Posted by Wendie on Thursday, 11. February 1999 at 16:03 Bali Time:
Finally able to sit down and put fingers to keyboard about our recent trip back to Bali.
We flew by Garuda on the 9th of January and arrived at around midnight at a Buget Property called 'Kuta Beach Club' right in the heart of Kuta. On a previous trip we had stayred at this hotel and enjoyed it a lot. Very relaxed back type of place and wasn't to crouded when we were there, plus had all the ammenties needed to enjoy a nice stay.
Where to start ... RAIN, RAIN, RAIN. I was very P.O. by the amount of rain we experienced at this time of year. I knew it was the wet season - But this wasn't funny!. I found out very early in our trip "not" to walk close to the roadside (on the pavement) as some lovely drivers had a giggle to see how much water they could drown you in whist driving as fast as the condition's would allow them to "marking' all the deep flooded puddles with avengence!!!.
Yep - Well it would't of been a smooth running hoiliday unless something drastic happened to me - I never find trouble - trouble finds me. On our 4th day in Bali we were involved in a Car Crash. Three of us were travelling back in a cab from a nightclub at 3am in the morning. We were travelling down a straight stretch of road (Luckily One Way) when it appeared the driver lost control of the car. We swerved left and then right and we crashed into a side gutter wall!!!!. The cars front wheel had snapped right off (It broke the wheel shaft!!). Lucky we were all "numb" as we flopped around like rag dolls. We all got out to inspect the damage to find that the left wheel was hanging right out from the car,pretty smashed up on the left hand side and also on the right from where we hit the wall!. The poor driver got out, nearly in tears, looked at his car,then at us and said "MY CAR'S BROKEN"!!. Thank God everyone was O.K. in
shock really - dawned upon the next morning when we were all sober just how lucky we were!.
99% of cabs in Bali had seatbelts fitted in the front - but not in the back, so you can assume that I travelled in the front of every cab from there on in!!!.
While staying at the Kuta Beach Club we hired out a blue cab (Just for the record, our Driver's name was Kutut, Car Number 227 FABULOUS GUY) for a days outing and went to a village called "Sukawati". It is approx a 40 minutes drive from Kuta and the Markets they are well worth a visit. In saying this - the prices while bargining were about 25% cheaper than Ubud, Kuta or Denpasar and I found most things to be better quality. I guess I just enjoyed the drive out there, passing and stopping at all little shops/stalls selling various wood, cane and bartik Items. After doing some "full on, non stop" shopping and burning holes in my shoes, Kutut drove us to Nusa Dua to have a look around. Here I bought him a big loaf of bread for his family and a few other "yummy" things which he greatly appreciated. I asked Kutut how he enjoyed his job driving?. He said that it was "O.K" but very hard. The Blue Cab drivers over there collect 30% of the days taking's and out of that they have to pay their own petrol. On a good day he would make 250,000 rupiah and on a not so good day he would make 90,000 rupiah. So you work it out!!. Please pay them their worth, especially if they are more than a driver ... Dig deep in your pockets when you do hire a metered fare and remember that by giving them a little tip makes meeting both ends a lot easier.
We left Kuta beach Club on the 17th of January ready by this time to spend 2 nice quite days relaxing in Ubud. We had decided to stay at the Chumplung Sari Hotel which was a 2 minute walk to the monkey forest. We found this hotel to be very central and in walking distance to all resturants and shops. The rooms were nice and pool was "cold" - Food and drinks abit over the top compared to bali standards - but then most people tend to eat out. Brekky was great - (we had it included in our package) and it had a great assortment of freshly baked bread, rolls and other delights. We hired a driver for 4 hours to take us to Kintamani Lookout. Talk about a bumpity bumpy ride!!. All I can say is "thank-god I was wearing a well supported bra!!!!!!!!"). The weather turned sour 1/2 way up our steep climb and by the time we reached the top - we couldn't see much at all. Hawkers were out in force - persistant, but pleasant!. We ended up buying a big bag of the most 'delicious' passionfruit which made a nice addidition to the fresh fruit salads we made for our morning snacks. Again, we stopped off at different villages buying lovely bits and pieces along our way home back to our hotel.
We left Ubud and booked into the Ramada Bintang in Tuban - which again is a lovely Hotel. (Anyone wanting more detailed info about this Hotel - free free to Email me). Enjoyed staying in Tuban - everything was in walking distance which I feel is a real bonus.
There seemed to be a lot more beggars around Kuta than on our last visit. Having a daughter myself and having these little children coming up asking for money all the time pulled the old heart strings!. Instead of giving the kids money we gave them food. Most times when we just could not eat all our dinner meals I would ask the Resturant for a take away container and an extra serve of and give it to these children. A lot of people wouldn't agree with this type of practice or encoragement - But My feelings are ... If these kids really are hungry and they walk away with a full tummy and a smile on their faces - that's enough reason for me.
MONEY CHANGERS
We had our fair share of "tricksters" but only advice is to always keep your eyes on the exchange, and never let them touch it twice. (I used a rubberband to put around the pile I had just counted). Watch closely the money changer outside the Bali Dynasty - he's a real wee shark!!!.
MEN BEWARE
Guys be cafeful of girls rushing up to you "Asking if you want Giggy Gig" while running there hands up and down your body!!..... It will only take a quick flash and you may find yourself being "out of pocket" - this happened to my partner and he could not believe he had been done over!!!!. Wearing your money belt close to the body is a VERY GOOD IDEA.
EATING OUT
UBUD: I really enjoyed the surroundings and the food at Lotus Lane (Monkey Forest Road) - prices were very resonable.
KUTA: La Porchetta (Legian Street, next door to Penuts Disco) was tasty!. We ate here quite abit and the food was always great.
Kin Khoa (Thai) was another one I took a liking to. They have two restaurant's, One in Seminyak and the other in Tuban. Tuban abit more pricy but the food the same.
We also stumbled on a place called 'Crusoes' which is in J1. Double Six, Seminyak. What an amazing place. It is all decked out Robinson Crusoe "Tree House" theme and must of taken ages to build something so authentic.
Well, yet again we had an exellent trip - and while sitting here at my desk, and reliving my trip ... It's horrible to be back to reality!!!. The Bali 'withdrawls' is something that one must come to terms with and to help me overcome my withdrawls I start back on the road of planning my next trip to Indonesia.
Regards,
Wendie