Posted by Andre on Saturday, 17. October 1998 at 22:07 Bali Time:
Spent 13 days in bali/lombok and am in taiwan. Though I would give a quick report of my last day in Kuta, Bali.
Electricity went out for 3 hours on Friday nite, it rained very hard for the past 3 nites (usually rains for 20-30 minutes, stops for 1-2 hours, then rains again). The taxi driver and locals said rainy season is beginning. A 10 minute power outage was also in Denpensar that nite.
Kuta was crazy as everyone on the forum described, all the cautions mentioned on this forum are to be taken seriously.
My wife and i stayed at the Bali Sumer Hotel. They are doing some construction. It is on a very busy street in Kuta, down the block from the KFC (i forgot the street name). Great location, very busy, not that noisy. Average pool. Room was $25 w/ac with easy negotiating.
We thought the hotel rooms were poor-fair. I would only recommend the hotel if you were staying for 1-2 nights and wanted a great location, cheap hotel. There was a security guard in the front and the hotel was about 50 meters from the street.
We went to a store called Makro or Makro with our driver, you need a membership card to get in and buy things. Sort of like Price Club or CostCo or Sam's Club type of store. Everything is sold in bulk. The store is between Kuta and Sanur, closer to Sanur. Our driver had a card.
Sample rates were
3 pack of fuji 36 pictures 400 film 78,000 rupiah
big carryon bag 75,000
toothpaste 5,000 rupiah for big size
Biore and Ponds lotion/skin care were very cheap at about 7,000 -15,000 rupiah for items that in the US would cost $5-$8
shipping tape, low quality, 6 rolls 3,000 rupiah yes 3,000 rupiah for all six rolls
They did not have paintings or bali crafts or tourist things
Bali Bird Park
Yes it is an upscale tourist attraction, no hawkers though.
They do have 2 komodo dragons (one was hiding when we where there behind the rock)
Admission 51,000 rupiah for bali bird park
100,000 rupiah for bali bird park and reptile park
We did not go tot the reptile park.
I would recommend the Bali Bird Park, it took about 1 hour to walk throught everything ( if you walk at a liesurely rate, then 2 hours is plenty of time). You can hold parrots and take pictures (no extra charge if you use your camera). Bali bird park is about 45 minutes from Kuta, 20 minutes from Sanur, or 30 minutes from Ubud.
Also went to Taman Bali Festival
Admission $5 US Dollars
Got there at 1pm and realized it was very small and not much to do, so decided to come back at 5:30pm.
Flume ride, simulator theatre, laser light show and volcano at 7pm, avairy (closes at 5 or 5:30pm), crockadile section, several restaurants, outdoor amptitheatre (last show at 3 or 5pm, we got there to late), carousel, swing ride,
We did everything in 2 hours, less then 15 people in the whole park. I recommend it if you have kids, like simulator/flume rides, or want to go somewhere for a few hours.
They plan to have a roller coaster and swimming area
About hiring a driver
They are everywhere. Most are very nice and friendly, you will be asked many times for "transport". I heard some in Kuta overcharge for short rides. Your best bet is to hire for a full day. Rates were 120,000 to 220,000 rupiah (the 220,000 rupiah we paid on first 2 days not realizing that we could of gotton a better rate.
We had 3 nice drivers, and the one in bali we recommend is Made. Price for ac minivan, driver, and Made (english speaking guide) was 100-130,000 rupiah (6-10 hour days). He was knowledgable and friendly.
If you are in Bali you can call him, if you are planning a trip you can write him.
Made Sudjana Sari
JL Pelabuhan
Padangbai 80872
phone 0363-41843
I really recommend him,
I will have more to report over the next few days, once I get settled.
Our trip consisted of
Kuta 2 days
Sengiggi, Lombok 3 days
Gili Meno 1 nite/day
Candidasa 3 days
Ubud 3 days
kuta 1 day, last day
Rupiah rate is about 7900 to US $1. When i first arrived it was 10400 to US $1
If you have an urgent question, before I get a chance to write about my trip in full, please email me at azalta@aol.com