thank everyone for their kind
wishes via email and the forum over the last two weeks. Without going into
too much detail I would like to mention that my trip to Bali had nothing
to do with losing the baby and the doctors have reassured me that it was a
genetic problem hence why I did not actually miscarry. I would hate to
have put the fear of god into anyone who happened to be planning a trip
there whilst being pregnant. (Obviously that is something they would need
to discuss with their Doctor)
I would also like to say that I did post that I would not finish my
Just Back Reports after being flamed by someone. You would have thought
that after a couple of years on this forum it wouldn't have worried me. I
probably overreacted and took it too personally, was just bad timing I
guess.
Anyway, back to Bali. Can't really remember what day I was up to but
can remember what I haven't covered yet.
Green Garden Spa - We were approached at dinner one night at Pantai by
the staff of Green Garden Spa offering a pampering package. It sounded all
right so I booked it for two days later. Cost was 242,000 and included the
following.
I was picked up at the hotel reception in an Air Con Mini Bus and taken
to the new Green Garden Resort which is opposite Holiday Inn. The Green
Garden Resort itself looks lovely, very small, but great pool, rooms are
lovely and good position on the beach, perfect place for couples who want
a little peace but not be too far from Kuta. First you are taken to the
restaurant and give a welcome drink which is like some sort of nectar,
then you are politely asked to pay the cashier in advance (found it
strange that we paid in advance but this is Bali). Forgot to mention that
I did pay a deposit when I originally booked of 50,000 which was given
back to me when they picked me up. I then was taken back downstairs to a
room by the pool, it had two massage beds in it that were tastefully
decorated and a gorgeous bathroom with huge bath. I was given a sarong to
put on and told to strip down and put on these paper like pants, lets just
say that the best way too describe them is that they look like the pilcher
things you put on over cloth nappies, only prob is they only come in one
size, I am a size 10 and found them extremely uncomfortable, elastic was
really tight. I did have the foresight of wearing a bikini that was not a
favourite and knew that it wouldn't worry me should it get stained (it
didn't by the way). Anyway, saronged up I was then sat down in a chair and
my feet put in a bowl of warm water filled with flowers and my feet were
scrubbed and massaged. After this I was laid down and give a massage for
what felt like around one hour. Then a facial, the cosmetics that they
used smelled awesome, the room was really peaceful and there was soft
Balinese music playing in the background. I was then completely covered in
this gritty yellow stuff which to me looked like powdered curry, this was
left to dry then rubbed off me. By this stage we are probably two hours
into the whole process, I was so relaxed by this time I could have slept
so easily. Once the body scrub was finished I was taken into the bathroom
and left there to soak in a lemon scented bath filled with Flowers Petals.
It smelled so nice. I must have soaked there for about half an hour and
washed the rest of the yellow scrub off then went back out into the room
and sat down yet again and had moisturiser rubbed into my legs and arms. I
was bought a piece of cake and a cup of ginger tea whilst this was
happening. After this I was told that I was free to use the jacuzzi or
steam room next to the pool should I wish or they could take me back to
the hotel. I chose to go back to the hotel as my skin just felt awesome
and I didn't want to sweat or wash away that feeling. Would highly
recommend the Green Garden Spa.
On arrival back to the hotel was given some bad news about one of the
little girls that was travelling with us, that morning the punching bag in
the kids club had fallen off its rope and landed on her foot. At the time
it didn't look too bad, she wasn't crying and just told her parents that
it hurt a little to walk, they iced it and made her rest for most of the
day thinking it was a sprain, by the time I got back it was black and
really swollen, her father went up to reception and reported the accident,
the hotel were awesome, within twenty minutes there was a doctor, he
requested x-rays, they were whisked off to the hospital by the hotel
straight away, a couple of hours later they were back reporting that it
was sprained and she needed to stay off it for a few days. Hotel
immediately took down the punching bag, replaced the sand in it with
something lighter then hung it back up using much stronger rope and that
many knots in it only an act of god was going to make it fall again.
Unfortunately though, the next day another doctor took a look at the
x-rays and contacted the hotel and our friends and advised that her ankle
was actually broken, this happened to be three hours before they were
leaving back to Sydney so they chose to wait to get it set in Sydney so
they could get an opinion from the hospital in Sydney. Doctors here
confirmed what the doctors in Bali had said. She ended up in plaster and
on crutches for eight weeks. I would like to say that the Hotel were
fantastic in the way they handled the incident and our friends would stay
at the Dynasty again in a heartbeat.
Before I finish off on this report, I can't remember if I mentioned the
night we had at Teras Restaurant in Seminyak. We had been to this
restaurant before and found the food amazing but got a bad waitress and
service wasn't great, didn't have that problem this time. The menu is
Italian and prices probably a tad above moderate, but the food is well
worth it. I had Veal wrapped in Proscuitto on a bed of Mash Potato with an
Italian Salad, best meal I had on our trip. Dave had a Pizza and our
friends all had different types of Pasta. The setting of this restaurant
is rooftop open air and gorgeous on a nice night. We also received
complimentary bread and after our meals they bought out test tubes filled
with some sort of alcoholic concoction that smelt strong. Being pregnant I
didn't partake but lets just say the rest of the party were quite giggly
afterwards. This meal cost us 230,000 including our kids meals who sat at
a separate table next to us and had a ball chatting to the staff. This
restaurant was practically empty when we arrived but was filling up fast
when we left around 8.30. We definitely planned on going back there before
we left, but as you know time flies when you are over there and we just
didn't get around to it. Would highly recommend this restaurant for a fine
meal.
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Part 6
Last few days in Bali we spent just doing the last
bit of shopping and lots of relaxing around the pool and down the beach.
Took a walk down to Kartika Plaza (Now called Discovery Kartika) and
couldn't believe how great the hotel looks. Anyone who has booked this
hotel won't be disappointed as far as facilities, position etc.
Some things I have forgot to cover:-
New Beach Road is as other people have confirmed
definitely open to traffic, it has been paved and actually looks not too
bad, huge difference on the dirt track it was last year. Traffic along the
road is not very busy so should not disturb guests staying in hotels along
that strip too much.
Along Jalan Kartika there is a new huge building
what looks like apartments with shops underneath just up from and opposite
Art Market, by the time we had left a few of the shops had opened. It is
raised above street level and has a nice footway you can walk along. Up
further on the same side as Kartika there is another project underway
which is going to be a sort of shopping centre called Kuta Boulevarde or
something like that, not sure if there is going to be a hotel attached to
it or not.
The new Mercure Hotel next to Hard Rock looks nice
and if you could land a top floor room on the beach side you would catch
some awesome sunsets.
Water down the beach was clean, which is unusual for
end of wet season. Although Dave did say that when he was out at the
Airport Break where you have to catch the boat out to, he did see what
looked like some sewerage. Waves were good whilst we were over there and
sometimes the best breaks were the beach ones, mainly down Legian end. If
you are planning on taking to the waves and your a beginner it's a good
idea to sit and watch the break for a little while, Kuta/Legian can appear
calm then a
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