Bali/Phuket

[Spargo]

Sitting at my desk at work tidying up a few loose ends before my annual leave begins this arvo.

2 weeks in Bali about to begin!

Nice. Bin man, please take note!

You can both gefugged

[Wedgie]

2 months till Phuket.

[Jim05]

Just under 3 months until the Philippines. Palawan and Boracay booked

[PatowalongaPirate]

Loving Lombok right now and today is Indonesian Independence Day so the place is buzzing.

About to head down to the celebratory buffet...as soon as this long neck is finished.

[Jim05]

Loving Lombok right now and today is Indonesian Independence Day so the place is buzzing.

About to head down to the celebratory buffet...as soon as this long neck is finished.

Lombok is awesome, what part are you staying at?
Some of the waterfalls were absolutely amazing and the Gili's are absolutely superb. A lot more laid back and carefree than Bali and far better IMO

[PatowalongaPirate]

Loving Lombok right now and today is Indonesian Independence Day so the place is buzzing.

About to head down to the celebratory buffet...as soon as this long neck is finished.

Lombok is awesome, what part are you staying at?
Some of the waterfalls were absolutely amazing and the Gili's are absolutely superb. A lot more laid back and carefree than Bali and far better IMO

Sengiggi Beach, off to Gili T tomorrow morning.

We are definitely loving it and laid back is spot on.

[PatowalongaPirate]

Well, another Balinese adventure is over and coming back to cold weather and work is equally as disappointing as each other.

Had a great time and can recommend Lombok to anyone that wants a more relaxed experience. Where we stayed had plenty of restaurants and options for massage/beauty treatments. Not a heap of bars but there is enough to get by. The Sheraton Sengiggi Beach was a real winner.

Spent the last week in Tanjung Benoa at the Grand Mirage Resort with the All Inclusive option. My wallet pretty much stayed in the safe the whole trip as I did 90% of my eating and drinking within the resort. The main street is full of restaurants and bars and everything else you could possibly need.

I would gladly stay at both of these places again.

[Booney]

Well, another Balinese adventure is over and coming back to cold weather and work is equally as disappointing as each other.

Had a great time and can recommend Lombok to anyone that wants a more relaxed experience. Where we stayed had plenty of restaurants and options for massage/beauty treatments. Not a heap of bars but there is enough to get by. The Sheraton Sengiggi Beach was a real winner.

Spent the last week in Tanjung Benoa at the Grand Mirage Resort with the All Inclusive option. My wallet pretty much stayed in the safe the whole trip as I did 90% of my eating and drinking within the resort. The main street is full of restaurants and bars and everything else you could possibly need.

I would gladly stay at both of these places again.

I stayed at the Sakala back in July, just down the road from the Grand Mirage. What did you think of the "strip" along the beach where all the water sports were and then the "main" street that takes you back to Nusa Dua?

We were a bit hit and miss along there for restaurants, Meads was good for the footy, Coco Express was the pick, Amigos was rubbish.

Only wish we knew about Pirate bay earlier as we would have made that our destination of choice.

[PatowalongaPirate]

Well, another Balinese adventure is over and coming back to cold weather and work is equally as disappointing as each other.

Had a great time and can recommend Lombok to anyone that wants a more relaxed experience. Where we stayed had plenty of restaurants and options for massage/beauty treatments. Not a heap of bars but there is enough to get by. The Sheraton Sengiggi Beach was a real winner.

Spent the last week in Tanjung Benoa at the Grand Mirage Resort with the All Inclusive option. My wallet pretty much stayed in the safe the whole trip as I did 90% of my eating and drinking within the resort. The main street is full of restaurants and bars and everything else you could possibly need.

I would gladly stay at both of these places again.

I stayed at the Sakala back in July, just down the road from the Grand Mirage. What did you think of the "strip" along the beach where all the water sports were and then the "main" street that takes you back to Nusa Dua?

We were a bit hit and miss along there for restaurants, Meads was good for the footy, Coco Express was the pick, Amigos was rubbish.

Only wish we knew about Pirate bay earlier as we would have made that our destination of choice.

We went to a place called Black Tom's a couple of times for beers and they showed the EPL on every screen, but generally ate in the resort as we had the all inclusive. The water sports were crazy busy and it looked like a collision to happen. Very busy patch of ocean.

[Dutchy]

We have booked the Pullman to stay in Bali, anyone stayed there before?

[Jim05]

We have booked the Pullman to stay in Bali, anyone stayed there before?

For memory that’s just across the road from the Mercure and in a really decent spot. Right near the main shopping areas and only a few minutes walk to the beach. In Legian aswell which is better than Kuta so closer to the better part of the beach and restaurants

[Wedgie]

My poor cousin took a late afternoon flight to Bali yesterday.
18 hours later and a flight right around Australia including stopover in Cairns and she's back in Adelaide thanks to the volcano there.
Not even sure why she still goes there anyway after having her jaw broken there by a mugger on her first trip there just crosing the street to her hotel.
With the luck she's had with Bali I'd be trying a new destination if I was here!

[Jim05]

My poor cousin took a late afternoon flight to Bali yesterday.
18 hours later and a flight right around Australia including stopover in Cairns and she's back in Adelaide thanks to the volcano there.
Not even sure why she still goes there anyway after having her jaw broken there by a mugger on her first trip there just crosing the street to her hotel.
With the luck she's had with Bali I'd be trying a new destination if I was here!

Jetstar?
The most reliable way to Bali is through Garuda even with the volcano as they are the only airline given exclusive access to the military no fly zones. All other airlines have to take the route near the volcano so are at the mercy of the wind direction blowing the ash clouds. Whilst I still love the place there are much better places in Asia but can understand why those with a budget or time restraints choose to go there.

[Wedgie]

My poor cousin took a late afternoon flight to Bali yesterday.
18 hours later and a flight right around Australia including stopover in Cairns and she's back in Adelaide thanks to the volcano there.
Not even sure why she still goes there anyway after having her jaw broken there by a mugger on her first trip there just crosing the street to her hotel.
With the luck she's had with Bali I'd be trying a new destination if I was here!

Jetstar?
The most reliable way to Bali is through Garuda even with the volcano as they are the only airline given exclusive access to the military no fly zones. All other airlines have to take the route near the volcano so are at the mercy of the wind direction blowing the ash clouds. Whilst I still love the place there are much better places in Asia but can understand why those with a budget or time restraints choose to go there.

Jetstar or Qantas, every other company is still flying there. Different airline companies have different policies regarding how much ash/smoke can be in the atmosphere before its deemed safe.

[Jim05]

My poor cousin took a late afternoon flight to Bali yesterday.
18 hours later and a flight right around Australia including stopover in Cairns and she's back in Adelaide thanks to the volcano there.
Not even sure why she still goes there anyway after having her jaw broken there by a mugger on her first trip there just crosing the street to her hotel.
With the luck she's had with Bali I'd be trying a new destination if I was here!

Jetstar?
The most reliable way to Bali is through Garuda even with the volcano as they are the only airline given exclusive access to the military no fly zones. All other airlines have to take the route near the volcano so are at the mercy of the wind direction blowing the ash clouds. Whilst I still love the place there are much better places in Asia but can understand why those with a budget or time restraints choose to go there.

Jetstar or Qantas, every other company is still flying there. Different airline companies have different policies regarding how much ash/smoke can be in the atmosphere before its deemed safe.

Yeah, Virgin don’t seem to have nearly as many issues as Jetstar. I know last time we were there all flights from all airlines experienced some delays of anywhere from 2 hours to a day or more. Garuda the exception as they had government exemption to fly the military zones whereas other companies have to pay a tax to fly through these zones.
We generally pay a little extra and use Garuda and have never had one be even 5 minutes late, the last one back to Sydney we flew was even 35 minutes early. They also are a lot more comfortable and friendly. Jetstar is on by banned list for any flights now, absolutely useless

[Wedgie]

KLM and Virgin have now joined Qantas and Jetstar.

Yeah I flew Jetstar once and Qantas once overseas, will not travel on either again.

[PatowalongaPirate]

If anyone is interested in a live stream of Mt Agung, see below -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=islcMmfHHqE

[Dutchy]

Fly out to Bali 2 weeks today for a 40th, 5 couples with 15 kids (one couple has 5) amongst us, but they ain't coming going to be pretty sweet.

[Dutchy]

Anyone buy a sim card in Bali to use over there? what sort of deals/cost/data do you get?

[Booney]

Anyone buy a sim card in Bali to use over there? what sort of deals/cost/data do you get?

Lol, nope, boss got a $350 data bill from my last trip....he made it go away though.

Who you with? I think Optus have something like $5 a day roaming charges.