Hilly's brother and family ..Bali holiday

After zigging and zagging through the endless number of cars and motorbikes
we
rolled up at the Hard Rock Hotel. The reception and centre stage area was
most impressive and the bell persons very friendly.

The loft room had 2 double beds downstairs and 1 double bed upstairs in the
loft. They were very clean and had a nice outlook though the balcony was a
little small.
The bathroom was large and clean and had bottled water for brushing your
teeth. The airconditioning worked well. The room was a little small though
as we weren't spending much time there it didn't seem to matter.

Had a look at the pool which was spectacular and the 2 water slides looked
like a lot of fun. Then decided to hit the streets and were hounded with
people trying to suck us in to winning a free prize which is only a way to
get
people into a meeting about time share property. We all mastered the art of
saying no thanks. I found it difficult pushing the stroller along the
pathways but I was sure that would be another skill I'd master by the end of
the trip.

Returned to the hotel after finding a mini mart and buying a large bottle of
water for 9000 rupiah.

We then went to Raja's for dinner. Make sure that you have their satay beef
with Nasi Goreng, superb for only 24000 rupiah. Returned to the hotel and
centre stage was set up for a Halloween night. Fantastic atmosphere with
the
staff dressed up in costumes.

Day 2
Decided to have breakfast at the Bali Too so we caught a taxi and were
dropped
off. The Blue taxi's that have a meter are the best. Only cost 4000 rupiah
for all of us and they're airconditioned. We were dropped off at Bali
Aussie
and not knowing the Bali Too was next door we went and had brekkie. It
wasnt
that bad, continental breakfast for 12500 rupiah. After breakfast we
walked
around and found the Bali Too (of course). Then we just checked out Legian
Street and discovered Matahari Department Store. He my wife did a little
shopping and found the prices to be excellent. This is by far the cheapest
place for Play Station games at 4000 rupiah each.

Went back and negotiated with a driver to take us on a tour the next day to
the Bird Park, Reptile Park, Tarum Harem Cottages for lunch and then to the
Ubud markets, all for 2000000 rupiah ($40) for the whole day.

Kids had a swim, checked out the Boom Box where you can make your own music
CD's and the well equipped gym. Daughter had her hair braided by a girl
behind the Dynasty Hotel for 40000 rupiah, recommended.

For dinner we went to Macaroni's. A little more expensive than Rajas but
fantastic pasta, and you can use the internet for free for 25 minutes if you
dine here. The kids loved it.

Went back to the Hard Rock and listened to an Indonesian band playing all
the
latest pop songs on centre stage. Kids were tired so we went back to our
room
and continued watching the band on the TV in our room.

Day 3
Today we had cereal for breakfast that we had bought the day before but the
kids weren't to fussed with the milk but we had to do this as we were being
picked up at 8am.

The driver took us to the Bird Park and Reptile Park which we thought was
rather expensive as we'd seen similar parks on the Gold Coast, but the kids
enjoyed the break from Kuta and one highlight was having the Macaw and
Toucan
sit on their shoulders.

We then went to the Tarum Harem Cottages for lunch. The manager showed us a
villa which was very clean and large. Then we had a pleasant lunch, the
staff
were very friendly.

We then went to the markets in Ubud and picked up some very cheap silk
scarves.

By this time everyone was tired and the 4 year old was asleep so we headed
home.

Went to the markets and shopped for clothes. Found the Bali Flower where T-
shirts were 15000 rupiah and shorts 20000. Recommend anyone to visit her.

Day 4

Waterbon Park

This morning we had breakfast at the Bali Too, it was OK but a smorgasbord
for
breakfast is a bit much.

We bought our tickets to Waterbon Park from the Dynasty Hotel for 15% off
the
actual price which was a bonus.

This is a must for the kids. We didnt see much of them all day except for
the
4 year old wanting Mum and Dad to take him on the Macaroni. This is an
enclosed slide where you ride on a tube. Very fast.

Had dinner at Rajas again and shopped to about 8:30pm.

Day 5
We had booked our previous driver to take us for a full day through the
mountains and to Lovina on the North side of the island. This was only
300000
rupiah ($60) and it was a long day 8am until 7pm. We first headed to Lake
Buyan where the kids wanted a 30 minute ride around the edge of the lake.
This was fun: could also waterski, jetski and banana boat ride here.

Then headed up through the mountains to Git Git waterfalls where we were
met
by boys wanting to show us the way for 20000 rupiah, take my advice its
easier
to get there yourself. These were great to see but quite a steep walk past
many market stalls. My wife got a good bargain here a hand woven large
oblong
table cloth for 50000 rupiah ($10).

Next stop was Lovina for Lunch then off to the Hot Springs. It started
raining but we stayed in the Hot Springs until it stopped. The green water
is
a bit of a turn off but once you're in they are very relaxing.

We then headed home. The trip was a bit scary on the winding roads as they
were very wet and the driver seemed to be in a hurry to get back to Kuta for
more work. This seemed to be the case a number of times we caught taxis.

This was a very long day but at least we had seen some of the sights of
Bali.

Day 6
Denpasar

Today was going to be a quite day. Had breakfast at Rajas. They have tasty
pancakes for about 9000 rupiah and nice iced coffee. We found the regular
coffee to be quite tasteless.

We then went to Ramanada Shopping Centre in Denpasar. Here we found the
prices very cheap. We endered up staying until about 4pm and leaving with
our
arms full.

Day 7
Home

This was our last day on Bali. Had breakfast at Rajas again.

We then got in some last minute shopping and our daughter wanted to get her
braids fixed up: this was only 10000 rupiah bargain! Had to get out of our
room at 4pm so we stayed around the pool. Had tea a Hard Rock Cafe which was
average, prices were more expensive than on the street.

My wife decided to do some last minute shopping, returned at 7:30pm we had
to be at the airport at 8.

Plane left at 10:20pm.

We all decided we should have stayed longer.

Hilly's Brother