Three Days in Bali

A friend of mine expressed a desire to 'get away' for a few days and on a break at work, we decided to go to Bali! Bali is a 6.5 hour flight from Brisbane and I had been once before. I am always keen to return to Asia and in November 2011, off we went.
We flew with Virgin Australia, who fly direct from Brisbane. The flight landed at 11.30pm, and we swiftly tracked through the entry procedures and paid our USD25 for the Visa on Arrival. It is the same price as on our first visit in 2008! They accept other currencies these days, and the exchange rate is displayed.

We caught a taxi to our hotel, Novotel Nusa Dua (AUD 12). There are many people waiting outside the terminal to assist you with luggage and I had forgotten that they need a tip for their help - in Aussie dollars, please!

It was only a 10-15 minute ride to the hotel and all was quiet on arrival. The exchange rate in Brisbane was 7200 to 1, but even at the airport in Bali on arrival it was 8600 to 1! Amazing.

Kuta Beach

I woke with the sun shining in and went down for a swim, only to find that the staff were still cleaning the pool! No matter how many times I travel to Asia, I seem to forget that the world really doesn't wake up early here. We breakfasted at the hotel and then set off for the Kuta Discovery Mall. I wanted to show D what Kuta looked like at least.

The mall is a big shopping centre in Kuta - a bit of an eyesore, but handy for toilets and a Starbucks coffee when you need a rest. There is a large store filled with batik goods of all sorts, which I like. I particularly wanted to buy a couple of dresses from there - beautiful soft cotton house dresses. It's a great place for gift shopping, too. 

Jalan Seminyak

We walked north a little, past hawkers in early morning mode - not too harassing, but keen, none the less. We hired a taxi to take us to the shops in Seminyak, and appreciated being inside during an early downpour. The traffic choked the beach side road, so we left the cab and walked.

Made's Warung

We ducked in and out of the fabulously varying shops on Jalan (means Street) Seminyak and stopped at the famous 'Made's Warung' for lunch, at a cost of $10 each including a drink!

D commissioned two pairs of hand made leather shoes at a cost of $40 each! They would be ready in 2 days. I was a little sad that I didn't get my act together to order some - next time.

Novotel Nusa Dua

At about 5pm we decided to head home and took a cab through peak hour traffic to the hotel. It is not a long ride during off-peak hours, but is certainly bumper to bumper at other times. The drivers are quite polite and tolerant and there isn't a lot of tooting or yelling.

We were very happy to escape the heat with a long dip in the pool, followed by a massage at the hotel spa (AUD 40 for an hour).