Bali, hi again

[bPeteb]

Thanks @bPeteb we have a cruise upcoming that will spend 2 days in Bali. Only booked 1 excursion - Ubud on your own. Sounds like we have lunch organised.
One quick question -Mrsdrron doesn't do chilli and I see the pork ribs are glazed with chilli. Could you taste it as they look tremendous.

Hahaha. Just for Mrsdrron, as we clearly knew this question was coming, bAlt and I tasted the ribs and neither remember much of a chili taste.

 

[bPeteb]

Off to Nusa Dua we go.

Decided I needed some fake rubber Berkies as I had been talked into leaving my team ones at home. The cork ones are not made for lots of walking.

Stopped off at the atm for some cash. Then a quick walk to the market for some poorly bargained thongs. No Berkies in sight.

Lazed around until midday checkout. A friendly monitor dropped by for a visit.


Our driver had been hanging around town since just after 10:30!

As I went to pay I realised I didn't have my debit card. I'd left it in the bloody machine. Raced as fast as I could up the road but of course no sign of it in the little glass booth. I checked my Citi app and there was no card to deactivate so I presume it was swallowed by the machine and the deactivation was automatic.

Traffic not as crazy traveling back

I want some of these flamingoes for our garden



and the driver took the causeway expressway to the peninsula.

When someone had described Nusa Dua to me as a very large gated community I hadn't realised that was a very accurate description of what I found. So manicured and so not manic like Kuta/Sanur/Seminyak.

On the drive down J fessed up that they hadn't ended up booking the LE and had booked a Palace Club room as well. They didn't want to be tied to the dining options of the package.

Check-in is in the Palace Club lounge. All very nice. We were a bit early so we were taken downstairs to the dining area to wait.


It gave me time to call Citi, confirm that the card had been cancelled, and order a new one.

Our room was just along from the Palace Club with a view across the beautiful gardens.







I'll add a picture of verandah and view out in next post.

 

[love_the_life]

I am interested in the food and drink - you seem to have had meals out and drinks with ice/fresh fruit. Either, food hygiene has improved, you were very careful at where you ate or you have cast iron stomachs (and even Colin did not seem to be troubled).

 

[bPeteb]

I could jinx us but we have not ever shied away from eating or drinking what we are served. We are street food people. I laughed about the frozen drinks afterwards as one of our party had avoidrd quite a few things but that blue drink went down very quickly!

I clean my teeth with bottled water but wash my toothbrush out under the tap every night. Rinse my Metamucil glass under the tap as well.

Colin has done very well with all of the rice I have been eating. Maybe reducing the number of beers/coughtails could calm him down a tad.

Fingers crossed for the next four nights

 

[bPeteb]

View from inside the room
I'm sure I heard that on a cruise ship a pineapple at the door means something. Same at a resort in Bali?



Club Palace rooms come with breakfast, afternoon tea and finish the day with 90 minutes of coughtails and canapes in the late afternoon. Staff in the lounge are just beautiful.

How very civilised


First wander around the hotel



Then down to the beach for a gander at the USS Ronald Reagan



coughtails and some yummy canapes



then a walk along the beach path



until dinner time

 

[kookaburra75]

I want some of these flamingoes for our garden

View attachment 336736

It's good to see you, Al (and Colin) having such a good time. MrsK has always been a bit 'meh' about Bali (but having never been there), but she has shown an interest in your photos. I guess, having met you both, and knowing she has similar taste to Al, she is warming to the idea of a luxury Bali sojourn.

And you can never have too many flamingos

We even have two indoors, as MrsK felt they were "too good" to be out in the garden.

 

[Pushka]

And weather looks pretty good too. Hope it holds out for 6 weeks.

 

[Flyfrequently]

And weather looks pretty good too. Hope it holds out for 6 weeks.

Same here for you @Pushka and Ms (married & busy mother of 2) Flyfrequently as she is off Monday week without the family for a week of " me" time 🏖!

 

[Pushka]

Same here for you @Pushka and Ms (married & busy mother of 2) Flyfrequently as she is off Monday week without the family for a week of " me" time 🏖!

Lucky lady!

 

[bPeteb]

The cultural show was on and maybe it is staffed by people from other restaurants. That's the only trying I can think of that could excuse the abysmal service at Tamarind. 40 minutes for a drink and over an hour for food and to top it off it was very ordinary.

And weather looks pretty good too. Hope it holds out for 6 weeks.

Weather now beautiful

 

[love_the_life]

I could jinx us but we have not ever shied away from eating or drinking what we are served. We are street food people. I laughed about the frozen drinks afterwards as one of our party had avoidrd quite a few things but that blue drink went down very quickly!

I clean my teeth with bottled water but wash my toothbrush out under the tap every night. Rinse my Metamucil glass under the tap as well.

Colin has done very well with all of the rice I have been eating. Maybe reducing the number of beers/coughtails could calm him down a tad.

Fingers crossed for the next four nights

You like to live dangerously Great to hear there are no untoward food caused incidents so far. Long may it continue.

 

[jase05]

Arrived in Bali a few hours ago.
We had done our VOA online and time from disembarking to meeting our driver was 35 minutes. Others in our group didn’t do theirs online and took them over 2hrs to get through

 

[Pushka]

Arrived in Bali a few hours ago.
We had done our VOA online and time from disembarking to meeting our driver was 35 minutes. Others in our group didn’t do theirs online and took them over 2hrs to get through

Wow. There's a tip right there. Thanks. We don't get in until 10pm!
Jetstar announced today several days they were going to fly twice a day from Adelaide.

 

[SYD]

Arrived in Bali a few hours ago.
We had done our VOA online and time from disembarking to meeting our driver was 35 minutes. Others in our group didn’t do theirs online and took them over 2hrs to get through

On our way now. Is there seperate lines for eVOA?

 

[bPeteb]

On our way now. Is there seperate lines for eVOA?

Yes, you veer off to the right where it says electronic visa.

 

[SYD]

Yes, you veer off to the right where it says electronic visa.

Excellent. Thanks.

We only have “electronic” copies this time. Passed through CGK a few weeks ago with printouts - which seemed daft for an eVisa…

 

[jase05]

Wow. There's a tip right there. Thanks. We don't get in until 10pm!
Jetstar announced today several days they were going to fly twice a day from Adelaide.

We got in a few minutes early and the QR and EK flights had just arrived aswell so we were first off in J and despite being parked at almost the furthest gate we got down to arrivals hall before the bulk of the crowd arrived. There was already a de ent line up to pay for VOA so straight up to immigration and only about a dozen ahead of us on line but when we got through I looked back and could see a massive queue at the VOA desks. About a 15 minute delay in baggie as we got bumped from carousel 2 to 3 to 5 but all good. Despite all warnings and opportunities there was still idiots lining up at customs who hadn’t completed their customs declarations and were getting turned around

 

[bPeteb]

Breakfast in the Palace Club Lounge very civilised



More hotel grounds


Chair hogs here worse than cruise ships. Some of these chairs had noone go near then in the few hours we were down by the pool


Tamarind in the daylight

Pool

 

[bPeteb]

Then it was time for a walk. We headed south.

The Nusa Dua is an interesting place. I suppose people like the exclusivity and private beachiness of it but it leaves me a bit cold.

Huge resort after huge resort. The Westin is next door, then The Laguna. They could be anywhere. The Melia at least looks a bit more Balinese, and a lot more inviting.

Liked this rubbish bin, I think at Laguna? Turtles consume so much plastic so quite powerful


View back towards our hotel


Temple on the headland hear Melia


We're walked past the Grand Hyatt. It had been recommended to us but looking in from the outside it was meh. It was as gigantic as Club Med but at least Club Med looked cool.

Ordinary lunch at a restaurant in one of the streets inland from Bali Collection




The gates into The Nusa Dua


Total walk 13+ km

 

[bPeteb]

By booking direct we also received a 50 minute Balinese massage each and free one way airport transfer. The massage was excellent. Warned the therapist about Colin and she steared clear of my tummy.


More pics from around the hotel




Every time I see this game my childish dirty mind just makes me laugh

Colin gets an airing