Posted by Geoff Clifton on Tuesday, 6. October 1998 at 07:31 Bali Time:
Just back. Contrary to all the previous advice I found the best deals were done with Rp's not $'s. The rupiah strengthened from 11,500 to 10,600 ($US) over two weeks.
Two very good contacts I made.
Vivan (Mrs). Professional tour guide, very good English and a nice lady. Has air con mini bus and driver. She will give a minimum 50% discount on all the standard tours plus more for a group or on a quiet day. Ring 081 239 02410.
Kristian (Mr). Taxi driver cum tour and activity organiser. Very good English and turned out to be fair dinkum although I was wary at first. Notably he organised half price jet ski and paragliding (still a rip off by local standards but the best you'll get) and white water rafting day trip for US$27 (advertised at US$65). Notably the day we went rafting it had been raining for 24 hours and the river was declared unsafe (they do not take chances). We were given a 3 hour return mini bus trip through some great villages and farms, a free drink and a 100% hassle free total refund of our money.
If you contact either of these people please give them my regards and nudge them to drop me an email.
Internet cafes are quite common around Kuta, Sanur & Denpasar costing Rp1000 (US$0.08c) per minute. You can do your chosen locals a big favour by showing them how to register a Hotmail address and check for mail. Shout them the setup cost which takes about 15 mins.
Cheers, Geoff.