Just Back From...

Bali

by Lee Franks

Yes, there are warnings to defer all non-essential travel to Bali and yes, it takes a certain amount of bravado or perhaps a fatalistic attitude to travel there in spite of this. This is what a small group of us did last week and we had a truly wonderful time! I am certainly not going to recommend that you ignore DFAT travel warnings, they are there for a reason. All I can say is if you do decide to go there I hope your experience will be like ours.

We had gone with the full intention of spending a thoroughly self-indulgent week of relaxing, fine food, spa treatments and shopping and we found everything we were looking for and more! There are some wonderful options for top end accommodation, dining and shopping all over Bali but we chose to stay in Seminyak, North of Kuta.

As we were a small group we elected to stay in our own private 3 bedroom villa at 'The Villas Bali' - a wonderful alternative to traditional hotel/resort accommodation.

Our 5* experience started when the Villas' car came to collect us at the airport. Whilst loading our bags in the boot our driver opened an esky and provided us all with a cold towel and bottle of ice cold water to refresh ourselves on the 20 min ride between the airport and our Villa. This was a sign of the great service to come!

Our villa was totally self enclosed and HUGE. We had 3 double bedrooms, no less than 4 huge bathrooms, a kitchen, open plan living dining area flowing out to our own frangipani scented garden with our very own pool - and we're talking a proper pool - non of the plunge pool variety, no siree!

But wait, it gets even better. After you wake in the morning and have a swim in your private pool, you call through to guest services and a chef comes to your villa (yes, your own private chef) and cooks American breakfast for you: lays the table, does your eggs the way you want them, puts the coffee on, then comes back later to do the washing up. I want to take one home with me!

The other fabulous thing about The Villas is the 'Prana Spa' and 'Chill Reflexology Centre'. Prana Spa is themed around a Maharajah's Palace and is architecturally stunning as well as providing a range of fabulous, self indulgent treatments at great value prices. I tried the Ayurvedic "shirodara" treatment which involves having hot oil dribbled over your hairline for 20 minutes ... pure bliss! 'Chill' was an awesome experience too, with an ultra modern, calming interior and wonderful treatments. You get individual headphones playing relaxing music so you can drift off into lala land whilst your therapist goes to work on your pressure points!

Now, at some point you just have to leave The Villas (tough as it may be) as there's shopping to be done! There is a seemingly endless variety of stores covering clothing, jewellery, homewares, kids stuff, CDs & DVDs as well as the usual rip off merchandise for those who've always fancied sporting a Rolex watch...I scored a great Socceroos jersey for a grateful friend!

It's really quiet in Bali now - gone are the hoardes of tourists thronging Jalan Legian. Now there is a preponderance of security guards and checkpoints. We treated ourselves to a fantastic dinner at one of the foremost restaurants in Legian, 'Ku de ta' and our taxi was stopped by 6 guards at a checkpoint in the driveway who throughly checked the vehicle and our bags. Quite reassuring but a sad reminder of the recent tragedies Bali has suffered. However, everywhere we went we were treated with kindness and courtesy and many times had locals say "Thank you for coming to Bali"

Bali is really beautiful, that's undeniable. Lush green rice terraces, picturesque temple complexes, batik sarong clad locals all lend Bali its unique charm. If you do choose to go there I trust your experience will be as delightful as ours, and I know the Balinese will be happy for your presence.