This is my fifth trip, the last one was 4 years ago.Bali is patronized by tourists as usual, but quieter.
These are some points I take to note:
1. Western tourists population have been dwindling.So many chineses at the area, I don't know if they were Taiwanese, mainland or locals. As a rule, if they came by bus, they were foreigners and if they came by private cars, they were locals.This is not a goodnews for Balinese, because chineses didn't do shopping heavily( have you ever seen them wearing leather jacket ?)except T-shirt and foods, while the retail bussiness stands used to be set up for cattering Westerners needs.( the ads, English name signboards,antiques furnitures, sculptures,etc )
2. The weather: hot and humid as usual. Most of the afternoon were rainy,but it didn't prevent everybody strolling down Kutasquare.
3. Eatery : We're family of four packed in one room , so you can guess who come to free breakfasts at the restaurant lounge ? Yep, the two of us, alternately every morning. The rest of us bought Mc Donald,KFC,Pizza Hut the night before which were made hot by placing them in the small oven we brought from home.If we got bored with them we bought nasi bungkus. Thanks for Badakbeliq infos on prices.
4. Bualu Village v/s Jimbaran Bay: Both served seafoods,but it's pricier in Bualu as the menu size's a bit smaller for the same price.The ambients were different. You get tatch-roof candle light dinner with paved floor in Bualu, the same things you'd get in Jimbaran Bay, except the sandy floor and a bonus of ocean wave sounds.Just wondering why Westerners were much more crowded in Bualu than in Jimbaran. I suspected rainy days was one of the reason ( you'll have more chance getting wet in Jimbaran ), beside the free shuttles from the hotel brought them out there.
5. Hotels : Spend the first nights in Grand Mirage, a 5star hotel at Tanjong Benoa, the room was spacious, queens-bed was large enough to accomodate the two of us, where were the rest going to sleep? Ask for extra bed ? No way, I've noticed the bed was springtype,it consisted of 2 disjointable parts, we succeeded in separated it, we sheeted the bottom part with bed-cover.There were no complain from the house-keeper, at least we didn't hear it if any.We got 2 bathrobes, 2 sandals, a nice bathroom with a separated glasswall shower booth.The hotel beachfront were wonderful, except you couldn't see the sunset, as the hotel is at the East-coast. Our son played para-sailing, much to our concern, because the wind was too slow at the moment.
We spent the rest of the holidays at Kuta Paradiso Hotel, located at the heart of Kuta attractions, as people used to say, though I don't know what attraction you'd get near the hotel. Shopping ? You can shop until you dropped anywhere in Seminyak, Kerobokan , even in Bualu.The beach ? The hotel has no beachfront and the best part of Kuta Beach( for surfing ) is 3 miles away to the North along the Kuta beach street.Anyway, the hotel was a nice place to stay, it had nice room with the same amenities as Grand Mirage, but smaller and no bathrobes, still get 2 pairs ofcute sandals, we brought them home for our memories, as it had hotel's logo and the picture of coconut trees on its cover. The pool was excellent, arranged in multiple compartiments, so you can swim without being annoyed by other people who're playing water volley-ball.
6. Conclusion: Bali was still enjoyable, I got very good sleeps there, which I seldom get at home, maybe I am suffering depression as a result of stress in office? Doctor knows.
The lack of Western tourists have made small retailers got hardship, but certainly not the case for hotel-chains, as they got more and more from orientale/ Asian tourists.I don't blame Westerners for these catastrophes, who didn't apprehended going abroad if there are so many terrorist attacks news at the TV ?
Though Bali is a bit deserted, the foods prices in decent restaurants are rising up compared with 2-3 years ago. Certainly they're not cheaper than Mexican or Italian foods in New York. Still Bali hotels for the same stars but not the same cleanliness are the cheapest.
I knew it, because I took a trip to New York last Sept.