I've read so many positive things about Bali before I went on my holiday. This forum was really what made me decide to go to Bali. I went to Bali in July via Singapore. I travelled with Singapore Airlines. SIA does not have a direct flight to Denpasar. So it was Sydney to Singapore to Denpasar. Although this took an extra 3-4 hours I think it was worth it because we saved around $200 per person.
Hotel.
I personally prefer a westernised hotel preferably 4-5 stars. We chose to stay at Nusa Dua Beach hotel for 5 nights. We got this land package through Qantas Holidays and we had quite a good deal - stay 5 nights for the price of 4 nights and this includes buffet breakfast every day.
Airport.
We arrived at around 7.30pm. The Qantas representative was there to meet us. Took us to the car and we were in total shock! It was a small sedan - early model - looks like a 1985 model car. The rep was very friendly but because we have never been to Bali before and we have heard so much about people being ripped off we were vary of him. He asked us about our personal lives like what do we do as a profession etc. We ddin't want to give too much info.
Hotel.
The hotel was totally different from what we had expected from a 4 1/2 star hotel. The room was quite small, the bathroom quite old. One of the table lamps did not work. The pillows and the sheets were not clean and it smelled. I didn't want to make any fuss on the day of arrival because I was dead tired. Tried to sleep but I could just smell the pillow all night. Next day I made a complain to the hotel and they change the pillows immediately. The only thing good I could say about the hotel was the breakfast and the pool. Breakfast was very good with a lot of varieties.
Beach.
What beach? There was seaweeds everywhere no one could swim in the sea. Whlie I was there I did not see any hawkers on the beach.
Nusa Dua Galleria
Take the free suttle bus to the galleria. It runs every 1/2 hour. Be careful. There are actually 2 suttle buses. One is free runned by the Galleria and the other one you have to pay.
I didn't find the Galleria very interesting. They had a lot of shops selling imitation Ralph Lauren, CK, etc. The shop keeper says its not imitation but licensed. I recommend you shop around because the quality is different. If you want to buy Ralph Lauren Polos buy the ones that says "Polo Ralph Lauren" rather than just "Polo" on the label. Its better quality although a little more expensive.
Markets
There is a market outside the gates of Nusa Dua. Once you have seen a stall you have seen them all. They basically sell the same things and they are all of poor quality. I found that I couldn't even browse without being hassled by the shop keepers. Everytime I look at something ( I did not touch the goods....I was just looking) they think I want to buy ...... and it is such a tiring process that I finally gave up. I think I would have bought a few things if I was not hassled by the shop people.
Food.
We ate at the hotel the whole time except once when we were in kuta, we had Mc Donalds. OK by now you would probably think I am pathetic but I just telling you how I felt in Bali. Kuta was so dirty-totally different from Nusa Dua- and we really tried to eat in the coffe shops. But it looked so dirty that we did not want to risk it. As we were walking along the shops near Matahari, a Balinese came up to us and offered to sell us drugs. He even opened up a match box and showed us his goods. That was it. I was so terrified by then we took a taxi back to Nusa Dua.
Balinese food.
I did not enjoy the Balinese food. Don't think that I am uncultured. Honestly, Balinese are not famous for their food. I was originally from South East Asia and Balinese food just does not taste good. Food in the hotel was also very expensive. The hotel has different theme nights. We decided to try their chinese buffet. The decor was amazing! They set up the buffet tables along the pond outside the restaurant. It was beautiful but the food was horrible. It did not taste like chinese food at all. We also had dinner at Raja's Table through the recommendation of forum. It was very expensive and the service was good but again the food was not.
Finally, for those who are going to Bali, be careful of the people asking you to fill in questionaires as well as giving you scratchies. We got conned into it.
We were given a postcard size scratchy in the Galleria. Basicly you can win prizes depending on what you get. I scatch one and I won the 1st prize which was 1 week free accomodation in a 5 star hotel. But in order to claim it I have to go with the guy to Kuta. Stupid us, the temptation was to much and we allowed ourselves to be taken to Kuta in a private car. This was our 2nd day in Bali and when we got into the car all horrible things started running through my mind. I had no idea if we were going in the right directions, are they murderers, are they going to rob us, they were not in uniforms, and they were tak\liking in Balinese and we had no idea what they were saying. Finally, we arrived in Kuta and we were taken into an office with alot of other tourist. What they do is to try to sell us a membership, few hundred dollars to join, and etc......
So, the lesson here is don't waste your time. If you win anything from scratching one of theses things.... forget it.....nothing is for free.
Money changers.
We change all our money in the Galleria. The first time was was OK. They gave us a receipt. We brought out our Aussie dollars, put it on the table between the money changer and us, he brought out his Rupiah, counted it, gave it to us, we counted it and when we were happy he took the Aussie dollars that was on the table.
A couple of days later, we change our money at a different stall in the Galleria. They actually wanted our Aussie dollars before they would give us the Rupiah. When I told them that I would leave the dollars on the counter so we both can see it and he should give me the Rupiah so I can count it first before he take my dollars he refused. He said that was not how they do business. I refused to let him touch my dollars until we could count the Rupiah becuase I was afraid he could have short change me and I'll never see my dollars again. He finally refused to sell me any Rupiahs. This happened at 2 different money changers in the Galleria. They said that I don't trust them and they were quite upset. Please tell me if I did something wrong. Isn't this what the forum tells tourist to do. Make sure we are happy with the Rupiahs they have given us before we give them the dollars? I was happy to leave the dollars on the counter between us and they were still not happy!!! I just don't understand!!!
Finally, I don't think I'll ever go back to Bali. I didn't enjoy myself and it was just too hot and dirty.