Bali Trip 18-22 Dec.2008
I hope this posting may help anyone who wants to travel to Bali.
If you want to prepare your trip to Bali beforehand and you want a certain schedule, you may search the info here. Probably for some others, you may want to explore Bali by yourself. You can do that too, but my suggestion is using a travel agent is much cheaper and certain compare to travelling by yourself. If you have a driver's license and a map, you may rent a car or a motorbike and explore Bali by yourself. Even though you have a map, somehow the streets and roads are not easy to comprehend. Some streets are one way and they do not have any signs or notice for that so, only those who know them won't get lost.
I used the tour plans from PT Hirochan (Master Course B with some negotiation with the owner for the Legong dance, I chose Tirta Sari which was the best in my opinion) and the Thalasso Bali Spa program from Bali star island (PT Bewish). PT Bewish offered a cheaper price than other travel agents. I learned from the driver that picked us up at the hotel, the owner used to work at that Spa, but now he has his own travel agent. PT Bewish and Thalasso Bali has a kind of business cooperation, so they can offer a lower price to customers.
PT Hirochan
English website:
http://www.bali-vacation-holiday.com/english/staff.html
Japanese website:
http://www.bali-vacation-holiday.com/staff.html
Bali star island
English website:
http://www.balistarisland.com/
Japanese website:
http://www.bewishbali-tour.com/
For Hotels, I suggest you stay in Kuta, because it is the heart of Bali. It is near to the beach and shopping centres, shops, entertainment, cafes, etc. If you like the exclusive and luxurious ones, you may stay at Jimbaran or Nusa Dua areas. My Japanese friends and I stayed at Grand Istana Rama in Kuta. It is a nice hotel with good facilities. The rooms are equipped with good facilities, such as toilet/shower, bathtub, different types of sockets(round/flat, 2 or 3 plugs), a hair dryer, a TV with different channels (NHK, Russian TV, Chinese TV, all Indonesian TV stations, Italian TV, German TV, French TV, HBO, Cartoon Network, Nickoledeon, Disney Channel, etc.), small fridge, a wardrobe with umbrellas, sandals and a safety box). The hotels in Kuta facing the beach are Grand Istana Rama, Mercure, Hard Rock, Kuta Sea View, Harris Kuta, Inna Kuta Beach. There are some small budget hotels on Poppy street ( a small alley in Kuta Legian). They are OK, especially for those who only look for a place to sleep.
Miscellaneous:
1. Visa on Arrival is USD 10 for a week.
2. Advice for tipping, for room service who clean your room every morning, hotel drivers, porters, an amount of 10,000 or 20,000 rupiah is enough. For a tour guide and a car driver, it depends on you. We gave 100,000 rupiah on the first day and 200,000 for the second day because they had given us excellent service. We always finished late because my friends spent much time for dinner and one of them had a heart problem so she often went to toilet, however, the driver, Mr. Ente, and the japanese-speaking tour guide, Mr.Sukarma, did not mind waiting for us. You may also give USD or Yen, they are happier with big countries currencies such as USD, JPY, AUSD and SingD.
3. Always count your shopping and the change, when you receive your money after paying or after you change your money. Be careful not to mistake the 10,000 and the 100,000. Do not be surprised, often times, they give candies or gums or sweet as change because they do not have small change. It is only an excuse. Too bad, I can not pay with candies.
4. You can bargain in small shops for souvenirs, T-shirts and even the car service. Make sure whether the price is for one car or per person. Example, we had an airport transfer from Ngurah Rai Airport to our hotel, the price is 75,000 rupiah per car, not per person. Another example, when we took a ride with a horse carriage (delman), the driver wanted 100,000 rupiah for a short distance, but I bargained to 50,000 rupiah. My Japanese friends thought that 50,000 was for one person, but it was for one horse carriage that could take 5 passengers (if you are small-built)
5. Bali Macadamia or Almond chocolates are cheaper in circle K or Mini mart than other places. Japanese friends bought 10 boxes. They are 3, so they bought all the chocolates in Mini Mart. On Dec.21, 2008, the price of Macadamia chocolate was 47,500 rupiah and the other one was 48,000 rupiah. While the same chocolate in Matahari costs 62,000 rupiah.
6. When you visited tourist places like Bedugul, Kintamani, Tanah Lot, Uluwatu, temples, etc. you will be thronged by vendors, they will keep on following you even though you are inside the car. So, my advice, do not look at them nor at the merchandise nor touch the souvenirs, just say, "Terima Kasih, tidak mau" (thank you, I don't want) and walk fast. They can sell cheap T-Shirts, but they are not in good condition. They fold them neatly, once you unfold them, you'll see the damages, but they're gone already.
7. Keep alert and keep your hotel receipts, because they may make mistake in calculating your room charge. It happened to us. Gladly, I still kept all the receipts and argued my case.
8. Do not take out your wallet in front of the cashier and count your money in front of their eyes. Keep them in your small bag and count the money inside your bag. Therefore, when you shop, count the average price of your stuff, then prepare the money. You do not want to get mugged.
Our trip schedules.
Thursday, 18 Dec.2008 arrived at Ngurah Rai, Airport Bali at 5.25 p.m with GA881 from Narita.
Airport pick up service from the Hotel. Check in at the Hotel. Dinner at Kuta Food Center.
Friday, 19 Dec.2008
7.30 Morning call from the hotel
8.00 Breakfast
8.30 PT Hirochan Tour picked us up at the Hotel, paid the two-day tour with Japanese Yen cash (Master Course B, 12,000 yen for two days)
9.30 We visited a traditional fabric home industry where they sold many kinds of fabric (ikat, batik, kain bali, etc.) It's too expensive, you can buy the same fabrik in pasar sukawati or ubud with cheaper price.
10.30 Goa Lawah (Bat Cave)
11.30 Rice Terrace at Bukit jambul. Well, it is not that scenic. The ones in Ubud and the way to Lake Bratan are better.
12:00 Lunch Buffet with nice mountain view.
13:15 Besakih Temple
15:00 Kintamani - Danau batur (though only seeing from the car when we passed it, it was wonderful)
15:40 Segara Windhu (Shopping for handicrafts, souvenirs, sandals, bags, scarves, bed covers, coffee, etc.) Of course they are more expensive than the ones in shops/stalls, but the stuff is better.
16:40 Penataran Sasih Temple
17:15 Tegalan Rice Terrace
17:45 Pasar Ubud, we were early of time, so we had a chance to visit Pasar ubud, which was not on our schedule. The things were cheaper than Segara Windhu but some stuff is not sold in Pasar Ubud.
18:30 Nasi Goreng Dinner at Mie Jakarta restaurant. (Delicious)
19:30 Legong Dance at Tirta Sari Ubud. WOW, it was marvellous. My friends fell asleep during the performance.
21:00 Returned to our hotel.
Saturday, 20 Dec.2008
7:30 Wake up call
8:15 Breakfast
8:45 Tour pick up
9:00 Barong Dance (we were late, because my friends had to go to toilet). After the dance we could take pictures with the dancers. It was to my surprise the one of the female dancers said, "Tip me". "Give me some tip" 3 times. Because we took pictures with two girls, I gave them each 10,000 rupiah.
11:45 Taman Ayun (Beautiful Garden) It is a hindu temple.
12:30 Lunch Buffet at Danau Bratan. Too bad, we could not see the Temple at Danau Bratan because it was foggy and raining. The scenic beauty is pictured on our 10,000 banknote.
15:00 Tanah Lot (tanah means land, Lot means protruding) Nice view, beautiful scenery. Don't see the so-called sacred snake, they'll ask for your money.
18:00 Uluwatu Kecak Dance open air performance. It was marvelous. I like it. With the dance and sunset as the background, it was perfect.
20:00 Seafood dinner by the beach. Wow.... it was nice and romantic. Food was also delicious.
21:30 Reached the hotel. But we were late. We arrived at 10:20 because we wanted to relax and enjoy the dinner and nice view.
Sunday, 21 Dec.2008
9:00 Pick up service from Thalasso Spa, we used the service from PT Bewish. On that day, there was a terrorist drill at Kuta Beach, all the streets were closed. The driver could not pick us up, so PT Bewish reimburse our taxi cost, but we could not take a taxi, we had to take a car service and they knew that no cars were allowed to enter kuta area, so they charged us costly with only a short distance, 75,000 rupiah. If we take a taxi, it would only cost around 35,000 rupiah.
10:30 Thalasso Bali Spa at Grand Mirage Hotel, Tanjung Benoa. It has a nice beach area. Next to it is Conrad Bali Hotel which is a 5-star diamond hotel. Nice treatment. We took 3.5 hours program (Thalasso Beauty)
14:15 Bali traditional costume photo. We were 4, and there was only one person who applied makeup and the costumes for us.
18:00 Reached the hotel
21:00 Went out for shopping around Kuta beach and Matahari Square.
00:00 Arrived in our sweet room. Took a shower and packed our stuff.
Monday, 22 Dec.2008
8:00 Woke up
9:00 Breakfast
10:00 Packing
12:30 Check out
13:00 Centro Mall shopping
16:00 Went back to the hotel, pick our baggage.
17:30 Went to the Airport
20:30 My japanese friends took off to Narita by Garuda.
21:50 I returned to Jakarta by Lion Air
Unforgettable holiday
If you want to prepare your trip to Bali beforehand and you want a certain schedule, you may search the info here. Probably for some others, you may want to explore Bali by yourself. You can do that too, but my suggestion is using a travel agent is much cheaper and certain compare to travelling by yourself. If you have a driver's license and a map, you may rent a car or a motorbike and explore Bali by yourself. Even though you have a map, somehow the streets and roads are not easy to comprehend. Some streets are one way and they do not have any signs or notice for that so, only those who know them won't get lost.
I used the tour plans from PT Hirochan (Master Course B with some negotiation with the owner for the Legong dance, I chose Tirta Sari which was the best in my opinion) and the Thalasso Bali Spa program from Bali star island (PT Bewish). PT Bewish offered a cheaper price than other travel agents. I learned from the driver that picked us up at the hotel, the owner used to work at that Spa, but now he has his own travel agent. PT Bewish and Thalasso Bali has a kind of business cooperation, so they can offer a lower price to customers.
PT Hirochan
English website:
http://www.bali-vacation-holiday.com/english/staff.html
Japanese website:
http://www.bali-vacation-holiday.com/staff.html
Bali star island
English website:
http://www.balistarisland.com/
Japanese website:
http://www.bewishbali-tour.com/
For Hotels, I suggest you stay in Kuta, because it is the heart of Bali. It is near to the beach and shopping centres, shops, entertainment, cafes, etc. If you like the exclusive and luxurious ones, you may stay at Jimbaran or Nusa Dua areas. My Japanese friends and I stayed at Grand Istana Rama in Kuta. It is a nice hotel with good facilities. The rooms are equipped with good facilities, such as toilet/shower, bathtub, different types of sockets(round/flat, 2 or 3 plugs), a hair dryer, a TV with different channels (NHK, Russian TV, Chinese TV, all Indonesian TV stations, Italian TV, German TV, French TV, HBO, Cartoon Network, Nickoledeon, Disney Channel, etc.), small fridge, a wardrobe with umbrellas, sandals and a safety box). The hotels in Kuta facing the beach are Grand Istana Rama, Mercure, Hard Rock, Kuta Sea View, Harris Kuta, Inna Kuta Beach. There are some small budget hotels on Poppy street ( a small alley in Kuta Legian). They are OK, especially for those who only look for a place to sleep.
Miscellaneous:
1. Visa on Arrival is USD 10 for a week.
2. Advice for tipping, for room service who clean your room every morning, hotel drivers, porters, an amount of 10,000 or 20,000 rupiah is enough. For a tour guide and a car driver, it depends on you. We gave 100,000 rupiah on the first day and 200,000 for the second day because they had given us excellent service. We always finished late because my friends spent much time for dinner and one of them had a heart problem so she often went to toilet, however, the driver, Mr. Ente, and the japanese-speaking tour guide, Mr.Sukarma, did not mind waiting for us. You may also give USD or Yen, they are happier with big countries currencies such as USD, JPY, AUSD and SingD.
3. Always count your shopping and the change, when you receive your money after paying or after you change your money. Be careful not to mistake the 10,000 and the 100,000. Do not be surprised, often times, they give candies or gums or sweet as change because they do not have small change. It is only an excuse. Too bad, I can not pay with candies.
4. You can bargain in small shops for souvenirs, T-shirts and even the car service. Make sure whether the price is for one car or per person. Example, we had an airport transfer from Ngurah Rai Airport to our hotel, the price is 75,000 rupiah per car, not per person. Another example, when we took a ride with a horse carriage (delman), the driver wanted 100,000 rupiah for a short distance, but I bargained to 50,000 rupiah. My Japanese friends thought that 50,000 was for one person, but it was for one horse carriage that could take 5 passengers (if you are small-built)
5. Bali Macadamia or Almond chocolates are cheaper in circle K or Mini mart than other places. Japanese friends bought 10 boxes. They are 3, so they bought all the chocolates in Mini Mart. On Dec.21, 2008, the price of Macadamia chocolate was 47,500 rupiah and the other one was 48,000 rupiah. While the same chocolate in Matahari costs 62,000 rupiah.
6. When you visited tourist places like Bedugul, Kintamani, Tanah Lot, Uluwatu, temples, etc. you will be thronged by vendors, they will keep on following you even though you are inside the car. So, my advice, do not look at them nor at the merchandise nor touch the souvenirs, just say, "Terima Kasih, tidak mau" (thank you, I don't want) and walk fast. They can sell cheap T-Shirts, but they are not in good condition. They fold them neatly, once you unfold them, you'll see the damages, but they're gone already.
7. Keep alert and keep your hotel receipts, because they may make mistake in calculating your room charge. It happened to us. Gladly, I still kept all the receipts and argued my case.
8. Do not take out your wallet in front of the cashier and count your money in front of their eyes. Keep them in your small bag and count the money inside your bag. Therefore, when you shop, count the average price of your stuff, then prepare the money. You do not want to get mugged.
Our trip schedules.
Thursday, 18 Dec.2008 arrived at Ngurah Rai, Airport Bali at 5.25 p.m with GA881 from Narita.
Airport pick up service from the Hotel. Check in at the Hotel. Dinner at Kuta Food Center.
Friday, 19 Dec.2008
7.30 Morning call from the hotel
8.00 Breakfast
8.30 PT Hirochan Tour picked us up at the Hotel, paid the two-day tour with Japanese Yen cash (Master Course B, 12,000 yen for two days)
9.30 We visited a traditional fabric home industry where they sold many kinds of fabric (ikat, batik, kain bali, etc.) It's too expensive, you can buy the same fabrik in pasar sukawati or ubud with cheaper price.
10.30 Goa Lawah (Bat Cave)
11.30 Rice Terrace at Bukit jambul. Well, it is not that scenic. The ones in Ubud and the way to Lake Bratan are better.
12:00 Lunch Buffet with nice mountain view.
13:15 Besakih Temple
15:00 Kintamani - Danau batur (though only seeing from the car when we passed it, it was wonderful)
15:40 Segara Windhu (Shopping for handicrafts, souvenirs, sandals, bags, scarves, bed covers, coffee, etc.) Of course they are more expensive than the ones in shops/stalls, but the stuff is better.
16:40 Penataran Sasih Temple
17:15 Tegalan Rice Terrace
17:45 Pasar Ubud, we were early of time, so we had a chance to visit Pasar ubud, which was not on our schedule. The things were cheaper than Segara Windhu but some stuff is not sold in Pasar Ubud.
18:30 Nasi Goreng Dinner at Mie Jakarta restaurant. (Delicious)
19:30 Legong Dance at Tirta Sari Ubud. WOW, it was marvellous. My friends fell asleep during the performance.
21:00 Returned to our hotel.
Saturday, 20 Dec.2008
7:30 Wake up call
8:15 Breakfast
8:45 Tour pick up
9:00 Barong Dance (we were late, because my friends had to go to toilet). After the dance we could take pictures with the dancers. It was to my surprise the one of the female dancers said, "Tip me". "Give me some tip" 3 times. Because we took pictures with two girls, I gave them each 10,000 rupiah.
11:45 Taman Ayun (Beautiful Garden) It is a hindu temple.
12:30 Lunch Buffet at Danau Bratan. Too bad, we could not see the Temple at Danau Bratan because it was foggy and raining. The scenic beauty is pictured on our 10,000 banknote.
15:00 Tanah Lot (tanah means land, Lot means protruding) Nice view, beautiful scenery. Don't see the so-called sacred snake, they'll ask for your money.
18:00 Uluwatu Kecak Dance open air performance. It was marvelous. I like it. With the dance and sunset as the background, it was perfect.
20:00 Seafood dinner by the beach. Wow.... it was nice and romantic. Food was also delicious.
21:30 Reached the hotel. But we were late. We arrived at 10:20 because we wanted to relax and enjoy the dinner and nice view.
Sunday, 21 Dec.2008
9:00 Pick up service from Thalasso Spa, we used the service from PT Bewish. On that day, there was a terrorist drill at Kuta Beach, all the streets were closed. The driver could not pick us up, so PT Bewish reimburse our taxi cost, but we could not take a taxi, we had to take a car service and they knew that no cars were allowed to enter kuta area, so they charged us costly with only a short distance, 75,000 rupiah. If we take a taxi, it would only cost around 35,000 rupiah.
10:30 Thalasso Bali Spa at Grand Mirage Hotel, Tanjung Benoa. It has a nice beach area. Next to it is Conrad Bali Hotel which is a 5-star diamond hotel. Nice treatment. We took 3.5 hours program (Thalasso Beauty)
14:15 Bali traditional costume photo. We were 4, and there was only one person who applied makeup and the costumes for us.
18:00 Reached the hotel
21:00 Went out for shopping around Kuta beach and Matahari Square.
00:00 Arrived in our sweet room. Took a shower and packed our stuff.
Monday, 22 Dec.2008
8:00 Woke up
9:00 Breakfast
10:00 Packing
12:30 Check out
13:00 Centro Mall shopping
16:00 Went back to the hotel, pick our baggage.
17:30 Went to the Airport
20:30 My japanese friends took off to Narita by Garuda.
21:50 I returned to Jakarta by Lion Air
Unforgettable holiday
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