Posted by Howard on Sunday, 25. October 1998 at 23:21 Bali Time:
I'm just back from a two-week trip to Flores, Kupang (West Timor) and Lombok. We also spent four nights in Bali. As I have visited Bali several times this year, I have witnessed the changes caused by the fluctuations in exchange rates. A month ago, the exchange rate was running at around Rp 11,000 to the USD. Today, you would be lucky to get much more than Rp 7,000 to 7,250. The problem is that prices have
been increased in rupiah terms to reflect the 11,000 level and are unlikely to come back down. On October 10th, in Jalan Legian, Kuta, a bottle of Mateus Rose was Rp 385,000. The (large) lobster was Rp 360,000. The meal, for two, with rice and vegs and tax/service was just short of Rp 1 million. It would have been Rp 1.2 million if I had not pointed out a 200,000 overcharge on the wine. Rp 1 million at 7,000 works out at USD 140. The Natour hotel was only USD 45 a night!
A can of Bintang beer at the airport on Wednesday (the 'Merpati' section of the domestic terminal) was Rp 8,000. Today, as they rapidly tried to remove the old label, they asked Rp 12,000. The 'Jakarta' section of the terminal was asking Rp 15,000 and in the terminal at Jakarta itself, the price was Rp 23,500 a can.
Bali and Lombok are VERY full at the moment so ordinary supply/demand factors are at work. You can still find cheap places to eat but the days of Bali being cheap are coming to an end - unless the rate goes back to 11,000.