Posted by Milt on Tuesday, 6. October 1998 at 08:46 Bali Time:
In Reply to: Overdoing It... posted by Marvin on Monday, 5. October 1998 at 23:17 Bali Time:
OK, since asked, I'll through in another tip:
BEST money changer: For the best consistent rates on a day to day basis for all currencies converted to rupiah, I have never found anyone to beat PT Central Kuta. Their head office is in (you guessed it!) Kuta, at 165 Jl. Legian, but they have branch offices all over Bali including: Legian, Nusa Dua, Sanur and Ubud. To illustrate this point, i.e. how good their rates are, I'll share a funny little story. Earlier last month I needed to open an account in a bank in Ubud as I bought a house nearby. I opened my account at the Bank Danamon in Ubud. While there, I decided to unload HK$ 270.00 which I had left over from an earlier trip to Hong Kong. I didn't really pay any attention to the posted bank's rate for purchasing HK dollars and made the presumption (and ignored the signals of my trusty driver) that the bank's rate would be fair. After this transaction, I realized that I needed more rupiah and asked my driver for his recommendation. He drove me over to the Ubud office of PT Central Kuta (just a short distance away). While exchanging travelers checks at PT Central Kuta, who walks in but an employee I just saw at the Bank Danamon. This fellow proceeds to hand over HK$ 270.00 to exchange for rupiah...the same HK$270.00 I had just sold to them! I learned two valuable lessons quickly: 1) Always ask your driver. Balinese are not quick to presume you want their opinion, so don't expect it unless you ask for it. 2) The banks do not offer the best rates...the money changers do.