BACKGROUND AND ITINERARY

We decided to go to Bali when we received 5 free nights at the Ritz Carlton, Bali (RC) as a sales incentive when we purchased a vacation week at the Marriott in Phuket.  The timing was to coincide with my birthday – in addition we snagged award tickets on JetStar in Star class for 160,000 Qantas FF points. We further decided to visit Ubud and auctioned a LL (Luxury Link) package at the Viceroy.

So off we went on Sunday July 15 at 5:45PM – an uneventful flight which left and arrived on time – thank goodness as J*'s reputation for delays is not good. We arrived at the Ritz after midnight so immediately crashed into bed.

Unfortunately we were both battling colds – we were hoping this would not hamper our holiday fun too much.

Monday – July 16 – my birthday

We headed off to the main breakfast restaurant for breakfast which was not included in our room rate. The buffet was $US21++ (++ => +21% tax and service and is added to everything in Bali including hotel rooms, tours, meals, etc). We settled on a 6 out of 10 rating for the resort hotel breakfast score – not great for a RC which gets 5.0 / 5.0 on Trip Advisor (TA).

We decided to spend the day checking out the resort and various tours and activities as we were both pretty tired after our late night arrival the previous day. I also booked a pedicure for today and 2 massages later in the week (Dieter spoke to the duty manager and managed to get these included in our “package” which we did not really have). This was very useful as the spa prices are quite high (read western prices - $100+ for a massage) – quite different from Vietnam.

The pools are very nice – the main one is very large and multi-level – I burned a few laps. The resort is set on a cliff overlooking the ocean – there is another pool at the edge of ocean – you need to walk down (and up!) 150 steps to reach it – but it's a beautiful setting. There is also a seafood restaurant at the edge of ocean which we tried another night.

Generally the RC meets all the 5-star criteria but is showing it's 10+ years age. It is also a long way from anything – the nearest area is Jimbaran Beach which is a good 10-15 minutes by taxi.

Food and beverages at the RC are also 5-star prices and something of a ripoff (particularly wine, as is so often the case in Asia).

There are many restaurants to choose from at the RC – we choose Dava, the most up-market of the lot, for my birthday dinner. It is situated in the villa complex which is about 5 minutes away by golf buggy. The villas are super up-market and have their own reception, bars and a restaurant (ie the Dava) – but at $US800 pn we had decided not to go for this option.

We had lunch at the Italian restaurant – right near the main pool and overlooking the ocean – very nice.

After lunch I went to the spa for my pedicure while Dieter changed our room to the Club level which we had booked before leaving home. As it turned out at $170 pn more it did not prove good value for money. We got a room pretty much exactly like our original one only with full instead of partial ocean view, breakfast in the club lounge and of course the usual club goodies – drinks and canapés, etc.

So we went to the Club before dinner and were a little disappointed – you could have cocktails but they offered only one type of wine per day and champagne only on Saturdays – the only day we weren’t going to be there. Certainly nothing like one gets at a 5-star hotel in Singapore. The canapés were Japanese (clearly not to Dieter's liking) – as it turns out they seem to offer different nationalities cuisine each evening – e.g. Japanese today, Chinese tomorrow and finally on Wednesday it was Italian (which were excellent !!).

Dinner at the Dava – what a wonderful setting – spectacular – the menu was a bit “odd” (maybe it was trying too hard to be eclectic) – but we had a wonderful meal which was followed by a free mini-birthday cake and the staff all singing happy birthday and a present of 2 packages of Balinese coffee (which we will of course need to declare when we go back to Oz).

Tuesday – July 17

So up and at em – unfortunately we were still both battling colds. It was a partly cloudy, and windy day – with a high in the high 20's – quite pleasant. After brekkie in the club which was also not exactly a 10 out of 10 we booked a taxi and headed to Jimbaran Beach (JB) – about 10 minutes away.

The Four Seasons Resort is at the top end of this beach which stretches for about 5 K's to the fish market which is very near to the airport. JB is lined with resorts and the “famous” seafood restaurants. We checked out the Four Seasons which looks very nice – all villas it seems. We then walked along the beach – it was high tide so walking was quite a chore particularly in the hot sun. There was a lot of litter on the beach – as well as food scraps and dead fish bits – sort of spoiling the whole effect.  The resorts ran from the high end (Four Seasons and Intercontinental), to the boutique to the more budget – all looked very nice.  The seafood restaurants (which JB is so famous for) looked a bit forlorn in daylight but I understand they are very picturesque in the evening.

We finally reached the fish market – which was very interesting in a third world sort of way – with hundreds of fishing boats moored and up on the beach (they go out at night). To our surprise we could not find a taxi; in fact we were the only tourists around which was a bit surprising as they run fish markets tours in the morning. We walked back to the first of the seafood restaurants and got them to ring for a taxi which they did willingly.  In our experience so far, the local people well deserve their reputation for being wonderfully friendly. Even though one is warned often about being scammed and ripped off – they are also so very trusting. When we did not have the right change to buy a bottle of water from a small beach-side kiosk the lady told us to “pay her later” - as we did not plan to come back the same way Dieter went into the nearest resort and got change.

Anyway – our taxi arrived and we headed off to Seminyak – just north of the (in-)famous Kuta. It was about 25 minutes away – not due so much to the distance but the roads and the heavy traffic.  We asked to be dropped at the Legion Hotel as I had read about a new trendy restaurant called Breeze which I thought was in the Legion.  Well as it turned out it was in the hotel next door.  The Legion is a boutique hotel and looked extremely nice – it's bar and restaurant also looked excellent but since I had read about Breeze we went there. Breeze is smack dab on the beach; the setting is wonderful and the menu top notch (western). We had an excellent lunch relaxing and watching the big surf waves crashing in.

As I had a 4PM massage booked we did not have time to check out Seminyak but in the drive through it looked like the place to stay – wonderful boutique hotels lining the beach and many restaurant options as well as what looked like many interesting shops – lots of art and furniture and soft furnishings.

After massage, showers, and sixes we had dinner at the Italian restaurant at the RC – very pleasant.

Wednesday – July 18

We had to get up bright and early as we had booked a reef trip with Bali Hai cruises.  The day started out quite cloudy and windy but cleared up later in the morning.

The cruise catamaran was an ex-Oz reef trip boat build in 1995 but it was done up quite nicely inside (ie it did not look like it had been through 50 cyclones). The cruise went to Lembongan Island just off the coast and hooked up to it's own pontoon.  Included for the $US85 pp was snorkelling, a huge water slide, banana boat rides, trips to a local village and the “beach club” on the island. Extras were parasailing ($US20) and of course scuba diving (which was extremely popular as they offer basic tuition and were well equipped for this). There was a buffet lunch which was mediocre and as one can guess Dieter ate nothing. Drinks were cheap so he was happy.  The snorkelling was very disappointing – a bit of coral and very very few fish – we only stayed in about 20 minutes partly because the water seemed quite cold and we were both still battling these retched colds.

We got back to the hotel and had dinner as planned at the RC's beachfront seafood restaurant. The setting was fantastic but the food was very disappointing – expensive and very limited choice.  The low lights were: a salad bar ($15) which was a disgrace (we passed on it), the accompanying gado-gado (cold vegetables in a glutinous peanut sauce) which was vile, and the lukewarm steamed rice. We each had whole snapper which was OK but not great. Ah well – off to bed.

Thursday – July 19

Another perfect day – some clouds, windy, with a high of around 30℃. We headed off by taxi to Nusa Dua about 25 minutes by taxi – a high end beach front resort area. There is a walkway running along the beach in front of the hotel. It's a very pleasant walk – you can check out the resorts (eg the Grand Hyatt, the (Sheraton) Luxury Collection, the Westin, Club Med and a few we'd never heard of).  We stopped at the Luxury Collection's beach front restaurant for a leisurely lunch.  The surprising thing about this strip was how congested the beach seemed – all the beach lounges were full and they were pretty much body-to-body.

We headed home for a swim, shower, sixes and so on. We first went to the hydro-pool at the spa but when we found it was an extra $US40++ pp we gave it a miss – talk about total rip off !!!

We had dinner at the Italian restaurant again – it was quite pleasant.

Friday – July 20

We decided to spend the day at the hotel. We went to the RC private beach a short drive (through the grounds) and down 184 steep steps (and back up of course). The beach was lovely and even with its hard to reach location, the RC had lounges, towels, a bar and snack menu – all very civilized. It was a tough morning of reading – I finished my book, The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith – a fun read.

We had lunch for the first time at the Club and were very pleasantly surprised by the range of food and drinks offered.

After lunch we hit the pool for some more reading and swimming. I had a massage at 4pm then we got ready for the trip to Seminyak for dinner at the Ku De Ta – a very hip hop and happening restaurant.  It has an Kiwi chef and Oz Mod menu (or should I say Kiwi Mod?) – and while very large it has a great atmosphere and the food was excellent.

Saturday – July 21

We spent a leisurely morning at the RC – took a look at the ocean view villas – quite superb but so they should be for the $700+ pn. We had a light lunch at the Club then headed off for Ubud and the Viceroy – they sent a car for us.

We arrived about 3PM and were shown to our villa – totally wonderful – very large with private plunge pool and “bale” and terrace perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the rain forest. We took it easy and had dinner at their restaurant, CasCade, which is considered one of the best in Bali. It was first rate, 10 out of 10 in our opinion and made even better as we had a bottle of FC which was included in our package.

Sunday – July 22

After an excellent continental breakfast, with the best croissants in the world, we took the hotel (free) transfer to Ubud. We headed off on a self-guided rice paddy walk – about 2 hours. It was extremely interesting – we took lots of photos. By the time we completed the walk it was time for lunch so we went to a café in town called Nomad which had been recommended by the hotel. It was very nice and well priced – e.g. $A20 for a salad, a tapas plate, 1 diet coke, 1 iced coffee and 3 beers. Certainly once you get outside of the major hotels, prices are extremely reasonable – Nomad is an upmarket café – the are many cheaper ones !!

Back at the hotel we took a dip in our plunge pool then I went for my massage (also included in our package).

Before dinner we went to the bar for our free daily cocktail where me met Otto, the resort owner and developer. His son Anthony is the General Manager.  Otto is an Australian who migrated to Oz from Austria at the age of 24 in 1957 to work on the Snowy Mountain project – he's come a long way in 50 years.  We had dinner in town at Lamak, one of the better restaurants - $A110 for an excellent meal – which included 2 cocktails, a bottle of wine, 2 entrées, 2 mains and one dessert.

Monday – July 23

Up again – started the day with an espresso, made from our in-room machine, relaxing in our Bale before having breakfast in the restaurant. We were surprised when we were charged for an additional cup of coffee (we weren't yesterday and it seemed very petty – we'll raise the issue with Anthony, the GM if we get a chance).

We booked one of the hotel cars and drivers for a half day tour to Gunung Batur (a nearby volcano which last erupted in 1963) and Danau Batur, the largest lake in Bali. On the way we stopped for a “photo op” at the famous terraced rice paddies – they were so picturesque; however, the view was somewhat spoiled by the onslaught of junk vendors who literally pestered you to distraction – you just want to give them money to leave you alone.

We had “lunch” at a restaurant overlooking the volcano and lake – a wonderful view.  The restaurant was another matter – we passed on the buffet lunch as it looked like a 1 or 2 out of 10 and had a drink instead – too bad we left our box of Pringles back at the hotel. The restaurant was also very run down and an all round tourist rip off. We met a couple of young Sydney-siders on a day trip from Kuta, they had also passed on the buffet lunch!

From there we stopped at a coffee plantation which was interesting. Then onto 2 temples then back to the hotel by 4PM.  The temples were pretty daggy but are very important to the Balinese Hindu culture.

Before heading to the town for dinner we stopped at the bar when Antony was pouring FC all round – so we passed on our free cocktail and downed a glass.  Antony was busy, so we talked for a while to Otto who is interesting but not totally engaging.

Just as we were leaving the bar I twisted my ankle and fell over on a small step. It hurt like hell and at first I feared it might have been broken. I managed to limp off to dinner. We had dinner at Ary's Warung – at $A 86 for dinner and wine it was fantastic value for money – 8 out of 10. The atmosphere was also wonderful – I forgot to take a picture as my ankle was still smarting.

Tuesday – July 24

Up at 8AM – my ankle is still swollen but does not appear to be broken – walking (limping) is painful – good luck we only have a boutique crawl planned for today. We ordered breakfast in our room – served in the Bale – looks wonderful but perhaps it's not really all that comfortable.

We hit the town for a bit of a boutique crawl but did not buy anything. We then had lunch at Indus, a restaurant just outside of town (near Mosaic) which had a nice outlook – it was OK. Back at the hotel we went to the hotel for a steam bath and jacuzzi.

We went to the famous Mosaic restaurant for dinner – it's probably the most famous restaurant in Bali.  It's a fixed price menu (450,000 rp + 350,000 rp for matching wines – total bill with 21% tax and service was $A280 which is extremely pricey for Bali) – however the food was excellent.  There were 2 small things we did not like – on arrival they directed us to a waiting area (cum bar) and said our table would be read shortly – this was clearly done to force you to order a pre-dinner drink as when Dieter went to the wash room he saw that the restaurant was only half full so he raised hell and we were shown to our table. The second thing was that after a 6 course tasting menu they served petit fours and asked if we wanted coffee – we said yes, and we were charged extra for the coffee – very “nickel and dime” in our opinion – we made this comment on the feedback card we were asked to fill out. It is definitely worth a visit !!

Wednesday – July 25

Up to another beautiful day – hard to say what the temperature is – maybe around 25℃. We had a dip in our plunge pool and a cup of espresso before heading up for breakfast. My ankle and foot were improving but turning black and blue; on the other hand, Dieter's cold seemed to have taken a turn for the worse.

We headed into Ubud and visited the Monkey Forest which was interesting – took a few photos we then walked to Ary's Warung where we had a pre-lunch drink while we waited for our car to pick us up and drive us to the Four Seasons where we planned to have lunch. The FS is quite far out, about 20 minutes drive. On the way we passed what looked like many interesting art shops – we decided to return the following day for a look-see. The FS is set right on a steep slopes of the Ayrung River among the rain forest – the setting is wonderful – very “Bali”. We had a light lunch at the pool-side / river-side café – a totally wonderful setting. The FS is of course very expensive - $70 for a light lunch. The rooms are also very exxy – a river front villa runs about $US1000 pn.

After lunch we went back towards Ubud via a “trail” which sort of cuts cross country (i.e. a lot shorter than the drive). This trail is partly accessible by motorbike and is dotted with Warungs (small eateries), home stays, villas and small hotels. Again really quintessential Bali or Ubud really. We came out right at Simon's gallery – one of the more famous galleries in Ubud. Simon is an American artist who came to Bali in 1978 – he was “in-house” lying in a hammock holding forth (so to say).

We returned to the hotel by 5PM – I had a shower while Dieter walked to a point which is famous (locally) for it's heron population who return at sunset to roost in the trees.  The 5-10 minutes walk turned into a 30 minute forced march and as it turned out he wasn't exactly bowled over by the herons but he passed through some local villages which were interesting. He saw some locals preparing for (illegal) cock fights.

It rained that evening (first time really) but we still ventured into town for dinner at Café Des Artistes – a really nice café owned by a Belgium. It was great value at less than $A70 for dinner with wine.

Thursday – July 26

Up late – Dieter still had his cold which had not improved since his relapse. We headed off to the Neka Art Museum which had extensive displays of Balinese artists both local and ex-pat then did a bit of an art gallery crawl. We were quite surprised to find paintings in the 25,000,000 rp range (ie $3000+). We didn't buy anything but you never know we may be back on a buying trip.

We had a very nice lunch at Terrazo Cafe then went back to the hotel so I could go for my 4pm massage.

We had our “package” dinner at the CasCade Restaurant at the hotel – it was the degustation menu – quite nice but not up to the same standard as the Mosaic – fortunately we washed it down with a very nice Pouilly Fousse.

At pre-dinner drinks at the bar we met a Canadian couple (on their honeymoon) – they were planning to buy and ship all sorts of furniture back to Toronto - hope they don't get buyers' remorse. As usual Otto was hanging around like a “bad smell” - Dieter sort of likes him but he shits me to tears.

Friday – July 27

Last day – up late again as Dieter was still battling his cold/flu – he really just want to get home. We took it easy but still went on a rice paddy walk which was very nice. Afterwards we went to Ary's for lunch – at least I had a salad but Dieter did not eat as he had no appetite. We bumped into our Canadian friends who were still shopping.

Back at the hotel – we had a quick dip in our plunge pool then did our packing and showering etc etc. We left at 4pm and headed to Seminyak where we planned to take in the sunset at Ku De Ta followed by dinner before going to the airport. Which is exactly what we did !!

At time of writing, we were in the lounge waiting for our 11:20PM J* flight to Sydney which is still on time at this stage.

The end of the end – unless something happens – eg J* delays or whatever.