"Happy( Bali ) 50th birthday to me!" a Bali Travel Page by Laurs

It was my big 50th birthday on 2nd of January.My lovely Mum decided that she would buy my hubby and i a trip to Bali for my birthdat present.
We were leaving Saturday March 4th Mike,Mum,Aunt Vi and me.On the Wednesday prior my friend Dianne (half of the couple that we often travel with) came over to the house,gave me money and a list of stuff that she wanted me to pick up in Bali and told me that she and Graeme were heading down South next morning for a few days.I didn't ramble on too much about Bali as she was a bit jealous of our holiday!
On the Saturday we arrived at Denpassar and were picked up by our regular driver/friend Roy.15 minutes later we were at our hotel in Legian.We were just checking in when I heard some familiar voices shouting "Wellcome to Bali" Standing behind us were Dianne and Graeme.What a fantastic suprise and a great start to our holiday.Graeme has turned 50 on 1st Feb and decided that if I could have a Bali birthday pressie-so could he.They had kept it secret for four months.

Our stay was during wet season (Oct-April)Most of the time the weather was warm and beautiful and anytime it rained we would just go sit in one of our favourite pub/resturants , chat to the staff and drink Bintangs--well someone has to do it!Another alternative was to head down to one of the large shopping complexes and while away a few hours there-being great lovers of shopping that was no hardship for us either.
I can honestly say the rainy days did not detract from our enjoyment and there was still plenty of sunny days.

Now i can well understand how first timers in bali may find it all rather daunting trying to get from place to place.The Bali traffic system is a mystery to say the least.A lot of the roads in Legian and Kuta are oneway-that is except for motor bikes that travels in any direction they choose--even on the footpaths if they can't find access on the roads!
We tend to do a lot of walking which is great fun as the frequent stops at shops,pubs and markets ect seems to diminish the actual distance walked.
Taxis (metered)are the way to go for shorter trips approx 40,000rp ($5 aud) will get you from Seminyak down to Kuta.For scenic tours hiring a driver with a 6-7 seater vehicle is the way to go.If you don't know a driver you need to negotiate.Costs approx 150.000-200.000rp ($20-30 aud) for half a day and 300,000-400,000 ($40-50aud)for a whole day.Warning!--some drivers get kick backs from resturants and shops ect so be firm in where you want to shop ,eat ect and let them know that you will make your own choices.We are lucky with our driver he is very unobtrusive and usuall sits at a local Warung while we wander around the places.We always invite him to have a meal with us near the end of each holiday and he loves to do that.