Alex & Pat's Diary: Bali - Indonesia January 2006

Bali is one of my favourite place and I have been a frequent visitor to Bali since 1976.

This dairy was kept to provide feedback to the Bali Forum members.

Day 1 - 29th Of January 2006

Got out of bed at about 6:00am and left for the airport at 7:00 am and arrived at about 7:30 am. Checked the luggage in, with only 4 people in the queue after which we decided to have breakfast and made our way through customs.

Our plane was scheduled to depart at 9:30 am, so, we decided to do the duty-free rounds. At about 8.30 we were told that due to foggy conditions in Melbourne, the plane had to be diverted to Sydney and that we will be leaving at 2:00 pm instead. I agree that it was a foggy day, but could not explain as why all the other planes were landing and departing as normal, I can only assume that the Garuda pilots were not trained to land in foggy conditions, like the other airlines, and more surprising when we boarded the plane that they already had passengers from Sydney, and considering that this plane was going to leave direct from Melbourne.

We got issued with a $14 meal ticket and made our bed in the departure lounge for the rest of the day. We finally left at 2:35 and soon all was forgotten.

The plane was shockingly empty with mostly Indonesians going back home and only a handful of tourists. The Garuda service was OK, in another word, if you wanted something, you just had to ring the bell and they'll bring you what you wanted.
The plane landed at 5:30 pm, Bali time. Immigration was painless due to the small amount of passengers. I quickly grabbed my trusty porter at the carousel and after whispering sweet nothing into his ears, we went through customs in a flash.

Picked up by our transfer representative at the exit gate and were whisked to our hotel with little delay. Arrived at the Samsara at about 6:00pm, dropped everything in the room, put our bathers on and straight to the Pool, after which we went for a small walk to get some dinner at Wayan & Friends. I had my first Bintang and a Nasi goreng and Pat had a calamari vegetable and rice, by then we were quite tired and decided to call it a night.

Day 2 - 30th Of January 2006

Woke up at about 4:00am and could not go back to sleep. At about 7:00 am, we decided to get out of bed and have a shower and made our way to the dinning area for breakfast, after which we just sat under our room porch, with Pat reading her book and me doing what I planned to do on my first day "Absolutely Nothing" as it was too early to get some more cash.

At about 9:30, I decided to go to the Kodak shop and finally got some rupia at the rate of Rp7.000, which was the only time that we managed to get this rate. Got back to the hotel to find Helgie waiting for me with my 350 DVD's.

Time for another swim and a chat with Kadek at the pool side bar, and it was lunch time and since that we didn’t feel like walking too far, we decided to just go to the Acapulco, located at the Paradiso Hotel. I had two tacos with beef and Mexican rice and Pat had a Nasi goreng. On our way back to the Samsara, we stopped at the "Kamboja Bali Salon" on Jl Legian for a foot, neck and back massage.

A quick snooze in the afternoon and made our way to Billy's Esky to catch up with the crew and have a few. There was Jingles and Ruth waiting and a few minutes later, Bintangbob and Kutakid arrived like true hippies on their push- bike.

The first thing that Billy asked me when I arrived, was if Dingo Joe will be here this year and I sadly announced to him, that it will not be the case... and he was quite sorry to hear this..

Jingles brought me back a nice bottle of Californian wine, that I'll keep for a special occasion, after a few Bintangs and said our goodbyes. Pat and I went for dinner at Kori's in Poppies II.
I had the pork curry and rice and Pat had the Chicken Cordon Blue with mash potatoes, carrots and beans and she just cannot stop talking about it.

Day 3 - 31st Of January 2006

Pat has never been around the Tuban area before and this day would also confirm why I am not too fond of the South Kuta and Tuban area.

However, I had to drop some duplicate DVD's at Mc Shop and I thought that the best way for Pat to see this area, was to walk from the Samsara Hotel, instead of catching a taxi. But half way it started raining quite heavily, but we didn’t mind as it was quite refreshing, but soon regretted this decision.

I'll have to say that I am quite a patient man and as for my motto of "go with the flow" when in Bali, really got put to the test on this stretch of South Kuta/Tuban. I can put up with the shop keepers and transport providers, but I just cannot take the Time share hagglers, it seems that they are position at 3 meters intervals and it is like walking through a gauntlet of harassment, with the occassion of pulling and pushing in desparate times.

I have no objections in regards to people wanting to buy time share, and if it works for them it is ok with me. I believe that the selling of time share can be carried out in a different and more efficient way, other than saturating the street of Kuta with hagglers, unfortunately some developers choose to adopt the cheaper way of man power and cheap labour, regardless of other circumstances.

The Tourism Authorities & The Chamber Of Commerce in Bali, definitely need to look into this problem, if the big and small business in this area of Bali, is to prosper, regardless that this pathetic business is funded by greedy, influential, wealthy developers, under the pretext that it is providing jobs to the population by importing desparate, cheap labour from the main land and villages.

On our return from Helgies shop, we stopped at the Bali Garden Hotel for a full body massage at the Tari Spa and used our forum discount card.

We decided to have lunch at the infamous Baba Gump. Well..! That is a strange place. The security at the main entrance checked us up with his metal detector, checked Pat's back-pack for any bombs... Yes... apparently terrorists come in any form these days and especially if you have blond hair, white as snow, and is an Islamic fundamentalist wearing Billabong shorts.., but some Indonesian tourists before us got in with just a smile.

Buba Gump is just another American influenced family restaurant in the same category as the Lone Star Restaurant chain, where the waiter felt that he needed to entertain you with idiocies, but he was not in luck as I was frantically trying to conduct some important business to Australia over the phone and just wanted him to bring our damn order and piss off..! But he kept on persisting and I kept on ignoring him. We both ordered some sort of shrimp with melted cheese and rice and were quite crunchy from the prawn shells still in the rice. My advice to anyone is that for half the price you can have a decent meal somewhere else.

We had to rush back to the Samsara, as we were running late for our get together with Max, Luna and kate (Chocolatedemon). Max and I had a couple or more bintangs and we all had a good chat.

Our guests left and we just stayed around the pool area, waiting for dinner time. I wanted to show Pat the hotels in the Legian area for our September trip, when we decided to stop at the Indo National for dinner.

First... I would like to say that I have been to the "Indo National" only once and can hardly remember what I had to eat and what it was like and also I would like to point out that I am not jumping on the band wagon about this particular restaurant, and in fact, I did not tell Pat anything about what was said about the place on a previous post on the forum, as I wanted to try for myself.

I ordered a Chilli Crab, but instead got chilli prawns and rice, which was average in taste. Pat felt like some good Aussi food and ordered a chicken burger. She only took two bits into it and put it down and had a slight episode with the toilet the next day, and it was only then that I mentioned, what was said on the forum and she was not very impressed with me for taking her there.

Once we finished dinner, we visited the Mandira, the Niksoma, the Melatsi, the Jayakarta and the Kumula Pantai... and all very empty...but we still hav'nt mabe our mind on which one we would like to stay in September and I guess it all depend on the price and package we can get... Pat also liked to All Seasons Hotel.

Day 4- 1st Of February 2006

UBUD

That was far the best day of all... Melina kindly arranged for everything, Warung Enak for lunch and transportation. Since that Pat has never been to Ubud before, we thought that it would be a great opportunity to spend the whole day there. For a bit extra, our driver Ketut was glad to stay with us. Ketut Yasa is older than many Bali drivers, but is very knowledgeable, very polite and entertaining .We enjoyed his company so much, that we will be using him again in September.

We left our hotel at about 9:30 am and our first visit was at the Ubud Market and after a few photos and a quick walk through the main street, looking at the shops and mainly the jewellery Shops for Pat, it was time for lunch.

Ketut drove us to Warung Enak, where we were greeted warmly by the manager and staff. We were the only two at the Restaurant. Pat ordered the beef stir-fried with rice noodles and I ordered spring rolls for entree and Prawn Curry & rice, and for desert I had the AGAR-AGAR KARANG which is seaweed Jelly with palm sugar and to wash it all down a nice bottle of Wines of the Gods (Shiraz)...

There is one thing I can say about Wrung Enak...WOW..! & YUMMY...! And this was also confirmed, when I met Louis, who is a Canadian businessman at Max's house the following day.

Now, having been brought up in the Hotel and Restaurant business, you get to know when an establishment ... not only produces excellent food, but also attention to details and staff fully trained in this industry. In another word, serving plates, glasswear and silver wear were in good taste, serving etiquette to match that of any international restaurant.
The Restaurant decor is simple and unique, and actually suite the landscape quite well.

After lunch it was to one of my favourite place in Ubud. The ARMA Agung Rai Museum of Art. I can spend hours just sitting there admiring the fine work of Balinese traditional masters. For those who are not familiar with Agung Rai. The museum also has a restaurant Kokokon with a view of nearby rice terraces and also the ARMA Resort. The architecture is traditional Balinese with a giant statue of Dewi at the entrance of one of the galleries.

The ARMA is also a cultural centre with live performances of Balinese theatre and dances that you can attend if you are visiting or staying at the resort.

We got back at the Samsara at about 4:30 pm and we were a little bit tired and had a 2Hrs sleep before dinner. We didn’t want to go too far for dinner that night, so we had a walk along Jl Legian, in order to decide on a restaurant, when we came across Ketupat Restaurant. The restaurant is located at the back of some sort of furniture gallery and has a very nice set-up. Pat ordered a noddle soup with tofu and mango crush then afterward a coconut juice. I had a curry Lasksa soup, a sunrise crush and a sunset crush... Both meals were average but beautiful decor.

Day 5 - 2nd Of February 2006

The fifth day was very quiet and didn’t do much. We went for breakfast at Aroma for something different. Pat had blue berry pancakes and a hot latte and I had a bowl of fruit and toasted croissant with cheese, orange juice and coffee.

Walked from Kuta to Seminyak and Pat bought more shoes and silver ( Please see things bought in Bali ).Then we walked back to Poppies II and had lunch a the Bagus Pub and back to the Samsara for a swim and a rest.

For dinner we caught a blue bird taxi to Gado-Gado Restaurant. It was raining heavily on the day and of course we could only get a table inside and the place was empty, with about 3 other tables occupied.

For entree, I had the Blue swimmer crab a Lobster Bisk, and for main, we both had the Grilled Lobster with Savoury Cream Rice, desert was Lemon grass Creme Brule with Mango for Pat and Melted Chocolate Cake, for me... again YUMMY..!.

We went back to the hotel after dinner; watched one of the DVD's and it was time for bed.

Day 6- 3rd Of February 2006

Another Bali day shopping with Pat. We caught a blue bird to Geneva in Seminyak for a bit of a browse and to get some stuff for the nieces and nephews, after which we walk back to Kuta along Jl Legian and stopping at every shoe shop and Jewellery shops along the way.

Stopped at Wayan & Friends for lunch. By then I had enough, so we made our way back to the hotel and again stopping at every shops.

Once at the hotel and a swim, I went to the corner Salon/Spa for a traditional full body massage for only Rp 70.000 and back to the hotel for more relaxing time.
Dinner that night was at Warung Made at Bemo corner. We had a Nasi goreng a la Made and Satay Beef. And a couple of Bintangs. Then back to watch another DVD and bed.

Day 7 - 4th Of February 2006

Got up at about 11:30 am and had Breakfast as usual. Then we went for a walk to Kuta square and a few more stops to the Jewellery & shoe shops, and then it was the shoe department at Matahari.

I bought a nice batik shirt and a Gautier sunnies and Pat bought two pair of shoes, and we realised that we were running late for Max & Luna's BBQ. I promised to her to come back the following day, just for her.

Since we didn’t have lunch yet, we decided to stop at "Dalung" (I think that's the name)...I am sure that many of you would know the place. It is next to the late Raja Restaurant. I'll have to say that I never eat at such open places in Bali, where anyone from the street could just walk in, without any security guards in front of the restaurant... For the first time, I was nervous in Bali and this was not making it any easier for Pat. I had a wonton soup that was absolutely delicious, but my eyes was just scanning the foot path and that night, we met the executive Chef from the Legian Hotel, and just during conversation, he also mentioned that he would not eat there, and I was glad that I was not the only paranoid.

Anyway, we got back to the hotel had a quick shower and caught a Taxi to Kerobakan and thanks to Max's skill in map drawing; we got there without any problem.

I now understand why Max moved there, not far from busy Kuta, Kerobakan is in some ways the Bali that I like so much. Even the smell is different over there. I went for a walk to the local shop next to Max's house with my friend Ria and there was a small part of the old Bali that I remember fondly.

Max put on a great BBQ, with Satay Chicken, Beef Burgers, Prawns, with French bread. It happen that Max's Bintang delivery came that same afternoon, and got quite a bashing, including the local scotch that night.

The house is an open living floor plan with three rooms, and one of them is called the Kamsutra room... Bamboo blinds protect the living area from rain and wind. The court yard is surrounded by a brick wall with a traditional court yard access door and a good size garden for tropical plants and Dingo Junior's daily exercise.

I know that you are all waiting impatiently to see photos of Max's and Luna's House, so HERE IT IS...

Day 8 - 5th Of February 2006

Discovery Mall/ Kartika Plaza

As promised to Pat, the first thing we did this morning is to walk down to Kuta Square, for more shoes at Matahari, and of course changed some more money on the way at the rate of RP 6975.
After Matahari, we went to the Discovery Mall and by that time it was lunch time. We had lunch at the "Black Canyon Coffee shop, which was ok I suppose, then it was the shopping centre turn, Yes, of course, more shoes for Pat and me carrying the bags. My dear wife was very impressed with the place and as for me it was just another shopping centre.

On the way out we stopped at "Bread Talk" to get some cakes to take back home.
Since that we were close to the Kartika Plaza Hotel, we decided to have a look. Well..! We pretty much got jumped on by the staff, giving us brochures and the room rates... and we thought that was very nice to get such a nice welcome, to a hotel that we are not even staying... But when we went for a good look, there were about 3 people around the pool area.... A very nice hotel and I assume that it would be very hard at the moment for them with such a large hotel with hardly any one in it. We also, checked the price and not very cheap as expected.

Kartika Plaza Rates: Rooms

Superior Room = $US160 - Ocean Facing Room = $US180 - Private Garden Room = $US 200 - Private Garden Pool View = $US 300
The Family Suite is probably the best deal at $US400 (4 Persons) - Ocean View Suite (2bedrooms, Living room = $US 500. but will need to find out if this price is per suite or per persons (4).

Anyhow, didn’t feel like walking through the time share guys, and took a cab back to the hotel and later on, walked down to the "Shinkei Spa" on Jl Legian, Kuta, just opposite the M-Bar Go Nightclub. Pat had a manicure and pedicure and I had a full body massage.

After one and a half hrs in the salon, Pat got back to the hotel after me and very much in a hurry, with enough time to throw-up in the bathroom. She was overwhelmed by the intoxicating amount of incense, perfume and burning oils that they used... and was sick for most of the night with a terrible headache. I'll have to say that when I was having my massage upstairs, I requested that they remove the burning oil that was right underneath the massage table, where your head rest in the opening, as I was about to die. Later on a developed a bad rash, due to the over perfumed cream that they used. So, take this as a warning if you have sensitive skin...

That night Pat stayed at the hotel in bed and I went for a quick meal at the Bagus Pub.

Day 9- 6th Of February 2006

Poppies Restaurant & Poppies Lane I

Last day in Bali. Pat was still recovering from the "Shinki Spa" episode, but was feeling better and quite hungry, considering that she went to bed without dinner the night before.

We got up late that morning, and decided to go for an early lunch. Pat has never been to the legendary "Poppies Restaurant" before and we couldn’t leave Bali without paying a visit.

More shopping on the way. VonDuthch T-shirts and shorts, for daughter, and a few other nick-knacks and lunch at Poppies. Again very empty. I had the famous beef curry with rice and 2 Bintangs, and Pat had the legendary Beef Satay with rice, both fantastic.
A little stroll down Poppies Lane I, to have a look at the shops and what’s new, then it was back to the hotel.

We were to meet with Mack, Glenda and Linda at Billy's Esky that afternoon, but Pat was quite tired and we were waiting for a package to be delivered at our Hotel at 5.30 Pm, so we just could not make it. My apologies to Mack, Glenda, Linda and anyone else that was there that night and hopefully we will be able to catch up another time.

Max & Luna came to say goodbye and stayed with us until our ride to the airport arrived.

What did we think of?

Bali January 2006

I have been to Bali in the month of January before the first bombing and it was definitely not that quiet, even off season. Business is struggling and hotels are not even 30% full as mentioned by some on the forum. Most visitors are from Europe, Malaysia, Jakarta and the States. We felt quite safe and I can say that we did not get mugged or bashed either, but I am afraid that if there is still a decline in tourism for much longer, we will see an increase in crime rate.

There are actually too many people in Bali from other places, like Lombok, Java, Singaraja and other villagers and Islands and with no income, they cannot go home and this simply spells trouble, this can already be seen by the aggressiveness of some time share sellers, and commission workers on the street of Kuta, South Kuta & Tuban areas. Most of them tend to have little respect for the tourists, when they refuse to visit their shops.

The haggle start with a smile then followed by the usual litany of Otis watchers, Billabong T-shirt, sun-glass’s, then suddenly turn into insult as you walk away, with such comments as Marijuana & Hashish, as though, to tell you, as a foreigner you will be interested in no other things than drugs.

I noticed a few changes since my last visit, usually in the form of new and grotesque buildings, such as the new Peanut nightclub, which seems to have an identity crisis and I am not quite sure what to make of it. It looks a cross between a Gestapo headquarters and a Hell's Angels bikie club.

The other is the M-Bar-Go Nightclub, next to the memorial. Painted in the theme of red and black, looking more like a warehouse for head- bangers than a nightclub, with no seating facility and very empty on the customer side.

Bali is most definitely the Spa capital of Asia, but I am not quite sure if they actually know the meaning of spa. I would hardly call a bath tub in a small room, a spa... but my wife reassured me that the meaning of Spa does not always refer to an actual Spa bath.

However, you can now get the new craze that is “Reflexology” on every corner for as little as Rp: 55.000 for a foot and neck massage (1 Hr) and a good one I may add. There are many of the so -called spas along Jl Legian that the original smell of Bali that we all know so well, is now gone and replaced with burning oils and exotic smells as you walk down the street... Good maybe... but then again, I like the old smell of Bali.

I am glad to say that the quality of food in most of the restaurants that we've been, are still excellent and my new weight can vouch for this and hotels buildings and facilities are still maintained in good conditions, not like after the first bombing. I guess that they are hoping that business will be back to normal, and I hope so.

On the shopping front, it must be getting good.... as my wife managed to find some stuff to buy this time and hopefully this will lure her back to Bali, after 10 pairs of shoes and countless pieces of silver jewellery and other things.

I will be spending a month in Bali in September. Two weeks with my wife and Daughter then the remaining two weeks on my own. But I am getting tired of the Cheap DVD's, The Time Shares, The Spa's, the traffic, the oversize wooden penis bottle openers, and I need to find the old Bali.
I know that the only way that I will be able to find it is if I stay away from places like Kuta, Legian, and Sanur, Semy, Candi dasa and even Ubud.

I got a small taste of the old Bali... Not quite the thing..., but there was a moment... when I visited Max in the inner parts of Kerobokan. But I am looking further after my September trip. Maybe in the area of Grokgah, Gilimanuk and even Banyuwedang and as far as Singaraja.
On a final note, Bali is still a special place for me and I am sure for many, regardless of some negative things about the place.

You hear so often that we need to support Bali, and this has never been truer than now. So if you love the place GO..!

Samsara hotel & Spa

First, I must say that I am not the type that will give feedback on only the good things and not the bad. I think that people reading what you have to say about and establishment deserve the correct information, so that they can base their decision on where to stay according to their needs.

The Samsara Hotel & Spa is located in Kuta and is at equal distance from Semyniak and Tuban.Though this Hotel is close to busy Jl Legian, it is surprisingly quiet.

The Samsara is not for beach lovers or for large families, as there is not enough space for the kids to run around and you will be better off at hotels such as the Melasti & the Jayakarta. It is the ideal location for business people, Shoppers, or for people that would like to be close to Restaurants, Bars & Nightclubs.

The Samsara is a new hotel, and construction was completed last September, just after the bombing. Construction is fully completed and is more of a motel style accommodation than a hotel style. The rooms are simple but tastefully decorated, clean, air-conditioned and serviced daily.

There is no mini fridge in the room, but if you ask the staff for one, they will gladly install one in your room, there is also no TV in the rooms, which could be a good thing for honeymooners, but even they would like to watch TV after a few days. Like us, you can rent a TV and DVD player for Rp 30.000 per day.

At this stage there is no Spa/Massage facility in operation, but management expect that there will be one soon, and all equipment has already been purchased.

Being a new hotel, the Bar is quite empty...for the guys, bintang and soft drinks are available, but for the girls, there is not one cocktail mix in sight, but I am sure that this will change as time progress.

Breakfast was included in our package and you had the choice of toast, with eggs or jam, Orange juice, Tea, Coffee and fresh fruits. You could also get mee goreng, but I would think that it would be more popular with Asian visitors and cereal would be good to have for Australian guests.

For the package that we got, we didn’t think that breakfast was a real problem as we could go out for something different some days.

Coffee and tea facilities in the room is a bit of an issue. Unfortunately they did not have a kettle in the room and if you wanted hot water you would have to ask the staff to bring you a small thermos of hot water. This worked quite well if you wanted some coffee or tea in your room during the day, but could be a bit awkward if you feel like a cuppa at 4 am or before breakfast. I am sure that you could simply go to reception and ask for some hot water, but it would have been a lot simpler if there was a kettle.

The biggest asset of the Samsara, is the dedicated and very friendly staff and their Manager (Hera). They are more than happy to accommodate any request that you may have.

I have no doubt that once the hotel is fully functional, that the Samsara will be a great boutique hotel.

Will we stay there again?

Absolutely...! The Samsara, is the type of Bali establishment where you become part of the family and specially now that we know what to expect.