Posted by Emma and Trish on Wednesday, 17. February 1999 at 17:02 Bali Time:
We got back on the 13th Feb. Had a fantastic time, highly recommend the Bounty Hotel for anyone who wants to party with the young! Average age for people was about 20-30 years and most mingled and met at the Pool Bar every afternoon to start a good night off!
We shopped till we dropped, weighing in at 19.7 kilos at the airport, just scraping the allowed amount! Definitely recommend getting suits tailour-made, buying shoes (extremely cheap) and catching cabs (blue ones only!!!) to avoid the heat.
We exchanged money at a Fuji Film place opposite the opening of the Mata Hari department store in Kuta Square. They guys in there were very reliable and we found they had a good rate with "no commission".
For single girls travelling by themselves, be careful at night, you will notice the language and body language of the local men will change dramatically. Offering everything under the sun for free just to get a bit - so beware!!! Try and walk around at night with a couple of guys, it isn't so bad that way.
Definitely take RID insect repellant with you, the mossies are at their worst during the nights - especially eating outdoors somewhere (most places are pretty open)
Take as little as possible with you. Couple pairs of shorts, t-shirts and underwear, as you will wear next to nothing and can buy a wardrobe to last you 7 days for about $20-$30. The hawaiwan shirts are a big hit with the guys over there, extremely cheap but sort of "classy" at the same time!
SARI CLUB - THE PLACE TO BE AFTER 11PM. I had many great times at the Sari Club, which was open every night to cater for the large Aussie crowds in Bali at the time. The Jungle Juice is a killer. Try it once and you'll regret it the next day. Perhaps you should share one. If possible for single girls, go to a lady barperson to serve you, as the men tend to have a big smile on their faces when they hand it over to you and I didn't particularly like the last one I was given by a sleazy balinese man.
Wear as little as possible to the Sari. Guys - just wear shorts, shirts are really not necessary as you will walk out soaking wet from sweating. Girls - DO NOT GET DRESSED UP AND FORGET ABOUT MAKEUP! It is too damn hot in there, everything will slide off!
We went to the Monkey Forrest - really cute, would recommend it for a day trip just to get away from Kuta and the hawkers.
The hawkers will absolutely piss you off in the end (excuse the French!) But it is quite funny to look at the names of some of the guys who sell the watches. Some call themselves Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise, Mick Doohan etc. quite a sight to see. Some are quite aggressive, so don't look if you are not interested in buying!!!!!
We met up with some top blokes from Perth who hired a couple of motorbikes for a couple of days. We went around the country side, out to the rice paddies and up into "suburbia". The locals were really friendly, quite shocked to see some Westerners out in their area, but be warned, if you get lost, don't expect them to show you where to go, they can't speak a word of English!!!
Well, there's probably heaps more to tell, but if you want to know more - just email Emma at the above address!!!
Catch ya in November at the Bounty (yep, we're going back!!)
Emma and Trish